Liverpool FC Forum

[The_Rock]

Not sure about you folks, but looking at the squad of players we have....i rather L4 buys over LFC or at the very least a percentage of the club.


http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php/topic,50496.0.html

Sports tycoon touches base with Anfield
By Michael Steinberger


If the New England Patriots are once again dousing themselves in Champagne in two weeks time, city officials in Boston might just want to clear some space for a monument to team owner Robert Kraft.

Should the defending champion Patriots get past the Pittsburgh Steelers tomorrow night and go on to win the Super Bowl on February 6 in Jacksonville, it will be their third title in four years, and much of the credit will belong to Kraft, who acquired the team 11 years ago and has transformed it from one of the sorriest franchises in US sport to one of the mightiest. Indeed, the Kraft name may soon be as revered in Boston as the name Kennedy.

It could soon be a household name in Liverpool, too. Kraft is believed to be backing a consortium that might buy into Liverpool FC and attempt to restore its former glories. The 64-year-old tycoon already owns one soccer team, the New England Revolution, coached by former Liverpool player Steve Nicol, and is evidently keen to add a Premiership franchise to his portfolio.

This week Kraft did nothing to damp down the Liverpool rumours. That it took him a mere 30 minutes to respond to an interview request suggests it was either a slow day at the office or that Kraft was unusually eager to reach a British audience. He referred to the fact that the Kraft Group, his family's company that is also involved in paper, packaging and investment ventures, does extensive business in Britain. He also offered the observation that the two US franchises he owns both include the word "England" in their names, which he seemed to think might warm some British hearts.

Kraft declined to comment on Liverpool but made clear that he is looking for opportunities to invest in teams outside the US - "Do we have an interest in other franchises globally? Yes" - and he seemed to go out of his way to allay concerns about his possible foray into the Premiership. Responding to suggestions that he is a corporate raider concerned only with the bottom line, Kraft said the profit motive would never lead him to buy a club: "When we get involved with a team, we do it to win, not to make money."

He also made several references to Gillette Stadium, the glittering new $325m ballpark that the Kraft family financed privately and which is now home to the Patriots and the Revolution, and he repeatedly emphasised his determination as an owner to ensuring that fans get their money's worth. Given the pressing need in Liverpool for a new stadium and the rancorous debate over how best to pay for it, Kraft's comments seemed clearly telegraphed to the Anfield faithful.

Should the Liverpudlians require any references, there are several million football fans in the greater Boston area who will gladly serve as character witnesses on Kraft's behalf.

When he acquired the Patriots in 1994 for a then-record $172m - the team is now worth an estimated $861m (£460m) - saving them from a possible move to St Louis, he spoke of his desire to match the success of the San Francisco 49ers, who won five Super Bowls between 1982 and 1995. Hardened Bostonians rolled their eyes. Apart from an unsuccessful trip to the Super Bowl in 1986, the Patriots were perennial losers, and with the team based in Foxboro, 20 miles south of the city, most Bostonians were happy to keep them out of sight and out of mind.

Two Super Bowl titles later - the most recent last year when they defeated the Carolina Panthers 32-29 - and Kraft was completely vindicated.

Although Kraft is a lifelong Patriots fan and micro-manages nearly every aspect of the team's operations with the help of son Jonathan, the club's vice-chairman, he knows better than to meddle on the field. You will not find Kraft calling plays to his coaching staff. "What they've forgotten, I don't know," as he put it. His philosophy is to give employees all the slack they need to either run or hang themselves. "You have to let them do their jobs; that's the only way you can hold them accountable," Kraft said. "I talk to Bill [Belichick, Patriots' coach], I listen to him, I push him to make bold decisions, but I don't second-guess."

He has not had much reason to second-guess Belichick in recent years. What makes New England's continued success particularly impressive is that continued success is something the National Football League actively discourages. Competitive parity is league policy, which it seeks to enforce by means of a stringent salary cap and scheduling that is designed to punish winning teams.

But by cultivating a deep and versatile squad and cutting loose even the finest players rather than overpay to retain their services, Kraft and Belichick have found a way to keep winning despite the salary cap and challenging schedules, and they have done it without completely mortgaging the team's future. "It is quality depth management," said Kraft. "We have a system to develop people, and the people we want are those who are willing to subordinate their egos to the team."

If they beat Pittsburgh tomorrow, the Patriots will journey to Jacksonville with a chance to join the Dallas Cowboys as the only teams in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four seasons - dynastic credentials by anyone's measure. But do not mention the d-word to Kraft. "You used the word, I didn't; we're trying to play it down," he said with a laugh.

It is the kind of problem Liverpool fans, fresh from a humiliating FA Cup defeat, presumably would not mind having.

[dosserboy]

Please Please Please L4, take ovr Liverpool FC, its the only way we are going to be able to challenge seriously for the Premership and Champions League!!!

[dosserboy]

And the FA CUP, sorry forgot that one!!!

[The Canadian Red Army]

great 

[ronmeister]

Another instant solution is support Chelsea wont make me feel any better though

[The_Rock]

i have supported david moores (but not parry, becos i can do a better job than him as a CEO....i am not kidding).

But i don't want to wait another 16 yrs for a league title...that is something i cannot take.

L4 has my vote.

[zarababe]

Another instant solution is support Chelsea wont make me feel any better though

.. is this guy serious.. we have a fantatsic mnanger trying to piut things rioght and u .. say this  un believable the loyalty on this thread 

[The Canadian Red Army]

Another instant solution is support Chelsea wont make me feel any better though

.. is this guy serious.. we have a fantatsic mnanger trying to piut things rioght and u .. say this  un believable the loyalty on this thread 

i think this guy should leave, over the last few weeks he has been ****** me off.
i hope L4 does not get to be owner of Liverpool

[L-type]

He sounds like just what we need:

Deep Pockets

Personally financed a "glittering new" stadium

Lets the team do what they need to do

No second guessing the coach, staff, and players like half the schmucks on this board when bold decisions go awry

L4 group isn't just him has other Liverpool greats and people who want to look out for the clubs best interests, not just the profit margins.

[Gareth G]

Another instant solution is support Chelsea wont make me feel any better though

.. is this guy serious.. we have a fantatsic mnanger trying to piut things rioght and u .. say this  un believable the loyalty on this thread 

i think this guy should leave, over the last few weeks he has been ****** me off.
i hope L4 does not get to be owner of Liverpool

Thats the kind of comment id expect form a Canadian, oh, gosh, look - you're Canadian.    

[ronmeister]

Do me a favour you effin idiots its called Sarcasm and Canadian maybe you should leave its a bloody forum and to be hohnest theres not a lot of your post i like either Effin Knob jockey's

[ronmeister]

So why do L4 really want Lfc are you telling me there football fans now .. sorry Soccer they say its not for profit so what is it I just dont buy someone suddenly deciding they like Football all of a sudden especially a Yank dont get me wrong i know footie is on the up and up in the states but from what i can understand its mainly a womens thing out there and how can someone be passionate about the team theve never even seen play.Do you guys really want to do another chelsea and just buy a title .Then again im from Liverpool in England i think with Red blinkers on.And to state it again all you johny foriegners try and learn about sarcasm please its the lowest form of wit but us brits use it a lot so you can understand it.

[The Canadian Red Army]

Another instant solution is support Chelsea wont make me feel any better though

.. is this guy serious.. we have a fantatsic mnanger trying to piut things rioght and u .. say this  un believable the loyalty on this thread 

i think this guy should leave, over the last few weeks he has been ****** me off.
i hope L4 does not get to be owner of Liverpool

Thats the kind of comment id expect form a Canadian, oh, gosh, look - you're Canadian.    

but hey would you want a flippin american to own our team, yeh i might be biased because i dont like america. Think of what we have to loose if an american rolls on in as the president.

[mistyred]

But America and Canada are joint together     But yeh most funny Americans are from canada

[The Canadian Red Army]

ronmeister stfu