Ayre acting like a Dickensian villain

MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Well how else could you open a Reds column this week? If our managing director acts like a Dickensian villain (“are there no workhouses?”) it’s hardly a surprise when the little people rise up. Poor Dave Whelan, stuck on the gravy train with a third class ticket, and we’ve yet to hear from Kenwright.

The fact that such a dastardly scheme would only further enrich Liverpool’s ultimate nemesis seems to have passed Ian Ayre by.

Smart people don’t normally speculate idly in public so this seemed more like a toe dipped in the water. Then the piranhas bit it clean off.

Of the clubs who’d most benefit from solo television rights we appeared to have drawn the short straw and volunteered to be the sacrificial lambs.

It also hints at something equally depressing; that a two-decade transfer policy of “throw enough mud and some will stick” still flourishes, despite the evidence that it doesn’t really work for us.

FSG probably see this as the only secure source of profit — it’s definitely what Hicks and Gillett yearned for, but some cash would still be needed for players before we slip out of the world’s consciousness altogether.

Lessons from history still haven’t been learned. We dominated the 70’s and 80’s because we found great players and cheaply. We manufactured superstars, sold them for profit and bought even better players. It was the wisdom that mattered, not the wallet.

The fees may grow but the principle remains. In the 90’s Souness spent more than Ferguson but sent us into freefall from our perch.

Maybe we should examine our own judgement? It would be silly to write off Carroll but his £35m does have the sickly scent of squander tainting it.

Big buys like Alonso, Torres and Suarez were irrefutably special after a month. Others who initially struggled like Diouf, Keane and Aquilani never did flourish.

Some fans, with faces so straight they must have OD’d on Botox, claim Rafa’s chief problem was not enough money to spend. There are actually some people who think we can merely buy our way back to the top.

Of course businessmen won’t fully understand why we have to split the loot with West Brom and Fulham, clubs an Asian audience wouldn’t find with Google never mind show the slightest interest in.

There’s a chronic fear of Chelsea and City’s artificial wealth and this is a tacky idea to restore the natural order. It makes us look weak and desperate when we should be confident.

It wasn’t a coincidence these comments appeared days before the biggest fixture in English football, with United whistling softly and glancing skywards as (alleged) conspirators so often do.

Actually the game wasn’t great, with Ferguson reverting to the Anfield caution that worked for them years ago. A fourth straight loss here might have adversely affected their upcoming hoedown but we seemed unwilling to grasp an initiative handed to us on a silver salver. Welbeck and Young may have pace but they were accorded the same respect as Ronaldo.

Even so the equaliser wasn’t deserved and that did spur us on, albeit belatedly. Unfortunately De Gea had a Taibi day and we squandered other chances. Our own caution was punished since Bellamy should certainly have appeared at 1-0.

I suppose if he, Suarez, Evra and Rooney were on the same pitch we’d have to dust off our old ‘Protect & Survive’ pamphlets.

We’re accustomed to United finding something to dampen our ardour; Smith’s disintegrated ambulance, Finnan’s lip-read racism or Carragher killing Nani. They don’t usually do it after a draw, though.

I’ll eat Steve’s imaginary pointy white hat if this turns out to be anything.