Nice Article :
Interesting bit at the end re.Brouwer and Duran, Rafa must really rate them both.
Interesting bit at the end re.Brouwer and Duran, Rafa must really rate them both.
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Shankly legacy in safe hands
By Clive Tyldesley
Last Updated: 12:44am GMT 10/02/2007
Gerrard, Steven. Team MVP, captain and midfielderman famed for power running, pass accuracy, assists. Has dressed as center, right wingerbacker (offensive and defensive) and even as secondary power forward. Can rush goal or sit back in the pocket. Career high came in Pro Ball showdown against Milan Tumblers in Istanbul (believed site of Weapons of Mass Destruction).
In safe hands: Liverpool's new custodians, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, will take care of the club
It hasn't taken long for an e-mail parodying Liverpool's American sell-out to do the rounds. Eighteen months ago, Liverpool fans were sending them to Manchester United supporters. One depicted a baseball diamond marked out on the Old Trafford pitch. The only diamonds Malcolm Glazer has brought to Manchester so far are Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick. United are looking just dandy.
You don't have to dig too far below the surface of Glazer's takeover to find the massive debt that was at the source of much of the resistance to his arrival. Liverpool's American owners will also borrow to finance the club's new stadium. But isn't it strange how much of the scepticism that has greeted George Gillett and Tom Hicks emanates purely from their nationality. For some reason, many Liverpool fans seemed more comfortable with the idea of investment from Dubai than the United States. So much for the special relationship.
Maybe the special relationship that Hicks enjoys with George Bush is reason enough to worry. At least Liverpool's new owner is not called Randy. Soccer is breaking out at Aston Villa and Everton, too. There is something not quite right about Sylvester Stallone wanting to meet Phil Neville. You can't help but wonder about a country that thinks David Beckham is worth more now than when he could run. Hicks managed to get his foot all the way up to his Texan mouth by calling his new acquisition the 'Liverpool Reds', and the references that both co-chairmen made to 'the franchise' were as welcome on Merseyside as Boris Johnson.
But English fans will not worry if the worst thing that American money brings them is a new vocabulary. New goaltenders and wide receivers are what they are really interested in.
advertisementSome of the words may be crass and cringe-worthy, but it is the sentiments that count. Gillett and Hicks seem to have the heart as well as the head in the right place. "We are custodians, not owners of the franchise," Gillett said. He knows he has bought a national treasure. It is a piece of art that may well appreciate for him, but one that he intends to hang in a beautiful new public gallery. Provided admission charges do not rise too much, Bill Shankly's masterpiece looks to be in good hands.
Perhaps it is time Liverpool got a makeover. Outgoing chairman David Moores has preciously preserved the soul and spirit of the country's most successful team, but watched more successful clubs overtake them. More successful franchises. Liverpool have slipped to 10th in the latest European rich list. Rafa Benitez has not been slow to embrace the unique personality of the club, but neither was the Liverpool manager slow to point out to Gillett and Hicks "the need to change a lot of things".
I sat alongside Benitez at the Merseyside Sports Personality of the Year Awards last Monday night. It was an occasion graced by truly great names such as Ian Rush and Tommy Smith, but Benitez was talking about Francis Duran and Jordy Brouwer.
Benitez has spent the transfer window signing young unknowns in an attempt to continue the legacy left by the old legends. Anfield is home to a uniquely emotional and sentimental football institution, but the new Anfield must house a club that harnesses the largest fan base in world football to keep in commercial step with its rivals. For the first time in 10 years, the annual Liverpool Echo award was not won by a football player or manager, but by a gymnast.
Gillett, Hicks, Glazer and Aston Villa's chairman, Randy Lerner, all have other sporting interests. They are not new to this game. All give the impression of wishing to exercise a quiet control over their clubs. Hands on policy, hands off tactics.
Eggert Magnusson knows more about football than the four of them put together, enough to have sacked a West Ham manager and been outspoken about the team's performance on a number of occasions already. I think I know the kind of chairman most managers would rather work for. Whatever their nationality.
Bill Oddie, Bill Oddie, put your hands all over my body.
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