Liverpool FC Forum

[Ciggy]

Bamba posted this last night on RAWK, I said last week that the rocket was Gillett defaulting on the loan, I knew it was.

I haven’t posted on the takeover for some time, and for a variety of reasons - chief of which was a growing feeling that the information provided was actually helping Hicks and Gillett work out where the threat was coming from and concentrate their efforts on digging the dirt and launching a fightback. But today has been a woeful end to a depressing week and amid all the gloom I feel that people should know that all is not lost.

Nonetheless, I won’t believe Hicks and Gillett have gone until their names no longer feature in our club profiles, so I’ll keep this as informative as possible without being specific. As ever, take it at face value or bin it. And as has always been the intention, I’ll spill the beans, fully, when it’s safe to do so.

Firstly, huge respect and support to the groups and individuals who continue to fight the good fight. There is no doubt that the campaigns work, and we should continue to keep on with the emails, petitions, adverts, T-shirts and all other forms of protest and direct action until Hicks and Gillett are gone.

But in no particular order, here are some things that are still worth knowing. The Rocket was launched. It scored a direct hit. Most of the regular posters on this forum are decent and humane people who take little pleasure in the suffering of others. Knowing that George Gillett has retreated to his mountain hideaway, shell-shocked, punch-drunk and waving the white flag will no doubt distress the many who have come to view this jovial old devil as one of our own.

Hicks and Gillett entered into a “Joint & Several” arrangement when they re-financed the time before last. That means they’re responsible for one another’s LFC obligations if one or the other defaults. As a result of the direct hit, George Gillett has been bankrupted and stands no chance of paying his share of the RBS debt by 6th October. Tom Hicks is now legally obligated to pay Gillett’s 50% of the debt. So the obvious danger arising from Gillett’s demise is that if any financial institution were insane enough to lend Tom Hicks the money, he now has the right to buy out Gillett’s 50% of the club.

That’s scary. But a more agreeable way of looking at it is to imagine Hicks and Gillett handcuffing themselves to each other on that fateful day they entered into that Joint & Several pact. Gillett has now given up; he’s jumped off the pier. A horrified Tom Hicks realises he’s still cuffed to him. He clings on by his fingertips as his former partner sinks, his dead weight dragging Hicks closer and closer to the edge. Hicks, wild-eyed, is pleading to the merchant seamen who pass by, begging them to grab his hand and haul him back from the brink.

One or two of them come over for a look, but recognise Hicks as the man who killed their trade in Brazil, or Texas… it’s just not worth them getting involved with a man like this. He’ll always shaft you in the end, so they turn a deaf ear to his pleas for one last chance. If Hicks can’t get someone to throw him a lifeline, he’s going down with Gillett, and soon.

Just as Kirdi was in all likelihood a stooge created by Gillett, for the precise purpose of wheeling him out as a stalking horse whenever an offer came in for the club, it’s equally likely that the Blackstone bombshell is Hicks’s last gamble; an empty bluff from a poker player who doesn’t have a hand. But from the RBS’s and from a legal point of view, it’s still complicated. Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre are not the enemy. They are carefully and skilfully navigating a path through a minefield, keeping a keen eye on what needs to happen (Gillett and Hicks out) and the strict legalities and procedures for bringing that about. To give just one blunt example, a recent report about Hicks’ refinancing fiasco stated that Martin Broughton is “open minded” about the prospect of Hicks staying on. He can hardly state otherwise, can he? Any suggestion, let alone confirmation that Broughton was not acting in the best interests of the owners would only lead to another hiatus as Hicks stalls and sues and refuses to go. Equally, the supposed Purslow Smirk after today’s game is much more likely to be “if only I could tell you…” rather than “why should I care”. The U.K-based element of the board have gone through a lengthy and diligent legal process to ascertain what they can lawfully do to prevent Gillett and Hicks from re-financing. They’re hardly going to blow it now by playing to the crowd.

Me neither. That’s all for now. Go to bed knowing that it’s not over yet. But neither is it Over.

[Igor Zidane]

Erm, so we are going to go the game, give hicks some more money then refuse to leave? All the time there will be no cameras showing our disgust?

More or less what the S*N said on SS "what they going to do make some banners and sing hicks out"

If we call for a boycott straight away , and enough people don't do it we will fail miserably . We need to make sure everyone is on side and we can do this by the protests inside the ground . Lets see how many chant , lets see how many stay behind for the sit in . Then we will have a better idea of the numbers prepared to boycott . It's no good if only two thousand if that, boycott . It's got to be en masse .

A motor cavalcade, not necessarily on match day, with only 15 cars will cause mass disruption and great publicity.
I have organised a couple and it works

Sound mate , send your idea in .

[Igor Zidane]

The problem I have with this is as Raven has said, this has all been done before, marches, YANKS OUT chants, YANKS OUT banners and the pair of kunts are still here.

Direct Action has to mean direct action something radical something that hasnt been done before things have to turn nasty Im sorry but they do short term pain long term gain.

Twit & Tw@t must laugh their heads off at people paying them then chanting and holding up banners after the money is in the tills.

I know lynds , but it's no good if it's only the usual suspects.

[tommycockles]

Does Hicks really think if he does take full control of the club that in a couple of years he will be able to sell it for more than today?

I think a lot of people are confused by this TBH. Hicks LBO model involves selling the raped company so that overall he makes a net profit. It seems clear that if he maintains control Liverpool are going to continue their rapid decline with an associated loss of value, which can only negatively affect his profit. I'm not sure anyone is entirely clear about why he so vehmently wants to maintain control rather than sell, if it's personal hatred, it would be unusual for a man for whom money is the one and only god.

as he's still probably taking a few million year in expenses and wages, he may as well ring us dry until he's got all he can!

[Fivestars]

The club has OUR money for the Sunderland and Blackpool games because they are "all ticket" so there is no use in boycotting them, technically they are "sellouts". It would be better to boycott the Northampton game or select a game that tickets are not available for yet.

I favour not entering the ground until 3pm, the game will be delayed, cost the club extra money in wages for the staff and the police and press will report it.

[Ciggy]

Alan Myers on SSN spoke to Gillett yesterday and Gillett will have his share dilluted he is not bankrupt, he will have some equity in the club, Hicks can buy it out, Hicks wrecking havoc in the boardroom with Broughton, Ayres & Purslow. What he wants is not what they want.
It looks like the stories are true then about Hicks wanting to hock Anfield, the players & Melwood. FOL

[Ciggy]

   

Now we have to be one step ahead and go after the others he is trying to finance with.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010 ... CMP=twt_gu

Blackstone Group, the private equity firm said to be on the verge of backing Tom Hicks in his last ditch bid to retain control of Liverpool FC in the face of fierce fan opposition, is understood to have ended all talks with the Texan.

Hicks had approached GSO Capital Partners, the debt restructuring arm of the private equity group, to secure the funds required to repay the £237m outstanding to the Royal Bank of Scotland in the middle of next month and remain in control of the club.

It had been reported that a £280m, two-year package had been agreed in principle. But it is understood that, although talks took place between GSO and Hicks, they ended without a firm offer on the table. The Guardian has learned that GSO has now walked away and there is no chance of the Blackstone subsidiary lending Hicks the money. Liverpool fans' groups over the weekend made clear the depth of their hostility to the idea that Hicks could be bailed out by GSO, effectively buying him more time to find a new investor willing to pay a premium on the £218.9m the Americans paid for the club in 2007.

Hicks met with the club's chairman, Martin Broughton, and the rest of the Liverpool board last week to outline his plan. RBS, which throughout has maintained that it wishes to find a solution that is in the best long term interests of the club, would nevertheless have no further say in the matter if its loan was repaid in full.

Hicks and George Gillett put Liverpool up for sale in April, with RBS parachuting in Broughton to lead the sale process. But despite a series of high profile approaches, from Rhone Capital and Kenny Huang, no proper bid was ever lodged.

Hicks had hoped that the funding would allow him to take full control, pay down the debt and provide funds for players. Now that Blackstone has walked away, it leaves him desperately searching for a replacement loan before the mid-October refinancing deadline. It would also see Gillett's 50% stake diluted, with the Colorado-native staying at Liverpool in an inactive role.

A first attempt by Hicks to refinance the debt was rejected earlier this year by the Liverpool board to allow Barclays Capital to continue the ongoing search for a buyer. If Hicks approached the board with a new proposal, it is believed that they would also look to block it, although lawyers are split on whether they would be able to do so under company law.

[Igor Zidane]

Is right lynds , we've goto keep the pressure up . There's other companies out there who are willing to finance hicks.

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

   

Now we have to be one step ahead and go after the others he is trying to finance with.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010 ... CMP=twt_gu

Blackstone Group, the private equity firm said to be on the verge of backing Tom Hicks in his last ditch bid to retain control of Liverpool FC in the face of fierce fan opposition, is understood to have ended all talks with the Texan.

Hicks had approached GSO Capital Partners, the debt restructuring arm of the private equity group, to secure the funds required to repay the £237m outstanding to the Royal Bank of Scotland in the middle of next month and remain in control of the club.

It had been reported that a £280m, two-year package had been agreed in principle. But it is understood that, although talks took place between GSO and Hicks, they ended without a firm offer on the table. The Guardian has learned that GSO has now walked away and there is no chance of the Blackstone subsidiary lending Hicks the money. Liverpool fans' groups over the weekend made clear the depth of their hostility to the idea that Hicks could be bailed out by GSO, effectively buying him more time to find a new investor willing to pay a premium on the £218.9m the Americans paid for the club in 2007.

Hicks met with the club's chairman, Martin Broughton, and the rest of the Liverpool board last week to outline his plan. RBS, which throughout has maintained that it wishes to find a solution that is in the best long term interests of the club, would nevertheless have no further say in the matter if its loan was repaid in full.

Hicks and George Gillett put Liverpool up for sale in April, with RBS parachuting in Broughton to lead the sale process. But despite a series of high profile approaches, from Rhone Capital and Kenny Huang, no proper bid was ever lodged.

Hicks had hoped that the funding would allow him to take full control, pay down the debt and provide funds for players. Now that Blackstone has walked away, it leaves him desperately searching for a replacement loan before the mid-October refinancing deadline. It would also see Gillett's 50% stake diluted, with the Colorado-native staying at Liverpool in an inactive role.

A first attempt by Hicks to refinance the debt was rejected earlier this year by the Liverpool board to allow Barclays Capital to continue the ongoing search for a buyer. If Hicks approached the board with a new proposal, it is believed that they would also look to block it, although lawyers are split on whether they would be able to do so under company law.

Fucking Brilliant it seems all those supposedly  prospective doors of opportunity are slamming shut in the face of this despicable odious cunt ....

[Ciggy]

Fucking Brilliant it seems all those supposedly  prospective doors of opportunity are slamming shut in the face of this despicable odious cunt ....

The uprising yesterday felt feckin boss mate, even the offal forum got hammered with Boycotting and 100s of people cancelling their e-season tickets. The email campaign felt good yesterday it was different after everyone woke up to the news we could have had the pleasure of Tom hicks for another 2 years.

Liverpool fans' groups over the weekend made clear the depth of their hostility to the idea that Hicks could be bailed out by GSO,

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

Fucking Brilliant it seems all those supposedly  prospective doors of opportunity are slamming shut in the face of this despicable odious cunt ....

The uprising yesterday felt feckin boss mate, even the offal forum got hammered with Boycotting and 100s of people cancelling their e-season tickets. The email campaign felt good yesterday it was different after everyone woke up to the news we could have had the pleasure of Tom hicks for another 2 years.

Liverpool fans' groups over the weekend made clear the depth of their hostility to the idea that Hicks could be bailed out by GSO,

I was following it on RAWK yesterday Girl ...I read a few of yours they were bang on the money   

[fivecups]

From RAWK:

I work in an Investment Bank and if there is one thing I can guarantee its that the Bankers want an easy life.

The absolute last thing they want is for them to get spammed with thousands and thousands of emails and particularly are loath to receive personal phone calls.

Remember that bankers are on call 24/7 and always have their blackberrys with them.  So its very very hard for them to just ignore emails coming in particularly if they are doing so in their hundreds.  It basically makes their job unworkable as there is no easy way for them to sort the wheat from the chaff.  Everyone we will have emailed will have to have spent a couple of hours going through their emails and deleting them individually.

So remember keep on sending the emails. Send, send and send again.  From every email address you have.

Oh and as a good tip DONT put Liverpool or Football or Hicks in the heading.  Give it a subject name that means they cannot just delete the email without first checking that its not important.  So your Email title should be something "re: your email" or "Update" or "re: Next Week's Meeting" etc.   That way it makes it very very hard for them to set up an Outlook ignore rule.

[jacdaniel]

Oh and as a good tip DONT put Liverpool or Football or Hicks in the heading.  Give it a subject name that means they cannot just delete the email without first checking that its not important.  So your Email title should be something "re: your email" or "Update" or "re: Next Week's Meeting" etc.   That way it makes it very very hard for them to set up an Outlook ignore rule.

Thats a great point actually.  if lots of people email with the same subject... they can easily set up a rule to move them mails to deleted items.

[lakes10]

Erm, so we are going to go the game, give hicks some more money then refuse to leave? All the time there will be no cameras showing our disgust?

More or less what the S*N said on SS "what they going to do make some banners and sing hicks out"

see what they are saying on RAWK, fans will film it on phones, it will be headlines of the news, liverppol fans get game called off due to owners.

[Anfield rapper]

Thats great news. Fingers crossed Sheik Mo is just running down the clock.