by red37 » Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:30 pm
this is the article in the ECHO in full:
CHRIS BASCOMBE traces the history of missed chances and false promises over the years
Chris Bacombe, Liverpool Echo
IT IS appropriate that Liverpool head back to the scene of their greatest comeback today.
Off the pitch, the most lucrative deal in the club's history, with a man wealthier than Roman Abramovich, will be noted by generations to come as a fightback of equal significance.
With the clock ticking on the club's dreams of building a £180m stadium, a three-year pursuit for investment is finally on the brink of conclusion, ensuring that the Stanley Park plans proceed.
The stakes could not have been higher for the Liverpool hierarchy, with the temperature within the boardroom increasing daily.
A multi-million pound deal with one of the richest economies on the planet would represent a stunning hat-trick for chairman David Moores and chief executive Rick Parry.
Not only have they ensured that the Stanley Park stadium can be built, but the resources Rafael Benitez craves should also be available.
More significantly, the long-term financial security of Liverpool Football Club would be strengthened through an alliance with one of the richest and most stable economies on earth.
To put it into perspective, Liverpool's last strategic partnership, when Granada purchased a 9.9% stake for £21m in 1999, looks no more than a generous handshake with a Big Issue salesman in comparison to the wealth and powerof the United Arab Emirates.
And although the imminent agreement should not be compared with the Roman Abramovich takeover of Chelsea, even the Russian looks like a pauper when stood alongside the UAE royal family, who are ultimately the power behind Dubai International.
The wealth of the Emirate states is measured in trillions, not billions.
Their pockets are deep, and if a successful Liverpool Football club becomes their ambition, their financial insecurities can be consigned to history.
The first priority of the club is to safeguard the stadium plans so the Dubai group should not be seen as an Abramovich style benefactor willing to sign the cheques which will allow Benitez to make Chelsea-style bids for players.
Fans or rival clubs expecting an instant series of £20m offers for the world's top stars would be misinterpreting the deal.
But as well as helping to pay for the stadium, it would be illogical if funds were not also made available to the manager. The concerns he's expressed should be eased, if not completely eradicated.
That said, it would also be unwise for Liverpool to advertise an increased transfer kitty too publicly.
As the board said at last year's AGM, "all roads lead to investment". After hitting a cul-de-sac for so long, Liverpool can now drive forward unobstructed.
If the process concludes as well as anticipated over the next three weeks, Parry and Moores can share a glass of bubbly with a sense of relief, triumph and satisfaction of a job, eventually, well done.
The process of attracting investment has been painful, emotional and expensive.
The chairman was on the brink of resigning in public on at least two occasions, while behind the scenes he was tantalisingly close to selling part of his stake to rival Steve Morgan.
Morgan valued the club at £70m and vowed to invest millions more, but he refused to proceed with a deal which would see Moores claim 51% of his bid.
Either side of the local entrepreneur's forlorn proposal, the club flirted with some of the richest men on the planet, with Parry clocking up air miles with a prolific zeal.
The lowest point was arguably Parry's meeting with Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in May, 2004.
When the Liverpool chief executive was pictured in Bangkok, it provoked a furious reaction from human rights campaigners, urging the Reds to steer clear of such dirty money. The meeting with US businessman RobertKraft last season was greeted more enthusiastically, but Parry's trip to America was as much a fact finding mission as arealistic bid for cash.
Kraft financed his New England Patriots American football stadium by entering a partnership with Gillette.
While the Thai and American links led to brief media hysteria, Liverpool were still no closer to securing investment.
Less publicised interest emerged from Arab countries, with the Abu Dhabi government understood to be showing their interest in late 2005, and investment groups from Saudi Arabia and Dubai increasingly linked with stadium sponsorship.
An alternative plan would see Liverpool follow the Arsenal blueprint and take a £200m loan from a variety of banks.
However, this strategy was incredibly risky, effectively mortgaging Liverpool's future based on a decade of Champions League participation.
Parry wisely advised against this from the start.
A plan to move to a new stadium was first announced in 2000, but the unpredictability of football threatened to scupper the club's plans.
When Parry confidently unveiled his vision for Liverpool's future, no fan could foresee the economic mis-fortune ahead.
Liverpool were seemingly heading in the right direction under the leadership of a visionary French manager.
Two years on, the Reds were not even in the European Cup.
Major investment in the squad was rewarded with a series of dud signings, and the manager and his back-room team eventually left at a cost of £20m.
While the team failed to raise capital, the stadium costs threatened to spiral out of control. Feasibility studies were undertaken at huge expense, while the Northwest Development Agency seemed reluctant to provide the grant.
Liverpool were urged to reopen the shared stadium debate in order to cut costs. Parry steadfastly fought against these outside pressures, maintaining his confident stance that he would deliver.
By November 2006, Belfast businessman and lifelong Liverpool fan John Miskelly appeared to be in pole position.
He valued the club at £140m, preparing to pay £4,000 a share to take control of the club. In addition, he was prepared to consider ploughing in a further £80m to underwrite stadium costs and provide manager Rafa Benitez with a transfer kitty.
Rival bidders were prepared to pay £4,400 ashare, valuing Liverpool at more than £150m.
Parry and Moores also met George Gillett Jnr, an American businessman best known as the owner of Canadian Montreal Ice Hockey team and former owner of the Harlem Globetrotters.
But Gillett also favoured are opening of the shared stadium debate with Everton, which meant Liverpool were less enthusiastic about his interest.
Parry knew his regular jaunts to the United Arab Emirates offered a regular chink of light in pursuit of investment. The Abu Dhabi government-owned Etihad Airways were close to agreeing a shirt sponsorship deal 12 months ago.
Approaches to Arab investors were increasing in frequency and it was hoped a major investment deal would be struck ahead of last year's AGM, which was deliberately delayed.
Dubai International had negotiated with Liverpool before, but chairman Moores has always been adamant he'd only sell shares to the right bidder.
After years of criticism, Parry and Moores can now justifiably argue they have delivered the goods.
With investment on the brink of being secured, a new stadium backin the realm of reality and transfer funds surely to be made available to Benitez, Liverpool fans can soon allow themselves a smile as bright as one of their chief executive's famously eccentric shirts.
City in a state of luxury
DUBAI is one of seven states which make up the United Arab Emirates.
Oil was discovered there in the 1960s, but has now been replaced by tourism as the most lucrative income source.
Dubai City, located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, is growing faster than any city on earth.
The state's beaches, which stretch for 25 miles, are currently home to almost $100bn worth of development projects either underway or planned.
Dubai International Capital (DIC) was established in 2004 as the international investment arm of Dubai Holdings.
Long road to new stadium
August, 2000: Liverpool announce plans for a 70,000-seater stadium on Stanley Park at a cost of around £70m. It is hoped the rewards of regular Champions League participation will meet the bulk of the costs.
May 17, 2002: Liverpool release full details of their plans. A vision of a 55,000 seater stadium by the start of the 2005 season is unveiled, with costs now estimated nearer £90m.
May, 2003: A miserable season ends with Liverpool failing to qualify for the Champions League, having gone out of the tournament in the group stage. Roman Abramovich takes over Chelsea.
January 2004: At a stormy AGM, the costs of Champions League failure are made public. Chairman David Moores says he'll "consider his position" if Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League. Shareholder Steve Morgan accuses the club of "fiddling while Rome burns."
May 10, 2004: Rick Parry meets Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to discuss a £50m investment in the club.
May 12, 2004: Shareholder Steve Morgan proposes to invest £73m into Liverpool by issuing new shares. The deal would involve Moores reducing his 51 % stake. A day later, Liverpool reject the bid.
May, 2004: Gerard Houllier sacked as Liverpool manager. It costs Liverpool a total of £20m to fire Houllier and members of his backroom staff. Rafael Benitez takes over.
July 23, 2004: Councillors accept the stadium plans, but refer a final decision to deputy prime minister John Prescott.
July 2004: A further bid by Morgan leads to the process of "due diligence" at Anfield. Rumours are rife that Moores is on the verge of selling shares taking him below 51%.
August, 2004: Steve Morgan says he's pulled out of further investment talks.
September 27, 2004: John Prescott gives the green light to Liverpool's stadium plans.
December 2004: Liverpool announce record losses of £21m. Moores faces more criticism at the AGM. Stadium costs are believed to have risen to £130m with the capacity now 60,000.
May 2005: A lucrative sponsorship deal with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airlines collapses at the last minute. Parry continues to nurture contacts in the Arab states.
May, 2005: Liverpool win the Champions League - and £28m.
October, 2005: Parry meets US tycoon Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots.
February, 2006: The North West Development Agency accepts a £10m grant application to help regenerate the area around Liverpool's proposed stadium.
February, 2006: Stadium costs confirmed as £160m. March, 2006: Rafa Benitez says he needs more team investment to realise his ambitions of challenging Chelsea for the title.
June, July, 2006: Benitez spends an estimated total of £28m on signings.
August 2006: A final deadline of September for Liverpool to cement their plans is put in place by Liverpool city council. Rumours are rife of a £200m bank loan.
October, 2006: Liverpool inform councillors of several investment proposals. The council deadline passes with city planners satisfied Liverpool will have the funds to build their stadium on Stanley Park.
October 27, 2006: An unnamed board member, later identified as former chairman Noel White, launches an astonishing attack on Rafa Benitez in the Daily Mirror. Days later, White resigns.
November, 2006: David Moores and Rick Parry travel to Canada to meet George Gillett jnr.
November 25, 2006: The Anfield board considers its options.
November 27, 2006: Moores and Parry travel to Dubai for the Soccerex conference.
December 1, 2006: Deal agreed in principle with Dubai International, valuing Liverpool at around £160m, and ploughing funds to underwrite cost of new stadium.
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TITANS of HOPE
