Topic: Wall Street Journal: Texas Tycoon Learns a Lesson: Don't Mess With Liverpudlians

[Trada]

Here is the front page of today's Wall Street Journal (US edition) Sept 24, 2010 in all it's glory

You have to say well done the Wall Street Journal.

[Maximiliano]

Excellent!

[Red an White Tea Party]

Who dares wins. 

[Skuzzlebutt]

That picture is fucking boss.

It pisses all over the British media who avoid us like the plague.

[kennedy81]

I seemed to have missed the bit about how Hicks and co. have actually fucked the club over...

"the crippling debt load he took on to buy Liverpool"

ah there it is, 10 words.

change a few names/words and it could be an article on Hizbollah, complete with pic of menacing looking arab guy (and fair play to him).
this is a U.S. paper remember.

as I posted in the other thread:

read how they make Liverpool fans out to be some kind of dangerous lunatic cult who could be a threat to Hicks safety.
look at the language:

"settled scores with knives and broken bottles"
"can be almost as scary"
"told a nearby cop: "This guy is trouble."
"blood-drenched"
"menacing slogan"
"raping and pillaging"
"making a very powerful enemy"

then ends with:
"We know his every move."

doesn't exactly paint us in a good light with regards to potential buyers does it?
fuck the WSJ and all who sail in her.

[kevmck]

Did you actually read the article or just pull some words out of it to try and make yourself sound smart?

well in the wall st journal - at least they're showing an interest, and we couldn't hope for better publicity than front page.

[kennedy81]

yes I read the article, including between the lines, where the truth usually lies.
if you think that's good exposure I'd have to disagree.
we need to be encouraging a buyer not scaring them off.
maybe you don't mind being made out to be a knife-wielding stalker terrorist, but I find it objectionable.

[surfer]

Good.

I was wondering how the policeman got involved in the other thread, this explains it.

[brendanbrady]

yes I read the article, including between the lines, where the truth usually lies.
if you think that's good exposure I'd have to disagree.
we need to be encouraging a buyer not scaring them off.
maybe you don't mind being made out to be a knife-wielding stalker terrorist, but I find it objectionable.

RELAX dude.  stop being a conspiracy theorist.  Fifteen minutes ago, I showed my boss the article.  The guy couldn't care less about LFC or related matters, but read the article anyway.  After reading your post, I asked him for his impression of Liverpool fans, the article, etc.  He mentioned nothing of your nonsense.  Don't take things out of context to push your agenda.  You become as bad as the media when you do that.

[annealicia]

I am not sure this is the right thread but here goes

Hi All,

Just to let you know that I have had an email from John Richardson of the Sunday Express.  He has written a piece about our email compaigns which will be published in this Sunday's edition.   He cannot follow the protests tomorrow as he is at the Man City - Chelsea game but after talking to David Maddock earlier in the week I understand that he will be there to cover the protests for the Mirror.

if any of you know which journalist you would like me to contact next please send me his/her name. 

[Mello]

yes I read the article, including between the lines, where the truth usually lies.
if you think that's good exposure I'd have to disagree.
we need to be encouraging a buyer not scaring them off.
maybe you don't mind being made out to be a knife-wielding stalker terrorist, but I find it objectionable.

Don't really care to be honest.  Any owner that would be worried about this isn't fit for the club.  Any owner that plans to do the right things for the club (like not heaping massive amounts of debt on us while lying about it) has nothing to worry about.

[brendanbrady]

Good.

I was wondering how the policeman got involved in the other thread, this explains it.

Think I posted this in the other thread.  The UN is in session just a few blocks away from where the events took place.  Its a strange sight to see a guy in a soccer scarf in the city.  The police are probably a bit on edge in the area anyway.  anything out of the ordinary might prompt them to take a second look.  No excuses though.  NYC cops are complete d!cks.  Just a thought as to why he might have come over.

[Lfc Rules]

Think I posted this in the other thread.  The UN is in session just a few blocks away from where the events took place.  Its a strange sight to see a guy in a soccer scarf in the city.  The police are probably a bit on edge in the area anyway.  anything out of the ordinary might prompt them to take a second look.  No excuses though.  NYC cops are complete d!cks.  Just a thought as to why he might have come over.

Think it had more to do with this ...........

Mr. Eljarrah says he loitered outside the building for about 45 minutes, hoping to confront Mr. Hicks. Around 6:30 p.m., Mr. Hicks emerged. According to a person familiar with the incident, the younger Mr. Hicks spotted Mr. Eljarrah—identifiable in his red-and-white Liverpool scarf—and told a nearby cop: "This guy is trouble."

[Franky]

Here is the front page of today's Wall Street Journal (US edition) Sept 24, 2010 in all it's glory

absolutely fantastic. Keep the pressure on!

[Dr Manhattan]

"lies"
"exposure"
"scaring"
"knife-wielding"
"stalker terrorist"

Christ, steady on there. You sound really violent.

[RedRush]

Excellent!!!!

[brendanbrady]

Think it had more to do with this ...........

Does sound a bit creepy doesn't it.

[Megasuperb]

I must have missed it, but did we email ESPN in USA? It's their most-watched sport channel and surely if we can get TV coverage on this, especially on ESPN, would make it massive.

[Lord Roger Hunt]

RELAX dude.  stop being a conspiracy theorist.  Fifteen minutes ago, I showed my boss the article.  The guy couldn't care less about LFC or related matters, but read the article anyway.  After reading your post, I asked him for his impression of Liverpool fans, the article, etc.  He mentioned nothing of your nonsense.  Don't take things out of context to push your agenda.  You become as bad as the media when you do that.

Yes but was your boss considering investing in LFC? If not, sorry but his comments are irrelevant.

I think we need to debate this openly - there is a danger that we could cock up the sale of the club, we need to think carefully about it.

[Diomedieocre]

Unfortunately the only comment in that NY blog is very anti-LFC. Maybe it was Blow me Fuck Face who wrote it.

Either him or Cohen...some fucking inbred tea-bagger or another, concentration camps indeed.

[Tepid water]

How come we can get this on the front of the No.1 heavy weight paper but not in the UK??


I emailed the picture to Tom and Mick, I'm sure they saw it, but just to make sure

[kennedy81]

Yes but was your boss considering investing in LFC? If not, sorry but his comments are irrelevant.

I think we need to debate this openly - there is a danger that we could cock up the sale of the club, we need to think carefully about it.

absolutely agree.
the WSJ is aimed at business people with lots of cash, the kind of people who buy football clubs.
how does it read if you're one of these people?
the piece clearly links the campaign to english fans' unfortunate association with violence and hooliganism,
note the reference to Man U fans.

brendanbrady, my only 'agenda' is what's best for LFC, I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I am aware of how papers can spin a story for another angle.
ask yourself why it took 2 people to write this article.
one to write the original piece  (Enrich, I suspect, and fair play to him) and the other to spin it into a piece on football 'fanatics' (Zuckerman, a wall st. 'insider').

only last night Newstalk radio (rubbish Irish radio station) were banging on about this and highlighting the angle of obsessed fans, stalking, hate campaigns etc. in a really condescending and negative way.
don't get me wrong, I've no problem with email campaigns etc. or any of the actions of those fans in the WJS piece, good on them.
but like LRH says, it's worth debating.

not all exposure is good exposure, just ask wayne rooney.

[KSra]

"settled scores with knives and broken bottles"
"can be almost as scary"
"told a nearby cop: "This guy is trouble."
"blood-drenched"
"menacing slogan"
"raping and pillaging"
"making a very powerful enemy"

then ends with:
"We know his every move."

doesn't exactly paint us in a good light with regards to potential buyers does it?
fuck the WSJ and all who sail in her.

You're taking everything completely out of context though.

[Helsinki Red]

Brilliant!

[kennedy81]

You're taking everything completely out of context though.

I don't think so KSra.
every word in this article is chosen and edited very carefully, it's a front page piece of a major newspaper.
where does that kind of language belong in a piece about concerned football fans?

nowhere does it discuss why we're so upset apart from a couple of pithy references.
why doesn't it address that?
I'd say they're the ones taking things out of context.

[kratos]

Front page. Brilliant!

[nyctex]

nowhere does it discuss why we're so upset apart from a couple of pithy references.
why doesn't it address that?
I'd say they're the ones taking things out of context.

sure they do, right in the second and third paragraph.  I think they did a good job summing it up and it's not like our case was made at the bottom of the article on the inside page most people wouldn't see.  Our case was put forward on the front page.

The 118-year-old club was one of England's best when he bought it in 2007. Since then, the crippling debt load he took on to buy Liverpool has strained the team's finances and contributed to its woes on the pitch.

Now, Liverpool faithful are waging a fierce campaign to evict the American owner. Their strategy: Scare away banks and other financiers who might throw Mr. Hicks a lifeline, starving Mr. Hicks of needed cash and forcing him to sell. To do that, they are using the tools of the digital age to track Mr. Hicks' efforts to drum up money, then bombard would-be lenders with thousands of irate emails, phone calls and Tweets.

[Livbes]

That front page is awesome.

[brownie 09]

it tiresome now listening to how people are scared of what business people will think about our fans because they are passionate! ffs if they do the right thing they have nothing to worry about! if they fuck up and want to pillage us then we wont sit around!

If someone cant understand that we are passionate and we will fight for the right cause and wont be taking for granted then they shouldnt be buying us its quite fucking simple!! If you dont like it dont get involved! but i am sick to death of this age old story! FUCK OFF

And it fucking fantastic that front page of the Wall street journal! fantastic and its a testimont to the people who run the campaign and all the people who got of there arse to do something!

[Lord Roger Hunt]

You're taking everything completely out of context though.

Look, I think its great that we made the front page of the WSJ - one of the greatest and most important papers in the world.

But this is the very first sentence:

'In the old days, English soccer hooligans settled scores with knives and broken bottles. As Texas billionaire Tom Hicks is learning this week, the weapons of choice these days—camera phones, Twitter and spam emails—can be almost as scary'.

Ok, now, all I'll do is take out reference to Hicks and personalise 'English' to 'Liverpool' and replace the dash with 'however'.

'In the old days, Liverpool soccer hooligans settled scores with knives and broken bottles, however, their weapons of choice these days—camera phones, Twitter and spam emails—can be almost as scary'.

Have I distorted that much what they were meaning? Or have I just decoded it? 

[Redguard]

Even a mention of protest in the Welsh Daily Post..............

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport-news/liverpool-fc/2010/09/24/liverpool-fc-fans-plan-sit-down-protest-against-owners-after-sunderland-game-55578-27338427/

 

[Cusamano]

wall street journal is as big as it gets regarding financial news.

well played.

[brownie 09]

Look, I think its great that we made the front page of the WSJ - one of the greatest and most important papers in the world.

But this is the very first sentence:

'In the old days, English soccer hooligans settled scores with knives and broken bottles. As Texas billionaire Tom Hicks is learning this week, the weapons of choice these days—camera phones, Twitter and spam emails—can be almost as scary'.

Ok, now, all I'll do is take out reference to Hicks and personalise 'English' to 'Liverpool' and replace the dash with 'however'.

'In the old days, Liverpool soccer hooligans settled scores with knives and broken bottles, however, their weapons of choice these days—camera phones, Twitter and spam emails—can be almost as scary'.

Have I distorted that much what they were meaning? Or have I just decoded it? 

and what it says we arent like that any more either way you look at it!

its like saying this;
In the old days the human race where barbaric and inhumane but now settle the score with dimplomacy and peaceful means.
It shows how we have moved on....

[nyctex]

wall street journal is as big as it gets regarding financial news.

well played.

plus everyone of his friends, peers and business associates will have seen it this morning.  The WSJ is THE paper in his circle. 

This hits closer to home in a way an article in the NYTimes or Washington Post or USA Today wouldn't.

[Livbes]

it tiresome now listening to how people are scared of what business people will think about our fans because they are passionate! ffs if they do the right thing they have nothing to worry about! if they fuck up and want to pillage us then we wont sit around!

If someone cant understand that we are passionate and we will fight for the right cause and wont be taking for granted then they shouldnt be buying us its quite fucking simple!! If you dont like it dont get involved! but i am sick to death of this age old story! FUCK OFF

And it fucking fantastic that front page of the Wall street journal! fantastic and its a testimont to the people who run the campaign and all the people who got of there arse to do something!

Fucking this. Some pussy's need to grow a set and fight for our club, and if they are not arsed enough to fight, fuck of and never speak of Liverpool fc again.

Getting fed up of some so called fans. Fuck, right, off.

[Redguard]

Look, I think its great that we made the front page of the WSJ - one of the greatest and most important papers in the world.

But this is the very first sentence:

'In the old days, English soccer hooligans settled scores with knives and broken bottles. As Texas billionaire Tom Hicks is learning this week, the weapons of choice these days—camera phones, Twitter and spam emails—can be almost as scary'.

Ok, now, all I'll do is take out reference to Hicks and personalise 'English' to 'Liverpool' and replace the dash with 'however'.

'In the old days, Liverpool soccer hooligans settled scores with knives and broken bottles, however, their weapons of choice these days—camera phones, Twitter and spam emails—can be almost as scary'.

Have I distorted that much what they were meaning? Or have I just decoded it? 

Every club has it's lunatics but I honestly cannot recall Liverpool supporters being linked to knives, unlike some Continentals. Sensationalist crap to gain a headline imo. However it probably was enough to grab attention for the unaware to read through the article. Unfortunately it was an unecessary departure from reality with regards to the current situation. Good to get front page in Hicks' back yard all the same.

[LFC_Heaven]

i agree if you have worked in the Financial World (and i am ashamed to say i did for a fair few years - before investment banking became a dirty word), the you will recognise and appreciate that any story that is run by the FT or WSJ is not run for hype or vested interest.. it is run with all seriousness and professionalism behind it..

i think that was a massive coup that they not only published it but led on the front page..

accordingly i sent a thank you note to the co-author of the story and he had the decency to just reply back:

From: Enrich, David
To: 'Kul XXX'
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2010 5:28 PM
Subject: RE: A Special Thank You from an LFC Fan


Hi Kul,

Thanks for your note. I'm glad you enjoyed the article. During my time working on it, I found Liverpool supporters to be some of the most devoted sports fans I've ever encountered.
Good luck, and please keep me posted on any new developments you hear about.
Cheers,
David


======================
David Enrich
The Wall Street Journal
10 Fleet Place, Limeburner Lane
London EC4M 7QN
W: +44 (0)20 7842 9219
M: +44 (0)7909 xxx xxx
david.enrich@wsj.com
======================

now that is decent wouldn't you all say?

i mean if you think of our bone head big-headed journos i mean they can't even be fcuked to reply to a tweet question on Twitter FFS and these guys have never reported on LFC ever before.. puts them to shame i say !!!

Keeping fighting the Fight Fellow Reds, i am proud to be part of the Family !!!

[TSC]

Yes but was your boss considering investing in LFC? If not, sorry but his comments are irrelevant.

I think we need to debate this openly - there is a danger that we could cock up the sale of the club, we need to think carefully about it.

absolutely agree.
the WSJ is aimed at business people with lots of cash, the kind of people who buy football clubs.
how does it read if you're one of these people?
the piece clearly links the campaign to english fans' unfortunate association with violence and hooliganism,
note the reference to Man U fans.

Oh get with the programme and stop trying to pluck negatives from a massive positive.  The much heralded (in UK media) green and gold nonsense never got the Wall St Journal to sit up and take notice.  It also appears to be waking up the UK media.

The only would-be investors it may put off would be those with similar intentions and integrity as our esteemed current owners.  And we don't want any of em.

The purpose of this campaign is obvious.  To discourage finance houses from enabling Hicks to refinance.  It is not aimed at future responsible owners, and if there are such potential owners out there they'll have enough about them to recognise this.

The reason there is such a campaign is that there is every real possibility of this nightmare getting worse through Hicks getting refinance.  This in turn tells you something else.  There is no potential buyer out there, and hasn't been for the best part of 3 years, who is willing to pay the extortionate amount Hicks is after.  You can't put off 'non existent' buyers.

[Lord Roger Hunt]

and what it says we arent like that any more either way you look at it!

its like saying this;
In the old days the human race where barbaric and inhumane but now settle the score with dimplomacy and peaceful means.
It shows how we have moved on....

Sorry, I wish you were right but they are saying that  'football hooligans' (present tense) are now resorting to using the internet to attack people (spam campaigns etc) which are 'scary'....

Hardly complimentary....

And, of all the adjectives they could have used, in the last line, the said that Alan 'crowed'...e.g bragged. Not 'claimed' or 'stated'....crowed.....

[Les Willis]

Look, I think its great that we made the front page of the WSJ - one of the greatest and most important papers in the world.

But this is the very first sentence:

'In the old days, English soccer hooligans settled scores with knives and broken bottles. As Texas billionaire Tom Hicks is learning this week, the weapons of choice these days—camera phones, Twitter and spam emails—can be almost as scary'.

Ok, now, all I'll do is take out reference to Hicks and personalise 'English' to 'Liverpool' and replace the dash with 'however'.

'In the old days, Liverpool soccer hooligans settled scores with knives and broken bottles, however, their weapons of choice these days—camera phones, Twitter and spam emails—can be almost as scary'.

Have I distorted that much what they were meaning? Or have I just decoded it?

You're right. The spin of the article, actually makes us look bad.