1. Cool,.. a real-life civil war is unfolding right in front of my eyes.
2. LBOs in 2007 were a dime-a-dozen, a true-and-tested means of making money out of practically thin air. It has elements of maysir, I should think a bit more than gharar, but collateral is somebody else’s assets, and also in this case, a very passionate set of supporters who calls Anfield a home, shrine even. Failure to commit and support the club as what they had set out to do, loading debts onto the club’s revenue streams all suffocated the means for the club to focus on the on-the-pitch issues. It just happened that Rafa is the sacrifice in the civil war.
3. When all this is done, fans boycott and direct action, thereby rendering G+H’s continued involvement practically impossible was the right move. However, the major decision now would be, who now comes in?
4. How do you ensure that the partner who comes in commits to a sizeable investment budget for the commercial operations of the club? The investment in the team? Finding a world-class manager, not a caretaker. This is without talking of the new stadium? Fan shareholding is still a pipedream, and could make matters worse if not done correctly.
5. Due diligence should focus on actual financial strength – looking at the cashpile they are sitting on, commitment to sports ventures – ie proven track record in sports franchise holding, strong investor team that can value-add on the commercial aspects, supporting the on-pitch structure and respecting it by staying out of it – except to sign the cheques.
6. At the end of it though, the fans win.. yeay!
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