Rafael Benitez stays, but much still to sort out at Anfield Oliver Kay, Football Correspondent As the ink dried on Rafael Benítez’s new five-year contract yesterday someone at Anfield whispered the phrase “a new start”. It is an appraisal that seems to overlook the fact that Liverpool are in today’s Champions League quarter-final draw and still fighting for this season’s Barclays Premier League title, but the new deal has brought much-needed stability to a club where a number of critical issues remain unresolved. Ownership The clock is ticking for Liverpool’s owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. July 25 is the date by which they must refinance their £350 million loans with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Wachovia, with or without the assistance of another investor, or sell the club. Gillett wants to offload his 50 per cent stake now — he has wanted to almost since buying the club two years ago — but Hicks is determined to find another investor. Talks have been held with two Kuwaiti groups, one of which has been identified as the al-Kharafi family, who agreed a deal to buy the club last July, only to pull out at the eleventh hour. The refinancing option would be difficult for Hicks and Gillett in this climate, particularly with RBS under public ownership. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, continues to monitor events with interest. New stadium Ever keen to dispel the image of the brash Texan, Hicks declared yesterday: “We wanna build that sucker.” That “sucker” is the proposed new 60,000-seat stadium on Stanley Park, a project that was put on hold indefinitely last August, when Hicks and Gillett conceded that could not raise the £350 million needed to start construction. Hicks insists that the stadium will be built when the financial climate improves. Management structure The imminent departure of Rick Parry leaves Liverpool looking for a new chief executive. Gillett favours an external appointment; Hicks supports the candidacy of Ian Ayre, the commercial director, but is prepared to look outside the club in order to get the right person. With Parry leaving, David Moores unsure as to staying as life-president and serious doubts over Gillett’s plans, the board is set to be restructured. Ayre and Philip Nash, the finance director, are in line to move into the boardroom. Playing squad Benítez will be given £30 million to spend this summer in addition to any funds he can raise by selling Andrea Dossena, Philipp Degen and Andriy Voronin. The manager’s priorities include a winger, a centre forward, right back and, if Daniel Agger or Sami Hyypia departs, a centre back. Aaron Lennon, of Tottenham Hotspur, and Antonio Valencia, of Wigan Athletic, are among the wingers being monitored. Equally important is securing new deals for some of the squad. The most pressing case is Agger, who may be sold to AC Milan or Real Madrid in the summer, but Dirk Kuyt, Álvaro Arbeloa, Fábio Aurélio, Emiliano Insúa and Jay Spearing are also in Benitez’s plans. There are also new deals planned for Fernando Torres, who will accept an increase in his £90,000-a-week wage, as well as Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, whose contracts expire in June 2011. Youth academy Benitez envisages a two-pronged system like that at Arsenal, with an emphasis on development and recruitment of outstanding young players. The manager has been disappointed by the failure to produce a home-grown Premier League player since Stephen Warnock, now at Blackburn Rovers. But, there are more than 30 overseas players in Liverpool’s reserve and youth teams, few of whom have made any impact. Benítez has high hopes for two teenage forwards, Dani Pacheco and Lauri Dalla Valle, from Spain and Finland respectively. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle5941623.ece
