The Case Against Hicks

For those who may question exactly what the ‘problem’ with Tom Hicks is, please read the following quotes from the man himself, respected sources, articles and see for yourself if he should be in co-control of Liverpool FC.

Let’s start with quotes from Hicks himself, and when he compared purchasing Liverpool to buying out Weetabix, last May.

“When I was in the leverage buy-out business we bought Weetabix and we leveraged it up to make our return. You could say that anyone who was eating Weetabix was paying for our purchase of Weetabix. It was just business. It is the same for Liverpool.”

What about this then, Hicks telling fans of his other teams (Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers) that he’ll be putting Liverpool money into them, article link.

“People are worried that I might take money away from the Rangers to go to Liverpool. But it is just the reverse. Liverpool is going to throw off lots of extra money which, if I choose to, I can use for the Rangers or the Stars.”

How about this blatant lie that he and Gillett have invested “heavily in the playing side”:

“We made a significant investment in the playing squad during the summer and desperately want this team to succeed.”

Contrary to this, impressively researched, article by Jim Boardman from Anfield Road website, which shows the true facts that Gillett and Hicks have invested NO money at all into the club; Article.

Or how about quotes about Hicks’s Dallas Stars from Forbes‘ website:

It is a good thing Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks is a billionaire. Otherwise, he might not survive the mess he has made of the Dallas franchise. The team, which owns 50% of American Airlines Center, is saddled with $200 million in debt (the team’s holding company, Southwest Sports, defaulted on $135 million of debt four years ago), a high payroll, and an under-performing team that can’t make it past the first round of the playoffs. The natives have clearly gotten restless, illustrated by sagging ticket sales and waning interest in the Dallas market for the Stars. In the face of this Hicks has actually increased the team’s marketing staff to boost ticket sales. What he really needs is a better product.

And his other franchise? Well there’s a petition against him set-up by Texas Rangers fans for a start:

We believe Tom Hicks has failed as an owner.

Hicks acquired a contender 10 years ago but his mis-management as owner and chief executive of the Rangers has left fans with a team that has placed 3rd or 4th in a 4-team division for 7 consecutive seasons, finishing with a record above .500 only once since its last division title in 1999, a season after Hicks took ownership but before his meddling ways could throw the team off track.

Despite rising ticket, parking and concession prices, the team’s salary, especially as compared to other team salaries, has disproportionately declined while the local market has rapidly grown.

The Rangers talent has been depleted under Hicks’ tenure due to frequent changes amongst coaching, development and scouting personnel combined with bad trades, poor free agent signings, and bad decisions to not re-sign talented players or acquire better free agents. Hicks has left the Rangers void of the talent necessary to compete for a division title, much less a World Championship.

And a Rangers fans blog provides further insight into Hicks’ relationship with their fans…