Today's Banter: Hicks wants out?, The Sheik preparing another bid?, Stadium re-financed?, & more?

Normally I wouldn't give a rag like the Daily Mirror the time of day, but this time, common sense prevails. The less-than-astute paper is reporting that Tom Hicks wants out of the club and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is once again interested in making a bid. First things first, why do I think that there's any chance of truth in this article? Well, if we look at the sports ownership history of Mr. Hicks in the United States, it's pretty clear he doesn't like to spend a lot of money on players.

Early on in his tenure as the owner of the Texas Rangers, Hicks signed Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year-deal for a record $252m. $25.2m-a-year was a ridiculous amount, not only by 2001 standards when the contract was signed, but even in today's player market. The move was ridiculed throughout the American press and despite Rodriguez putting up phenomenal numbers, the Rangers finished in last place the three proceeding seasons. This lead to Rodriguez being traded to the Yankees along with the Rangers agreeing to pay $67m of the remaining $179m on his contract. In other words, they got burnt... bad.

Ever since then, Hicks has avoided paying obscene or inflated sums for players, opting to let ones too expensive to re-sign leave and passing up others on the free agent market. This cuts his operating costs considerably and if you're not going to be a competitive side anyhow, what's the point in losing money as well? There isn't, but that kind of philosophy just won't cut it at Liverpool and I think Mr. Hicks is finally realizing it. Though the die-hard fans will be there no matter what, the compulsive glory-hunters are where the money is at and big name signings draw the crowds.

One thing I found interesting when doing some research on Hicks was when he built a new stadium for his Dallas hockey team, he received part of a $10m 'bonus' from the government for doing so. I wonder if him investing in our side had anything to do with the fact that we were ripe and ready for new grounds. Maybe he thought he could get a few quid on the side with a similar deal in Livepool? Wouldn't surprise me from someone who counts George W. Bush as a personal friend.

An aspect of that article that I find a bit hard to believe is the claim that Hicks values the club at £1b just 9 months after purchasing it for £219m. Even with the new loans coming through, that's still twice as much as their worth. A half a billion pound just to take on a half a billion pound in debt? He's having a laugh. Of course, he's probably ballooning the sum to avoid being low-balled, but that might be overdoing it a bit. By the way, the Telegraph is also reporting that Hicks is looking to sell his shares in the club. Well, I've been up all night and have to get some sleep. Be back later with more. Cheers.