Luis Suárez

[Cormack74]

just turned on lfc tv and jonathon northcroft and ian herbert are on press box just wondering what they had been saying if anyone been watching

Half watching but I think it was filmed before the Valerenga game so didn't take account of Luis's newspaper indiscretion.

[Fivex]

I can't wait to read this from Long John.

[Phoenix07]

Reckon John can be pretty ruthless. His sacking spree before the Everton game was crazy

I think he feels more comfortable around football now and knows how things work. I like him, which makes a big change from a number of months ago. Werner on the other hand...

[Gazzla]

Reckon John can be pretty ruthless. His sacking spree before the Everton game was crazy

You don't get the money and businesses he has acquired without being a ruthless ******* when needed, hicks and Gillett found that out first hand

[kingfunk]

It ten o clock already.

[Sarb]

I think he feels more comfortable around football now and knows how things work. I like him, which makes a big change from a number of months ago. Werner on the other hand...

I think Werner is decent. Just not very vocal so maybe people just take it as him not doing much. Certainly have no issue with how we are run now or FSG in general.

[kingfunk]

@Green_Scouser: Suarez not to be sold!!

[kingfunk]

@TheAnfieldWrap: Suarez not to be sold no matter what!

[Sarb]

Suarez not to be sold. No matter what. According to The Anfield Wrap bellends

[Shaggy]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/10232176/Liverpool-owner-John-W-Henry-insists-Luis-Suarez-will-not-leave-Anfield.html

Liverpool owner John W Henry insists Luis Suarez will not leave Anfield

Liverpool’s principal owner, John W Henry, says Luis Suárez must accept he will remain at Anfield this season and has described the possibility of selling to Arsenal as “ludicrous”.

By Chris Bascombe

10:00PM BST 08 Aug 2013

Henry says he warned Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis before Arsenal offered £40,000,001 that there was no prospect of any deal between clubs fighting for the same Champions League places.

Liverpool rank Arsenal as the last club they would negotiate with, especially following their provocative bid designed to activate an exit clause, which the Anfield board are adamant does not exist.

Henry says even it is too late even to consider a bid from overseas because there is no time to sign an alternative of Suárez’s class.

The South American now faces isolation, left to determine how he can rehabilitate himself into the squad after the transfer window, although he told Spanish newspaper Marca he still wanted an amicable resolution. “My aim is to reach an agreement with the club in a friendly manner and I hope the clause we agreed a year ago is fulfilled,” he said.

But the message from Henry was blunt. “We are not going to sell Luis. It’s a football reason. It’s not finances. At this point, so late in window, with everyone who’s already moved or isn’t moving, we do not have time to replace him.

“So for football reasons we can’t – and especially to Arsenal. We’ve made that clear. I have said to Ivan Gazidis in a personal conversation that we will not sell to Arsenal. It is unequivocal, but that doesn’t seem to slow them down so I can’t wait to see what the next bid is.

“We’re not in Europe this year and have not been in the Champions League for a while. To sell to a rival for those Champions League positions, or one of them, would be ludicrous. Whatever the bid is, we won’t sell him. We need Luis. Hopefully this will pass.”

Suárez trained alone at Melwood again yesterday, banished for publicly criticising the club for not selling him.

Liverpool would rather keep the player against his will than allow him to damage their top-four aspirations by moving to the Emirates, and Henry is livid the confidential details of Suárez’s contract were shown to the Arsenal board.

“It should have been confidential, so absolutely it concerns me,” said Henry. “How does a club that doesn’t have permission to speak with your player see his contract?

“Unfortunately, it’s the way it works in football. People don’t speak about it publicly but that’s the way it’s run. It’s how things are done. I don’t think there’s a point reporting Arsenal because it just seems to happen everywhere, throughout football.

“I think Gordon Taylor is right when he says it’s not good for either side to have any clause. It’s not good for football and maybe the Professional Footballers’ Association can do something about this.”

Liverpool’s despair is accentuated by the fact that they have stood by Suárez through his numerous tribulations, but Henry believes there is a way back into the fold once his *current suspension for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic is over.

“That’s going to be between the manager and player,” said Henry. “The manager is upset, as he should be, the supporters are, Luis is, but that’s going to be between those two and his team-mates. He’s one of the best players in the world. I have no reason to believe he won’t continue to be.

“If you look at the full context of what’s happened here, it’s jarring to all our supporters. The club has stood by him so strongly at a time you could question whether the club should have stood by him, but they did.

“There’s a saying in baseball about loyalty to the uniform. There’s a *certain feeling you get when you put on a uniform as a baseball player and I’m certain it’s the same for most football players. When you put on the uniform it’s pretty special. I’d imagine for most footballers to put on the uniform of Liverpool Football Club is a big moment.”

Henry says Liverpool are still working on deals for new recruits – one of which is understood to be the £24million purchase of the Brazilian striker Diego Costa from Atlético Madrid – and finishing in the Premier League top four remains the ambition this season.

The Merseyside club’s global support was demonstrated during their recent tour of Australia and the Far East, but Henry insists it is essential that they consolidate on such enduring appeal with one-field success.

“This club can’t not be in the Champions League,” he said. “It needs to be playing in Europe. It needs to be playing in the Champions League. That’s what Liverpool Football Club is about.

“I have high expectations. We had a very good second half of last season and the reports from training and the feeling within the club among the players is good. I think we will *surprise people this year. It will be disappointing if we don’t.

“The reality was there were 95,000 people watching us in Melbourne.

“It may well be romantic. Players usually want to win. They want to go, generally in any sport, where they can win. That’s why I think this particular episode is misguided.

“The message is that the club is heading in the right direction. This episode is not going to stop us. That’s what we are all focused on right now.”

[Shaggy]

Sachin Nakrani @SachinNakrani
John W Henry: "Luis will be a Liverpool player on September 3rd."

[Shaggy]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/08/luis-suarez-liverpool-john-w-henry

Luis Suárez is going nowhere, says Liverpool's owner John W Henry

• Move to Arsenal would be 'ludicrous', owner adds
• It is too late in the day for a deal, says Henry

Andy Hunter
The Guardian, Thursday 8 August 2013 22.01 BST

John W Henry has dealt an emphatic blow to Luis Suárez's hopes of leaving Liverpool by stating the striker will not be sold to Arsenal or to any other European club – for any price – this summer.

Liverpool's principal owner described the prospect of allowing Suárez to join Arsenal as "ludicrous" as he went on the offensive following the player's decision to air his grievances to the Guardian on Tuesday. The Uruguay international has been accused of showing "total disrespect" by Brendan Rodgers and ordered to train away from the first-team squad. Rodgers has his employer's backing to marginalise Suárez for the foreseeable future, in the absence of an apology from the player for the public outburst.

Suárez's agitation for a transfer, Arsenal's knowledge of a £40m clause in the 26-year-old's contract and submission of a £40,000,001 bid has only hardened Liverpool's resolve not to sell their prize asset. Henry said he told Ivan Gazidis, the Arsenal chief executive, that Liverpool would not entertain a bid from them, a club they perceive as a rival for Champions League qualification before offers of £35m and £40,000,001 were made.

Liverpool's principal owner has also told Suárez and his agent, Pere Guardiola, that their attempts to force a transfer have arrived too late in this transfer window. "We are not going to sell Luis," said Henry, on a brief visit to Liverpool. "For all the top clubs it's extremely important [not to sell to a rival] but especially for Liverpool because we're not in Europe this year and have not been in the Champions League for a while. To sell to a rival for those positions, or one of them, would be ludicrous. Liverpool needs to be playing in Europe. It needs to be playing in the Champions League. That's what Liverpool football club is about."

Liverpool may yet face a Premier League arbitration hearing or legal challenge from Suárez over a disputed clause in his contract that the PFA chief executive, Gordon Taylor, concedes "does not say the club has to sell". But even the threat of a mutinous Suárez and the prospect of his value diminishing next season will not alter Henry's stance.

"I'm unequivocal that we won't sell to Arsenal, whatever the bid is," he said. "I have not said it to Stan [Kroenke, Arsenal's majority shareholder] but I had a personal conversation with others at Arsenal and told him [Gazidis] we would not sell to Arsenal."

Only the Gunners have bid for a striker who scored 30 goals last season but is suspended for the first six matches of the new campaign for biting the Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic. Suárez has made no secret of his preference for a move to Real Madrid but an approach from the Spanish club would not succeed at this late stage, according to Henry.

"He won't be sold even if a foreign club comes in because we do not have time to sign a suitable replacement," he said. "It's a football reason. It's not about finances. That's why at this point, so late in the window, with everyone who's already moved or isn't moving, we can't replace him. So for football reasons we can't sell, and especially to Arsenal."

Liverpool informed Suárez and Guardiola that any transfer would have to be agreed early in this transfer window to allow Rodgers time to spend the fee. "We made that clear early-on," confirmed Henry, who believes Suárez is misguided in his reasons for wishing to join Arsenal. He said: "Players usually want to win. They want to go, generally in any sport, where they can win. That's why I think this particular episode is misguided. We've won more trophies than Arsenal, but I really don't want to get into that."

Henry is adamant Liverpool have ended doubts over Suárez's future with less than four weeks of the transfer window remaining. "I think the issue has been resolved now," he said. "We have said 'no'. Luis will be a Liverpool player on September 3 [the day after the transfer window closes]." But he concedes that the dispute between Rodgers and Suárez may take longer to repair, with the striker accusing the manager of broken promises and being ostracised as a result.

Asked if he could see Suárez playing for Liverpool again, Henry responded: "That's going to be between the manager and player. The manager is upset, as he should be, the supporters are upset, Luis is, but that's going to be between those two and his team-mates. We need Luis. Hopefully this will pass.

"If you look at the full context of what's happened here it's jarring to all our supporters. The club has stood by him so strongly at a time when you could question whether the club should have stood by him [over the Patrice Evra racism controversy], but they did. I wouldn't say we regret that. The manager and his team-mates were solidly behind him. They were out on the field that day. So we felt they knew more about what occurred than we did, on the field."

The Boston Red Sox owner once described the football industry as "the wild west" in comparison to baseball and despite his disgust at how football transfers are conducted, he sees no point in lodging a formal complaint against Arsenal. "How does a club who doesn't have permission to speak with your player see his contract? It should have been confidential," Henry said. "Unfortunately it's the way it works in football. People don't speak about it publicly but that's the way it's run. It's how things are done. I don't think there's a point because it just seems to happen everywhere. It's rotten."

[saj]

What a poisonous *******. I don't care if he ****s off to Arsenal providing they meet the asking price of £50 000 001. Hopefully it will act as motivation for the others to knock Arsenal out of the top 4. Either that, or he can rot on the sidelines.

[kingfunk]

I can't tell you how happy that article makes me

[Shaggy]