Taylor sceptical about Henry bid

06 October 2010 11:30
ShareLiverpoolFC has expressed scepticism at the prospect of John W Henry succeeding George Gillett and Tom Hicks as owner of Liverpool.[LNB] The group which is campaigning to see the club run by supporters have made a bid to secure a shareholding as part of any takeover by Henry, who is trying to buy the Reds for £300million deal through his New England Sports Ventures (NESV) investment vehicle.[LNB]ShareLiverpoolFC board member Rogan Taylor said of the bid by Henry, who transformed the fortunes of the Boston Red Sox: "I don't feel any great excitement about the prospect, I must admit.[LNB]"Although there's an impressive story, particularly behind the Red Sox, one that actually might be quite surprising to some Liverpool fans.[LNB]"He took over a baseball club that was on its uppers, in an old stadium, only had 30-odd thousand in it.[LNB]"Every other bidder for the club was talking about how they'd build a huge new stadium[LNB]"But John Henry simply refurbished the existing one, spent about £100million on it, but has made a business that is second only, I think, to the New York outfit.[LNB]"They're the second biggest earners in that league.[LNB]"John Henry's got a lot of respect in the sports world over in the States.[LNB]"Our problem is, will they understand anything about the way it actually works here and the kind of culture on which this stuff grows?[LNB]"I think that'll remain a concern for a very long time, even if he does take over the club."[LNB]Liverpool face a race against against time to find a new owner, with a deadline of next week to repay or refinance £282million of loans - owed principally to the Royal Bank of Scotland.[LNB]But, whatever happens, Taylor is confident the club are in no danger of folding like high-street chain Woolworths.[LNB]"There are only eight big badges in the world; there are only eight clubs on the global bus," he told Radio Five Live.[LNB]"There's two in Spain, three in Italy, one in Germany, two in England.[LNB]"The reality is Manchester United go 25 years without a pot worth peeing in; Madrid don't win anything in Europe for 20 years.[LNB]"They never stop being Real Madrid, they never stop being Manchester United.[LNB]"And Liverpool will never stop being Liverpool FC.[LNB]"The global reach of these badges is tremendous.[LNB]"And hard times is nothing new for football fans; we're built for this stuff."

Source: Team_Talk