As regular readers will know, I was fortunate enough to grow up following English football's most successful ever club - Liverpool FC.
At the moment, our match against American-owned Aston Villa is being screened live in the US (where it is a bank holiday) and the Kop is chanting our manager's name. Not just because we like him, but as a show of support for him - over and above our US owners.
Cast your minds back less than a year, and it's hard to believe how Liverpool's relationship with Messrs Gillett and Hicks has turned.
A year ago, PR Week commented (behind paywall) on how well the American pair had managed their takeover - wooing the fans to the point that their controversial deal got wall-to-wall positive coverage. This week, the headline was more stark: Liverpool owner drops clanger (again, behind paywall)
Fast forward 11 and a half months, and it seems that every available news outlet is joining some vocal Liverpool fans in damning the club's co-owners - not necessarily for what they have done in private, but for how they have handled it in public.
I, for one, don't blame Hicks for making plans for the future when he met potential new manager Jurgen Klinsmann in November - but I think the way he talked openly about the meeting earlier this month was, at best, naive.
By all means, if there is a damaging story looming - if one of the UK tabloids had pictures showing Hicks and Gillett with Klinsmann in November, for example - then pre-empt the crisis and tell the story on your terms first, but that does not appear to be what has happened here.
It is hard to believe Messrs Gillett and Hicks are being advised by the same people now as they were then.
Most importantly, these two men may be our club's custodians for many years to come. If so, the club needs to regain its talent off the pitch as quickly as the team needs to rediscover its touch on it.
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