Comments on: Interview with Tom Hicks: Sky Sports Video

By: Ivan

Ivan — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:53:21 +0000

This Parry issue that Hicks has brought up amuses myself. Its an astute move by Hicks and whether the fans buy it we will see. Not a liverpool fan myself but if you ask most liverpool supporters the distaste at the job that Parry has done over the years existed long before Hicks and Gilette took over. Not only did Parry not make the best out of Liverpool’s potential marketing ability, but he screwed up numerous transfer deals, just ask Rafa. All Hicks is trying to do is get the fans on side… in truth most fans understand that Parry attempts to do things in the best interest of the club but it is clearly evident that he is incapable of running a football club in the modern age.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:40:45 +0000

In defense of the yawner, it was 7 am.

By: Simon Burke

Simon Burke — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:38:50 +0000

BBC yesterday echoes these sentiment about Liverpool falling behind but I am not sure thats true – they are doing very well in the very lucrative Asian markets like Singapore.

Liverpool in some sense sell themselves, they are a brand.

United will probably always be bigger just because they are United – Munich sort of made them even more globally popular.

Chelsea have improved and are branding everything but then you watch them play and think if only they could play some attractive football week in week out. This week was certainly a week out.

Hicks sentiments were made out of spite and only spite this week, he is trying to oust Gillette and he hasnt the money to do it and is struggling to secure the money to go it alone, he needs approx 320 million dollars and one bank already said no (JP Morgan). Credit crunch will worsen and he will eventually have to sell or stick the club with tons of debt. Liverpool’s Euro exploits and hanging on to 4th with some fine results have made all this seem more petty than it really is – its potentially devastating.

By: TheScout

TheScout — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:07:16 +0000

I concur with Michael’s remarks. Liverpool have fallen behind other clubs in exploring other markets and generating new capital. That said, I still Hicks should not be making this discussion public. It’s unprofessional and if he’s worried about marketing and revenue, he should think about the damage he is doing to the Liverpool brand with his actions.

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:53:00 +0000

I’m not supporting Hicks’ behavior by any means, but I do think that he’s spot on in saying that Liverpool FC can do more as a club to promote their brand and increase commercialization.

Liverpool is the most successful team in England and are one of the biggest clubs in the world. You wouldn’t know it by merchandise, though; I see Man U, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, etc. jerseys all the time, but that’s not the case with Liverpool. They also haven’t been big historically on touring abroad in the preseason to gain more international recognition.

In this sense, I think Hicks is right. There’s a lot of untapped financial potential there and it would make sense for him and the board to pursue those opportunities and be a little more serious about their brand. In all honestly, it boggles my mind that Liverpool haven’t capitalized as much on their history as they are capable of.