George Gillett and Tom Hicks' terrible time as owners of Liverpool was one of the central themes in The 30-Year-Wait.
The Americans, reign contrasts heavily with their compatriot John Henry who has taken the club forward immensely since purchasing Liverpool.
As soon as they arrived at Anfield Hick's, gave an interview to The Guardian were he described the purchase in fairly unflattering terms.
25 May 2005; Steven Gerard, Liverpool captain, celebrates with his manager Rafael Benitez after the game. UEFA Champions League Final, Liverpool v AC Milan, Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey. Picture credit; David Maher / SPORTSFILEHicks is alleged to have said that "buying Liverpool is just like buying Weetabix," according to ex-Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry.
During Gillett and Hicks time in charge at the club was steeped in turmoil. The unkept promises the men made to then manager Rafael Benitez ultimately contributed to the Spaniard leaving the club by mutual consent in 2010.
"The relationship between Rafa, the fans and the ownership all kind of started to fall apart," said Ian Ayre, another former CEO at the club.
The pair vowed to push through a restructuring of Anfield, however, later on it would be revealed that they had borrowed heavily to finance the takeover. Soon they were at loggerheads with one another.
Liverpool owner John W. Henry (left) and chairman Tom Werner after the UEFA Champions League Final at the Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid.It was a constant annoyance for Benitez throughout the 2008/2009 season as his side led the Premier League before falling to the pressure.
That year the title would go to Old Trafford despite a resounding 4-1 win Liverpool win over Manchester United at that venue.
"I had people inside telling me, 'we don't have the money' but after the same people, they were going outside telling the press we are doing this and doing that," Benitez said.
"Economically, we couldn't compete with the other teams."
It is an interesting point to consider when Liverpool are in such a position of strength currently.
Ultimately a positive relationship between the board, the manager, and the players, will produce results on the pitch, that much has been proven since Jurgen Klopp's appointment at Liverpool.
The Merseyside club have put in place a firm plan over the past five years and it has led them to the European Cup in 2019 as well as the coveted Premier League trophy in 2020.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp with owner John Henry ahead of the opening of the Anfield Main Stand, Liverpool.The issue of the ownership produced significant protests at Anfield until a resolution was found. That resolution proved to be the takeover of the club for £300 million by Fenway Sports Group led by Henry.
Henry's takeover did not produce immediate results although the appointment of Kenny Dalglish as manager certainly provided a level of healing at a fractious time for the club and its supporters.
Since then the club have gone from strength to strength and is a far cry from the civil war that was ongoing at the beginning of the past decade.
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