Parry asked to resign

[El Jefecito]

chelski went from no hopers struggling for 5th, got $$$$ and hey presto....2 EPL wins in 2 years. give rafa the outrageous funds to make the 4 signings i beleive it would take and we very realistically could win the EPL next year.

That's them. I'm talking about us. The mentality is not there. For sure you can bring that mentality in, point is we have not and have not developed the existing players to display that!

[El Jefecito]

He can only do what he is doing now, CL qualification first and challenge for the league title second as long as he isn't backed big time in the transfer market.

We need DIC to be able to make the next step, it's as simple as that.

The next step is buying quality instead of quantity and quality won't come cheap.

Spot on

[Roboklopp]

Not sure about asset stripping, but am very concerned about us never making the next step up, cos you need serious team investment nowadays.

[El Jefecito]

The naivety of some people suggesting a Hicks buyout is best for the club. Read up on him, he'll asset strip the team to get the stadium built, probably to the point where we do a Leeds. His only thought is to make a half billion pound profit. He cares NOTHING for the success of the team, the traditions of the club.

Look at the the facts of what has gone on since he bought us and his past history. There is NOTHING to suggest he'd be good for us. WAKE UP!

Very few think Hicks is best for the club. A lot are thinking however, how can we suceed despite hicks. We are betting a lot on Rafa.

[calvoboy]

The naivety of some people suggesting a Hicks buyout is best for the club. Read up on him, he'll asset strip the team to get the stadium built, probably to the point where we do a Leeds. His only thought is to make a half billion pound profit. He cares NOTHING for the success of the team, the traditions of the club.

Look at the the facts of what has gone on since he bought us and his past history. There is NOTHING to suggest he'd be good for us. WAKE UP!

how would someone asset stripping and doing a Leeds make half a billion profit? Just asking like.

[-V-]

Pure and Simple, Hicks is Rafa's boss. So Rafa has to answer to him and work with him. Deal with it. Thats not Rafa's fault, he didnt ask to have to work for Hicks but he has to do his best regardless

[kanban111]

Has someone paid you

[-V-]

Has someone paid you

[kanban111]

Bull****,he works for the club,which happens to have 2 owners,him showing allegiance to one of them,the most worrying one in my book(based on past exploits) is more to do with internal politics than anything else,Rafa has picked his corner due to his somewhat precarious position of a few months back & i don't like it one little bit,he's become embroiled in this saga now & it's ****in ugly imo of course.

[-V-]

Who Pays Rafa's wages and who does he have top answer to?

Gillette has been off the scene for ages

Hicks demands answers from Rafa on a weekly basis and Rafa has to communicate with him.

No-one knows for sure what Rafa's position on Parry is but you cant blame Rafa for workng with Hicks. Thats just daft he has no choice

[El Jefecito]

Who Pays Rafa's wages and who does he have top answer to?

Gillette has been off the scene for ages

Hicks demands answers from Rafa on a weekly basis and Rafa has to communicate with him.

No-one knows for sure what Rafa's position on Parry is but you cant blame Rafa for workng with Hicks. Thats just daft he has no choice

Correct.

Ignore the WUMS.

[carlton]

Parry refuses Hicks' demand to resign as Liverpool slip into chaos


Rick Parry is understood to have been asked to resign after discussing the club's problems in an interview


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By Sam Wallace, Football Correspondent
Friday, 11 April 2008

The bitter boardroom power struggle that is plaguing Liverpool took another extraordinary turn yesterday when the chief executive, Rick Parry, refused a demand from co-owner Tom Hicks that he resign. The open hostilities between the major figures at the club have now become so debilitating that there is discussion about the possibility of an independent mediator to try to broker peace.

It emerged yesterday that Hicks had written a three-page letter to Parry to tell the chief executive, who is coming up to 10 years in the job, that he should resign. However, with only a 50 per cent holding, the Texan businessman has no power to force Parry out. He responded by saying he was going nowhere and would "remain focused on the job of serving Liverpool football club".

It is understood that the news of Hicks's demand was conveyed privately to supporters first through his son, Thomas Jnr. The letter itself arrived at Anfield less than two days after Liverpool beat Arsenal to reach the Champions League semi-finals. Undaunted, Parry, who was in London when the letter arrived, is understood to have sent his refusal by return of post. He was in the capital attending a Football Association hearing which rejected Javier Mascherano's appeal over an extra two-match suspension following his red card at Manchester United.

There is no surprise at the hostility from Hicks towards Parry, whom the American now regards as in the camp of his estranged business partner, George Gillett, who owns the other 50 per cent stake in Liverpool. With the help of Parry, Gillett would like to sell his stake in Liverpool to the Middle East consortium, Dubai International Capital (DIC) but has been blocked by Hicks who has first refusal on the shares. Gillett's unwillingness to sell to Hicks has caused a tense stalemate which has resulted in yesterday's demand.

Yesterday, sources close to DIC said that they were still interested in buying the club but would have to wait while the feuding American co-owners, and Parry, resolved their differences.

In order to break the stalemate between the owners, the possibility of an independent negotiator to try to break the impasse has been raised. In the meantime, the financing of the proposed new stadium at Stanley Park is likely to be delayed yet again by the feuding.

DIC still believe Hicks will have to sell when the strain on his finances becomes intolerable which could be accelerated by the rising cost of borrowing on money markets. More investment is needed to push ahead with the new stadium, which the club plan to have ready for August 2011. Last year Hicks refinanced his and Gillett's original deal to buy the club to the tune of £350m. Should they sell out to DIC, both will negotiate separate deals and would hope to make around £75m profit each.

Hicks has made a martyr of first manager Rafael Benitez and now Parry by publicly seeking to replace them. It was a recent interview with Parry in which he discussed the breakdown of the relationship between Hicks and Gillett that was understood to have convinced Hicks to ask for Parry's resignation. It was also a matter of time before Hicks responded to an interview that Gillett gave to a Canadian radio station last month in which he admitted their relationship was "unworkable".

In the same interview, Gillett said he had threats from Liverpool supporters urging him not to sell to Hicks. He criticised his co-owner for increasing supporter antipathy through his decision to disclose that the club had secret talks with Jürgen Klinsmann last year over replacing Benitez. That revelation has only served to raise Benitez's standing with fans and diminish Hicks. The team still have the prospect of a third Champions League final in four years although there must now be serious uncertainty about how the manager will be able to plan for the summer.

Parry was the driving force behind the American takeover last year and is now attempting to push through the DIC takeover. Where once there appeared to be a number of different cliques forming at the club, from the owners to Benitez, it is now evident that there are major blocs. In one corner is Gillett, Parry, Benitez and the former chairman, David Moores, who believe that the club would be better in the hands of DIC. In the other is Hicks who is fighting on alone but determined to prevent the club falling into the hands of DIC.

It is a sign of just how confident Parry is that Hicks can be seen off that the Liverpool chief executive has brushed off the demand for him to resign. "It is my intention to remain focused on the job of serving Liverpool Football Club to the best of my abilities at this very important time of our season," he said in a statement yesterday. Although not universally popular among Liverpool supporters, Parry was a close ally of Moores who sold to the Americans on the basis that the club needed a much wealthier backer to compete with the rest of the Premier League's big four.

Respected as a football administrator, and with a uniquely laid-back approach, Parry is expected to ride out this storm unless, of course, Gillett has an unexpected change of heart and sells out to Hicks. With that unlikely it seems that this remarkable stand-off will continue.

Anfield's leading men: Key players in Liverpool saga

Rick Parry (Chief executive)

Occasionally derided by fans but quickly becoming a martyr in the Gillett v Hicks battle. He was the Premier League chief executive until given Liverpool job by David Moores in July 1998. Urged the former Liverpool chairman to sell to the Americans rather then DIC last year.

George Gillett (Co-owner)

Regarded with less vitriol by Liverpool fans than his erstwhile business partner Hicks. Wants to sell to DIC for a tidy profit. Owns Montreal Canadiens, NHL ice hockey team. Affable, but man-of-the-people style disguises a ruthless edge. Was not afraid to play on Hicks's unpopularity with fans in recent interview.

Tom Hicks (Co-owner)

Texan thought to be worth more than £500m, owns Texas Rangers baseball team. Regarded as the villain of the piece by Liverpool fans because of refusal to sell to DIC and his attempts to replace Benitez and Parry. So unpopular he has not recently attended Anfield. Un-likely to be intimidated.

[carlton]

And more from the Guardian

Parry fights Hicks' order to quit Liverpool


Chief executive believes he has support to stay on

Rift between US co-owner and Gillett worse than ever

Andy Hunter
Friday April 11, 2008
The Guardian

Rick Parry in happier days with George Gillett and Tom Hicks
Rick Parry, centre, in happier times with George Gillett and Tom Hicks. Photograph: Christopher Furlong / Getty


Liverpool's bitter power struggle intensified last night when the co-owner Tom Hicks' demand for the resignation of Rick Parry received a public and defiant refusal from the club's chief executive.

Less than 48 hours after Rafael Benítez had guided Liverpool to the Champions League semi-finals Parry was sent a letter by the club's Dallas-based co-chairman asking him to hand in his notice. In a three-page document Hicks criticises the chief executive's relationship with Benítez, which has been strained for some time, and the commercial running of the club.

Article continues
The motive behind the letter, however, is believed to centre on Hicks' belief that Parry has sided with George Gillett in the fight for majority control at Anfield and the relationship he has maintained with Dubai International Capital during the company's attempts to purchase Liverpool. It may also be a retaliatory gesture after Liverpool's commercial director, Ian Ayre, was given a dressing down by Gillett this week.

However, in a sign that Parry enjoys the continued support of Gillett, the co-owner who reiterated he would not sell even 1% of his 50% stake to Hicks when he met directors at Anfield on Tuesday, Parry has vowed to remain in his post. His resignation would have to be approved by the Liverpool board - a body that comprises Parry, the former chairman David Moores, Hicks, Gillett and their sons, Tom Hicks Jr and Foster Gillett - and Parry believes he has enough support there to fight.

Parry is believed to be taking legal advice over the fact Hicks' demand was not initially discussed at boardroom level and over texts allegedly sent by Tom Hicks Jr to Liverpool supporters groups, in which Parry's future presence at the club was called into doubt. Last night Parry said: "It is my intention to remain focused on the job of serving Liverpool Football Club to the best of my abilities."

Parry did not see Hicks' letter until he returned last night from London, where he had attended a Football Association hearing into Liverpool's appeal of the additional two-match suspension handed to Javier Mascherano for his recent sending-off against Manchester United. The appeal was dismissed and Mascherano will now serve the final part of a three-match ban against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.

The former Premier League chief executive, who has held the role at Liverpool for more than a decade, has been at the centre of the fractured relationship between Gillett and Hicks for several months. His recent plea for the warring co-owners to resolve the ownership issue, one that "is certainly not conducive to long-term planning and managing the club," as he told the BBC, is also understood to have fuelled Hicks' determination to oust Parry.

Both the Texan and Gillett have been attempting to secure new investment that would enable them to purchase the other's 50% stake since Hicks vetoed his co-owner's attempts to sell to DIC, the investment arm of the Dubai government. Hicks had considered allowing DIC to purchase 49% of Gillett's holding, giving him the other 1% and majority control, but withdrew from negotiations when the company insisted on running Liverpool by committee. Hicks has since held talks with the US investment bank Merrill Lynch about borrowing the capital to buy out Gillett, although the latter has declared he has no intention of selling to Hicks.

The impasse also prompted DIC yesterday to confirm it will not re-enter negotiations until the dispute is resolved. Its chief executive, Sameer al-Ansari, said it remains interested but will await the success or otherwise of Hicks' attempts to take control before making a renewed play for the club and for Gillett's holding.

"You have two partners who do not see eye to eye. And we decided that we pull out completely. Let them sort out their problems," said Ansari, whose company was prepared to pay £510m for Liverpool, giving each of the Americans a £40m profit on his investment. Ansari added in an interview with Arabian Business magazine: "We will continue to be interested and would love to own the club."

[Nicey]

So it's Tom and Rafa versus Rick and George...?? With nothing but a DIC between them..??

Hicks has **** all to do with Rafa ... anybody gets rid of Rafa and they will be shot

[Nicey]

Just when you thought this cunt could not be anymore unprofessional he pulls this cheap stunt ... and in the middle of the most important part of our season ... could he not wait till the end of the season to pull this **** ... No No lets do it just before the Champions Lg Semi Finals ... this cunt does not give two flying ****s about this club ... in less than a 12 short months he has turned this distinctly private dignified club into a ****ing Media Circus ... one which he seems only too happy to feed headlines to beat us up with time after time.

I am speechless at the lack of class of this individual, at every possible opportunity he has taken the low road in these ongoing scuffles. All of this bull**** is of his making, His lack of a nappy over his fat head to curtail the amount of ****e spewing out is really seriously harming this club.

But call me cynical, I think this fat **** knows and knew exactly what he is doing. In fact I would not be surprised if him and Gillette are still thick as thieves and we are all not been treated to the G & T we want to sell up for profit show. 150 Million odd each ... not bad for 9 months work on leveraged dime

Karma is a bitch ... I just hope Hicks gets his ... I cant believe this is happening to our club ... and Honestly Parry needs to take some responsibility for letting these two cunts in, in the first place .... Due Diligence my ****ing Arsehole !!