Parry asked to resign

[the rev leeroy brown]

Jones coming in means Crouch is deffo off.

jones coming in means rafa doesn't give a **** anymore!

[Marky]

*looks at a few big paragraphs in this thread*

*yawns*

[peekay]

A HEARTBROKEN David Moores today called on Liverpool's warring co-owners to sort out their differences for the good of the club – or else stand aside and let someone else take over.

In his first interview since selling the club to Tom Hicks and George Gillett in February 2007, Moores told the ECHO how:

* He was left disgusted by the treatment of chief executive Rick Parry by Tom Hicks

* He believes Hicks and Gillett must either find common ground or walk away

* He feels let down by the “unacceptable” way the club has been run since he relinquished ownership

l He will do everything he can to get the club back on an even keel after so much turmoil.

Moores, who continues to act as honorary life president at Anfield and who maintains a place on the Liverpool board, said: “It's heartbreaking. I'm almost lost for words about the damage that's being done to the club at the present time.

“As a fan, and as someone who loves the club, it is totally unacceptable to see this being played out in the public arena.

“This is most certainly not what the club is about. In fact, I can't ever remember, even going back to when I was a supporter as a kid, stuff being played out in public like we have seen in the last six months.

“It is embarrassing and it is not an acceptable way of doing things.

“I've never known anything like it and I'm just absolutely shell-shocked.”

As far as Moores is concerned, one of the most upsetting things of all is the way the success Liverpool enjoyed on the pitch in beating Arsenal to make it through to the semi-finals of the Champions League has been almost forgotten amidst the off-field turmoil which has erupted since Hicks called on Parry to resign.

“The most heartbreaking thing about all of this is that we were on such a high after the Arsenal game on Tuesday night and then this comes along and completely takes over the great things the players and the manager did,” he said.

“The wonderful success they had that night has been completely diminished, it is completely gone, because of all of this being brought out into the open.

“All I can say is I feel very sorry that it has come to this, that how great it was on the night has been taken over by something which should have been dealt with in a far more delicate way and certainly not in public.

“It certainly doesn't help the team, because they're not getting all the praise they should be getting because of other things are taking priority.

“Everyone should be going on about how well they performed and how brilliant Rafa's tactics were. I mean, for goodness sake, three Champions League semi-finals in just four years is an unbelievable achievement.

“But the gloss has been taken off it and you should never do that.”

When Moores stepped down as owner, he welcomed Hicks and Gillett to the club but has become increasingly concerned at their apparent inability to act as “custodians” as they had promised and also their seeming lack of willingness to put the club ahead of their own personal interests.

And he today called on them to resolve their differences or leave the way clear for someone else to own the club who can provide the unity and stability it needs.

He said: “I didn't know Hicks very well, I knew George a lot better.

“George came across as a bubbly, enthusiastic man who loves his sport and is knowledgeable about it.

“But he didn't have the money to do the deal without bringing someone else on board.

“It was really right at the end that I met Tom Hicks so I didn't really get a chance to get to know him but I took George's word for it.

“It was in total good faith. I believed these fellas, I believed everything they said to me and they said it all again to the fans via the media and you can judge for yourselves whether they kept their promises.

“I am surprised because I thought that the pair of them, from what they said to me and to the fans through the media, that they appreciated the heritage and the values of the club.

“They talked about putting the money in and the new stadium and having no debt on the club. At the time I think we all felt it would be a good deal but it's not all materialised.

“I do feel let down. With everything that's going on, I have to feel let down.

“This is not how I foresaw it and I'm sure it's not how the fans foresaw it.

“If I could have afforded to take the club forward I would have done, but I couldn't. I didn't have the sort of money you need for a new stadium and £30-40m a year for new players.

“So I had no option. I would love to still be in charge but I would have held the club back.

“That's why I am asking these two gentlemen to think of the club, not their own kudos.

“The fans, the manager and the team all deserve better than this.

“We should now be focusing on continuity, stability and working our socks off towards enjoying what will hopefully be a super night in Moscow.

“But when things are played out like they are at present it virtually makes the club a laughing stock and that's not acceptable.

“How can they be acting as custodians when they are split down the middle?”

He added: “It needs to be resolved as quickly as possible. The two owners don't agree on a way forward and unity is essential.

“They have got to stop thinking of themselves and start thinking of the club, its values, its traditions and its heritage.

“They have to do what is best for the club and get it sorted as quickly as possible because what is happening at the moment is not doing it any good.

“I think the damage can be repaired but those two gentlemen have got to come to a quick agreement about the way forward.

“You would have to say if they can't do it then they will have to stand aside and let someone else do it.

“I can't say what these two gentlemen will do. Will they sell? I don't know.”

Having seen Liverpool suffer greatly in recent weeks as the battle between the two owners continues to rage, Moores today committed himself to doing everything in his power to get the club back on an even keel.

“We have got to keep the ship going and I will try my best, and I'm sure Rick will, that we will go on and try to get success at the end of the season, try to get off the politics and concentrate on what's happening on then pitch.

“You look at the fans and as everyone keeps saying they are like a 12th man.

“They were unbelievable again the other night and they deserve better than what's going on at present.

“All I can promise them is that I will do my damnedest to make certain that the club comes through this and we get back to concentrating on what happens on the pitch not off it.

“It is not my club anymore but I will do everything I can and I would like to give a huge vote of thanks to the fans for the wonderful support they have given the manager and the team.

“European nights at Anfield are something you wouldn't see anywhere else. They are unique, unbelievable and the fans make it that way.”

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2008/04/12/i-feel-shell-shocked-damage-being-doneat-all-the-to-the-club-100252-20754770/

Done in good faith..I believed everything they said to me...I dont wanna criticize Moores but those quotes make him look like a village idiot..Most people do more research when they buy a car, let alone sell a club of the stature of liverpool.

[carlton]

About time he said something and it confirms what a lot of people have said about a lack of due diligence or research into these 2 clowns. Moores and Parry got conned big time but there must be more to selling to these yanks than the extra 8M pounds Moores got. Perhaps the yanks said their experience in sports, stadia and sponsorship was better than DIC's and they believed it not that it matters now I guess. Moores will go down in club history now for all the wrong reasons.

[The Barber]

i won't be surprised if hicks comes out now in the press and states that rafa doesn't get along with parry, which is why he asked parry to resign or something along those lines.

that will lead to a further divide/ chaos.

it is good to note that moores recognizes rafa's tactics, so i don't think he will be fired even if gillett gets controll or dic takeover.

[Skillz]

i won't be surprised if hicks comes out now in the press and states that rafa doesn't get along with parry, which is why he asked parry to resign or something along those lines.

that will lead to a further divide/ chaos.

it is good to note that moores recognizes rafa's tactics, so i don't think he will be fired even if gillett gets controll or dic takeover.

If he brings Rafa in he will need to be backed by Rafa. I very much doubt that will happen. So if he does bring Rafa in without consent I will actually start to wish death on the prick.

[The Barber]

If he brings Rafa in he will need to be backed by Rafa. I very much doubt that will happen. So if he does bring Rafa in without consent I will actually start to wish death on the prick.

oh i have already passed that stage, death on the prick was wished upon him when he wanted klinsman to replace rafa.

i have now reached the stage of extreme torture. he should be tortured before being executed.

[Skillz]

oh i have already passed that stage, death on the prick was wished upon him when he wanted klinsman to replace rafa.

i have now reached the stage of extreme torture. he should be tortured before being executed.

Agreed. Stoning would be good.

[The Barber]

no stoning would be far too light on the lad. i would cherish a hostelesqe hunt and torture.

[carlton]

From the Independent

More stuff from the mouth of Parry. Hicks must be wondering wtf's going on. Its obvious he has people trawling the fan sites and given the constant calls from fans to 'sack Parry' he tries and has ended up uniting the fans against him even more. He might be rich but he also does some very dumb things.

'We thought they might fire us. It has been a nightmare – a dreadful year'
Liverpool's beleaguered chief executive tells Ian Herbert that he has feared the sack ever since Hicks and Gillett took over


Saturday, 12 April 2008

Liverpool's chief executive Rick Parry has revealed the "nightmare" of working under the co-ownership of Tom Hicks and said that he has been in fear of the sack for months as their relationship has deteriorated.

It was Parry's work behind the scenes last December that ensured that most of the refinanced loans taken out for the purchase of Liverpool by Hicks and George Gillett jnr were secured against the Americans' holding company, rather than the club, and Parry told The Independent yesterday that he knew from that moment that Hicks would want to remove both him and former chairman David Moores, who received £88m for selling his 51.6% stake to Hicks and who retains a seat on the board. Parry's suspicions were confirmed on Thursday when a letter arrived from Hicks, demanding he quit.

"David and I thought we would be out on our ears in December. We thought they [Hicks and Gillett] might fire us," said Parry, who is seeking legal advice over Hicks' demand. "They didn't, to be fair, though what we did has not been forgotten. It's been a nightmare throughout – a dreadful year."

Though Hicks' relationship with Parry has soured, the chief executive has established a cordial relationship with Gillett, who telephoned him to assure him of his support after the Hicks camp let details of the letter be known. The reassurance did not come immediately for Parry. He messaged Gillett to say 'have you seen this?' after one of Parry's own family saw news of Hicks' demand on Sky Sports News. Gillett – on a flight and uncontactable – had not, though Hicks had copied him in on it. It was after Gillett completed several flights that the two spoke. Parry does not intend to speak to Hicks. "I have made my position clear to him," he said.

Parry revealed that Hicks and Gillett are now planning to enter a process of arbitration to resolve the impasse over the club's ownership, in which Hicks is refusing to allow Gillett to sell to suitors Dubai International Capital (DIC). Parry admitted that the situation needed to be resolved by next month if Liverpool's plans for next season were not to be placed in serious jeopardy. "This is not fatal but if you slip into May/June [without a transfer strategy] it's more difficult," he said.

It seems increasingly unlikely that Hicks will find the money to take control at Anfield – a move which, in Parry's words, would put himself "out of the door". There is no sign of the minority investors the Texan has said he has lined up and the publicity generated by his frequent statements are understood to have made some London financiers unwilling to get involved. Merrill Lynch's New York office has recently been engaged to raise funds.

Against this backdrop, Parry said yesterday that Hicks' demand for his resignation was the desperate act of "a vindictive man" that demonstrated that, contrary to reports last Sunday that he might be 10 days away from securing control of the club, he is nowhere near. "If he is so confident he is going to buy the club in 10 days, why not just wait until then and sack me?"

A public statement of support for Parry from Gillett provided some succour for the former Premier League chief executive yesterday. As well as declaring "full support" for Parry, Gillett added: "Any decision to remove him would need the full support of the Liverpool board which, it should be remembered, consists of six people – myself , Foster [Gillett's son], 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 the depth of the damage done to the club was evident yesterday when, for the first time in his four-year career at Anfield, Rafael Benitez was forced to cancel his weekly press briefing, which would have focussed on Liverpool's triumph over Arsenal. It was the club's decision to cancel, but Benitez is understood to have been worried being drawn into the factional strife in which he had been seen as pro-Hicks and anti-Parry.

Though Parry was at first convinced that the Americans represented the way forward for Liverpool – "to them, our virtues, heritage and culture are precious assets that will help to inspire everyone connected with us to continue to strive for further success – both on and off the field," he told shareholders 14 months ago. Hicks' incongruity at the club was evident from the start.

One insider recalled yesterday the embarrassment felt when Hicks arrived at last year's Champions League tie at home to Barcelona with "a huge red scarf around his neck." He was, said the source, "a nightmare at the stadium that night."

But it is the breakdown of the relationship between Hicks and Gillett which is creating factions at the club and has done most to poison the Texan's relationship with Parry. Gillett was furious when Hicks went public about discussions with Jürgen Klinsmann about the manager's job in January – discussions which Gillett initiated but which Hicks then took over and monopolised.

The way in which the refinancing of the debt was announced in February was a significant moment in the deepening fissure between the two. Hicks insisted on a press release revealing the news while Gillett did not since he did not consider it something to be triumphal about. Gillett insisted that his name be kept off Hicks' press release. The division plumbed new depths when Gillett made a public attack on Hicks on Canadian radio last month and the view from within Anfield is that that attack was a pre-emptive strike by Gillett, ahead of Hicks' renewed pursuit of funds to buy him out.

With Parry so evidently in the Gillett camp and supportive of his attempts to sell to DIC, Hicks resolved weeks ago to remove him from the post he has held for 11 years.

Some sources suggest that Tom Hicks jnr has been informing friends in Liverpool for the past six weeks that his father's camp wants Parry out. But the catalyst seems to have been Tuesday's visit by Gillett to the city centre offices of Liverpool's commercial director Ian Ayre. Gillett, accompanied by Parry, reminded Ayre that he is employed by both, not just Hicks. Ayre, seen as a possible successor to Parry when hired, reportedly assisted Hicks in London last week as he tried to raise cash to help fund a buy-out of Gillett.

As the fracturing of his troubled club went on, Benitez delivered his thoughts on tomorrow's visitors Blackburn – a game vital to his side's ambitions to claim fourth spot ahead of Everton – to a club employee, who posted them on the website. "[Blackburn] are a tough team to play against because physically they are aggressive, they are well organised and it has been difficult against them in the past, but maybe this time it will be different."

[Nicey]

I hope Hicks and Hicks Jnr get what they deserve ...

[Leyton388]

It seems like old george will not be bullied by the fat texan.

[AFII]

I hope Hicks and Hicks Jnr get what they deserve ...

Together with Gillett who also lied to Moores and Parry when they made their bid for the club.

Sure they should have checked them up but G&H are two assholes and as Moores said, he didn't had any other choice than to sell to them.

[kemm1]

He said: “I didn't know Hicks very well, I knew George a lot better.

“George came across as a bubbly, enthusiastic man who loves his sport and is knowledgeable about it.

“But he didn't have the money to do the deal without bringing someone else on board.

“It was really right at the end that I met Tom Hicks so I didn't really get a chance to get to know him but I took George's word for it.

“It was in total good faith. I believed these fellas, I believed everything they said to me and they said it all again to the fans via the media and you can judge for yourselves whether they kept their promises.

“I am surprised because I thought that the pair of them, from what they said to me and to the fans through the media, that they appreciated the heritage and the values of the club.

“They talked about putting the money in and the new stadium and having no debt on the club. At the time I think we all felt it would be a good deal but it's not all materialised.

Done in good faith..I believed everything they said to me...I dont wanna criticize Moores but those quotes make him look like a village idiot..Most people do more research when they buy a car, let alone sell a club of the stature of liverpool.

Right so either:

1. Moores and Parry are incompetent **** ups
or
2. Moore and Parry are greedy lying bastdards (only sold to H & G because they would get more cash in their pockets)
or
3. A combination of 1 and 2

............and seeing that both Moores and Parry now seemingly want the club to be sold to DIC why is the press giving them such an easy ride?

This embarrasing, soul destroying and potential catastrophic episode of club's history IS Moores legacy.

[sonsofthedesert]

Right so either:

1. Moores and Parry are incompetent **** ups
or
2. Moore and Parry are greedy lying bastdards (only sold to H & G because they would get more cash in their pockets)
or
3. A combination of 1 and 2

............and seeing that both Moores and Parry now seemingly want the club to be sold to DIC why is the press giving them such an easy ride?

This embarrasing, soul destroying and potential catastrophic episode of club's history IS Moores legacy.

The last thing we need is the press turning on Moores and Parry. This would be the wrong time and delay what is needed. I suspect the press are getting their pound of flesh from G&H and when they finaly sell they will turn on Morres and Parry, which is the correct way.