The words were delivered calmly and without the slightest hint of irony, as his inquisitor asked for a general view of the situation at Anfield.
“There has been so much misinformation put out by people who have their own agendas and it’s unfortunate, but that’s just the way it is,” said Thomas Ollis Hicks. “The truth is that the club is a lot better off than it was three years ago.”
During the time Hicks has spent as co-owner of one of the world’s finest sporting institutions, there have been some wild statements but this claim – which came on the day of David Moores’ open letter to Reds fans – was perhaps the most extraordinary.
In the interest of fairness, let us tackle the assertion. Liverpool, as their accounts show, are flourishing commercially and after the World Cup, their sports science department will be run by the best doctor of his kind in the world, Peter Brukner.
Aside from that, the start of next season will see the Reds have the name Standard Chartered emblazoned on their flash, new shirts, evidence of the record-breaking sponsorship deal that was penned last September.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? You might actually believe Hicks and his business partner, George Gillett, were the saviours of the club, that everything in the garden was rosy and we were just passing time before the start of a monumental new campaign.
Think again. Better off than three years ago? Don’t insult the intelligence of every Liverpool supporter who has set foot inside Anfield during the past 12 months or followed Rafa Benitez’s men on the road.
If Liverpool were better off, as Hicks claims, a miserable fug would not swirl around right now; optimism has been replaced by pessimism, excitement and anticipation have traded places with apathy and fear.
Would star players be considering their futures if the club was better off? Surely if it was better off – to use this unforgettable phrase once again – harmony would reign behind the scenes; there wouldn’t be any agendas or politics, would there?
Aside from that, if Liverpool were in such rude health, it would not be beyond the realms of fantasy for there to be one or two parties interested in investing in such a great opportunity. Again, though, fantasy and reality are two different things.
“We will sell the club but it is about selling to the right group, at the right price, at the right time and in the right way,” said Hicks.
“We will do it in a thoughtful way and try to find the right man for Liverpool Football Club. We hope it will be done by the end of the calendar year, but I don’t anticipate that it would be before the start of the next season.
“I think between £600-800m is a realistic value range, but the market is the market. We are more concerned about finding the right next owner, someone who can make the investment, get the stadium built and let Liverpool be the best club in the world.”
What jumped out at you from that little lot? In no particular order, how about “right price”, “hope it will be done by the end of the calendar year” and, last but by no means least, “between £600-800m”?
Those three excerpts suggest there is no end in sight for this particular storm; there are no new investors on the horizon and certainly none who, in this volatile economic climate, will give Hicks the price for which he is looking.
No wonder Moores felt compelled to write his letter. With each passing day that Hicks and Gillett stay in charge, he must recoil further in horror, constantly reminded by the catastrophic mistake he made.
There is no disputing the letter he wrote to a well-respected national publication was from the heart but, equally, there were a number of issues which he failed to address, not least the one surrounding Steve Morgan.
Would it be too simplistic to say that had those two men been able to agree a deal way back in 2004 that this mess would have happened? Perhaps. What’s more, there would have been no guarantee that nirvana would have arrived under Morgan.
What we do know, however, is that Liverpool are in an utterly desperate state. Just ask yourself, when thinking about Hicks’ declaration that the summer transfer window will be big, why deals for Milan Jovanovic and Danny Wilson are not done.
Ask yourself why bidding for David Silva was utterly impossible and why Rafa Benitez can’t form any clear transfer plans, so much so that it is even too much to think about moving for a player on a Bosman.
Better off than three years ago? Nonsense. The only thing you can say with great certainty is the way the Duchess of York’s friends described her after last Sunday’s newspaper sting fits in with Liverpool: desperate, fragile and in a very bad place.
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