The league of extraordinary gentlemen – Tom Hicks Junior

After spending some time thinking this was just a hoax spread by our “friends” in the media, my worst fears were finally confirmed. The decision of the son of one of our illustrious owners to respond in the way he did to that email was, at best, ill judged and at worst an absolute disgrace.

This is a man in an enviable position with a lifestyle the rest of us can only dream about and presumably the heir to his father’s fortune. Regrettably, that very status may well be the catalyst to the type of behaviour exhibited with such a lack of respect and dignity. To reply in such a fashion also perfectly illustrates the perceived attitude of many fans of the way that our owners view us “mere” supporters.

Any of us that work and utilise a computer will be aware of compliance to basic codes of ethics and communications when composing or responding to emails. Those with any sense of decency, who have perhaps never sat in front of a keyboard in their life, will still be aware of the responsibility of sending the written word and potential for retribution. Tom Hicks Jr. is a businessman, first and foremost. It looks very much like Liverpool Football Club is being run, first and foremost, like a business to the Hicks family. One of the Americanisms we have adopted in British industry though, is to look after your customer. To respond in such a way with a tirade of expletives, would definitely result in instant dismissal where he just an “ordinary” employee. You can only assume that Mr Hicks junior assumes a position above the norm in accepted behaviour and demonstrated it with his wonderful choice of the English language. Regardless of any alleged provocation, the response was unethical, unprofessional and unfortunately, as I say, apparently typical of the type of people we now have running our football club.

Surely he should have sensed the inevitable leak to the media? This is 2010 for Christ’s sake. Was he so enraged or so full of his own importance that he thought he could get away with this? It remains to bee seen whether Tom Hicks Sr comments on this sorry episode. The bad press surrounding their acquisition of the Liverpool FC franchise, for once, took a momentary back seat just before Xmas with the news that, at last, work will begin on the new stadium. Better late than never we all thought. Something positive for our club in a season of disappointment so far but, as usual, we then proceed to shoot our selves in the foot before it had the chance to put that spade in the ground…..again.

Did he jump or was he pushed is irrelevant in the decision of Tom Hicks Jr to be removed from the board. Yet more damage has been done to the reputation of the club I have supported all my life. Yet again we provide the headlines to a media gorged on the problems we are experiencing on the pitch by supplementing them with another own goal at boardroom level.

Is there no end to the hassle? Just when you think things can’t get worse. It’s like an exercise in how to alienate fans and lose popularity. Don’t they care? I have heard of hard nosed business men but this is ridiculous. Those heady days at the unveiling ceremony and the charm offensive by messers Gillet and Hicks seem like a distant memory now. What happened to all that talk about appreciating the tradition and values of the club and it’s people? You wonder how David Moores now views the sale of the family silver – he must be a shattered man and Bill and Bob must be turning in their graves.

The Premier League is the richest in the world now.

It is a league of foreign owners and excesses.

Unfortunately then it looks like it is also now a league of extraordinary gentlemen.

Sad times, indeed, to be a red.

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