Liverpool mull Kraft-backed takeover? Not sure how much accuracy there is to this story - but it is interesting. Who knew they were interested in soccer? (joke...kind of) Anyway - this plus the Glazer bid for Man U must surely rankle the English. Which is fine. I guess my take is this is all fine and good, but they have a soccer team that has been withering on the vine a little bit so it would be nice if the Krafts paid a bit more attention to the team they already own before they go off and get another one. But if they can do both - more power to them.
More below: Kop Talk: Kraft-y L4 Group bring festive cheer to Anfield http://www.koptalk.org/archive/editor/021204.shtml Liverpool FC in £100m talks with L4 By David Owen and William Hall, The Financial Times Published: December 2 2004 02:00 | Last updated: December 2 2004 02:00 http://news.ft.com/cms/s/0dfd6e7c-4409-11d9-a5eb-00000e2511c8.html Just some additional context, but the Krafts were linked with a possible takeover and/or investment role in Aston Villa this past March. The Magpie
I personally think Glazer is a scumb bag and dont want him near soccer. The mayor in Tampa Bay basically said so and so do some of the internal managers of Man U. I hate Man U but I hate jerky Neo-Cons like this jackass is.
Where are all those nationalist/fascists who were so adamant about Chivas staying out of MLS? Why aren't they complaining about US citizens investing in EPL?
That's unfair. The over riding concern is what is good for the state of the game in the US. Last I checked lots of Man U fans hate the Glazier option, and tons of US fans hate Glazier for not spending his money domestically to have an MLS team in Tampa Bay. Furthermore, the first freakin response to this thread was... 'Wow, Bob Kraft has an interest in soccer?' I'm sure many people, like myself even, are very thankfull to the Kraft family's contribution to MLS so far. However, they'll be plenty on these boards who I'm sure will be plenty ticked off at the way the Revs get treated finacialy if he suddenly finds the money to go off and buy a big name foreign team that apparently isn't exactly a sure thing finacial windfall.
Great. Lets have a political litmus test for ownership of a soccer team. How about season tickets? Are neo-cons permitted to buy season tickets?
Treated how?? He turned them into self sustaining organization. They took some painful neccessary steps to achieve a solid foundation forw where they can build from financially. As far as I am concerned they are treated just fine.
Don't worry. They'll all be posting as soon as Bob Kraft announces Liverpool will only field a team of Americans.
Well you can go by the Rev's board and see what most people say, in just about every thread unfortunately. I'm more apt to agree with you than not, which makes me in the minority. However, given the depleted Revs attendance many Revs fans feel that Kraft's finacial commitment has not been on par with other owners in the league. They feel that has been demonstrated in the game day expierence, previous years' promotion and marketing or lack there of, and perpetually being at best the Pats' little brothers and at worse a tax write off.
is Liverpool a money making club ? if so it would make sense to buy them, and turn around invest the profits back in MLS/Revs then we will love the Krafts
NOTE: I didn't read anything just the title. The Krafts should try and make the REV's into something before going to England and tanking a world famous team.
According to this article they aren't. I'm sure you could argue in some ways they might be a better investment than Man U with the buy low sell high theory, but it's obviously not the same finacial caliber of Man U.
'Pool is probably building a new 60,000+ seat stadium (hopefully with an artificial pitch that they can share with Everton) that will brighten up their financial picture considerably.
Agreed, to a degree. Fixing the Revs won't help the Krafts make money until SUM starts making money. Maybe the Krafts would like to make some money with a soccer team for a change. A great move on multiple levels if it goes through.
From the article: "He[Kraft] is on the board of directors for several organizations, including the U.S. Soccer Federation..." That's not a typo, is it?
those of you who are mulling over the fact that american business men are now interested in sports are wasting your time. They are pure business men that see and opportunity and jump on it to maximizre their profit. They are not soccer fans at all and probably wont go to a Man U or Liverpool game... so whats the fuss? However I am with the MAN U and Liverpool fans if they dont want the takovers..
Kraft not a sports fan? How do you explain the fact that he was a Patriots season ticket holder years before he bought the team? I grant you, many sports team owners may have had no previous experience running a sports team and/or they may not have grown up supporting the team they now own - but to say they are not interested in the sport or are not fans of the sport is false. If ALL they were interested in was making money - there are better ways to do it than owning a sports team. I actually hope Kraft is behind this. It shows a true interest in the sport - something not always clearly evident, and it can only strengthen the clout of the Revs and MLS - unless Liverpool starst losing money in boat loads.
It's in the Boston Globe today. http://www.boston.com/sports/soccer/articles/2004/12/03/liverpool_draws_krafts_interest/
Is Kraft saying that they're going to require players to say "great" instead of "brilliant" and write "color" instead of "colour" and have an American flavor to their game? Don't be stupid. I know you're not stupid, but this was a stupid post, Carlos.
Robert Kraft has been a Patriots season ticket holder since 1971, back when he had cheap seats freezing his ass to the old aluminum bleachers in Foxboro Stadium. He bought the club in 1994 for about $170 million dollars, this when people were saying he shouldn't have spent $100 million, and prevented his favorite team from moving to St. Louis. Ten years later, and this after paying up over $300 million out of his own pocket to build a new stadium, the team's been to three Super Bowls, won two of them, has one of the best (if not the best) business operation in the league, and last I could find (and this according to Forbes magazine), the club had an estimated value a shade over $860 million dollars. The person you are describing above does not in any way, shape, or form describe Robert Kraft. Maybe someone like Malcom Glazer, or others who are in it as to satisfy their ego, and not their passion for the game. The Magpie P.S. Take a moment as ask yourselves this: with his resources, and all the clubs in the world, why has he been specifically linked to Liverpool and Aston Villa? Why not Real Madrid, Juventus, or Manchester United?