Hicks on Gillett, Klinsmann, Parry, Rafa and finance
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks’ eagerly-awaited interview with Sky Sports News went out at 6am this morning, UK time, and is bound to attract massive attention. There’s little doubt that chief executive Rick Parry, fellow co-owners George Gillett and former chairman David Moores will be in contact with each other to discuss their responses, whether individually or as a group. And it would be a surprise if Dubai International Capital weren’t party to those discussions. This is big news, and although it still seems difficult to work out how it could make any difference to the final outcome of the ownership fight, everyone involved seems determined to be heard. But did we learn anything new?
The recent phase of publicity with regards to the ownership began with George Gillett speaking on Canadian radio, where the co-owner spoke about his relationship with Hicks having broken down, insisting that death threats made him decide not to sell to Hicks, who he said had run out time anyway. Last week Rick Parry received a letter from Tom Hicks, asking that he resign from his post at the club, a request Parry has resisted.
Today Hicks explained why he wants Parry out: “If you look at what has happened under Rick’s leadership, it has been a disaster. We have fallen so far behind the other top clubs. The new stadium should have been built three or four years ago.
“We have two sponsors, maybe three. We should have 12 or 15. We are not doing anything in Asia the way Manchester United and Barcelona are. We have a tremendous number of fans in Asia. So we have got the top brand in the world of football, but we just don’t know how to commercialise and get the money for it to use to buy great players.
“Rick needs to resign from Liverpool football club. He’s put his heart into it, but it is time for a change.”
The letter from Hicks to Parry was said to contain those same concerns as its reasons for suggesting Parry moves on before he gets moved on. That would be Hicks’ intention if he took over. Parry chose to respond by saying he was going to seek legal advice over the letter. Nothing further has been said by Parry on what legal action he might take. There are numerous reasons why he’s been quiet in that respect, but it’s quite possible he’s been told that there is nothing in the letter he can legally complain about. Certainly he would have a tough job complaining about the contents of the letter in terms of what is expected of him. The club have fallen well behind in those areas, and it’s difficult to see how Rick Parry could defend his role in allowing that to happen.
Ironically Parry probably agrees with the complaint from Hicks about how the stadium should have been built some time ago, and if he’d known how things would have worked out perhaps the club would have borrowed the stadium-building costs itself. We’d have then had the “Parry Bowl”, which when it was announced in 2003 was said could be ready before 2008. The club would already be making the increased revenue from the increased capacity.
He also pointed out how he felt Parry’s relationship with Benítez was causing the club problems: “You have to be able to work with the general manager and Rick has proved he can’t do that.”
Hicks mentioned frustrations he said Rafa had faced when Parry was unable to get transfers tied up, his job being to finalise the contracts. Claims Parry’s approach to getting such deals finalised saw the Reds miss out on key targets aren’t new, but until now the claims were never backed up with any real quotes. If true then it’s no wonder Rafa would be frustrated, and suggests his outburst post-Athens may have been aimed at Parry as much as anyone else.
But the fact remains that last November Rafa was close to leaving the club. Worries he was about to leave of his own accord have been given as one reason an approach to Jurgen Klinsmann was made. But whether that was seen by Hicks and Gillett as an “insurance policy” as claimed by Hicks or as a genuine aim to replace Rafa regardless isn’t clear.
But according to Hicks, Gillett seemed to feel there was a real issue with Rafa. Hicks explained that Gillett knew the German before the meetings took place: “George became good friends with him a year ago. I get this call from George out of the blue in which he says ‘have your people do their research on Klinsmann’. He and Rick set up the meeting in New York. I did go to the meeting along with my son Tom.”
Hicks says the meeting had been underway for a while when he got there: “Rick Parry had already met with Jurgen alone for a couple of hours when we arrived. We all then spoke to him for another four hours.”
The meeting was of course followed up by another at the Texan’s home in California. It was this meeting that was referred to by Hicks when he spoke to the Echo in January to own up to having spoken to Klinsmann. The interview followed reports coming from senior figures at the German FA and at Bayern Munich that the club had approached Klinsmann for the manager’s role. Hicks decided to own up to the meeting, a decision which is widely reported to have angered George Gillett.
Hicks feels he was unfairly given the blame for this meeting with the German. He was there, he clearly felt that Rafa’s future was in doubt one way or other, but he didn’t start the ball rolling he says: “Afterwards I told the truth to a reporter who asked the question and suddenly it is ‘Tom Hicks tried to get Jurgen Klinsmann’. George initiated it but we all participated.”
Some fans and observers have defended Parry for his role in this pursuit of Klinsmann, a role he kept from Rafa Benítez. It’s part of his job to attend meetings of this nature, and he’d be criticised if he learned of them happening but didn’t attend. And obviously the need to remain silent about the issue is understandable, so informing Rafa he’d been at this meeting could have seen him sacked. But Rafa was clearly still annoyed at Parry’s role when he spoke after the Blackburn game, and perhaps it related to Rafa expecting honesty from Parry at later talks they’ve had. Rafa will also want to know how much of a role Parry might have played in the owners becoming fearful over Rafa’s intentions. Parry said publicly earlier in the week that he was willing to talk to Rafa about it.
There is quite a clear indication coming from Rafa’s words, from those who’ve seen him at press conferences, that he has grown so tired of Parry that it’s now got to a “him or me” situation. He is said to have told reporters to switch the microphones off again on Sunday, before telling them just what was on his mind with regards to Parry.
Hicks says that he’d give Rafa a 12-month extension to his current deal, which has two years to run. This is something that is vital if Hicks does take over and Rafa is to remain as boss, because the speculation about Rafa’s future will not go away otherwise. The contract extension is no guarantee the speculation would end either, but it would help dampen it down a little: “If I were to buy George out, the first thing I would do is offer Rafa a one-year extension to make sure he is going to be here up to when we get the stadium. Hopefully we could have some success and then extend him again.”
Hicks also said that the manager and his squad were getting on with their jobs rather than letting off-field issues get in the way: “Rafa and the players have their heads down. They are playing great. We communicate regularly. I know he feels comfortable with the way things are going.”
And he also said he thinks Rafa has special qualities to help the club keep winning: “I think we will continue to have success. I think Rafa has unique skills, he motivates the team and we have some great players who are learning how to play with each other.”
If he’s getting on with Rafa, he’s not getting on with Gillett. We all know this, but he was asked to confirm if the relationship really had broken down: “At this point it is unworkable. We started this as friends but 50-50 is a difficult business proposition because you cannot do anything without your partner’s approval. We had a good honeymoon but, over a period of time, there have been issues, the stadium being the main one.”
Quite what the stadium issue is wasn’t clear. Was it an issue between the two of them relating to the stadium? Certainly we know that the stadium plans announced in July were scrapped on cost grounds. That resulted in both the Texan firm responsible for those July plans and the Manchester firm responsible for the older plans being given a chance to try again, at the new budget. The Texan firm got the nod in the end, but there were whispers at the time that Hicks was the only one who wanted those plans, and that Gillett, Parry and the club’s advisors all preferred the Manchester option. Other than that, and it’s of course nothing more than a whisper, there never seemed to be any actual issues with each other over the stadium. Of course by the time that version of the stadium was unveiled, the relationship between the two owners was already far from perfect.
Now that relationship sees George Gillett claiming he won’t sell. Hicks admits he can’t force Gillett to sell, and although he didn’t mention any veto in this interview he did point out that if Gillett didn’t sell that we’d be stuck in the current state of limbo: “If George doesn’t sell - because I am not going to sell - I guess we stay in this position that we are in. It’s complicated but it is going to happen although I can’t force George to accept. I am planning to make him a very attractive offer. If I had a majority on I could put more capital in.”
Hicks’ critics claim he hasn’t got the capital to put in, but this has never been anything more than speculation based on the general state of the financial world, particularly in the US, mixed with alleged tip-offs from finance staff at various institutions.
The reports that the end of May is the end of a deadline for Hicks to buy Gillett’s half before DIC can’t be stopped from doing so has gathered pace to the extent it’s now being reported as fact. Certainly I believe that DIC’s PR people are reaffirming that claim, and if true it would mean Hicks could face having new partners in the summer. But nobody else seems to be making the claim, and only DIC can say if 50% would suit them.
For all the complaints about the Klinsmann situation, the main burning issue is the club’s finances, in particular the debt. The actual debt the club is directly or indirectly responsible for is now £52m more than at takeover, but none of it was on the club’s books back then. Hicks says he wants to get rid of the biggest part of the debt on the club, and to get the finance ready for the new stadium. “My goal is take all the debt off the club except the working capital needed and get the permanent financing totally in place for the stadium,” he said.
He also explained how he sees the purchase of the club taking place if he’s successful. It will not be necessarily done with loans to pay off Gillett’s loans: “I want the finances of the club to be secure. I want to be the majority owner of a group that buys the club and I have got a 25-year track record of being a very successful investor around the world. The fans don’t like the fact that we borrowed a lot of money to buy the club but I will fix that.”
Again, Hicks’ critics will dismiss that claim, putting it down to being all talk. He said the right things - we don’t like that debt on the club, we don’t like the thought of not being able to fund the stadium - now it’s time to do the right things.
He pulled few punches when he described DIC’s tactics to get back in contention for ownership of the club: “DIC has no seat at the table. They are masters of the British tabloid spin. They want to stir the pot of Liverpool to create dissension. I did talk to Dubai about being a 49 per cent partner but it just didn’t work out. They didn’t share the same vision I have and I didn’t think they could become minority partners. I am not going to have any more 50-50 partners.”
If Hicks can get the finance it’s difficult to see how Gillett could both refuse his offer and accept one from DIC, so much depends on him getting that finance in place. If this end-of-May deadline is true, and Hicks fails to meet it, then the ball is in DIC’s court and depends on if they are willing to go 50-50 with Hicks, and if they feel they’ve got the ability to either work with him or force him out in such a partnership. But if Gillett receives an offer from Hicks tomorrow, that matches anything from DIC, Gillett’s choice will surely be to sell to Hicks or not at all. And the latter means more limbo.
Nothing in the interview came as a surprise.
Parry and Rafa clearly have problems working together, and if these problems can’t be resolved then it absolutely has to see the end of one of their careers at Anfield. In most cases fans have no feelings towards members of the board room, but strong feelings towards a manager. Rafa’s surely in the stronger position if fans’ views are to be taken into account.
Claims of some players being unwilling to work with Rafa if he supports Hicks have started to spread, but again it comes down to a choice. That’s if it’s actually true. Do fans prefer Rafa with five players missing from his squad, or Parry, a new manager, and possibly more changes to the squad? But whatever the fans prefer, it’s hardly their choice anyway. No matter how much any owner is prepared to listen to fans, a line will always be drawn somewhere.
The fact it’s got to this kind of talk is regrettable. ‘Rafa or Parry’ and ‘Rafa or Key-Player’ - is just not a great state of affairs. But the hate and the anger will continue to grow for as long as we have this stand-off. Whether claims or accusations come in the form of strongly-believed rumours or carefully worded quotes in the media they will continue to add fuel to this fire.
It’s understandable why Hicks gave this interview. He wanted to set the story ‘straight’. His version anyway.
He had a lot of stick over the Klinsmann admissions, and in fact got the full blame for it for much of the time. No doubt Parry and Gillett will have a different version of events, and we’ll probably hear them before the day is out, but Hicks clearly wasn’t happy at how the others, particularly Gillett, had got away almost scot-free with their part in those talks.
He also got much stick for his treatment of Rafa. Leading on from those Klinsmann talks and the orders to “concentrate on coaching”, the “Rafa pouted” quip in the US press showed him to have what looked like contempt for the greatest manager the club has had since the legendary Kenny Dalglish stepped down. Now he’s talking about how Rafa seems to appreciate him, and how he’s prepared to offer him an extended contract.
And finance was addressed. His “goal” is to take the debt off the club. The club’s always had some form of debt, usually in the form of overdrafts, as many clubs do, and perhaps this was the “working capital” he referred to. He implies that removing the debt from the club will come by way of him adding capital, and a new group of which he’s the majority owner taking control of the club. No details were given, but he seemed sure this would be what the fans would prefer. But questions will still need to be asked, including questions on the long-term structure of the investment. Putting the money in place to help a manager bring number 19 is just the start, we want to eventually be winning numbers twenty onwards, and we don’t want to be waiting until the twenties for that to start. Likewise we don’t want to see our club abandoned in the twenties, with all the potential realised and profits down to a minimum.
So, he addressed the main issues, and if he’s being completely honest then more supporters than before could be willing to give him a chance. But it remains, for now, just talk.
And talk isn’t getting us anywhere.
another yank lie get out please on day the manager must concentrate on coaching the team and the next the same man is the best thing sliced bread get out yanks
Good summary, Jim.
The solution here is simple. Gillett, the short-term owner who wants out, needs to take his only viable offer and sell to Hicks. Anything less is just George Gillett trashing the club out of his own pride.
Then the Gillett/Parry team opposed to Rafa will be gone, and Hicks/Rafa can get on with improving the club as they know how.
Can Hicks reveal DIC’s 5-10 yr plan for LFC, and details of why he failed to reach agreement with them, without getting sued?
If this thing really is going to be played out in the press, surely it won’t be long before confidential offer agreements, investment plans start to appear?
Personally I feel Hicks as sole owner would be my first choice. Never liked Parry and quite frankly I beleive in Rafa. Should he go my faith in Liverpool FC could be shaken to the core. I only hope this May deadline is true, just so that our boys can concentrate on the field….
In Rafa We Trust
Oh yes improving it like he did at Corinthians. Improving their home strip so much he actually changed their home strip colours………oh sorry perhaps you mean improving like he did with Texas Rangers signing Rodriguez for $252m dollars making it the biggest most expensive sporting blunder in history. Remind us how Hick’s improvements have led to the massive success at Texas Rangers, come on tell us all about the honours they have won.
Parry needs removing asap because just like Dawg he’s a parasite.
The above folks are obviously Tom Hicks employees. Whats the odds you get 2 folks out of 3 in the comments saying they support Hicks. Weak attempt kids, just like the effort of your boss to convince us.
Under Hicks Rangers finished as follows
1998 1st
1999 1st
2000 4th last
2001 4th last
2002 4th last
2003 4th last
2004 3rd
2005 3rd
2006 3rd
2007 4th last
I just can’t wait for Hick’s “improvements” to take effect.
Parry gone, Moores gone, Rafa gone (or at least one bad run in the league away from being publicly humiliated) and all that’s left is this Hicks!
This is an anathema to the club that Shankly built.
“Oh yes improving it like he did at Corinthians. Improving their home strip so much he actually changed their home strip colours………oh sorry perhaps you mean improving like he did with Texas Rangers signing Rodriguez for $252m dollars making it the biggest most expensive sporting blunder in history. Remind us how Hick’s improvements have led to the massive success at Texas Rangers, come on tell us all about the honours they have won.”
1) Once again equating Corinthians with Liverpool I see. Pretty silly as always.
2) The Rodriguez deal didn’t improve the Rangers performance, but it demonstrated that Hicks was willing to put a lot of money into the club in order to win. And it wasn’t “the most expensive sporting blunder in history”. There are many, many more contracts that have produced far worse returns for teams than the Rodriguez deal did. The Rangers have been very, very bad for their entire existence. That Tom Hicks hasn’t been able to win with them isn’t for his lack of trying (i.e. spending a lot of money) and it isn’t much of a knock against him since no one has EVER won with the Rangers.
3) Tom Hicks’s other two teams, the Dallas Stars and Texas Longhorns football, have won championships (first time EVER for the Stars, first time in decades for the Longhorns) after he got involved. You forgot to mention this for some reason, Fred.
Fred, in pretending that is some major argument against Hicks, you make it very clear that you know absolutely nothing about the Rangers or Major League Baseball.
Whats clear is that he doesn’t bring sporting success.
It’s pathetically naive to equate winning with investing loads of money.
L.A. Galaxy & Beckham
Stars
2002/3 Lost semis
2003/4 Lost quarter final
2005/6 Lost quarter final
2006/7 Lost quarter final
Another impressive record of Hickabilly’s “improvements”. Also lets not forget the Stanley cup win was 1999. Whats happened since?
I agree its silly to compare Corinthians to Liverpool they are after all both football clubs both brought by Hicks both promised stadia that hasn’t appeared both lied to by Hicks and Corinthians are now in the 2nd division.
Ah, another election-style speech from Tom Hicks…
Vote for ME and I’ll reduce the debt on the club that I put there to begin with so I could buy the club. Vote for ME and I’ll give our manager an extended contract even though I participated in two meetings and publicly humiliated him last November. Vote for ME and I’ll fire the club’s chief executive for doing such a poor job even though I’ve had more than a year to analyse this situation and could have dealt with this in a discrete manner that saved embarrassment to the club. Hicks would be better off saving all the money he’s poured into his PR campaign and use it instead for more fruitful purposes – his motives in this are as transparant as glass. (By the way, in case you were wondering why the rah-rah-for-me interview was aired on Sky, a quick Google search will illustrate the number of boards sat on by both Tom Hicks and Rupert Murdoch – seems that they’re buddies.)
As Hicks is not the majority shareholder of Liverpool, he is speaking on behalf of himself and not the club, and thus Rick Parry surely has grounds for legal reply. More worryingly, his use of Rafa as a pawn in his powerplay must surely infuriate our manager, and frankly I wouldn’t blame Rafa in the least for throwing his hands up disgust at the blatant manipulation of his rock-solid favour with the fans. On more than one occasion since the change in ownership, rallies and stadium protests have circled around Rafa in support and protection. Hicks is so obviously trying to handcuff himself to Rafa’s wrist to avail himself of that same fan loyalty. As if.
As I’ve wondered elsewhere here, it’s inconceivable that no exit strategy was built into the original shared-ownership contract to lay out guidelines for how to dissolve the partnership if a situation like this evolved. If there’s no first-refusal clause (which may or may not be up at the end of May), then there’s something else in the contract that’s drawing Hicks out into a public forum now – something else that has him scrambling to throw down the challenge that if Gillett doesn’t sell, then the stalemate continues (conveniently putting the responsibility for the statemate on Gillett’s plate).
Hicks neglected to mention (must have slipped his mind) that the stalemate can be broken by the lending companies who hold the loans and he could be forced to sell whether he wants to or not. This would place the club in limbo for at least another year.
There’s an opinion piece in today’s Guardian speculating that this whole sorry mess is a result of David Moores choosing an extra £8million share profit over conducting any due dilegence on the American suitors when deciding between them and DIC last year. Moores can well shake his head now and say how sad he is, but a better response would be an apology to Liverpool supporters and an £8million donation to the Hillsborough Justice Committee.
Just like to add you are 100% correct I don’t know much about baseball as over here we call it rounders and its played by girls
I dont have much time for a “World Series” consisting of errm 2 countries!!
I want this all sorted soon.
For me, nothing has changed, Hicks has just given his version of what we already knew.
Plus, seeing him with his grandchildren up at 7am watching Liverpool…
MADE. ME. CRINGE.
Those kids didn’t even know what was going on!
Then he’s sitting around with his Liverpool mug, talking about Everton not liking our win against Blackburn!
I really despise those cheesy PR stunts. I just hope people don’t get taken in by this nonsense.
The only way for Liverpool to truly move on is all parties involved to leave. If Hicks stays as sole owner, then maybe the media frenzy will die down, but he’s proved again and again that he will not run a tight ship.
He has a bumbling nature, a lack of subtlety and wit. Clearly he has more money than sense. His timing is outrageous, just like George Gillets, in using the press in that way to conduct exclusives etc…to talk about the club, he has gone against everything the club USED to stand for…AGAIN. What happened to keeping things private?
Thanks to Hicks and Gillett we are the laughing stock of the footballing world, who would want to come and play for us? When nobody knows if we’ll still have Rafa.
This is one big joke. Gillett, Parry, Moores, Hicks…all must leave for this to be settled. My greatest fear is that Hicks will take over completely. We’ll never be free from controversy if he does. The club will never settle. Some fans will forgive him and forget, but he has scarred too many of us for the wound to completely heal.
The majority of fans will NEVER trust the owner again, and that doesn’t bode well for the future of our great club.
Hicks and Gillett are like two schoolkids name calling using the media, with every interview, with every comment, with every leaked letter or email…they are pushing the knife further into the heart of the club. Damaging us in ways they clearly are not understanding.
Notice the way i say ‘THEY’ I will not support Hicks or Gillett, they have shown to me their true natures. Sky have done nothing but LIverpool bash for the last 10 years, so Hicks gives them a ‘World Exclusive’…sorry Tom but since when does the nation matter? They don’t care about us, they laugh at us and mock us.
He has done this in a very bad way, just like Gillett and Parry have done.
This
Is
Terrible.
YNWA.
Jim cheers for the read and in response to your article:
You say below Jim
“There are numerous reasons why he’s been quiet in that respect, but it’s quite possible he’s been told that there is nothing in the letter he can legally complain about.”
That is possible Jim but it is also very conceivable that Parry’s quieter approach to the situation is because Parry understands situations like this should be sorted out in a much less public fashion. If there is one thing I will commend Parry on it is his ability not to shoot from the hip Hicks style in front of camera.
Again Jim you say
“Certainly he would have a tough job complaining about the contents of the letter in terms of what is expected of him. The club have fallen well behind in those areas, and it’s difficult to see how Rick Parry could defend his role in allowing that to happen”
I completely agree with you here Jim, Parry hasn’t done enough to propel us to the where we should be, the commercial forefront of the football world but I just think his position as CEO could have been put under the spotlight at a more appropriate time. The week of the Hillsborough Anniversary and a week before a champion’s league semi final is surely no time to be voicing boardroom discrepancies not to mind in public. I know you will argue that this is as good as time as any but surely what has been said in the press will come as a huge distraction for the manager and team when this whole issue could’ve been broached a month from now after seasons finish. Is it a case that in a month’s time it will be too late for such a similar type Hicks PR exercise to have the necessary effect to help him wrestle control from Gilette before the reported veto runs out?
In relation to some of Hicks comments;
“Rick Parry had already met with Jurgen alone for a couple of hours when we arrived. We all then spoke to him for another four hours.”
Hicks comment’s here sound to like an attempt to make himself less accountable for the Klinsmann situation. Whether or not Gilette did initiate the meetings with Klinsmann (which it seems it pretty clear he did) to me is more of an irrelevance. Hicks was still involved and still met him for a second time so his attempt to absolve himself or make himself less accountable is irrelevant. Whether he met Klinsmann for 2 hours or 20 hours that day doesn’t matter. He had agreed to do so with the possibility in mind of replacing Benitez. Who’s to say that Parry’s extended time in Klinsmanns presence wasn’t just down to something as simple as differing flight times between himself and Hicks.
“If I were to buy George out, the first thing I would do is offer Rafa a one-year extension to make sure he is going to be here up to when we get the stadium. Hopefully we could have some success and then extend him again.”
In relation to the above remark Hicks is hardly going to come out and say he will sack Benitez if he takes control. He has seen how the fans reacted when that was originally mooted back in January so whether he thinks Rafa is the right man or not we just don’t know. We are left to take him at his word, and we know from our own experiences we have been let down by that very word so many times before.
Again Jim also in reference to a couple of more points you make below
“Do fans prefer Rafa with five players missing from his squad, or Parry, a new manager, and possibly more changes to the squad?”
Fans would prefer a clean slate at boardroom level with Hicks Gilette and Parry gone and in its place DIC (as they seem like the only viable alternative) with Benitez being given the necessary funds to compete. Maybe its asking a bit much but from what I can see that is the preferred solution.
“It’s understandable why Hicks gave this interview. He wanted to set the story ‘straight’. His version anyway.”
Fair enough point Jim but the timing sucked.
And just one final point for those who believe in Hicks as a result of his much improved relationship with Benitez. Why wouldn’t Rafa want Hicks to take full control. Hicks is the only option where he is guaranteed to keep his job for another year at least. He knows Gillette was the man who initiated his sacking so chances are Gilette would attempt to replace him again in the future if given half a chance. His relationship with Parry had broken down for some time now and if DIC were to take over there was always the chance they would want to work with their own man.
There is a war going on for our mind.
Two sides shouting at us to choose their way.
But we have the power to say none.
We don’t have to choose any of these people.
We have the power to say no.
I for one will not support any of these moguls.
YNWA.
Rupert Murdoch is said to have described Kelvin MacKenzie as his all-time “favourite editor”.
More of “the Truth” from Tom Hicks then!
I wonder if Murdoch is advising Hicks?
The rodriguez deal makes me want hicks even more! Its not hicks’ job to choose the players but to pay for them. it is the manager’s fault the player didn’t work out! at least the rodriguez deal shows hicks is ready to put his money where his mouth it… gillett on the other hand is a cowboy - he’s been bankrupt before too!! nice… mmm.
give hicks a chance! as long as he doesnt change the kit colours
doubt he would!
Hicks is THE cancer within our club.
In these mad days, where up is down and left is right, it actually does my heart good to hear the fat mouth shout, bully, order and pontificate. For it simply illustrates a carpet-bagger in his death throes.
He knows the game is almost up. The time limit, re buying his partner out, seemingly ends on the last day of May. Six more weeks and the Hickster is fuked. Gillett will be able to sell to whoever the hell he likes come June 1st.
So boo hoo, Hicks. Go on, shout, bully and knock yourself out. It does my heart good to see a bully blubbering.
This article seems to me to be quite pro Hicks without stating as much. I personally find the way he is playing it out in the media a very deliberate attempt to take the pressure off himself. If it was merely about Parry’s failures at his job It would more than likely be a boardroom issue and not played out in the media circus arena. Pure political agenda and very little actual intentions. Wether you are a fan of Rafa or not he could be the one thing holding this club together right now so lets just hope he doesn’t decide he has had enough of this kind of drama
i agree with one thing and one thing only parry has to go he should have went years ago he has been holdin the club back in the financal market. while the otfer clubs sold their brand around the world he looked on we need money to compete for the signing of better players to compete domesticaly. then we need the two fat yanks to sort their problems out privately and not wash there dirty linen in public its makeing our club an embaressment. its a joke rick and david you took in the yanks bravo on that one just shows you didnt have a clue so get the f out . time for the fans to get together and take control of our club
I can’t understand all of the ’supporters’ who have now fallen for Hicks’ words for the second time, are they 12 years old or something?
Either that or they’re just plain ignorant.
Now as for Parry, I agree with most people that we’ve fallen behind some of the other clubs commercially over the last 10 years, which he has to be held at least partially accountable for, but what noone seems to be picking up on, is what life without Parry will be like.
As far as I can make out, Ian Ayre is the man that Hicks wants to take his place. This is what Hicks had to say about Ayre back in July last year:
(he is )…”the right man to rapidly develop the Reds’ huge commercial and marketing potential around the world”.
Wait a minute………….. I thought this is what he’s been criticising Parry for NOT doing.
If Ian Ayre was appointed to do this (rapidly) back in July, why is Hicks asking Parry to resign for LFC’s failure to develop the Red’s huge commercial and marketing potential worldwide? Surely this is now Ian Ayre’s responsibility, the very man that Hicks wants to replace Parry?
I smell a rat.
If anyone should be blamed for this particular failing during Hick’s tenure, it should be Ian Ayre, as what has he been doing exactly since July? He’s certainly not been RAPIDLY developing the Red’s huge commercial and marketing potential.
So the grass is not always greener on the other side. Hicks wants Parry out because he’s not his yes man. Quite frankly, I’m bloody glad that he’s not his yes man. Otherwise we would be massively in debt right now. If Ian Ayre is going to be a Hicks yes man then I’m not interested in him taking Parry’s place.
Think about it. If the fans HATE Hicks, but Ayre is promoted to the top job by Hicks, is Ayre going to be looking out for the fans? No chance.
What we need is Hicks to accept any offer that comes his way and get the hell out of the club.
And only then should we be concerning ourselves with Parry’s failings, because at the moment, he is one of our only unlikely allies.
Hicks OUT, and take your yes men with you!!!
Don’t believe his lies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jim Boardman - Dunk
Anfield road - Koptalk
Spot the difference!!!
Whatever it takes to get rich!!!
“It’s pathetically naive to equate winning with investing loads of money.”
I’ve never done that. I simply pointed out that he will spend lots of money in attempt to win.
“Also lets not forget the Stanley cup win was 1999. Whats happened since?”
The Stars had NEVER won the Stanley Cup before. Now Hicks should be blamed because they don’t do it every year. The point is that you said Hicks hasn’t been successful with any sports teams and that has proven to be false.
“Plus, seeing him with his grandchildren up at 7am watching Liverpool…”
He doesn’t have any grandchildren.
“Gillett will be able to sell to whoever the hell he likes come June 1st.”
That’s false.
St Chris, Juan, toshackrises, Fred, Edward. I agree will all of you. We need to rid ourselves of the entire board. That is the only way this club will thrive. Moores and Parry are idiots but Hicks and Gillett are extremely sinister characters. Gillett knows the game is up so Hicks is the guy who is obviously getting most of the attention.
I find it sickening to see the PR stunt perpetrated on us this morning. We had a similar PR stunt inflicted on us when they first took over. We vowed never to fall for it again yet some people seem to have fogotten and are prepared to take him on this word. I find that unbelievable.
Hicks has had a team of PR consultants working on an angle to win us over and its obvious he sees Rafa as the key to our support. How he can use this extremely honourable and sincere man in this manner is horrendous. Rafa is being driven out of this club by the behaviour of the board and I for one wouldn’t blame him if he left. If I were him I would resign immediately after the final whistle in Moscow - win or lose.
Nobody is defending Parry (why would we) so Hicks is using this to make sensible points about his failure to exploit markets. All I can say is that Hicks can’t even exploit the Texas market for his clubs (check out the attendances) so how are we to assume he will manage to turn us around. He has ZERO track record in doing so. We need proven winners at our club at all levels. Nobody not even the most ardent fan of Hicks can claim he is a proven winner. Most Hicks supporters on this site claim the Rangers never won anything before Hicks so Hicks has just continued that record. Thats hardly a ringing endorsement of his credentials. Liverpool need to be brought to the next level something Hicks’ so called 25 years of sporting excellence has been shown to be incapable of doing. This is not a provincial club playing a sport only followed in a handful of countries. This is Liverpool one of the biggest football clubs on the planet playing the most popular sport on the planet.
Hicks idea of having multiple stakeholders buying into the club but with him in control is a recipe for disaster. We need one owner with one direction. Whose to say Hicks won’t come under extreme pressure to get rid of Rafa if things aren’t going well and these guys see their investment crumbling. He will be answerable to these investors as nobody will be prepared to fund his purchase of Gillett with capital and not have a say in how the club is run.
Hicks claims that he will pair down the debt on the club. He has absolutely no track record in this. We need to look at the facts here - thats all we have. Promises are nothing. Debt, debt, debt that is all Hicks knows.
Jim, I know you are very hostile to Gillett and DIC’s PR machines. Fair enough, so am I but what is the story with all of Hicks PR guys flooding this and many other websites. Is there not something we can do? At least we should not engage them as if they are Liverpool fans, as they are clearly not. If Hicks took over Barcelona - Oh if only we were such a club - as we know nobody can touch them - but if he did these guys such as Texas Dawg would be off to the their fan sites to pester them with inane rubbish. Respect to Liverpool fans must come first (and that hasn’t been happening of late).
cynical and sickening gambit to hoodwink reds again by Hicks - he must think we are dumb.
But worries me and exposes his ruthless disregard of the L:FC is his use of Rafa to wage war on Parry ; if successful in driving Parry away in disgust he will follow with a drive against Moore - all to get his own yes men on the board.
Oh the crocodile tears for Rafa and the blatant untruth about eventually taking off the debt on the Club he put on in the first place!
He disgusts me and makes Gillette appear benign in comparison; I want both out of LFC but Hicks most of all.
Sorry - I didnt realise that there is another Irish Red on the website!!! Just say his post there
Texas Dawg, are you Hicks Junior or something?
The fact is Hicks has lost our trust. His PR stunts are exactly that - stunts.
We do not want to hear about everything that goes on in the boardroom - it is for board members to sort out. Because your daddy hasn’t gotten his way (as a result of Gillett / Parry / Moores) he’s throwing his dummy out of the pram and having a strop on worldwide TV.
He is the one who is not capable of running an organisation.
Tell him to take his bank loans back to America and stop mouthing off in public whenever he can’t get his own way in the boardroom. He’s a disgrace to the heritage of this GREAT club!!!
Get out!!!!
Not his grandchildren? Who were they then Texas_Dawg? His hareem?
“Texas Dawg, are you Hicks Junior or something?”
No. Just a friend, as I’ve said many times now.
“Not his grandchildren? Who were they then Texas_Dawg? His hareem?”
I didn’t see the interview. Maybe his youngest son or daughter had friends over to watch the game.
It’s not good enough to spend lots of money in an attempt to win.
What’s this ‘attempt’ business ! This is Liverpool!
“That’s false”
You seem pretty sure of yourself here. Would you like to elaborate a bit more because clearly you know more the the average man. You Toms missus?
Seriously though Texas Dawg who exactly are you?
Its clear you are not winning any popularity contests on this site so why are you so intent on coming back here.
If you are a plant from the Hicks side you are only causing more antagonism and hatred towards the man.
Well Texas Dawg, please could you pass on my best wishes to him and politely ask him to sell the club to anyone else who wants it?
We don’t mind if he makes a small profit - as long as he leaves it in exactly the same manner as he found it!!
Many thanks!!
“Its clear you are not winning any popularity contests on this site so why are you so intent on coming back here.”
Because I enjoy the news and discussion. Why do you come here?
“If you are a plant from the Hicks side you are only causing more antagonism and hatred towards the man.”
I’m not, so I’m not worried about that.
“Well Texas Dawg, please could you pass on my best wishes to him and politely ask him to sell the club to anyone else who wants it?”
I know he’s very aware that you and many others want him to leave.
He wants to own the club though and win with it, unlike Gillett who clearly wants out and is just holding out for more money.
Texas Dawg - a friend you say.
Are you friends enough to be able to tell him how much the fans loathe his presence at Liverpool and will never back a Hicks led regime.
I seriously doubt your credibilty as a Friend of Tom Hicks, more like a mischieveous wind up merchant
Well whatever floats your boat - you just seem to get far too much air time
Deputy Dawg
“That’s false”
Prove it.
“Are you friends enough to be able to tell him how much the fans loathe his presence at Liverpool and will never back a Hicks led regime.”
Of course. But do you really think he doesn’t already know that?
I would have more support for Hick’s position if he wasn’t so public in his criticism of individuals. Rafa and now Parry have been the target of very public statements. Maybe it’s an American thing but it flies in the face of the more subtle way things are handled at Liverpool. and generally in the UK.
There’s no doubting that Americans are generally very good at marketing and if Liverpool FC can benefit in the long term from Hicks’ talents then I’m sure more poeple would support his cause.
Rick Parry may not be the best CE we’ve had but public calls for him to resign are out of order. The man deserves to be treated with respect whatever his failings.
Try the softly-softly approach Mr Hicks and you may find you have us on your side. Continue to belittle LFC board members and you wil most certainly not win us over however much you promise us.
Dawg,
Explain why we should entrust our club to someone
who ‘attempts’ to win!
Winners win!
“I know he’s very aware that you and many others want him to leave.”
That’s besides the point - can you ask him my question anyway? Or are you talking shit about pretending to know him?
“He wants to own the club though and win with it, unlike Gillett who clearly wants out and is just holding out for more money.”
He’s not fit to own the club and his actions make it more difficult to win things. He should realise that we won’t allow him to use the club as a toy and treat us with no respect. He should hold out for a bit more money like Gillet and then go and invest in something more appropriate - like Weetabix again. He looks like he enjoys his cereal.
“Dawg,
Explain why we should entrust our club to someone
who ‘attempts’ to win!”
Edward, I simply was answering the critics saying he wouldn’t spend money on the club. You have made more of my point than was there.
“Winners win!”
I agree. And Tom Hicks has won the ultimate prize with 2 of the 3 clubs (besides Liverpool) that he has had a major role in. And those were clubs that had long been way down. Liverpool is the first club he’s owned that is already near the top of its league.
This is the conclusion to Tony Evans’s short piece in the Times today. It conveys any same man’s response to the latest outrageaous piece of spin by Thicks:
‘Yet Hicks’s attempt to woo his opponents is bound to fail. Like all propaganda, it is just words. The supporters know that the American has not got the money to sustain long-term ownership of the club. Words are cheap. Breaking ground on the new stadium in Stanley Park is expensive.
Liverpool supporters have been fooled once. It won’t work again.’
“Why do you come here?”
I come here in anticipation of seeing an article Jim may have already started working on. I believe the title will go something like
“Hicks Loses out to DIC in battle for ownership of Liverpool FC”
A work in progress, im never one to judge a book by its cover but its bound to be a great read…………..
“That’s besides the point - can you ask him my question anyway?”
I can. Kind of pointless though.
Me: “Hey, Tom… some anonymous guy on the internet wanted me to ask you this…”
Tom: “Of course, I already know that.”
“Or are you talking shit about pretending to know him?”
No.
Yeah Texas_Dawg…i just read a good comment on you…if your truly an ally to Hicks….all your doing is causing more damage.
Your annoying everyone and stirring the pot, thus creating more disdain towards Hicks.
Your faithful and 100% blinkered view on the man is only creating enemies. So this leads me to believe that you could actually be anti-hicks, and basically becoming cheerleader in a campaign against him. In fact…your more of a piñata.
Good job.
Pierre: I also thought Tony Evan’s observation in the paragraph that preceded the one you quote where he remarks on Hicks’s tactic of “divide and conquer” (in relation to Parry and Rafa) to achieve his ambitions was on the mark.
juan: brilliant – I’ve already preordered my copy.
“Yeah Texas_Dawg…i just read a good comment on you…if your truly an ally to Hicks….all your doing is causing more damage.”
Just like his interview today only made fans hate him more, etc., etc.
Time and results are the only things capable of repairing Hicks’s image with fans, ST Chris. Of course, some fans will always complain and dislike him, but if the club succeeds, wins championships, and improves financially under Hicks, his image with fans will improve and this problem will largely be over.
What is said now really changes no one’s opinion. You, I, and Tom Hicks all know that, of course. Time and results will do the talking.
“He wants to own the club though and win with it, unlike Gillett who clearly wants out and is just holding out for more money.”
Gillett would have sold to DIC only Hickabilly veto’d the deal so how is he holding out for money?
We need to get this idiot out of our club and fast.Step up the protests,boycott all club merchandise including lfctv, anything that can be done should be done. We all have a part to play.These american c***s are ruining our club and parry the parasite has to walk too after getting us into this mess.
BOYCOTT ALL LFC MECHANDISE!!!!!!!!
1 cup is success??
Hicks is crying big time. He’s a man not in control of his own destiny, hence the toys out of the pram. Vengeance is pumping around every vein. He’s throwing major haymakers at shadows. It’s a delight to see.
Keep the media outbursts coming fukwit. You’re only marginalising yourself even further at Liverpool (if that were possible).
“Gillett would have sold to DIC only Hickabilly veto’d the deal so how is he holding out for money?”
The deal was vetoed and now he is holding out for more money from Hicks.
“1 cup is success??”
When the team hasn’t won the cup ever before, yes.
Pierre (Belgium) // Apr 17, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Since only Julie appears to have read the Evans article in the Times, here it is in full for all my fellow reds (and I agree with you, Julie, on this article being spot on to depict Thicks’s nauseating ‘divide and rule’ tactics, which is certainly not going to fool foxy rafa):
“Liverpool won’t get fooled again
Tony Evans
There are many things you can say about Tom Hicks, the man who owns half of Liverpool, but you can’t deny he’s clever. He bought - with George Gillett Jr - Anfield on the cheap and will make a huge profit when he eventually leaves.
Hicks has also taken the initiative in the propaganda war. After almost sacking Rafael Benitez in December, he has realised the strength of feeling among the fans and performed a remarkable U-turn on the manager. Almost as astute has been his targetting of Rick Parry, the chief executive.
Parry is not so popular among the fans - after all, he brokered the deal to Hicks and Gillett. But the disatisfaction with Parry runs deeper. The chief executive carried the can for the Athens ticket fiasco, when Liverpool fans were in uproar over the scanty percentage of the 17,000 ticket allocation that made its way to the suppporters. His refusal to ‘play the numbers game’ over where the tickets went alienated the support.
So when Hicks turned his ire on Parry, saying the chief executive had showed contempt for the fans, it muddied the waters. Even the Texan’s biggest opponents couldn’t help but agree. And now he wants to keep Rafa at the club for even longer than his present contract - who can argue with that? Classic divide and conquer tactics.
Yet Hicks’s attempt to woo his opponents is bound to fail. Like all propaganda, it is just words. The supporters know that the American has not got the money to sustain long-term ownership of the club. Words are cheap. Breaking ground on the new stadium in Stanley Park is expensive.
Liverpool supporters have been fooled once. It won’t work again.”
ash // Apr 17, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Jim Boardman - Dunk
Anfield road - Koptalk
Spot the difference!!!
Whatever it takes to get rich!!!
That’s about the worst insult you could give anyone.
Now if you’ll pay your £30 subscription and click on the spyware-distributing ads then we can talk more.
There’s an old adage which applies very much here:
“Fool me once, shame on you.. Fool me twice, shame on me”.
Irrespective of whether Tom Hicks the man is telling the truth this time or not, he doesn’t deserve to be given the chance and it’s as simple as that really.
He has no precedent with us whatsoever to support his claims which rightly or wrongly means that we must dismiss this latest attempt as propoganda.
Anyway, maybe we will get the chance to see what his actions are if he gets his way. If he doesn’t totally deliver (which i don’t see realistically how he is) then he’d do well not to risk his face around Liverpool. I just hope he realises, Dawg, that these are people’s lives he is affecting. Any human being with an ounce or decency, whether they truly believe they can deliver on their future promises or not, should realise the opposition, hurt, and hatred they are causing and should do the right thing and give those people they hurt so much what they want, in this case leave.
To put it simply, Thomas O. Hicks is disillusioned if he thinks he can ever repair the fans affinity towards him. To me it doesn’t matter how much is Hicks fault, how much is DIC spin, how much Parry, etc, etc. If the man had any morals he’d be heading towards the exit door out of good will.
Hicks is a millionaire though, and few of them get to that position without being an intelligent bully, which explains a lot.
Please Tom, you have the chance to make a lot of people happy AND make some money in the process. Let me tell you, you are, as you seem to want to make your point towards, not going to win out of this in a Hicks and fans perspective, only maybe make more money. The sad thing is Hicks knows this already. Please, just leave.
Texas_Dawg, Can you answer me this Question….
What is the difference between last year when Hicks came out saying all sorts of things (i.e) Money, Stadium, players, No Debt on the Club, and what he is saying to the Media now???
This be the verse;-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=560326&in_page_id=1779
Now hicks is saying he’ll remove the debt from the club. It would be utterly astounding if his motives weren’t so pathetically transparent.
The owner from hell.
sign the petition!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/parry-gillett-out/
the best short term solution is to get parry and gillett out. they’ve both been more deceitful than hicks and are holding the club back. like or loathe him hicks isn’t going to budge any time soon and it’s in his interests to make us successful. atleast his talk hints at ambition, parry’s words never have in 10 years.
Gillett replies (from the BBC website):
Gillett hits back at Hicks in row
Liverpool co-owner George Gillett says he will not sell his shareholding to Tom Hicks and has accused him of creating “turmoil” at the club.
Gillett was responding to Hicks’s claim that he is preparing a “very attractive offer” to buy out his fellow American.
The relationship between the two men broke down some time ago, leading to civil war breaking out at Anfield.
Hicks wants Liverpool chief executive and Gillett ally Rick Parry to quit, labelling his tenure a “disaster”.
But Parry has the support of Gillett and a majority in his favour among the club’s six-man board.
Gillett said: “I am saddened at this latest outburst from Tom Hicks.
“Here we are, a few days away from a vital Champions League semi-final match and Tom has once again created turmoil with his comments.
“Tom should stop. He knows that Rick Parry has my support and that airing his comments in this way will not change my position.
“His failure to discuss this with the Board or the management committee is significant.”
“What is the difference between last year when Hicks came out saying all sorts of things (i.e) Money, Stadium, players, No Debt on the Club, and what he is saying to the Media now???”
You’ll have to be more specific.
NHL Stanley Cup playoffs:
Montreal is leading its first round series vs. Boston, 3 games to 1.
Dallas is leading its first round series vs. Anaheim, 2 games to 1.
It looks like Dallas and Montreal will be 2 of the final 8 teams in the NHL playoffs.
How great would a Montreal vs. Dallas Stanley Cup finals be? Maybe we could say that the loser must sell his half of Liverpool.
enjoyed that article jim, moreso the reaction Hick’s words received.
he does seem like he wants to succeed with us.
Another Bush-loving neocon spewing yet more lies and bullshit. This crapamoroony is an insult to our intelligence. He really has no clue as to our culture and, in particular, the culture involved in our being supporters of this wonderful unique club.
As for the bit in his TV interview about his family loving our city, I really just have to puke!!
These Yanks do not see very professional in the way they conduct business.
All this dirty laundry should be dealt with behind closed doors and not in public.
Lets face it , the success of Liverpool FC is what everyone is concerned with and all the politics and back biting is detrimiental to that.
No one has mentioned that going for Klinsman is idiotic.He has had one coaching job , that of Germany and I think that his 2nd in charge was the person with the football brains.
Klinsman has had no club coaching experience anywhere , never mind England.
Liverpool supporters need to turn up the heat on the Yanks , afteral why would they invest or run a club where everyone hated them and everytime they went to a match they were abused.
Jim
Thanks for the site and the opportunity to have a passionate and at least semi-informed debate about all the boardroom goings on.
As I understand the current position, and if we take Gillett and Hicks at their word (gulp?) then this is how it looks to me:-
George Gillett
wants to keep CEO Parry
will not sell to Hicks but wants out
will sell to another buyer if and when he is able
instigated the move to line up Klinsmann
is making no pretensions to be getting on with Rafa
has less money than Hicks
Tom Hicks
has more money than Gillett
went along with the Klinsmann thing
will hold onto his half for the foreseeable future
is wooing Rafa
will offer, with his pals, to buy out Gillett (who will not accept)
wants to get rid of Parry (and Moores?)
will be happy if Rafa and fans turn against Parry (and Moores?) and Gillett.
So assuming no dramatic change of heart by either man, then LFC will remain split indefinitely.
Is there anything that the ordinary fan can do to affect a change in the position of either man? I don’t think so as I believe both are more committed to their own self interest than the club, so……
my solution…
get behind Rafa and the team and IGNORE the boardroom
There’s an interesting article in the Telegraph on the PR battle currently being waged at Liverpool:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/04/17/ufnliv117.xml
And it seems the cover of a few posters here has been blown (excerpt from the same article):
It [the television interview] gave the uncompromising nature of the message a more palatable feel. The Hicks family are also reportedly keen on sending text messages to fans and are said to have targeted supporters’ websites.
the cover of these *plants* needs to be blown.
bogus fans need to be OUTTED.
I don’t think there are any “plants”, toshack.
I’m sure the Hicks family has reached out to Liverpool fan club leaders and website operators in order to present their case and counter some of the errors in the press.
Hicks has actually been pretty open about this:
http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2008/04/17/liverpool-fc-owner-tom-hicks-calls-protest-petition-fan-64375-20780621/
Hiring plants isn’t really their thing. I’m sure they realize what a waste of time and effort that would be anyway.
I don’t know how easy it would be spot a plant from the info they leave here to post. Email address and name, plus their IP address is stored. It’s not difficult to hide your true IP address, and free email address are easy to come by. Nobody I’ve ever checked out has ever shown any signs of being an obvious plant for any side in this.
Dawgs no plant,he’s too much of a prick!! I would imagine if the Hillbillies were going to have a person posting on this site they would at least have someone with intelligence something dawg’s lacking.
Here’s a random example of life under Hicks. These are 2 posts from some guys called Mike.
The link is:
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2007/06/tom_hicks_wait_till_next_year.php
FIRST POST
“if he CONTINUES to do a good job”??? ROFL…Old man Hicks must be on crack. Where DID he find that Daniels clown?…under the closest rock? Whatever the reason, Hicks has no clue about owning a pro sports team. Actually, I have no problem with his owning non-local teams and running them into the ground. He’s learned how to do that well”
SECOND POST
“I am 35 and have been a Rangers fan for as long as I can remember. Watching how Hicks has taken this already bad franchise and make it the worst in sports is sickening.”
Hiring Hart was his first mistake followed by waiting too long to get rid of him. Then as much I think he is a nice guy Daniels has failed miserably. He clearly was not ready for the job. I agree though at least he is more of a man than Hart which hid the whole time he was here.
Just thinking about all of the bad moves over the past 10 years is truly amazing. We used to have Pudge (been to 2 world series since leaving), A-Rod (we are still paying the Yankees over $10mm a year to hit hrs), Travis Hafner, Soriano (how did the Senators get him to play LF?) Chris Young & Adrian Gonzales (both young players for cheap $$$).
We have no top prospects coming up and good luck trying to sign a top FA to play here without overpaying. This thing is a train wreck and its time for it be over. Hicks and crew have to go. Hopefully Hicks will start losing enough money that he sells the team. Thankfully football season is almost here.”
Interesting article here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=560380&in_page_id=1779&ito=newsnow
The views of many seems to be that Hicks has been turned down quite a few times in his attempts to get financial backing, something DIC are fully aware of and time is rapidly running out for Hicks. The interview today is a last desperate attempt to secure some backing and win over the fans. Many seem to think that Gillett has an agreement with DIC and its just a matter of time before he can sell his 50% to them.That would then give DIC 2 seats on the board plus Moores and parasite if he is still there leaving Hicks to be nothing more than a passenger.
“Dawgs no plant,he’s too much of a prick!! I would imagine if the Hillbillies were going to have a person posting on this site they would at least have someone with intelligence something dawg’s lacking.”
Well put, Fred. I couldn’t agree more.
“Here’s a random example of life under Hicks.”
I’m just as much a Rangers fan as that guy, Edward. I don’t agree with every move Hicks has made with the Rangers, but then again, neither does Hicks.
I agree with that guy that the Hart hire was bad, but he is absolutely dead wrong about Daniels.
And if you go to a Dallas Stars or Texas Longhorns fan site, you will find that most of those fans very much like what their teams have done since Hicks got involved.
Texas Dawg - Whats your name? And can you provide some specific details on how you know Hicks other than just saying you’re ‘a friend’? I’m prepared to listen to your opinions if you can explain specifically how you know the man you laud.
thanks. look forward to the explanation.
Hicks interview on TV is ALL politics, designed to devide and conquor. Be exceptionally wary of a wounded lion, he will bite anyone he sees.
LFC fans would be very silly if they thought Hicks would be good for the club, his number one goal is money not the welfare of the club.
Say what you will but, for me DIC is still the best option, they have the resources, which Hicks admits he needs partners, DIC understand the game, Hicks clearly does not, DIC is professional, Hicks is a con man.
First up Julie, I thought your comment regarding Moores’ making 8M donation to Hillsborough Justice Committee was fantastic and right on the money (so to speak).
And Irish Red - we have to beat Chelsea over two legs before we get to Moscow, unless Chelsea are planning on forfeiting, but point taken.
One thing that really annoys me is that the Gillett/Parry camp keep on blaming Hicks for disrupting the club through the media and implying that they are lily-white themselves. Well Gillett gave Gillett’s interview on Canadian radio, not Hicks. And it wasn’t Hicks who went to the press recently with further allegations regarding Hicks’ relationship with Klinsmann. So rather than sympathising with Parry, the more he condescendingly points to ‘the Liverpool Way’ and ‘dirty linen’, the more he p*sses me off.
Why would Gillett and Hicks even talk to Klinsmann about replacing Rafa in the first place? What prompted them to do that? Is it possible Parry had already been in their ear suggesting that Rafa wasn’t reliable? I bet Gillett didn’t just wake up one morning and think out of the blue “I wonder if my buddy Jurgen wants to come and manage Liverpool for us…” No doubt there would have been many conversations before they even got in touch with Klinsmann, and we’re to believe that Parry had nothing to do with it except being ‘ordered to attend the meeting in New York’?
Just as some people worry about falling for Hicks spin, people should also worry about falling for Gillett/Parry spin.
There is a quote in one of the press articles: ‘The Liverpool crisis was sparked by chief executive Rick Parry’s refusal to allow [245M pounds] of… debt to be loaded onto the club, it has been claimed.’ Claimed by whom? The Parry and Gillett team? Sorry I’m just v. suspicious of these guys now. These claims imply that if Hicks got hold of the club the debt would be fully on the club (which it is indirectly anyway) whereas Hicks has just gone on the record in saying that he wants to take the debt off the club, except for working capital.
We are being played, but we’re being played by more than just Hicks.
Fernando Torres future under threat as banks keep watchful eye on Liverpool
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article3768457.ece
Fred: interesting article – if Hicks had already secured other investors to help him buy out Gillett’s share, he would have gone ahead and done it (especially before the possible end-of-May right-of-refusal deadline) instead of going on television and blustering about how he was putting together the bid. If he had the means already to buy out Gillett, he would have done it and fired Parry, whom he seems so keen to be rid of.
Edward: that’s really really scary, especially if the ownership (which now equals “lack of leadership”) limbo continues. Ironically, it really knocks the wind of out pro-Hicks arguments that refer to bringing in Torres as an example of how good Hicks is for Liverpool. Seems Hicks neglected to mention that he never even paid for our Number 9. Anyone got Leeds’s phone number? We may need to find out if there’s room for one more in the goddamn poor house.