Liverpool FC Forum

by **Reg** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 4:15 pm

They've just finished cleaning the Mersey, throw those two shítes into the water and the fish will die again !! :laugh:

by **Igor Zidane** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 4:53 pm

More from Dave Maddock .

Why RBS and Barclays Capital should stop being a bunch of bankers and force Hicks and Gillett to sell Liverpool

By David Maddock

Published 15:15 08/06/10

Today this column has a message for the RBS and Barclays Capital: Stop being a bunch of bankers.

In the latest MirrorFootball exclusive this week, we revealed that two promising offers to buy Liverpool Football Club have got precisely nowhere because of unrealistic demands from the English club’s American owners.

Hicks scuppers two 'perfect fit' offers for Liverpool - Exclusive

There is, apparently, frustration from Barclays Capital, the investment bankers who have been charged with selling the business, and growing impatience from RBS, the bank whose loans are currently keeping Tom Hicks and George Gillett afloat, about ridiculous valuations slowing the sales process.

Yet that is all there is – empty off the record words of frustration. And no action. And that is not good enough any more.

When Martin Broughton arrived as the chairman of Liverpool, he came with a promise that he held an independent position, which allowed him to accept any offer he deemed reasonable, above the heads of the Americans.

Those offers have now arrived, yet Hicks seems able to block the sale to potential buyers who are said to be ‘perfect fit partners’, and as usual, Gillett is indicating he would accept (just as he did two years ago with DIC), but then doing precisely nothing about it. Barclays, accordingly, are “frustrated”. But inactive.

RBS too, are quietly letting it be known they are getting impatient with the intransigence of the Americans, after soliciting a promise from them that they would look to sell quickly, following agreement for a 12 month extension to their £237million loans from the bank.

Yet - again - it seems the bank that is now actually owned by the British tax-payer is quite good at grumbling about unreasonable Yanks, but not so good at actually doing anything about them… except trousering huge profits from fees and interest.

It is a dangerous game though. Football is no ordinary business, where the balance sheet is the only consideration. The Americans may be the owners, but every fan is an emotional shareholder in Liverpool, and that makes this a very different transaction.

If RBS are not careful, they will do tremendous damage to their own business by tarnishing further their already tattered reputation.

Consider this. The banks have already been exposed for the greed which brought the world’s economy to its knees. There is already a real sense of anger and disgust directed towards them for the hardships we are now forced to endure because of their excesses.

Why? Well, a large part of it is because many banks acted so immorally in financing the very dubious practices pursued by those capitalist pirates the leveraged buyout merchants, who basically use a company’s own money to buy that business. It is legal robbery.

And what do we have here at Liverpool now? A bank still happy to allow such an immoral practice to continue. Hicks and Gillett have bought Liverpool without putting any of their own money in. Instead, they take out huge loans from the RBS, and use Liverpool’s profits to repay the interest.

But RBS must be warned, there is a massive backlash coming. The fans know that it is fundamentally wrong that a couple of Yanks can exploit the greed of a British bank to buy one of the world’s iconic football clubs using its own money.

It won’t take much of a step for people to make the very real connection between what is happening at Liverpool, and what has happened to bring the UK and, indeed, global economy to its knees.

Do RBS really want to be the bank that most closely associates itself with one of the most reprehensible features of the excesses of capitalism that has caused so much pain for the average citizen? Do RBS want their name synonymous with everything that is bad about banks? That seriously could happen because of a high profile case like Liverpool.

So what can they do about it? It is my understanding that even though the RBS agreed a 12 month extension to loans for the Americans in April (and even offered to increase the size of those loans to £300million), the deal has not been signed off.

So the bank we own can still go back on the deal. They can still say to Hicks and Gillett they have to sell up, otherwise they will call in the loans. They can insist that if there is a fit offer on the table it MUST be accepted.

The RBS can then become associated not with greed, but with a wider benevolence. They can be seen to be doing the right thing, for a wider interest than pure, unadulterated pursuit of profit.

In all honesty, can businesses like Liverpool carry debts approaching £400million for any length of time? Can one like Manchester United carry £1billion worth of debt? Nope. And the banks have to accept that eventually.

Let’s not get too carried away. Even if the offers on the table are accepted now, they’ll all still make a profit from the morally dubious business of leveraged buyouts, which one day may be seen to have been one of the most reprehensible features of capitalism’s excesses.

So it will still stink. But at least it will be over, and at least Liverpool can get back to the business of football. Surely, the positive publicity from being the bank that allows the club to do that, would be worth far more to the under fire RBS than any amount of short-term profit.

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opin...cle452955.html

#5023
Today,

by **red37** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 4:58 pm

Just this minute finished reading that piece along with the 2 offers Hicks has let go.

F*cking shambles this.

by **Ciggy** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:08 pm

Tom Hicks is one horrible fucking b@stard.

by **dundreamin** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:15 pm

I,ve just been to ormskirk to close my RBS account.
They asked why? Shown them my LFC tattoo.they said no more

by **red till i die!!** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:27 pm

dundreamin wrote:I,ve just been to ormskirk to close my RBS account.
They asked why? Shown them my LFC tattoo.they said no more

ive done the same about 2months ago.first the personal acc and a week later the buisness acc.
i did mention at the meeting that i was a lfc fan and wasnt happy with the support they continue to show to h&g.
tbh by the way he smiled i dont think he gave a toss but nonetheless i took my hard earned dosh away from them.
sos should go ahead with the bilboard campaign urging others to boycott rbs and its subsidiaries.

by **zarababe** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:31 pm

Ciggy wrote:Tom Hicks is one horrible fucking b@stard.

how do we bomabard their emails to get them out - any ideas?

And do we wirte to RBS etc and make them force a sale through?

by **Ciggy** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:38 pm

how do we bomabard their emails to get them out - any ideas?

And do we wirte to RBS etc and make them force a sale through?

Hold fire Zar somethings in the pipeline :;):

There is going to be a letter that we can put our own names to and it just waiting for the letter will post it and we will all go with it, every Liverpool forum and fan and its to be sent at the same time.

Time to rally the troops and circle the wagons guys something bigs about to happen that will have that fat texan tw@t wishing he had never step foot into liverpool football club.

by **dundreamin** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:38 pm

red we should email SOS, SHARE LFC and all other red forums to encourage people to cancel all RBS accounts. Hit the :censored:

where it hurts. Am sure there must be 2 few thousand accounts. And let them know why. They may take notice them

by **7_Kewell** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 8:47 pm

dundreamin wrote:red we should email SOS, SHARE LFC and all other red forums to encourage people to cancel all RBS accounts. Hit the where it hurts. Am sure there must be 2 few thousand accounts. And let them know why. They may take notice them

by **Reg** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 8:57 pm

Report: Hicks Means It When He Says He'll Make Up Stars, Rangers Losses With Liverpool By Robert Wilonsky, Tuesday, Jun. 8 2010 @

In its Tom Hicks puff piece a couple of Sundays ago, The Dallas Morning News noted that Hicks expects to lose, oh, maybe a "couple hundred million" on the sales of the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars. But no worries: Hicks told the paper he'd make up those losses when he finally sells Liverpool FC. Which is worth noting because the U.K. Mirror has this exclusive concerning two potential buyers for the storied soccer team who've backed out because, sources say, Hicks refuses to budge off his asking price of close to £800 million.

Says the story, buyers out of the Middle East and "a consortium led by a prominent American businessman" have expressed real interest in taking the Reds off Hicks and George Gillett's hands. Problem is, Barclays Capital, charged with finding a buyer, can't get Hicks to come down -- while Gillett, on the other hand, is more than willing to bargain since he's tired of being hounded by Spirit of Shankly. An excerpt:
A source working on the sale of the Merseyside club for BarCap revealed privately: "We have found more than one really good fit investors, who have the wealth not to worry about a few hundred million quid. But they will not be held to ransom, because they know the asking price is unreasonable, and they simply don't want to be taken for a ride, no matter how rich they are."

There is a growing fear amongst those close to the deal that Hicks' business empire has been suffering in the global economic crisis, and that is motivating his hard-line stance over a price.

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairp...._he.php

by **dundreamin** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 9:19 pm

i wish hicks would drop dead. The man,s a complete kunt. I would gladly carry his coffin,just to make sure he,s dead.LFC is like my family and if anyone abuses and rapes my family. I dish out the judgement. Cos the powers that be have turned a blind eye:angry: and the witch doctors not working and neithers the voodoo doll and I,ve run out of pins.DOH!

by **dundreamin** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 9:31 pm

And now I,am trying remote viewing, gona get into his house and boil his head:p

by **shabelle50** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 9:59 pm

RBS aren't going to call in the loan on H&G. This is all fantasy. What can RBS do? Put a mortgage on Anfield? Put a charge on Hicks property in Texas? The refinancing will be agreed come July things will go on as they are now assisted by a Chelski season ticket holder who claims to be "independent".

by **Ciggy** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 10:14 pm

Heads up that Panorama program about the mancs starts in 20 mins BBC 1

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