17 April 2008

Make it Stop part XVIII

It’s a pity that all the news until Sunday, and probably longer, is going to focus on Hicks et al. I wasn’t planning on saying much about Hicks’ interview, as there are far more websites that know far more than I do, and you’ve probably already visited them. I’d really prefer to write about the football.

But there was a very good comment added by Jeff to my last ‘make it stop’ post that I want to highlight.

I would rather someone else was owning the club but if it has to come down to Hicks or Gillette, I'm going with Hicks.

Hicks is a public relations nightmare, a loose cannon who says the wrong things at the wrong times. But generally those people don't double-talk. I may not like what Hicks says, but I think its genuine.

So I think Hicks is sincere when he says he wants to keep Rafa and get rid of Parry and for me, that is a good thing.

If it were me, I’d add a few “ifs” in there, because I truly don’t know if Hicks is sincere. I’m leaning in the same direction as Jeff, but after all the promises over the last year, any cynicism is merited and should be understandable.

And even if he is sincere, I still don’t think he’s acting in anything other than his own interests. Those interests should coincide with Liverpool's though; he needs the club to be successful and on a solid footing to make any return on his investment, let alone pay off his debt.

Plus, it’s even more of a touchstone as an American writing about another American (albeit a Texan) when Liverpool FC and the local supporters need to be the primary focus. However, I still think this is a valid point; there’s some cliché about the ‘devil you know’ that’s probably relevant. I do wish he'd keep his bloody mouth shut though.

But bear in mind, this comes down to whether or not there’s a choice besides Hicks or Gillett.

At the end of the day, my allegiances lie first and foremost to Liverpool FC and to Rafa Benitez in a close second. I never thought I’d say that if Benitez went, I’d seriously contemplate the amount of time, passion, etc I devote to Liverpool, but that’s where I am right now.

Unfortunately, Hicks seems to know this is the case for more than a few Liverpool fans, and is unabashedly trying to hitch his wagon to Rafa’s. Which has a strange way of encouraging me and making me nauseous at the same time.

I truly believe keeping Rafa Benitez is the most important thing for Liverpool, and I write that knowing the importance of the debt, the new stadium, and other financial concerns.

I’ll feel a lot better when Benitez makes a public statement on the matter, and reserve the right to change my opinions when he does. However, knowing Benitez, he’ll wait until the season’s over. The man has a bit more class than the rest of the actors in this farce.

4 comments :

BackBergtt said...

PR nightmare, more than anything right now i want stability.

to be absolutely fair though, there have been fans calling for parry's head for a long time. he does seem to make mistakes here and there, and lets face it the club wasnt in the best financial position beforehand.

at this point as long as rafa stays ill be happy



anyways
unless he is hurt and it wasnt announced, nemeth didnt play in yesterday's reserves game. if he is healthy, im going to conspire to guess that he may be looking at a bench spot this weekend

Micah Seymour said...

Tom Hicks cannot find the people to build a good baseball team. His hockey team has won one Stanley Cup since he's owned it. They've made the playoffs the last few years, but that's like saying they made the 4th round of FA cup. His teams have not won much silver in other sports. Presumably he knows more about these sports than he does football, we want him as an owner why again?

nate said...

because even though gillett seems like a nicer bloke, at least with his canadiens reputation and lack of running his mouth, he doesn't have the money to buy the whole club and/or take it forward by himself. and while we can't trust hicks on his word, we're still not sure if gillett was the one who wanted klinsi first.

one of the two men as owner is preferable than the two in a partnership that doesn't work. and if it has to be one of the two, i'll (sadly) go with the one with more money and a marginally better business reputation than the one who's a nicer guy and works behind the scenes. and it's filthy it's come to that. also, if it really is hicks/rafa v gillett/parry as hicks is trying to paint it, that doesn't hurt hicks.

hopefully someone better will come and both statler and waldorf will go, but i'm not holding my breath.

nate said...

insua didn't play either. both he and nemeth better at least be on the bench.