Dodge Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 (edited) From The TimesNovember 26, 2007 Rafael Benitez end-game draws near Oliver Kay Rafael BenÍtez will not survive the power struggle at Liverpool and is in danger of being dismissed as manager sooner rather than later, having alienated the club’s American owners during a week of intense political turmoil. In a joint statement last night, George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks denied rumours that BenÍtez had already left the club, but they made little attempt to disguise the acrimony that appears to have left his position untenable in the long term. BenÍtez has no intention of resigning, but there is a realisation inside Anfield that his regime has reached the point of no return after a series of clashes with Gillett and Hicks, who completed a £415 million takeover in February, over the club’s transfer policy. In the best-case scenario, he may yet see out the remainder of the season before being sacked or leaving by mutual consent, but the word from within the club is that the American tycoons have lost all trust in him after recent challenges to their authority and that, despite his popularity with supporters, his dismissal is only a matter of time. Even in the unlikelihood that he apologises, it may only postpone the inevitable. It is an astonishing turn of events that seemed unimaginable barely a week ago, when BenÍtez rejected an informal approach from Bayern Munich. At that point, he talked of his desire to emulate Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, by staying in charge for 21 years, but his reign at Liverpool has since been unravelled by fallouts with Gillett and Hicks. Even close associates believe that he has made mistakes by picking fights with the pair and, in particular, by mocking their suggestion that he “focus on training and coaching” rather than try to dictate transfer policy. Benitez sarcasm may be punished Benitez fans flames of unrest Timebomb for Rafa as he feels the heat It is a situation that mirrors the departure of José Mourinho, BenÍtez’s arch rival, from Chelsea in September, with the Portuguese having been accused of sealing his fate at Stamford Bridge by challenging the authority of Roman Abramovich, the owner. Most recently, BenÍtez has taken umbrage at the insistence that all transfer negotiations be left to Rick Parry, the chief executive, and that no such talks should even take place until after their visit to Merseyside in mid-December. BenÍtez – eager to sign Ezequiel Marcelo Garay, the Racing Santander defender, and to tie up a permanent £17 million deal for Javier Mascherano – expressed disgust at the proposal and has compounded matters by suggesting that the owners do not understand how the transfer market works in European football. After rumours swept Liverpool yesterday that BenÍtez had already left the club, Gillett and Hicks issued a statement claiming that there was “nothing new to say”, but they made no attempt to deny the tensions that exist or to give the manager any kind of public support. They said that transfer policy will be determined in mid-December, but there is a growing concern that BenÍtez may be gone before then. If not, that meeting has the makings of a showdown. Edited January 31, 2008 by Dodge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calico Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 What an idiot. Claiming that he needs to buy more players to be successful. I thought he was a football manager, not a bloody bank manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted November 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 come on guys cant you see good the newsz that is happening at the liverscums? beneath'us is most likely to get the sack for asking more cash to buy players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiemaher85 Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Rafa is being petty but the media is blowing the whole thing out of proportion. Can't see them sacking him at the moment, their results aren't going too badly- they may review him if they fail to progress in the champions league but as things stand i can;t see them sacking him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 I can see him Going and Mourinhio in by Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romey 1878 Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 I can see him Going and Mourinhio in by Christmas. That's my worst nightmare coz I actually like Mourinho and he'd do a good job and probably get them the title Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue 250 Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 I can see him Going and Mourinhio in by Christmas I thought Mourinhio had a clause in his pay off that stopped him managing another English/premiership club in the near future? Can you imagine Mourinhio at luckypool!!....If Rafa can't get on with the yanks why would he? He couldn't get on...eventually with the Russians!He would straight away want some of his own players and staff, he would upset many at luckypool(players and supporters). HELL!.....GET HIM IN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted December 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 I found this off redcafe.net. Liverpool Facing Financial Crisis Success on the pitch for Liverpool has not been married with success off the pitch for Liverpool, as the Anfield outfit are facing a financial emergency. American co-owners George Gillett junior and Tom Hicks are reportedly struggling to refinance the £220 million they borrowed from the Royal Bank of Scotland. Rafael Benitez has been told money will be available to him ahead of the January transfer window, but it is hard to see where it will come from. The American millionaire’s borrowed the money ten months ago, when they took over the club. The Sun can confirm that the deadlines set by RBS were missed by the pair, which were put in place before Christmas, according to the Daily Mail. The club will not be allowed to go bust by the bank, but it could hasten the departure of Hicks and Gillett, with Dubai International Capital, the state-backed investment firm expected to buy out their shares. In an uncertain period for Liverpool, former Germany national coach Jurgen Klinsmann has been highlighted to replace Benitez as coach. It is thought that contact has already been made with Klinsmann, who is said to be keen on taking over the helm at Anfield. Benitez’s public rift with Hicks and Gillett has made his position at the club tenuous, furthering speculation about his departure. Klinsmann has been out of a job since stepping down as German national coach after the World Cup in 2006 and is said to be keen to come out of his self imposed exile. Despite news last week that talks with RBS and American bank Wachovia over a new £350m loan had crashed, Kekst, the American owners' New York-based PR firm, continued with the belief that a deal would be done before Christmas. Hicks and Gillett have until February to repay the £220 million, plus the interest accrued on £60 million worth of summer signings, including sizeable fees for Torres and Babel. If a deal is not done before the deadline and an extension to the loan is not agreed with the RBS, then the bank will become de facto owners of the club. The Sun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted December 26, 2007 Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 Rafa You Are Fat - Did You steal My sandwiches ? - Jsoe Mourinho ( rubbery figure) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted January 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 (edited) MARK MY WORDS! I have good inside info that FatFat Beneath'us will be gone by march Just watch this space! Edited January 8, 2008 by Dodge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 You seem to post more about RS than you do about Everton, why dont you go and play on an RS site. ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xavier Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 MARK MY WORDS! I have good inside info that FatFat Beneath'us will be gone by march Just watch this space! Ooh groundbreaking stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Ooh groundbreaking stuff. Xavier have you met Dodge? Think of Reg, multiply by ten, remove the brain and you have him. Best not to encourage, even with irony, he doesn't understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Fact is.....even if That other club fell over bankrupt tomoz............Sum Fat cat would bail them out. Some deserve & some it seems just get. Hmmmmmm thats life Jim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xavier Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Xavier have you met Dodge? Think of Reg, multiply by ten, remove the brain and you have him. Best not to encourage, even with irony, he doesn't understand. Not surprised there mate, posting a link from the sun and saying that he took that off a Manc forum smack of WUM'ness. Really disappointed that our club went this way, tbh. There were no winners in the Rafa and Gillette/Hicks fight and even if he gets sacked, everyone lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko 1990 Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Why didnt u choose the Arabs? They would have Heaved money in for you. they actaully supported The Club, understand footy, and had more cash than the Americans. Xavier, ur a Red? How did you end up on here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 He's one of the few intelligent ones who talks sensible footy talk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevO Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 xav is a good one, not many of them around, but he talks sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko 1990 Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 My Dads a Red, but Somehow i Chose Blue Nice to meet u anyway Xav. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted January 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 AMERICANS IN DISPUTE WITH POOL BOARD The future of Tom Hicks and George Gillett at Liverpool has once again been cast in doubt amid fresh reports that the two Americans are at loggerheads with the rest of the club's board. The Sun can report the cause of the dispute is the way in which the pair plan to refinance the loan with which they secured ownership of Liverpool last year. The loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland is due to be repaid at the end of next month and, rather than inject their own money, Hicks and Gillett are intent on securing a second loan of around £350m to pay off the first. 'The businessmen want to put the new debt directly on to Liverpool's books, guaranteed, crucially, against club assets, not their own,' says a source close to the club The Sun understands the club's board are understandably aghastat this proposal, not least because it directly contravenes the American's pledge not to plunge the club into 'Glazer-style' debt. Now, it seems, that is exactly what they were planning. Neither has spent any of their own cash yet. Unless they guarantee the new loans with their own money - which they may be unwilling or unable to provide - the impasse will continue. With neither party willing to budge, a sale becomes increasingly likely. The insider cites a 'major football financier' claiming that 'Hicks and Gillett had agreed a deal in principle to sell the club for £350m, and that a process of due diligence was under way.' The Sun ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I am loving every moment of this. the more this drags on the further in debt the club will get into which will end the liverscums existence for good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko 1990 Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 What ever happens they will get bailed out, Americans Fuk off and the Arabs Fly in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelsea fan Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 He'a a cup manager who wins finals on penalties , nothing more . [ Says begrudging Chelsea fan who lost 2 semi finals to them ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted January 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 You got to love those man utd fans and The Sun newspaper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I spotted this article over on YNWA that someone posted, it's from a few years back. - The Magic in Brazil Soccer Corruption Quote: There are other examples: a contract between Bank of America and Vasco da Gama was intended to cover twenty five years but lasted only two. Worst of all, perhaps, is the case of the Hicks group. This group is a hedge fund based in Texas and linked to President George W. Bush. Hicks took over two teams, Corinthians and Cruzeiro, through contracts that should have run until the year two thousand and ten. These deals included promises of construction of new stadiums. Hicks also bought forty nine percent of the traffic television network and dreamed up its own ultimate soccer business: Hicks teams facing each other in matches broadcast, naturally, by Hicks. Hicks set up a cable channel in Latin America, PSN, acquired national basketball association rights, formula one races and soccer championships at overblown prices. Hicks invested about five hundred million dollars and in only two years filed for bankruptcy. I e-mailed the guy to make sure it was "our" Hicks and he replied saying this: Quote: "Of course that the Group Hicks of Corinthians is the same. They also wanted to manage argentine clubs. I remember some years ago I wrote an article called Hicks vs Hicks by Hicks TV. Because they also founded a latinoamerican TV channell called PSN (Panamerican Sports Network). Many people believed it was a great excuse for money laundering. The payed 3or 4 times more the rights for Libertadores Cup, Formula One, NBA and so on, a lot of money. Friends from ESPN told me that it was imposible to make a good business with such a lot of money. Just one year and a half later PSN went on bankrupt. Cheers." I posted this up on YNWA earlier and the lads have found a couple of articles about it: Scoring Profits? | Latin Trade | Find Articles at BNET.com Quote: Carlos Roberto de Mello, Corinthians' vice president for finances, says Hicks, Muse waited too long to reinvest the profits from the trades. "That hurt Corinthians' performance and irritated fans used to a better playing team," he says. He warns that the strategy may cut into future team profits if Hicks, Muse doesn't get busy building the team up again. But Hicks, Muse's Pan-American Sports Teams President Richard Law defends the decisions. "The reality of any sports franchise is that teams go through cycles as players mature," he says. "Our job is not to turn back the inevitable, but to build Corinthians and Cruzeiro up from the junior ranks," referring to the teams' 16- to 20-year-old players. They were also supposed to build a 45,000 stadium for Corinthians Quote: As part of a separate deal, Hicks, Muse plans to build the club a new training center in early 2001 and a new 45,000-seat stadium in the next few years. It never happened. Another article: Globalisation is a distant dream- Corporate Dossier-Specials-The Economic Times Quote: Meanwhile, the free flow of capital has resulted in foreigners investing in football clubs, often with disastrous consequences, such as when the American buyout firm Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst bought Corinthians, Sao Paulo’s leading club. Corinthians won the World Cup championships in 2000, but the club’s performance subsequently slumped and a political row ensued as fans began to protest about everything from player trades to changes in the colour of jerseys. Hicks, Muse exited three years later, following a row with its local partner. How the fuck can a few random lads find out all this information after a 5 minute search of the internet yet the chairman and chief exec of our club can't? Moores and Parry sold us down the river the cunts. Also, how has this shit not come out in the papers? You'd think someone would have stumbled across this considering Corinthians is Mascherano's former club and it seemed he was at the centre of the row when it first happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue 250 Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 What to make of the American situation!!! There's more red's than Blue around my way, and I'm finding their take on the situation amusing! For example yes!.....suddenly they hate the Yanks!! What! They were pretty happy when they thought they had bottomless pockets......rs forums are full of burning the American flag, hate mail and even hiring a hitman .....no bullshit it's there in black and white! The Americans will build some kind of stadium, they have given Rafa money to spend and in the interest of the club they are looking at replacing a manager who's victories have been achieved with large amounts of luck, penalties and Gerrard! Kenwright and Moyes are going about their business in a quiet and controled manner in contrast to luckypool, and it makes me even more proud to be a Blue. Now they want the Arabs!......"we want more money"...."Why wont other teams let us win the league?"........"we are a big club still"...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 You got to love those man utd fans and The Sun newspaper No you haven't. I spotted this article over on YNWA that someone posted, it's from a few years back. Why would you be looking at YNWA at all, never mind archive YNWA? I worry about you Dodge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 My ribs are broken, so is my corsett with the sheer amount of hysterical laughter I have been doing due to RS and their public shenanigans, at one moment of serious laughter I believe a bit of shit actually found it way into my red and gold posing pouch. Sell your soul to the Devil and at some point you have to pay the bugger back, its paybacktime. Washing dirty laundry in public is a Newcastle thing, RS are about to find out what it means to be a laughing stock. ATB Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calico Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Yeah, dodge is worrying... I mean, copying articles from the sun. Glad I didn't bother reading any of it now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest once-a-blue! Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 You seem to post more about RS than you do about Everton, why dont you go and play on an RS site. ?? Somewhat unfair Licker - Dodge in a recent post did mention he had visited that well know Manchester United forum Red Cafe! Mind you he was clearly looking for posts about Liverpool - a touch sad especially when Everton are in a reasonably exciting position given the time of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest once-a-blue! Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Kenwright and Moyes are going about their business in a quiet and controled manner in contrast to luckypool, and it makes me even more proud to be a Blue. Most football supporters have incredibly short memories and you clearly fall into that category! If you are going to have a go then at least keep it real - I don't think the comments about Moyes and Kenright were quite so complimentary in the days that Everton were constantly fighting relegation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Somewhat unfair Licker - Dodge in a recent post did mention he had visited that well know Manchester United forum Red Cafe! Mind you he was clearly looking for posts about Liverpool - a touch sad especially when Everton are in a reasonably exciting position given the time of the year. Sarcastic and ironic maybe but never unfair, seems strange coming from one who has attacked him............. once-a-blue! Posted on: Dec 15 2007, 5:22 PM Dodge you are a fkng wanker but I guess we all knew that even before this post! Why the misfortune of somebody else makes you proud is beyond reasonable comprehension. Gerrard no doubt will improve his personal security and continue to earn in excess of £10m a year! I wonder what you will be doing dodge? Get a bleedin life you prat and think before you post! Forum: General Football Discussion · Post Preview: #108933 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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