Well from what I'm hearing, Lucas could be running out as captain on the opening day of the season against Arsenal. Ok that may not be the case but stranger things have happened.
There has been a significant blow behind the scenes with the club having lost a very wealthy bidder who was interested in buying the club. I'm prevented from saying too much about the specifics that caused the end of interest because it could out my sources, but they had the money and they had the right motives but Tom Hicks allegedly wrecked it. This was exactly the kind of bidder we needed, someone who wanted to use the club for marketing, brand awareness and promotion and not to make a killing directly out of us.
Although we've lost one significant bidder, I'm led to believe that there's 2 new ones but as I don't know who they are or where they're from so I can't pretend to be excited. I am completely in the dark with these ones at the time of writing.
I recently claimed that club officials Martin Broughton and Christian Purslow were hoping to have new owners in place within 5 weeks. Basically they hoped to secure a takeover before the end of the World Cup. That remains the case but if I said I was confident that will happen now, I'd be a liar.
I do know that we have interest from India and truth be told, my attention and hopes have now switched there for the time being. CAA & Peter Kenyon have also cropped up. I'll talk about this more on our members website shortly.
Tom Hicks is allegedly the cause of us losing my preferred bidder. I cannot put in to words how saddened I am about this.
I want to reference a report by The Mirror's Dave Maddock recently. It was titled 'Tom Hicks scuppers two 'perfect fit' offers for Liverpool' and he wrote:
'
Tom Hicks has allegedly scuppered at least two 'perfect fit' offers for Liverpool, because of his unreasonable asking price.
'Sources at Barclays Capital, who have been charged with selling the Anfield club, have revealed their private frustration at the American owner's unyielding stance in negotiations.
'An insider revealed to the Mirror that they have found "exciting investors" they believe have the money and standing to buy the club and take them forward, despite the massive debts run up by Hicks and Gillett. One of the offers has come from the Middle East, and another is a consortium led by a prominent American businessman.
'But, so far, the staggering valuation of almost £800million placed on Liverpool by their Texan co-owner has proved an insurmountable stumbling block, because potential buyers are refusing to pay his price.
'A source working on the sale of the Merseyside club for BarCap revealed privately: "We have found more than one really good fit investors, who have the wealth not to worry about a few hundred million quid.
'"But they will not be held to ransom, because they know the asking price is unreasonable, and they simply don't want to be taken for a ride, no matter how rich they are."'
I don't know who the bidders were that Dave was reffering to but the general theme of the article is exactly why my preferred bidder has now walked.
Because of the valuation that Hicks has put on the club, we're losing very serious parties who could propel Liverpool back to the top. The appointment of Roy Hodgson as manager wouldn't suprise me now. Although the good news on that front (as I want Kenny) is that Christian Purslow is still in England and Roy is in South Africa. Purslow is heading out there soon though.
Imagine this scenario: We have no new owners this summer... we hire a 'Roy'... Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano will almost certainly leave. If that happens, Fernando Torres will definitely go in my opinion. Let's say that generates £100million and our 'Roy' gets £30m of that to spend on new players. RBS then get paid out of the £70m that Tom Hicks and George Gillett keep from the player sales so they're happy. Imagine the squad we'd be left with without those 3 players (plus Benayoun of course). £30m wouldn't go very far to replace them.
If RBS get their money, they will not pull the plug on Hicks and Gillett. This means the duo can remain in place with an unrealistic valuation and continue to suck out the cash until time eventually runs out and RBS call in the loan. What you're left with is a club that can only aim for mid table with a Champions League wage bill and a mountain of debt that makes Leeds United's look like a rounding error. In that event the business is not viable and is insolvent and administration beckons.
If new owners are not found this summer then Hicks and Gillett will have to sell Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres to service the debt. They do not care about the club so don't think they won't. They will have to.
I can not stress the importance of finding new owners this summer and if what I've been told is true, the valuation of the club is why my preferred bidder has pulled out.
This bidder was willing to throw £1billion at the club just for branding, promotion and awareness. They weren't bothered about a profit as such. How many bidders can do that? How many bidders will invest without wanting to make a profit? Exactly and Hicks has ****ed it up again.
RBS will only pull the plug on Hicks and Gillett if they fail to repay them. If they are unable to meet their payments having rejected perfectly good offers for the club then RBS will definitely step in but if they're paid then they won't give a toss.
The only course of action that I believe is going to apply pressure on this situation is to launch protests at RBS branches up and down the country.
Any Red(s) can protest. You don't need a leader or union behind you (although the better organised the better). Barclays and British Airways would be my next call. But for now, RBS branches. This kind of 'taking it to them' protest would be visible, annoying and worrying to RBS who would have to give in if such protests were intense. It's their worst nightmare. Let's take it to them. Don't sit around expecting someone else to do it for you. If you've got an RBS branch in your town, start plotting!
I have talked about this before. The media would love it and RBS would sh*t themselves. Imagine Reds in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, London all turning up at RBS branches and then Terminal 5 at Heathrow to protest at Martin Broughton, chairman of Liverpool FC and British Airways who are based in the terminal.
Broughton's not on board for the love of the club. No, since he's come in he's seen Benitez axed and stood by and watched as Chelsea - the club he loves and is heavily connected with - make moves for Torres and Benayoun. That's a conflict of interest and he's pocketing hundreds of thousands of pounds for the privilege. He has to go.
Forget protesting around the streets of Anfield or in the stadium. It's not working and it's never going to work. The fight has got to be taken to them. Mass protests outside or even inside RBS branches would create massive negative publiclity.
Again, read this article by Dave Maddock titled 'Why RBS and Barclays Capital should stop being a bunch of bankers and force Hicks and Gillett to sell Liverpool'. It's very good and I share the same thoughts.
As for Christian Purslow. I've been quite supportive of him recently but something has now cropped up to make me question his motives. I have his private email address... maybe I should publish it and let you, the die-hard supporter, email him your questions and concerns?
The good news is that we still have interested parties negotiating. The bad news is we have lost the one I wanted. That still leaves a very wealthy option but with Hicks demanding twice what the club is worth, what mug is going to pay that because my preferred bidder wasn't going to! That means Hicks (and Gillett) stay, sell players to service the debt and bleed the club dry.
The longer Spain and England stay in the World Cup the better because our players are locked down and unable to put pen to paper on any deals they may have lined up. This gives Broughton and Purslow time to push a deal through. If they fail, because of Hicks and the spineless Gillett, get ready for a 'Roy' in charge and a player exodus.
I'm keeping the faith but it's starting to be tested.
YNWA
Duncan Oldham
KopTalk Editor
