New global corp sponsor revealed Sept 18th!!

[Craig_H]

Silly putty works better, more elasticity. Nowt better than a silly-putty stadium swaying to a samba beat.

I actually visualised that

[Shanks]

Someone did this in another thread:



Judging by the photo above (the t-shirts that they are wearing) the logo may well be all white.

There should be no BLUE anywhere on that shirt.

All white would look better.

[The_weatherman]

Maybe we need to remember who Hicks is?

http://ezinearticles.com/index.php?Tom-Hicks-and-Corinthians&id=1151895

It seems Tom Hicks leaves a trail of devastation wherever he goes. His disastrous foray into the Brazilian football market as chairman of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst left Corinthians, second most popular club in Brazil, in a state of turmoil.

The parallels between what happened to Corinthians and what is currently happening at Liverpool are unsettling to say the least:

* There was the initial blaze of publicity and fanfare when the company bought the club in 1999, with promises of big spending on the best players and the construction of a brand new 45,000 seater stadium in the suburbs of Sao Paulo.

* There was an initial capital investment to tie down existing players and to finance the purchase one or two other additional players.

* The economics behind the Corinthians deal appeared to be based on ridiculously rudimentary logic: "If you add up all the fans of professional baseball, basketball, football and hockey in the United States, that number is lower than the number of Brazilians who are soccer fans." Clearly, no proper risk analysis had been undertaken - a situation which resonates with the due diligence period of 3 days prior to the purchase of Liverpool.

* This flimsy approach was reinforced by the apparently rash and impulsive purchase of Cruzeiro six months later - traits which Liverpool fans are rapidly coming to associate with Hicks.

* There was also the emphasis on the cheaper "young players", with the following quote from the (unfortunately named) Richard Law, president of Hicks' subsidiary group: "Our job is not to turn back the inevitable, but to build Corinthians and Cruzeiro up from the junior ranks." Hicks followed a similar tack following the takeover of Liverpool: "You need to keep your star players but also develop your young players. Young players are the lifeblood of your team, so we talked about how we can improve that side of the team."

Corinthians had already won the Brazilian championship in 1998 so Hicks inherited a winning team. The initial expenditure assisted in retaining the league title in Dec 1999 and the club also won the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship the following month.

This is where things started to go wrong.

Unable to resist the temptation to make a quick buck, HICKS BEGAN SELLING TRANSFER RIGHTS TO THE CLUB'S STAR PLAYERS. On top of that, he decided on the bizarre idea of changing the traditional colour of the club's shirt. He also introduced sponsorship (something which Corinthians fans felt defiled their heritage).

All of these things led to a furious reaction from supporters and widespread protest against Hicks and his partners. The company bailed out three years later, ironically having accused its local partner in Brazil of "misappropriating funds" (read the UTIMCO post and you'll understand).

Corinthians began to spiral downwards. MSI took over the club's management but, despite a league title in 2005, the financial problems initiated by Hicks proved too much of a burden. The club was relegated to the second tier of Brazilian football for the first time in its history in December 2007.

THERE WAS NO NEW STADIUM. Hicks invested about five hundred million dollars and within two years filed for bankruptcy.

In a recent prospectus issued to financial companies in London, Hicks claims in to be "a master of purchasing and growing professional sports teams".

Liverpool fans, Texas Rangers fans and Corinthians fans might disagree.

[Scratch]

That paragraph there, is clear as anything. It would be good if they made an effort money-wise = they arent making an effort. He didnt say "It'd be good if they could, but they cant".

And then "it's upto the owners" - clear message there too.

In fact, i wouldnt be surprised if Rafa had virtually confered with reina about this beforehand. It's blatent what's being said, i'm genuinely surprised you see it so differently.

And yes, i hate the yanks for the **** they've put my club through. I'm stunned at any Liverpool fan who doesnt hate them for it.

I do, i just read it as a "we'd love to be able to compete financially, we'd love to be able to just buy buy buy, but we realise that we can't, so we are resigned to having to compete on an uneven keel...take out all the "Guardian dressing" around the quotes, and it's just a neutral "what if" statement.

Did Rafa have any input into Reina's quotes? Who knows...if he did, that spanks of cowardice...if you've got a problem, come out and say it yourself...you know you have the backing of the fans and the players...don't leave it to a squad member to take the flack should Hicks and Gillett be displeased with his comments.

[Craig_H]

It's not really about being brave or cowardly, it's about playing the right kind of political game - which is what it's become with the yanks and Rafa.

[Scratch]

It's not really about being brave or cowardly, it's about playing the right kind of political game - which is what it's become with the yanks and Rafa.

Ah so Rafa kisses ass (the Purslow comments etc) whilst he sets up his players to be the fall guys? That despicable behaviour.

Rafa Out!!!

[cannotmakeit]

£80m shirt deal will restart stadium plans, says Liverpool managing director• New ground delayed by 'global market conditions'
• 'Deal is a huge step forward financially,' says Christian Purslow
Buzz up!
Digg it
guardian.co.uk, Monday 14 September 2009 14.16 BST Article history
Gareth Bullock from Standard Chartered Bank, left, Liverpool ambassador Kenny Dalglish and Christian Purslow pose at Anfield. Photograph: Tim Hales/AP

The Liverpool managing director, Christian Purslow, believes the biggest sponsorship deal in the club's history can get their new stadium project back on track.

The Merseysiders have struck a four-year sponsorship with Standard Chartered Bank, who will become their main sponsor from July next year until the end of the 2013-14 season, replacing Carlsberg.

The deal is reportedly worth £80m to Liverpool and, according to Purslow, a large chunk of that revenue will go towards getting the club's long-standing plans for a new stadium back on track.

Liverpool City Council last year granted planning permission to allow the club to build a 60,000-seat stadium in Stanley Park, however progress has been delayed, with Anfield officials citing "global market conditions" as the cause.

"The overall financial health of our football club is a key ingredient of being able to get the stadium project back up and running," said Purslow. "This is a huge step forward for the club financially and that can only be helpful to create the conditions in which we can restart the stadium project.

"This partnership brings together two highly successful organisations with a really strong cultural and strategic fit. The sponsorship opportunity attracted a huge level of interest from a wide array of globally recognised brands and in Standard Chartered we believe we have the ideal partner to move forward and help develop our global ambitions for the club.

"It is a real sign of the progress we have made at Liverpool that we have been able to secure the largest ever commercial deal in our history."

Purslow said that Standard Chartered's global status reflected Liverpool's ambition to be the best football club in the world.

"They operate in a number of markets around the world where we have a vast and growing fanbase," he added. "They have 1,400 branches in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, 14 million customers and over 70,000 employees. These branches will effectively be a shop window for Liverpool football club around the world.

"On the park, it is clear that we want to be the most successful football club in the world. To do that I believe that there is a pretty important link to how we perform off the park."

from the guardian

[Guest]

George Gillett could forcibly hold your mouth wide open while Tom Hicks takes an almighty **** into it - and you'd still say "Let's see".



I rest my case.

And the 'no debt on the club' bollocks?

Oh **** off Craig, I'm in no mood to discuss things with you when you're in this mood. I have my concerns against the Americans but I try to put a relative side on things, unlike you.

[Craig_H]

Ah so Rafa kisses ass (the Purslow comments etc) whilst he sets up his players to be the fall guys? That despicable behaviour.

Rafa Out!!!

What are you waffling on about? Who said anything about despicable or rafa out? Rafa and the players are in it together, and he's not stupid, that's all.

[Craig_H]

Oh **** off Craig, I'm in no mood to discuss things with you when you're in this mood. I have my concerns against the Americans but I try to put a relative side on things, unlike you.

You dont put a 'relative' side on anything, you simply refuse to see anything as being wrong or negative.

You remind me of this chap:

[Guest]

You dont put a 'relative' side on anything, you simply refuse to see anything as being wrong or negative.

You remind me of this chap:

Yeah yeah yeah what-ever.

[Pacman]

you pair should just **** and get it over with.

The sexual tension is getting boring.

Don't talk just ****.

[Guest]

you pair should just **** and get it over with.

The sexual tension is getting boring.

Don't talk just ****.

Not interested. Someone told me that Craig was fat and ugly.

[Scratch]

What are you waffling on about? Who said anything about despicable or rafa out? Rafa and the players are in it together, and he's not stupid, that's all.

Yes, but Rafa is publically coming out and praising the way the club is run, and yet you think he is also masterminding Reina's interview with the Guardian. So, on the one hand, he is publically backing G/H's ownership, and thus not risking the wroth of the board, and at the same time he is, if you're view of the interview is right, hanging Reina out to dry.

If the player and managers were in it together, i'd not be expecting to see Rafa publically praising the appointment of Purslow, or how well the two work together..."if i want something, he sees to it that i get it".

So, if he is saying one thing, but getting a squad player to say something else, that is despicable. And the Rafa out jibe was tongue in cheek.

[Pacman]

Not interested. Someone told me that Craig was fat and ugly.

Having seen a pic of you Fredo you shouldn't be so picky.