24 Sep 2019 11:28:33
Morning Ed's

Been reading just now that New Balance are trying to remain as our sponsor and compete with Nikes offer and are considering taking it to court.

How do you see this panning out?

{Ed001's Note - without seeing the contract we had with New Balance I can only speculate. It seems there must be a clause in the original deal giving them first option or the option of matching any new offer. Otherwise what would they have to go to court over? Personally I do not understand why we seem to do this with every single deal we make. Why can't we come to amicable arrangements? There is something seriously wrong with the way we do business.}


1.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 13:34:46
Possibly just a case of getting more money from Nike. It sounds like the owners hoping Nike offer more than New Balance are willing to pay and the club get a much better deal from their point of view.
The owners are doing better as of late but too many silly things spoil the hard work. Edd 2 once said about some of our sponsors were not the right type of companys to do business with.

{Ed001's Note - and how many of the right type of companies exist? People hold up Apple as some shining beacon and went on about Steve Jobs being the great idealist to follow but forget his billions were 'earned' on the back of child slave labour. Companies are rich because they are lacking in morals and will make money any way they can. There are very few that do the right thing.}


2.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 13:13:23
the new balance brand isn't as strong or notable as nike, but new balance items are a much superior quality to anything nike makes. i'm in the minority, but i'd hate to see us switch. we're so concerned about being viewed as a BIG CLUB though, that it seems like we've already made up our mind about going with nike. new balance linked up with us during bad times, so it would be nice to see us continue to partner together during these much better times. if new balance doesn't want to match the offer that's one thing, but if we're not honoring the essence of the agreement, then that would be really disappointing.


3.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 13:43:09
I would happily keep New Balance as a sponsor if money was matched. Their kits seem much better than the Nike ones.


4.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 13:54:44
i just read james pearce's article about this. the dispute is over the definition of "matching" an offer. the cash shouldn't be an issue, as new balance can probably find investors to match the fee. the issue is over the distribution networks. nike being more established worldwide, and is able to give LFC access to markets around the world that new balance cannot. how much is that worth and is it something that the contract says should be considered when giving new balance the right to match? that's likely why it's heading to court, to get clarity on that.


5.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 14:25:57
Mftonjes is correct, from a business stand point, Nike is a much better company to make the deal with. They can distribute across the globe and real authentic Liverpool shirts will be available world wide and not sell out as fast as they do with NB. For some people abroad is near on impossible to get a shirt shipped or bought because they’re sold out. In terms of design, I’d have NB and certainly Adidas over them, in fact Adidas would be as good for business and a much better design than Nike could offer but they don’t seem to be involved. I’m not sure we’ve ever had a kit deal with Nike so here goes nothing, I just hope they keep the tone of blood red we’ve got going on in recent seasons as it’s so much nicer than the plain red we had a few seasons ago.


6.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 14:29:38
Fair enough Ed, sounds a bit of a mess again mate. Who do you see us finishing up with mate?

{Ed001's Note - sadly seems we just want to dump NB to jump ship to Nike. Nothing against Nike but their kits are crap. The only good kits they have produced were the PSG ones they did with their Jordan brand. Now if they are going to go down that route and we have Jordan branded kits then I am happy, because they will be bespoke. Otherwise we will just be another Nike generic kit.}


7.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 14:44:46
Ages ago when this came up my view was that it'd be good to stick with Nb, who came in board when we were avg and have steadily increased each renewal. I like their kits, if they can match the money then I'm ok with them. Not sure about the whole global reach thing, but that feels a bit like we're squabbling of pennies somehow. Anyways, hope we keep good relationships whatever we do.


8.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 16:28:03
I think I am right in saying we extended Standard Charted 2 years ago for £20m less than the going rate. Not sure who made that decision, maybe that terrible decision is now having a knock on effect.


9.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 17:12:23
Not that I particularly like Nike kits but I live in Canada and New Balance Canada is terrible. They have a very limited selection of Liverpool equipment and their selection for the other New Balance teams like Celtic and Porto is even worse.


10.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 18:08:39
The other thing i wonder about is where will we sit in terms of Nike’s priorities, second to Barcelona I would say, and they’ve got lots of other football clubs. I presume new balance focus most of their football activities on us?


11.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 18:39:18
I will also like to add it would be good if we did stick with New Balance in this period of success, not many of the bigger brands were ready to do business with us when we we not having the success we are currently having.


12.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 19:13:23
the new balance brand isn't as strong or notable as nike, but new balance items are a much superior quality to anything nike makes. i'm in the minority, but i'd hate to see us switch. we're so concerned about being viewed as a BIG CLUB though, that it seems like we've already made up our mind about going with nike. new balance linked up with us during bad times, so it would be nice to see us continue to partner together during these much better times. if new balance doesn't want to match the offer that's one thing, but if we're not honoring the essence of the agreement, then that would be really disappointing.


13.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 19:24:40
A very good mate of mine was recruited to Nike last month. He is a marketing guru and Liverpool fanatic. He is / was to be a senior guy on a new account for them, however announcements are being delayed. It seems due process has not been followed and it is a bit messy. But hay, this is the first time I have had a legit source to discuss anything with on this site 😉.


14.) 24 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 21:12:14
I live in Canada too and buy a shirt through the club shop every year and they post it out to me. That way the club gets the money, and not some random shop. Support your club!

{Ed002's Note - That income for the shop is reasonably small, but the club do get more money than popping in to your local sports shop - where they get near none.}


15.) 25 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 23:37:48
While I've no problem with NB kits, I like them more than Nike kits, what's the point when you can't buy them? 2 seasons in a row the home Jersey sold out. Think it was over a month feb/ march gone by til we restocked. And this season already the black goal keepers Jersey is not available. Its atrocious and they obviously can't handle the demand,


16.) 25 Sep 2019
24 Sep 2019 23:38:39
Omg well said about Apple I've been saying this for years and no one I socialise with either cares or refuse to believe it.
I am sure it was edd 33 that told me about this several years ago.


17.) 25 Sep 2019
25 Sep 2019 15:24:00
The new Nike arsenal kit is the nicest kit the league has seen in decades.


18.) 25 Sep 2019
25 Sep 2019 17:39:42
The new Arsenal kit is made by adidas 🤦🏼‍♂️.


19.) 25 Sep 2019
25 Sep 2019 23:18:47
This is what I love about football. The "tribalism" it creates. Here we are arguing over our "colors" despite (perhaps) being oceans apart. Really cool.


20.) 27 Sep 2019
27 Sep 2019 15:36:28
Yeah I've been 90% happy with the NB designs since they came in. I'd rather stay with them than switch to Nike and their boring kits.