Liverpool FC Forum

by **NANNY RED** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:37 pm

Did anyone see sky sports news this morning the reporter went live to talk to this fella in a univercity regarding the Liverpool situation it was on around 10 made me :censored:

sick the things he came out with this fella was a finance strategist or somethink i dont know where i can find the link for that interview but if anyone can suss that interview out its well worth a watch

by **maguskwt** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:39 pm

bavlondon wrote:Just to make matters worse there are reports starting to circulate that Masch will be off to Italy at the end of the season.

I won't be surprised...

better than the mancs buying him though...

by **Ciggy** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:39 pm

NANNY RED wrote:Did anyone see sky sports news this morning the reporter went live to talk to this fella in a univercity regarding the Liverpool situation it was on around 10 made me sick the things he came out with this fella was a finance strategist or somethink i dont know where i can find the link for that interview but if anyone can suss that interview out its well worth a watch

Take no notice nanny girl thats that bluenose Tom cannon he would go ballistic if DIC took over, SKY always peddle him out to talk sh!te.

by **Red @ Heart** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:13 pm

i dont wanna sound like a ignorant tw@t but are DIC back in the frame or not, or is this speculation,

HIcks has to go i hate him, hes wrecked the club in months, soon as the press conference came out last year that those 2 tw@ts had bought the club just looking at hicks made me sick,

by **NANNY RED** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:17 pm

Red wrote:i dont wanna sound like a ignorant tw@t but are DIC back in the frame or not, or is this speculation,

HIcks has to go i hate him, hes wrecked the club in months, soon as the press conference came out last year that those 2 tw@ts had bought the club just looking at hicks made me sick,

Thats what i wanna know lad its doin my head in i wish they would just come out and say yer were interested and are talking or no not a chance after the way that scumbag Parry treated us

by **The Manhattan Project** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:37 pm

I want our players to show some backbone.

After Hillsborough, LFC won the FA Cup and came within seconds of winning a League/Cup double.

This stuff with Hicks/Gillett/DIC etc...shouldn't be bothering them.

Put the fooking ball in the net and defend a lead.

That's what they need to focus on, not the Royal Bank Of Scotland and loans.

by **account deleted by request** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:43 pm

Going Underground
22nd January 2008

There are a number of reasons I’m taking a back seat from writing again right now. Frankly, I’m disillusioned with the way things are going off the field, and feel that it’s affecting what is happening on the pitch. It’s all very depressing.

For me, this season is a write-off; that doesn’t mean giving up on the two cups, but all I want now is a top four finish (which should be possible) and a chance -- please -- to start afresh next season with all the turmoil a thing of the past.

I take everything connected with the club far more personally these days; maybe all fans do to varying degrees, but feeling expected to write about every significant issue (either from the pressure I put on myself, or from emails I receive, some requesting my take on things, others more confrontational) takes it’s toll. But it’s also hard for me to stay quiet, particularly when I read something really stupid being written about the club. My instinct is to leap to the defence of the player or manager who is being unfairly criticised.

Once I release a book, which has taken many months to write, I have to then write columns to publicise that book, as that’s the only avenue open to me; by mid-winter, given my illness, I’m usually exhausted. It’s a vicious circle, and this winter has been particularly tiring, for obvious reasons. The updated version of An Anfield Anthology is out next month, but I’ve limited the copies produced so there’s less pressure on shifting them.

Thankfully Above Us Only Sky has sold out far quicker than expected (a few copies may remain in shops, but the wholesalers have run out of stock). I see no point in producing any more, as so much has changed since last October when it was published -- just three months ago.

It’s impossible to judge the performance of the team right now, because it’s an almost unworkable situation. Talk that the off-the-field issueas won’t affect the players makes no sense; it won’t turn them into rubbish footballers overnight, but you need an atmosphere conducive to success from top to bottom, and clearly that isn’t the case right now. For example, Spurs were doing really well under Martin Jol until last summer, when his position was undermined.

No matter what he then did, that team were a mess until he was finally replaced. I’m not saying that Benítez needs to be replaced; quite the opposite, in fact. Benítez isn’t so much as a dead man walking as a neutered manager working in limbo; even if Gillett and Hicks now believed in him 100%, no-one would ever believe it short of the most remarkable gesture. Uncertainty helps no-one. Stability and security are needed to thrive. You need relaxed players, not those carrying a weight of pressure; nervousness breeds failure. And you need a manager who is in total control.

So much of football is psychological, be it confidence or belief or a relaxed state of mind, and that becomes even more complicated when it’s an issue surrounding the whole club.

It’s been a season of bimonthly catastrophucks to derail progress: September, with the departure of Pako Ayesteran just as the team were purring; November, with the big Rafa/owners fallout; and January, the Klinsmann revelations and the whole thing going nuclear. No team can flourish in such circumstances.

Clearly there’s a lot that’s right with the team, in amongst all the shortcomings. Indeed, with such a strong youth team, and the reserve team also doing so well, there’s a lot right with all the teams. There are a number of world-class and top-class players in the first team squad. There may be a few not cutting the mustard, but as I’ve said before, there’s no-one clearly taking (or on) the :censored:

. Just like Arsene Wenger, it doesn’t matter how many mistakes Benítez makes in the market, he always lands one, two or three stars each season.

The senior side is proving hard to beat, and is keeping going to the end of matches to score late goals.

There is far more attacking talent on the books this year, with Torres in particular, and then Babel and Benayoun (the pair have seven goals each which, given they’ve been in and out of a side they are new to, is very good by January. If not totally exceptional, then certainly an improvement on the output of Gonzalez and Pennant, and more like having two Luis Garcias instead of one).

The issue of who partners Torres is still unresolved, and maybe that’s an issue for the summer, if no-one puts down a firm marker in the meantime (the difficulty with Crouch being that, like Torres, he’s best as the spearhead, and no top team players with two of those these days). But despite some problems, the team have scored four or more goals nine occasions now (only one of those against really inferior opposition), and can clearly take teams apart, once the two-goal margin is in place.

But at present the side clearly has a big mental block when that second goal isn’t scored. And no manager alive can act to definitively remove such a block; the team needs to retain its belief, and even if it gets lucky holding on for a couple of 1-0 wins, doing so will go a long way to ridding the ‘curse’. It’s particularly true at Anfield, where Benítez had such a strong record before this season. There’s no reason why that can’t return once the cloud is lifted. But with the cloud, it will be extra difficult.

Whatever their intentions when they pitched up, the whole situation has backfired on Gillett and Hicks to a spectacular degree. They may choose to cut their losses -- or rather, make off with their winnings; or they may opt to stick around for the long-haul, either to try and turn things around (however unlikely that may seem with fan opinion so low), or to further expand their chances of a windfall years down the line. Right now, I have no idea what it’ll be.

I still have some doubts about DIC, and find myself a little uncomfortable at the way they’re being treated as saviours without having actually done anything to merit that.

But while I believe it’s possible things could get worse whoever is in charge, if they did buy the club it would certainly give the clean slate and fresh start that would be almost impossible now under the current regime, no matter what the Americans attempted by way of pacifying the fans. Even if they tried everything possible, I don’t know how Kopites would ever trust them again. It’s easy to see why fans are clinging to the hope that DIC, with the money being their own and a genuine fan running the organisation, would be a better bet right now.

I hope everything is resolved for the ultimate good of Liverpool FC, and I can be back in the groove soon. I will at least try to keep up with one article on the official site each month, as is expected of me. But I am struggling to find either the energy or the inclination to write about anything to do with football right now, and see it as best to treat this as a natural break to rest and recuperate. This is always the most difficult time of year for me; I tend to pick up over the spring and summer months. Hopefully the same will be true of Liverpool FC.

Even Tomkins sounds like he's had enough of all this bullsh!t now

by **red37** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:44 pm

The Death Knell is hanging over this club like a vulture waiting to strike...these two parasites, along with the poorly kept administration and this boards ineptitude. Have brought us unto the verge of a new era. One of uncertainty and a reverse of fortunes that will wreck this football club and leave it on its knees. Sad, sad times indeed.

Unless a dramatic change of heart on the part of the owners is undertaken and they realise that their position is utterly untenable this side of the 'pond' despite their transparent soundbites and bluff and bluster...and visions of what will never amount to anything other than a cash stream.

They must leave. Otherwise, well otherwise we are well and truly f*cked. You cannot justify any modicum of optimism throughout this whole sorry saga at all, not while the club is under the control of this pair of absolute c*nts. Black days.

by **zarababe** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:49 pm

To think all this talk of the summer buys, was also funded by the loan :angry:

these clowns havn't spent a penny of their own money in the club - explains a lot :angry:

by **Pedro Maradona** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:02 pm

my god even paul tompkins is downbeat, That is a first for him! Pity he didnt elaborate on why exactly he doesnt trust D.I.C. I can understand why there would be apprehension about any new potential owner in any takeover but I think D.I.C. hasnt a bad record in other areas so I dont see why Liverpool FC would be anything otherwise. Also it is a pity that Moores and Parry didnt do their homework on Gillett and Hicks before prostituting themselves to them in the first place. (There record with other teams being a good indicator of how things would go for a start.)

by **Scottbot** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:16 pm

I'd be very surprised if Hicks/Gillette don't sell up. I can only imagine this refinancing package is a move to improve their position. If they don't get the money they're screwed and it's a buyers market, DIC will hold all the cards. Get their loan re-financed and it's the other way around. Either way they will sell, it can't work out any other way. They will be taking a massive risk if they try and patch this up and stick around for the long(er) haul. You only have to look at the United situation. The Glazers got very lucky in a lot of ways, they bought the club, barely spent a penny, put the debt onto the books and had the fu**ers continued to struggle on the pitch (as they had the previous two seasons) they would have been screwed, having to repay the loans they took out. Fortunately for the Glazers, united won the title and had a very profitable run in the Champions League last season. We heard recently that they pulled in the biggest profits/revenue in years the past season but much of that money has to service the massive debt they have racked up. They rolled the dice and they got lucky.

With that in mind, how can Hicks and Gillette stay on? With our current form, the fan protests, the media attention, the speculation and the (confirmed) effect it is now having on the players. Can we/they even be sure the club will make it into next seasons Champions League? When their very prescence at the club is the single biggest threat to the club achieving qualification. I still can't believe these pr..i..c..k..s could even CONSIDER putting the debt onto the club's books when they categorically stated they would not do this. It will place huge pressurs on the club and for me it explains why they were talking to Klinsman all those months ago. We will/would become like one the clubs struggling at the bottom in November, where managers are shipped out at the first sign of trouble because even the slightest threat to that £40 million pot of TV gold gets the trigger-finger firing. It will be no different with these two tw.a..ts and the looming cloud of yearly interest repayments in excess £30-40 milliion (based on what i've read) quid.

I can only see this going one of two ways.

1/ They get the refinancing package, they sack the manager immediately, install a new man immediately and hope he gets results quick.

2/ They get the refinancing package, they name their price and we hope to bloody hell DIC match it.

I'd definately expect it to be option 2 though. I just hope it happens quickly because 4th place looks anything but a stroll right now.

by **Scottbot** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:25 pm

zarababe wrote:To think all this talk of the summer buys, was also funded by the loan these clowns havn't spent a penny of their own money in the club - explains a lot

I think i read somewhere that they had pumped in about 7.5 mill of their own personal funds between them but you may well be right. It's unbelievable really, if you're already rich, you can borrow a sh...i...t load of money, buy a football club and then transfer the debt onto the club's books. How can that be right?

They call it the beautiful game but it isn't. It's ugly. I'd give anything for football to remain as it was through the 80's/early 90's and i don't mean coz we were winning everything. All the money, fat cat owners who couldn't give a toss, players who couldn't give a toss, the fact only four teams are in it, the plc's, the fan-base, the FA Cup means fook all etc

It's all bollox :veryangry

by **tubby** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:28 pm

The fans protesting wont do anything. Man Utd is evidence of that.

If they get the refinancing deal then they will be able to ask for more from DIC. The thing is if DIC walked away when these yanks came in last year when the amount was only 175Mil I doubt they will be willing to pay £35Mil let alone £500Mil.

by **LFC2007** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:29 pm

Scottbot wrote:I'd be very surprised if Hicks/Gillette don't sell up. I can only imagine this refinancing package is a move to improve their position. If they don't get the money they're screwed and it's a buyers market, DIC will hold all the cards. Get their loan re-financed and it's the other way around. Either way they will sell, it can't work out any other way. They will be taking a massive risk if they try and patch this up and stick around for the long(er) haul. You only have to look at the United situation. The Glazers got very lucky in a lot of ways, they bought the club, barely spent a penny, put the debt onto the books and had the fu**ers continued to struggle on the pitch (as they had the previous two seasons) they would have been screwed, having to repay the loans they took out. Fortunately for the Glazers, united won the title and had a very profitable run in the Champions League last season. We heard recently that they pulled in the biggest profits/revenue in years the past season but much of that money has to service the massive debt they have racked up. They rolled the dice and they got lucky.

That assumes that the Manc's winning the title and going on a decent run in the UCL boosted their revenue to the extent that had they not been as successful on the pitch they would otherwise have been stuck financially. I don't think that's the case at all.

They've always been massively profitable, the increase in TV money and the expansion of their stadium are as much to do with this as anything else IMO. Success on the pitch has allowed them drive their commercial ventures, no question, but all you have to do is look at their pre-tax profits to know that they had no trouble meeting interest payments. They were well covered.

by **destro** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:33 pm

I have just read that if the sale of Momo to Juventus goes through for 7 Million they will have given Rafa a grand total of 15 Million , is that correct ?

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