Ian Ayre to step down

https://twitter.com/pjoyceexpress/status/709438940378435584

On phone in pub so tricky to copy and paste article.

Sure more to follow.

THANK FECK!

On official now. Good news.

NESV on a role ! TC next please.

https://twitter.com/pjoyceexpress/status/709438940378435584

On phone in pub so tricky to copy and paste article.

Sure more to follow.

There's been rumours of this happening for well over 12 months now.  The rumour being he's accepted a job with Standard Chartered but he may well have decided to go on a round the world trip on his harley.

Confirmed: Liverpool chief set for Anfield exit but club insist ticket saga not linked
IAN AYRE is to step down as Liverpool’s CEO at the end of next season.
By Paul Joyce
PUBLISHED: 18:00, Mon, Mar 14, 2016

Ayre informed owners Fenway Sports Group at Christmas of his intention to leave when his current contract expires in May 2017 and they have been unable to persuade him to stay.

Liverpool insist that chronology shows Ayre’s impending departure in 15-months has nothing to do with the recent furore over a proposed hike in ticket prices at Anfield for which he and FSG were heavily criticised.

The club quickly backed down after a protest from supporters and froze prices.

Ayre, 52, will have marked 10-years at Liverpool when he relinquishes his role in the day to day running of the club and today’s announcement comes with the Anfield club beginning the search for a successor.

He said his decision was simply shaped by a realisation it will be the right time for someone with “fresh enthusiasm and vigour” to take over as CEO.

“If becoming Chief Executive of Liverpool Football Club was the greatest honour of my professional life, then deciding to step down at the end of my current contract is by far the most difficult,” said Ayre in a statement.

“Having the privilege to lead this great club comes with huge responsibility and is a challenge, but one which I have relished and I feel proud of my achievements in the role.

“I believe the end of next season is the right time to pass the CEO baton on to a new person, who will take on the challenges and opportunities with a fresh enthusiasm and vigour.

“They will do so supported by what I believe to be the best ownership group in world sport and by a truly excellent team of staff throughout the football club.

“Having been brought up in the shadow of Anfield, I have found it the most profound privilege to serve the club I have supported all my life.

“The driving principle behind every decision I have taken during my time here has been to do the best for the long-term stability and health of this great football club.

“In the remaining 15 months I have as CEO, I will continue to provide FSG, Jürgen, the players and all the brilliant staff at Liverpool ongoing strategic leadership and a smooth transition.”

Ayre, a boyhood Liverpool supporter, joined the club in 2007 as Commercial Director and moved onto the board of directors in 2009.

He was promoted to Managing Director in 2011 and then Chief Executive Office in 2013.

Ayre’s departure will represent a blow to FSG and places enormous emphasis on them headhunting the right replacement.

In a joint statement Principal Owner, John W. Henry, Chairman, Tom Werner and President, Mike Gordon hailed the job Ayre has done in bringing stability to the club.

“Ian advised us of his intention to step down as CEO a few months ago,” they said.

“We asked him on several occasions to take some time to reconsider his decision, but have been unable to convince him to remain as CEO beyond May of 2017.  We will at some point in the near future begin identifying and recruiting a worthy successor to continue to build on the outstanding foundations which have been laid by Ian.

“Under his leadership we have seen Liverpool transform from a club that was on the brink of bankruptcy, to one which today enjoys strong financial and operational health.

“Stability is a commodity often under-valued in sporting organisations, but it has been a fundamental hallmark of Ian’s time in charge. Liverpool will reap the benefits of his outstanding work for many years to come.

“We have always found Ian to be dedicated, honest, passionate and committed to doing the right thing for long-term interests of the football club.  These fit with our own values as owners and we owe him greatly for the personal sacrifices he has made for the club.

“It is typical of the person he is, once again, Ian is putting the club ahead of his own interest in wanting to announce his decision 15 months before he steps down. This now provides us with plenty of time and space to find a suitable successor.”

“There will continue to be important milestones for Liverpool over the next 15 months, not least the completion of the redevelopment at Anfield stadium, and we are grateful that Ian will continue his leadership through to May 2017.”

I really hope that NESV doesn't get an ex-GM from an american team. Franchise sports are completely different than Club Football, not saying that they will never succeed but why risk it.

OK folks. we've got just over a year to find someone else to take the piss out of.

I really hope that NESV doesn't get an ex-GM from an american team. Franchise sports are completely different than Club Football, not saying that they will never succeed but why risk it.

That's the worry in this. Ayre might not be popular but we all might end up regretting this in the long run if the appoint the wrong person. There might also be other reasons behind this. Behind the scenes disputes, perhaps? Who knows.

Shame it's not May 2016

Why has he given what's basically 18 months notice?

fairly standard for chief exec's to give long notice period.

Bit controversial - but I would try and get David Dein the ex Arsenal chief exec in. Did a decent job at Arsenal

fairly standard for chief exec's to give long notice period.

Bit controversial - but I would try and get David Dein the ex Arsenal chief exec in. Did a decent job at Arsenal

At 72 I think it's unlikely but I agree - he's the standard of Chief Exec every club wants at their club.

Not sure why anyone thinks this is good news. He gets the piss taken out of him and takes all sorts of abuse, but he's obviously good at his job. It'll be interesting to see who we appoint next. At least FSG will have had almost 2 years to plan for this by the time he actually leaves.

Why has he given what's basically 18 months notice?

His contract expires at the end of that 18 months and as said above, in his position it's fairly standard.

I don't really know what to think of Ayre. I've most definitely criticised him in the past but when I think more I realise how little I know about the job he does! Just an opinion but any failure on the player business front and the failure to acquire targeted players are as much to do with the football side (lack of attraction/clear on pitch strategy) and the men above Ayre who decide how much should be offered. I may be wrong but I feel he's just been a facilitator between two sides where their strategic aims have been unclear.

On the commercial front, I'm sure there is lots out there about our dealings since 2010 who have assessed any progress. Can't be bothered searching them out though.

Bit controversial - but I would try and get David Dein the ex Arsenal chief exec in. Did a decent job at Arsenal

Good Call that.

Yeee Haaa!

Would take the ex Southampton CEO.

fairly standard for chief exec's to give long notice period.

Bit controversial - but I would try and get David Dein the ex Arsenal chief exec in. Did a decent job at Arsenal

Decent shout that.

PMSL!

I'll be honest, we don't really know what he did so its pretty hard to say if he was good or bad at his job. The fact that FSG tried to persuade him to stay means he was probably a bit better than the figure of fun we made him out to be. Anyone saying with certainty that this is good or bad news hasn't got a clue.

Whilst this appears to be good news.....a couple of cliches come to mind that may be appropriate here:

1) The devil you know is better than the devil you don't
2) Be careful what you wish for

That being said......adios Senor Feckless

Bye Ian... don't let the door hit you on the way out.

For me he was always a good commercial manager promoted beyond his abilities.

Very surprising time to make the change but maybe he sees the Stadium expansion as "his" legacy.

The ultimate 'yes' man departs to be replaced by an equally agreeable employee.

Not sure why anyone thinks this is good news. He gets the piss taken out of him and takes all sorts of abuse, but he's obviously good at his job. It'll be interesting to see who we appoint next. At least FSG will have had almost 2 years to plan for this by the time he actually leaves.

His contract expires at the end of that 18 months and as said above, in his position it's fairly standard.

Is he though? He was at Huddersfield Town and they plunged into administration during his tenure....

Good at sealing the commercial deals perhaps, but I think the clout and credibility of FSG (business wise certainly) always meant they were going to find new sources of revenue since arriving in 2010 (FSG have certainly modernised us and dragged us into the 21st century after the archaic business practices under previous regimes).

On the football side of things, he has proven himself to be nothing other than disastrous. He recommended the sacking of Rafa, backed the appointment of Hodgson (a sackable offence in its own right) and lumbered on from disastrous deal to disastrous deal due to being one of the key components of the transfer committee.

Perhaps he is just merely a yes man in terms of accepting any vision FSG throw at him, but it is surely the chief executives job to challenge the position and offer alternative views to any proposition from above.

Will it be a case of appointing someone with a brilliant innovative mind, or another yes man?

If its the latter, it will merely be a case of 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss'.

Bit controversial - but I would try and get David Dein the ex Arsenal chief exec in. Did a decent job at Arsenal

I have been reading a book on Wenger recently. Apparently Wenger is very indecisive when it come to transfers. He knows who he wants, but never wants to pay the price to get them(bit like our owners) but Dein would push the deals through and pay the price to get them.

All set for Michael Zorc, the sporting director at Borrusia Dortmund?

All set for Michael Zorc, the sporting director at Borrusia Dortmund?

I think Watzke is the CEO at Dortmund. Zorc deals with everything football related... which might be the way forward for us by splitting the role.

I don't really know what to think of Ayre. I've most definitely criticised him in the past but when I think more I realise how little I know about the job he does! Just an opinion but any failure on the player business front and the failure to acquire targeted players are as much to do with the football side (lack of attraction/clear on pitch strategy) and the men above Ayre who decide how much should be offered. I may be wrong but I feel he's just been a facilitator between two sides where their strategic aims have been unclear.

On the commercial front, I'm sure there is lots out there about our dealings since 2010 who have assessed any progress. Can't be bothered searching them out though.

Same here, clearly he has done a stellar job off the pitch with the commercial deals, the sponsorship deals and various revenue streams. I think what has irked fans (and led to him becoming a figure of fun/dislike) was seeing him become the frontman for transfers for a time. So naturally when we failed in the transfer market he tended to kop a lot of the flack when in truth the blame probably should have laid with the owners transfer policy at times.

For me he was always a good commercial manager promoted beyond his abilities.

Agree with this.  Whether you agree or not with football clubs having 10 gazillion sponsors and a tool-utility sponsor, a fast food snack sponsor etc - he was good at all that sh*t.

CEO? Not so good IMO.

Sticking his head in the sand and leaving Kenny to deal with Suarez-gate.
That whole TV programme and suggesting that Joe Allen has number 69 on his shirt - snigger snigger.
Last straw was probably that ticketing farce a month or so back - his TV interview after it and his plan for a twitter Q&A (thankfully someone at the club saw sense and pulled that).

I'm sure there's probably loads more but Liverpool need to get a strong head in now and hopefully not a nodding dog to the owners, who let's be honest, know as much about football as I know about baseball.  Actually, I know they use a bat and ball in baseball so technically I've probably got the upper hand.

Going to be interesting to see who the owners go for.  I'm expecting a big promotion for a marketing assistant from Sparta Prague who's under 24 and got the potential to be a great CEO.

Agree with this.  Whether you agree or not with football clubs having 10 gazillion sponsors and a tool-utility sponsor, a fast food snack sponsor etc - he was good at all that sh*t.

CEO? Not so good IMO.

Sticking his head in the sand and leaving Kenny to deal with Suarez-gate.
That whole TV programme and suggesting that Joe Allen has number 69 on his shirt - snigger snigger.
Last straw was probably that ticketing farce a month or so back - his TV interview after it and his plan for a twitter Q&A (thankfully someone at the club saw sense and pulled that).

I'm sure there's probably loads more but Liverpool need to get a strong head in now and hopefully not a nodding dog to the owners, who let's be honest, know as much about football as I know about baseball.  Actually, I know they use a bat and ball in baseball so technically I've probably got the upper hand.

Going to be interesting to see who the owners go for.  I'm expecting a big promotion for a marketing assistant from Sparta Prague who's under 24 and got the potential to be a great CEO.

He didn't..... did he?!

https://twitter.com/liamandrewsmk/status/506226286063521792

Last straw was probably that ticketing farce a month or so back - his TV interview after it and his plan for a twitter Q&A (thankfully someone at the club saw sense and pulled that).

I just wonder if this is the real reason he's decided to go mate. He was probably told to defend the price rises then when the sh*t hits the fan, he is left holding his dick while FSG come off looking like the good guys.

The deal will probably fall through at the last second. 

Last of the H&G era, what fooking took so long?..

Agree with this.  Whether you agree or not with football clubs having 10 gazillion sponsors and a tool-utility sponsor, a fast food snack sponsor etc - he was good at all that sh*t.

CEO? Not so good IMO.

Yeah that's how i see it, too.

Did a lot for the club to bring money in but as soon as he becomes the face of transfers and footballing decisions, it was obvious we needed a change. Made me a bit sick when i first saw that players we wanted to sign met Ian Ayre first, and their representatives negotiated with him before the player even talked to whoever was manager at the time.

Excellent businessman. Terrible football decision maker.

The deal will probably fall through at the last second. 

Bravo, sir.

I think Watzke is the CEO at Dortmund. Zorc deals with everything football related... which might be the way forward for us by splitting the role.

DEFINITELY. Great shout. It seems really important that the role is split. It doesn't make sense these days in a world with ever expanding lines of communication and networks available. For a club as internationally popular as Liverpool that will only ever mean a heftier burden of opportunities to exploit. Seems entirely right that one man deals with the commercial aspect while another deals with football matters.

They do it in Formula One nowadays. Look at Mercedes, they have two bosses. Toto Wolff who deals with the media and commercial side of the team and then there is Paddy Lowe who heads up the actual on track racing team. It seems to have served them quite well! That was a sport that used to be characterised by the almost personality like cult one man leadership defined back in the days when the likes of Ron Dennis, Eddie Jordan, Ken Tyrrell and Frank Williams. It's non existent nowadays as the sport opened up various new commercial avenues. I'm no expert but management structures have changed in sport these days or maybe they have just become more Europeanised.

To me it's probably more a British problem that is not just characterised by Chief Executives but by the football managers themsevles. An obsession/expectation that all control with a wide remit must reside with one person. It continues to define and hold back British football managers who expect full control.

With a bit of luck he will finish up at Manure or Everton.He couldn't possibly F**k those two clubs up as they are already well and truly fu**ed.

 

http://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2016-03-14/chief-executive-to-leave-liverpool-after-restoring-stability

Nice article about him.

Honest question, what does a ceo do? When it does come down to football side of things, then I can't think of anybody better then the king.

But I suspect the position calls for somebody with a more knowledge of business side of the club. Then it has to be somebody who have experience with football clubs.

Don't want anybody from the US sports culture to become our CEO. My impression is that they focus more on the buisness side rather then sport itself .

Somebody from germany who is fluent in English and is doing a good job can't be bad. To me it seems like they are well organised clubs.

He voted against Hicks and Gillett his then paymasters in 2010.
Shouldn't be forgotten.

Last of the H&G era, what fooking took so long?..

He did a job for the other thieving bas**rds obviously somebody in the JWH&Co set up liked his style.
After trampling on the footballing aspiration of the club and supporters or being scapegoated for doing so, he must have annoyed somebody in the halls of power and the subtle bullet has been fired along with the usual murmurings of 'sorry to see you go' and other good bullshit.

Not to worry tho' Ian has many other irons in the fire and directorships etc to ensure his departure from LFC is pretty well insignificant.

https://twitter.com/pjoyceexpress/status/709438940378435584

On phone in pub so tricky to copy and paste article.

Sure more to follow.

This will make some people happy. Personally I think he done a decent job, no where near as bad as some would say.

This will make some people happy. Personally I think he done a decent job, no where near as bad as some would say.

Were you also applauding when he suggested Hodgon as the replacement for Rafa, was that part of the good job he did, how about all the transfers he fu**ed up on, another example of good job?
He's a middle manager promoted way beyond his abilities and the sooner we get someone competent in the better, just a shame he'll still be around for another 18 months.

This will make some people happy. Personally I think he done a decent job, no where near as bad as some would say.

It'll make a quite a few happy mate but the weird thing is: there are a number of people who pour ridicule and scorn on the man at every opportunity yet the same F**k-tards won't say a word against the investors, (who kept Ayre in power). Baffling. 

The truth is; although the dogs in the street know he's pish at anything related to the actual football, he appears to be good at raising funds and that is obviously held in higher esteem (than football) by FSG investors.

Good riddance to someone who as a born and bred scouser seemed so out of touch with the fans, just need to look at the 77 debacle where FSG had to step in to cover his arrogant stance.

As he has not been part of the commercial and marketing side for a while, I believe Hogan and a small army head up that side I'm not even sure what his responsibilities are as a CEO.

What ever he has been doing at least he won't be part of the TC and negotiating player transfers something he never seemed to get right.

Were you also applauding when he suggested Hodgon as the replacement for Rafa, was that part of the good job he did, how about all the transfers he fu**ed up on, another example of good job?
He's a middle manager promoted way beyond his abilities and the sooner we get someone competent in the better, just a shame he'll still be around for another 18 months.

tbf. Hodgson was a disaster us as fans never took to him, he may have done well given a longer spell. But we all wanted Kenny.

As discussed above, perhaps the football side of ceo should have been left to someone like Kenny and Ayre left to do the business side, which he has performed very well in.

And not all all transfers were fu%$ed up, some were very good, some failed etc. same at all clubs.

I'm guessing you haven't watched any england matches of late, death by boredom springs to mind. 

The man (even for one so vastly experienced at managing big teams  ) is f**king useless.

No I'm Scottish, don't watch England (much). But I would swap qualifying for every tourni if it meant Hodgson was manager of Scotland. .

His tactics were awful with us tbf, hated him as well I did. Was just saying it might have panned out and his CV was decent. Sometimes things look good on paper but just don't work in reality.

I think that first of all Ian Ayre thanks for your work but I also think that this should have been done many years ago.

It'll be interesting to see who we can recruit as his replacement considering we're a bit stingy on wages. 

His salary last season, according to the latest accounts (2015), was £1.2m which is approximately £1m less than other CEOs at top PL Clubs and in 2014 the average salary of FTSE CEOs was just shy of £4m, elsewhere it's around £250k.

It'll be interesting to see who we can recruit as his replacement considering we're a bit stingy on wages. 

His salary last season, according to the latest accounts (2015), was £1.2m which is approximately £1m less than other CEOs at top PL Clubs and in 2014 the average salary of FTSE CEOs was just shy of £4m, elsewhere it's around £250k.

How about me? I'm willing to work for £10k. 

It'll be interesting to see who we can recruit as his replacement considering we're a bit stingy on wages. 

His salary last season, according to the latest accounts (2015), was £1.2m which is approximately £1m less than other CEOs at top PL Clubs and in 2014 the average salary of FTSE CEOs was just shy of £4m, elsewhere it's around £250k.

No real comparison between a FTSE 100 companies earnings and ANY prem league club though Debs. 

Manchester United are expected to turn over £500 million this financial year, the first British club to do so. That is the equivalent of a couple of sizeable retail hypermarkets.

Given the financial scale of the businesses they control, what football CEOs could expect to earn were they employed in the real world would be something around a third of what they do now.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/03/10/margaret-byrne-shows-that-ceos-life-in-football-is-nice-work/

A slightly older article gives a little more detail and shows that Ayre has actually been doing pretty well.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/01/premier-league-accounts-club-by-club-david-conn 

How about me? I'm willing to work for £10k. 

I'm sure if you have the relevant experience they'd jump at the chance for that salary 

No real comparison between a FTSE 100 companies earnings and ANY prem league club though Debs. 

Manchester United are expected to turn over £500 million this financial year, the first British club to do so. That is the equivalent of a couple of sizeable retail hypermarkets.

Given the financial scale of the businesses they control, what football CEOs could expect to earn were they employed in the real world would be something around a third of what they do now.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/03/10/margaret-byrne-shows-that-ceos-life-in-football-is-nice-work/

A slightly older article gives a little more detail and shows that Ayre has actually been doing pretty well.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/01/premier-league-accounts-club-by-club-david-conn 

Course there's no comparison to the money controlled by FTSE CEOs mate but there's a hell of a lot of CEOs with similar turnovers to football clubs on a hell of a lot less.

As with all things in football the pay doesn't reflect the skills.

How hard would it be to sell LFC to potential sponsors?...  Too much credit given to Ayres...

Not sure why anyone thinks this is good news. He gets the piss taken out of him and takes all sorts of abuse, but he's obviously good at his job.

That fella at Dortmund, Willian, the ticketing pricing fiasco, his appearance in front of the camera the friday before the walkout..........nah he wasn't very good at his job. He should of stuck to the one he was promoted from sorting out commerical sh*t such as Dunkin Donuts, Warrior, New Balance etc etc!

He can F**k off on his Harley in 18 months time into the sunset, but please no F***ing mosiacs.

The ultimate 'yes' man departs to be replaced by an equally agreeable employee.

Mike Gordon or that Hogan fella if he can be arsed getting used to life ooop north instead of hiding in our office down south!

Mike Gordon or that Hogan fella if he can be arsed getting used to life ooop north instead of hiding in our office down south!

Maybe Christian Purslow , after all he did a great job last time he was here.

I'm in. 

Go on then i'll play...

A weight off Robbie Fowler's shoulders........

Bernstein's resigned at Villa, would anyone take him as Ayres replacement?

Bernstein's resigned at Villa, would anyone take him as Ayres replacement?

Sorry Deb, no, he's a bit too smarmy for my liking!

Sorry Deb, no, he's a bit too smarmy for my liking!

Aren't most top execs hun 

I doubt we'll go for someone on this side of the pond anyway.

I wonder if Ayre knows something about the ownership of the club that we don't.

Aren't most top execs hun 

I doubt we'll go for someone on this side of the pond anyway.

Yep, you're right, but he's smarmier than most and he was a complete *rsehole when he was at the FA.

Yep, you're right, but he's smarmier than most and he was a complete *rsehole when he was at the FA.

True.

I'd prefer exec's who would have the club in their hearts, not some ex FA no mark who's sole purpose was accepting his monthly cheque,
We need ppl top to bottom who sing from the same songsheet, no egotistical glory hunters allowed!

YNWA

That fella at Dortmund,

what about him? wait, who? what?

Willian

chelsea offered him wages we could not - what's the problem there?

the ticketing pricing fiasco

oh yeah that was 1 man's fault

his appearance in front of the camera the friday before the walkout..........

don't let the media play you

nah he wasn't very good at his job.

i've honestly barely seen proof of that. don't we have a great young squad? where did they all come from? look at our squad before he got here and now, which would you rather?

He can f**k off on his Harley in 18 months time into the sunset

i always see comments like this. they start by mentioning the failure to sign mkhitaryan and willian then take a pot shot at how ayre rides harleys. it's like everyone runs on memes. they post memes of him and pictures of him riding a motorbike and think he's some stupid idiot, based on what, the fact that people make memes about him and get played by the media into thinking we're an inch from signing someone we were actually miles from signing.

it actually makes me uncomfortable that people are so happy to talk about things we really have no idea about, they go "this guy's a piece of sh*t nothing man hates our club just collects his monthly cheques", that is an alarming thing to say about someone you've never met and haven't got a clue about isn't it? anyway, good luck to the next guy in the job, hopefully he doesn't ride a harley...

Taking off his high heels is he?  ...

don't let the media play you

The walkout, you do remember when we fu**ed off out of the ground on 77 minutes. Do you even go the match?

I'll be honest I couldn't be arsed responding to the rest as I didn't have a clue what you were wittering on about.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36146265

Stepping down he may be but yesterday he gave worthy interview about the 96 , the fans , the club , the city and our people.

not my favourite person but he spoke very well yesterday.