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A Return to a Continent Vital to Liverpool’s Future

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Liverpool F.C are to return to Asia for a pre season tour as Fenway Sports Group attempt to grow the marketing potential of the club. Following the highly successful Asian tour in the summer of 2009, the club will play games in China, Malaysia and Korea as Fenway Sports Group are keen for the club to return to Asia to build on the numbers of supporters and commercial revenues coming from this continent.

The Asian tour of 2009 which saw Liverpool visit Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong was deemed by all at the club as a major success. Shirt sales soared and Liverpool staff and players alike where left awestruck by the sheer number of Asian fans who supported the club.  For these matches, attendances reached over fifty thousand on occasions which is astonishing and can be an invaluable experience for the young players involved. It is very important for a club of the stature of Liverpool who are a global (dare I say it) brand to visit these places to offer its fans what could be a once in a life time opportunity.

The Asian fans are as boisterous and as knowledgeable about the club as any scouser but are not fortunate enough to visit Anfield on a regular basis. This gives them a rare opportunity to see their heroes which is key to maintaining their support whilst also adding more supporters. What a tour like this can do also is it can highlight to the senior players of just how big a club this is. The likes of Suarez and Carroll will never have experienced a pre season like this and the magnitude of it all with the massive support these fans will generate can provide them with an extra incentive once the new season kicks off.

The main positive of this tour will of course be the financial growth the club will experience. As hard as the players will be working during their pre season routine, the board will be ensuring they make the most of it off the pitch in terms of growing its commercial base. Unfortunately the club failed to make the most of our last Asian tour as the money the club earned was used to pay off the interest on Hicks and Gillett’s loan.

Thankfully this time around we have the owners who are so driven in their quest for on the field success that all money the club will earn will be given to the manager (hopefully Kenny) to build a squad good enough to compete for major honours. At the end of the day that is a true reason for such pre-season tours. The last Asian tour was seen as a success although what followed it was anything but. Liverpool lost two of their first three league games following their return to English soil and also lost Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa without replacements being brought in.

History cannot repeat itself. Liverpool football club as a whole must learn from these mistakes but fortunately one (and the most crucial) mistake has already been rectified with two cowboys being replaced by Fenway Sports Groups who have already showed signs that they have the clubs fans interests at heart.

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  • Eric says:

    Just a correction, Liverpool did not come to Hong Kong in 2009, the last time they came here was back in 2007 for the Barclays Asia Trophy with Fulham and Portsmouth. Out of all the fans in Asia, I’m very fortunate to have been to Liverpool (though I couldn’t watch them play as it was pre-season, I went on the stadium tour instead). I live in Hong Kong and I can tell you that everyone here either supports Liverpool or Manutd and that the fans will go crazy about football, especially when Liverpool or Manutd are playing.

    A tour in Asia can only be a good thing for the club as the market in Asia is massive and a tour here will surely boost commercial revenues for the club. A tour like this is a great experience for the players, especially the younger ones, and the huge number of fans in Asia and will benefit the club commercially and in terms of popularity.

    The sheer number of fans in Asia and the support generated will act as a great motivation for the players. Fans went absolutely mental when Liverpool last visited Hong Kong and the Liverpool team could hardly get out of the airport. It’s unbelievable when you’re within touching distance of some of your favourite football stars when before you could only watch them on TV. The atmosphere here is brilliant and although most of the fans in Asia have not been to Anfield to watch Liverpool, their passion and their support for the club is crazy. Liverpool simply need to come to Asia more often and you will be surprised by the number of Liverpool fans we have here. The signings of Nicky Butt and Mateja Kezman for South China in Hong Kong has galvanised all football fans in Hong Kong and you cannot possibly imagine what it will be like when Liverpool are here. It will also be great for fans to see the likes of Butt and Kezman against Liverpool.

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