Liverpool FC Forum

by **Ciggy** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:58 am

90% of Liverpool FC fans want George Gillett and Tom Hicks out

Jan 23 2008

by David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post

MORE than 90% of Liverpool FC fans feel let down by American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks’s first year in charge, with most now wanting them to just sell up and go.

That is the stark fact revealed by an exclusive survey, commissioned by the Liverpool Daily Post, which also shows that recent events at Anfield have galvanised fans behind club manager Rafael Benitez, despite a recent run of poor results.

A week after Hicks admitted the club tried to line up Jurgen Klinsmann to replace Benitez, and as speculation over a possible sale of the club to a Dubai consortium reached fever pitch, more than 2,500 fans took part in our online survey.

And it comes as a club source last night told the Daily Post that Hicks and Gillett were expected to complete a £350m refinancing deal on Thursday or Friday.

Fans fear this will include putting the debt initially used to acquire LFC on to the club itself.

While 72.9% described themselves as happy when Gillett and Hicks took over last year, our survey found:

* 90.5% feel the last 12 months have been worse than they expected;

* 83.1% think the owners should have done more to sup- port Benitez in the transfer market;

* 90% blame the owners for the falling out with Benitez;

* 92% think it was wrong of the owners to approach Klinsmann, with 93% feeling it was wrong to make that approach public last week;

* 94% want Benitez to remain as manager, but 77% expect him to have left Anfield by the end of the summer;

* 93% would prefer the club to still be in the ownership of the Moores family, with 89% also saying they would prefer the DIC consortium, from Dubai, to now take over.

The impact of speculation that Gillett and Hicks are now prepar- ing to saddle Liverpool FC with £350m of debt, is also proving to be a major concern for fans.

Asked what should be the owners’ priority if they remain in charge, 53.6% said keeping debt placed on the club’s books to a minimum should be the number one aim.

It compares with just 31% who think making funds available for transfers is the top priority, and 15% who believe confirming the new stadium should be the most important item on the agenda.

Only 47.4% of fans consider a new stadium – which is back on the drawing board after Gillett and Hicks decided their most recent plan was now too expensive – to be essential, although 35.5% consider a move to also be important.

THE damning findings from fans come less than a year after the American duo spoke of a “special relationship” with Liverpool fans as they took over the club on February 7, 2007, and promised to respect the traditions of the Anfield club.

Les Lawson, secretary of the official LFC supporters group, said: “This survey shows how let down Liverpool fans feel.

“When Gillett and Hicks arrived, they were embraced by the fans. There were American flags at Anfield and banners with Uncle Tom and Uncle George in the Kop. We really wanted it to work. But over the year it has become obvious they don’t care about the club, they just care about making a quick buck.

“They have made this club a laughing stock with the way they have treated Rafa, and I don’t think there is any way back for them now.

“We won’t be able to trust them again. They’ve made promises, like not putting the club in debt, and then gone back on their word. Even if they offered Rafa £100m to spend, we’d still be thinking that there was some-thing else going on. We need the club to be owned by people who actually care about it.” The emergence of a six-month- old video interview Hicks gave in America will also do little to placate fans’ concerns.

In August, Hicks told the Major League Baseball website: “People are worried that I might take money away from the [Texas] Rangers (Hicks’s baseball team) to go to Liverpool. But it is just the reverse. Liverpool is going to throw off lots of extra money which, if I choose to, I can use for the Rangers or the [Dallas] Stars (ice hockey team).”

In the same interview, Hicks explains how he treats his sports teams as business commodities. He said the Dallas Stars had been a “lousy franchise” in a “crumbling arena” which he felt he could change. “I figured I could change all that; put them in a new arena, make them worth a lot more money and sell it and make money, because I'm a businessman. What I didn't count on was that I fell in love with hockey and don’t want to sell.”

Many will wonder if he fell in love with Liverpool – the fans have made clear that their side of the affair is over.

John Makin, of Reclaim the Kop, said: “It [the interview] just proves him to be duplicitous, he’s just telling people what they want to hear, either that or he’s completely stupid.

“I would agree with the people who say ‘I would have DIC in’. At the minute, there’s no other option.

“It’s imperative to get rid of Gillett and Hicks.”

THE strength of ill-feeling revealed by the Liverpool Daily Post against the current Liverpool FC ownership is in stark contrast to a year ago.

As part of the Daily Post survey, participants were asked to explain why they felt happy at the decision by the Moores family to sell to George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

More than 2,000 who took part in the survey gave detailed answers, all of which were given anonymously.

Most answers referred to the fact the sale was expected to release more money for players, and was summed up by one fan who said: “It appeared that we now had owners who would invest in the club: new players and the new stadium.”

Another said: “They seemed to have financial clout behind them, at least Hicks seemed to. They had experience of building stadiums and they said all the right things in their first press conference (most notably, how they were going to be custodians of the club, as well as things like explaining their respect for the club's heritage, etc). Also, they weren't putting any debt onto the club.”

One fan wrote: “New doors seemed to be opening, giving the club the chance it needed to move into the modern era of football. It seemed there were possibilities we would be left behind.”

We also asked fans that, if given the chance to offer Gillett and Hicks one piece of advice, what would they say? Many people simply wrote “sell up”. More expansive answers included: “If DIC (Dubai International Capital) bid, please sell the club. Do not allow this debacle to continue. We the supporters have lost all trust in you.”

Another fan wrote: “Please just go and give us back our precious, beloved club. It means the world to us – to you, it's merely an investment toy. How would you like us to come and trample all over something you love?”

Some did offer advice on trying to find a way forward with Liverpool, primarily backing Benitez.

One said: “Give the manager FULL backing and allow him to make all decisions regarding footballing matters.”

Another said: “Do NOT over promise and underdeliver. It is the fastest way to alienate yourselves from the people who really care – the fans. The situation/position they have now created is untenable and they need to either (1) sell and go back to the States or (2) offer Rafa a new 4/5 year contract, start the stadium and back Rafa in the transfer market.”

We also asked what your priority for the owners should be if they remain in charge: the new stadium, funds for players or keeping the club’s debt down.

Keeping the debt down was the top choice, but many people left comments to back up their reasons. One said: “All three are a priority. Their early rhetoric did not say we could have one or the other, we were told all three were going to happen.

“The debt has to be minimal, the gain in revenue from the new stadium MUST be enough to service the debt so that transfer funds are not affected, oh, and backing the manager, even if we have a poor season.”

Another said: “Fourth, fifth or sixth and no debt is better than third or second.”

One of the last comments before the survey closed yesterday afternoon said: “Respect the Liverpool way.”

Liverpool Daily Post Comment

IF THE message that rang out from the Anfield faithful on Monday night was not clear enough for Liverpool Football Club’s American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, then the one we reveal today with the results of our online survey is unequivocal. The fans want them out.

It is an extraordinary turnaround in the space of less than 12 months since the pair took over the reins at Liverpool amid so much optimism.

Then, as our survey demonstrates, almost three-quarters of you were happy to have them as the club’s new custodians. Now, nine out of ten of you would prefer the DIC consortium from Dubai to take over.

As you might expect from readers of the Liverpool Daily Post, this is no knee-jerk, “sack the board” response to the difficulties the owners have encountered.

If they do remain at the helm, your biggest concern is not that they free up money for transfers, which might be the instinct of many a football supporter, but that they do not saddle the football club with massive amounts of debt.

At the heart of your consternation is undoubtedly the owners’ increasingly difficult relationship with manager Rafael Benitez.

Indeed, an irony picked up on by many observers is that the ownership controversy has in a sense taken some of the pressure off Benitez over the side’s disappointing Premier League showing, serving to unite the fans behind him.

Our survey reveals that 94% of you want Benitez to remain as manager, but also that 77% of you expect him to have left Anfield by the end of the summer.

The latest statement from the Hicks camp – that they will not be selling to DIC – was clear, but to say that the reaction of supporters makes that position difficult to sustain is an understatement.

If they are indeed to stay, they need to make significant and immediate steps to build bridges with the fans and the manager. This great world football institution cannot be allowed to stumble on in the current state of uncertainty.

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