For Sale: Football Club with Great History and Passionate Fans

After building up a debt of over £237million for Liverpool F.C, current owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks have ‘thought it best’ to sell the club.

The decision to put the club up for sale comes after three miserable years under the ownership of the two clueless American businessmen, but at least they had fun destroying the club’s finances;

"Owning Liverpool Football Club over these past three years has been a rewarding and exciting experience for us and our families”. (Quote from BBC Sport)

A self-confessed Chelsea fan and owner of British Airways, Martin Broughton has been brought in to help Liverpool find a buyer.  Broughton will use his expertise to manage Liverpool’s finances and has stated he will find a new owner for the club within the next few months.  A Chelsea fan helping out Liverpool in their time of crisis, whatever next?

Over the last five years the Premier League seems to have been a playground for rich American tycoons and they’ve proved extremely unpopular, and unsuccessful in owning their clubs. 

The Glazer family took over Manchester United in 2005 for £800million and have since raked up a debt of £700million for the club.  Then along came Gillett and Hicks, a pair of 'good old boy' Americans with a spare £435million to inject into Liverpool.  They promised a new stadium, but in three years the only thing they have brought to the club is considerable debt.

The two Liverpool owners brought a sense of turmoil within the club when Hicks blocked Gillett’s effort to sell his 50% share to the Dubai International Capital group (DIC) in 2008.  Hicks turned down a potential £500million investment from the DIC because he was planning to buy the club outright himself.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez then fell out with the board because he wasn’t getting enough money to spend on transfers, and its showed during the this season that there is a lot of unrest behind the scenes.  Liverpool are having their worst season under Benitez and are struggling to achieve fourth place.  If Liverpool do fail to reach the final Champions League spot then their value will depreciate significantly and it could prove harder to find a buyer.

Liverpool F.C and its fans deserve an owner that will keep to their promises and provide enough money for transfers and a new stadium to take the club forward. It's not just the fans who want to see more quality players wearing the red shirt, star striker Fernando Torres has spoken publically about how he wants the club to make several big signings in the summer.  I'd love to see the likes of David Silva, David Villa and Sergio Aguero being the new team mates of Torres and Gerrard.

In a season of disappointment and underachieving, there is finally some positive news coming out of Anfield.  Gillett and Hicks are at long last selling the club and now Liverpool can look forward to good things to come in the near future.

Will these two ever play together in club football?

Who will walk with Rooney and the Three Lions?

With just under two months to go until the World Cup, Fabio Capello must be whittling down his list of strikers to accompany Wayne Rooney in attack.

Providing Rooney keeps free of any nightmare injuries from now until June, his seat is very safe on the plane to South Africa. He’s scored 26 league goals in 29 appearances and been in the form of his life. If Rooney plays well in South Africa, then England will play well. His power on the ball, ability to pick out a pass, shooting ability and teamwork is on another level and he is passionate about playing for his country. Are England better when Rooney’s on his own up front with Gerrard supporting as a second striker from behind, or can we get more out of Wayne when he has a designated strike partner?

Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey has, for a while, been Fabio Capello’s favoured option. Capello believes that Heskey offers experience and some say he gets the best out of Rooney. Heskey’s a valuable asset for the team if he can increase the performance of another player, but I am more concerned about his lack of goals in the Premier League this season.

Surely what England need is another front man that can score goals. Jermain Defoe has scored 17 goals so far this season and is a likely candidate to go to South Africa. He possesses good pace and a deadly finish, and would be a useful sub to bring on due to his predatory instincts in front on goal. However his ability to work with Rooney may not be as promising as his Tottenham teammate, Peter Crouch.

The 6 ft 6¾ forward has the ability to hold up the ball and nod down lethal passes to Rooney’s path and he can also cause opposition back lines a nightmare as they simply haven’t come up against a striker of Crouch’s nature before. Crouch has a sublime touch and is extremely good with the ball at his feet for a player that looks awkward. He’s a proven goal scorer for England, scoring twice in the last friendly against Egypt, and I think the gangly goal getter has what it takes to don the three lions in June.


Other noteworthy candidates are Carlton Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Bobby Zamora and once a dead cert for England, Michael Owen.

West Ham may have been struggling this season but one man that has called out for a place in the England team is the Hammer’s number 12. Carlton Cole is a strong, versatile front man and due to his similar abilities, I can see Cole being a good replacement to Emile Heskey. However, Cole hasn’t played many games at International level, and it could be too much of a gamble to go with an inexperienced player.


That brings me on to Aston Villa’s pacey forward, Gabriel Agbonlahor. Gabby’s been on good form this season and has bagged 14 goals in all competitions. His electric pace could be a useful weapon when we’re struggling in extra time, but having made only 3 appearances for England, he doesn’t posses the experience at this level; he’ll be another useful substitute without doubt.

Bobby Zamora is finishing the season in emphatic style, showing his case as to why he should go to the World Cup. Zamora has been key to Fulham’s good form of late and their success in the Europa League. He scored an exquisite goal in just 28 seconds against Wolfsburg to put his team through to the semi finals and that was just an example of his expert finishing. Zamora has pulled his weight in the Premier League, but it could prove as a wildcard if he was selected, as there isn’t much time for him to settle in to the team. I’d like to see him play in the friendly against Mexico to see if he’s up for international football.

Last on my list of candidates would have been the injury prone Michael Owen. The United number 7 has been a vital member of the England team in the past, but hasn’t cut the mustard in recent times. Owen has vast experience of playing in big tournaments so would have been a useful asset to the team if he hadn't ruptured his hamstring, so there's no chance he'll score a goal like the one against Argentina in ’98.

My favourite for the position would have to be Peter Crouch, have your say below.

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