Relations between Liverpool fans and the clubās owners plumbed new depths on Saturday night when Tom Hicks Jnr, a director at Anfield, was accused of sending an abusive email to a supporter concerned over the Premier League sideās financial future.
Hicks Jr is alleged to have called the fan an āidiotā after receiving an email containing a web link to a newspaper article concerning the challenge facing the Liverpool manager, Rafael BenĆtez, to cope with the clubās Ā£240million debt while keeping the team competitive.
Just before 4am on Friday in Texas (10am in the UK), where Hicks and his father, Tom, are based, Hicks is alleged to have sent a second message, reading: āGo to hell. Iām sick of you.ā
Ian Ayre and Philip Nash, the clubās commercial and financial directors, were both copied in on the email, sent via the web servers of Hicks Holdings, but sources at Liverpool insist neither received a message.
The club would not comment. Paul Rice, chairman of Spirit of Shankly, the Liverpool supportersā union, said: āThe comment is behaviour unbecoming a director of Liverpool Football Club and as such Tom Hicks Jnrās position as a director is untenable.ā
Liverpool were looking into the incident on Saturday night but the fansā reaction highlights once again the tension between boardroom and stands at Anfield since Hicks senior and his business partner, George Gillett, bought the club almost three years ago. They remain heavily in debt.
Christian Purslow, the clubās managing director, is seeking investors to take a 25 per cent stake in Liverpool for Ā£100million in a bid to provide capital to restart work on the new stadium.
That may come too late for BenĆtez, who can only spend what he can raise. The Spaniardās Ā£1.2million capture of Maxi Rodriguez, the Argentine winger, is likely to be just one of two budget acquisitions by the club as they scramble to qualify for next seasonās Champions League.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/6958326/Liverpool-director-Tom-Hicks-Jnr-abused-fan-via-email.html