two new bids to buy the club..

[Unrighteous]

I'd suggest the Arsenal model will be what we'll see. Club cost will be paid by the Owners (rightly) and then Financing will be used to build a new stadium, and invest in the first team.

 

I wouldn't expect loads of transfer funds but a respectable amount to keep us challenging for the top 4.

[lfc]

what fucking scum bags trying to sack the board at the last minute. i just hope this deal goes through. what worries me is broughton's comments " I am only disappointed that the owners have tried everything to prevent the deal from happening and that we need to go through legal proceedings in order to complete the sale."

 

does anyone know whether this is in relation to the spat with nesv or with regards to them trying to remove purslow and ayre?

[llego]

Statement regarding the sale now up on the offal

 

Liverpool Football Club today announces that the Board has agreed the sale of the Club to New England Sports Ventures (NESV).

 

New England Sports Ventures currently owns a portfolio of companies including the Boston Red Sox, New England Sports Network, Fenway Sports Group and Rousch Fenway Racing.

 

Martin Broughton, Liverpool FC Chairman, said:

 

"I am delighted that we have been able to successfully conclude the sale process which has been thorough and extensive. The Board decided to accept NESV's proposal on the basis that it best met the criteria we set out originally for a suitable new owner. NESV's philosophy is all about winning and they have fully demonstrated that at Red Sox.

 

"We've met them in Boston, London and Liverpool over several weeks and I am immensely impressed with what they have achieved and with their vision for Liverpool Football Club.

 

"By removing the burden of acquisition debt, this offer allows us to focus on investment in the team. I am only disappointed that the owners have tried everything to prevent the deal from happening and that we need to go through legal proceedings in order to complete the sale."

 

Note to editors:

 

The sale is conditional on Premier League approval, resolution of the dispute concerning Board membership and other matters.

 

Alan, can I just say I am so glad that you were the one to post this first? Somehow, it's fitting.

 

Warning! The following content is NOT WORK SAFE. Click the Show button to reveal.

Edited October 6, 2010 by llego

[Lopez Ufarte]

Looks like Oct 6th may have been D day after all??

 

RBS must have called time.

Dont think Broughton could have acted without that happening.

 

Is right and I doubt NESV would be pursuing this unless there is a decent chance of it happening. Martin Broughton said earlier the owners could not block a sale and although they are trying desperately, I think he will be proven right.

[Jose Jones]

what fucking scum bags trying to sack the board at the last minute. i just hope this deal goes through. what worries me is broughton's comments " I am only disappointed that the owners have tried everything to prevent the deal from happening and that we need to go through legal proceedings in order to complete the sale."

 

does anyone know whether this is in relation to the spat with nesv or with regards to them trying to remove purslow and ayre?

 

It's to do with G&H trying to remove Purslow and Ayre so that the board did not have the majority required to agree the sale.

G&H will no doubt be going to court to prove that as shareholders they have the right to remove board members, and thus have the sale annulled. Broughton seems fairly confident that the legal things will find in his/the board/the clubs favour.

[Lopez Ufarte]

And I would be happy with the Arsenal model. I never wanted a sugar daddy.

[Warwick Hunt]

I'm seriously considering opening the special bottle of brandy I've been saving for the day Thatcher croaks it.

[Unrighteous]

It's to do with G&H trying to remove Purslow and Ayre so that the board did not have the majority required to agree the sale.

G&H will no doubt be going to court to prove that as shareholders they have the right to remove board members, and thus have the sale annulled. Broughton seems fairly confident that the legal things will find in his/the board/the clubs favour.

 

The yanks signed away that power to get the last refinance from RBS. Broughton has final say on any boardroom changes, doesn't he?

[Jose Jones]

I'm seriously considering opening the special bottle of brandy I've been saving for the day Thatcher croaks it.

 

Take it round to hers, knock her on the head with it and you've got two birds with one stone.

[Jose Jones]

The yanks signed away that power to get the last refinance from RBS. Broughton has final say on any boardroom changes, doesn't he?

 

Well that's what was reported and that seems to be what Broughton thinks and they've taken legal advice on it and gone ahead with announcing the sale.

You never know with those bastard owners though, they'll throw all sorts of shit to try and block this I reckon.

[giblinho]

As a fan of the Red Sox, I can say I'm mostly happy about this deal. Henry has had some financial difficulties with some of his companies in the past few years, but nothing crippling, and has presided over the best period of Red Sox baseball since the turn of the century (turn of the 20th that is).

 

Overall, it's a massive stepup. The Red Sox have been outbid by other teams for some pretty marquee free agents (Mark Teixiera pops to mind) but they're always a major factor with the free agent (transfer) market. Also, he's been very shrewd about getting the club to actually make money. The Red Sox have the second highest payroll in baseball (30 teams) and that's including some markets that are much bigger than Boston, such as Los Angeles, Chicago etc. So I'd be surprised if he was suddenly shy about splashing some cash for players. He has two championships in a decade, and the teams had some major roster turnover (2004 to 2007) and won regardless. His manager, Theo Epstein, gets a ton of (deserved) credit for being pretty brilliant, and so it's anyone's guess if Henry knew that when he hired him or got lucky.

 

Anyways, I have no clue how this will translate to football from baseball, just throwing some basic facts for anyone who has no clue about the group or John Henry.

[Unrighteous]

Well that's what was reported and that seems to be what Broughton thinks and they've taken legal advice on it and gone ahead with announcing the sale.

You never know with those bastard owners though, they'll throw all sorts of shit to try and block this I reckon.

 

I was hoping their response would look more like this:

 

[Joe Le Taxi]

Wow. I was a negative bastard last night and I have a huge smile on my face right now. From what I understand, a deal has been agreed to sell the club as long as we win the legal battle with Hicks?

 

It's not over yet boys but we're a lot closer than we were 24 hours ago.

[Barzini]

I can't really believe this is happening to be honest. I'm preparing myself for a long and messy legal battle played out in the courts and the back pages over the next few weeks/months.

 

I'm extremely wary of the new "owners", I don't know if it's because they're american and over the past few years I've become well versed in the business practices of G&H or if it's something else I can't quite put my finger on...anyway, I was expecting to be fucking delighted when this day came, dreaming of popping corks and having a party but instead I'm kinda numb with a sense of foreboding.

 

I hope Thatchers death goes better than this.

[Guest ShoePiss]

I'd suggest the Arsenal model will be what we'll see. Club cost will be paid by the Owners (rightly) and then Financing will be used to build a new stadium, and invest in the first team.

 

I wouldn't expect loads of transfer funds but a respectable amount to keep us challenging for the top 4.

 

Unfortunately we won't be in a position to sell Anfield as apartments like Arsenal did with Highbury, so far that's given them over £150m which they put towards their stadium debt.

 

It appears we couldn't keep up debt repayments and invest in the squad so I wonder how it will be different this time? My guess would be having a financially healthy group of owners who can get the best rates of interest over a long period of time.

[Silly season]

As a fan of the Red Sox, I can say I'm mostly happy about this deal. Henry has had some financial difficulties with some of his companies in the past few years, but nothing crippling, and has presided over the best period of Red Sox baseball since the turn of the century (turn of the 20th that is).

 

Overall, it's a massive stepup. The Red Sox have been outbid by other teams for some pretty marquee free agents (Mark Teixiera pops to mind) but they're always a major factor with the free agent (transfer) market. Also, he's been very shrewd about getting the club to actually make money. The Red Sox have the second highest payroll in baseball (30 teams) and that's including some markets that are much bigger than Boston, such as Los Angeles, Chicago etc. So I'd be surprised if he was suddenly shy about splashing some cash for players. He has two championships in a decade, and the teams had some major roster turnover (2004 to 2007) and won regardless. His manager, Theo Epstein, gets a ton of (deserved) credit for being pretty brilliant, and so it's anyone's guess if Henry knew that when he hired him or got lucky.

 

Anyways, I have no clue how this will translate to football from baseball, just throwing some basic facts for anyone who has no clue about the group or John Henry.

 

thank you thats really helpful!!!

 

thanks for your post mate

[Barzini]

I'm seriously considering opening the special bottle of brandy I've been saving for the day Thatcher croaks it.

 

Ha, I see someone else was thinking along the same lines.

[Jose Jones]

I can't really believe this is happening to be honest. I'm preparing myself for a long and messy legal battle played out in the courts and the back pages over the next few weeks/months.

 

I'm extremely wary of the new "owners", I don't know if it's because they're american and over the past few years I've become well versed in the business practices of G&H or if it's something else I can't quite put my finger on...anyway, I was expecting to be fucking delighted when this day came, dreaming of popping corks and having a party but instead I'm kinda numb with a sense of foreboding.

 

I hope Thatchers death goes better than this.

 

That's pretty much right.

Just save the party for the next time we win something.

[Anubis]

Unfortunately, if it transpires that Purslow has helped the club by screwing the Yanks over and selling to decent owners, I somehow doubt that many of his critics will be so magnanimous about it.

 

If a diehard Chelsea fan is doing exactly that, isn't it the least we can expect from a Liverpool supporter, Ian? That sounds a bit mealey-mouthed, so let me say, as I have in the past, that Purslow deserves enormous credit for doing so.

 

But in my opinion his day-to-day management of the club has been unprofessional in many respects, and I believe his decision making in that regard has led us into serious difficulty outside of the ownership issue.

 

Britain may have needed Churchill during the war, but history teaches us that the public knew he wasn't the right man for peacetime, and he was jettisoned soon after.

[TheHitman]

Statement regarding the sale now up on the offal

 

 

"By removing the burden of acquisition debt, this offer allows us to focus on investment in the team. I am only disappointed that the owners have tried everything to prevent the deal from happening and that we need to go through legal proceedings in order to complete the sale."

 

Note to editors:

 

The sale is conditional on Premier League approval, resolution of the dispute concerning Board membership and other matters.

 

Anyone got any experience about what this entails and how it will get resolved. I doubt there is a precedent in the football world but I assume similar things have happened in the wider business world.

[MortimerJazz]

This probably sounds stupid, but can someone tell me if this is good or news or not?! I can't decide ...

 

On one hand, it's obviously great that it looks like Hicks will finally be heading out of the club and we'll be able clear the debt and re-build under new owners.

 

On the other hand though, we're selling to more Yanks ... and it just doesn't seem like this guy has the kind of cash needed to turn us in to a real force again.

 

I just don't see the sort of investment being made to keep the likes of Torres around.

 

Am I just being a miserable bastard?

[Silly season]

i asked about the owner on RED SOX website...

 

heres a few snippits of what was said...

 

He's a serious owner. He's very interested in winning and maxamizing his investment, realizing that the two go hand in hand. He's occasionally sloppy with his communication tactics, but he also spends a lot of money and brings in good talent. Overall I have been impressed with this ownership group. They took on the challenge of winning a championship for a team that had not won for 86 seasons prior and won two championships in a 4 year period.

[lfc]

christ this could go on for ages.

[Unrighteous]

This probably sounds stupid, but can someone tell me if this is good or news or not?! I can't decide ...

 

On one hand, it's obviously great that it looks like Hicks will finally be heading out of the club and we'll be able clear the debt and re-build under new owners.

 

On the other hand though, we're selling to more Yanks ... and it just doesn't seem like this guy has the kind of cash needed to turn us in to a real force again.

 

I just don't see the sort of investment being made to keep the likes of Torres around.

 

Am I just being a miserable bastard?

 

 

To be honest, cancer and aids being shown the door is a fucking celebration in itself.

 

We need some improvement on the pitch, but ANY improvement would please me right now.

[ODZ]

My American relatives say the Red Sox have very good owners.