here. - It's Liverpool

Ian Ayre, Managing Director of Liverpool FCIt’s no secret we are notplaying in Europe this year butyou haven’t seen any lack ofinvestment in our squad andyou haven’t seen us suggestthat we can’t competeManchester City didn’t win the league last year,Manchester United won it and their wealth isbased on success and not on somebodywriting a big cheque every year, so I think theability to compete is there for everyone.“Of course the teams with the most wealthand the most investment and the biggestsquads largely do better in the end and it’schallenging when certain clubs have infinitewealth and are able to spend that, buthopefully the way the game’s trying to bemanaged by UEFA and the Premier League interms of financial fair play will try and rein someof that in.“We all have money to spend and we all havean opportunity to invest and it’s about howwisely you invest that and what you get outof it. If we are going to plot a course to besuccessful then we have to do that by makingmost of the revenue and the opportunity wehave and making the most of the size of ourfan base.“It’s no secret we are not playing in Europethis year but you haven’t seen any lack ofinvestment in our squad and you haven’t seenus suggest that we can’t compete, so theopportunity is still there and there would benobody turning up for work at LFC if we didn’tthink we had a chance of winning.”For Ian Ayre there are other important factorsat play, which will always ensure this famousclub will be there or thereabouts, and theyconcern the lifeblood of the club - the fansand the importance of LFC’s role in thecommunity: “We like to think of ourselves asthe world’s greatest football family.”He adds: “I think it’s a city thing not just thefootball club. The city of Liverpool is very likethat and I think the foundations on which theclub were built, the way people like (legendarymanager Bill) Shankly and others talked aboutthe club, it’s all being in this together, being asone and looking after each other and showingrespect and they lend themselves to lotsof cultures around the world. I think for thatreason we have a fantastic following, secondto none.”Nobody is getting carried awaywith what has been a greatstart, but I think it bodes wellfor the future, it shows thatwe are making progressIan Ayre believes this explains the sheer scaleof support overseas, particularly in Asia, wherehe once lived and worked: “Family is everything,family comes first, respect to elders all thosethings are very deeply ingrained in Asian culture.So the sort of things that Liverpool representsover the years, the way the club, for instance,came together around the Hillsboroughtragedy, they are all real key markers about theway people act and are expected to act in Asianculture and I think that bodes well for Liverpool.”There is no doubt that Liverpool’s globalappeal is a revenue generator, but prudentfinancial management is the mantra of aclub once heralded as the model for all, butwhich nonetheless flirted with disaster underprevious ownership: “Probably the biggestsingle challenge of my job here at Liverpool isto make sure that we don’t spend beyond ourmeans, that we invest wisely and run a tight andeffective business.32