Sold to the USA

February 6th, 2007: A defining day in the long and decorated history of England's most successful club.

Last week when Dubai International Capital withdrew their bid, I was devastated. And angry. Angry at what looked like the incompetence shown by the board, mainly Rick Parry and David Moores, at closing the deal with Dubai's investment giants. I never wanted Liverpool to be sold, but the sad truth in today's sport is that it was perhaps the only we'd have been able to compete with our rivals. Had Shankley seen our league performance for the last few years, he wouldn't have been too impressed. At Liverpool, its all about winning trophies. The directors are there merely to sign the cheques (quoting Shankly).

Personall I really wanted the DIC deal to go through, as, living in Dubai, I have first hand experience of what they're all about. Sheikh Maktoum is a winner and won't settle on being second best. (First is first, second is nothing - Shankly). They had incredible resources and were fans of the sport. The chairman Samir Ansari was a lifelong supporter. They understood the history of the club, the traditions, the passion that the fans had.

With Gillett and Hicks, its unclear as to what they know about the sport, let alone the most decorated club in English football. Even though there have been positive noises coming out of them, they'd say that though wouldn't they, being businessmen and all.

Now, admittedly I dont have a clue about these two gents, but having taken a brief look at articles on fansites, it seems that they are loved and hated in equal measure by fans of the 'franchises' they own. They have spent ridiculous amounts of money, all loaned from the bank, in the past and Gillett has even been bankrupted once. To be fair to him though he did make the money back fairly quick. The teams they own haven't really won much either since these two have bought them and thats the most worrying thing, for me, as a supporter. Will these two be content with midtable finishes year after year as long as they're lining their pockets? Evidence from their other 'franchises' suggest that may be the case. We'll have to wait and see.

As supporters of the club, nothing can change what you feel in your heart. We'll still bleed as red as we used to and will passionately sing 'Poor Scouser Tommy' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone' on top of our voices every week. We'll still take the piss out of Man Utd fans and remind the blueshite that they'll forever be in our shadow. We'll still piss ourselves laughing and celebrate Carra's next goal, although hopefully it'll take less than 7 years this time. Above all, we will still, and ALWAYS, support Liverpool Football Club come what may.

Somewhere though, a little part of Liverpool Football Club has died today.