Liverpool finally realising their financial potential
With 18 league titles and five European Cups Liverpool FC remain the most successful club in the history of English football. Club legend Bill Shankly started a longstanding dynasty at Anfield when he led the club to their first league title in 17 years at the end of the 1963-64 season.
This level of success was carried on and brought to unprecedented levels throughout the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s by founding boot room members Joe Fagan and Bob Paisley. Kenny Dalglish then took this mantle and built on it further with three more league titles. For over 40 years the name, history and reputation of Liverpool has grown and the club still remains a British institution today.
Despite the success on the pitch, Liverpool have struggled to uphold such high levels of achievement off it. The formation of the Premier League in 1992 and the subsequent lucrative TV and sponsorship deals which followed opened up immense global opportunities for a club of Liverpool’s unique and unrivalled history. However it is Manchester United, the most successful team of the Premier League era, and not Liverpool, who have managed to turn themselves into England’s truly iconic global brand.
United’s success was built in-line with the exposure of the Premier League, helping the club to remain at the top for such an extended period of time. MUFC have long-received the greatest share of the Premier League broadcasting rights as the league’s most successful team. The Red Devils are also a big attraction in Asia where they are estimated to have a staggering 80m supporters. While United have been cashing in since the ‘90s, Liverpool have been under-performing in all aspects of their commercial revenues. The club’s current commercial director Ian Ayre was brought to the club by owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks three years ago to overhaul every commercial feature of the club and increase dwindling profit margins.
Rick Parry, the former chief executive of Liverpool, was the blamed for the club’s commercial failings in recent years and removed from the position at the end of the 2008/09 season. Parry had been at Liverpool for over 12 years before being accused by co-owner Hicks of failing to make the most of the commercial opportunities available to Liverpool. Hicks labelled Parry’s tenure ‘a disaster’ before blasting the lack of sponsorship deals in place under him the club’s lack of progress in the Asian market.
Ayre soon managed to secure a record £80m sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered, equal to the most lucrative in football history. The four-year agreement is worth £20m-a-year to the club and dwarfs the previous deal with Carlsberg by an astonishing £13m-a-year. Liverpool’s support in Asia has also grown with club captain Steven Gerrard and star striker Fernando Torres remaining big draws in the Far East. Despite the positives, Ayre feels the club failed to take advantage of their 2005 Champions League win and admits that changes had to be made behind the scenes:
“One thing that’s for certain is when we get back to sustained winning you can be absolutely certain we’ll be ready to maximise that opportunity.
“In 2005 when we won the European Cup, it was argued that the club had not made the most, commercially, of that.
“Certainly, as long as I’m here we won’t be in that situation again.”
Now that Liverpool have everything in place to prosper commercially the only problem is the success on the pitch needed for lift-off. Over to you Roy ….
For all the latest news, views, facts and figures on Liverpool FC subscribe to this author’s RSS feed or follow him on Twitter.
Read more articles HERE-
Who will make Liverpool’s 25 man squad?
*
Click on image below to see the gallery of Mario Balotelli’s stunning girlfriend
Football News 24/7
“Now that Liverpool have everything in place to prosper commercially”
You can’t be serious?!? If the current ownership situation continues, with it’s ridiculous burden of debt, it will be some time before the club can dream of prospering, either commercially or otherwise.
We’re currently selling off players left and right, reducing the wage bill by loaning players out and only re-investing a fraction of the profits in new players, any increased money from sponsorship or other commercial activities is only postponing the inevitable…
Reply
While we might improving finanically off the pitch we have debt of over 350 million and at the moment what looks to be a firesale. Liverpool, a club that I love if what is happening at the moment the club will cease to exist because our finanical potential is heading one way, fast track to administration.
Reply
Despite the ownership saga Liverpool are finally starting to compete comercially with the top teams under Ian Ayre
Reply
Good little article this. Keep up the good work
Reply
Roy Hodgson not a manager for the Top Teams…He only can manage middle class team…And he also always try to sign middle class players…So…Pls kick out the old man from my lovely team REDS before he spoil the team…And always said he want to sign this player….that player…this player …that player only with his mouth… Until now he didnt do anything…He’s spoiling the team!! The worst manager in liverpool history since 1892…
………..
………..
LETS PLAY 4-3-3 Attacking Game…..
…………..Reina…………….
Johnson..Carragher..Skrtel/Agger..Aurelio
………Gerrard….Defour….Cole……
………Kuyt…Torres…Babel/Jova
Play…
Attack-Attack-Attack and Attack..
Kill Every Team That We’re Meet.!
Reply
Akash – if you’re really a Liverpool fan then you should understand the situation. Roy can only buy middle class players because he isn’t given the money to buy anyone better. Once the ownership is sorted, he’ll hopefully have money to buy his top targets, but that doesn’t mean the likes of Messi etc will be arriving here. Look at Man U, in my eyes they have hardly any stars anymore, but they know how to play as a team. Liverpool are getting used to the way Roy works and Roy is getting used to what players he has. It all takes time. If you think he’s the worst in history, you weren’t born in Souness’ days were you………….
Reply
DO YOUR BEST
Reply