Tom Hicks Jnr: How it turned nasty in the Sandon
Liverpool FC reporter Tony Barrett was in the Sandon when Tom Hicks Jr dropped in. This is what he witnessed ...
by Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo
UNLESS Birmingham Cityâs Martin Taylor decides to pop into Eduardoâs north London local for a swift half, it would be hard to imagine a more ill-judged pub visit than the one which took place in Anfield on Saturday evening.
Rumours of Tom Hicks junior going for a pint at the Sandon â the very place where Liverpoolâs most hardcore support congregates before and after matches â would have been almost impossible to believe had I not seen it with my own eyes.
In a display of bravery beyond the call of family duty or crass stupidity and insensitivity, depending on your point of view, Tommy waltzed into the packed watering hole without a care in the world.
Well, he was surrounded by a team of burly minders, so what is there to care about?
Hicks arrived outside the Sandon an hour after he watched the team his dad so controversially owns beat Middlesbrough 3-2.
Emerging from a silver people carrier, he enjoyed a cigarette outside before pulling out a camera and taking pictures of the exterior of the pub, the birthplace of Liverpool FC.
Even while he was puffing and snapping away, his security were never too far away from him.
Someone had clearly warned them young Tommy may not be too popular in L4 given the way his father is viewed by the vast majority of Liverpoolâs fans.
As supporters looked on, some oblivious to who this well protected individual was and others all too well aware, Hicks junior then told his bodyguards he fancied a drink and walked into the pub.
The Sandon may not be a coliseum and it may not have contained any lions but there was an inescapable feeling Roman-style blood sports were about to take place.
Having avoided the main bar, Hicks junior went to the slightly less crowded middle bar and ordered a pint of lager for himself and soft drinks for his always on-duty security guards.
As soon as he spoke, ears began pricking up and people quickly realised the identity of Texan in their midst.
It isnât exactly difficult to spot a sharp-suited American in a pub full of Adidas Samba wearing locals after all â and word spread around the boozer quicker than news of a goal against Man United.
All of a sudden, the bar was packed as fans flocked from all corners of the Sandon to see if the seemingly unbelievable rumour sweeping the pub was true. And it was.
At first, Hicks junior had nothing more troublesome to cope with than a few direct questions as to why he was there, what his dad was doing with the club and whether or not they were about to sell out to DIC.
Such polite questioning reflected the shock that someone so closely connected with the least popular man at Anfield â apart from Gary Neville â would have the chutzpah to turn up in their midst.
One fan took it upon himself to press Hicks junior on what was going on and interrogated him Paxman-style for a full five minutes.
But while that was going on, the mood was turning increasingly nasty as anger replaced the shock.
A volley of protest songs â aired with increasing regularity on the Kop in recent months â rang out throughout the pub and the venom being directed at Hicks junior was plain for all to see.
All of a sudden, his smile was replaced by a grimace of concern.
And as the volume was cranked up still further by the swollen crowd, Tommyâs facial expression quickly changed.
It appeared to say âGet Me Out Of Hereâ to his bodyguards.
At least his desire to evacuate showed he had something in common with the fans who, by that stage, had adapted one of their favourite protest songs to inform him, not too politely, that the âlying b******dâ should get out of their pub.
Hicks junior has not told any lies of course. And guilt by association is a heavy burden for any son to have to bear.
But as his fatherâs representative at Anfield on Saturday it borders on the inexplicable that he could have expected anything other than the âwelcomeâ he was given.
As his bodyguards got closer one fan swilled Hicks junior with a pint of lager â and given the price of a pint in the Sandon after the match thatâs quite a protest.
Another spat in his direction.
It was ugly and it was nasty. And, perhaps worst of all it was all so avoidable.
As it became increasingly clear things could have been about to go badly wrong, Hicksâ bodyguards decided discretion was indeed the better part of valour. They positioned themselves around him and guided him out of the pub through the hostile crowd and into the people carrier.
His hasty departure was totally at odds with the way he sauntered into the pub.
And yet it is hard to imagine that he expected to get anything other than the reception he got, given the feelings of the fans towards the regime he is a part of.
At best, it was a well meaning attempt to build some bridges on Hicks juniorâs part.
At worst, it was yet another failure to understand English football culture and proof of the failure of Liverpoolâs owners to grasp just how unpopular they have become.
One thing is for sure â Tom Hicks jnr is unlikely to be going for another pint at the Sandon any time soon.
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