sinbad

Could be something in it. Even fat Parry earlier in the show said the same.

Nightmare Scenario Hicks: I'll buy Anfield outright By David Maddock 29/02/2008 Tom Hicks is on the verge of a bid to take full control of Liverpool. The Texan tycoon yesterday revealed he has power of veto to prevent co-owner George Gillett from selling his 50 per cent stake to Arab investment company DIC. And Hicks hinted strongly that in blocking such a move, he will instead try to persuade his fellow American - who wants out of Anfield - to sell up to his company Hicks Holdings. "Not only am I not going to sell, my partner cannot sell without my approval," said the billionaire. "So, I kind of have the ability to determine the outcome of what is going to happen, and I am right in the middle of that." Hicks' revelations will dismay a large section of the Liverpool support, who don't trust the Americans and their financial strategies. There is also anger the US owners tried to persuade Jurgen Klinsmann to take over as manager. But Hicks hopes to make it clear that it was Gillett that made the running over Klinsmann, and in recent months he has put his full support behind Spanish boss Rafa Benitez. Hicks may struggle to find the £150million that it will cost to buy out Gillett, but he has been in talks with powerful American businessmen recently, including close contacts of President George W. Bush. It is clear his relationship with Gillett has broken down and now Hicks wants his partner out of the way. He has already set aside £50million to give to the manager to spend on new players, and plans to begin work this summer on a state-of-the-art 72,000-capacity stadium. It seems he is edging closer to making a bid for full control, after revealing he has been working on the situation for the past few weeks. "For a lot of reasons I can't discuss, I haven't been able to fix it yet. But I am preparing to be in a position to fix it," he told the influential Texas newspaper the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Talks took place last week, DIC takeover just “weeks away” • 26th February, 2008 http://kop-tv.com/go/headlines/talks...st-weeks-away/ It is understood that Liverpool F.C. owners Messrs Hicks & Gillett are just “weeks away” from selling up, subsequently being left with a hefty profit after DIC had their initial £350million bid rejected. After months of talks, DIC are confident that a deal can be wrapped up soon, with a deadline apparently being set for mid-March, in which a takeover bid of around £450million is expected to be accepted. Tom Hicks however expects to remain at Anfield for some time to come, after violently holding out for a seat on the board, but his dreams may be shattered as he cannot afford to finance the purchase of George Gillett’s portion of Anfield, despite numerous failed attempts in securing the necessary finance to do so. It is also reported that within a week, DIC (owned by the Maktoum royal family) will be given permission to view the books of Liverpool F.C., with a view to tabling a formal offer for our club. Hicks has been in contact with DIC recently, reportedly on “other business” for his holdings company, but talks did take place in London last Thursday about our clubs future. It is understood that DIC would initially inject around £150million as a refinancing package to fund the deal and to begin construction work on our new stadium, aswell as offering our manager substantial funds for a summer re-building programme, although if DIC we’re to take control of LFC, they would instantly review the managerial position, which could in turn mean the end of Rafa Benitez’s reign - which has prompted many to say that we need to win the UEFA Champions League merely to keep Rafa in his job.

Americans on verge of selling Liverpool The Telegraph By David Bond Liverpool's American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, are understood to be just weeks from agreeing a deal with Dubai International Capital which could see the club change hands for the second time in just over a year. After months of fraught talks, DIC are increasingly confident that they will not only reach an agreement soon with the Americans but also with the two banks, Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia, who have just completed a £350 million refinancing of the club. DIC's advisers have set themselves a deadline of the middle of next month to conclude the first part of a two-stage takeover process which, when complete, will be worth between £400m and £450m and includes provision for the club's increased debts. In the next few days bankers working for DIC, the investment arm of the Maktoum royal family, are expected to be granted permission to start examining Liverpool's books with a view to tabling a formal offer. Gillett, whose relationship with Hicks has broken down, will be first to sell out and is understood to have already agreed in principle to offload his 50 per cent stake. But Hicks is refusing to sell out in one go. In the short term, at least, he is expected to remain on the board. DIC plan to dilute his holding, initially by injecting further funds into the club to not only cover the new 18-month bank loan but also to help pay for the proposed new stadium and buy players. DIC want to secure a deal where Hicks sells out completely later on. Having spent the first part of last week in Dubai, where he was seeking new backers for his US investment company, Hicks Holdings, he then flew to London on Thursday for two days of talks with DIC's advisers. One potential stumbling block is the exact nature of the initial shareholder agreement between DIC and Hicks. It is understood his demands to retain control of the club following Gillett's exit have been rebuffed. Under the terms of the £220m takeover deal concluded by Hicks and Gillett last February, no partner can sell out without first offering his 50 per cent stake to the other. Hicks has tried to raise the money to seize complete control but with the credit crunch hitting his businesses, he has failed. If DIC succeed, they will aim to restore stability to a club after a period of unprecedented turbulence. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mai.../sfnbon126.xml

Maybe they wanna make sure they're still alive to sign the takeover documents.

And then he says : "They have been talking for a while, but this info is what i was told yesterday. By the way Hicks Jr was guarded yesterday by 2 special branch officers, don't know what thats all about"

Peter Crouch could add to Rafa Benitez's woes By Andrew Warshaw Last Updated: 12:05am GMT 17/02/2008 England striker Peter Crouch could add to Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez's problems by quitting the club while still under contract as a result of a landmark legal case that has been described by Fifa president Sepp Blatter as having "far-reaching and damaging effects". The case has also opened the way for dozens of Premier League stars like Chelsea's Frank Lampard - despite Avram Grant's denial yesterday - to leave their clubs while still under contract. In what is regarded as the most dangerous precedent since the Bosman decision, which only applies to out-of-contract footballers, former Wigan defender Andy Webster was the first player to take advantage of Article 17 of Fifa's regulations on the status and transfer of players. This effectively allows players to hand in their notice if they have fulfilled three years of a four or five-year contract and are under the age of 28. If they are over 28, they can do it after two years. Webster invoked the escape route when he walked out on Hearts to join Wigan after being frozen out at the Edinburgh club when he refused to sign a new contract. He was ordered by Fifa to pay £625,000, but when the case went to tribunal the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the payment to a mere £150,000 which, it said crucially, reflected Webster's wages rather than his transfer value - a bitter blow to his former club who believed he was worth £4.6 million. To add salt to Hearts' wounds, Webster spent only a few months at Wigan before moving back to Scotland and is now at Rangers. Crouch, who is expected to be left out of Liverpool's starting line-up for this week's high-profile Champions League showdown against Inter Milan, is the latest big name to consider using the loophole. The Sunday Telegraph understands that Crouch is carefully considering exploiting the ruling, one of several options open to the England striker whose current deal expires at the end of next season. Although both Liverpool and Crouch's agent Jonathan Barnett refused to confirm that similar action was being taken by the player, it is understood that the threat of buying out his contract and leaving for far less than his market value is likely to form part of Crouch's negotiations. Barnett said clubs had nothing to worry about if they behaved responsibly: "Certainly it will change the way things are conducted and we are probably heading for a period of shorter contracts. But I've never heard of a player volunteering to leave a club when he is happy and being well-paid." Whether Crouch is happy is another matter, however; he played yesterday, but has started only six Premier League games this season. Although the rule applies only to cross-border transfers, Graham Shear, one of the country's top sports lawyers, says this was an unviable restraint and "would certainly be challenged". Chairmen are increasingly alarmed at what they claim is another example of player power. "It's totally unfair," said Leicester owner Milan Mandaric. "Clubs often take players on long contracts to develop them into better players. To just say goodbye and wind up somewhere else for far less money than you would want to sell them for will cause unbelievable instability. How on earth do you build for the future?" Although the rule was designed to provide a balanced exit route for an unhappy player who did not otherwise have "just cause" to leave, no one until Webster had utilised the option. "We discussed this at the Premier League meeting and you could see some concerned faces," said Birmingham chairman David Gold. Many believe the loophole will provide a bonanza for agents eager to move players on when their contracts have passed the protected period. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mai.../sfnfro217.xml

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PR firm hired by potential new Liverpool owners Posted on February 15th, 2008 by Jim Boardman According to the magazine for the Public Relations and advertising world, PR Week, a press relations consultancy has been engaged to brief journalists on behalf of a “bid team considering a takeover approach” for LFC. The article, which you can also view on the Brand Republic website, says Square1 Consulting is “working with a third party involved in the possible Dubai International Capital” deal. Square1 are working alongside another agency, Brunswick, who were used in DIC’s first move for the club which they backed out of on January 31st last year after learning of the interest from Hicks and Gillett. Brunswick continue to provide services to DIC. The PR Week story also says that the “takeover by US duo Tom Hick and George Gillett was seen in many quarters as a huge PR success.” That’s quite true of course, very few fans feeling sufficiently worried about the US duo to actually raise any real concerns. They said the right things, making promises or at least implying actions that Liverpool fans were expecting from any new owners. All that started to go wrong around the time of the Champions League final in Athens in May last year. That was when Rafa Benítez first hinted at delays in getting transfers under-way, the plan he’d agreed with the owners not being acted upon. Soon came revelations in the Echo in a Chris Bascombe exclusive that Rafa had to lower his sights and instead of having the cash to buy the strongly-linked Samuel Eto’o he’d now have to look at strikers costing in the region of £16m-£18m instead. Diego Milito was mentioned as was Diego Forlan as just two names on a list of striking targets. Rafa was going to have to sell to buy and in the end paid a fee believed to be as low as £18m (certainly not the £26.5m usually quoted) for Fernando Torres. It was PR that allowed the owners a little more time and trust from the fans, many falling for the £26.5m claims over Torres’ fee, many feeling that Liverpool really did have generous owners, but more and more rumours about this being far from the case continued to be leaked. In November the story came out, again from Bascombe but by now working at the News of the World, that Rafa was about to be sacked. Despite a march by thousands of Reds in support of Rafa the owners continued to be given the benefit of the doubt by many fans. More rumours were leaking out, selective denials by Tom Hicks and Rick Parry of only some of the claims made against them allowed many of the rumours to grow legs. Then came the Tony Barrett exclusive in the Echo where Tom Hicks admitted having not only spoken to Jurgen Klinsmann about Rafa’s job, but to have also offered it to him. That admission ended any lingering support from all but the tiniest number of fans. We also learned that day thanks to Tony Barrett that DIC had indeed been involved in discussion to buy into the club, something else that had been denied before. The Kop sang “Liverpool Football Club is in the wrong hands” and George Gillett was never seen again. Tom Hicks kept battling on with his attempts to convince the supporters he had only good intentions, but after mocking Rafa in the wake of the press conference where he was clearly distressed at learning about the Hicks and Gillett plan to sack him, and after claiming the papers had made up the story about him wanting Rafa sacked, nobody really believed him. Especially so when Gillett disappeared from view, no longer having his name included on any statements issued by his partner Hicks, despite claims they got on well with each other, and the admission of DIC interest despite past denials added more weight: Tom Hicks was perceived as a liar by fans, as many banners showed, and he could no longer rely on any support from the fans. After this he started to use a PR agency for statements relating to the club, no doubt advised that he had to be more careful about what he admitted to. And it now seems that the latest suitors to the Liverpool name see the importance of handling the supporters properly. We won’t be caught out again, we’re determined not to be, and a PR agency won’t catch us out either. But used properly the PR agency can help to smooth the takeover through, ensuring the truth comes out without any ambiguity or promises that can’t or won’t be kept. All the indications at the moment are that a takeover is extremely close, although it is still unclear exactly what the details of that takeover will be, with the strong possibility that Hicks would stay on as a minority shareholder still not fully ruled out. The Square1 agency have experience of dealing with PR for football teams over the years, including work carried out by the Holborn PR company they acquired recently. Their Square1 Sports division is headed by their sports director Paul McGoohan who was once the news editor at Sky Sports News. He said at the time Square1 Sports was set up that they have the skills required to help clubs out with their public relations: “We aim to bring the skill sets of the city to the sports business industry. Clubs with corporate issues, from financial reports to boardroom changes can come to us - and given our links to the city, we can also provide corporate and financial counsel.” The division’s most recent big name clients have been Randy Lerner who took over at Aston Villa and Thaksin Shinawatra, once linked with a takeover at Anfield but now the owner of a rejuvenated Manchester City. Shinawatra was the subject of much negative press, which Square1 dealt with on his behalf. One example of a statement they had to issue was issued by McGoohan, who said: “Dr Thaksin Shinawatra has not been found guilty of any of the allegations made against him and as such is an innocent man. He has bought a public company in the UK and complied with UK law. In addition, he has complied with Premier League rules. He has shown his commitment to Manchester City by buying the club and investing in new players using his own money.” McGoohan also had some interesting words on football club takeovers when the sports division was launched: “Purchasing a football club is different to acquiring any other business because of the fans and their emotional attachment to the product. Our role is predominantly about making the fans and the public understand who these guys are and what they want to achieve. Likewise it is important for the owner to understand the central part the clubs play in fans lives.” Getting the owner to understand the importance of a club to its supporters isn’t difficult to achieve - the trick for the PR company is to make it look like the owner actually cares about this importance. And if the next owner of Liverpool doesn’t care about that importance, no PR company will find it easy to conceal for too long. http://www.anfieldroad.com/news/2008...l-owners.html/

Kop Yanks to be run out of town next month EXCLUSIVE By Martin Lipton Chief Football Writer 14/02/2008 Liverpool are poised to change hands again - by the middle of next month - as the club's US owners close in on a double-your-money offer from Dubai. Despite denials from Tom Hicks and George Gillett, Mirror Sport understands that an outline agreement to transfer ownership of the Anfield giants to Dubai International Capital is in the pipeline. Sources in New York have confirmed that a £460million deal with DIC - the Dubai government's financial arm and headed by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum - is now on the verge of conclusion. Anfield fans will rejoice at the news that the two Americans' ill-starred reign is ending after a series of protests in recent weeks over their treatment of boss Rafa Benitez. Supporters have demanded a sale to DIC, who were jilted at the end of 2006 when the Liverpool board wrongly believed the deal with the Americans would safeguard the interests of the club. Hicks is expected to stay as part of the new club directorate in the immediate aftermath of the sale. The effective sale price is nowhere near the ambitious £1billion valuation Mirror Sport exclusively revealed was put on the club by Hicks in November. He and Gillett paid just £219m to take control of Liverpool from David Moores a year ago. One insider said: "These talks are still ongoing. Tom and George want to make sure they get the right price for giving up the club." Despite leaving Liverpool with a £350m debt, they will be able to walk away having made a substantial profit.

According to the Cunt, everyone who voted for Gerrard as Fans England player of the year .....was an Internet Geek.

BANKING & FINANCE / COMMENT / Print this page | Email this to a friend | Discuss this article (0 Comments) | The beautiful game doesn’t mean beautiful profits by Andrew Neil on Sunday, 03 February 2008 When it comes to football, normal rules of business don't apply. You think with your heart, you do the sums with your feet and your make key decisions with your best pals over dinner. So it is with huge surprise - and more than a little concern - that I see Dubai International Capital (DIC) is preparing another bid for Liverpool Football Club. By the time you read this column, the chances are DIC's US$500 million offer will have been accepted; one of the world's most famous clubs will be in Arab hands. But I find this deal difficult to understand for several reasons. First, let's look at DIC's current investment strategy: it has major stakes in seven companies across the globe and in another seven private equity funds. According to its own website, DIC is "focused on acquisitions of market leading companies in Europe and North America, with a proven strategy and robust management". Story continues below ↓ advertisement I could rest my case here: Liverpool FC is an iconic football team but "proven strategy and robust management" aren't words that quite go with it. The current owners paid US$340 million for the club last year; they took on US$87.7 million of debt; and soon agreed to the building of a new stadium. Now they have run out of cash and their total loans are approaching US$690 million. No wonder they need to get out in a hurry. DIC can argue that Hicks and Gillett have made a mess of a fantastic brand and business; so stepping in makes perfect sense. They will point out that the boss of DIC, Sameer Al Ansari, is a lifelong Liverpool fan. This is what concerns me most. Let's look at other "lifelong fans": Mike Ashley has pumped US$500 million into Newcastle Football Club, with no sign of any return in the next five years; Sir Alan Sugar eventually had to let go of his beloved Tottenham Football Club; Mohammed Al Fayed of Harrods fames is out US$700 million and counting at Fulham Football Club. Football, whichever way you look at it, is not a business in which you will make money quickly. Which is why I fear Ansari and Co will come unstuck. Their current investments abroad have all so far been admirable and with a clear profit return path. Take one of the most recent, a US$1.2 billion stake in Alliance Medical, a company which specializes in providing outsourced diagnostic imaging such as MRI scans. DIC can open up the huge Middle East market. Nothing wrong with that - after all, that's what DIC exits for: to get into businesses, turn them around and get out. But Gillett and Hicks got into Liverpool, realized they couldn't turn it around and got out in a hurry: the demands of 40,000 fans every weekend, the national media, the cries for new players and a new stadium, proved too much and too expensive. Sameer Al Ansari is about to experience all this first hand. Football fans taking over football clubs have historically been marriages made in hell. Ansari is a smart man - if anyone can break the mould, he can. But I wouldn't hold your breath. Andrew Neil is the former editor of The Sunday Times and chief executive of BSkyB. He is currently chief executive of Press Holdings Media, chairman of ITP, chairman of World Media Rights and a presenter of This Week (BBC1) Daily Politics (BBC2) Straight Talk (BBC News24). Print | Email | Discuss this article | Don't know how reliable this Andrew Neil is.

NO. I would've voted Yes, if we had owners who actually cared about the club and were prepared to back the new manager. But all these knobs will do, is get someone who won't complain, when handed fuck all at transfer time.

Hicks admission casts doubt on Benitez plans By David Bond Last Updated: 1:58am GMT 29/01/2008 Have your say Read comments Liverpool's American owners have admitted for the first time that the football club will have to finance around £30 million in annual interest payments on new loans taken out to pay for their takeover of Anfield last February. Despite announcing last Friday that only £105m of a new £350m refinancing package was at "club-level", a spokesman for co-chairman Tom Hicks admitted last night that the club would also be responsible for servicing the remaining £245m, which had been placed on the balance sheet of Liverpool's parent company Kop Football (Holdings) Ltd. A spokesman from Financial Dynamics, the City PR company which represents Hicks, said: "The holding company debt is supported by the assets it acquired and should there ever be any shortfall in cash flow at the club or anywhere else in Kop in any given year, Kop's ownership, under the terms of the financing package, is prepared to fund whatever is required. "The debt is being handled exactly as it is handled at the vast majority of professional sports teams." The admission is significant because Liverpool's chief executive Rick Parry and former chairman David Moores, who remains a director, have resisted attempts by Hicks and his co-owner George Gillett Jr to transfer the £220m cost of last February's takeover on to the club's books. They voted against the proposal at a board meeting last autumn and their continued opposition to the move was one of the key factors in slowing the new £350m deal with Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia, finally announced last week. advertisement Under the terms of the new deal, Kop Football said £105m would be placed on the club, including £60m for the start of work on a new 71,000-seat stadium at Stanley Park and a further £45m to cover other club debts, including money for past and future player acquisitions. The remaining £245m was split into two tranches; £60m of so-called existing debt which the Americans say they inherited at the time of their takeover, and £185m, which they say relates to the cost of acquiring their shares in the club. Liverpool sources say they remain comfortable with the £8m-a-year interest fees which are likely to accompany the £105m club debt. But Hicks's admission last night that the whole debt would have to be serviced by the "asset", namely Liverpool Football Club, appeared to confirm that cash flows from Anfield would have to cover the whole interest cost, likely to be in the region of £30m at current market interest rates of eight per cent. There are fears among club insiders and fans that the annual interest costs will wipe out Liverpool's operating profits, which are expected to be in the region of £30m for the financial year ended June 2007, applying a further brake on manager Rafa Benitez's plans in the transfer market. Hicks admission casts doubt on Benitez plans - Football News - Telegraph

Looks like they've touched up the old ones, and reposted them. I'll believe it when i see it standing in stanley park.

Well said horse. Tonight, lets give the cunts a slice of The Liverpool Way they won't forget anytime soon.

Along with the rest of us.:inlove:

He may be all of the above, but you can't deny he will try and succeed any way necessary. I Rafa does go, i'd rather see Mourinho in charge, than a yankee yes man like Mclaren settling for 4th spot and an occasional worthless cup.

Honestly, can't see these clowns ever starting work on the new stadium.

Just like their mate Bush did in Iraq and Afghanistan, these Bastards want to install their own puppet regime in Klinsman. Lets kick these fuckers out

Champions League exit could spark fresh DIC bid for Liverpool By DANIEL KING Despite the tough talk coming out of Texas, Liverpool's long-term ownership remains in doubt and much could still rest on Tuesday's Champions League showdown in Marseille. Tom Hicks, friend of George Bush and a man you just know Bill Shankly would have loved to work for, has rubbished suggestions that a breakdown in his relationships with co-owner George Gillett and manager Rafa Benitez led him to make it known in the City he would consider selling up. Dubai International Capital, the state-sponsored investment company dramatically beaten to the Liverpool deal by Hicks and Gillett in February, would like the opportunity to show that they would have been the better choice all along. For now, DIC are likely to maintain a dignified silence, but having conducted an investigation into who leaked sensitive documents which derailed their initial bid, they have watched events at Anfield with mixed feelings of frustration and vindication. The £1 billion valuation Hicks has placed on a club he and Gillett bought for under £220 million is ridiculous, but if a more sensible price were set, a renewed DIC bid, led by Liverpool fan Sameer al-Ansari, would be a distinct possibility. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...79&ito=newsnow

Correct, thats what i heard aswell. when it's 3 teams, then its considered a mini league and GD counts.

Wrong, Besiktas will go through. the rest head to head, will all be on 8 points. this is where the gd decides. and we will have a gd of +2. compared to 0 and -2 for the others.

Realistically we need a win. If a miracle happens and Besiktas beat Porto, then a draw will be enough.

Looks pretty conclusive.....we have the spaceship