UEFA Champions League QF 1st Leg – April 2nd 2008 – Result
Arsenal 1 Liverpool 1
Liverpool held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw in this quarter-final first leg at the Emirates meaning they’ve got the always-vital away goal to help them in their quest for a third Champions League semi-final in four seasons. Arsenal’s goal, scored by Adebayor from a corner on 23 minutes had looked like being on the cards as Liverpool seemed to be letting Arsenal creat chances in a spell of a few minutes. But it was only a few minutes before the lead was lost again, and it was some good footwork from Steven Gerrard that created it, making the defender look silly as he went round him before crossing the ball to Dirk Kuyt to bang into the net under pressure.
The other match of note for both sides tonight was in Istanbul. The winners of this tie will play the winners of the tie in Istanbul and from the first leg score it’s looking more difficult than perhaps Chelsea expected. They were beaten 2-1 by Fenerbahce having gone in front early on. Of course they’ve also got an away goal to take back to Stamford Bridge, meaning an all-English semi is still on.
A 0-0 draw would of course be enough for Liverpool next week but any goal from Arsenal and the London side will have the upper hand. The only way it can go to penalties next week is if it ends 1-1. Before that is the league tie between the two sides, again at the Emirates, and neither side can afford to be too complacent in terms of selection, both sides needing the points. Liverpool’s five point cushion above Everton perhaps allows them the most room for the resting of players, but wouldn’t be popular with fans. Arsenal need the win to try and catch Manchester United.
Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett were both expected to be at the game, but a storm in Colorado put paid to that when Gillett was unable to fly over. It probably prevented a storm around the pre-match dining tables. Gillett’s son Foster was at the game, with Hicks joined by other members of his family.
Arsenal: 24 Almunia, 5 Toure, 10 Gallas, 6 Senderos, 22 Clichy, 27 Eboue (26 Bendtner, 67), 16 Flamini, 4 Fabregas, 13 Hleb, 11 Van Persie (32 Walcott, 45), 25 Adebayor
Unused subs: 1 Lehmann, 2 Diaby, 17 Song Billong, 19 Silva, 31 Hoyte
Booked: None
Goals: Adebayor 23
Liverpool: 25 Reina, 23 Carragher, 37 Skrtel, 4 Hyypia, 12 Aurelio, 20 Mascherano, 14 Alonso (21 Lucas, 76), 18 Kuyt, 8 Gerrard, 19 Babel (11 Benayoun, 57), 9 Torres (10 Voronin, 85)
Unused subs: 30 Itandje, 6 Riise, 15 Crouch, 17 Arbeloa
Booked: None
Goals: Kuyt 26
BBC Stats: (Arsenal – Liverpool)
Possession: 58% – 42%
Shots on target: 7 – 3
Shots off target: 6 – 1
Corners: 6 – 3
Fouls: 8 – 13
Referee: Peter Vink
Attendance: 60,041
“The Stanley Cup win was in the 98/99 season nothing since for the Stars”
That is the only Stanley Cup the Stars have ever won. They were founded in 1967 and had never won it until Hicks.
But I was simply addressing the speculation about Hicks holding out for more money and a new stadium. He’s well past both those points with the Stars and has not sold.
“Your list of clubs includes the ones in his backyard and he would not be selling them would he? Might lose him face in the Highland Park Country Club or at The Dallas Cattle Baron’s Ball or whatever.”
I can promise you that not a person at such places care one bit whether Tom Hicks keeps or sells the local hockey team. It’s Dallas. And hockey.
Why is it so hard to believe that he just wants to own the team because he likes owning major sports teams?
At last a statement I agree with. Hicks likes to possess major sports teams. It’s with the rest of it that I disagree and which you have dropped as this thread has progressed – that he cares about winning or the fans. Any success this season or any future season will come in spite of Hicks not because of him. When the fans merrily posting on other sites their lists of multi-million pound acquisitions realise the import of Rafa’s recent disclosure to Guillem Balague that purchases this close season will depend wholly on player sales you will see a racking up of hostility if that is possible.
Guess your sweet irony is lost on all of us over here Dawg since no one knows what you’re talking about. But since you want to make fun of names………… isn’t it a bit redundant for a Texan to add the word "Dawg" on the end of his when all Texans are dogs by definition ??
I don’t know why you all bother with this pain dawg-dog (as Leanne H wittily suggested). He’s a clown like his mate Tommy Thicks. And it’s true that anti-americanism is not just a ‘prejudice’. The problem is just that pathetic fools can be dangerous when they put their greasy paws on the greatest ‘soccer’ (sic) club in the world. Gosh, how I wish ‘greedy Arabs’ shoved these yanks off our great club.
John Steele » Heard something was coming, expect more in the Telegraph later. I’d like to see the original email if there is one, to see if those figures were really quoted.
The options are buying a share of the Hicks Sports Group, whose half-share of Liverpool amounts to 75 per cent of the value of the group; purchasing warring co-owner George Gillett’s stake for £100million or joining a Hicks refinancing scheme that promises investors a 16 per cent profit over two years.
Figures seem a little odd. How does £100m fit in with the debt? GG’s half of the debt is either £175m if counting the lot, £122.5m if counting the part not on LFC itself. Some of the refinancing did include cash I think, but it’s a strange figure at first read.
Re the 75% figure, Texas_Dawg says Stars are worth 254m US and Rangers 365m. So $619m. Or about £310m. So taking LFC value of £350m based on that debt, TH has £175m. Would make Hicks SG worth £485m. 75% of £485m is £364m. £175m is not £364m. So it’s not been worked out that way. And 75% of the £310m excluding LFC is £233m – still not £175m.
Do it again based on debt of £245m, or £123m for Hicks’ half. Hicks SG + LFC = £433m. 75% of that is £325m.
Just my first thoughts – the figures seem odd.
Doesn’t mean the idea of those three options isn’t true, but I’d like to see what’s really been proposed.
I’m sure we’ll see the email if it’s available and in keeping with this early article.
John you’re wasting your time trying to reason with this embarrassing clown. Guys like this are only capable of learing the hard way.
Dawg…like most people I think you are either Hicks, Hicks’s son or one of his paid employees. Whoever you are you’re labouring under the sad illusion that any of us care what a greedy prick like Hicks wants or likes. These matters mean nothing to us.
Hicks may have temporarily gained 50% of the shares by his deceipt but Liverpool Football Club always has, and always will, belong to us. If Hicks and his family insist on trying to cling on beyond the end of this season then what happened to his son at the Sandon will be just the beginning. There will be no place to hide and they will need a team of bodyguards around them constantly just to stay alive over here. I know you don’t believe us when we say this………….. but thats only because you’re too stupid to understand the passions you and Hicks are playing with.
The figures seem odd. The figures seem desperate. He is desperate. Who in their right mind is going to buy into this scheme in this current market and with this current owner. I can’t see it. They’d have to be some serious long-term investors who are cash-rich and willing to take a punt on Hicks being in great partner…..and given that his friends in the US appear not to have backed him, why would anyone here do so….assuming this email email exists and is true of course.
Jim, the figures supplied by Dawg are gross. The value included in the hicks net worth figure will represent his net stake. I don’t know the current debt/equity ratio for those clubs, can’t find it on the web!
“Guess your sweet irony is lost on all of us over here Dawg since no one knows what you’re talking about.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens
Never mind. Just making a joke about another “arrogant, ignorant loudmouth.” 🙂
“At last a statement I agree with. Hicks likes to possess major sports teams. It’s with the rest of it that I disagree and which you have dropped as this thread has progressed – that he cares about winning or the fans.”
I’ve never dropped my contention about winning. About the fans? Not sure if he cares or not, but I’m sure he realizes that ultimately they just want championships… as does he.
“Any success this season or any future season will come in spite of Hicks not because of him.”
Only if you start from the assumption that an owner can NEVER play a role in his club’s success. If not, you are just predicting the future. Fair enough if so, but you don’t know the future. We shall see.
“Dawg…like most people I think you are either Hicks, Hicks’s son or one of his paid employees.”
None of the above. Just an observer.
“Guys like this are only capable of learing the hard way.”
Maybe so. But I might say the same about people adamant Hicks won’t be the owner for years to come.
“If Hicks and his family insist on trying to cling on beyond the end of this season then what happened to his son at the Sandon will be just the beginning. ”
Like with most press reports of the type, what happened at Sandon wasn’t nearly what it was made out to be, fwiw.
“They’d have to be some serious long-term investors who are cash-rich and willing to take a punt on Hicks being in great partner”
That shouldn’t be too hard. Certainly hasn’t been to hard for him lately:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-hicks_04bus.ART.State.Edition1.35ad83c.html
John » They’ll be around somewhere!
—-
I started to write this reply earlier but the “leaked email” article sidetracked me a bit.
I’m not sure if I’ve got time to respond to all the stuff above, but I appreciate the time everyone takes in explaining what they think without using txt spk and in the main avoiding abuse, even if provoked!
Re “Texas_Dawg” – I’ve no idea who he is. I’ve had no direct contact from him. From the limited information the control panel for the website software tells me, he’s not using an email address that belongs to any of the Hicks companies, and isn’t posting from the offices of any of the Hicks companies. Obviously I’m not going to breach his privacy with any more info than that, but at least it rules that part of the theory out! It’s up to him how much more he reveals about himself.
What he says is interesting, and worth listening to, even if you don’t like it. And by “worth listening to” I don’t necessarily mean “believing”.
I know I’m going to get slated for this, but…
TD sounds like the exact opposite of many LFC fans who despise Hicks and are desperate to see DIC take over. Well, obviously, you’re probably saying. But think about that a bit more.
TD is way over the top in his support of Hicks. There’s no criticism at all of Hicks there. Not an ounce. That’s why he’s being accused of being Hicks himself. He’s taken everything positive he can find about Hicks and is emphasising it. A lot of what he says is true in terms of it matching the intentions of Hicks. Other parts about other parties’ intentions or actions are probably also based on a version of the truth that he’s heard. I say a version of the truth, because he’s picked just one of the versions that are out there. He also sounds like he’s heard a few extra bits and pieces that add more weight to his 100% support of Hicks in this battle for the club. Some of the claims he makes I wouldn’t expect even Tom Hicks to make in support of himself!
I’m not asking anyone to believe him, but I think he genuinely believes what he’s saying. Does it make him right?
This is how it sometimes feels when I read some of the more pro-DIC, anti-Hicks, leave-George-alone stuff that’s out there. To be fair most people on here are at least willing to listen to all sides and are able to accept that it’s not always all black and white. But when I hear the way a lot of people can see no wrong in Gillett or DIC, especially when they go out of their way to praise Gillett, I feel real despair!
The same goes for Dawg as anyone else – assuming Dawg is a fan of LFC that is. Open your eyes and your ears and be wary of what’s being said if you care for this club. Try and get a feel for where each of those involved has told lies, is telling lies, is playing with our emotional ties to this club, has changed their approach after listening to what we all think. That’s all of us, just not the louder ones! If we all thought like TD then Hicks wouldn’t have to worry about how he acted if he won this battle. If DIC think we all sound like TD when we talk about them then they’ll not worry how they act if they win this battle.
We’re clearly getting closer to the end of this war, and we might not get a choice in who wins or how, but from the moment of victory onwards that winner needs to know that as a group of fans we’re both open-minded and cautious. We’ll listen to what they say, we’ll give them a chance to show us they mean what they say, and we’ll make life hard if they don’t do what they say.
I like your style, Jim. No joke. Good stuff and very sharp.
And my apologies for my initial comment about “greedy Arabs”. I admit that was just some chum for the sharks here. 😉 I have no collective problem with Arabs or any other group (individual basis? that’s another matter… 😉 ), and I’m sure DIC is run by good, well-intentioned people. They desperately want to own this great club. Unfortunately for them, Tom Hicks does as well and just beat them to the punch and isn’t selling for any price. At least not for a long, long time anyway.
John Steele, way back there you mentioned the game. Speaking of which these comments from Wenger:
Wenger also believes Liverpool, five points clear of Everton in fourth but eight points adrift of the third-placed Gunners, can afford to rest players on Saturday with Europe in mind. "I believe they will make changes. I am not sure whether Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will play," said Wenger. "They have a big squad and a lot of experienced players who didn’t play on Wednesday. To my calculation, eight players with big Premier League experience."
So what bugs me is why he’s trying to pick our team. Rafa picks the team and it’s none of his business. This is typical Arsenal, a team that has achieved nothing but is so far up its own arse to be having the nerve to suggest that we need to rest players in order to compete with them on Tuesday.
The facts are if they lose to us tomorrow they’ll have to come to Anfield on Tuesday in a must-win situation.
Jim – Texas_Dawg is an out and out supporter of Hicks. That automatically puts him in a position we don’t like because his friends a liar.
When Hicks puts his money where his mouth is – and by that I don’t mean just buying the club for future profits he hopes to reap – and lets Rafa know that he has funds to rival United why would we want him at our club?
As many have pointed out in the past, Rafa has had to largely generate his own cash to make our team achieve the 7 finals – all without Hicks’ (and Gillett’s) input. So what difference exactly is Hicks proposing he can make? He’s currently not put any of his own money into the club, he’s placed the club in debt and every single supporter will tell you that he has destabilised the club from top to bottom.
Please, someone, tell me the positives that Hicks has so far contributed? At the moment, trying to put the lies to one side, I can’t see it (which is not the same as not wanting to see it)!
Oh yeah, I forgot one other thing!
A friend of mine who works for a City PR firm reminds me that they – and we shouldn’t forget Financial Dynamics are working for Hicks – get people to join forums to spin on their clients behalf – without easily being traced. This includes using ‘believable names’ etc. These PR firms are not stupid as they know newspaper are no longer the sole place people go for news/influence.
However, Jim’s pointed out the flaw in Texas_Dawg’s approach: he’s not even tried to give the impression that Hicks is wrong in anyway whatsoever. So his approach is like being an elitist from Eton and trying to say your ‘down with the kids from the Estate’ but not empathising with them by trying to understand their pain……which is why none of us believe him!
Texas_dawg you should go back to the drawing board and ask one of your other colleagues to try another approach.
Edward, it’s a fascinating match this. Wenger has seen how Ferguson’s mind games seems to have an effect on our mind set so is trying his own version. We really cannot afford to take the match too lightly as so much depends financially on fourth place. Say what he likes, Wenger must win the match if they are to stay in with a chance of the title. I expect some changes from Rafa but I also expect the players brought in to play out of their skins in a dual attempt to influence Rafa and /or to keep themselves in the frame for the close season transfer scramble.
Jim, at our local supporter’s club meeting last night this dawg business was a hot topic. The consensus was that it is one of us with a second id!!! Perverse scouse humour? Maybe not as the effect has been to refocus and galvanise the arguments against Hicks. Thanks dawg you have stimulated some of the fans who were tiring of the issue.
I think TD is an educated Manc (if there are any) trying to wind us up.
"Jim, at our local supporter’s club meeting last night this dawg business was a hot topic. The consensus was that it is one of us with a second id!!! Perverse scouse humour? Maybe not as the effect has been to refocus and galvanise the arguments against Hicks. Thanks dawg you have stimulated some of the fans who were tiring of the issue."
John,
I’m just an observer who finds the level of the anti-Hicks rhetoric comically disproportionate with the facts of the situation.
"Texas_dawg you should go back to the drawing board and ask one of your other colleagues to try another approach."
I can assure you I’m not working for anyone, midlands… which is exactly why I don’t care what you believe about my posts (nor do I have any boss to answer to on this).
Go back and read my posts. Outside of some admitted early barbs intended to stir up some comments ;-), I’ve really just made one point: Gillett is in this for a short-term profit while Hicks is in this for a long-term interest in owning, and winning with, a great football club.
Time will tell.
Dawg……no one believes your utterly predictable denials but quite apart from this we all know any gutless wimp can make provocative comments online while hiding behind a phoney pseudynom. I think its fair to say from the feedback that with the sole exception of Jim Boardman no-one else has found your arguments even slightly persuasive so you’ve failed totally in that respect and now your drivel has become tiresome and boring. However fear not…..because your comments have served a useful purpose. At a time when most of us have been focussed on events on the field you’ve helped forcefully remind us all what a cancer Hicks really is. You can now go back, like a faithful messenger boy, to your boss/father/whatever and tell him that the "loyal and passionate fans" he referred to recently all still want him to fuck off and die somewhere…….preferably quietly. I’m sure he’ll probably be too dumb to do this voluntarily of course………but there are other ways to excise a cancer than asking it politely to leave.
Ellery,
Classy. 🙂
Dawg, if you have no emotional involvement in a situation it is easy to view those who have as caring disproportionately. My wife has been waiting 40 years or so in vain for me to grow out of my passion for this club. There are also millions of people in this country who care nothing for football but are passionate about other pursuits. I might not share their passion but I would never belittle it. We scousers are no strangers to derision from those who don’t know us or who believe they do and underestimate us. Rather than retaliate insult for insult I will try and give you some idea of where this ”over the top” care comes from.
Let me take the Dallas Stars as a point of comparison. A potted history will help. On December 8, 1967 the California Seals changed their name to the Oakland Seals. For the 1976-77 season the California franchise was transferred to Cleveland, named the Cleveland Barons. For the 1978-79 season the Cleveland and Minesota franchises merge, under the Minnesota name. For the 1993-94 season the Minnesota franchise was transferred to Dallas. After the labor lockout shortened the 1994-95 season, the team was sold to media mogul Tom Hicks. The Dallas Stars won their first Stanley Cup defeating Buffalo in the 1999 season.
Contrast this with the history of a football club like ours with over 100 years of achievement and disappointment. Before every game I attend, I pass by the memorial at the Anfield Road end where the names of 96 of our supporters, who lost their lives traveling to watch the club play, my surname being one of them, are listed. Those fans are part of our legend every bit as much as the great players and managers. In fact at any away match whether a competitive match in the remote eastern cities of Europe or a pre- season friendly game in Asia or the USA you will find our supporters in their thousands. I am not just referring to the wealthier fans able to jet around the world at will, I refer to the mass of ordinary working fans many of whom are still paying off their debts from Istanbul or Athens. How many fans of the Dallas Stars would you expect to find at an exhibition match in Kiev in the depths of winter? You observe this situation through a US paradigm and you really don’t get the difference between our club and a franchise. I’ve been as temperate in this response as I am able but if you are a sincere in your comments please think twice before again dismissing our concerns about this great club as comical or disproportionate.
I suspect your view mirrors that of Mr Hicks himself. He is after all a dispassionate observer of the game we play and the real concerns of the fans of the club are obviously seen by him as comical and disproportionate to the facts of the situation as they appear to him. It’s his club now and he wants us to butt out. As you have repeatedly told us he likes owning great sports club, he buys them because he can. Basically it is an ego/power thing.
We are here for the duration whilst Tom Hicks’ sojourn by comparison will be relatively short. My belief is that whilst you may be right in suggesting that with a winning run some fans will moderate their hostility, enough will remain to ensure that he will never be able to visit Anfield without being reminded of it. So what, you will say. Personally it would concern me if I thought one person considered me a man of no principle let alone 40,000 or so.
Here’s a twist of fate which might interest you and possibly Jim. It seems a myth is building on the blogosphere of George Gillett the potential hero. George is being exhorted to hold on to his shares to thwart Hicks or if he must sell to do so to anyone but Hicks, DIC being preferred. The demonisation of Gillett whether orchestrated from Dallas or not is proving counter productive.
Jim, I managed to find the debt/Equity figures from Forbes but only for fiscal 2007. Using these as a rough guide we get:
Texas Rangers team value $365m Debt/value = 73% Hicks net = $98.55
Dallas Stars team value $248m Debt/value = 81% Hicks net = $47.12
Hicks total = $145.67 which if 25% of total values Hicks empire @ $582.65m and values LFC @ $435.01m.
Given the disparity in accounting periods and the fact that I cannot ascertain what debt Hicks might have for the two US clubs “off the balance sheet” as he has at LFC, these figures produce only the crudest indication. However it becomes clearer where the valuation of the 50% owned by Gillett comes from.
The irony of these indicative numbers is that it appears that on a net basis Hicks is not much richer than David Moores!
Incidentally everyone…the article Dawg has given a link to above praising Hicks are from the Dallas News. This is a newspaper with a reputation in the United States about equivalent to our Sun……….and I mean the Sun with Rob Beasley not Chris Bascombe. I’ve read some of the articles from this paper regarding the US election and they are laughably childish, basically non-stop over the top spin with no substance to support any of it…………………….where have we seen this before ????
See Link and my subsequent exchange of e mails with the columnist, says it all about Hicks reputation in Texas.
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/columnists/randy_galloway//story/561589.html I’ll pass your message on to all concerned.
Best wishes
JA
And I love the Liverpool fans for it… rg From: John Adkins
Sent: Thu 4/3/2008 2:01 PM
To: Galloway, Randy
Subject: Re: Texas Bullshit Randy,
Thanks for your reply, I can assure you he’s top of the list in Liverpool !
JA
John…first, there are many who want him out of baseball and hockey….soccer is third on the list… Randy Galloway From: John Adkins
Sent: Thu 4/3/2008 9:43 AM
To: Galloway, Randy
Subject: Texas Bullshit Please note well: Liverpool Football Club is NOT a "Storied Franchise". It is a private Limited Company founded in 1892 owned equally at the present by Thomas O Hicks and George Gillett.It was purchased with borrowed money by the foregoing pair who have loaded the club with debt after undetaking not to do so. I was born in Liverpool in 1945 and I have never known anyone so loathed in the city as Hicks. It is highly unlikely he will ever be able to attend a home match at Anfield again due to the hostilty of the fans, moreover the management of the club has been paralysed by his falling out with Gillett. Not bad for a "pro team owner"
Please all you Texans tell him to get out of our town and stay out.
John Adkins
The Ballad of George and Tom. A screenplay for Acrossthepond admirer’s of Ellefci. Scene: Merrie England, the Province of Scouseland, the domain of Lord David de Moores the Baron of Anfield. Plot: Lord David reluctantly needs to marry his youngest daughter, Elleffci, off to a rich suitor. He issues a proclamation to all parts of the known world for men of the Knightly order to come to Scouseland and “try their hand” (colloquial scouseism). Many try and fail but one day a knight short in stature but seemingly long in pocket arrives from a land called Acrossthepond. This is BSD George de Closeshave. His first offer to Lord David does not meet with approval and it seems that a rival suit from an Eastern Sultanate is finding favour. Undaunted Bsd George returns a short time later with a brother Bsd in tow. This is Bsd Thomas le Thick, a large seemingly benign specimen willing to let Bsd George press their claim for Elleffci’s hand. He is said to have longer pockets than Bsd George. Making use of the scheming Grand Vizier to the Baron, Rick le Pariah the two acrossthepondians succeed and agree a price and a dowry for Ellefci. To their chagrin (a term seldom used in Scouseland) they find in the small print that though they can own Ellefci they cannot possess her, further, they have to live with her at the baronial court, she cannot leave Scouseland (no way would she consider a move to Acrossthepond or even nearbye Kirby?). This is the way things are done in Merrie England. To effect this Lord David has Ellefci fitted with a chastity belt to which only he has the full combination, Bsds George and Tom having only a portion of the code each. Feeling cheated at this turn of events they conspire and agree to pay Lord David his due in filthy lucre as he requires but for the fair damsels’ dowry they produce acrossthepondian fools gold. As the months go by it becomes obvious to some that rather than being benign Bsd Thomas le Thick is in fact an ogre in disguise and means to possess Ellefci (in the biblical sense) as soon as he can. A plot is hatched with his unsuspecting partner to replace Elleffci’s loyal Captain of the Guard Rafa el Gaffa with a satrap of their own choosing (Bsd George knows a redundant officer from back home who fits the bill, Jurgen le Nearly). In the nick of time Rafa el Gaffa discovers the plot and donning the garb of ye Towne Crier he informs the citizens of Scouseland. Le merde hits the proverbial fan. Lord David sinks into a depression, Rick le Pariah retires to his attic to consider which of the warring parties to back. As if this wasn’t a big enough pickle the fools gold starts to shed its shiny coating and our intrepid Bsds need to replace it. The manufacturers of this tinsel are becoming tougher and demand a high price. Bsd Georges pockets are not as long as they appeared and blaming Bsd Thomas for the leak of their plot he decides to “fait-le-runner” (medieval Scouse usage for doing one!). With George back in Acrossthepond Thomas has the field to himself and he sets about planning his campaign. His pockets are not much longer than Georges but being of the ogre clan he is not debilitated by the code of chivalry (or any code for that matter). He contacts fellow ogres in Acrossthepond and offers Ellefci’s favours for sale. Finding no takers at home he comes back to Scouseland and similarly pimps her throughout Merrie England. Appalled by the behaviour of his erstwhile friend George lets it be known that even if Thomas raises the gold he will not give up his half of the combination to him. He enters negotiations with the representatives of the Eastern Sultanate with a view to saving the damsel by selling his half of the combination to them. They come from a culture different from that of Scouseland but are flush with the filthy lucre and promise to honour local customs such as the quest for the Holy Grail (Treble) To be continued: Notes. BSD. This is the Acrossthepondian equivalent of Sir and is actually short for BigSwingingDick as the Knights there are designated. Le Chasse. Acrossthepondian knights have their own form of hunt. Instead of chasing the Holy Grail (or Treble) they chase The Big Buck. They also have a form of damsel rescuing, which they call “wildcatting” where the knights will “rescue” damsels of any age whether they wish to be rescued or not. Their motto when questing so is “You have to drill 20 dry holes to find a gusher”. Their custom is to carry off the fair damsel to their own fiefdom and fatten her up for later consumption or even to be traded to their brother BSDs. I do not jest!!!
Sorry folks ignore that last post. If I try to enter via Safari or Firfox all the formatting gets lost This is in Explorer which seems to work.
The Ballad of George and Tom. A screenplay for Acrossthepond admirer’s of Ellefci.
Scene: Merrie England, the Province of Scouseland, the domain of Lord David de Moores the Baron of Anfield.
Plot: Lord David reluctantly needs to marry his youngest daughter, Elleffci, off to a rich suitor. He issues a proclamation to all parts of the known world for men of the Knightly order to come to Scouseland and “try their hand” (colloquial scouseism). Many try and fail but one day a knight short in stature but seemingly long in pocket arrives from a land called Acrossthepond. This is BSD George de Closeshave. His first offer to Lord David does not meet with approval and it seems that a rival suit from an Eastern Sultanate is finding favour. Undaunted Bsd George returns a short time later with a brother Bsd in tow. This is Bsd Thomas le Thick, a large seemingly benign specimen willing to let Bsd George press their claim for Elleffci’s hand. He is said to have longer pockets than Bsd George.
Making use of the scheming Grand Vizier to the Baron, Rick le Pariah the two acrossthepondians succeed and agree a price and a dowry for Ellefci. To their chagrin (a term seldom used in Scouseland) they find in the small print that though they can own Ellefci they cannot possess her, further, they have to live with her at the baronial court, she cannot leave Scouseland (no way would she consider a move to Acrossthepond or even nearbye Kirby?). This is the way things are done in Merrie England. To effect this Lord David has Ellefci fitted with a chastity belt to which only he has the full combination, Bsds George and Tom having only a portion of the code each.
Feeling cheated at this turn of events they conspire and agree to pay Lord David his due in filthy lucre as he requires but for the fair damsels’ dowry they produce acrossthepondian fools gold. As the months go by it becomes obvious to some that rather than being benign Bsd Thomas le Thick is in fact an ogre in disguise and means to possess Ellefci (in the biblical sense) as soon as he can. A plot is hatched with his unsuspecting partner to replace Elleffci’s loyal Captain of the Guard Rafa el Gaffa with a satrap of their own choosing (Bsd George knows a redundant officer from back home who fits the bill, Jurgen le Nearly).
In the nick of time Rafa el Gaffa discovers the plot and donning the garb of ye Towne Crier he informs the citizens of Scouseland. Le merde hits the proverbial fan. Lord David sinks into a depression, Rick le Pariah retires to his attic to consider which of the warring parties to back. As if this wasn’t a big enough pickle the fools gold starts to shed its shiny coating and our intrepid Bsds need to replace it. The manufacturers of this tinsel are becoming tougher and demand a high price. Bsd Georges pockets are not as long as they appeared and blaming Bsd Thomas for the leak of their plot he decides to “fait-le-runner” (medieval Scouse usage for doing one!).
With George back in Acrossthepond Thomas has the field to himself and he sets about planning his campaign. His pockets are not much longer than Georges but being of the ogre clan he is not debilitated by the code of chivalry (or any code for that matter). He contacts fellow ogres in Acrossthepond and offers Ellefci’s favours for sale. Finding no takers at home he comes back to Scouseland and similarly pimps her throughout Merrie England.
Appalled by the behaviour of his erstwhile friend George lets it be known that even if Thomas raises the gold he will not give up his half of the combination to him. He enters negotiations with the representatives of the Eastern Sultanate with a view to saving the damsel by selling his half of the combination to them. They come from a culture different from that of Scouseland but are flush with the filthy lucre and promise to honour local customs such as the quest for the Holy Grail (Treble)
To be continued:
Notes.
BSD. This is the Acrossthepondian equivalent of Sir and is actually short for BigSwingingDick as the Knights there are designated.
Le Chasse. Acrossthepondian knights have their own form of hunt. Instead of chasing the Holy Grail (or Treble) they chase The Big Buck. They also have a form of damsel rescuing, which they call “wildcatting” where the knights will “rescue” damsels of any age whether they wish to be rescued or not. Their motto when questing so is “You have to drill 20 dry holes to find a gusher”. Their custom is to carry off the fair damsel to their own fiefdom and fatten her up for later consumption or even to be traded to their brother BSDs. I do not jest!!!
"Dawg, if you have no emotional involvement in a situation it is easy to view those who have as caring disproportionately."
John,
My point wasn’t about how much you care about your team. I’m a sports fan. I respect that and relate. My point, as I said, was about the anti-Hicks rhetoric being disproportionate with the facts of the situation. Big difference.
Dawg and my point is that you only grade the proportionality of our rhetoric as those facts appear to you. To us those facts are well worth the response and thus proportionate. On this forum they might even be considered muted. Try posting on RAWK (Redandwhitekop) or YNWA (you’llneverwalkalone) and you will experience the wick turned right up!
The ‘anti-hicks rhetoric’ is all based on facts, not emotion – though he has managed to twig that side too.
Look, Texas_Dawg, he doesn’t have the money which is the reason why Gillett brought him in. If he does buy the club it’s because he’s just managed to scrape the finances together. Great for him, but what’s in it for us?
He and his sons can wear as many LFC scarves as they want for PR reasons but it is the case that they’re not wanted. What kind of bloody-minded man would not take the profit over the vitriol? A man who’s got his mind firmly fixed on $$$s. Great for him but in line with the ‘anti-Hicks rhetoric’.
I think its all getting a bit much for John. I am starting to question his mental health.
"Look, Texas_Dawg, he doesn’t have the money which is the reason why Gillett brought him in. If he does buy the club it’s because he’s just managed to scrape the finances together."
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/sport/football/2008/04/06/tom-hicks-bid-to-buy-out-george-gillett-in-10-days-98487-20374107/
Keep watching.
"What kind of bloody-minded man would not take the profit over the vitriol? A man who’s got his mind firmly fixed on $$$s."
So if he sells he was just in it for profit, but if he stays he is just in it for profit. Whatever.
you’re back?! yawn!
1. Anyone who uses the Sunday/Daily Mirror as a reference resource is just begging for misinformation.
2. How convenient that information of Hicks’s intention to buy-out Gillett should appear when he’s in England for the Champions League. Spell along with me…S…P…I…N
3. There is such a fundamental miscomprehension on the part of Hicks and his lackeys when it comes to the gulf between Liverpool, the football club, and Liverpool, the business. One of the reasons Hicks is so hated is that he makes no secret of his inclination to pillage this club for his own gain; those owners/chairmen who truly care about their club, their fans and their history invest in the club to win trophies and (possibly) reap financial reward: in other words, financial success is born from the club’s success on the pitch, not the other way around. In Hicks’s model (as evinced by his management of the Stars and the Rangers), investment of the barest minimum is used to keep the club afloat – who cares if there’s a prize at the end as long as the "product" maintains its brand integrity, right? Bloody hell.
So, to anyone who’s short-sighted enough to think that Hicks has been or will be good for Liverpool, close your eyes and conjure up the sensation of sitting in your £50 seat in the upper reaches of the back corner of the new stadium, so far away from the pitch that you have only your £8 pint and your £5 pie to console you as the team slips farther and farther down the table.
A great comment, Julie, and the right answer to a (the?) compulsive polluter of this site…
Well said Julie………..If anyone needs any reminder of what "the facts of the situation" are regarding Hicks’ history so far at Liverpool then just go back and read Anfielder’s brilliant post earlier on this thread. This hits the nail on the head as far as I’m concerned and should be put to music.
Hicks’ standard line of bunk is that this litany of crimes is all Gillett’s fault but Gillett’s sins arise from his actions back when he was still in bed with Hicks (god what a revolting thought that is !!) ………………..of course we’re not supposed to notice this little flaw in Hicks’ argument.
How nervous am I? Couldn’t sleep last night.
Had to start some ironing to take my mind off things. Then I watched the Liverpool v/s Middlesborough game from Feb this year: watching Torres score a hat-trick half settled my nerves but then our defence struggling to cope with 2 average forward players gave me a headache. How I sweated – even though I knew the score. And even though I knew we won. I was forced to bed at 2.30am.
But I couldn’t sleep.
I got up at 6.30am. I still don’t feel tired. Ridiculous, but I’m on a high and yet on a low at the same time – thinking of winning and then thinking of losing in the same breath. It’s awful but it could be a great night.
But tonight I’ll go to the game – now our defining game of the season thinking of you guys who can’t make it or watching it on the box – as nervous as me but hoping and dreaming of what could be, even what should be: Kicking every ball; Singing every songs (in your head); Willing the team on to win.
The ground, the players and the noise of the fans ringing in my ears – let’s hope my sleepless night was worth it.
YNWA!
midlands-red » I know what you mean about nerves. I am trying not to think about it, then I realise how tense I am! We can do this, but we’ve got to be awake for the full 90 minutes, especially at set-pieces.
I hope the ref’s not fallen for all this stuff about how unlucky Arsenal have been with decisions in the last two games. I want a fair fight!
Sore throats and smiles all round tomorrow please.
I can’t wait for tonight’s game… I hope we go through to the semis and then the final… my biggest fear though, is that we might face the Mancs in the final and lose.
We will never be able to live that down!
Come on you Mighty Reds!!!
YNWA
midlands-red: Apologies in advance…I’ll be the loudest voice in your head screaming every profanity I can conjure up if we concede another goal from a set piece…as well as the loudest voice in your head roaring in joy WHEN we win. Wow, I’m really going to owe you some headache medication after it’s over.
Cheer them on for us all, mate.