Kop chief: Liverpool nearly went bust
Posted Wednesday, October 12, 2011 by The Sun
OUT ON THEIR GRASS ... Anfield club nearly bit the dust
LIVERPOOL'S top brass last night admitted the Kop kings could have gone to the wall.
Twelve months ago to the day, the John W Henry-fronted group began the High Court battle that was to end in them ousting despised duo George Gillett and Tom Hicks.
It has been a year littered with highs and not too many lows since the Fenway Sports Group got their hands on one of football's most famous clubs.
And as he looked back on the dark days before the takeover, managing director Ian Ayre confessed the Reds may well have slid into oblivion.
When the Fenway Sports Group took the reins, the Liverpool debt was heading towards £300million fast. And Ayre, promoted to his current role by the new regime, admitted administration was a distinct possibility. When the prospect was put to him, he revealed: "Certainly the bank had the power to call in the debt and, at the time, there wasn't anyone ready to take on that debt.
"So I guess the answer to that is yes. Based on where we were and the circumstances at the time, that was a very real threat.
"What you had was a domino effect. Debt was going up and the cost of servicing it was beyond what we felt was reasonable.
"The time of the takeover was enormously difficult but the main thing to me was we had pulled the club back from the edge.
"I don't think we could even have dreamed to be this far ahead 12 months ago. It was a disaster that we have recovered from. It didn't look good."
It is all a far cry from the current mood of optimism around Anfield. More than £100m has been splashed on new stars, results have improved and Kenny Dalglish is boss once more.
And when champions Manchester United come to town on Saturday, there is a genuine feeling it is only a matter of time before Liverpool are their biggest challengers again.
King Kenny returned to the hot-seat in January and Ayre insisted his appointment — one unanimously hailed by fans — has been the major factor in the change in fortunes.
He said: "Bringing everyone together has been the catalyst and the appointment of Kenny was the heart of that — and still is.
"Even after we'd got Fenway Sports Group in, there was still a period of 'What's next?' And what the appointment of Kenny did was give everyone something to focus on.
"It's what the fans wanted, it was right. The players galvanised around him. The owners weren't lucky, they were smart in his appointment."
Yet Ayre reckons those bleak times should be a stark warning to every club hunting new owners.
He said: "We've seen a lot of foreign investment in football, especially in the UK, but it's not like any other business.
"There's something else which is the reason everyone turns up... the fan — the effect it has on them, the community and in our case the city.
"People coming into football should understand not only the business effect but the effect on sub-culture and the fan base."
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