Red Sox proprietor John W.Henry has been cast as the new saviour of Liverpool Football Club after his company’s £300m bid for the Anfield club was accepted last week.
This is however dependent on a High Court ruling going against American duo Tom Hicks and George Gillett who have launched a legal battle against the board’s decision to accept a bid from the New England Sports Ventures, a deal which would see the pair lose a combined £140m.
Yet despite the relief and buoyancy which greeted the news of Hicks’ and Gillett’s impending departure, the Merseyside champagne is still on ice until the despised co-owners have disappeared back across the Atlantic. It will also be up to W.Henry to convince the club’s fans that he was Liverpool’s best interests at heart, following three-and-a-half years of broken promises, debt and dissension under the two previous despised incumbents.
On the surface Henry appears to be the right candidate to rejuvenate the ailing club and bring the good times back to the Red half of Merseyside. Within two years of taking control of the Boston Red Sox in 2002, Henry ended the club’s 86-year wait for a World Series title and repeated this success to win a second, just three years later. It has now been over two decades since the Reds last won a league title and Henry knows he can automatically increase the value of the club with success on the field. The parallels between the two sides are striking, with both failing for decades to find success on the pitch despite their rich heritage, tradition and vast, outreaching fanbase.
Henry knows the importance of gate receipts and hospitality revenue in increasing finance and his first priority at the Red Sox was to begin redeveloping the club’s hugely iconic Fenway Park ground with an investment of $250m. The stadium was gradually expanded and in 2008 the club broke the Major League record by selling out for the 456th consecutive game in a row. For Liverpool, a new stadium at the club’s Stanley Park site has long been mooted, however Henry will be keen to asses his options and the club may yet stay at their Anfield headquarters. The improvements to Fenway Park have come at a cost however and the club’s ticket prices are now amongst the most expensive in the league.
Despite his reputation as one the most respected owners in the Major League, Henry has not had absolute success in the sports investment business since first dipping into the market with the purchase of Minor League side the Tuscan Toros in 1989. Before taking control of the Bo Sox his reign at the Florida Marlins was a complete and utter disaster. After it became clear his plan to build a publically funded stadium failed, Henry immediately began looking for an exit route from the club, while star players were sold annually to balance the books. After three unsuccessful years Henry left the club and is still widely loathed by Marlin fans today.
With an estimated worth of £540m, Henry’s finances are dwarfed by more than half of the current owners in the Premier League. Even outgoing owner Hicks is estimated to be worth more than his compatriot. After chairman Martin Broughton confirmed the club had tried, but failed, to find the next Roman Abramovich, he conceded that there are simply ‘no more Romans out there to be found’. Henry does however have the backing of fellow NESV investors, who between them do have the finances to compete at the top end of the transfer market and shake things up in the boardroom.
Another major positive is Henry’s insistence that all acquisition debt will be removed from the club, leaving the Reds with an external debt of £37m, the second lowest in the Premier League. Broughton has also eased fans concerns about more debt being placed on the club further down the line, by claiming NESV do not believe in borrowing high-interest loans from the banks as Hicks and Gillett did, insisting:
“They [New England Sports Ventures] are not leverage people.”
It is clear Henry is likely to be much more considerate and understanding of Liverpool’s traditions than either Hicks and Gillett. He will also have learnt not to make the same basic mistakes as his compatriots who promised everything and delivered very little. The bottom line is that Henry will want to make money and has secured himself a bargain investment which will allow him to rid the club of its debt, should things go his way in the courtroom this week.
It certainly appears that Henry’s main priority is increasing the fortunes of clubs on the pitch and this is positive news for the 18 time league champions. There are many similarities between the Red Sox and Liverpool and Kopites will hope that these parallels can continue with the revival of the club and a return to winning ways.
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