LFC Statement

[johnp]

Liverpool.no was present during a "former Liverpool player" dinner after todays game, and Gillett was present. This is the most important things he said:

"Rafa is the man we want as manager and he's got our support"
"I've been married for 40 years and know how to deal with an argument"
"Our squad is better then last year and we want to build on that. This work has just only began"
"The transfere window is coming up, and we may, or may not take advantage of it"
"Liverpool is a huge club. Its not our club, its the supporters club and thats how it will always be"

That's exactly what should have been in the Statement.

[kurtangle01]

Ok, for the benefit of Niall, what Hicks has "reportedly" said. Duly edited.

What did he 'reportedly' say?

[skowser]

yesterday the bollocks by parry regarding the new stadium and now this.

What did Parry stay about the stadium?

[Dhav]

Kala re file, barethika lio toutes tis malakies. Esu?

Kai egw to idio re file. Toutoi oi amerikanoi en na mas katastrepsoun

[Red Chilli]

I miss Ian Cotton

[Skillz]

With a transfer window coming up we're hardly likely to come out and say "we're backing the manager to buy whoever he wants" keeping our hand close to our chest will work in our favour.

Spot on. I have had an inkling this whole shamozzle is a set up from Rafa and I am starting to believe it more and more.

AFII, don't give up on Aguero. It may happen yet IMO.

Seriously though it would not surprise me, we all know how Rafa hates paying above the odds for players. Look what happened in the summer, yet it appears Rafa was backed for his targets and he said as much.

Drawing a long bow I know.

[Dhav]

What did he 'reportedly' say?

I'll see if I can dig up what he was reported as saying, but I recall it was something along the lines of a strongly worded rebuke that Rafa should be solely focussed on coaching the players he already has and not trying to do Parry's job.

[TheStig]

We have let ourselves down as a club this season with all this internal bickering and Stadium changes. The common element is two old men. This season has been far from memorable so far and I just hope this meeting will put things to rest so that we might actually achieve something great again. Being the 3rd or 4th best team in the PL is beginning to grate. I want my kids to experience the joy of us winning the league again.

(Although I'm too young to have seen us win the league)

[Revo]

(Although I'm too young to have seen us win the league)

an


and i just hope im not that old that i dont get to see us win it again

[Gazzla]

It is a bit of a nothing statement and it would have been nice if it was more revealing but why should Liverpool broadcast to the media what was discussed? No other club would so why should we?

With all the media speculation surrounding this well documented meeting between Rafa H&G it would look even stranger if we just said nothing so I don't really think we can read too much into this and are not feeding the media any futher ammo against us

[Fiddy]

aye mate a NOTHING statement.

Ian Cotton

[bazza76]

Spot on. I have had an inkling this whole shamozzle is a set up from Rafa and I am starting to believe it more and more.

AFII, don't give up on Aguero. It may happen yet IMO.

Seriously though it would not surprise me, we all know how Rafa hates paying above the odds for players. Look what happened in the summer, yet it appears Rafa was backed for his targets and he said as much.

Drawing a long bow I know.

No chance is this whole thing a setup.
If it was, Rafa would be given an oscar for best actor award.

[Dhav]

i got a text off a mate who was at the game today. He saw rafa leave the stadium at around 7pm and he didnt look happy. There were a few people asking rafa for autographs and he simply stormed past them without acknowledging their presence.....he also looked well pissed off...

when i went onto the official site and saw the headline, i was convinced he was gone.......nearly shat myself!!!

Well Oliver Kay in the Times tells it differently, Rafa left smiling apparenty

Meeting eases Rafael Benitez tension
Oliver Kay

Five hours after his team succumbed to a 1-0 defeat by Manchester United, Rafael Benítez emerged from Anfield tight-lipped but with at least a hint of a smile after what was described as a positive meeting with Liverpool’s owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.

Benítez had been counting down the days until the meeting with Hicks, Gillett, and his son, Foster, and Rick Parry, the chief executive, with tension between board and manager having escalated almost out of control. Doubts remain about the manager’s future because of his fractious relationship with the board, but last night there was a long-overdue statement of unity from the boardroom.

“A meeting was held this evening involving Tom Hicks, George Gillett, Foster Gillett, Rick Parry and Rafael Benítez, which was wide-ranging and positive,” the club statement read. “The discussions were amicable and constructive. All parties present are united in their desire to bring further success to the club.”

All positive enough, but Hicks and Gillett have yet to explain why it has taken them three weeks to declare any unity with the Spaniard. Hicks, in particular, is known to have been furious about Benítez’s comments and is said to have little appetite to retain him as manager in the long term.
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Benítez’s concerns centre not only on the amount of money available to strengthen the squad — he wants to sign at least one central defender next month and to be given permission to proceed with a £17 million deal to secure Javier Mascherano on a permanent basis — but also the way in which transfer policy is carried out, with the manager unhappy that he must leave all negotiations to Parry.

As it is, with money scarce, the Mascherano deal has been put on hold until the end of the season and it is not yet clear whether Benítez will have the funds to sign a defender in January. One report yesterday suggested that there would be no money available, but Benítez, speaking before the meeting, said: “We need to clarify the misunderstanding and talk about the future, not whether we or not we have money.”

With the notable exception of the 4-0 victory over Marseilles, which secured their passage to the Champions League knockout phase, it has been a chastening week for Liverpool amid growing concerns about the proposed new stadium in Stanley Park. With the cost of the project rising and the global credit crunch hitting their £500 million refinancing plan, Hicks and Gillett are considering scaling down the grandiose plans that they unveiled in July and have asked the British architects behind the original design to submit a cheaper one, with a capacity of 70,000.

[REDSCOUSER]

Ian Cotton

imagine if he gets paid by how many words he'd say in his statements !!!
his mortgage will never be paid.

[Guest]

That's the end of that then.

It'll be interesting to see how that turncoat Bascombe spins this one.

Same goes for all those net know nothing cunts insiders.

So there was nothing then ? Why didn't they release a statement to kill the rumors and had to wait after the game to do it ?

All is not rosy, as Rafa will keep the pressure until they cough up the money.