New Liverpool CEO “Immediate Priority” is Returning Fans to Anfield

Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Continuing to build on the club’s recent success doesn’t happen without fans coming back according to new CEO Billy Hogan.

Over the summer, Liverpool saw chief executive Peter Moore depart after a little more than three years on the job—three years that had coincided with the club’s return to the pinnacle of English and European football.

Now, Billy Hogan has taken over. He’s an internal promotion, someone involved in Fenway Sports Group’s purchase of the club in 2010 and who has worked at Anfield since 2012, most recently in the role of commercial director.

And for the new chief executive, there are two main goals. One is to keep winning trophies; to keep the club at the peak of English and European football. The other is to find a way for fans to begin to safely return to games.

“We’re focused on winning trophies,” Hogan said in his first interview since taking over. “That’s ultimately the vision. I’ve been involved with the club now for 10 years, worked for the club full-time for eight years.

“Really it’s about how we create a sustainable organisation. The vision remains the same. We want to win trophies, we want to continue to do what Jürgen and the team have done and continue to build on that.”

Continuing to build on the club’s recent success, though, can’t be entirely talked about without acknowledging the larger global landscape at the moment and the uncertainty caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Despite that games are taking place and a season is scheduled to kick off, things remain far from normal, and Hogan believes that continuing to build on the club’s success doesn’t happen without finding a way for supporters to return.

“The immediate priority we’re all focused on is how we get our supporters back,” he added. “The current situation with the pandemic is obviously incredibly challenging, both from a business perspective but clearly for us as a club.

“We’ve obviously got to be guided by the government, and working together with all the clubs in the Premier League. And I guess in addition to that, we really need to look at continuing to operate the business as we have done.

“The mantra, as most people know, is that this is about trying to create a sustainable club. We’ve obviously got incredibly solid foundations but these are uncertain times, so we’ve got to manage through that.

“It has been difficult since we went into lockdown, but I think the great news is that the team, both on and off the pitch, has been able to work through that. We’re just looking forward to starting the campaign as champions.”

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com