Liverpool FC Forum

[Rush Job]

Lets hope rafa "hangs fire" on those signings (aka barry, milner, and that boro kid?) all over priced, and overated.....wait and see what messers "cowboy and the outlaw" come up with in terms of transfer money?...you know the old saying....."where fools rush in" comes to mind.

Not sure i do mate no, enlighten me.

[SundanceKid]

Do these two clowns are best mates again?

PLEASE LEAVE OUR CLUB!!

I think it was Gillette that said his fascination with the supporters convinced him to work things out.


Like I said, they don't realize they are not wanted, nor will they care when they do.

[account deleted by request]

Liverpool FC owners' £100m credit crunch
Jun 23 2008 David Prentice


LIVERPOOL’S American owners are facing a major credit crunch backlash over stalled plans to build a new stadium for the Reds.

Tom Hicks and George Gillett may need to put in as much as £100m of their own money if they want to borrow a further £200m.

And that casts massive doubt over their ability to go ahead with the ambition of building the 70,000 seat-plus super stadium, designed by Dallas based architects HKS and rolled out amid a fanfare of publicity last year.

Given the global credit crunch, banks are no longer prepared to allow 100 per cent borrowings and are currently asking for at least one third of the amount needed for major projects to be put up front by would-be borrowers.

Hicks and Gillett bought Liverpool for £220m in February last year - most of it with borrowed cash - and have since refinanced their original loans with a further £350m loan deal, which leaves the club responsible for annual interest payments of around £39m a year.

The Americans, who have become estranged and embittered over recent months, are now on speaking terms again following Gillett’s admission on Friday that they needed to set aside their communications differences for the sake of the club.

But the worldwide clampdown on lending means they would still face huge problems raising the deposit now needed for what is effectively a mortgage to build a new Anfield.

The Dubaian government, headed by Sheik Mohammed al Rashid bin Maktoum, remain keen to buy out the Americans. And, as a sovereign wealth fund, it is claimed that unlike the Americans would to some degree be protected from the interest rates and pressures exerted by banks over private investors.

Reports that the Reds are considering a £15m swoop for Hamburg winger Rafael van der Vaart, meanwhile, are wide of the mark.

Completing Gareth Barry’s transfer from Aston Villa remains Rafa Benitez’s priority, with any future purchases dependent on the sales of Xabi Alonso and Peter Crouch.

Juventus are still short of Liverpool’s valuation of their £16m rated Spanish playmaker, while there has been no contact from Portsmouth – formal or informal – regarding Crouch.

[tubby]

Oh ffs im not even looking forward to next season now.

[metalhead]

15m for Van der Vaart? yes please

[ste123lfc]

In my opinion all this talk that TWIT & TW@T are talking again and there will be money now available in the transfer window is complete and utter bollox and is just to keep the fans off their backs. Just like the stadium it aint gonna happen with these clowns in charge.  

[teamleader1]

Fingers crossed, the banks could just turn out to be the straw that breaks the camels back
These pair of pryks wont put their hands in their own pockets,
hopefully they are approaching the point of no return, and DIC come in with the right offer to get shut of the scumbags!

[Reg]

If the story in the Echo about H&G having a 100 million credit crunch is true then I guess they´re acting chummy to reassure the banks if they lend to them they´re not about to sell out, but in reality it looks like we´re up the Khyber without a paddle. If we have such fundemental finance problems how can we afford to splash out on players, never mind build the stadium?

All this talk of keeping the fans happy is twaddle, they dont give a fig about the fans- its survivial now hence they´re talking. Whats going on must be tense, but  should act as a catalyst to bring it to a head.

Realistically, unless we expect DIC to come in with a magic wand to make us all happy and take away the pain, new owners will have same limitations raising money to build a stadium and fund new players at the same time. We´ll be pretty dickydarndido lucky if we find anyone with deep enough pockets and flexible enough banks to do both similitaneously in the current climate.

[NANNY RED]

Its getting worse when is this nightmare gonna end

[desmdlow]

agreed.. It is a damn nightmare.. how can we look forward to next season when the club foundation is ...

[Kharhaz]

agreed.. It is a damn nightmare.. how can we look forward to next season when the club foundation is ...

As long as the support for the club is as it always is, the foundation is fine. Ever heard the saying "I support my legs because my legs support me"?

[Rush Job]

The next players to leave must be sold for more up front not 4 mill for JAR oh and just give us a mill a season over 4 years cus its not like we could do with the cash, fckin coco.

[SundanceKid]

I hope I die before Liverpool becomes a franchise

[Reg]

Its getting worse when is this nightmare gonna end

The painful truth nanny is that even a small club like Everton are being run more professionally than our beloved LFC.

If H&G cant refinance then the banks will call them in default and take possession of the club.

Obviously before that happens H&G will have a Plan B to restructure the club meaning shelving the new stadium all together (which should effectively solve the liquidity problem) or facing facts and having to sell a % to DIC or whoever if they are still interested.

Just allowing the situation to dribble on though solves nowt.

[sworth26]

I found this little reference on the guardian website (taken from Reuters), probably bolox but was surprised not to see it mentioned on her as they are both fairly reliable sources:

Liverpool co-owners and U.S. sports tycoons Tom Hicks and George Gillett have received a takeover offer from Dubai International Capital (DIC) of about 500 million pounds for the club, almost twice the price they paid a year ago[/I][I]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7604191