Is this a sign that the apocalypse is upon us

Fr Tod Umptious

Livepool's sponsor wants then to buy more Asian players to develop the market there.

Now it is one thing for owners to tinker with the playing staff but it's another thing whne the sponsor wants to get involved.

Where does it stop.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/9442542.stm

Liverpool's sponsor wants the club to sign Asian stars to help tap into commercial opportunities in the region.
Standard Chartered sponsorship chief Gavin Laws cited Manchester United's signing of Park Ji-sung as an example of connecting with the Asian market.
"The real power Liverpool could do for us, and for the Premier League, is if there was a way they could nurture foreign players from Asia," said Laws.
He added that the bank wanted Kenny Dalglish to stay as Liverpool boss.
"I'd like to see Kenny as the long term manager - I'm sure the club would," commented Laws.
"They are going to be talking to him if they aren't talking to him already.
"The Kenny magic is all around the world, everybody believes Kenny can take the club [forward] and that means they stay focused and that means they stay in the newspapers around the world... we are looking for brand awareness."
Liverpool signed an £80m, four-year shirt sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered in September 2009.
And while the company is based in London, much of its income comes from the Asian market.
Speaking at the SoccerEx conference in Manchester, Laws added: "The markets in Asia and the Middle East are so nationalistic, they are very proud about their countries.
"One appearance from a player, say from Dubai in the Premier League, and you'd have the whole of Dubai watching it."
I would have thought that Liverpool have had more exposure around the world this season than anybody else


Gavin Laws

Laws felt that the exposure would be commercially beneficial to his company as well as to Liverpool.
He continued: "You see what Park Ji-sung does for Manchester United."
Liverpool are unlikely to finish in the top four and so are set to miss out on the riches of the Champions League for a second successive season - however, they could still qualify for the Europa League.
With eight more matches remaining this season, Dalglish and his men find themselves sixth in the Premier League, four points adrift of fifth-place Tottenham, having played one game more, and eight behind Manchester City in fourth.
However, Laws thought it was "not that important" if Liverpool once again miss out on a place in European club football's most prestigious competition because matches are played when the bank's target audience in Asia is asleep.
He also said that the club's struggles on and off the pitch this season had actually benefited his company.
"I would have thought that Liverpool have had more exposure around the world this season than anybody else......without the turmoil at the club there wouldn't have been [the publicity]," he said.
"They are a mid-table team with an outside chance of getting into the Europa League again."
The takeover of Liverpool by US company New England Sports Ventures, owner of the Boston Red Sox, was completed in October 2010 and generated huge global media coverage.

Kess73

That article has "quotes" that are not exactly the same as what the spokesperson for Standard Chartered actually said.

CiaranC

Given that half the posters on here cite Irish players having played for their UK club and supposed "Irish links" as a reason for starting to support them, I think maybe he is on to something.

~Rebel~

CiaranC wrote: »

Given that half the posters on here cite Irish players having played for their UK club and supposed "Irish links" as a reason for starting to support them, I think maybe he is on to something.

Yup, and thats precisely the reason players like Junichi Inamoto and Dong Fangzhuo have been on the books at top clubs despite not being good enough for said teams (though Inamoto wasn't actually too bad either).

The happy medium is players like Park, Kagawa or Honda who add this benefit while also having their squad positions on merit.

It's a pity he said this, as it didn't need to be said (but as Kess said, there are some questions over the accuracy of the quotes).

Revolution9

Someone once told me that a Man City match against Everton a few years ago with Sun Jihai and Li Tie playing for their respective clubs is the most viewed match in Premier League history, due to the Asian audience tuning in. Anyone know if that's true?

killwill

CiaranC wrote: »

Given that half the posters on here cite Irish players having played for their UK club and supposed "Irish links" as a reason for starting to support them, I think maybe he is on to something.

Spot on. United are a club that have done this so successfully in Asia, along with Asian tours. I never understood why LFC never tried this out, considering the rich history of the club, Asians would love it.
Also South America and the States, considering population should be another target for any club trying to make money.

That_Guy

Dennis Wise went and signed some crocked South American chap based on a YouTube video for us two seasons ago so that "we would get first preference for the up and coming talent from South America" and to broaden our market there.....

Don't think that's working out too well.

Paully D

That_Guy wrote: »

Dennis Wise went and signed some crocked South American chap based on a YouTube video for us two seasons ago so that "we would get first preference for the up and coming talent from South America" and to broaden our market there.....

Don't think that's working out too well.

Gonzalez? I heard that deal was more to do with Wise or Newcastle owning an agent ''a favour''.

everdead.ie

Well obviously it does work for instance Spurs are followed a lot in Honduras because of Palacios and are really well known in Croatia given we have four of there international squad with us.

Average-Ro

I think Honda would be a great signing for a premiership team. I only saw him in the world cup, but he looked like he'd do a job for the bigger teams as well, even if it's in a "Park" type role.