Okay, I'll go with that😵
Ayre on his way out apperantly...
Who's going to lock the door?
SSN saying that he is still at the clubFirst team coach Steve Clarke, who was Dalglish's first major appointment on taking charge, has resigned in a show of solidarity with Dalglish.
There was sort of a joke there... I guess no one saw it. Anyways, I think we should go for Van Gaal
If Clarke chooses to leave then the only conclusion I can have is that he won't stay under these owners.
If he stays there's some hope he has heard of a viable plan.
Massive respect to Clarke after that.No, left out of loyalty to Kenny.
I know, i'm unbumping fists.No more massive respect for YOU clarky!
I think Suarez got the final touch on this one.
.
Evans is leaving to launch his own agency called Good Evans
Billy Hogan’s job is to promote some of the best-known brands in the world of sports.
It’s an embarrassment of riches for the 37-year-old Hogan, a managing director at Fenway Sports Management. Hogan’s charges include the Boston Red Sox, the Liverpool Reds of the English Premier League and basketball star LeBron James.
Fenway Sports Management operates on a more global stage these days because its owner, Fenway Sports Group , has become more ambitious. Led by John Henry and Tom Werner, Fenway Sports Group captured global headlines last fall in its $480 million takeover of Liverpool FC, considered one of the most valuable football franchises in the world.
“It really has changed our perspective because of the global nature of Liverpool,” Hogan said.
Hogan already has been to several Liverpool matches since the takeover and says he’s been a longtime fan of the sport. And it’s not a bad gig taking prospective clients to Liverpool’s storied Anfield stadium, introducing marketing executives from North American corporations to the passion and fervor that surrounds EPL football. He said his favorite Liverpool player is striker Luis Suarez, a hard-charging goal-scorer from Uruguay who comes with the nickname “El Pistolero.”
Reinforcing the global brands of Liverpool and LeBron James, for example, requires more travel, but Hogan said there’s nothing better than the face-to-face meetings he has with clients and prospects.
Hogan grew up in Cleveland, where James cemented his status as an NBA superstar before jilting the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat . Hogan said he respects James because of the level of interest he has in his partnerships.
“I have a different perspective,” Hogan said. “(LeBron) is actually a great guy. He has been really great to work with. It all comes down to his willingness to participate and to get feedback.”
Fenway Sports Management landed James as a client on the heels of Henry and Lerner’s acquisition of Liverpool.
“We were just catching our breath, really, after finishing a 60-day whirlwind with the Liverpool deal,” Hogan recalled.
Paul Wachter, founder of Main Street Advisors, which provides financial advice to Hollywood stars, suggested that James and his business partner, Maverick Carter, get to know Fenway Sports Management.
“Our approach to LeBron was, ‘We make sense because we don’t make sense,’ ” Hogan said.
James considered better-known agencies that can tout their long list of famous clients. Hogan said Fenway Sports Management could differentiate itself because it represents properties, not individuals. “That resonated for sure,” Hogan said.
James wanted his name associated with blue-chip sports properties known around the world. Hogan said Liverpool played a big role in negotiations.
Fenway Sports Management ultimately struck a business partnership with James and Carter, who also agreed to acquire a stake in Liverpool FC.
“We haven’t done athlete representation,” Hogan said. “But LeBron is a global icon.”
The Boston Red Sox had a 2011 to forget, punctuated by one of the most epic September collapses in baseball history. But across the street sister company Fenway Sports Management, under managing director Billy Hogan, continued its sharp ascendency as an industry powerhouse.
During the year, FSM and parent company Fenway Sports Group rebranded to espouse their international ambitions, conducted their first full year of ownership of British soccer giant Liverpool FC, struck a high-profile strategic partnership with LeBron James and LRMR Marketing, and conducted another successful version of the Frozen Fenway hockey festival at the ballpark. And just after the holidays, Liverpool, with the aid of Hogan and FSM, closed on a six-year kit deal with Warrior Sports, owned by New Balance, worth more than $230 million. It is the largest such deal in English Premier League history.
For Hogan, the international components, particularly with Liverpool and James now firmly in the FSM portfolio, represent a significant change for the company.
“We’re now selling two global brands,” Hogan said. “That’s radically changed our perspective, and how we look at the business. We’re already seeing the benefits of that reach and the ability to sell and market globally.”
Cleveland-born Hogan, 38, is a modest yet ambitious strategist. "When Fenway Sports Group [John Henry and Tom Werner's Sports sports investment company, FSG] took over Liverpool, the club had been through a tumultuous time," Hogan said. "But the ownership group is a proven braintrust that owns and controls multiple sporting properties," referring to the Red Sox, NASCAR's Roush Racing and regional cable outlet NESN. "Our goal is to grow Liverpool's revenue and return the team to the top of every category -- be it the English Premier League, Facebook 'likes,' or number of global supporters."
Hogan is describing a position Liverpool enjoyed not so long ago. In the 1980s, this proud team from a spirited northern town was the game's gold standard. However, the creation of the Premier League in 1992 transformed English soccer into a money-fuelled game.
Ayre, a thoughtful and measured man, admits that "Football's business model changed, Liverpool remained conservative and our rivals took advantage. But in the last four years we have woken up and made great commercial strides." Identifying South East Asia, China, India and the United States as the prime areas for growth, Ayre said, "Our goal is to reclaim the territory we held in the '70s and '80s when we were football's most dominant brand."