Parry asked to resign

[AFII]

... but couldn't Hicks do this PR-stunt to make everybody hate him - and he could like a scapegoat be 'forced' out of the club - with the only option to sell to DIC. He obviously doesn't have the power to force Parry out, so even with his 50% he is weak - and has shown it now, so that he with some sort of low-loss-of-honour (if he had anything like that) could sell.


... maybe I'm just dreaming....

He is already doing his usual transfer PR stuff if the Modric thing is true.

[Kev_81]

APR 11 2008 EXCLUSIVE BY TONY BARRETT LIVERPOOL ECHO

GEORGE Gillett today publicly backed Rick Parry after co-owner Tom Hicks called on Liverpool’s chief executive to resign.

Hicks sent Parry a letter demanding he ends his nine-year tenure at Anfield, but Gillett told the ECHO he did not support the ultimatum.

Gillett also revealed that he had no idea his co- owner was planning an audacious attempt to force Parry out. "Rick Parry retains our full support," he said.

"Any decision to remove him would need the approval of the full Liverpool board which, it should be remembered, consists of six people – myself, Foster, David Moores, Rick himself, Tom Hicks and Tom junior.

"We have not seen the document in question and we were not party to it.
"We are not able to comment on the detail because we have not seen it. But I would reiterate that Rick retains our full support."

The civil war which continues to rage inside the Liverpool boardroom reached new levels of ferocity yesterday when Hicks’ letter calling on Parry to quit arrived at Anfield.

In the document, Hicks outlined his reasons for wanting the club’s chief executive of nine years standing gone.

Among them are claims that team manager Rafa Benitez has told him that Parry has allowed big name signings to slip through the net because of a lack of communication.
Hicks also accused Parry of failing to maximise Liverpool’s commercial potential in the same way that the likes of Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal have.

Parry only learned of the letter’s existence after leaving a hearing at FA headquarters in London yesterday afternoon, by which time its contents had been leaked to Sky Sports News.

Today, he was seeing the letter for the first time when he arrived at his office at Anfield.

In a statement, Parry insisted he has no plans to quit the club.
He said: "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."
Parry will be taking legal advice on the matter and today told the ECHO of his disappointment that this speculation about his own future has taken the gloss away from Liverpool successfully making it through to the semi-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday night.

He said: "The manager, the players and the supporters will no doubt find it offensive that I am the story when we should be celebrating another great European night at Anfield."

Parry added today: "The club will be fine – no individual is bigger than the club.
"But, obviously, we need leadership at the top and at the moment there is a severe lack of unity."

Hicks cannot sack Parry without having the support of the majority of Liverpool’s board and while the chief executive continues to retain the support of the board – apart from the Dallas-based millionaire and his son – he is highly unlikely to be forced out.
Meanwhile, DIC remain interested in buying Liverpool but have put their bid to acquire the club on ice until the ongoing hostilities in the Anfield boardroom are brought to a halt.

[Manofthebog]

Old Tony ain't had a bad year up until now, has he.

[certifiable]

One of Hicks sons brought a load of his jock mates over to a game. They got hammered, abused the staff (called them peasants, took the piss out of their accents etc) and ended up vomiting all over the shop

Ian Ayre was overheard in Milan saying that Parry and Moores are no-marks and will soon be out of the club

Ah, I remember hearing about that now, there's been so much crap going on it's hard to even keep up with the goings-on.

It's unbelievable, who could EVER have thought we would have the year we've had publicity wise while sitting down with mixture of excitement and trepidation to watch that first press conference with G and H.
Talk about not knowing what we were in for !

[MattB]

Old Tony ain't had a bad year up until now, has he.

Have you noticed the online editions have stopped including his email address at the end of his pieces? I suppose he must have been getting a LOT of emails

[Exiled_red]

Have you noticed the online editions have stopped including his email address at the end of his pieces? I suppose he must have been getting a LOT of emails

[The Birdman]

It must be a ruse by Hicks to try to get fans on his side by slagging Parry, also saying the reasons of merchandise and rafa not getting on with Parry when he knows most fans agree our merchandise revenue isn't good enough and would also want Rafa to stay and have a total say in transfers.
What makes me laugh is GG statement says every board member needs to be in agreement to force Parry out including ol Rick himself so Hicks obviously knew it wouldn't work so what were his real motives?
If you look at the relationship between Dein and Wenger and Fergie and Gill the manager gets everyone he wants (within reason) if you look at Mourinho/Grant and Keynon and Rafa and Coco you see the difference. Arsenal and Man U are well ran profitable clubs where the manager pulls the strings.

[Lecter]

I don't think Hicks has evoked his first refusal rights at all. If he had then Gillett couldn't come forward and say that he would never sell to Hicks.

Based on the GG interview Hicks has only made the threat which in turn means that DIC has made no concrete offer. (Which explains the "pull out").

The only deal made was DIC making an informal offer to both owners. Gillett took it and Hicks refused which means all bets are off. DIC of course implied that both parties had to accept for the offer to stand.

This is my take on what happened

Gillett decided to sell and started talks with DIC moving nearer and nearer a agreement as the weeks went by

Hicks got wind and threatened to block it

Gillett offers Hicks the chance to buy the club remember in his interview he said "we didnt pressurise him, we gave him plenty of time but he couldnt cross the finish line"

Then DIC gave an offer which Hicks rejected but Gillett has agreed to. Hicks tried to negotiate with DIC but they wouldnt pay the premium he wanted, he threatens to veto the deal but in reality all he can do is attempt to buy out Gillett and he has 90 days to do this, thats whats happening now Hicks realising he could be in a precarious position is running around trying to find the funds to buy out Gillett and hold off DIC

The 90 day starts from that moment Gillett accepted the offer which I reckon was early March if I remember thats when the rumours hit their height, which would mean the first option ends end of May ish (which ties in with some of todays reports)

[Skillz]

If he would stop insulting and belittling people I would concur.

[Skillz]

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!

Whilst I hope this isn't true I do worry about this. His ambition is 4th at best and CL footy and he will expect Rafa to do it on a tight budget. He has no plan because Rafa has him by the balls. If Rafa quits the day after the CL final and blames Hicks, his name is ****, worldwide headline ****e!!

[Shaggy]

Liverpool's civil war has taken a further twist with chief executive Rick Parry insisting he was right to demand an end to the wrangling tearing the club apart.

Parry adopted a defiant stance over his boardroom clash with Tom Hicks after the co-owner demanded his resignation. Having received a ringing endorsement from rival co-owner George Gillett, Parry reiterated his call for the two warring factions to resolve their differences.

Parry's initial plea for an end to hostilities was instrumental in Hicks firing off a letter, asking for his resignation, but Parry told Sportsmail: "The points I put across on the radio a couple of weeks ago were with the club's best interests at heart.

"I said the ownership difficulties needed resolving because they were doing the club harm, and I stick by that. I was surely only echoing a sentiment that would be shared by any Liverpool supporter.

"It is essential we keep moving forward, and we can only do that by sorting things out at the top. It needs doing urgently, so we can restore some stability and get on with planning for the future.

"The overriding point I want to put across is that the emphasis should be on the team, not me or anyone else behind the scenes. We should be concentrating on winning games and making sure the season ends on a high note.

"We have just had an outstanding Champions League win over Arsenal, and now there is a semi-final against Chelsea to look forward to. That should be the story, not me. It's not right that internal matters are being aired in public. That has never been the Liverpool way and it shouldn't be."

After resisting Hicks' call to quit, Parry pointedly declared he had "a job to be getting on with" and added: "I find it offensive to the manager, players and supporters that the spotlight is on me when we should all be celebrating another great European night at Anfield. No one is bigger than the club, certainly not me.

"But we need leadership at the top and, at the moment, there is a severe lack of unity."

Though Hicks has tried to win over sceptical supporters by pledging his full backing for Rafa Benitez, Anfield insiders are seriously questioning his judgment in attempting to oust Parry.

As one well-placed source put it: "It seems strange to be talking of getting rid of someone at a time when the emphasis on managing the club is greater than ever. With all that is happening between the owners, they can surely ill-afford to lose someone who is keeping everything ticking over."

Benitez will want assurances over his summer spending plans after being linked with moves for Dinamo Zagreb's Luka Modric, Blackburn's David Bentley and Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones.

But Benitez was able to complete the signings of Javier Mascherano and Martin Skrtel during the recent transfer window, and offload Momo Sissoko to Juventus, despite the rift between Hicks and Gillett already existing.

Funds seem certain to be released for more new arrivals, even though rival factions are taking shape within Anfield.

While Hicks has been busy trying to raise extra revenue for a possible takeover, it is understood Gillett is also drawing up plans to attract new investors for a possible buyout bid of his own.

Gillett rallied round Parry in an outburst that underlined his antipathy towards Hicks. The American pair were pictured arm-in- arm, smiling for the cameras, after breezing into Anfield 18 months ago but are no longer on speaking terms.

Horrified at what he sees as another example of heavy-handedness, Gillett said: "Rick retains our full support. Any decision to remove him would need approval of the full Liverpool board, which, it should be remembered, consists of six people — myself, my son Foster, David Moores, Rick, Tom Hicks and Tom junior.

"We have not seen the document in question and were not party to it. We are not able to comment on the detail, because we have not seen it. But I would reiterate that Rick has our full support."

Though there have been claims that Benitez has blamed Parry for allowing potential signings to slip through the net, it is understood the Liverpool manager played no part in Hicks' attempt to end the former Premier League chief's Anfield tenure.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=559149&in_page_id=1779&ito=newsnow

[Vermilion]

So Hicks trying to BULLY his way around the club then. Good to hear earlier that GG went with Parry to the offices of Ian Ayre, gave him 15 mins notice, then GG laid into him, told him he answers to BOTH GG & TH. GG Showing some balls AT LAST ??

[Shanks]

Benitez will want assurances over his summer spending plans after being linked with moves for Blackburn's David Bentley and Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones.

What????

WhO??

Since When...

[the rev leeroy brown]

Benitez will want assurances over his summer spending plans after being linked with moves for Dinamo Zagreb's Luka Modric, Blackburn's David Bentley and Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...79&ito=newsnow

oh dear god nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

[Joe King]

Jones coming in means Crouch is deffo off.