The
sale of Liverpool F.C. to New England Sports Ventures, led by
John Henry, represents a sort of harmonic convergence. Two waterfront cities, Boston and Liverpool, that share Irish connections, and two storied clubs, with all-time great stars, historic stadiums, rich traditions and huge payrolls are now linked through sport.
I am a long-time supporter of both teams that Henry now owns. Raised outside of Boston, the son of a Red Sox fan, it was a foregone conclusion that I would enjoy the highs and endure the lows (mostly the lows) of my beloved Sox. Sure, times as a Sox fan are better now, but the first 34 of my 39 years were tough.
My support for Liverpool came later, when I took an interest in the club during a trip to England in 1989, a few days after
the Hillsborough disaster, and followed the Reds from afar. But I have always seen
parallels between my two clubs.
Apparently, so has Henry.
Liverpool supporters are nervous about the takeover, and
Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Everton did little to ease anxiety or fans’ skepticism. American ownership of Premiership clubs hasn’t exactly been stellar. However, this new ownership group brings a little more to the table than Messrs. Hicks and Gillett
The first eight years of Henry’s reign in Boston have shown a near-perfect combination of business acumen, public relations savvy and on-field success. Some things in which the Liverpool fans might take some solace:
The Outsiders Blend In
Henry and his group were considered foreigners to Bostonians when they arrived in 2002. The Sox were locally owned for a long time, and though Henry had been a baseball owner before –
he owned the Florida Marlins from 1999 to 2001 — fans feared that the team had fallen victim to foreign occupation. Henry came in and said all the right things but, as has been made painfully clear over the past three-plus years in Liverpool, words aren’t always enough. But Henry backed up his promises with a healthy dose of follow-through by assessing the landscape, learning the culture and listening to fans. It’s worth noting that despite two World Series championships in the span of four seasons that have Red Sox Nation firmly entrenched on cloud nine, Henry and the owners still respectfully engage fans. Following the 2010 season, the owners placed a full-page ad in the Boston Globe with a letter apologizing to the fans for failing to make the playoffs. Some might call this a public relations ploy, but it’s a tangible sign that this group understands its fan base. (To the
Spirit of Shankly: here’s to no longer having to say, “You’re Still Not Welcome Here.”)
For the Good of the Club
Henry said last Friday,
“We’re committed to winning.” Liverpool fans must be thinking, “we haven’t won an English championship in two decades — talk is cheap.” But Henry uttered similar words in 2002 after purchasing the Red Sox, a team that hadn’t won a title in 86 years. Not only has he delivered —twice— but he and his group have done it the right way. The Red Sox spend a lot of money on players, sure, but they protect that investment by bringing in people who know the sport to oversee operations. Hicks and Gillett brought on debt to support their pronouncements at Liverpool.
To Build or Not to Build?
The stadium issue is another commonality between the two clubs. Much like
the Stanley Park concept in Liverpool — build a new, bigger stadium to better compete with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea — plans for a shiny new ballpark existed in Boston in the early 2000s. This was driven by the Red Sox’ previous owners (sound familiar?) and a lot of the fan base was dead-set against it. Nostalgia and tradition are central to the Red Sox ethos and
Fenway Park is very much at its heart. Recognizing this, Henry and colleagues came in and updated and improved Fenway instead of building new and it’s been a great thing for the club and its fans. I fully expect them to use the same approach at Anfield.
Commitment Counts
Like Liverpool, the Red Sox brand has an extensive and meaningful history, with a passionate, knowledgeable and far-reaching fan base. The core fans are those with a life-long allegiance to the club, not mere pretenders who jump on the bandwagon following a championship (I’m looking at those of you who became Red Sox fans after the 2004 World Series).
While Henry and his co-owners have not turned new fans away, cultivating new customers, their strategic decisions appear to have the committed fans in mind.
N.E.S.V. owns a diverse portfolio of other sports properties, domestically and abroad, including a highly successful regional sports TV network, which provides the capital necessary to re-invest in the team. Whereas other sport owners might look to squeeze every possible cent out of a brand — often betraying the true brand identity — Henry has amassed a stable of strong complimentary brands that can all benefit from the team’s success.
Henry has not micromanaged the Red Sox brand, rather he has fashioned a winner both on and off the field. Reds fans can take heart; the stars could finally be aligning for Liverpool.
Joe Mahan is an assistant professor of sport marketing at the Sport Industry Research Center at Temple University in Philadelphia and the father of two children, whom he is raising to be fans of both the Red Sox and Liverpool.http://nyti.ms/bAr7Pg