Liverpool fans are not exactly having a good time of it right now, with results not going the way we’d like and the future ownership of the club remaining unclear. The following poll has just two choices for you to vote on and there isn’t a “none of the above” option. But please vote anyway.
With the Broughton/BarCap sale process failing and c£300m RBS debt almost due, LFC and its fans are faced with two distinct possibilities. What’s your preference?
1) Hicks and Gillett retain control via refinance or RBS extension
2) RBS take temporary control of the club on the proviso the club is passed on, as soon as practicable, to a responsible owner (this carries with it the possibility of LFC being placed into administration and a 9pt penalty being imposed by the Premier League).
If the poll doesn’t display below please click here to cast your vote.
Thanks!
NEVER MIND 9 POINTS I’D DO 9 YEARS TO GET RID OF THE LYING GREEDY B******S
New owners
YANKS OUT!!!
Easy decision – Get the lying b******s out, whatever sacrifices we have to make. Even if that means losing the current playing staff and relegation.
OK.
9 points this season are meaningless. Even relegation would be a small price to pay to get these worthless owners out.
new roumor the bank may allow owners more time to find new owners same on then
read the story on tribal football
I think that a 9 point hit and missing out on the Europa cup next season is well worth the hassle, we would be by far better off without them.
Anyway who seriously believes that we will finish 4th or the way things are going that we will even get a Europa cup place next season anyway? Torres is looking like a man who wants out of the club as soon as he is given a chance, he is now just repaying some loyalty that he owes us.
LFC are in serious danger of becoming another club that once upon a time were a success.
Jim can you periodically publish how many people have actually voted?
This is seriously a no brainer. Extension Twit and Tw@T still in charge least with RBS owning us they can sell up and get them out!
How many have voted, & can you make sure the results are passed on to RBS?
Articles in the Wall St Journal and New York Times about our ownership woes? This story is gathering a head of steam that will make life extremely difficult for Hicks.
Gillett seems to have accepted defeat. Hopefully Hicks will throw in the towel or be forced to by RBS management who must surely realise they have to do the honourable thing and take temporary ownership until honest and responsible owners can be found.
Hicks must be finished as a businessman after this debacle. Serves him right!
RBS won’t do the honourable thing – they’re earning too much money off us. They’ll extend the refinance with some sort of excuse like “more time to find new owners”.
We should be targetting RBS right now and making their life hell. They’re just as culpable in all this as H&G.
I’m quite bothered by the fact that 2.3% has actually voted for refinancing. Wonder if any of them are stooges sent by the Yanks or the likes of pricks like James Lawton (an absolutely atrocious Rafa-bashing article the other day to divert attention away from the Yanks, as is his modus operandi) and Henry Winter (the Cecil arse-kisser)?
I think it’s getting borrowing the way Liverpool being playing losing drawing, can’t Liverpooll get a good coach they starting worse and worse, don’t know if they want to win, don’t see the fighting pride to at least try to win, sick wasting time too see if they win, I want to see them winning
Jim you got yourself in the broadsheets with this poll:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/8025406/Liverpool-face-up-to-the-threat-of-administration-as-crisis-deepens-at-Anfield.html
did you create the poll yourself or did you allow someone to use the site?
Mr F.
The idea for the poll came after a discussion about what kinds of options we have in front of us. Despite Purslow’s claims about other bidders there aren’t any firm offers on the table.
RBS have a choice – extend the finance and see if someone does come forward to buy the club, or take the club off the owners and look to sell it themselves.
The threat of administration has been used in some circles as an argument for RBS to give H&G yet more time. I was personally surprised to see it so clear cut, although I fully expected it to be that way round.
In the end the poll closed with 3188 votes, 97.6% choosing the risks that come from RBS taking the club in their hands and just 2.4% choosing that H&G should get more time.
What made the poll happen is that there is still a serious worry that RBS will refinance for H&G because of fears of backlash if they allow a situation that sees LFC go into administration. And by LFC I mean LFC or its parent companies, and I mean in a way that sees the club docked points.
This poll hopefully shows them that they can cross that worry off their list, the fans want H&G out and are prepared to take that chance.
Jim as you probably remember I gave MB the BOD in the summer when he said there was serious interest or words to that effect in the club, but I do now have to say that I am seriously worried about the future of the club,more so than ever before.
Just watching the Sunday Supplement and if you heared it then you would have heared what they said about Liverpool, and I feal it has an element of truth to what they said. LFC will make money if the club is sold for the correct price i.e. £250 million, then you can build a stadium and get a profit back, but you can’t do that with the money Hicks is wanting for the club.
As for the RBS they are just going to do what they would do with any other business that was in the same situation, would the norm to be to grant an extension with more costs on the club and more profit for the bank, or would the norm be to call the debts in? There was the financial expert from the BBC who seems to think the bank will take over, and I hope they do, but then there seems to be a number of hacks who think they will be granted an extension.
Either way if we don’t finish 4th this season or at least have a good go at it, and show some real signs of improvement both on the pitch and new owners then you have to feel that Torres will be this season casualty, following Alonso and Masch. If Torres goes then you can’t see Reina staying for too long either can you.
I feel LFC have already become a selling club, as I define a selling club as someone who sells their top stars for top dollar and doesn’t spend the same amount on a player of the same calibre. I know United sold CR but they aren’t doing it regular and we know they aren’t afraid to splash the cash. We have done it twice now with Alonso and Masch, with the possibility of Torres also going, and you know we wont see that money being spent on players let alone a single player.
I think that poll sent the clearest possible message to RBS that 97% of the fans that voted would be happy for them to take temporary control of the club. I’m sure it’s already been reported that the PL would not dock the club 9pts but even if they did the fans – via that poll – have already indicated they would accept that.
Their fear is that no buyers would come forward and they would be stuck with something they don’t want. But the Daily Mirror ran a story a few months ago that two credible offers were made but fell short of the stupid asking price H&G had put for the club.
Given the few months since those offers were made and assuming RBS took control it seems inconceivable that they wouldn’t make a fresh offer that could well be lower than their earlier one but enought to cover the RBS debt.
RBS must know there is absolutely no chance someone will come forward with an offer acceptable to H&G if the loan is extended. They’re not daft and neither is a potential buyer. They could pay half the current asking price – why pay any more?
Things look bleaker than ever right now but providing RBS show some moral courage and do what everyone associated with LFC (bar H&G) wants them to do then things could improve dramatically in just a few weeks.
The storm is approaching RBS. Hold your head up high and don’t be afraid.
Mr F,
Some good points, briefly though I want to ask – how long can RBS guarantee profit out of LFC? More importantly for them, how long can they afford to back the owners without it ending up with them losing a big chunk of that money they lent?
RBS have a big decision to make.
The other worry isn’t just Torres asking to leave, but the club having no other option but to sell him.
All sounds a bit doom and gloom, but we have to be very careful.
The trouble with the 9 points situation is in the definition of “administration”. Technically RBS would own us, temporarily, and because we should be able to pay all our bills in full there’d be no difference to a situation where we were owned by any kind of consortium. But the PL would need to look at it, and other clubs would/could influence the decision.
An RBS takeover could possibly see us lose nine points, but we’re all (bar 2-and-a-bit percent) willing to chance it.
As you say Ray, that’s a message RBS have to take into consideration.
Please get those lying yankees out. Anfield will rise again, it will be bigger, better and stronger without yankees. They are a bunch of cowboys who have really taken the mickey out of one of the finest british institutions – its nothing new – the brits have been left lurking around in many other situations over the last couple of centuries, but we dont learn. Not only merseyside and anfield, this is about one of the biggest footballing establishments in europe that they are messing around with. Its that shoddy “eeh ha” mentality that hicks and gillet have bought over here. People go on about how immigrants from poor countries are entering the UK borders, nobody ever says anything about those immigrants who come here with money and rob the finest of british institutions- this is a classic example. It is a sad day when Anfield goes into adminstration because of these two greedy americans – who are most probably still waiting for the cheerleaders to come and lift their legs on the touchline!!!!!
I think its time to get real – Anfield is better off in adminstration then with these two yankeedoodledoos.
Jim,
If RBS do become our new (hopefully temporray) owners where does that leave any interest payments? Do they cease on the day they take control or do they continue at the same rate as now?
I hope they cease otherwise the price for any potential buyer will keep rising every day which is a pretty dreadful situation.
On the Administration issue I agree that we’re just owned by a different body. We still have assets and are still generating income so it’s a moot point. Hopefully the PL would have a quiet word with whoever decides these things.
That RBS may take over LFC has got to be the best option by far (the poll showed the fans opinion).
With the RBS in control those wanting to make a bid will come forward. That the bids will only be sufficient to clear RBS books is a forgone conclusion, H&G were always asking for unreasonable amounts and who can blame prospective bidders waiting until a sensible consideration will be given to bids of say 300mil, which is about what LFC is worth now but, still declining. That H&G will not get their immoral profits is entirely their own fault, they neglected their asset by bleeding it dry of player transfer money to pay for their borrowings.
But I am waiting for the volcano to erupt between now and 6th Oct as for sure it will.
Ken,
Deadline day is the 15th I believe. I don’t like the way everything has gone quiet. Hicks is plotting.
Read Henry Winter’s article in today’s Daily Telegraph. Interesting insight.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/8028652/Liverpool-fans-must-be-patient-in-battle-to-boot-out-Tom-Hicks-and-George-Gillett.html
Ray,
Good article from Winter, as deadline day approaches my cautious optimism is keeping me from suffering a heart attack!
I too don’t like the silence, but, in this case, I hope no news is good news…
Hicks may well be plotting but he appears to be thwarted for now…Gillette has disappeared from the face of the Earth so maybe he knows the game is up?
Hearing yet more stories of player unrest…former players piping up after 6 games in a transitional season. At least there’s an element of “what if?” rather than “they will” this time around.
It’s hardly been a week since the captain asked us to have faith that the boys will get it right yet he’ll be gone in January, same goes for our best striker. I really hope he wasn’t telling lies when he said his commitment was the same as the day he signed recently.
Goodness me, they hung around when we had the most mediocre season i’ve seen in many a year, but they’ll only give a new manager 5 months? Not very fair if you ask me…
For heavens sake, this is really doing my head in!
Jeff,
If you’re referring to the comments made by Steve McManaman I would ignore them. He’s been asked to write something about his former club and he’s just written wild speculation to fill column inches.
Neither do I think Gerrard and Torres will go in January. You don’t make a promise to stay at a club and then two months later reverse it. I would take Kuyt’s views more seriously re Torres as he’s privvy to dressing room talk.
And I feel a head of steam is building up which will compel RBS to assume temporary ownership. The level of vitriol that could head their way if they grant Hicks an extension (what about Gillett?) would not be good for their corporate reputation.
I’m sure there are lots of discussions taking place behind the scenes involving the club, RBS, the Premier League and even UEFA regarding this shambolic mess H&G have created. This must never be allowed to happen again. If you want to buy a club then you put up minimum 50% of the price in cash. That would stop all this nonsense straight away.
Deadline day – it depends on who you listen to.
So far I’ve heard 1st, 5th, 6th, 11th, 15th, 16th and 18th – plus some references that suggest it’s later than that.
The 16th is the 6-month anniversary of MB’s appointment, the 15th is a Friday, the 18th is the Monday.
I think we’re talking somewhere around that weekend anyway.
In terms of players staying or not, I don’t think anything is guaranteed.
Players might not be looking for a move, but it doesn’t mean they won’t keep their ears open in case one is offered to them. And if promises have been broken they might just decide enough’s enough anyway.
Torres was visited numerous times on holiday, it’s said, by Purslow – obviously Purslow’s got more important things to do than rub sun cream on Nando’s back or to babysit for the happy married couple, so it seems that he had to work hard to persuade Torres it was worth staying. If he made promises he shouldn’t have made Torres won’t be happy.