Chelsea were the first and set the example with Roman Abramovich which many Premier League teams have followed since (in no specific order): Manchester United with Malcolm Glazer, Man City with Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan who took over from former Thailand PM Thaksin Shinawatra, Newcastle with Mike Ashley, West Ham with Björgólfur Guðmundsson, Aston Villa with Randy Lerner, Fulham with Mohamed Al Fayed, Portsmouth with Alexandre Gaydamak, Tottenham with Joseph Lewis and last but not least my beloved Liverpool with George Gillett and Tom Hicks.
There is one thing that jumps out; one thing that comes to mind listing those takeover clubs, names and owners; to me anyway: All the negative headlines that have come with them throughout the period they have been with their clubs (with only a couple of exceptions).
The day my Merseyside Reds were taken over, I was full of expectations and asperations on the one hand, just as the club, staff and players themselves, I'm sure. But on the other hand, the other side of me cried, feeling like my team had lost its soul (David Moores and his family having been at the heart of the club for over half a century before). A club with all its history and legends can't be put into the hands of one or two individuals, I think that goes against the whole team spirit and principle of the team sport. What would Chelsea be without Abramovich?
Nowhere near where they are now and were the last couple of seasons, that's for sure! All the big names, managers and players wouldn't have come into question (UEFA president Michel Platini went as far as calling them 'cheats').
But, what's so bad about that, I hear you ask. All the glamour and glory, is only one side of the coin, as Nick Harris pointed out well in his article for the Independent. It would be naïve to just see that. The other side has especially come to light with the credit crunch, with the debts and clashes of plans, opinions and what decisions are to be made on the business side and with it the sports side, all dominating the headlines.
All this has in the past had its consequences: Jose Mourinho's and Kevin Keegan's departures at Chelsea and Newcastle respectively are two primary examples; West Ham and the near-on liquidation of their Icelandic owner with the credit crunch; George Gillett's and Tom Hicks' conflict which never let the rumours of a sale of their stake settle, the Credit Crunch just adding more spice to it.
So, what else, what can be done, I hear you ask. Barcelona have shown it, so have Real Madrid and I hope Liverpool can follow such elite examples: Where fan groups have taken over. They are the heart and soul of their teams, they make out the game(s) outside and around the pitch just as much as the staff and players do on the pitch. Without them the teams couldn't exist, full stop.
The Spirit of Shankly Group has made a clear statement of their members' intentions and announced their plans of putting a takeover bid in for their club Liverpool FC next year, addressing letters to the club and their owners (=> Thanks but No Yanks, just one strong example). I don't know and have my doubts about if they are going to succeed. But I hope, one fine day, it will work out somehow and they will be able to stabilise the club and give the team and game back its identity, heart and soul.
(picture source: http://www.mcalcio.com/)
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