Dawning Of A New Era

6th February 2007 will go down into the history books of Liverpool as perhaps, one of the most important day in Liverpool's 115 years of history. From a family club which is ran by an Englishmen, we have moved on to be a franchise under new American owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks as we sought out all possible ways to break the stranglehold that is held by Chelsea and Man United in recent times.

It's been 17 long years since we've won the English Championship (or the EPL in a more foreign term) and with the football world rapidly changing, it's time we move on from being a laid back family club to one that sought to dominate English football again with ruthlessness and aggressiveness.


Football have moved on. Money has taken front seat and like I've previously mentioned, changed from the cogs of the football machine to the very mechanism itself. Without money, nothing in football will run. Roman Abramovich came to England with his riches and dominated football with them. It does tell a story, that with money, you could buy instant successes.

Hicks and Gillett will surely not feel alone in the land just across the pond. Malcolm Glazer and Randy Lerner are the other two American chairmen. Have we seen a change in power in the English game? With more and more foreign tycoons and businessmen willing to spill their lucre in the land of hope and glory, it does certainly feel that football will never be the same again.

I, as a fan, can't tell the future and look through the crystal ball to tell you whether this two men will bring back the glory days of Liverpool or not. But I believe as a fan and supporter of the club, we should always stick with the team whatever their decision might be and this time, David Moores took a hard time to pass over this baton to the two Americans whom not many of us know but I believe he knows what he is doing.


It's never easy for us, fans, to quickly accept this two men with open arms as some of us actually sees them as devils' advocates and all they see in Liverpool are profits. But I guess the only thing that can actually convince all of us will be with time. We can only wait and see. From yesterday's press conference, they sounded like they are really passionate fans of sports and are not in this all just for the money and profits.

The club seemed to have stalled for a long time regarding the business side of the game and is in danger of lagging further behind with Manchester United the sure leaders and Chelsea not far away. Now with the two men on board, I'm sure they'll continue to build up the famous 'brand' of Liverpool. A club of our stature deserves much, much more.

The New Anfield stadium have been dragged on and on due to the fact that the club's board and shareholders are unable to fork out the massive amount of money to build the new stadium. The money needed to buy a new spiritual home for the Reds skyrocketed over the years and David Moores certainly felt he doesn't have the resources to take Liverpool into a new level.

But with stadium promised to be built by April, it's certainly a positive step for Liverpool, in the right direction at last. When it comes to moving away from Anfield, I can feel the pain of many Liverpudlians who have been there fore many years as have their forefathers. It's a ground where many laughed together, sang together and cried together. The sacred ground to many, will go into the history books and the legendary Kop End might not be able to be seen again.


To me, I'm positive of this move. The DIC's takeover sounded more promising due to their extensive PR work but I don't think it's right to threaten the club and it's board. Whatever the case, Mr. Moores have agreed to sell his family inheritance to the duo and all we can hope for is a bright red future for the club. It has been sleeping for far too long and only recently, through Rafa and his men, we could regain a bit of consciousness. Now it's time we open our eyes wide and compete with the big boys, head on.

Hopes:

The transfer kitty given to Rafa will be an important weapon. But I feel that the two men should NOT meddle with the transfer activities and let the manager himself to buy players he want. We've seen what happened to him during his days at Valencia and I certainly do not want it to happen again. Things and matters on the field, I hope the two Americans will give their full support to Rafa and his team.

As the new stadium is said to not have gotten a naming right, it means that the New Anfield could very well be a Coca Cola Astrodome or MacDonald's Stadium. To me, I prefer NOT to have these and stick to either Anfield or New Anfield. They have mentioned that if they could sign an extra world class player just because of the naming rights, I think we shouldn't go down that way but keep our club tradition where it is.

The Kop End must be within the stadium, no matter what. It's part of Liverpool that nobody can take away. It's a symbolism of football fanaticism, passion, love and support.


It's exciting times ahead of Liverpool. It'll be an unpredictable one, just like how DIC's deal fell through and the duo got it in the end. It might just be a blessing in disguise and we'll never know, until perhaps a few years down the road when we'll certainly talk about it again.

And finally, the deal is done and there will not be any more distractions for the players. This few months have been pretty distraction ones for the players as the club is involved in all these takeover talks. Now it is settled, the players can now go out to play without worries.

Significantly, I believe the takeover will inspire some players to up their ante. With money coming in, I think the players will fear for their future at the club and will have to be at their best or be replaced in the summer. That'll certainly spark the players to go from strength to strength.

As football and Liverpool have moved on, it's time for the fans to move on as well. We might bemoan the sale as selling the soul to the devil. But I believe this two men will bring Liverpool into the next level where Moores couldn't. Hang in there, tight!