Redwire

Carlsberg, Liverpool's biggest sponsor, has criticised the club's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, for delays in building their new stadium and said it is an open secret the club is still up for sale. Keld Strudahl, Carlsberg's international marketing director, said: "While we have a good relationship with Tom Hicks, we are naturally unhappy that the planned new stadium has been postponed. That cannot be good for Liverpool as a long-term business." Work on a new stadium at Stanley Park, which began in June, has been put on hold because of the spiralling cost of finance. The club has denied reports that it is considering redeveloping Anfield or sharing the new ground with Everton and Hicks argues that while investment in the stadium has been postponed, he and ­Gillett have funded the purchase of both the £26.5m Fernando Torres and £20.3m Robbie Keane. The Danish brewer, whose relationship with Liverpool stretches back 16 years, said it would be happy doing business with Dubai International Capital — the investment arm of the Dubai government — should it still be interested in a takeover. "We want the owners to say whether they intend to keep the club," Strudahl said. Strudahl said because of the credit crunch only an organisation such as DIC could afford to buy a Premier League club. Its attempts to buy out Hicks and Gillett were thwarted by the former's reluctance to countenance any sale, although Gillett is willing to surrender his 50% stake in the club. "If DIC become the new owners, I cannot foresee any problems working with them," said Strudahl. "We had a good dialogue with them before Hicks and ­Gillett. As the main sponsor, we saw their business plan and it looked good. "As far as I understand, DIC is as big a player in a potential Liverpool takeover as previously believed. You shouldn't underestimate the impact the credit crunch has had on clubs. At the moment there are not a whole lot of investors interested in buying Premier League clubs." Strudahl felt Hicks and Gillett might be interested in selling Liverpool if they received the right offer. "That Liverpool is for sale is a badly kept secret but nobody has the money to invest right now. The only people who can invest are those not interested in making a profit." Carlsberg's shirt sponsorship deal with Liverpool, worth £7.3m a season, expires in 2010 and although the company has been disturbed by the amount of boardroom in-fighting at Anfield, it said it would be prepared to renew it. "We will renegotiate our deal with Liverpool in the summer," said Strudahl. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/de...eague-carlsberg

Adebayor has continued his whinging by moaning about Xabi's tackle on Fabregas. The c*nt. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/de...verpool-arsenal

That'll do.

Final, 1981.

Brilliant! I've wanted Real Madrid for ages.

Why would you want to replace our best left back with an inferior player?

He was being a complete c*nt on Saturday, giving some to the crowd in the Paddock and then whinging to the fourth official and the police when he got some back. I could see him saying "why should I have to take this?" to the fourth official in response to some light banter asking him if he got his coat at Woolies.

He was smiling last Saturday when he was dishing out the awards to the youth players. It was quite disconcerting.

Straw is a c*nt though so I wouldn't be surprised.

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Babel fails in Ajax loan move bid Liverpool winger Ryan Babel has failed in his attempt to engineer a loan move back to his previous club Ajax. The 21-year-old arrived at Anfield for £11.5m in July 2007 but has failed to hold down a regular first-team place. His agent Winnie Haatrecht said: "Ryan sits on the bench too much, he wants to play more and asked me to see if Ajax were interested in a temporary return. "After we got an enthusiastic reaction from Ajax, we asked Liverpool but the club don't want to see him go." Babel has made 17 appearances this season but has started just two Premier League matches with manager Rafael Benitez preferring to use him as an impact substitute later in games. The Dutchman scored the winning goal as Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-1 at Anfield earlier in the season, but he has found his opportunities limited since the arrival of Spanish winger Albert Riera in the summer. However, despite his apparent eagerness for regular first-team football, Haatrecht maintains his client is happy to stay at Liverpool. "Rafael Benitez finds Ryan too important. Hopefully we will see that in more playing time," he told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. "Let's be clear - Ryan feels great at Liverpool, but for him to develop further he needs to get playing time." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...ool/7773239.stm

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Liverpool shaken by loss of potential buyer Oliver Kay The Liverpool ownership saga has taken another twist, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, telling the club’s owners that he has finally dropped his interest after an unsuccessful two-year pursuit. Amanda Staveley, who has been negotiating on Sheikh Mohammed’s behalf since the turn of the year, has informed Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr that he is no longer in contention to buy the club because of the financial climate and their refusal to lower an “unrealistic” £600 million valuation. This was initially regarded in some quarters as a negotiating tactic, but Staveley has told the Americans and their respective legal teams that there is no prospect of a bid for Liverpool being revived. Hicks and Gillett are aware of other potential investors, at least one of them from the Middle East, but the likelihood is that the club will have to muddle on for the time being. The owners hope to be granted a six-month extension to their £350million loan from Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia, which expires on January 25, but their long-term prospects at Anfield remain bleak. Gillett, in particular, recognises the need to sell because of the effects of the credit crunch, but, if Sheikh Mohammed is serious about having dropped his interest, the Americans are in danger of running out of potential buyers. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle5304123.ece

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A bit like how the same people slag off Dirk no matter how he plays. 1. Alonso 2. Hyypia 3. Reina

That's wrong is so many ways.

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That was probably the worst atmosphere at a European game that I can remember. I came close to a fight for telling some d****ead in the Paddock who was abusing Lucas as he lined up to come on to f*ck off.

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