The Hicks interview tommorrow

[Brownie]

My blue mate swears DIC will 'asset strip' us, to which I reply there will be fuck all left for them to take. But on a serious note, one man to answer to is better than two who hate each other.

 

It was a total PR stunt but the yanws are being overplayed, have none of us ever yawned at the match, it was 7am know what I mean?

 

It's not just the yawns though, it's the look in the kids eyes! They were proper pissed off that their dad had dragged them out of bed for a game of soccer.

[WaltonRed]

It's not just the yawns though, it's the look in the kids eyes! They were proper pissed off that their dad had dragged them out of bed for a game of soccer.

 

I know and I dont question they couldnt be arsed with it all its just funny that the yawns have been focused on rather than the absolute boilworthyness of the whole thing.

 

That partridge esque, 'everton wont like that' will live on forever. Shameful.

[coop]

When i saw Hicks in the chair with his blazer on i thought he was going to start singing 'White Christmas'.

[coop]

My blue mate swears DIC will 'asset strip' us, to which I reply there will be fuck all left for them to take. But on a serious note, one man to answer to is better than two who hate each other.

 

It was a total PR stunt but the yanws are being overplayed, have none of us ever yawned at the match, it was 7am know what I mean?

 

When DIC first became interested in Liverpool FC it was from a purely financial point of view but over the last 12 months they have learnt a lot on how things operate in Liverpool.

 

If DIC do buy the club you can be rest assured that the presitge it brings to Dubai in owning Liverpool plays a major part as well.

 

Obviously DIC would want to make money on Liverpool and they would not go crazy on spending like Chelsea have done but we would be able to compete for the top players but whoever takes over the club you have to expect them to want something in return

 

Pretty certain they will be more meetings with DIC in early May if its true regards the 90 day clause running out when hopefully we may get some positive news.

[Guest Ulysses Everett McGill]

When i saw Hicks in the chair with his blazer on i thought he was going to start singing 'White Christmas'.

 

 

Said that to Al last night, great minds an that

[Brownie]

When DIC first became interested in Liverpool FC it was from a purely financial point of view but over the last 12 months they have learnt a lot on how things operate in Liverpool.

 

If DIC do buy the club you can be rest assured that the presitge it brings to Dubai in owning Liverpool plays a major part as well.

 

Obviously DIC would want to make money on Liverpool and they would not go crazy on spending like Chelsea have done but we would be able to compete for the top players but whoever takes over the club you have to expect them to want something in return

 

Pretty certain they will be more meetings with DIC in early May if its true regards the 90 day clause running out when hopefully we may get some positive news.

 

At the end of the day, the reason Hicks and Gillett wanted to own the club was to make money. DIC will want to own the club to make money. Unfortunately, the two yanks can't agree on how to set the club up to make more money. Hicks wants a different CEO, Gillett wants to stick with Parry. Hicks wants to stick with Rafa, Gillett wants someone else. Hicks wants the HKS stadium, Gillett wants the AFL stadium.

 

In that sense, having DIC in as a single owner would be better because they could make their decisions quicker, easier and without public fall-out. How will they fund everything though? Will it be through bank loans, or their own funds?

[Heighway]

When DIC first became interested in Liverpool FC it was from a purely financial point of view but over the last 12 months they have learnt a lot on how things operate in Liverpool.

 

If DIC do buy the club you can be rest assured that the presitge it brings to Dubai in owning Liverpool plays a major part as well.

 

Obviously DIC would want to make money on Liverpool and they would not go crazy on spending like Chelsea have done but we would be able to compete for the top players but whoever takes over the club you have to expect them to want something in return

 

I remember reading similar things when the yanks were taking over. No one knows what DIC's intentions are, but it certainly isn't for the prestige and we really shouldn't be painting them as anything but potential owners who have got it all to prove.

 

Just seen Rafa's press conference as well. For a man worried about the future, he looks unbelievably relaxed and happy.

[coop]

I remember reading similar things when the yanks were taking over. No one knows what DIC's intentions are, but it certainly isn't for the prestige and we really shouldn't be painting them as anything but potential owners who have got it all to prove.

 

Just seen Rafa's press conference as well. For a man worried about the future, he looks unfeasbily relaxed and happy.

 

Your wrong there mate.

 

Ive said this time and again but DIC could make a hell of a lot more money on other ventures then they would make by buying Liverpool FC.

 

You have to look at the bigger picture. Dubai are currently building a huge sports city and trying to attract many different sporting organisations there. They already have a link up with Man United in Dubai and what better logo to have in your sports portfolio then that of the Liverbird as DIC flagship sports company.

 

This will open more doors for them as if they own Liverpool and start building their sports empire then this will increase their revenue. They will make money on using the Liverpool logo and marketing Dubai Sports containing Liverpool.

 

Things would change under the ownership of DIC that i am sure of. Obviously this would mean Hicks is out of the club but gone will be Moores and Parry. DIC will appoint their own board which will contain at least one Liverpool fan in Mr Ansari and will be run from top to bottom like a proffessional outfit maximising the marketing nad merchandise etc.

 

I havent got a crystal ball and therefore i can not say whether DIC will turn out to great owners as no-one knows but when we currently look at the situation we are in could they be any worse.

[WaltonRed]

Own money i presume Brownie

[Brownie]

Your wrong there mate.

 

Ive said this time and again but DIC could make a hell of a lot more money on other ventures then they would make by buying Liverpool FC.

 

You have to look at the bigger picture. Dubai are currently building a huge sports city and trying to attract many different sporting organisations there. They already have a link up with Man United in Dubai and what better logo to have in your sports portfolio then that of the Liverbird as DIC flagship sports company.

 

This will open more doors for them as if they own Liverpool and start building their sports empire then this will increase their revenue. They will make money on using the Liverpool logo and marketing Dubai Sports containing Liverpool.

 

Things would change under the ownership of DIC that i am sure of. Obviously this would mean Hicks is out of the club but gone will be Moores and Parry. DIC will appoint their own board which will contain at least one Liverpool fan in Mr Ansari and will be run from top to bottom like a proffessional outfit maximising the marketing nad merchandise etc.

 

I havent got a crystal ball and therefore i can not say whether DIC will turn out to great owners as no-one knows but when we currently look at the situation we are in could they be any worse.

 

All sounds great in theory, Coop, and it may well be right but it's very much a case of wait and see for me. If DIC do eventually come in and take over, I won't be welcoming them with open arms.

 

I'd be relieved to get rid of those two cowboys, but DIC would still have an awful lot to prove.

 

DIC have helped to constribute to this mess that we have being played out in the media don't forget. They have planted just as many stories and speculation as the Americans have. None of that has been for the good of the club, so as I say, they would have plenty to prove.

[Carra_is_legend]

In that sense, having DIC in as a single owner would be better because they could make their decisions quicker, easier and without public fall-out. How will they fund everything though? Will it be through bank loans, or their own funds?

 

DIC as a single owner means they will own the entire board. Atleast now we have Parry and Moores who are the opposing voice against Hicks and Gillett. It won't be the case with DIC - they can make any decisions, good or bad, without any opposition. But then, I suppose we can't ask for everything as most of us want Moores and Parry out of Anfield.

 

I will be very surprised if DIC borrow money to buy us though. I think they will to maximise the commercial revenue from the asian sector and draw dividends for themselves instead of paying interest. I think they will borrow to build the stadium and as Coop said they will use the Liverpool brand to promote Dubai. I reckon the New Anfield will be a place from the Sheikh to wine and dine top business people.

[Heighway]

I havent got a crystal ball and therefore i can not say whether DIC will turn out to great owners as no-one knows but when we currently look at the situation we are in could they be any worse.

 

I agree with this part, but anything else about 'prestige' or how they'll run the club is just all opnion at the moment, and very optimistic at that.

 

They're not experienced football club owners for a start and will encounter the same pitfalls as everyone else, even with their vast wealth, especially if they start pissing off the various splinter groups and the transfer budget freaks, which is not that hard to be fair.

 

Not trying to be a damp squib, but it's important we don't get carried away. Once bitten and all that.

[Brownie]

Own money i presume Brownie

 

They would be wanting a return on their investment on an annual basis I would presume then? Or would it be a case of seeking returns when the stadium is built?

 

Either way, it would be our money they would be taking. I suppose the counter argument to that, is the fact that they would setting up new procedures and facilities to increase revenues so they would therefore be entitles to their share of the profits.

 

I'm such a financial mong!

[WaltonRed]

They would be wanting a return on their investment on an annual basis I would presume then? Or would it be a case of seeking returns when the stadium is built?

 

Either way, it would be our money they would be taking. I suppose the counter argument to that, is the fact that they would setting up new procedures and facilities to increase revenues so they would therefore be entitles to their share of the profits.

 

I'm such a financial mong!

 

They would want something back but the fact is we under performing so much that if they do what they think they can with us the money we will be making will be so much more than now and thus we wouldnt notice as it wouldnt affect the team if you get me?

 

I'm also a financial mong!

[Brownie]

DIC as a single owner means they will own the entire board. Atleast now we have Parry and Moores who are the opposing voice against Hicks and Gillett. It won't be the case with DIC - they can make any decisions, good or bad, without any opposition. But then, I suppose we can't ask for everything as most of us want Moores and Parry out of Anfield.

 

I will be very surprised if DIC borrow money to buy us though. I think they will to maximise the commercial revenue from the asian sector and draw dividends for themselves instead of paying interest. I think they will borrow to build the stadium and as Coop said they will use the Liverpool brand to promote Dubai. I reckon the New Anfield will be a place from the Sheikh to wine and dine top business people.

 

If they were to buy the club, fund the stadium and increase revenue streams in Asia, then i'd have no problem with them keeping the revenue from the Asian markets for themselves. You have to expect that they will want a return, so that would be fair enough.

 

I just want to see the club grow so that we can increase our power when it comes to the transfer market. The Mancs have to be the blueprint - our fanbase matches theirs but they take greater advantage due to the stadium size and their marketing capabilities. We could easily be as big as them IMO.

[Heighway]

The money or dividend returns isn't an issue for me. I just want them to run the club properly, succesfully, and with a bit of class. Yes, it will help if they can give the manager some decent funds, but that's not the be all and end all.

[coop]

All sounds great in theory, Coop, and it may well be right but it's very much a case of wait and see for me. If DIC do eventually come in and take over, I won't be welcoming them with open arms.

 

I'd be relieved to get rid of those two cowboys, but DIC would still have an awful lot to prove.

 

DIC have helped to constribute to this mess that we have being played out in the media don't forget. They have planted just as many stories and speculation as the Americans have. None of that has been for the good of the club, so as I say, they would have plenty to prove.

 

The bit in bold is very true and like you say mate its all good in theory but whose to say they wont fuck up.

 

I would however feel a little bit safer in the hands of people who have access to billions instead of a pair of Americans who have to struggle to raise any kind of finance.

 

In all fairness i have no problems with anyone making millions out of Liverpool as long as the team side of things are not neglected.

 

DIC would at least have money available to start building the new stadium straight away. So thats extra revenue once its built there.

 

The marketing side of the club is woeful as we all know so a better CEO and marketing department will see us increase the profits there as well.

 

You also have the rising income that as a club we recieve from TV rights and prize money from the competitions we enter.

 

Like ive said as long as Rafa is fully backed and doesnt have to go bargain shopping meaning the team as to suffer then whoever owns the club can make as much as they want.

 

Hopefully this whole circus will end soon as its vital it doesnt spill over into next season.

[Carra_is_legend]

They would be wanting a return on their investment on an annual basis I would presume then? Or would it be a case of seeking returns when the stadium is built?

 

Either way, it would be our money they would be taking. I suppose the counter argument to that, is the fact that they would setting up new procedures and facilities to increase revenues so they would therefore be entitles to their share of the profits.

 

I'm such a financial mong!

 

The only way to make money out of a football club is by making them successful on the pitch and to use the success to maximise commercial revenue and gate receipts. If DIC (or any owner) manage to do that, they will deserve every penny of the profits they get.

[Brownie]

They would want something back but the fact is we under performing so much that if they do what they think they can with us the money we will be making will be so much more than now and thus we wouldnt notice as it wouldnt affect the team if you get me?

 

I'm also a financial mong!

 

I know exactly what you mean.

 

It's hard to make sense of it all though. I'll try to use a simple example of how I see things:

 

DIC buys club for £500M and then spends £400M on a new stadium. A further £100M is spent on increasing revenue streams in the Asian market amongst others.

 

Revenue then increases by 100% and DIC keeps this increased revenue as their investment returns.

 

If that's how it works, then where do we get this adage that our transfer spending will increase? Any increased revenue will be kept by them to service their investment, which they're entitled to do.

 

Could it be a case, that instead of keeping the 100% increased revenue for themselves, they would pump 50% back of into the club for players, contracts etc to ensure that success on the field remains so that their investment will continue to be serviced over the long-term?

 

Any help here would be super.

[coop]

An example of what i would like to see from DIC is when Rafa was interested in Aguero. We could have signed the lad for about £13 million. It was a lot of money for the lad at the time but fucking peanuts to what the lad is now worth.

 

You could say he was way overpriced and without hindsight we were not to know he would be so good but i would like the board to back Rafa and his scouting network on the fact they saw something they liked in Aguero but we couldnt afford him.

 

Walcott is another example. We refused to cough up the extra £500,000 to sign him when he was at Southampton so shortly after his signs for Arsenal.

 

I do not want us to go on a spending spree like Chelsea paying £30 million for a 30 year old but i would like us to be able to sign top young players who you are confident in making the grade.

 

We are so fucking close to having one hell of a team as its been years since we had a spine of a squad as strong as we currently have but we just need that extra bit of investment to go the final step.

[Brownie]

An example of what i would like to see from DIC is when Rafa was interested in Aguero. We could have signed the lad for about £13 million. It was a lot of money for the lad at the time but fucking peanuts to what the lad is now worth.

 

You could say he was way overpriced and without hindsight we were not to know he would be so good but i would like the board to back Rafa and his scouting network on the fact they saw something they liked in Aguero but we couldnt afford him.

 

Walcott is another example. We refused to cough up the extra £500,000 to sign him when he was at Southampton so shortly after his signs for Arsenal.

 

I do not want us to go on a spending spree like Chelsea paying £30 million for a 30 year old but i would like us to be able to sign top young players who you are confident in making the grade.

 

We are so fucking close to having one hell of a team as its been years since we had a spine of a squad as strong as we currently have but we just need that extra bit of investment to go the final step.

 

I don't think Rafa's the type of manager to go out and spend £30M on players, regularly. He would rather put a great side together now with some big signings, and then get the players signed at an early age so they can be developed and integrated into the team in the future.

 

Very much like Arsenal, but with much more substance!

 

I think we could do with buying a couple of top, top attacking players this summer, and then we could revert to developing the youngsters.

[Carra_is_legend]

The Mancs have to be the blueprint - our fanbase matches theirs but they take greater advantage due to the stadium size and their marketing capabilities. We could easily be as big as them IMO.

 

We could be bigger than them - seriously. We have a huge support base in asia.

 

In recent years, we haven't used the success (post 2001) we have had to maximise the commercial income. We have no reason to think our recent success won't continue for the next few years and with a bit of stability and continuity, I'm sure we will have more success on the pitch. That combined with a bigger stadium would mean a huge income in both gate receipts and merchandise.

 

If stability and continuity is restored, we won't even need £40m every summer to compete.

 

Look at Utd - they have a 76k seater stadium (we will hopefully have a 70k seater with possibly more corporate boxes than Old Toilet). The whole club was bought using borrowed money but they are very comfortably paying the interest every year as well as spending £50m on players.

 

There is a huge amount of money that can be made by doing the right things at the right time. It is just a shame that we had two idiots in Parry and Moores for so long.

[WaltonRed]

I'm serious when I say this but we have the potential to be number one in the world in terms of revenue and money but central to that is the new ground.

[coop]

I know exactly what you mean.

 

It's hard to make sense of it all though. I'll try to use a simple example of how I see things:

 

DIC buys club for £500M and then spends £400M on a new stadium. A further £100M is spent on increasing revenue streams in the Asian market amongst others.

 

Revenue then increases by 100% and DIC keeps this increased revenue as their investment returns.

 

If that's how it works, then where do we get this adage that our transfer spending will increase? Any increased revenue will be kept by them to service their investment, which they're entitled to do.

 

Could it be a case, that instead of keeping the 100% increased revenue for themselves, they would pump 50% back of into the club for players, contracts etc to ensure that success on the field remains so that their investment will continue to be serviced over the long-term?

 

Any help here would be super.

 

We are way under marketed and whoever takes over the club be it still Hicks or DIC need to solve this problem straight away.

 

I will use DIC as an example but because DIC is the investment arm of Dubai you would expect they would market us all over the Middle East.

 

However much of a cunt Hicks is he is right on the fact when he said that Liverpool have about 5-7 sponsors when it should be more like 14-15.

 

Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are known throughout the world and we should be putting their faces all over the place.

 

Torres is able to turn straight men gay so use this to the advantage and get his face on all sorts of marketing.

 

We all know how bad it is to try and buy Liverpool merchandise from our own club shop so god help you elsewhere around the world.

 

We should be blitzing the sports shops around the world with all sorts of Liverpool merchandise. You go into any sports shop and you will notice its over run by Man United gear, this is what we should be doing.

 

Brainwash people into buying Liverpool gear because its everywhere they look there is a poster of Gerrard or Torres.

 

There is fucking millions to be made purely on marketing alone and hopefully DIC can see this.

 

You also then have the increase in money that building a new stadium would create. Extra bums on seats makes extra cash as once again Man United are showing.

 

Like ive said there is millions to be made but it will take hard work and money needs to be spent in the first place to achieve this goal.

 

Hicks knows this and this is why he is trying to hold out but he hasnt got the initial financial outlay to be able to achieve this which is something DIC do.

 

For us to be successful off the pitch we need to be successful on it and that means spending money to keep the team challenging and hopefully succeeding winning the major trophies we enter.

[Heighway]

I'd rather the commerical side was built on the back of on field success, as it should be. Once you start marketing everything thing in sight you just lose your identity, which is what I hoped some new owners would give us back, and we end up paying through the nose for it. Not to mention attracting the wrong type of fans.

 

And who is to say Hicks couldn't expand us commercially just as well as DIC?

 

Keep the focus on a successful team and club and the marleting will take care of itself.