Liverpool FC Forum

by **Roger Red Hat** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 3:59 pm

if he does take over and starts messing around with the players/manager and the running of the team/club then I will be forced to buy him out. Dont worry guys/gals our club will be safe.

by **Woollyback** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 4:02 pm

i tell you what, he doesn't do things by halves this sheikh bloke - look how he changed the face of dubai over the space of 10 years...

obviously a man who doesn't f*ck about when something needs doing :Oo:

by **stmichael** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 4:46 pm

maximus wrote:Just suppose this takeover does go through, and we do buy a couple of world class players and we do win the league for the first ime in 15/16 years, how will the football world view that success.............on a par with Chelsea?? ie could only win the league with a sugar daddy investor, just a thought

There are people on these boards, proclaiming we will win the league for the next ten years, we will be unstoppable e.t.c. however these are the same people slagging Chelsea off for doing the same sort of thing..........once again just a thought

The way I see it, I suppose you could say that we have to go down this route because we are being forced into it. Chelsea have got the soviet money, the mancs have got the stadium and much more profitable business, Arsenal have got their new stadium.

Either we take on this new investment or go down the risky route of funding the new stadium with bank loans. Either way we’ve got to get the stadium built to increase the money that’s available for investment in the team.

I remember Peter Robinson saying something years ago along the lines of: “when Liverpool were winning everything in the late 70’s/ 80’s, there wasn’t a cigarette paper between us and Man United in terms of revenue”. Football has completely changed from those days and if we want to stay at the forefront we need to be able to compete financially – and that means increasing revenues – which means building a bigger, more profitable stadium.

At the end of the day, we’re not like Chelsea because we came from a level playing field to dominate at home and abroad and built our fan base and reputation with superb management and team play, in a competitive environment. All we are doing now is evolving to suit the current environment. It’s survival of the fittest.

We already have a lot of :censored:

fans who love singing 'easy, easy' and reading the S*n etc - basically people who aren't educated on the values of the club and only support us due to fashion trends etc.

If this whole takeover business moulds us into a Chelsea style club, then things will only get worse on that score. How long before the Anny Road is waving it's £20 notes at the away end?

There's definitely drawbacks whatever way you think of it, although you can also offset those accordingly. For instance, we could stay 'red' and get Morgan in yet some of us would be sitting in blue seats every other week!

You can't have it both ways. Also, Moores and Parry would remain in control of the operations of the football club so the changes would not ammount to what's happened at Chelsea.

You can tell i'm torn.

by **columbia** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 5:59 pm

its impossible to say whether this investment will be good for the club or not yet. the £450m investment is really still debt when you look at it. there's no way the DIC are going to invest that much money into our club and not want anything back. this is not an abramovich situation, these guys are gonna wanna see a return for their investment and we will inevitably be the ones that have to pay for it.

dont be suprised to see higher ticket prices next season and dont be suprised if you cant afford the new prices to see new "fans" with fatter wallets take your seat. the most valued fans will be those with the most cash, not those who have followed the club all their life. Even though moores may still be in charge i think its inevitable we will lose some of our values. liverpool will become a "brand", its up to you whether you feel comforable with that.

by **parchpea** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 7:48 pm

Its right they they will be looking for profits after investing £450m and I wouldnt be surprised if they have naming rights on the stadium.

These people will not go into this with eyes closed and there has to be money to be made in football clubs with the like of Glazer buying in.

We should also remember that they need a successful brand to make it pay so we should have no doubt they will be investing in the team.

by **davo_LFC** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 7:50 pm

I have mixed feelings about this to be honest, am excited that we dont have to worry about debts and the new stadium and that we can now really back rafa with the funds that he needs to take us to the next level. On the other hand though i dont want our future success to be hollow like chelskis and i pray to god that we dont end up like them with a bunch of tw.ats scranin on sarnies instead of singing going the game.

I dont think we will end up like them, i just think it means we get the debt wiped off and the stadium built but we hopefully wont be toy like chelski are to abromivich, rafa will get enough funds to get the players he needs but i dont think hes gonna splash the cash like the chavs.

An although this fellas worth 15b or whatever i doubt hes gonna spend too much on us, and he will most certainly want to make a profit. One positive thing i heard about the fella is that hes a winner, especially judging by his horse racing lark.

by **66-1120597113** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:06 pm

A few years ago all right thinking fans would have been against this 'investment'.

Unfortunately its the way football has evolved!Chelsea have a bottomless pit of cash courtesy of Abromovich!
The scum have also raised the bar with the glazers financial backing.

LFC need to grab the deal(if its benificial in every sense) to the club with both hands.
If we are to compete in the transfer market financially in the future an investment will be our only way of doing so.To attract the best players a team needs to be in the top 2 or 3 of their league...top players dont neccessarily come cause they feel they can succeed in a few years,most want to be challenging for the topspot and glory from the off.Footbalers careers are short.

It would be great if this investment comes off and helps LFC in every way...lets remember though its also a business venture and they are not in it purely for the love of LFC..can we trust them with our club?

Another thing instant cash does not gaurantee instant sucess by any means...with more cash available the pressure to win the league and dominate Europe will be put heavily on the shoulders onfBenitez and the players.
Signing superstars is a catch 22 at times.....one word...Shevchenko.

by **RedBlood** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:34 pm

Some people have suggested if we win the league after this buyout goes through it will be looked upon as buying the league. But the thing is the league has been bought since the prem started, so i 4 one wouldnt give a toss what anybody has to say.

by **matrix** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:55 pm

Sport » FootballSheik's millions are Rafa ticket to the big league
by JOHN EDWARDS

Last updated at 21:21pm on 4th December 2006

Reader comments (0)

Show me the money: Benitez could soon have the spending power to rival Chelsea

He is one of a handful of people in the world who could challenge Roman Abramovich in a bidding war, and he just happens to be heading for one of Chelsea’s fiercest rivals.

Horse racing may be the abiding passion of Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, but his sporting horizons are about to broaden following confirmation from Liverpool that they are in the throes of a takeover by his investment group, Dubai International Capital.

While the Sheik’s lawyers and accountants began scrutinising Anfield’s finances in preparation for a boardroom coup that will cost around £450million, those looking on from the sidelines couldn’t help wondering about the implications of another Premiership club falling into foreign hands. Not just any club, either, but one of the bastions of the English game.

Traditions die hard, particularly on Merseyside, but any sceptics will surely be swept along by the obvious benefits of Rafa Benitez being able to dip into even a modest chunk of Sheik Mohammed’s estimated £7billion fortune.

The would-be new owners are renowned for launching ventures with the express aim of leaving rivals in their wake and the Sheik will be committed to making sure Liverpool are first past the post in the Premiership.

It all points to Liverpool being ready to compete on an equal footing with Abramovich’s Chelsea as the ruler of Dubai prepares to underwrite a £200m move to a new 60,000-seater stadium in Stanley Park, pay £170m for a controlling stake and devote £80m to clearing debts.

If that doesn’t state his intent clearly enough, he will follow up with a promise of transfer funds that Benitez sees as essential for taking his side to the next level.

The Liverpool manager feels he is fighting Chelsea and Manchester United with one hand tied behind his back but has never been one to complain in public.

He hardly needs to, ahead of Tuesday's return to the Ataturk Stadium, scene of Liverpool’s Champions League triumph over AC Milan in May 2005. Events in the intervening 18 months do the job for him.

While Benitez can vividly recall looking round Istanbul’s newly-built Olympic venue after midnight, local time, and feeling every bit as elated as any Liverpool player or supporter, he can also remember the bigger picture being nothing like as cheering.

Players needed replacing, even as they clutched their winners’ medals, but the Anfield budget was never likely to stretch to the candidates he had in mind to step in for Jerzy Dudek, Vladimir Smicer, Didi Hamann and Milan Baros.

Dudek, Liverpool’s penalty shoot-our hero that night, has been granted a rare appearance tonight but knows it is merely for sentimental reasons.

He said: "After this game I will be speaking to Rafa about my future because I don’t think I can remain in this situation much longer. I want to be a professional player, not a professional supporter."

For Dudek and for the club, the European Cup proved a false dawn, and, though it yielded £20m, it did little to correct the financial imbalance between Liverpool and their rivals.

At last, the tide may be about to turn and those who may be alarmed at seeing the Moores dynasty ended after decades of Liverpool being a family-owned club will surely end up embracing 21st Century methods to make their team a major power once more.

Outgoing majority shareholder David Moores may stay on as life president, with Dubai International Corporation chief executive Sameer Al Ansari, a Liverpool fan and regular Anfield visitor of late, tipped to take over as chairman.

Whatever the boardroom machinations, Benitez could allow himself a quiet smile last night as he supervised training at the Ataturk and prepared to send out a weakened side against Galatasaray, having already ensured first place in the group.

He is finally ready to join Mourinho as a transfer big hitter and, after two-and-a-half years of spending £6m here and £7m there on the likes of Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch, he intends to make it count.

great times ahead honestly cant wait for this deal to go through... the sponsership deal alone could be one of the best deals ever... :buttrock

by **bartzy** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:07 pm

im quite exited to be honest. the 5th richest person in the world to buy out liverpool? we'll be looking chelsea over sooner than later

by **Reg** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 10:57 pm

Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum

I think we're gonna struggle to include that buster's name in a chant !! :blues:

Maybe we should just call him BILL or something?

by **Geoff's Still Here** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:30 am

maximus wrote:Just suppose this takeover does go through, and we do buy a couple of world class players and we do win the league for the first ime in 15/16 years, how will the football world view that success.............on a par with Chelsea?? ie could only win the league with a sugar daddy investor, just a thought

There are people on these boards, proclaiming we will win the league for the next ten years, we will be unstoppable e.t.c. however these are the same people slagging Chelsea off for doing the same sort of thing..........once again just a thought

Anyone who take the title off Chelsea will have to have a sugar daddy or mommy, that is the way the game has gone since Honest Abe came to town. Unlike them we will do it the Liverpool way, we have kept ourselves up near the top so it won't be from rags to riches, also there is no way we will behave the way that lot darn sath behave, me Ma wouldn't allow it. I think many fans of other clubs ( except Everton and the Mancs ) will be wishing us well, hoping we rub Chelseas noses in the dirt.

by **Ciggy** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:35 am

When its signed sealed delived im yours contract happens we will need to open a new intoduction forum

by **The Manhattan Project** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:28 am

I wouldn't want us to be run like Chelsea and I don't think it will happen thankfully. Chelsea aren't operated like a business responsibly. They run a massive loss and if the oligarch moves on, they are fooked.

by **azriahmad** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:33 am

If Dubai International Capital were to acquire Liverpool, they'd run it more like a business with a view of Liverpool FC returning good profits within a reasonable amount of time, say over a 3 to 5 year horizon, not like Chelski who buyus on whims and pays ridiculous amounts of money and wages just to get the player they want, regardless if he's worth it or not and would "aim to break even" in 5 to 6 years in Kenyon-speak. Looking at their investments and their business like emphasis, DIC would not simply sanction transfer deals for the sake of it.

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