MEET OUR POSSIBLE NEW OWNER SHEIKH KHALIFA

With Hicks & Gillette having lowered their asking price to £560 million for Liverpool FC, a number of groups have shown a desire to purchase the club.

It appears that a prospective new owner may be a wealthy Arabian figure.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to give him his full name, is the current President of the United Arab Emirates and Emir (Ruler/ Leader) of Abu Dhabi.
 He is one of the wealthiest Arab businessmen in the World. He is wealthier than his half-brother, Sheikh Mansour who is the owner of Manchester City FC.

Sheikh Khalifa, as he is known, is said to be the third wealthiest royal with his net-worth around $19 billion, he also has major interest in Abu Dhabi and UAE developments.

If he successfully takes over Liverpool, he will look to make major investments in the club and according to stats, with his wealth Liverpool could have more financial power than both Manchester City and Roman Abromovich's Chelsea.
Lets hope he comes in, gets rid of the Yanks, invests in the team and a new stadium.

HICKS & GILLETTE LOWER THEIR ASKING PRICE

It appears that hated American owners of Liverpool, Hicks & Gillette have lowered their asking price down to £560 million due to pressure from RBS (finally) and Watchovia, the two banks they are in hock to.

The despised duo are apparently in talks with a middle east consortium to buy the club at a far more realistic price.

This will please every Liverpool fan, if it turns out to be true.

It also seems likely that the prospective new owners wish to install Guus Hiddink as the new Liverpool boss, although he is contracted to manage the Turkish national side and may be hard to get.

He would be an ideal candidate for the job at Liverpool.

More news to follow as soon as I get it...

It appears that the prospective new owner may be a wealthy Arabian figure.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is the current President of the United Arab Emirates and Emir (Ruler/ Leader) of Abu Dhabi. He is one of the wealthiest Arab businessmen in the World. He is wealthier than his half-brother, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who is the owner of Manchester City FC.

Sheikh Khalifa, as he is known, is said to be the third wealthiest royal with his net-worth around $19 billion, he also has major interest in Abu Dhabi and UAE developments.
If he successfully takes over Liverpool, he will look to make major investments in the club and according to stats, with his wealth Liverpool could have more financial power than both Manchester City and Roman Abromovich's Chelsea.

RAFA SACKED WHILE HE WAS ON HIS HOLIDAYS!

Rafa Benitez' shabby treatment by MD Christian Purslow is now in the public domain.
After six years of dediation to Liverpool Football Club, his departure was swift and ruthless.
"It was really sad," Benítez said when discussing his departure in an interview with Radio City today. "I was on holiday so it was a surprise that everything was going on in this way, but at the end of the day it has to be like this because Christian Purslow is now in charge and he decided to do it in this way. That is it"
Hardly the 'Liverpool way' of doing things.
When Gerrard Houllier was relieved of his duties, the old Liverpool board of David Moores and company held a dignified press conference along with Houllier, thanking him for his time at the club and wishing him well for the future.
That was a luxury not afforded to Rafa Benitez, sadly and our club is all the poorer for it.
Hang your head in shame Purslow, why the great haste in sacking the manager when you are taking so long in finding a replacement?

WHAT IS IT WITH PURSLOW AND CO?

What is it with Purslow and Co at Anfield?

 The vacant Liverpool manager’s job needs to be filled and soon. Kenny Dalglish is the fans favourite, and mine, for the job.

Yet Managing Director Christian Purslow seems determined to secure the services of Fulham manager, Roy Hodgson.

 It puzzles me as to why Purslow is so determined to get his man. Hodgson has not exactly jumped at the chance to manage Liverpool, despite all the overtures towards him thus far.

 I would ask the Liverpool MD to take a step back and offer the job to the heir in waiting, Kenny Dalglish, a man with an impeccable CV and a true Liverpool man waiting in the wings to bring back the good times to Anfield.
We are facing the nadir of our club, the deep black hole, the abyss.
The club is £351 million in debt, our bankrupt, corrupt owners are refusing good bids fot the club, we have no manager and vital players are openly talking about leaving.
Dark days at Anfield, Shanks must be turning in his hallowed grave.

LIVERPOOL BOARD: WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION!

Oh  God. Little did we know that when the new board was appointed by Hicks and Gillette earlier this year that things would come to this derisory end.
The first thing they did was get a new sponsorship with Standard Chartered Bank( who are they?) worth £20 million a year, if we are in the Champions League , that is, but we are not so the revenues from that deal for next season at least, are similar to to what Carlsberg have been paying us for decades.
So, no major coup by Purslow,Nash and Ayre there then.
What exactly has the Hicks and Gillette appointed new board done for the good of Liverpool FC  since they arrived?
I think they have set the club even further backwards than it was when David Moores owned the club.
We were only £40 million in debt year on year and had he applied for funding for the new stadium back then, he would easily have found banks willing to put up £300 million to get the new stadium built without Mores having to sell out.
Alas, that didn't happen, we have had three calamitous years of American debt merchants running our club into the ground and the future looks bleak.
The one manager who is capable of lifting the team is our idol Kenny Dalglish, but MD Christian Purslow is ignoring him for Roy Hodgson of Fulham fame.
Crazy, isn't it.

BARCA TO BID £70 MILLION FOR TORRES

Barcelona have entered the race to sign Liverpool's prized asset Fernando Torres.

Sandro Rosell, the new Barcelona president is determined to pair Torres with his international striker partner David Villa, who the Catalan giants recently acquired from Valencia,
It is believed that a massive offer of £70 million is being prepared to bring the star striker back to Spain.
It may be also that the Liverpool board will find it very difficult to turn down such a high offer for El Nino, if it does actually happen.
Lets hope these rumours about Torres, Gerrard and Mascherano turn out to be just that, rumours.
Until that increasingly inept board of ours sorts out things with the swift appointment of a new manager then Liverpool will continue to spiral downwards.

KENNY STEPS OUT THE RUNNING FOR LIVERPOOL JOB

It appears that Kop idol, Kenny Dalglish has tonight ruled himself out of the running for the vacant manager's job at Liverpool.
Despite telling Liverpool MD Christian Purslow that he wanted the job last week, it appears that his ambitions to manage his beloved Liverpool again have been rejected by the board.
It seems that Purslow, curiously, prefers the appointment of Fulham's Roy Hodson.
This has disillusioned the former Anfield legend to such an extent that he has now withdrawn his name from the running.
It leaves the way free now for Purslow, who I am beginning to dislike, to make a formal approach for Hodgson over the next two days.

WELL DONE RAFA

 

Rafael Benitez was in town today, probably to start organising the sale of his house and that.
But he made a point of visiting the organisers of the Hillsborough family support group and he made a large donation of £96,000 to the fund by cheque.
"When he handed the cheque over to me he was very emotional, as I was and the committee was, especially when we saw the amount," said Margaret Aspinall, chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

"He just said that he wanted to help with the cause and hoped we get what we rightly deserve.
"We have lots of things that we spend money on; a memorial every year, upkeep of the office and expenses but Rafa just said as long as it helps the group then that's all that matters."
Rafa, I have always admired you as a true gentleman, you had one bad season and you got shafted by the board while you were on holiday, you deserved better than that.
But the fact that that you made this truly majestic donation has shown what a sincere and kind man you are.
Best of luck with your new job, well done Rafa.

KENNY KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY

Kenny Dalglish has thrown his hat into the ring for the vacant Liverpool manager's job, vacated by Rafa Benitez last week.
While I would love to see King Kenny return to Anfield as manager, I would be very wary if he did so.
For a start, he has been out of football management for a full ten years now.
The game has changed significantly since he left it with Newcastle, ten years ago.
Instead of the free-flowing football of a decade or more, it has been replaced by a rigid 4-5-1 policy by most managers in the Premiership.
Teams set up nowadays by making it hard to beat them, instead of having a go at beating their opponents.
It often makes for a poor spectacle, but that is the Premier League today as we speak.
Kenny, much as I admire your brilliance as a Liverpool player and manager, don't be taken in by the idiots that now run our club.
Keep your counsel and let them go down the road  that they wish to pursue.
You don't need the aggro Kenny.

GERRARD: "I WANT TO LEAVE"

News coming out of Spain suggest that Stevie G may be on his way out of Anfield.
Spanish newspaper La Marca says that Liverpool's talisman has told the club that he wants to leave.
Gerrard cut a forlorn figure throughout much of last season and speculation about his future has increased by the day with Real Madrid ready to make a £30 million offer for the player.
If these reports are to be believed then its a sad day for Liverpool, without a manager, without new owners and without much optimism for the immediate future.

Torres set to snub City for Chelsea

It looks like our prized asset, Fernando Torres is set to leave Liverpool.
Following our poor season and the departure of boss Rafa Benitez, the Spanish striker has had enough and wants to move on
Manchester City were ready to offer Fernando Torres a huge contract, "and by that I mean the biggest for any footballer anywhere in the world, according to Soccernet. "But Torres said 'no', he was not interested."
It is believed that City were offering Nando £200,000 a week to join them but they were rebuffed by the player who now favours a move to Chelsea, who crucially, are title winners and will be in the Champions League next season.
Torres has become dismayed by recent events at Anfield and having spent the early part of his career at struggling Athletico Madrid, he does not wish to do the same at Liverpool.
So the best we can hope for now is a £70 million fee for our prized asset.
I live in hope that it will be reinvested in our playing squad, but while Hicks and Gillette stay in charge of Liverpool, there is no guarantee that it will be.
It is more likely most of the money we get, if Torres does go, will end up paying off the debt.
Dark days at Anfield.

HODGSON TIPPED TO BE NEW LIVERPOOL MANAGER

As Liverpool Fc look for a new manager, the front-runner appears to be Roy Hodgson of Fulham.
It is thought Hodgson, who led Fulham to the final of the inaugural Europa League this season, is seen as the steadying influence the club requires after the chronic uncertainty of the last months of Benítez’s six-year tenure.
His stock has rarely been higher after consistently exceeding expectations since joining Fulham in December 2007, and he has won praise for the style of his football, his ability to work on a limited budget and his non-confrontational demeanour in his second spell as a Premier League manager.
Hodgson has a good track-record across Europe and in England and would be an ideal choice for Purslow, Ayre, Nash and Broughton
Other names being touted are Mauricio Pellegrini, sacked by Real Madrid, despite a very good season, Slavan Bilic of Croatia is also in the frame, while incoming Turkish national coach, Guus Hiddink is the fan's favourite to take over the club.
It seems that Mark Hughes and Martin O'Neill are not on the radar, thank goodness for that.

New manager WILL get £20 million transfer funds

With the sad departure of Rafa Benitez, it has emerged that Liverpool's boardroom were only willing to give Rafa a paltry £5 million to spend on new players, the next manager of Liverpool will be given between £15 to £20 million to spend on new players.

As I reported last week, the current board of Broughton, Purslow, Ayre and Nash were unwilling to give that kind of money to Rafa as his transfer dealings at Liverpool have been mixed ,to say the least.
Now, Christian Purslow, ironically the man who replaced Rick Parry at Rafa's behest, is to lead the search for a new manager
He will be assisted by Kenny Dalglish an Anfield legend who managed Liverpool's last League title as they look to bring in a high-profile new coach.
Dalglish is unlikely to play a role in the future management of the club, and the Reds are happy for Benitez's assistant, Sammy Lee, to take the reins until after the World Cup if necessary.
So it seems that the new board mean business and are not willing to put up with failure.

RAFA ON THE WAY OUT OF LIVERPOOL?

I am just in from the pub and I read all these reports that Rafa is on the way out of Liverpool FC with a paltry £3 million pay-off to get rid of him.
I knew that Christian Puslow doesn't rate the manager but I didn't think the new board of Nash, Ayre, Broughton and Purslow would sack him, they have the casting votes now in the running of the club.
Sorry to see you go Rafa, you gave us many great nights in Europe and nearly won us the Premiership last season.
So who do the new Liverpool board have in mind to replace the affable Rafa?
Guus Hiddink, currently managing Turkey  is the obvious candidate and if Rafa is a goner, then I hope that the highly respected Duthman is installed as the new Liverpool manager for next season.
Dramatic times at Anfield!