Can you believe this guy?

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story ... 32&cc=5901

Do they have to widen the doors at Anfield so they can get his big head into the place? I feel bad for the team and their fans, and I'm not even a Liverpool fan.

 

Apparently the absence of followup posts indicates this thread is uninteresting to everyone but me, but I thought this article was interesting too:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story ... 01&cc=3888

 

I was flipping channels last night and on the late night Sky Sports Report on FSC (11 pm pst) they had exclusive interview w/this idiot. It goes to show that just becuase you have money doesn't mean you have a clue. When Hicks was asked about the Klinsmann fiasco he proceeded to say "I had no idea who Jurgen Klinsmann was, I had to go on the internet to figure it out" and throw proceeded to throw his partner Gillette under the bus by blaming him for looking into the possibility of hiring JK in place of Rafa.

He continued to ramble on about Parry and Gillette. To speak so publicily about private club business is an embarrassment. Of course this is the same fool who gave Alex Rodriquez a contract that was worth $100 million more than any one else was willing to pay, and single-handily drove up pitcher salaries by giving Chan Ho Park $40 million more than the nearest bid.

 

Well, there ya go. sooner or later this was bound to go boom.

We should have paid more attention when we heard rumors Hicks and Gillett were bickering?

Whither the Kop, eh boys?

 

Well I agree the guy is a big headed Texan idiot he may have a decent argument with regard to Parry;

I don't really know the ins and outs of L'pool but if thats true then would a change not be out of the question?

 

Steve, I find this absolutely terrible. Truly makes us look bad as Americans. Don-no harm meant by this, but Hicks has the attitude that so many of the stereotypical Texans. I know that's not fair, but he's doing a good job of showing his arrogance and trying to over-step his authority. I would think he would be trying to win over the approval of the fans right now.

 

cue....pettyfox!

 

I disagree with all of you.

Hicks isn't the jerk he's been made out to be. Initially he, not Gillett, orchestrated a positive PR campaign when they bought the club. Then Rafa called him and Gillett out after the Champions' League final and then again in the fall. Hicks responds publically, and gets turned into the bad guy.

It's Gillett, not Hicks, that contacted Klinsmann. It's Hicks who wants Rafa to stay at Liverpool; not Gillett. It's Hicks who wants Rick Parry (a problem) to go; not Gillett. It's Hicks who wants to build the awesome stadium.

... and Hicks, at least, unlike Gillett isn't afraid to talk to the media.

The stupidest thing is the Liverpool fans themselves who actually think that DIC would somehow be better. DIC arguably employs slaves and indentured servants back home in the non-democratic United Arab Emirates. These guys are a human rights catastrophe times 10 compared to Man City ower Thaksin Shinawatra.

Liverpool fans are just dumb and dumber.

 

That is the humorous part to a non-Liverpool fan. Be careful what you wish for, it could come true.

 

Yep, red Liverpudlians are stupid.

 

I don't know a whole lot about Hick's and his history with Liverpool, I KNOW being a former rapid baseball fan, he is done little to make the Texas Rangers a good ballclub in the time he has been there. They have been very average to dull, even after spending a lot of dough.

What I do know a lot about is leadership, and the ego. It does seems to me he is waging a destructive PR campaign to enact a power shift so that he is RUNNINGS things at Liverpool (I know....master of the obvious ;-) ). It is strange to me he would have ever agreed to be a 50/50 partner, unless it was the only way for him to 'buy' into the EPL ownership club. I thought Lyle's comments were very interesting and agree Hicks MAY not be as much of jack@ss as he seems. It seems to me, based on his comments, he has a much grander vision for that club, than he is realizing and is truly tired of not getting to the top while the others (Big 3) are realizing greater success. Guys like Hicks usually don't get to where they are by being satisfied with 2nd place. They usually have large, grand goals, and sometimes the egos to go with them.

If this was in America, my guess is we would expect, to some degree, this from our Sports franchise owners to some degree. The Brits always seem to be more civilized in their dealings in the public and his tactics do seem out of place there, but if I were a Liverpool fan I would be applauding him. Just an opinion.

 

Basically, I agree with Lyle. Where is the evidence that Hicks is an arrogant SOB and crap. I worked in England and the US in a job where I had to travel to lots of companies to verify their engineering processes. From what I experienced, I am not at all surprized that Hicks would call out some waste of space English guy for poor management and basically getting nothing done.

Ridgerider, a lot of the English that we see in the US are more civilized and intelligent than the average American, but not when it comes to soccer. In the US our soccer players are the articulate ones, in England the rugby players are the articulate ones. Dont ask me why but it is true.

 

Lyle, you probable know more than I on the matter. I'm not sure who's right or who's wrong, it's just how Hicks is handling it. I don't think the culture of sports ownership or business in general is the same in UK as here in US. I agree that Liverpool needs a marketing campaign to get them to the same level as Arsenal and Man U worldwide. Changes probably do need to happen, but doing them in the tabloids doesn't seem like the best practice.

 

Maybe Hicks already tried handling it behind the scenes. I would bet he did. I saw him interviewed and he referred to conversations in which Rafa complained about missing out on good players because of management. None of us really know what has gone on do we and I think the most likely thing is that the big, loud Texan is the one people want to blame.

 

Yep, I think this is about right. I'm definitely not saying Hicks is an angel or that he really cares about Liverpool, or even soccer for that matter. He's a businessman investing in a great investment.

What's amazing is that the luddites in Liverpool think DIC (the Sheikhs from UAE) are somehow better or even different. Their apparent plan is to buy Liverpool and then sell it for a profit in 5 years. That's at least no different from Hicks' plan or worse. Yet, the luddites like DIC because they "get" the club and football. Like Hicks/Gillett have had any say about the actual football side of the club.

My feeling from the beginning, much like with Randy Lerner and the Glazers, is that Hicks/Gillett was a long-term family investment, not a short-term investment and then flip it for profit (which is conventional wisdom in all of England... that the Americans have come to England to just buy and then sell in the short-term). There are just a lot of people in this world who want Americas to actually be the "bad guy" and fail... despite all common sense.

The other thing is that for Hicks to make Liverpool as profitable as he wants it to be... they have to remain in the Champions League every year, which in turn means he has to invest in players and management, and keep winning. Why people think he doesn't get this is just unbelievable. The man wants Liverpool to make more money and the only way that is possible is to keep winning at the highest level, which is exactly what Liverpool fans want.

 

Have no idea how I didn't see this post some time ago, but here is my take.

Hicks and Gillette were going to be the saving grace of Liverpool upon their purchase of the club. Their wealth would insure Scousers that Liverpool would finally have the funds they needed to acquire the talent they were lacking. Enter Ryan Babel, Voronin, Benayoon, Skertel, Torres, Lucas and a few others. When the dust settled over 70 million pounds had been paid out. Exactly what the scousers wanted.

Crash back to reality. Hicks did not get where he was by being the nice guy in business or sport. Gillette has failed in several past business endeavors and is prone to mistakes. I slip up was bound to occur. Hicks, like a common Texan... no offense Don. Shot his mouth off and aired the club's dirty laundry in public and when that happens nobody walks away without a blemish. What Hicks failed to realize is he owns a team in a relatively hostile environment for American owners. The majority of English football supporters view yanks as arrogant popmous fools. I guess Hicks just added enough fuel to the fire.

Let's be honest. Parry has underperformed in the past decade at Liverpool. Aside from the treble in 2001, the champions league final against Milan and the FA Cup win over West Ham... Liverpool have essentially won next to nothing. A club of Liverpool's size and history should not be going on nearly two decades without a league title. They are a far cry away from Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd right now. I don't see it changing anytime soon with the issues they have to deal with.

 

Well stated all. Lot of good 'minds' on this site.