That Reds fans loathe Tom Hicks -- and have almost from the moment he bought Liverpool FC in August 2007, then began making promises he couldn't afford to keep -- is certainly no surprise to the faithful Friends of Unfair Park. We've come to meet over these many months countless Liverpudlians with a bad case of Hicks Hate. This morning, The Wall Street Journal spreads their tale.
This particular one begins with the Twitpic you see above, taken Tuesday in midtown Manhattan by Liverpool native Paul Wilson, who espied Hickses Sr. and "Blow Me Fuck Face" Jr. loitering outside bank offices. Wilson grabbed some hasty pics and sent the photos to his wife, who promptly posted them to the Twitter. In Liverpool, cabbie Alan Kayll saw the photos, dashed off a livid missive to would-be investors ("If you join Tom Hicks in raping and pillaging Liverpool Football Club, then you will be making a very powerful enemy"), then sent to the Reds faithful worldwide the letter and the e-mail addresses of bank officials with whom the fellas might be meeting. And just like that, a protest was born.
But that, as we know by now, is but the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg. Indeed, write David Enrich and Gregory Zuckerman, though officials with Blackstone subsidiary GSO Capital Partners won't admit it, Liverpool supporters' smart and powerful campaign may well be the reason it wouldn't loan Hicks the pounds to keep control of Liverpool. So, then. All together now! "We are the sons of Anfield, we have just one demand, to see the Yanks a running, back home to Uncle Sam!"