Liverpool FC Forum

by **jeffiroquai** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:32 pm

After slagging Hicks off earlier about his poor player moves, I must be honest that the man has been successfull in building first class state of the art arenas for his teams. I have not been to the Hockey arena, but I have attended a baseball game in Arlington and it is a fabulous stadium. The lad does see the benefit of having top notch facilities for the fans and players!

by **tubby** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:43 pm

Thats all well and good just so long as he forks out for good players aswell.

by **GunGod** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:55 pm

Santa wrote:Supposed, if you've carefully planned your wedding for months now and all the sudden your girl wanted to consider another attractive guy and ask if you could postpone the weeding while she check him out, what would you do? ...yes you would give her the ultimatum and walk out if she don't answer you. Are you now a bully? can you still trust your girl? if your answer is yes and yes, then I can understand where you are coming from.

Honor, Loyalty, Integrity and Commitment means a sh!t loads to me...I'm not sure about our board or some of the guys posting here

man, that all about sums up everything i wanted to say. if only i am as good at giving analogies as you

by **Anfield rapper** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:32 pm

I've got to admit the fact that this will be 50-50 between Gillett and a billionaire has brightened the outlook but i still think the arabs would have been more willing to invest in us, i just fear that they won't really be prepared to do what it takes to get us to the very top.

by **Rush Job** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:40 pm

I must say it can only be better that its not Gillett on his own, i suppose as fans we have to hope for the best but im never going to like this wonderful club being a feckin yanky francise (i cant even f*ckin spell it) and you can just see the smercking scum, they might even put there braincells together and come up with a new song.
But hey he who laughs last, and as for Chelski those games will be a bit more interesting maybe the yanks can teach us some anti comi ditys

I just dont understand why there has been no mention of this Hisks geezer from the club.

Anyway lets just get behind the lads and do those blue gits 4-0, that`ll shut em up.

by **tubby** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:41 pm

Anfield rapper wrote:I've got to admit the fact that this will be 50-50 between Gillett and a billionaire has brightened the outlook but i still think the arabs would have been more willing to invest in us, i just fear that they won't really be prepared to do what it takes to get us to the very top.

how do you get that impression?

Surley there not going to go to the trouble of buying us to make sure we finish in the top 4?

by **redsince2001** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:52 pm

From the BBC .......some more info on our would-be owners.........

Anfield of dreams
By John May

Hicks (left) and Gillett are ready to ride into town
Why would a man once named among the 100 most influential skiers of all time want to own a Premiership football club?

Are Liverpool fans comforted by knowing that half the American financial muscle behind the proposed takeover owns household names on their tea table such as Branston Pickle, Crosse & Blackwell, Rowntree's Jelly and Sarson's Vinegar?

Such are the strange bedfellows created by the lust to own Premiership clubs, and George Gillett and Tom Hicks are the latest pardners to ride into town for the Premier League ownership gold rush.

Prospective Liverpool joint-owner Gillett earned the right to be named among the likes of Franz Klammer with his ownership of the swanky US ski resort of Vail, where he transformed American skiing by backing top international races.

Pucker up as George Gillett takes the reins at Montreal Canadiens

That might not cut much ice on the Kop, but is indicative of the entrepreneurial spirit, coupled with a passion for sport, which prompted Gillett's move with Hicks.

Born in Racine, Wisconsin, Gillett started out as a sales manager, who after taking a post with the NFL's Miami Dolphins, became a partner in the franchise in 1966.

He sold his 22% holding in the Dolphins to buy the struggling Harlem Globetrotters basketball outfit and his American dream included recovery from the hiccup of filing for bankruptcy to build up a huge business empire.

606 DEBATE: What are your views on the proposed takeover?

Gillett's widespread business interests include television and newspapers, underpinned by his involvement in the food industry, principally meat-packing.

His personal fortune has allowed him to indulge his passion for sport by buying in, most notably the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team.

Gillett's purchase of the Canadiens in 2000 sparked a similar outrage among Canucks at a Yank taking over as the Glazer family's purchase did among Manchester United fans.

But Gillett has been good for the Canadiens, transforming a famous but moribund outfit into Stanley Cup contenders.

His ownership of an ice hockey club is the common denominator he shares with Hicks, who owns the Dallas Stars.

Hicks, the son of a Texas radio station owner, also possesses considerable financial clout, founding a capital investment company with a reputation for a sharp eye for an opening.

Hicks signed the biggest star in baseball in Alex Rodriguez

Its first big coup was the acquisition of Dr Pepper and Seven-Up, while the snaffling of an arm of Nestle gave Hicks' ownership of the English tea-time specials.

Like Gillett, Hicks has also bought into sport big-style. In addition to the Dallas Stars, he also bought the Texas Rangers baseball from a franchise that included President George W Bush among its owners.

Hicks also owns the Mesquite Championship Rodeo. Presumably that gives him experience in being able to cling on for dear life if the going gets bumpy.

Not that things are likely to go downhill fast if one of the 100 Most Influential Skiers of All Time has his hands on the reins.

by **Anfield rapper** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:59 pm

bavlondon wrote:
Anfield rapper wrote:I've got to admit the fact that this will be 50-50 between Gillett and a billionaire has brightened the outlook but i still think the arabs would have been more willing to invest in us, i just fear that they won't really be prepared to do what it takes to get us to the very top.

how do you get that impression?

Surley there not going to go to the trouble of buying us to make sure we finish in the top 4?

Well as long as we get Champions league football i don't think they'll mind really. I can't really see them pulling out all the stops to get us to win the prem though. Maybe i'm wrong but it won't really make much difference to them. At the end of the day they aren't Liverpool fans. I just think the arabs would have taken us to another level because they are determind to win.

by **Pedro Maradona** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 5:48 pm

passmeistro_#14 wrote:Liverpool have agreed a deal with American tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks, who are set to complete their takeover of the club early next week.
Gillett and Hicks flew to England earlier this week for a secret meeting with senior Liverpool officials.

They persuaded the club to stall talks with Dubai International Capital, who had been expected to buy out the club.

Hicks and Gillett will split the £470m takeover on a 50-50 basis with £215m of that earmarked for a new stadium.

Gillett owns National Hockey League side Montreal Canadiens while Hicks owns rival NHL franchise Dallas Stars as well as the Texas Rangers baseball team.

TAKEOVER COST BREAKDOWN
Buying out shareholders (incl £80m debt): £255m
New stadium: £215m
TOTAL COST: £470m

Hicks has built up a reputation for developing state-of-the-art new stadia for his teams and his participation was a key factor in Liverpool deciding to go with the US bid.

The other issue which clinched the deal is the Americans guaranteed that Liverpool's new stadium on Stanley Park would not be on a groundshare basis, which had been Gillett's original plan when he was considering a solo takeover.

Gillett has impressed Liverpool with his proposals and the speed at which he completed due diligence - the process of investigation by potential investors - in three days.

The 68-year-old American has also stressed his experience in running successful sporting operations.

606 DEBATE: Your views on Liverpool's takeover talks

However, the Independent has claimed that Gillett's business empire collapsed in 1992, leading to a £33.7m personal bankruptcy.

Gillett and Hicks have worked together in the past on the board of a major US meat-processing firm.

Their idea to take over Liverpool gathered force when they met at the NHL All-Star Game last week.

It would be the first time that two owners of rival sports clubs in one league have combined to purchase a club in another.

they met at an NHL game and they decided to go halves on a football club....
Good God......!

by **neilE** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 6:01 pm

all the talk of investors love of the club is :censored:

. We are talking about 500 mil, and no-one puts that kind of money in for fun - except maybe Abramovich, but we don't need that kind of investment anyway. So they are in it for the money. Which means any takeover is dangerous for the club. My opinion is that DIC would have done as well for us as anyone, but we were scuppered by what seemed like a good deal a few years back - selling a chunk of the club to Granada. DIC wanted 90% of the club and Moores couldn't guarantee them that without at least getting the rest of the shareholders to reject Gillett's bid. So he had to have a board meeting to discuss Gillett's bid. Granada and maybe a few others were always going to be swayed by an extra £500 per share, so as long as Gillett's bid was serious DIC had no chance of completing the deal. Back to square one, and I really don't think it's Moores fault. He can't make the other shareholders sell.

by **tubby** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 6:33 pm

Anfield rapper wrote:
bavlondon wrote:
Anfield rapper wrote:I've got to admit the fact that this will be 50-50 between Gillett and a billionaire has brightened the outlook but i still think the arabs would have been more willing to invest in us, i just fear that they won't really be prepared to do what it takes to get us to the very top.

how do you get that impression?

Surley there not going to go to the trouble of buying us to make sure we finish in the top 4?

Well as long as we get Champions league football i don't think they'll mind really. I can't really see them pulling out all the stops to get us to win the prem though. Maybe i'm wrong but it won't really make much difference to them. At the end of the day they aren't Liverpool fans. I just think the arabs would have taken us to another level because they are determind to win.

Im pretty sure both parties would have wanted us to win equally.

by **Igor Zidane** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 9:01 am

My big worry at the moment is , if these to American fella's do take over. Will rafa still have total say on who he want's to buy or will it be like whats seems to be happening at Chelsea ,where the Owner buy's and sells who he wants. It's par for the course on the continent and i'm a bit concerned that ,that's whats going to happen here.

by **Effes** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 9:22 am

Igor Zidane wrote:My big worry at the moment is , if these to American fella's do take over. Will rafa still have total say on who he want's to buy or will it be like whats seems to be happening at Chelsea ,where the Owner buy's and sells who he wants. It's par for the course on the continent and i'm a bit concerned that ,that's whats going to happen here.

Doubt it.

This Hicks fella has a history of putting the sports people in charge and letting them get on with it.

by **Igor Zidane** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 9:30 am

Effes wrote:
Igor Zidane wrote:My big worry at the moment is , if these to American fella's do take over. Will rafa still have total say on who he want's to buy or will it be like whats seems to be happening at Chelsea ,where the Owner buy's and sells who he wants. It's par for the course on the continent and i'm a bit concerned that ,that's whats going to happen here.

Doubt it.

This Hicks fella has a history of putting the sports people in charge and letting them get on with it.

Well that 's fair enough mate , as long as that's the case.

by **Effes** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 10:44 am

Bump

Liverpool FC Forum

THE TAKEOVER THREAD - LIVERPOOL SOLD

Who is online