Redwire

You get warnings for pointing out the truth?

FFS.

Of course many would. One poster in this thread has already done all that.

He was absolutely knackered.

Andy Gray is a one-eyed get.

Steve McManaman attack on fans totally out of order Feb 9 2008 by Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo SO low has Steve McManaman’s stock fallen among Liverpool fans since walking out on the club on a Bosman free transfer almost nine years ago that there are those among them who find him only marginally more palatable than Gary Neville. In the immediate aftermath of the Sunderland game, McManaman lived down to their expectations once again when he launched an ill-informed attack on those fans who stayed behind on the Kop to protest against the club's American owners. Totally dismissing their cause, McManaman used his status as Setanta's resident “expert” to tell viewers: “We shouldn’t be talking about this protest, they’ve (Hicks and Gillett) come in and put money into the club. Why don’t the fans just let them get on with things? “All the fans should just go home; they are making it worse.” Get on with what, Steve? Get on with the shambles that saw Hicks admit that Jurgen Klinsmann was approached behind Rafa Benitez’s back? Get on with their ongoing personal feud which saw Gillett refuse to put his name to a press release confirming refinancing was complete? Get on with pushing £30m of interest a year onto the club? As for the assertion that “they put money into the club,” even the world’s most creative spin doctors would struggle to make people believe that. The facts are there Steve. Try checking them before you lambaste those who once paid your considerable salary. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-f...00252-20454242/

Exactly. My default position on any owner is that they are a c*nt until they have proved otherwise. I don't see what proof Gillett has offered.

Babel has also come off early for Holland.

Yes! £5 at 14-1 first goalscorer.

Everton football fans are bombarding the Prime Minister with irate messages since he took a pop at their dusty trophy cabinet, joking that the Goodison Park club's motto "Nil satis nisi optimum" ("nothing but the best is good enough") meant it could be "done" under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. Evertonians have been emailing Downing Street with some choice Scouse vernacular. "The cheeky, ignorant bar steward," reads one of the politer missives. "I, an Everton fan of 40 years, felt offended by his uncalled-for remarks." An apology has been demanded. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/colum...ark-778669.html

Spearing is only an inch shorter than Mascherano and Putterill is an inch taller. A few inches taller would help but if they're good enough they're tall enough. Being a short-a*** never did Scholes much harm.

He is.

Nice penalty. We're top of the league if we win this aren't we?

Neil is a know nothing c*nt of the highest order.

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No it's not.

Corporations employ shills all the time though I'm pretty sure I recognise this character, he's been on here before.

There was definitely a split on the Kop today, a large lack of appetite for any anti-owners songs up against a significant minority who tried to get the protest songs going. It wasn't obvious to me whether it was in the context of that particular game or a more fundamental objection, though I'm leaning towards the latter. When it comes down to it I think it may be that this protest at the game lark is just against everything that's coded in our DNA and there's a widespread uncertainty about the implications of all that's going on which is fuelling the schism. That's not to say that the PR programme has swayed huge sections of the support, more that there's an attitude of let's see what happens next before we storm the barricades.

I'm not sure that's necessarily true. If, come summer, Rafa doesn't want him and Crouch accepts that a move is his best option and isn't threatening to hang on for a Bosman, if there are several clubs in for him then his value shouldn't be affected much at all.

To be honest the only "superfans" I see are the ones who make fifty posts after a sh*t performance just to demonstrate how much more they care than mere mortals.

Good post.

After a turbulent couple of months at Anfield, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr are close to stabilising their regime at Liverpool for the immediate future and will follow up their £350 million refinancing deal by revealing designs for the club’s new stadium and by attempting to secure a deal to sign Javier Mascherano on a long-term basis. Hicks and Gillett have lost the good-will of many of Liverpool’s supporters during a harrowing eight-week period in which they have attracted criticism and hostility by approaching Jürgen Klinsmann, the former Germany coach, as a potential replacement for Rafael BenÍtez. With Dubai International Capital eager to take the club off their hands, the American tycoons have been under pressure to sell up, but, having resisted an informal offer worth £300 million for the club, they intend to proceed either today or on Monday with a refinancing plan that will represent the start of a charm offensive designed to repair the damage of the past two months. As well as the refinancing deal with Royal Bank of Scotland – which, after objections from Rick Parry, the chief executive, and David Moores, the former chairman, will lead to £160 million, rather than the entire £350 million debt, being loaded against the club, with £190 million being covered by the owners’ guarantees – Hicks and Gillett will unveil revised plans for a 70,000-capacity stadium in Stanley Park. They are thought to be ready to award the contract to HKS, the Dallas architect whose original design was dropped last month because of spiralling costs. The new design is understood to fall within the club’s £300 million budget. Hicks and Gillett are also preparing a long-overdue show of solidarity with BenÍtez. They are eager to be seen to be supporting the popular manager and are expected to provide him with the funds to secure the services of Mascherano. The Argentina midfield player is attracting strong interest from Juventus and Barcelona, both of whom are understood to have been in contact with Kia Joorabchian, the businessman at the head of the companies that own his economic rights. Mascherano was quoted as saying in an interview in Argentina yesterday that “the time has come to move on” from Merseyside and that a move to Juventus would appeal to him, but Liverpool hope to persuade him to stay beyond his present 18-month loan, which expires at the end of the season. Under the terms of his existing contract, Liverpool must pay Joorabchian £17 million to buy Mascherano outright and, although they still hope they may be able to negotiate on that price, there is an increasing willingness to secure his services in the long term. A deal will be facilitated if BenÍtez can raise £9 million by selling Mohamed Sissoko to Juventus, with a deal likely over the weekend. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle3248303.ece

How does cancelling Sky and Setanta hurt Hicks and Gillett? E-season spot on but Sky and Setanta?

Refinancing deal will keep Rafael Benitez on the back foot Oliver Kay Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr will secure their immediate future at Liverpool in the next 24 hours with a £350 million refinancing plan that will bring much-needed stability to their troubled regime at Anfield and leave Rafael BenÍtez more fretful than ever about his position as manager. It emerged last night that BenÍtez has been in direct contact with the League Managers Association in recent weeks, in the belief that his position at the club had been undermined by Hicks’s revelation that he and Gillett had held talks with Jürgen Klinsmann, the former Germany coach. Klinsmann has since agreed to take charge of Bayern Munich from July, but BenÍtez recognises that his prospects at Liverpool are bleak, particularly now that the American owners’ refinancing deal appears to have ruled out the prospect of an immediate sale to Dubai International Capital (DIC). DIC, the private-equity investment arm of the Dubai Government, could still come to BenÍtez’s rescue, but any hopes of an immediate takeover are likely to be dashed when Hicks and Gillett secure their long-awaited refinancing plan. The deal was in jeopardy earlier this week, but the co-owners firmly expect that the plan – agreed with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia – will be in place either today or tomorrow. They will also reveal the latest proposals for the club’s new 70,000-capacity stadium on Stanley Park. The refinancing deal will ease some of the pressure that has been building on Hicks and Gillett, who have been persuaded by Rick Parry, the Liverpool chief executive, and David Moores, the former chairman, not to place the entire debt against the club. Approximately half of the £350 million will go against the club, with the remainder being placed on the parent company, Kop Holdings, but critics of the American tycoons are still unconvinced that there is a workable plan in place with regard to the additional funds that are needed to build the new stadium at a cost of £300 million. Liverpool are thought unlikely to proceed in the near future with any move to secure the services of Javier Mascherano, the Argentina midfield player, whose 18-month loan from Media Sports Investments (MSI), which owns his “economic rights”, expires at the end of the season. BenÍtez wants the club to pay £17 million to sign Mascherano on a long-term contract, but one of the player’s agents, Walter Tamer, has suggested that the 23-year-old will leave, with clubs in Italy and Spain prepared to meet MSI’s asking price. Mohamed Sissoko, the Mali midfield player, also seems destined to leave Liverpool, having declared that he expects to join Juventus in the coming days. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle3241307.ece