Liverpool FC Forum

by **Reg** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 5:50 pm

Emerald Red wrote:
Reg wrote:What are the fans going to do? Have I missed something? What are we going to do then we arent doing now?

Boycott everything to do with RBS and the club. I can also see demonstrations being held more frequently with the potential of them becoming more direct action. If push comes to shove, that sort of thing is inevitable, whether anyone agrees with it or not.

This mess isnt RBS's fault, just as it isnt Standard Chartered's so lets focus on the owners.

by **The Raven** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 6:15 pm

Reg wrote:
Emerald Red wrote:
Reg wrote:What are the fans going to do? Have I missed something? What are we going to do then we arent doing now?

Boycott everything to do with RBS and the club. I can also see demonstrations being held more frequently with the potential of them becoming more direct action. If push comes to shove, that sort of thing is inevitable, whether anyone agrees with it or not.

This mess isnt RBS's fault, just as it isnt Standard Chartered's so lets focus on the owners.

No way, they need to understand what happens if they give the cancers another 6 months, end of the day come oct they have the power to oust them. They need to understand what happens if they dont.

Short of watching on TV i am now not doing anything thst gives them money

by **dundreamin** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 10:32 pm

How do they get away with it? If this was a French Greek club etc the pair of t.wats would be strung up by now. It's time to stop complaining about it and time we took REAL direct action. Boycott the games and refuse to buy any LFC merchandise. And before anyone says its not the way,people are already doing it, because we haven't had a full house at anfield yet.

by **NANNY RED** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:47 pm

Just been reading a piece by Maddock on the mirror website but i dont know how to cpy and paste it im still on me hols on a mad laptop

by **Greavesie** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:51 pm

this thread is going to die the real world death isn't it?

by **NANNY RED** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:56 pm

did anyone on here go the second SOS meeting in London the other day an what happened

by **Dundalk** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:24 pm

Greavesie wrote:this thread is going to die the real world death isn't it?

Oh Yeah

by **Ciggy** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:26 pm

Well in David maddock if these kunts get a new re-finance or the cash from elsewhere its the death of the club its finished its the end.

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opin...cle575201.html

October 6. Put this date in your diary. It is the day when the very destiny of Liverpool Football Club will be decided.

If that sounds dramatic, then it is meant to be so, because on that day there is a real danger that one of the most famous and historic clubs in world football could be brought to its knees.

Let me say now, that Liverpool are actually a well-run, well managed club, which, even with its current commercial performance and before stadium development, could be among the most profitable in the English game.

They are broke though, for one very good reason: The burden of acquisition interest that is place directly on the club. Or in simple terms for those who prefer their information in English, Liverpool are paying millions every month for the dubious pleasure of Tom Hicks and George Gillett owning them.

If that is allowed to continue, if Tom Hicks and George Gillett are allowed to continue with their ownership under its current format, then it spells disaster for Liverpool. It could even see them go bust.

It really could happen. Hicks and Gillett want to sell their ‘soccer franchise’, but they also want to make a profit out of it. Indeed, they want – and need – to make a big profit.

At the moment it is clear there are no takers at their asking price. Rather than sell, they are now desperately trying to refinance to ensure they can hold on to the business until they CAN sell it at their valuation.

But to do that, they will probably have to borrow even more money at even higher rates, and use the club’s assets to underwrite those loans. And we all know what that means. If you don’t, just ask Portsmouth or Leeds fans.

So October 6 becomes vitally important. That is the date that the Americans’ current lenders, the Royal Bank of Scotland, have set for repayment of loans totalling around £285million at the last count.

By then, the Yanks must have either sold Liverpool, or raised the funds to replace that existing debt with new debt. Or – and here is an intriguing third possibility – have persuaded the RBS to extend those loans once more.

Every single Liverpool fan the world over now recognises the danger of that happening, because it will merely extend an essentially unsustainable financial structure at Anfield. It will merely extend the threat of the club collapsing.

Even the much-maligned board at Anfield recognises it. Apparently, Chairman Martin Broughton and MD Christian Purslow, along with commercial director Ian Ayre, have already resisted one attempt by the Americans to use the club’s assets against new loans.

They know Liverpool could well be doomed if the Yanks hold on to power, and they seem to understand that the best interests of the club certainly aren’t served by that nightmare scenario.

I say seem to understand, because Broughton seems to have decided that the fans don’t deserve any information about what the hell is going on through the Merseyside media. He seems only to be prepared to talk to obscure business sources.

Purslow too, seems to have gone into hiding, bizarrely breaking off all contact with the fans, through the media, for the past six months. Attempts to ask him questions – as fans on a popular Liverpool website have tried to do recently – are met with silence, as are all interview requests.

But credit to them both and to Ayre, there is no question they are trying to resist the Americans’ attempts to retain control. For all the criticism aimed their way, much of it justified, they are trying to do what the fans so desperately want. They are trying to do the right thing, and fans shouldn’t forget that.

Without wishing to be too pessimistic though, there are no guarantees they will succeed. Already there are rumours of a legal challenge to the three directors blocking the two Americans on the board.

And who amongst us doesn’t believe that after decades of the most cunning business dealings that have made them both billionaires, that Gillett and Hicks aren’t stealthy enough to somehow pull off their latest despicable plan.

They are ruthless enough, after a combined ten decades in the leveraged buy-out business, that is for sure. Don’t think for one second they are going to roll over and simply accept that Liverpool will be taken from them and sold at a loss.

Which is why October 6 is so important. Let’s get real again here for a second. The RBS are making millions of pounds of profit from Liverpool, who so far have had no trouble at all meeting the repayments. In that sense, it is a gilt-edged investment for them.

So they will be reluctant to let it go easily, and still – possibly – open to persuasion from the Americans to extend, if yet more guarantees are proferred.

Other banks may well feel the same, that there is easy, unrisky profit to be made from extending credit to Hicks and Gillett, because the club will meet the liability. And that is the true danger to Liverpool as a storied club.

It is where the fans must come in, because it is down to them to stop either the RBS or any other bank perpetuating the current nightmare that has engulfed Anfield and threatened its very future.

Supporters are already responding in their thousands. I have highlighted here before the work of Kopfaithful, who are actively campaigning to ensure the RBS realise the risks of a massive backlash if they are to extend the Americans’ loans.

They have an intelligent, well-organised campaign which has spoken to MPs in the House of Commons, to major financial institutions in the UK and to major media outlets in the U.S., explaining the feelings of millions of worried Liverpool supporters.

They discovered that the Americans have approached at least 10 different institutions for refinance funding, and are now fervently trying to block that possibility, by orchestrating an email campaign to the likes of the Wall St Journal and NYTimes.

They are also making it clear to the RBS that there will be massive opposition if they don’t act in the best interests of Liverpool fans. The bank’s HQ in Edinburgh will allow access to vistors as part of an open house scheme on September 25, and guess who plans to be there?!

Kopfaithful want to talk to RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hester, to make clear the opposition to the Americans.

They are backed by several fans’ groups too, who are all aware of the dangers facing Liverpool right now. Influential websites such as Red and White Kop and You’ll Never Walk Alone are meeting along with several others this very evening, to discuss tactics. They are planning protests that will highlight the depth of feeling, and the potential power of such a massive body of committed support.

And that’s where you can help if you are a true Liverpool fan. October 6 is D-Day, and the more supporters make clear their opposition to any institution offering finance to the Americans, the less chance of it happening.

Back Kopfaithful, back Red and White Kop, back all the other fans’ groups who love Liverpool and are desperate to save the club. Do it calmly, nicely, but back them.

There is a chance that the Americans’ plans to refinance can be blocked, and if that happens, then there is a real chance the RBS can assume temporary control as they seek to sell the club to a responsible buyer.

If that can happen, then Liverpool can be great again. They already make an operating profit because they are operating efficiently without the Americans’ debt.

Without ownership debt on the club they can build a new stadium and turn profits – which can be invested in playing assets – that will make most Premiership MDs’ eyes water. So it is D-Day at Anfield on October 6, and you, the fan, can have a massive say in what happens.

by **fivecups** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:32 pm

Fair play to Maddock, we need as many supporters in the media as possible.

by **Reg** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:36 pm

These articles are good for us in a perverse way because not only do they create massive negative publicity against T&T that makes it harder and harder for RBS to refinance them (the knife goes into both T&T and RBS) but it is consolidating 'scouse opinion' and sense of needing to do something about it.

Lets hope we have 2 articles a week like this from now until october 6th. Two a week, as blunt and rude as can be - 'we´re finished', 'we´re bust', 'ManUre are gonna walk all over us', 'Man Citeh are the new Liverpool', 'Everton riding above Reds'...... because when on 7th October the Board backs the Fanshare scheme the fans will be so annoyed/worried/frustrated they´ll immediately sign up for shares and create a new beginning. I dont know how its going to work, hopefully it will be 70% investor and 30% fans but the emphasis will be on the fans to respond and take up our allocation.

The Mirror article is the right negative publicity, but thank g*d we only have to endure it for a few weeks more.

Lads and lasses - how much are YOU willing to pledge to the club owenership scheme? Please start thinking about it, how much you can afford in total, as a lump sum or as a weekly/monthly payment.

Your club needs you. :blues:

by **NANNY RED** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:14 pm

Idont know why but i cant get rid of the feeling in me gut that they are going to find the money from somewhere and will still be making us suffer. I sincerly want them to walk away with feck all in there pockets but i just cant see them going without fighting for some money i hope my gut feeling is wrong

by **Ciggy** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:22 pm

NANNY RED wrote:Idont know why but i cant get rid of the feeling in me gut that they are going to find the money from somewhere and will still be making us suffer. I sincerly want them to walk away with feck all in there pockets but i just cant see them going without fighting for some money i hope my gut feeling is wrong

Hurry up home you I miss ya

by **NANNY RED** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:44 pm

Ciggy wrote:
NANNY RED wrote:Idont know why but i cant get rid of the feeling in me gut that they are going to find the money from somewhere and will still be making us suffer. I sincerly want them to walk away with feck all in there pockets but i just cant see them going without fighting for some money i hope my gut feeling is wrong

Hurry up home you I miss ya

just gonna go the casino an spend his money i cant get rid of this feeling though Cigg that there gonna find money from somewhere and there still gonna be here ive lost the plot an all im asking how the SOS meting went ha ha its not till the end of sept an ill be back for it, Im back on Monday i still dont know what to do boycott the games till there gone or attend and make myself heard with the rest of us who want them out,

by **roberto green** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:47 pm

God damn I hate this thread

I walk in

and walk back out

same old, same old

Yank Tw@ts

by **Ciggy** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:56 pm

NANNY RED wrote:just gonna go the casino an spend his money i cant get rid of this feeling though Cigg that there gonna find money from somewhere and there still gonna be here ive lost the plot an all im asking how the SOS meting went ha ha its not till the end of sept an ill be back for it, Im back on Monday i still dont know what to do boycott the games till there gone or attend and make myself heard with the rest of us who want them out,

You have to admire the audacity of the two hard faced b@stards really, 60 million wasted on an imaginary stadium and now they have the bare faced cheek to want to put Anfield, the players & Melwood up as collateral incase you missed that news yesterday Nan?

They then sell the match day experience with photos of the new stadium to fans across the globe.
We take the p!ss and buzz off them Nigerian scammers but these two fraudsters actually own our club and are taking the p!ss out of us by doing the same as them Nigerians that bombard your emails for your money, and your bank accounts these two might not look the same but they have the same agenda and would cut the eyes out of your head and come back and p!ss in the sockets.

And the reason they are successfull in doing so and keep getting away with it dont go to anymore games Nan until they have gone, dont line their pockets anymore with your hard earned cash.

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