KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Crisis that will haunt Liverpool for a generation

Martin O'Neill's comments after Manchester City beat his side on Saturday and took a step towards the Champions League were as ominous for Liverpool as for Aston Villa. "Even if they don't make the Champions League, Manchester City will get stronger again and keeping up with them is going to be hard," he said.

Liverpool can trade on their fans and their blue-chip reputation for only so long. If City win what is effectively a Champions League eliminator against Tottenham tomorrow, it will pave the way for a summer of spending that should render their place in the elite tournament a certainty for some years to come. Liverpool, meanwhile, face the risk of four, five seasons – a generation – without a place at the continent's top table.

It is why the pursuit of a new owner this summer is an issue of far greater significance than the career intentions of Rafael Benitez.

The club's managing director, Christian Purslow, thought he had found a way to stabilise the listing club: by securing a group of new equity partners whose money would keep the bank happy and smooth the way to capital needed to build a new stadium, which would send match-day revenues soaring. It is known as the "facility model" in football.

The problem was the prospective new partners understandably wanted some say over how the club might be run, and the owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, would not tolerate that. They sent the club back to square one and hired non-executive chairman Martin Broughton and Barclays Capital to find someone to buy them out entirely. The Americans have a track record of demanding an unrealistic price for their club, though: the £500m Dubai International Capital was quoted a few years back is a case in point.

. With Benitez around, Torres might just be persuaded to stay a little longer, and Javier Mascherano might just sign a new contract. Without Benitez, neither of the above applies.

If Liverpool really want an English manager then Mark Hughes, whose reputation is by no means diminished after his Manchester City experience, would be a good proposition if the Manchester United connection could be overcome. But would he want to walk into financial turmoil? Holding on to Benitez and finding a buyer and a place at the top table might not be such a forlorn hope.



By Ian Herbert from The Independent

come on DIC please

makes some funny arguments too...hope that colouring thingy works for everyone...

not for me

who cares u being a colour blind

It is sad sad times for this great honourable club of ours , but watch out big cheeses @ Anfield , a [oops] storm of enourmous proportions is going to hit this place if anymore crap comes out !!

yes, that why i made the comment in another thread, there are
much more important things that will impede any coach, so until those obstacles are removed, no coach will be able turn it around.

Mark Hughes lol

yeah thats the bit that threw me, i don't think he is big club material

regardless of what torres has said, i just dont buy this bullsht that nando and mascher would leave if benitez left. it doesnt make any sense that a player would be so loyal to a manager who is playing low grade football and about to be sacked. i'd believe it if we had a trophy haul over the last 6 years, and it was a situation like maureen at chelsea where he was succesful but was still sacked, but that doesnt apply here. benitez is failing. why would a top player follow a failing manager to another club?