The campaign to oust Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. from Anfield received fresh impetus on Wednesday when the man responsible for selling Liverpool to the duo, David Moores, broke his silence on the club’s perilous predicament.
In a letter sent to and published by The Times, Moores urged the American owners to refrain from “punish[ing] the supporters any more”, adding that Gillett and Hicks “risk damaging a sporting institution of global renown and if they have a conscience or nobility they will stand aside and allow new owners to take over the club”. Whilst failing to apologise for selling the club to the American duo, the former Liverpool chairman admitted to making “honest mistakes” and says that he “hugely regrets selling the club.”
Responses to Moores’ letter have been mixed, with some unconvinced by his words, others seeing it as a shameless attempt to absolve himself of personal liability and a few genuinely touched by his heartfelt words. Liverpool supporters’ group Spirit of Shankly (SOS) have praised the comments uttered by Moores, with a spokesman for SOS stating “Spirit of Shankly welcomes David Moores getting behind what we have campaigned for since 2008, namely that Hicks and Gillett get out of our club. As we have said from the outset, it is clear that Tom Hicks and George Gillett lied to us about their intentions and about how they planned to finance the purchase of our club.”
Moores’ plea for the owners to exit as soon as possible is a positive move as it heaps pressure on the duo to sell quickly, in addition to further publicising the issue. However, aside from the act of trying to clear his name, was the decision to bring up matters from the past a good idea? Will his words actually serve to attract potential buyers and speed up the sale of the club?
Click here to read Moores’ letter in full.
Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/zarifrasul
[youtube IEu_5sP9F0Q]