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all liverpol fans should cancel their subscription to sky tv to highlight what is going on at anfield

Oh, come on. When you write that "the removal of Benitez was their last obstacle to allow the sale of Torres, Gerrard and Mascherano", then I wonder if you actually wish for this to happen as there are in two of these cases no credible source, but only made up media rumors to back that sentence. Mascherano wanted to leave last summer already. Have you forgotten that? Stevie and Nando didn't exactly draw happy figures under Benítez' tenure last season, so I rather get the impression that now that Rafa is gone they would rather stay than as if Rafa was still here.

Then you claim that the media don't highlight what's going on at L.F.C. but only fall for "smoke and mirrors from the American PR people". Well, the impression I get when scanning through the media is that they rather try to draw a picture of the club that is even darker than the situation already is. Problem is that most fellow Reds fall for misinformation as long as it serves their agenda.

So, what exactly are you talking about?

Well, I for one think that this article is spot on. Ive been saying all this for the past three years!

It is so damn infuriating watching the way that the american clowns have come in and all but destroyed the heart of the mighty reds and nobody (except the fans) are willing to do anything about it! The problem is what can the fans do? We can protest and make our feelings clear (which has been done time and time again) but H & G don't give a s**t, as long as they can make money, they wouldn't care if they upset and angered the entire world! I for one will be boycotting going to any further matches or buying anymore official merchandise while those 2 t**ts are still in charge. I do not want my beloved club ruined and I do not want to see them lose more money by people making this kind of boycott as this would seem to make things worse for the club, but what else can we do....This is the only thing, hit the americans where it hurts them most.......in their wallets!!!!

@anteater If you do some research you will see that Hicks has a history of leveraged buyouts then asset stripping. You google Corinthians and even Texas Rangers and you will see the pattern. I'm not having a go. Just saying that we as Liverppol fans should stick together on this. Even forget the asset stripping and just look at the way they have treated/run the club since taking over. Spade in the ground in 60 days. Signing snoogy dog. Debts, lies cowboys. The sooner the better LFC fans realise this. We are in deep deep @#$%&. This is the real financial truth:

1. £110,000 – That’s how much interest payments per day that Liverpool’s parent company have to meet due to the debts piled onto the club by Tom Hicks & George Gillett.
2. Accounts show that £50.3 million has been spent on ‘costs’ associated with the new stadium since Hicks & Gillett took charge. A new stadium which there has been no sign of whatsoever.
3. Liverpool’s debt just keeps on growing under Hicks & Gillett. The 2009 accounts of the club’s parent company, Kop Football Holdings, shows total debts soared by £51.5 million in the year to July 2009.
4. The latest annual company accounts for Liverpool FC’s parent company, Kop Football Holdings, revealed record losses of £54.8 million. As of July 31st 2009, the group’s total debts were £472.5 million, causing interest payments to Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Wachovia, their creditors, to rise to £40.1 million. Martin Broughton, the recently appointed chairman, had to appear before the Premier League to offer assurances the club will be able to fulfil their fixtures for next season.
5. Steve Morgan could have bought the club in 2004 for £85 million. Hicks and Gillett paid £220 million in 2007 and after loading the club with debt and failing to build a new stadium; they are now believed to value it at anything between £500 million and £800 million. This over-exorbitant price has all ready precluded two serious investors from buying the club. Add in costs and investment of a new stadium and the owners are looking for a £1 billion investment.
6. Liverpool have now shelled out £85 million in interest payments on the debts incurred by Hicks & Gillett upon takeover in February 2007 and their plight is such that now on two occasions this year they had to extend their short-term credit facility with RBS.
7. RBS and Wachovia have been forcing Hicks & Gillett to move Liverpool’s borrowings away from them and on to LFC’s Cayman Islands-listed parent company. Last year, Liverpool reduced their bank loan from £350 million to £290 million but only because their offshore parent company increased its loan to the club by £86.2 million to £144.4 million. Liverpool pays 10 percent interest on this loan.

As you can see, the financial mis-management of the club is there for all to see. Couple this with the fact that Tom Hicks has forged his career on leveraged buy-outs of sports ‘franchises’ and systematically asset-stripping them to pay of his leveraged loans.

Get these morons out of our club before its too late.

A simple google search threw up this article Re: Hicks & Corinthians.

[ezinearticles.com]

This Hicks is a complete and utter scumbag. The sooner he is forced out the better.

Oh, I don't disagree with our owners being the wrong ones (@ arthur dodger). If you read my initial post carefully you will surely see that I don't mention them, but claim that the article is not exactly substantial. Maybe you have an agenda, too, so you read something into my posting that isn't there and completely ignore what I have written.

I think that all of the things you then list have been written in the media before, but it surely doesn't sell papers to write it time and again.

When you do some research about Corinthians you will surely find that Tom Hicks himself has had little to do with the ongoings there and you will also find out that their demise started when MSI (I think that was their name) took them over. It's the same company that held the transfer rights for Tevez and Mascherano. So, it doesn't exactly help our course to twist stories until they fit into our goal of getting fit and proper owners.

And please be assured that I realised some years ago that we were actually subject to a leverage buyout. I stopped spending my money on club merchandise immediately, but didn't go public as I thought that others may realise that (leverage buyout) themselves. Maybe I should have started something, because it probably wouldn't have been xenophobic, because that is where we are now. People burning USA flags and shouting "Yanks out". As if all those 300 and something million US Americans are all like Hicks & Gillett. We don't draw a very good image of our club and our knowledge in doing things that way. We'd rather drive potential supporters and owners away with stupid behaviour like that. Twisting things until they fit our agenda doesn't exactly help either. We rather enhance the image of the stupid, uneducated football fans, very much the way people who are not into football like to draw and see us.

Agree with you Anteater BUT to a degree. It was a vicious cycle, "club sources" leak info/opinion to papers, Rafa retaliates releasing too much info in interviews. The press wants stories, and they were just given 10x more to write about than they should have had and this just put more pressure on players and manager. This may sound stupid, but ever consider England's biggest problem on the world stage is the media? Green said the other day he disappointed "50 million people". How I see it, all the trouble began about a month after Christian Purslow arrived - coincidence????

Liverpool are in deep deep trouble because of Tom Hicks – he will not sell below £600m and no one will pay that amount. Of course Hicks will dare to do anything he wants, he cares nothing for the club and would sell the light bulbs and plumbing if he had to.
In the short term the stars WILL be sold and the club may be reposessed by RBS and the most we can hope for is that the club remains a force in the PL.
In the medium term the club will have to be rebuilt from the ground up.
In the long term with good management it can be restored to its former glories.
Im not being pessimistic just realistic and it is realistic and effective for the fans to boycott the club whie H&G are owners. HIT 'EM HARD.

No I would admit that the article is not substantial. However there are people in the know who are connected with the club that are leaking some good information. Some of this information alludes to the fact that Bought-man (who was brought in for the sole purpose of selling the club - strangely enough so was Purslow and he's still there) has been touting Torres to Chelsea and Benayoun. And lo and behold Yossi is on the verge of a move. Now what are we supposed to do as LFC supporters when we hear this? Sit idly? And if you dont want the owners at our club, and considering everything so far that has come out of their mouths has a been a complete and utter lie, then why do you find it so hard to believe that they might sell our assets to pay off debt? We are hemorrhaging money at the rate of £110,000 per day. How do you think these morons are going to continue to pay for that? Our losses each year are building up. Furthermore, they have removed the only obstacle in the way (Rafa) of them doing as they please. Hence i would say their reluctance to give King Kenny the job. We need to act now before either Gerrard and/or Torres are sold. But mostly we need to act now to get these parasites out of our club before there is no club.

Admittedly I dont and many others condone the burning of the american flag. It was a minority of 3 that were involved in that. It was not meant as anti-American but anti-Gillett & Hicks. Granted it was very mis-guided and will not curry favour with our friends across the ocean but it must be taken into context.

The thing is are people willing to take the risk of leaving these pond life in charge of LFC? Can they be trusted? On evidence so far only a fool would trust them.

Anteater I didn't even read the whole of your 2nd post, why don't you get off your knees for hicks and gillett. Artful Dodger just gave clean and clear events that are happening at OUR club, did that look good to you? Why defend these 2 retards who are ruining our club? You fall under the umbrella of fans who are too ignorant or just too stupid to realise what is going on.. Please wake up and see, I for one will not attend another match or buy merchandise from the LFC store!!!!!! Thats is the only way for these F**king Yanks to lower their evaluation so that we can sell our club to a decent prospect! YNWA

Marc, I am not on my knees for anybody. That includes G & H. And I don't think that I defended them. At least that was not my intention. I think it is important to stick to "facts" and not pounce on any given rumour, exaggerate it and take it for truth. I know quite well what is going on and if you would have read my second post entirely, you may have got and idea of that. I stopped buying merchandise years ago. Obviously I smelled the coffee years ahead of you. And yet you, too, fall for the generalisation. Why say f'ing Yanks when you want to say f'ing G & H. Stop abusing over 300 million people who have nothing to do with these two guys.

Anteater FACT ---The club has been hamstrung with hundreds of millions of pounds worth of debt.FACT-- The American owners have lied and behaved without any dignity from day one .FACT-- Under their ownership the club has fell into a dangerous downward spiral .FACT-- Under their ownership the whole fabric /moral of the club has unraveled .FACT-- Everytime a loan extention is due a whole plethera of intrested parties are leaked to the media ,believed to be about to buy the club .If you are a Liverpool fan (doubtful)you would not by trying to pick holes in an article that is highlighting our clubs plight .The owners are our enemy ,cancerous parasites sucking the life blood from us . The only person here with an agenda is you .There is no excuse for the owners treatment of our club end of .

I agree with the article wholeheartedly, as I agree with most of Mr Christies articles.

That said, Anteater, if you'd like to submit an article for our front page I'd publish it. We aren't opposed to opposite views to our own, it creates lively debate and it's good to see others perspectives. Just click on my user name Reds and send a PM.

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“Liverpool Football club exists not to make money, it exists to win trophies and be a source of pride for its supporters. It serves no other purpose.�. Bill Shankly

A LOT of sense on this thread. And some good on-the-nose information and opinion.

I personally think we're heading for Armeggedon because I agree Hicks would sell the light bulbs if he could - and probably intends to.

So my QUESTION is this: can RBS do ANYTHING to prevent Hicks selling half a dozen star players after the world cup in order to (1) pay off the debt owed to Kop Holdings (which is owned by H & G) and (2) service the RBS debt's interest payments.

Because my understanding is that as long as the RBS mouth gets fed on time, Hicks can continue to own the club for as long as he likes, and in the meantime, can sanction outrageous outgoing payments to architects in Texas and the like.

I suspect he plans to raise as much money from player sales as possible this summer and hire a yes-man-Manager who will be charged with cobbling together a team of players that no one else wants to buy and youngsters. And aim for mid-table.

Barcap, Broughton and Purslow certainly can't prevent Hicks from doing this.

So, to reiterate, can RBS do anything to prevent it?

How can RBS possibly 'put pressure' on Hicks or 'foreclose' or 'repossess' the club as some people are suggesting, if they have their interest payments paid on time?

Anyone??? Please??

CT great points raised by you ,its my understanding that its a given Hicks would flog the light bulbs given the chance but its not in the banks long term intrest to devalue the club by asset stripping .That would destabalise the club and endanger them losing their monies owed . Fingers crossed they seem to be now insisting upon a sale in the best intrest of the club and theirs.

Agree, and it's RBS who the fans should be targeting and protesting to.

Picketing branches, emailing execs, making posters, organising sit ins, closing bank accounts, cancelling credit cards, same with insurance policies, you name it.... everything legal of course....

The media should be tipped off every time and would be enormous... and RBS would consequently HAVE to force Hicks' hand to sell.

RBS Products and Properties are listed here: [encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com]

Child & Co
Drummonds Bank
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Life Assurance
Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Scottish Assurance

Churchill Insurance
Direct Line

Comfort Card
Style Cards
Direct Line
Lombard Direct
MINT
Tesco Personal Finance (50% joint venture with Tesco)
The One account
Streamline Merchant Services
WorldPay

Same applies too, to British Airways really! What the hell is Martin Broughton doing? A few sit ins at Terminal 5 etc would have the media in a frenzy and him running for cover.

If the fans don't do something like this kind of campaign it's my belief that there will be a star player exodus...

Totally agree with you CT ,lets see what the Independence Day Rally protest on Sunday unearths .