Liverpool's £20m buying cap revealed in club report

[rebel23]

Except they didn't have the revenue upside we have. That makes it an entirely different game.

 

But hey you're pretty well entrenched and you can see demons everywhere, so we'll leave it there.

 

what about the revenue downside if we miss out on CL, manager quits and his players sold for buttons ?

 

it's a dangerous game they're playing, it's going to be a tough fight to stand still

[Chinandeler Bong]

These reports :

 

The prospectus its based on is basically saying IF you spend this much each season THIS is what it will look like , So to me its not confirming what we will spend its just an example.

[SpeedyG]

what about the revenue downside if we miss out on CL, manager quits and his players sold for buttons ?

 

it's a dangerous game they're playing, it's going to be a tough fight to stand still

 

Well I reckon we'd be screwed if all that happened.

[cochcaer]

These reports :

 

The prospectus its based on is basically saying IF you spend this much each season THIS is what it will look like , So to me its not confirming what we will spend its just an example.

 

It probably is part of paperwork intended to attract an investor so the figures are probably slightly optimistic.

 

I suspect next summer will be Alonso II with Masher sold and a half-price replacement expected to be unearthed. Rather than progressing it seems we're going to have to fight merely to hold station, and two years down the line City will have a strong squad and the likes of Gerrard will be 31.

[SpeedyG]

Who is the coward hiding behind the tags?

[Marko121]

Our squad ( as it stands ) should be good enough to keep us in the top 4 - But this club exists to win trophies and i for one dont think 4th is good enough for this club. We should not settle for 2nd ( or 4th ) best

 

Sadly, we will not win anything under the yanks as that is not what interests them

[Delmar]

It probably is part of paperwork intended to attract an investor so the figures are probably slightly optimistic.

 

I suspect next summer will be Alonso II with Masher sold and a half-price replacement expected to be unearthed. Rather than progressing it seems we're going to have to fight merely to hold station, and two years down the line City will have a strong squad and the likes of Gerrard will be 31.

 

Funnily enough today I would be bothered way less if Mascherano is sold than at the beginning of the season. It will depend on how Aquilani plays if I'm bothered at all. I think we have the basis for a good midfield in Lucas and Spearing, Spearing playing further up and Lucas as the DM. Two young guys, both with excellent attitude, both talented players. If Aquilani is as good as people say, Gerrard can eventually be moved to play the role he has with England. He can do that stuff until he is 35...

 

Then we have good prospects in the reserves, Eccleston, Kelly, Ayala, LDV, Buchtmann. I'd like another young good DM from somewhere, though.

 

Anyway, this particular report does not worry me a bit. The worry part was this past summer, when the owners used all the transfer money to re-finance. That's done, an excellent chance missed.

[ratcatcher]

This should be the motivation needed to boycott matches - the only thing that will force a sale - but it won't happen.

 

People ought to disregard this piece of nonsense. No boycott will ever force a sale at a club the size of LFC. You may as well piss in the wind.

 

The only things that will remove the current owners are 1, them finding a buyer(s) or 2, them losing interest in LFC and they sell up to buy into their 'next big thing.'

[Captain]

It seems we're up shit creek without a paddle. If the owners want to move the goalposts by including wages and stuff, please do. Just don't expect results in return.

 

I'm getting to the point where I want Rafa to resign. Hopefully it will force the hand of these lying scumbags who control us at the moment.

[Red Nick]

Were Ok according to this report in the short term ie until the season after this one as long as we qualify for the CL

 

If we finish 5th you may as well use the report as Toliet paper.

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

Might get worrying if we miss out on CL football in future seasons.

 

This might the only thing that will get the Yank cunts to fucking sell up.

 

If I'm being completely honest, I hope we don't qualify for the Champs league next season just to get rid of them. I seriously can't take any more of this fucking shit (which is one of the main reasons I don't log on here any more).

[Delmar]

Why would he resign? He agreed to this, and incase you did not realise, he stands to lose a few quid.

 

No direct quotes from Rafa, for one reason and one reason only.

 

HE AGREED TO THIS.

 

I assume that he by now already has a few quid. And, as Mourinho, he could afford a nice break and waltz into a job that pays a few more quid.

 

He may have agreed to this, or he may have agreed to shut up. One of the main complaints before about Rafa (by the owners and the anti-Rafa fans) has been that he doesn't keep his mouth shut. Why complain when he does, isn't dealing with the problems within the club supposed to be the Liverpool Way?

[theghost]

I don't have to hide behind tags. SpeedyG, you don't make a whole lot of sense to me. Sorry about that.

[stringvest]

I assume that he by now already has a few quid. And, as Mourinho, he could afford a nice break and waltz into a job that pays a few more quid.

 

He may have agreed to this, or he may have agreed to shut up. One of the main complaints before about Rafa (by the owners and the anti-Rafa fans) has been that he doesn't keep his mouth shut. Why complain when he does, isn't dealing with the problems within the club supposed to be the Liverpool Way?

 

I absolutely agree with this. I'm one of the people who really gets frustrated when Benitez plays out his own soap opera in public. It' distracting for him, for the players, for the supporters and for the club. It damaged our chances last year imo. Him actually keeping mum on this stuff is actually welcome to me. He has to focus on the job in hand, not get involved in politics again.

 

Yes, I can't stand the owners, but he is actually in the job to manage the team, and get the best out of them.

[Guest Ulysses Everett McGill]

What were the tags?

[WhiskeyJar]

We are still a big club with great prestige and pedigree. We are Liverpool FC.

 

This is just another dent but we will overcome this, we always find new ways to adapt to win trophies.

[ali]

Liverpool Owner to Meet Gulf Royals to Discuss Joint Program

 

By Tariq Panja

 

Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Liverpool co-owner George Gillett plans to meet with members of a Gulf royal family to discuss developing soccer academies in the Middle East and North Africa.

 

Gillett, a part-owner of Nascar’s Richard Petty Motorsports, told Bloomberg News that the sides will also talk at tomorrow’s Premier League match with Hull about building Nascar-style race tracks in the Middle East.

 

“We are constantly looking for ways to expand our presence throughout the world and this is one step we are considering,” Gillett said in a telephone interview.

 

Gillett and his partner Tom Hicks are looking to raise funds to restart work on a new stadium for the 18-time English league champion and reduce debt of 240 million pounds ($386 million) with Royal Bank of Scotland Plc and Wachovia Corp. It’s unclear if a future equity investment will be discussed with the Mideast group.

 

Earlier this week, Bloomberg News revealed details of a March 2009 document prepared by the club’s bankers Rothschild and Merrill Lynch that proposed raising 100 million pounds, through an equity sale and new loans, to pay down existing debts. In July, the owners used 50 million pounds of their own money to refinance the debt.

 

The document also revealed a number of revenue-boosting plans, which included converting 1,000 regular seats into corporate seating and a push to build branded academies overseas. Some of the best young players from the foreign training centers will be invited to practice at Liverpool’s main development facility.

 

Shirt Sponsor

 

Liverpool’s financial status received a boost last week when it announced a record sponsorship with Standard Chartered Plc, which will pay about 20 million pounds a season to replace Carlsberg A/S on the front of the players’ shirts. The deal is around 6 million pounds more than the club forecast it would get if it renewed with Carlsberg.

 

Some of that new money is likely to go toward improving the club’s financial position.

 

In June, Liverpool’s parent company, Kop Football (Holdings) Ltd., announced a loss of 42.6 million pounds for the year ended July 2008 on interest charges of 36.5 million pounds. Liverpool plans to increase commercial revenue to 111.4 million pounds from 59 million pounds in the next five years, according to the investment document.

 

To contact the reporter on this story: Tariq Panja in London at tpanja@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 24, 2009 19:00 EDT

 

Liverpool Owner to Meet Gulf Royals to Discuss Joint Program - Bloomberg.com

[ali]

Future looks bleak for Liverpool as door slams shut on transfer kitty

 

Published 23:00 24/09/09 By David Anderson

 

'We are the new Leeds' read the banner held up by Liverpool fans at Elland Road on Tuesday.

 

And while Liverpool's plight is not quite as bad as Leeds', their financial position is still deeply worrying.

 

The prospectus published by investment bankers Rothschild and Merrill Lynch to attract new backers details just how grim the outlook is for the Anfield club, revealing that Rafa Benitez will be limited to £20 million-a-year over the next five years to cover all transfers.

 

Worse still, the Reds boss will have to fund new contracts, such as Fernando Torres' improved £110,000-a-week deal, from that £20m, leaving him very little to spend in real terms.

 

Granted this prospectus came out in March and since then Liverpool have agreed a record four-year £80m sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered Bank.

 

They have also refinanced their debts, reducing the figure in red ink to £245million.

 

But the future for the club and Benitez is still bleak.

 

American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have said they will press ahead with their plans to build the new £450m Anfield when the world's money markets improve.

 

All this cash will be borrowed, putting another drain on the club's resources.

 

Chief executive Christian Purslow confirmed Benitez's £20m-a-year kitty in a recent meeting with a delegation of fans from the Spirit of Shankly (SOS) group as he attempted to talk up club's finances.

 

Minutes from the meeting, which have been approved by Purslow, show he told the fans that Hicks and Gillett had slashed £60m off the club's debts.

 

"(Purslow) said that the owners had recently introduced £60m into the club," read the minutes. "This was equity that was introduced by the owners, reducing the debt burden to £245m."

 

Despite Purslow's upbeat assessment, Liverpool still lost £42.6m in the financial year up to July 2008, mainly because of interest payments of £36.5m.

 

Purslow also warned the Spirit of Shankly that their protests against Hicks and Gillett were damaging the club by putting off potential sponsors but whatever spin Purslow tries to put on Liverpool's finances, the bottom line for Benitez is that money is going to remain tight for the forseeable future.

 

He is already getting used to wheeling and dealing and reluctantly sacrificed Xabi Alonso last month to help pay for Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani.

 

Javier Mascherano could be next to go and the contrast between Del Boy Benitez and his Premier League rivals is glaring.

 

Down the M62, Sir Alex Ferguson is still figuring out who to buy with the £80m he received for Cristiano Ronaldo.

 

Chelsea may have been hit with a transfer ban, but they hardly look like they need major strengthening, having made a perfect start under Carlo Ancelotti.

 

Arsene Wenger has banked £40m from the sales of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor, while Mark Hughes has the biggest transfer kitty in the world at Manchester City.

 

It is hard to see how Benitez can compete with Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City when he is hamstrung by such restraints.

 

Liverpool already look weaker this season without Alonso and the nightmare scenario is that City will overtake them and snatch their Champions League place.

 

That would be disastrous for Liverpool and the revenue from competing against Europe's elite is one of their main sources of cash.

 

Kopites can also forget about winning their first title since 1990 and the gap between them and the likes of United only looks set to grow again.

 

Fans aren't happy by the financial straitjacket which has been placed on Benitez and in an online poll conducted by LiverpoolKop, over 50 per cent of supporters said the Reds will slip further behind their rivals.

 

With such limited resources, Benitez splashing out a club record £22m on Torres will remain a one-off and stars like David Villa and David Silva will be well beyond his reach.

 

That's the sobering reality for Kopites.

 

Future looks bleak for Liverpool as door slams shut on transfer kitty - MirrorFootball.co.uk

[old skool tom]

£20m cap is basically one very good player a year (£10-12m plus his wages for 5 years)

or 2/3 young "potentially" good players

 

the gaffer is gonna have be near perfect in every buy he makes and how many managers achieve that?

[Anubis]

£20m cap is basically one very good player a year (£10-12m plus his wages for 5 years)

or 2/3 young "potentially" good players

 

the gaffer is gonna have be near perfect in every buy he makes and how many managers achieve that?

 

It's not even that. The figure includes any renewal of contracts for existing players.

[aws]

It's not even that. The figure includes any renewal of contracts for existing players.

 

I don't think we should spend any of the budget on new players. Just save it up for five years so we'll have something to replace gerrard when he retires.

[Anubis]

I don't think we should spend any of the budget on new players. Just save it up for five years so we'll have something to replace gerrard when he retires.

That's not a bad idea in the current circumstances.

[WaltonRed]

George is trying to sell I reckon, this NASCAR stuff is a load of bollocks.

[G Richards]

George is trying to sell I reckon, this NASCAR stuff is a load of bollocks.

 

Hope you are right.

[Red Nick]

All positive stuff!