Why Liverpool's poor form could be the perfect excuse for Hicks to renege on transfer promises

By Richard Buxton in Liverpool Fans Blog

Published 12:07 28/01/10

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"Our debt is very manageable  and we never use player sales for debt service... January is a poor-quality market. The summer window will be big."

Those were the words from Liverpool owner Tom Hicks fresh on the back of his son abusing his privileged position on the Reds' board of directors by addressing a supporter with the immortal words of, "blow me f*** face".

The Texan was aiming to appease fans who continued to be frustrated by a lack of spending in the transfer market due to debts placed upon the club by him and business partner George Gillett, almost three years since the duo took control at L4.

On that Tuesday afternoon in the bowels of Anfield, the Americans' tenure as self-proclaimed custodians of the club began with mis-leading grand gestures as Gillett attempted to appease supporters by boasting, "We have purchased the club with no debt on the club."

The erstwhile Montreal Canadiens owner then pledged to begin work on the proposed new stadium in Stanley Park by saying: "The shovel needs to be in the ground in the next 60 days and we would intend to follow that." Two-and-a-half years on, Gillett denied ever making that statement on live television.

It all seemed too good to be true, and it was. Less than 12 months later Hicks and Gillett had exposed themselves as untrustworthy owners not once but twice by first approaching Jurgen Klinsmann about the possibility of replacing Rafael Benitez as manager before securing a £350million loan with Wachovia and the Royal Bank of Scotland to place the club £105million in debt.

Supporters started to point the finger of blame at David Moores who sold his controlling stake, and his soul in the eyes of some, to the sports tycoons. Hicks had previous form when it came to the unsuccessful running of a football club following his ill-fated spell as owner of Corinthians.

Despite the early success of winning the FIFA Club World Cup, things started to turn sour after supporters were promised a new stadium which never materialised and amidst unpopular changes to the club's identity and boardroom scuffles, not too dissimilar to those currently between himself and Gillett, Hicks resigned.

Whilst the soon to be former Texas Rangers owner and his business partners rode off into the sunset, the Corinthians' fans were left to pick up the pieces of the damage and devastation inflicted on their club by the Americans.

Hicks' involvement with the Brazilians could have easily been traced with a basic Google search prior to the takeover but Rick Parry failed to conduct extensive research with Dubai International Capital, the other party interested in buying the club, rumoured to make him persona non grata at Anfield.

Parry eventually left Anfield last summer after a series of gaffes that make Boris Johnson seem eloquent. His replacement was possibly the closest thing the club could have got to football's answer to David Cameron.

Christian Purslow is the chisel-jawed corporate poster boy who is more than happy to be in the media spotlight as he proved with a recent PR interview about not selling players, managing debts and building the new stadium, all spoon-fed to a local newspaper.

The last time such grand pledges were made by the club hierarchy they were rescinded and their failure to materialise was blamed on the global credit crunch, which leaves Kopites wondering if Liverpool’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League will be the excuse wheeled out if Hicks’ pledge of ‘big’ activity at Anfield this summer does not come to fruition.

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