I believe the claims of xenophobia and terrorism are somewhat over-stated, but not totally out-of-line. But it should be noted that Liverpool are facing the 9 point deduction of a club entering administration, should the sale not go through by, I believe, Wednesday. That's a big deal. Liverpool FC should not be in such a position - it is one of the most well-known clubs in the world and it's eminence is for it's successes, not failures.
Gilette and Hicks, I would argue, have financially run the club into the ground. It was not with malice, neglect, or casual impertinence. Rather, they, and the Glazers, attempted to use accounting and financial techniques often referred to as the Anglo-Saxon model. While such leveraging was not uncommon in England in general, it was not in English sport. The Americans came in intending to make a profit whereas Abramovich and the various Asian billionaires expected to lose money on the venture. As we all know now, the risks of the model were massively under-estimated and relied upon a relatively loose monetary supply and large amounts of credit. That dried up and has spelled disaster for Liverpool and may yet do the same to Manchester United. The same argument can be made for the now infamous "spades in the ground" comment about Liverpool's new stadium. Who can say whether their statement was intended to deceive, but once the financial crisis hit, they (and many others) were simply unable to fund such an undertaking.
However, even before all of this happened there was resistance to Hicks and Gilette and the Glazers. "Xenophobia" may be too broad. There are a variety of foreign owners and they face varying levels of derision. The Americans, however, were a particular insult. That soccer is not our national sport is known far-and-wide in Europe, which led the supporters to doubt their new owners dedication to the club. Their suspicions were further inflamed when the Americans made it clear that they were interested in the profits they believed they could reap. In this case, the American Liberalism (profit is always better than not) came into conflict with the European liberalism (a wariness of companies, businessmen, and the profit-motive). The initial resistance was sheer anti-Americanism. It's ugly, to be sure, but Russians, South-East Asians, and Middle Easterners have all faced anti-Orientalism when they assumed ownership. The Americans, however, made their case poorly and made their situations worse. Hicks and Gilette said that they were unlikely to move money from their American sports teams to their Premiership club, in fact, it was more likely that the opposite would happen. Handling of supporters has been abysmal, replete with gaffes and unvetted comments. When the financial crisis exacerbated the situation and the supporters had legitimate complaints, the Americans were doomed.
But the Kop would be wrong to pin Liverpool's failures on the field on Hicks and Gilette. Rafa Benitez complained that he wasn't supportered financially in the transfer market, but in a time of frenzied buying, Liverpool had a roster that should have made it more than competitive. The fans united behind Benitez because he opposed Hicks and Gilette, but that was deal with the devil, or at least the manager who was, in my opinion, killing the team's performance on the pitch. I have no problem with Hicks and Gilette being ousted - they gambled, they lost. They don't deserve to make a profit on the club because the club really is in financial ruin and it's hard to see how that is anyone's fault but their own. However, that more Americans are lined up to purchase the club is worrying. Liverpool will not have the Aschenputtel effect that Chelsea and the Citizens had to engender support for the new owners. Liverpudlians have unrealistic expectations and will DEMAND their their club routinely contend for the Premier League title and will DEMAND that the club perform on the highest level of European soccer. But there is too much wealth and too many contenders now. As if Tottenham weren't a threat before, the new association with AEG and it's ridiculous levels of capital may move Tottenham to a more permanent place near the top of the table, where it is likely to remain crowded for the foreseeable future. The clock will not roll back and Liverpool's pre-eminence will be harder to maintain than ever.
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