Hicks "wants to sell up"

[blacky]

Benefit of the doubt? :whatever:

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt when he or one of his cohorts (parry, Gillett etc) comes out and says Rafa's job is not in jeopardy and not before then. Their silence on this issue is deafening and sue me for making an inference from it.

Couldn't put it better myself

[tomasjj]

Rumours about Rafa going to be sacked imminently were out last week. Club issued statement saying they'd be meeting with Rafa on 16th December. So that rumour is put to bed.

What do they need to do? Issue another statement saying he will never, ever, ever be sacked? Not realistic.

Imo, the rumours were definately not put to bed.
Besides, they gathered speed after the first and the second statement from Hicks. So they, intentionally or not, fueled them.

That's how I see it.

Of course there shouldn't be a statement saying it is Rafa forever, but more like something "the managers position is not under consideration at this point." or something neutral and mellow would lay the case to rest.

Now rumours are still on that Rafa might get the sack if we don¨t get to the CL... Whether to believe the rumours is another thing, but there is no denying that they are still there.

[TartanTerror]

Dallas Stars points total by year

Season Points Overall League standing

06/07 107 6th
05/06 112 3rd
03/04 97 11th
02/03 111 2nd
01/02 90 17th
00/01 106 5th

Of course, playoff performance has been another story. During the
Regular season they are usually a strong team and as Mattshark pointed out they usually finish at or near the top of their division.

I cannot stand baseball so I cannot contribute anything related to the
Rangers other than to say they have generally been a poor team over a long period of time.

[Dhav]

I'll hold your coat. Hicks is my kind of scapegoat.

Funny that rumours of Rafa being up for the sack float about the media for a week or so... then rumours of Hicks selling out hits the papers and they rush out to defuse them rumours.

So...nothing to deny about Rafa and his position, yeah right....

I really don't like Hicks the slithery *******

Couldn't put it better myself

Imo, the rumours were definately not put to bed.
Besides, they gathered speed after the first and the second statement from Hicks. So they, intentionally or not, fueled them.

That's how I see it.

Of course there shouldn't be a statement saying it is Rafa forever, but more like something "the managers position is not under consideration at this point." or something neutral and mellow would lay the case to rest.

Now rumours are still on that Rafa might get the sack if we don¨t get to the CL... Whether to believe the rumours is another thing, but there is no denying that they are still there.

Here is an article that sums up my concerns perfectly:-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle2980601.ece

Rift rumours persist after Rafael BenÍtez fails to get backing
Oliver Kay

Liverpool were quick yesterday to dampen speculation that Tom Hicks, one of their co-owners, was preparing to sell his 50 per cent stake in the club, but that is just about the only emphatic statement from Anfield over the course of a week in which Rafael BenÍtez has been given no reassurances about his position at the club.

BenÍtez claimed yesterday that he is now “happy” with the situation at Liverpool, having sought to put his spat with Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the co-chairmen, behind him. BenÍtez has had no contact from the owners since the e-mail from Hicks that so enraged him nine days ago, and there remains concern at the club that fundamental problems are being ignored.

Foster Gillett, son of George, was appointed in the summer as a “linkman” between BenÍtez and the owners, based at the club’s training ground, but he has had little or no contact with the manager since returning to Merseyside on Wednesday after four weeks away. Rick Parry, the chief executive, is the other potential go-between, but his working relationship with BenÍtez remains uneasy, despite what the manager described as a “positive” two-hour meeting last Monday.

In a statement yesterday, Parry declared that reports that Hicks was preparing to sell his 50 per cent share-holding were “complete rubbish”, while the Texan was said to be “angered” by the claim. But there have been no such unequivocal statements or denials from Anfield or from the United States in response to reports about BenÍtez’s position.


It is no secret that the working relationship between Hicks and Gillett is running far from smoothly, but the pair are close to confirming a £500 million refinancing package. That deal, however, will take the club hundreds of millions of pounds into debt, another source of deep concern for Liverpool’s supporters at a time when their faith in the supposed American dream is being tested to the limit.

[Dhav]

Dang. Always wanted to use that smiley appropriately and you beat me to it.

You'll get yours in the World Cup qualifiers when we get a half decent
manager to replace Staunton

You'll need more than just a half decent manager to beat us

[Mattshark]

Dallas Stars points total by year

Season Points Overall League standing

06/07 107 6th
05/06 112 3rd
03/04 97 11th
02/03 111 2nd
01/02 90 17th
00/01 106 5th

Of course, playoff performance has been another story. During the
Regular season they are usually a strong team and as Mattshark pointed out they usually finish at or near the top of their division.

I cannot stand baseball so I cannot contribute anything related to the
Rangers other than to say they have generally been a poor team over a long period of time.

Dallas are also are 3rd in the entire NHL in wins over the last tens years including a stanley cup in 1999. They constantly challenge.

[AFII]

Sheik wants fans backing
By Martin Lipton 01/12/2007

Dubai billionaire Sheikh Mohammed is waiting for the green light from Liverpool fans before trying to buy out US owner Tom Hicks.

As Mirror Sport revealed yesterday, Hicks is considering selling his stake in the club.

And while City sources indicate Hicks has placed a valuation of £1billion on the club, there is interest from Sheikh Mohammed, head of the Dubai International Capital group.

Dic were in £450m takeover talks with Liverpool last year, before pulling out when the board held out for Hicks in a £219m deal.

Now the Sheikh - full name Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum - who is worth £7bn, is interested again and could be welcomed by fans who voiced their support for boss Rafa Benitez and their anger at the owners on websites yesterday.

"Both Yanks can XXXX off if they sack Rafa," said one fan, with another adding: "These cowboys have taken a massive loan to buy the club. Where is the bloody investment?"

And a third suggested: "It would have been better if we'd sold to the Dubai consortium."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footba...9520-20188596/

[tomasjj]

hahaha God knows what will hit the papers tomorrow if they are starting to do direct quotes off message boards like this.

[Skillz]

Sheik wants fans backing
By Martin Lipton 01/12/2007

Dubai billionaire Sheikh Mohammed is waiting for the green light from Liverpool fans before trying to buy out US owner Tom Hicks.

As Mirror Sport revealed yesterday, Hicks is considering selling his stake in the club.

And while City sources indicate Hicks has placed a valuation of £1billion on the club, there is interest from Sheikh Mohammed, head of the Dubai International Capital group.

Dic were in £450m takeover talks with Liverpool last year, before pulling out when the board held out for Hicks in a £219m deal.

Now the Sheikh - full name Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum - who is worth £7bn, is interested again and could be welcomed by fans who voiced their support for boss Rafa Benitez and their anger at the owners on websites yesterday.

"Both Yanks can XXXX off if they sack Rafa," said one fan, with another adding: "These cowboys have taken a massive loan to buy the club. Where is the bloody investment?"

And a third suggested: "It would have been better if we'd sold to the Dubai consortium."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footba...9520-20188596/

Not sure you need to post everything Tribal comes up with AFII

[Guest]

hahaha God knows what will hit the papers tomorrow if they are starting to do direct quotes off message boards like this.

[wildman]

Some great points mate.

As ever with these behind the scenes financial issues, they are extremely complex and very hard to judge.

It would make alot of sense to me if Hicks wanted out. The credit crunch in USA has had a massive impact worldwide. Financing the new stadium has become a major problem with costs going throughthe roof. Hicks may well consider the whole venture is becoming just too expensive with any return on his investment looking very long term. He may well be hoping DIC are still interested. Just because they didn't secure the club last time means nothing. They may well consider it to be still a very good investment opportunity.

Also Parry & Hicks have been very quick to deny the whole thing. People tend to be much quicker to deny things that are true than they are when theres no substance to it.

I'm no fan of Hicks but I see no difference between him, DIC, Kraft. they are all in it to make cash and will all do whatever they feel with give them the best return on their investment.

It is a business and no business survives without making money, I think some people feel LFC can be ran on fresh air. Moores also bought the club partly for money I'm sure its just thinkgs have changed nd he no longer had the appropriate funds to support us. For me DIC were the best option and still would be if something could be done

[Johnny]

Having half our Club owned by an American and the other half owned by Dubai can only lead to bigger communication problems.Video conferencing from every corner off the world,time differences and cultural differences do not sound like a viable alternative.
Either Hicks sells his shares (to Kraft for instance) or both Yanks sell to the DIC.Anything else can only lead to more problems.


If the DIC came in with silly money would Gillette still own 50% of the club while not contributing 50% off the transfer cash?
So many questions will be asked of our club in the next few months,I`m quiet apprehensive.

[vantage]

Good points Jonny, and I 'm nervous too.

[The Preacher]

The return of DIC

There is an article in the Mirror which mentions that the DIC group might be interested in investing in us if Hicks can be persuaded to sell his share of liverpool BUT the Sheikh is waiting for the green light from Liverpool fans.

Normally i would just ignore stuff like this but this is a follow up story from yesterday and even they would not print bullsh*t stories 2 days on the spin. There might just be something in this.

My question is how would you feel if the DIC did decide to come back and what benefits over the current owners would they bring to us - apart from the obvious financial backing.

[Johnny]

There has been a lot of rubbish written on this subject in the last week. When interviewed, time and again Benitez show just how media savvy he is. He talks a lot but actually says nothing.The press don`t like that as they`ve nothing to write. Thats why we get drivel about `Rotation`(Statistically more succesfull than the alternative) and `Zonal Marking`(Yes that ones died a death hasn`t it, I wonder why?!!). The only problem at Anfield is between Hicks and Gillet as they disagree as to how to take the club forward finacially. In the summer, Benitez was promised money for the coming transfer window, and wasn`t too happy when recently told to wait for confirmation, i.e. wait for H & G`s contrasting views to be ironed out. Simple, but the true story wouldn`t sell many copies of the downmarket newspapers. Benitez`s job on the line? Do me a favour