AN OPEN LETTER TO THOMAS O. HICKS OF HICKS HOLDINGS LLC

Dear Mr Hicks,

I read of your letter asking for Mr Parry to resign, and it smacks of hypocrisy and unpleasantness. At the time of the takeover last year, both Mr Moores and Mr Parry highlighted that commercial activity was an area in need of improvement. So either:

1. That has only just sunk in with you after over a year, and I do not believe you are that slow; or

2. You are just using Liverpool Football Club to further your own ends, and with no interest in the well-being of the club, the staff and the fans.

So let us examine your own record:

Commercial

So far you have caused both a loss of revenue and an increase in costs expected to be borne by the club, with the potential for further lost revenue from your latest action:

- Lost Revenue: the delay of over a year in starting construction of the new stadium has lost the club (at a conservative estimate) £25m of revenue.

- Increased Cost: the fact that you expect Liverpool Football Club to fund the £245m of loans to Kop Holdings supporting the purchase price is costing the club (say) £15m pa.

- Potential Lost Revenue: if your latest attempt at management, a month before the end of the season, with this year's Champions League there to be won and next year's qualification still to be secured, distracts from matters on the pitch, then the club could lose a further £5m this year and (say) £15m next year.

In summary, despite you appointing a Commercial Director some time ago to look after commercial matters for Mr Parry (and I presume that is also the person you would seek to put into Mr Parry's job if he chose to resign), you have cost the club £40m so far, with substantial further amounts still to come. I would be delighted to hear from any fans who have noticed any material improvement in commercial activity since your arrival and appointment of a Commercial Director, as I am a heavy "consumer" of all things Liverpool and have yet to see any change. Of course, I have yet to see the ticket prices for next season!

I also understand that your venture capital firm (Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst) invested in Corinthians in Brazil in the late 1990s, and has since made a less-than-glorious exit.

Relationship with the manager

I doubt very much that your actions, all played out in the media, are helping provide the stability and general environment that players want to come into, so it is no great surprise if signings slip through the net. And let us not forget that you are the person who wanted to replace a manager who has now taken us to 3 Champions League semi-finals in 4 years with one who has never managed a club side!

General (Alleged) Behaviour

Quite apart from all that, there are rumours circulating on Merseyside that suggest one of your son's party was so drunk they had to be carried out of the boardroom after one game! I do not know whether or not there is any truth in the rumour, but this is not something we need at Liverpool Football Club.

Summary / Conclusion

So when I step back and look at the big picture, it seems to me that the person who should be resigning is you.

I ask you to find the quickest route out so that Liverpool Football Club can focus on the many things needed in order for the club to move forward.

I would also ask:

- Media: to spread the word across the globe, to make sure that no other clubs / "sporting franchises" suffer the same fate;

- Banks: to be aware of the risks of lending to any part of the Hicks Holdings group;

- Investors: to think carefully about how credible the business plans of Hicks Holdings are, in the light of your track record to date; and

- Liverpool fans: to express their opinions to you, and to anyone involved with the media, banks and investors, in a way that does not distract attention away from activity on the pitch at this critical time of the season. For the avoidance of doubt, I do not condone, and will not tolerate, death threats, acts of physical violence, or any other form of illegal action.

Yours.

Stephen Bridges