Hype, Hilarity, and Hope

For all the hype and expectation of Liverpool finally winning the Premiership, for the hilarity laced in chants by Liverpool fans after their 4-1 drubbing of Utd, for all the hope of Rafa finally putting Ferguson in his place, Liverpool have as much to show for their “resurgence” as Arsenal do from this past season – two empty hands and European football. Granted they will not have to start their Champions League campaign with qualifying rounds but you get my meaning.

There are reports that Liverpool FC cannot manage interest payments and might be forced to exercise one of three options:

‘Refinance, get new equity investors, or sell [the business] to somebody else who's prepared to absorb the debt and start from scratch.’

Those are the recommendations of Sean Hamil, from the University of London's Birkbeck Sport Business Centre.

I cannot help but wonder how The Negatives feel about one of the world’s fabled football clubs, indeed one of the most successful clubs in the history of English football, being in such a potentially grim state. I cannot help but wonder what the reaction would have been if Arsenal had succumbed to all the anxious if not frantic cries from fan and neutral alike to buy big names, to spend big cash on new players, only to have finished the season without a trophy – just like Liverpool. There’s really no guarantee that an alternate approach to ours would have made us more successful. It’s simply human nature to become distressed and overly expectant when your rivals have employed different methods that seem to put them in a better place than you are.

I’ve gone from very confrontational and always ready to argue with The Negatives, to adopting a ‘we’ll get the last laugh’ attitude. While signs are ominous for Liverpool’s financial state, I’ve yet to read anything suggesting that we are not meeting our financial obligations vis a vis Emirates Stadium. I am convinced that the key to prolonged success for our club is intertwined with the building of the stadium.

Liverpool’s owners are not passionate about football or the football club – if they are, I stand corrected – but are passionate about money. How else did they become so wealthy? If recent reports are true, the club is in serious trouble.
It is hit or miss whether or not Liverpool will meet the July 24 deadline to refinance their £350m debt. Again, I have not read anything suggesting that Arsenal cannot meet financial obligations vis a vis Emirates Stadium.

There are plenty of people who’d gladly swap Togo for Torres, Eboue for Kuyit, Denilson for Alonso, etc. But I would be willing to place good money on the majority of Liverpool fans wishing that they were meeting their financial obligations. If not then we’re not the only club with Negatives willing to sacrifice the club’s stability for short term gain.