Thursday, August 5, 2010

The Legacy of Gillett and Hicks: Debt costing us £110,000 a day

You would be forgiven if the current takeover news surrounding Anfield left you somewhat punch-drunk, jaded and apathetic.
Haven't we seen all of this before? Promises by our two "Stewards" that they would sell the club, only for nothing to happen?
Except maybe seeing nothing being spent on players and the club haemorrhaging money every second of every day.
With Gillett and Hicks at the helm we have gone backwards. Off the field our revenue generation has supposedly come on leaps and bounds - certainly the ticket prices have gone up - but the revenue generated is being siphoned off to service the huge debt owed to RBS.
Two bids to take over the club are supposedly on the table. The bid by Kenny Huang came to light in the Monday morning newspapers, although there were internet whispers late Sunday night. Kenny seems to be in a hurry. He wants to sort the takeover out before the transfer window closes so our new manager can actually buy some new players rather than having to rely on free transfers and re-signing players who were supposed to be leaving the club.
Mr.Huang's bid also promises to clear the debt from the club and start work on the new stadium the club clearly needs and was promised in 2007 when Gillett and Hicks arrived.
Since then we are told that Gillett and Hicks have spent £45M on "Stadium Development".

A quick walk around the site in Stanley Park would suggest that would make the grass there the most expensive of all time. People walking their dogs there should indeed feel privileged.
Mr.Huang's bid seems to be backed by the huge wealth of Chinese sovereign wealth funds and opens up the possibility of Liverpool's profile in the lucrative Asian market becoming even greater.
It seemed late last night that Huang's bid would be successful. Huang's bid would also possibly see Gillett and Hicks leave the club with little or nothing, a situation that could well prompt street parties across the city.
Suddenly we are now informed that George Gillett has introduced a second bidder for the club. A Middle Eastern - Canadian consortium led by ex-Syrian international Yahya Kirdi.
"George Gillett has introduced".
Forgive me if I don't do cartwheels at that piece of information.
For those who have not been paying attention for the last 3 years it was Mr.Gillett who introduced Mr.Hicks to Mr.Moores (who was at the time preparing to sell to DIC) and the rest, as they say, is history.
Personally, I feel that if Gillett and Hicks remain at this club or decide our future to serve their own ends then it is us that will become history.
So no disrespect to Mr.Kirdi but your association with George Gillett does you no favours whatsoever in the eyes of Liverpool fans, and if Mr.Gillett whispers the word "Klinsmann" in your ear run fast, run far..
So is this new bid by Yahya Kirdi genuine or just a stalling tactic to either derail the bid from Kenny Huang or drive the price up?
Look at the track record of Gillett and Hicks so far and decide for yourself.
However, we were promised by Martin Broughton, who was brought in to oversee the sale of the club, that it would not necessarily be the highest bidder that won out, it would be the bidder that was best for the long term future of the club, the construction of the stadium being key to that future.
The harder the Americans fight to drive up the sale price the more the club bleeds. Every day £110,000 is poured into RBS.
Therefore Mr.Broughton and probably Stephen Hester of RBS this will rest with you.
Make the right choice to secure our future.

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