Tom Hicks talking on Sky

[carlton]

[QUOTE=Shanks007;749332]Tom Hicks just on Sky talking about Rafa.


"Peter Crouch had a great game against Arsenal last spring so I suspect Rafa is saving him for Arsenal".

I wonder if this is code for 'play him or sell him'?

[Kenneth]

Reds owner backs Benitez policy

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has received the backing of Reds co-owner Tom Hicks following their 2-1 Champions League defeat at Besiktas.
Liverpool are bottom of their group and will probably need to win their last three games to progress any further.

"We back Rafa - he's the right manager," said Hicks.

"Rafa's rotation has been his policy for three years - his ability to coach and manage in the Champions League should be unquestioned."


Benitez guided Liverpool to the Champions League title three years ago and took them back to the final again last year.

But a draw in Porto followed by defeats to Marseille and Besiktas have left the Reds on just one point.

Wins in their last three matches - at home to Besiktas and Porto and away to Marseille - would almost certainly take Liverpool through, although it is possible that two wins and a draw would be enough.


Liverpool are still unbeaten in the Premier League, but they have fallen six points behind the leaders Arsenal after drawing their last two home games.

Benitez's side host the Gunners on Sunday and Hicks remains upbeat.

"We're just not playing as good as we can right now. Obviously, Fernando Torres is injured, but hopefully he can play at the weekend," he told BBC Sport.

"We haven't lost yet and if we win on Sunday, we'll be within three points of Arsenal so that's the plan. I think we're doing OK."

Hicks and fellow American George Gillett took over Liverpool in March and have since revamped the club's plans for a new stadium.

They hope to get Liverpool City Council's approval at a meeting on 5 November.

Hicks admitted the projected cost had risen to "at least £400m".

But he added: "I'm so excited about the new stadium because we'll be able to go do things for the fans we've never been able to do for them."

The stadium will have a capacity of 60,000 - 15,000 more than Anfield - when it opens but that could increase to 75,000 in the future.

[Kenneth]

Notice the 60k opening capacity. Had this been confirmed before?

[Morph]

Notice the 60k opening capacity. Had this been confirmed before?

yep

[einar]

yep

Did they not say that they where going to try to open it bigger?

And also, did Hicks come out with a statement or was this an interview?

[Morph]

Did they not say that they where going to try to open it bigger?

And also, did Hicks come out with a statement or was this an interview?

nah, it was always going to open at 60k they were trying to get higher, but the way the council drags its feet over everything, it wasn't going to happen

[animal magic]

LONDON (Reuters) - Liverpool FC is no more than a month away from refinancing the debt used to buy it earlier this year, in a deal that could help pay to build a new stadium, the club's owner said on Thursday.

"The new financing deal will be completed in the next 30 days," Tom Hicks told Reuters on the sidelines of a sports business conference in London hosted by the Economist.

He declined to discuss details of the debt package, but said the new stadium was likely to cost about 400 million pounds, 120 million more than originally expected, and be ready by 2011.

Wachovia , the fourth-largest U.S. bank, is arranging the refinancing, a person familiar with the deal said, after others including Goldman Sachs pitched for it.

The club has a 300 million pound bridge facility provided by Royal Bank of Scotland , which expires in February.

Hicks, along with fellow U.S. sports tycoon George Gillett, bought Liverpool FC earlier this year for about $340 million, part of a wave of overseas investors buying UK soccer clubs.

He said the acquisition had more to do with his love of sport than his bank account.

"People get involved with sport because of a passion," Hicks said. "There's better investments that I could make than owning a football club. But the passion is there."

[Morph]

hmm, 2011 is not what they were forecasting, but it's what i expected

[kopdan]

..or failing that, Torres on his own.

with Yossi behind him

[sonsofthedesert]

nah, it was always going to open at 60k they were trying to get higher, but the way the council drags its feet over everything, it wasn't going to happen

They would be able to get the planning app in as soon as they start building and get permission in a bout 2-3 yrs (if they get it) so they could open up with full capacity - this is the way they have been saying it. From what I understand the ground will be built big enough, just seats need adding.

[Morph]

They would be able to get the planning app in as soon as they start building and get permission in a bout 2-3 yrs (if they get it) so they could open up with full capacity - this is the way they have been saying it. From what I understand the ground will be built big enough, just seats need adding.

this is correct, but it will open at 60, the planning and building of the train station or metro link won't be sorted by the time the stadium is built so it's not going to happen

[flyboy]

rafa is getting some telling off now. hicks is laying down the law.finally someones having a go him. he cant be as stubborn now ...or CAN he ???

[Morph]

rafa is getting some telling off now. hicks is laying down the law.finally someones having a go him. he cant be as stubborn now ...or CAN he ???

I reckon you need to read that interview again