David Moores letter to The Times

[Guest]

Hicks and Gillett will be selling this club on their terms and for that alone I am not confident at all that 1) this is going to happen soon and 2) that they are going to do the 'right thing' by selling this club to the best of owners. We're ****ed, it's simple.

[BobTheCharmer]

Sack rafa

[PTP]

However, Morgan, who is now the owner of Wolves, denied that was the case.

He told BBC Radio Merseyside: "I haven't read the letter but I would disagree with that statement.

"Perhaps if he had done some due diligence at the time then it wouldn't have happened but we are where we are.

"I agree with the sentiment that something drastic needs to happen at Liverpool to get it out of the mess it's currently in."

---

But The Times claims to have evidence of the DD that Moores DID do through the various banks involved.

the first line from morgan is great - basically "i haven't read it, but whatever it is i disagree" fair play.

My understanding of the DD, whilst admittley i personally no **** all about how it all works, my does, was that the DD was basically a 3 day rushed, scanning through it quick job that was shocking, unprofessional and the people involved from the finance side for liverpool, if I am correct was PKF, were sacked not long after for their involvment. I have been told that the DD carried for a even a tiny Chip Shop would have taken longer and had more detail, the fact it was a multi million pound take over was even more shocking, and it was the major point in DIC telling the club to **** off cause it was impossible for anyone to complete DD for any business like that.

[Tatterdemalion]

There would appear to be only one way out of this. RBS have to pull the plug and we'll have to stomach the short term consequences of that.

[PTP]

I know mate, I just disagreed with you that Moores shouldn't have mentioned Morgan.

aye - what i was trying to get at - it's a bit of pussy's thing to do - like bunking off school with a load of other people and getting caught and immediatley saying - "it wasn't just me"

Imo, he has wrote the letter to tell why he did what he did and his regret for making some mistakes. From reading everyones reaction he has obv got this wrong - had he come out and said - "i'm a liverpool fan, i am deeply sorry for what has happened, this is why it has happened, we needed to sell, we made a few major **** ups, and it's landed us in the **** and i'm deeply sorry for that" then fair enough - to me it doens't come across like that. it looks like a desperate attempt to regain some credibilty by blaming others

Mentioning the other people by name just creates more **** to be thrown around - as already seen morgan has come straight out and said its bollocks.

In one part of the letter he is telling the yanks to basically man up, accept it's ****ed, and walk away so that they could maybe regain some sort of dignity, and then in other parts he's saying "yes i made mistakes, but so did Morgan so why not call him a cunt too"

[Lecter]

There would appear to be only one way out of this. RBS have to pull the plug and we'll have to stomach the short term consequences of that.

and the wait until RBS grow enough bollocks to do it

[Lecter]

Liverpool Echo - News - Liverpool Local News - David Moores breaks Liverpool FC silence on Americans and tells Tom Hicks and George Gillett: “Get out now!”

FORMER Liverpool FC owner David Moores today broke his silence about reviled Reds owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett and declared: “Sell up!”

In a detailed letter, the former chairman demanded the Americans ‘stand aside’...and stop the ‘risk of damaging a sporting institution of global renown.’

The Littlewoods man defended his sale of the Anfield club in 2007 but also accepted he was forced to take George Gillett’s ‘say-so’ about his partner Hicks, admitting the shareholders knew comprehensive background about Gillett but rather less about the Texan.

And Moores denied accusations not enough due diligence had been undertaken, citing the advice of Rothschild, the merchant bank representing the Americans, that the pair were ‘good for the money.’

In the letter, he said: “Since resigning from the board I have not set foot inside Anfield - and it hurts. I hugely regret selling the club to George Gillett and Tom Hicks. I believe that, at best, they have bitten off much more than they can chew.”

Today, Liverpool FC fans groups reacted with a mixture of emotions to Moores’ comments, describing the summer as ‘the most crucial in the club’s history’.

Les Lawson, of the LFC Official Supporters’ Club, said: “David Moores is a wealthy man. When George Gillett introduced Tom Hicks, Moores should have got a group of solicitors to find out as much about him as they could.

“He was selling an institution that meant so much to so many people.

“Before the Americans, Liverpool supporters always had great trust in the board, especially Peter Robinson [chief executive]. Rick Parry famously said, ‘we only sell the family silverware once, we have to get it right’.

“Well, they couldn’t have got it more wrong.

“At the end of the day, it was on Moores’ recommendation that the shareholders agreed to sell the club to the Americans.

“Ultimately, Rick Parry had the golden ticket of DIC. Many people think if they’d have come on board in 2007, our new stadium would be built now.”

Jay McKenna, spokesman for fans group Spirit of Shankly told the ECHO: “Fans have wanted David Moores to speak out for a while, and he’s right that the Americans need to stand aside.

“If the previous owner can see selling to them was a mistake, the banks financing them should see it too.

“What will anger fans is that while checks were done on George Gillett, Tom Hicks rolled up, and Moores took Gillett’s word for him.

“You only have to look at Hicks’ past record, he’s got a track record of this kind of thing.

“Some people will want an apology from Moores as they will see he played a part.

“But what good will sorry do? David Moores needs to get involved and force the issue. Fans want a solution and he needs to be a part of that.”

Richie Pedder, chairman of Liverpool FC supporters club, said: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Moores and Parry should have done their homework, and they didn’t.

“They didn’t look at the Americans background of collecting properties, doing them up and stripping them of their assets.

“They are businessmen and they aren’t going to go until pressure is put on them from the likes of the banks.

“You can sense something happening in the next three months with the likes of Gerrard leaving decisions about his future until after the World Cup and with the Torres and Mascherano situations.

“Everyone is waiting, this is make or break time.”

Today, a spokesman for Tom Hicks told the ECHO he was currently unavailable for comment.

And in a radio interview this morning, former LFC shareholder Steve Morgan, and once interested in taking over at Anfield, rejected suggestions in Moores’ letter that he [Morgan] was insistent that Americans offer should be accepted.

And the current Wolverhampton Wanderers chairman said he felt Moores had not carried out due diligence on the Americans.

[Lecter]

Liverpool Echo - Liverpool FC - News - David Moores is a welcome voice in Liverpool FC’s crucial campaign to oust Hicks and Gillett - Comment by Sports Editor John Thompson

IT'S tempting, even inevitable, to pore over David Moores' open letter and pick up on every detail, analysing whether he is right or wrong with what he says and how he sees it now.

But today by far the most important lines the ex-Liverpool chairman pens come with his demands for Hicks and Gillett to get out of Liverpool FC.

That's what is urgently needed for a great football club in peril. It's what every Liverpool fan – and Moores is certainly one too – now wants to see happen.

It is the common goal which, for all the debate, every Reds fan shares. A flagpole demand which every supporter, whatever their view, background, or address here in Liverpool, England or abroad, must rally round and focus upon.

Moores is not a man of confrontation. And he should be believed when he stresses his motive in selling to the pair was not to pocket a few more millions than he could have had from Dubai.

For all his flaws and critics, there is no doubt Moores is right when he insists he cares about Liverpool far more than that.

I sat in his office interviewing him for the ECHO just 12 hours before Hicks and Gillett first walked into Anfield. The cracks in his voice and tears in his eyes were genuine as he relinquished control. With Rick Parry, Moores wanted to make the right decision and hoped he had done.

Time and tide now show that selling to Hicks and Gillett was a huge mistake. Blame has to be apportioned to some degree. Lessons must be learned. That is the least this sorry episode owes the supporters. But for all the natural desire to examine the past it’s vital Liverpudlians, rather than fracture into factions, stick together to help a club that needs them now like never before.

Moores has joined the cries from fans groups like the Spirit of Shankly and Share Liverpool. He has added his weight to the ECHO's continued calls for Hicks and Gillett to go.

He should be welcomed to the fold of protest, given credit for his dignity and honesty, and assured by fans that someday, somehow, he will be back among them at Anfield.

[peekay]

He has added his weight to the ECHO's continued calls for Hicks and Gillett to go.

Errrr..I might have missed this one. I saw an article last week from the echo asking them to leave but that is hardly continued call for Hicks and Gillett to go.

If anything the times led by TB deserve the praise. One of the disappointments of the campaign to oust G&H has been the role played by the ECHO. As the local newspaper, I expected them to be at the front of things. Hope things change now.

[Big-Red-Ed]

I can't see how the timing of this pleading letter can in any way be a good sign.

We are ****ed.

[Vermilion]

Tony Evans is a lifelong red he wrote a book about following LFC all over Europe (Far Foreign Land which is a cracking read)

If he says that then I'd quite believe it, but it again comes down to price

There might not be a buyer in sight at £600-800 million but there might be a buyer below or very near the debt value

Yeah know his background, probably worded the start of my post wrongly.

Although i think that if he says the papers financial department see no sign of a buyer, which he did, that's bad news, i would have also expected an addition to that of... 'there's plenty of potential buyers sniffing about, but none prepared to pay the price asked'....but he just said there is noone at the moment, and Hicks saying 18months to sell, all very depressing to imagine going into next season with this cloud still hanging over the club dumping **** on it and us.

[spud_gun]

And Moores denied accusations not enough due diligence had been undertaken, citing the advice of Rothschild, the merchant bank representing the Americans, that the pair were ‘good for the money.’

'good for the money'

What money would that be? The money Moores received for selling his shares in the club or the money to continue investing in the playing staff and new stadium?

[Chrono]

Fact is being "good for the money" doesn't even matter if you don't intend to use any of it.

[Lecter]

Yeah know his background, probably worded the start of my post wrongly.

Although i think that if he says the papers financial department see no sign of a buyer, which he did, that's bad news, i would have also expected an addition to that of... 'there's plenty of potential buyers sniffing about, but none prepared to pay the price asked'....but he just said there is noone at the moment, and Hicks saying 18months to sell, all very depressing to imagine going into next season with this cloud still hanging over the club dumping **** on it and us.

It really depends on the parameters of the search for buyers doesnt

IF BarCap are approaching potential investors with a high price I'm not surprised they have pulled out the race

I still believe there is a buyer out there who would be willing to pay at or near the debt level

I wouldnt be in the slightest bit surprised if there was nobody willing to pay higher than the debt level

[Craig_H]

If someone offers a price to buy the club, say for example £400m and this was accepted - do G&H take all of that £400m, with the new buyer then having to also underwrite the debt?

If so, in effect, a buyer would have to pay the price to buy the club and then also pay off the debt.