Tom Hicks and George Gillett took control of Liverpool FC a year ago this week. Andy Kelly begins the Daily Post’s special three-day report into the anniversary of the American takeover at Anfield.

A RECORD seventh Champions League final, another legendary semi-final victory over Chelsea, the arrival of a £20m striker and the unveiling of plans for a 70,000 seat new stadium.

Had you offered all these things to any Liverpool FC fan on February 6, 2007 as Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett completed their take over of the club, they would probably have bitten your hand off.

Remarkably though, all those things have happened in the last year at Anfield - but the first anniversary approaches with demonstrations demanding the removal of the owners.

The empty seats next to Rick Parry and David Moores in the Anfield directors’ box, presumably left deliberately clear, speak volumes not just about the absence of the co-owners but the current absence of leadership at the club.

How have we gone from the welcoming banners for uncles Tom and George to the chants of “Get out of our club” and “Liverpool Football Club is in the wrong hands” which have been so prevalent in recent weeks?

How has Tom Hicks gone from the billionaire with the big bank balance to being labelled by some of the Kop faithful as the “liar” with a big head in just 12 months?

The demonstrations may have switched to post-match to ensure support for the team is not affected but the thousands who stayed behind on Saturday made it clear the criticisms are not going away.

How have we gone from talk of the club’s future being secured for the next 30 years to the possibility of another sale, this time to Dubai International Capital, and possibly within days?

The answer lies in broken promises, whether real or perceived, and a fair amount of bad luck along the way.

As a city Liverpool has a history of warmly welcoming needy new arrivals. The difference when Tom Hicks and George Gillett came to town was that here were two men who did not need help but could provide it.

They had, it was hoped, the financial muscle and marketing prowess which would finally allow Liverpool to challenge the riches of Manchester United and Chelsea, returning the club to the summit of English football.

Importantly, they did not have the negative human rights perceptions of then Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, now ensconced at Manchester City, who had been courted previously.

They had also promised not to load the club with debt, as Malcolm Glazer had at Old Trafford, prompting those gleeful chants of “USA, USA” from the Liverpool supporters which seem a lifetime ago now.

Fans were even prepared to turn a blind eye to Tom Hicks’s supposed close friendship with President George Bush, a significant sacrifice for some.

There was ready acceptance of the £220m deal quite simply because the club badly needed a change. Insiders describe the Moores era at the club as one of unbelievable inertia, where “getting things done was unbelievably difficult.”

An all too frequent summing up of his stewardship was that his method of keeping The Liverpool Way going was to do nothing.

At the famous Anfield press conference to announce the deal, both Hicks and Gillett said almost all the right things, though perhaps the lapse into “franchise” speak sparked the alarm bells for some even then.

Gillett, 69, said: “Our main priority is winning, then passion, respect for tradition, and legacy.”

“We didn’t come over here to be the guys to milk the franchise,” said Hicks, 61, “It is not just about money. If I just wanted to make money there are other things I could do.”

Yet milking the franchise and failing to respect that tradition are the two charges most laid against the Americans today.

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