Forrest Gump, the Khmer Rouge and the Fernando Torres of Finance: Purslow, a Villain among Villans
The sight of the former chief executive mugging it up among Aston Villa supporters at Stamford Bridge turns the stomach of anyone who cares about fan culture
The sight of Christian Purslow singing with Aston Villa supporters in the away end at Chelsea is both jarring and amusing. Fourteen years ago Purslow, the former chief executive of the Midlands club, was involved in one of the most egregious assaults on fan culture the game has seen. It has become one of the defining acts of his career in football.
Purslow, blue tee shirt, with Villa fans at Chelsea
The self-styled ‘Fernando Torres of finance,’ was filmed singing in praise of Unai Emery in the Shed on Sunday and schmoozing with Villa supporters on the concourse at Stamford Bridge. It’s unusual to see someone more used to boardrooms among the travelling fans. Purslow was loving the attention. He always likes to be in the spotlight.
Although he clearly sees himself as a Villa fan these days, his first job in the game was as managing director of the team he supported growing up, Liverpool. At Anfield he quickly established a reputation as a pompous figure of fun.
The players nicknamed him ‘Forrest Gump,” because of his propensity to put himself at the centre of every event. They held sweeps about how quickly he would sidle up to Torres or Steven Gerrard in the dressing room. Purslow loved to hang with the star players. The squad were amused by his David Brentish persona. Before a game against Fiorentina in the Champions League, team members giggled their way onto the pitch after their managing director patted Gerrard on the backside and said: “Go’ed, Stevie la,” to the captain. To say it was incongruous is an understatement. The attempt at Scouse from a man who attended school in Aylesbury and went to Cambridge University caused hilarity.
The Fernando Torres of finance loving the attention
Rafa Benitez was less amused by his antics. Anfield was in a state of civil war in the dying days of the ownership of Gillett and Hicks. Purslow, whose background is in private equity, won over a number of Liverpool legends by telling them that he was going to raise enough capital to buy the club. A number of them came to believe the ‘Fernando Torres of finance’ was destined to become the most powerful man at Anfield. In some ways he briefly held the reins at Liverpool. He sacked Benitez and replaced him with Roy Hodgson. Then Purslow burdened the new manager with Joe Cole, whose 26 appearances cost the club more than £1 million each.
Meanwhile, the new king of Villa’s away mob was making enemies of the fans. He met the Spirit of Shankly supporters’ union and dismissed them as “Sons of Strikers.” Worse, one of the most infamous blacklists in club-supporter relations was compiled under his auspices.
What became known as the ‘Khmer Rouge document” was written by Purslow’s friend and ally Paul Tyrrell, who is now the chief operating officer at Villa Park. It is an attempt to detail the enemies of the club and is breathtaking in its stupidity and malevolence. It would be funny but these briefing notes were passed round inside Anfield. The first time I met John W Henry, the principal figure in the consortium that took Liverpool out of the clutches of Gillett and Hicks, he said: “I was told never to speak to a number of people when I bought the club. Do you know where you were on the list?” I suggested in the top four, replying “Champions League slots?” Henry made the universal gesture for higher with his hand.
Khmer Rouge document page 1. Interesting that Tony Barrett now works for LFC
The Khmer Rouge document – apart from comparing a group of impassioned supporters and campaigning journalists to a genocidal regime that killed more than one million people – is riddled with falsehoods. Tyrrell was no loss to journalism when he made the move into PR. His efforts are a masterpiece of fake news. It’s remarkable that anyone could continue to work in the industry after producing something as toxic as this. When it was eventually leaked, the new regime apologised for its existence even though it had nothing to do with Fenway Sports Group. For Liverpool, Purslow and his acolyte continue to be an embarrassment on Merseyside.
My section from the Khmer Rouge document. The Guardian did not run the story because they thought this bio was actionable
Superficially, the sight of someone from the boardroom crossing the fan/executive divide is refreshing. Instead, it dredges up the ugly underbelly of football, bringing again to mind an incident that exposed the paranoia, contempt for supporters and idiocy that can be found in the game.
Purslow went looking for the limelight at Stamford Bridge. He might not enjoy what that light exposes.