The Happy Rumour Mill (Takeover bids, transfer talks etc) Part 2

[Al Campbell]

Will Gulacsi count as a homegrown player soon? He's been here a few years now hasn't he?

[Allan]

Will Gulacsi count as a homegrown player soon? He's been here a few years now hasn't he?

 

Joined on loan in 2007, signed permanently in 2008.

 

He's been trained at the club for 3 years, but we've only held his full registration since his permanent move 2 years ago.

 

In short, if the loan period counts (which it probably won't), then yes he should be a "home grown" player. If not, then he has 1 year to go before attaining the home grown status.

[Silly season]

So last night I read about us bidding for Ben Arfa and I wake up it's crouch! Surely the latter is just lazy paper bullshit. We don't want crouch and he's got champs lg football, why would he come back?

[Trumo]

Joined on loan in 2007, signed permanently in 2008.

 

He's been trained at the club for 3 years, but we've only held his full registration since his permanent move 2 years ago.

 

In short, if the loan period counts (which it probably won't), then yes he should be a "home grown" player. If not, then he has 1 year to go before attaining the home grown status.

 

In addition to that, he's not 21 yet, so doesn't need to be registered in the squad of 25 anyway.

[05 Milan]

Who is this Taxpayer, is he rich? Meh, anyone but G&H I guess

[Silly season]

Liverpool are ahead of Arsenal in the race for frozen out Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips.

 

The Sunday Mirror says the England winger has been told he can leave Manchester City for about £7million. But Arsenal are unwilling to pay him more than the £65,000 a week he earns at City.

That has opened the door for Roy Hodgson to beat Arsene Wenger again after the Liverpool boss persuaded Joe Cole to move to Anfield ahead of the Emirates.

 

Wright-Phillips turned down City’s offer of a £10,000-a-week wage hike at the end of last season.

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

Do City actually want to sell Bellamy? All I've seen so for is loan deals linked with Celtic and Spurs.

 

We should be having some of that if that's the case.

[paddyberger15]

Shaun Wright-Phillips. Fuck off.

[RobbieOR]

Taxpayer could take over Liverpool | Football | The Observer

 

Liverpool are two months from becoming majority-owned by the taxpayer, which, the Observer can reveal, has become the likeliest outcome if a sale has not neared completion in that time.

 

The Royal Bank of Scotland's main £237m loan to the club expires on 6 October and must either be repaid or rolled over. Additional sums owing to RBS are believed to have increased the club's total debt to the bank to £325m. Liverpool's company secretary, Ian Silvester, said: "From what I understand, and that's all I can say, the urgency is there due to the pressure from the banks, so I would anticipate that something will be happening within the next four to six weeks or so."

 

One option open to RBS would be to put the club's parent company, Kop Football (Holdings), into administration, but that is not favoured since it would almost inevitably lead to a nine-point deduction under Premier League insolvency rules. Instead, the Observer has learned, unless one of the parties involved in negotiations to take over at Anfield follows through with a formal offer, RBS's corporate-restructuring team would assume control of Liverpool and run the club as a wholly owned subsidiary. That would effectively put the five-times European champions in the hands of the taxpayer who, through the government-owned UK Financial Investments Ltd, holds 84.42% of the issued share capital in RBS.

 

When the loans last required refinancing in April Martin Broughton was installed by RBS as club chairman. This is said to have been due to the inability of the current shareholders, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to provide the necessary personal guarantees to the bank. But those close to the situation say RBS's patience has now reached breaking point. In the absence of a takeover or fresh funding from the Americans the bank will be entitled to oust Hicks and Gillett from the board of Kop Football (Holdings), a step the bank is believed to be ready to take in October.

 

"One or two in the bank are getting twitchy about getting their money back at all," a source said. "And they are incredibly nervous about the current bids. They don't regard anything as particularly serious at the moment."

 

Those said to be keen on bidding include the Chinese Kenny Huang, the Syrian Yahya Kirdi, the Kuwaiti Kharafi Group, the US private-equity firm Rhône Group and, reportedly, now the Indian conglomerate Sahara.

 

RBS's prerequisite in the sale process is for repayment in full, though none of the bidders has yet provided proof of funds. This is highly significant since formal due diligence cannot therefore proceed, despite pledges from several consortiums to build a new stadium and invest in the team.

 

That is when buyers would look for the first time over player contracts, planning applications surrounding the stadium and a host of other legal issues that could potentially throw up obstacles to a takeover. Due diligence can take weeks, so the chance of a takeover before the closure of the transfer window on 31 August is remote. There is also a growing possibility that the 6 October deadline will not be met.

 

In an effort to bring greater order to the chaos around Anfield, Broughton has issued a request for all parties to demonstrate their funding by the end of the coming week. There were indications yesterday from Huang's camp that he will show he is capable of financing a bid. However, for the first time there was an admission that any cash he has raised will not derive from China's sovereign‑wealth fund, the China Investment Corporation. That development raises issues over the credibility of Huang's bid, since those inside the sale process had previously been informed by his camp that CIC was involved.

 

Broughton will seek this week to apply similar pressure to Kirdi, whose consortium's credibility has been called into question by those involved in the sale process. If neither Huang nor Kirdi can meet Broughton's terms by next weekend, Liverpool will have no further contact with them.

 

That would leave only two, possibly three, bidders at the table. And without one of Rhône, Kharafi or Sahara proceeding over the next nine weeks to a stage where a takeover is almost a foregone conclusion, the prospect that Liverpool become effectively a state‑owned enterprise rises.

 

 

It wont get to that stage. We will be take over. And I wouldnt be surprised if Due Dilligence is already taking place. Surely they'be been looking into buying the club for months.

[Pidge]

IIRC due diligence is a publicly announced process.

[Guest LFD]

I like SWP, I know I am in the minority - but I think he'd give us a different option to Kuyt and Maxi on the right a more direct one.

 

If we can get the best out of him and back to the form he showed at his first spell at City, he'd be a big asset.

[Scott_M]

IIRC due diligence is a publicly announced process.

 

It was last time.

 

DIC did it in a month.

 

G&H did it in a weekend.

 

I reckon whoever is in for us has already had a good look at them.

[Byrnie]

I like SWP, I know I am in the minority - but I think he'd give us a different option to Kuyt and Maxi on the right a more direct one.

 

If we can get the best out of him and back to the form he showed at his first spell at City, he'd be a big asset.

 

We also do not know if Roy classes Dirk mainly as a striker or a right sided player.

[paddyberger15]

I like SWP, I know I am in the minority - but I think he'd give us a different option to Kuyt and Maxi on the right a more direct one.

 

If we can get the best out of him and back to the form he showed at his first spell at City, he'd be a big asset.

 

OK, I'll justify it you fucking helmet.

He is a one trick Pony, a kick and rush merchant, no skill, no guile, no intelligence and out of his depth at anything like a decent level. His ship has sailed a few seasons ago and yes, you are in a very small minority.

He would give us a different option, that being the option of having a shit, ugly little cunt who isn't good enough, puts in no graft and wants 90k a week plus a transfer fee for the privilege.

And an even bigger factor than that is, his Step-Dad is one of the biggest cunts ever to draw breath, in the long history of mankind. I don't want him being anywhere near Anfield or even talking about our club. He is arrow fodder who is The S*n and Talksport through and through.

So just to recap you fucking damp eyed blert. SWP is shit and his Dad is a massive cunt. Got that?

[Josef Svejk]

OK, I'll justify it you fucking helmet.

He is a one trick Pony, a kick and rush merchant, no skill, no guile, no intelligence and out of his depth at anything like a decent level. His ship has sailed a few seasons ago and yes, you are in a very small minority.

He would give us a different option, that being the option of having a shit, ugly little cunt who isn't good enough, puts in no graft and wants 90k a week plus a transfer fee for the privilege.

And an even bigger factor than that is, his Step-Dad is one of the biggest cunts ever to draw breath, in the long history of mankind. I don't want him being anywhere near Anfield or even talking about our club. He is arrow fodder who is The S*n and Talksport through and through.

So just to recap you fucking damp eyed blert. SWP is shit and his Dad is a massive cunt. Got that?

 

So, on balance, that's a "no" then, is it?

[danperkins]

SWP is a headless chicken, he has blistering pace but he also has zero footballing smarts. Been saying for years if he could channel it but not happened and to be honest can't see it happening anytime soon either. On massive wages aswell. Rather have Bellamy

[paddyberger15]

So, on balance, that's a "no" then, is it?

 

I'm not a fan it has to be said.

[zigackly]

Me neither.

[Pidge]

He is genuinely shite.

[StevieH]

I very much doubt that Manchester City would sell Shaun Wright-Phillips to a rival club who they are in competition with for a Champions League place. Wright-Phillips looked a very good player in his first spell at City, but has since regressed.

[Dante]

Why bother with SWP when Amoo already looks a better player.

[zigackly]

I very much doubt that Manchester City would sell Shaun Wright-Phillips to a rival club who they are in competition with for a Champions League place.

 

Why not? It's one way to gain an advantage ...

[danperkins]

SWP is the ultimate headless chicken, kick and rush merchant who over the past 4 seasons or so seems to average about 4 goals and 4 assists, with his wages he can fuck off with that end result.

[paddyberger15]

Why not? It's one way to gain an advantage ...

 

heh!

[Major Tom]

I very much doubt that Manchester City would sell Shaun Wright-Phillips to a rival club who they are in competition with for a Champions League place.

 

Can only be a good thing.