Liverpool FC fans give their backing to Rick Parry

Apr 12 2008

EMBATTLED Liverpool FC chief executive Rick Parry last night received a strong vote of support from club supporters after club co- owner Tom Hicks called for his resignation.

An exclusive poll on liverpooldailypost.co.uk saw almost four out of five fans in more than 500 responses say Hicks was wrong to demand that Parry step down.

It also emerged last night that co-owner George Gillett is now seeking alternative financial partners to buy out Tom Hicks as the Anfield power battle continues.

The American multi- millionaire is believed to be seeking other possible investors after his agreed sale to Dubai International Capital was blocked by Hicks last month.

Now Gillett is thought to be ready to widen his search for a new partner, as Hicks himself continues to search for credit to launch his own counter buy-out of Gillett.

The two men clashed again yesterday over Hicks’s demand for Parry’s resignation. A three-page letter from Hicks to that effect was finally received at Anfield by Parry yesterday, saying he had been monitoring Parry’s performance and insisting the CEO’s notice was due.

The Daily Post can reveal that Hicks has not even spoken to Parry since January, with the pair said to be relying on occasional emails to communicate.

But Anfield insiders believe the chief executive is determined to stay put.

The open war between Hicks and Gillett is thought to offer Parry a further reason to dig in and resist Hicks’s demands.

Parry is said to consider it “his duty” to shield the club against the fallout from the spat between the co-owners.

Gillett seized upon Hicks’s letter to give his business partner a bloody nose yesterday by fully backing Parry.

He said: “Rick Parry retains our full support. Any decision to remove him would need the approval of the full Liverpool board which, it should be remembered, consists of six people – myself, Foster (Gillett's son), David Moores, Rick himself, Tom Hicks and Tom junior.

“We have not seen the document in question and we were not party to it. We are not able to comment on the detail because we have not seen it. But I would reiterate that Rick retains our full support.”

Anfield insiders say Parry was unfazed by the letter as it is merely a public acknowledgement of a breakdown in relations between Hicks and Parry that started at the start of the year.

He is also thought to believe criticism of his record in the transfer market is wide of the mark, including the failure to sign Florent Malouda which frustrated Rafa Benitez.

His supporters point to the big-money deals to land Javier Mascherano, Fernando Torres and Martin Skrtel as recent evidence of his effectiveness in that role.

Parry said yesterday: “This week I shouldn’t be the story, the story should be the team.

“It’s offensive to the players, the manager, the fans, in the week when we had another great European triumph there’s more dirty linen being washed (in public).”

Parry has been chief executive at Liverpool for a decade and oversaw the takeover of the club by Hicks and Gillett last year.

“No individual, certainly not me, is bigger than the club. The club will be fine but once again it shows there’s a little bit of a lack of unity at the top. I’m just getting on with the job.”

Hicks cannot force Parry out without the agreement of Gillett, who also owns 50% of the club.

In a further insight into the machinations of Anfield politics, Benitez cancelled his regular pre-match press briefing yesterday.

Anfield insiders are interpreting the move as a show of support for the chief executive.

They say Benitez knew he would face questions about the Hicks-Parry spat but chose not to enter the fray.

Hicks’s demand for Parry’s resignation came days after a blowout meeting between Gillett, Parry and the club’s international martketing supremo, Ian Ayre.

While Gillett is known to support Parry, Ayre is seen as Hicks’s man on Merseyside.

Parry had accompanied Gillett to the commercial director’s city centre office in Old Hall Street this week.

Former LFC majority shareholder David Moores is thought to be “heartbroken” at how events at Anfield have unfolded since he stepped aside in February 2007.