GWistooshort

It's actually on at 12.15 - apologies for the typo

The other papers that have articles on it all say slightly different things........... The Liverpool Daily Post says he missed it, the Daily Mail says it understands Wiley was concerned his view was slightly obscured, while the Times merely say that Wiley was asked to look at the incident again by the FA & having reviewed a recording is standing by his original decision.

Sky highlights [5:19] of the match are also available on the link below http://link.brightcove.com/services/player...tid=41678794001

You can watch 4½ minutes of highlights of the match by clicking on the link below Unfortunately it's only available to UK users http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/l...cup/8271376.stm

FA have confirmed that no action will be taken against Mascherano http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/se...rmaine-beckford

Minutes of the meeting posted http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Christ...ng-Minutes.html Christian Purslow Meeting Minutes Wed 23 Sep 2009 The Spirit of Shankly met with Christian Purslow prior to the Debrecen game and our questions and his answers are detailed below – the responses were arrived from the minute taken at the meeting and agreed subsequently with Mr. Purslow. The original draft has not changed in any significant way from the minute taken by our Secretary and those Committee members who attended are certain it accurately reflects what was said at the meeting (even if we did not agree with all what we were being told). The Union appreciated the time given by Mr. Purslow but we were firm in our views about the ownership and our members’ concerns. The meeting was set up on the basis that we had no authority to go “off record” and we can assure members that Mr. Purslow said nothing to us "off the record". We are pleased to see he is keen for a continuing dialogue and prepared to attend Committee and General meetings. Fran Stanton, Graham Smith, Kieth Culvin, Steve Monaghan and Nicky Allt attended the LFC offices above the Museum at 5.00pm for the planned meeting with Christian Purslow. Ian Ayre met us and took us to Christian Purslow's ("CP") office which faces The Park on the second floor of the Kop. CP opened by saying he had been at the Club for three months and had decided at the outset to have a low profile in order to get his feet under the table and assess the job, people, attitudes and state of the Club. His aim had been to form his own opinions and not to simply replicate the one’s he might be given. He had given no press interviews until the Echo one this week and as far as public meetings where concerned this SOS meeting was the first he had given to any representative group. He said he had no plan to keep a high profile and expressed some embarrassment and annoyance that the Echo interview had been spread over three days – “even my Mum got bored.” He said from the outset that he wanted to give the SOS direct access to him. At the conclusion of the meeting he offered to meet regularly for catch up, probably about once a quarter either one on one or to a group meeting. CP said he was aware of our relationship with IA and wanted to continue that dialogue, be open and honest and that he would try and answer our questions as far as he could – he would say what he could answer and what he could not but would be truthful in his dealings with us. He stressed regularly that he was a fan of the Club too and wanted the best for the Club. We handed him the questions and he looked over them before making the comment "I was not expecting at a get to know each other meeting to have such detailed financial questions". We agreed he could take the questions away to study and that we would have a general conversation to try and address key issues and concerns where he could shed some light. KC then gave CP a potted history of the formation of SOS and the fact that it was born out of a desire to hold the owners to account and as a consequence to see them removed from the Club. He made it clear we were not a supporters’ club with the usual interests that a supporters’ club would have. NA added that before SOS had been formed there had been little or no dialogue between the fans and the Club. 1. What does LFC and its associated companies owe to banks and other funders? How much of the borrowings are secured upon Liverpool Football Club Ltd? He indicated that currently the TOTAL debt owed by the Club and its associated companies was approximately £245m. GS asked him specifically to confirm that that figure represented the total debt (rather than just that owed by LFC) and he confirmed the £245m figure again. 2. How much does it cost each year to pay the interest on these loans? This figure wasn’t given (only as the meeting jumped between issues) but he made reference more than once that the Club was in a good financial position and could service what it owed. The last accounts showed that the club could not service all the debts solely with the income, with the reduction in debt and the rise in commercial income; it could now do that comfortably. With H&G recently paying off £60 mill they may not be in a rush to input further equity but the debt is being managed. 3. Is the interest rate paid by the Club (or associated companies) to the owners for any funds they have introduced the same rate as the owners are being charged from wherever else they borrowed that money? CP said that the owners had recently introduced £60m into the Club. GS asked him if these sums carried their own cost to the Club in terms of giving a return to the owners in interest or other finance payments and CP said emphatically that was not the case and this was equity that was introduced by the owners, reducing the debt burden to £245m. 4. Where has the money gone for the initial ground work on a stadium? If the owners had stuck to their initial promise of debt not being put onto the club then surely the initial £350 million borrowed from the bank to purchase the Club could have paid for a stadium? CP was positive about the stadium project. He said that whether we all liked it or not the credit crunch had had an impact and that in some ways it was better that we hadn’t started the project before the bank problems as that could have seen a half completed project by now. Currently, deferment of the project was the only option although he estimated that 2010 should see the economy easing and banks’ attitude to projects like the stadium becoming more positive. GS made the point that if the owners had done at the outset what they said they were going to do, which was to not use borrowed funds to purchase and fund the Club then at the time they wanted to start the stadium the Club would have been debt free. No one would have considered a loan unreasonable to fund the stadium and even if the credit crunch had then hit they would have been able to use the £60m they have just injected to assist in getting over any difficulties. The problem was not completely credit crunch related more the fact that they were fully borrowed. 5. Can you tell us your background and experience? Where RBS consulted, instrumental or insistent in any way whatsoever that you were appointed to the role that you have or can you confirm that they played no role whatsoever in your appointment? In response to this question CP indicated that as far as he was aware RBS played no role in his appointment and he was appointed independently by the owners but he agreed that the banks were probably happy at the appointment. 6. Is any part of your role to be actively seeking a purchaser for the football club right now? If so would you be prepared to sit down with a fans’ consortium to discuss a possible sale? CP was very clear that it was not his brief to sell the club. His job was to work with the manager on football matters and to improve the commercial aspects of the club and make us more successful off the pitch, this in turn would make LFC more successful on the pitch and obviously more attractive to investment, but his job was not to directly seek a purchaser for the club. 7. You suggested that this summer “We’ve spent about £20 million more than we’ve generated…….” suggesting that the Summer transfer window saw the £20m of excess expenditure you are quoted as having been spent. Can you clarify this point, as on the basis of a look at who left and at what price during the summer transfer window it cannot be accurate. CP gave a detailed review of how the transfer system operated and the fact that the manager’s first goal at the start of the recent window was to see key players signed up on new deals. This was considered “new money”. He went on to state categorically that the spend after incoming sales money (the actual sums received this summer, which in every sale case this window was an installment) was about £20m more than received. The first thing that the Manager wanted was Gerrard, Torres, Kuyt, Skrtel, Benayoun and Agger signed on new deals, before any new signings, he then wanted Glen Johnson, to replace Alonso with Aquilani, and due to Hyypia leaving we needed an extra centre back. 8. What proportion of the club’s revenue in percentage terms is being used to service the Club’s borrowings bearing in mind the last set of published accounts shows the Club’s profits being insufficient to service the Club’s borrowings? No figures were given for this question but the previous answer above was reiterated stating that the debt reduction had seen interest and servicing costs reduce significantly due to the fact that the owners had injected £60m of equity (not further loans requiring repayment or interest payments). 9. The owners were due to refinance the Club’s debt at the end of July – has this been formally completed and if so, when is it due for its next review? CP stated that the refinancing had been formally signed off by RBS on the basis that the equity mentioned above had been injected. He mentioned that although all fans had the right to express their views that specific protest action at games made the financial and commercial part of the development of LFC more difficult as it can put off potential sponsors and business partners if they think there will be hassle. With a fan now on the inside leading the club and with access to him assured he hoped fans will feel they are being listened to. In conclusion CP stated he wanted an ongoing dialogue and that he would welcome the opportunity of meeting on a quarterly basis, either in his office with the committee or at a broader group, with the SOS, was happy to attend a Management Committee meeting and would attend a mass meeting.

Thanks I'm diversifying just in case we have a transfer ban on us because of this Crewe stuff

Click on the links below for the post-match interviews............. Rafa (Sky) [1:46] Rafa (BBC) [2:20] AUDIO Carra & Ngog (Sky) [1:38] Leeds manager Simon Grayson (BBC) [2:11] AUDIO

12.25 on SSN

Subs: Reina, Gerrard, Torres, Skrtel, Voronin, Plessis, Johnson Still no Agger...

Confirmed by Dirk http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...090921-0947.htm

I agree with him too on that point, it was just how he could argue on the one hand that Mascherano's head isn't right & therefore I assume shouldn't be playing, but that Gerrard shouldn't have played in midfield If Rafa had picked Gerrard up top off Torres & two of Plessis, Spearing & Lucas in midfield against Debreceni & we hadn't won I wonder whether the journo would have come out & said Rafa picked the right team?

Click on the links below to watch the highlights & post-match interviews v West Ham........... Highlights (Virgin) UK only Rafa (BBC) [1:37] Torres (BBC) [1:21] Stevie, Rafa & post-match analysis (ESPN) (See soccernet.tv column on right-hand side) West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola (BBC) [2:07]

So Masch's head isn't right, but was amazed to see Gerrard replace him in midfield

Click HERE to watch a clip of Rafa's pre-match press conference

Rafa Benitez urges Javier Mascherano to rediscover Liverpool FC spark Sep 19 2009 Ian Doyle JAVIER MASCHERANO has been challenged to set aside his World Cup worries and rediscover his spark for Liverpool. Mascherano has struggled for form during the opening weeks of the campaign after a difficult summer in which Barcelona were actively pursuing the midfielder. The 25-year-old’s concentration has been further affected by Argentina’s struggle to reach next summer’s World Cup finals in South Africa. Diego Maradona’s side could miss out after slumping to successive defeats in their qualifiers against Brazil and Paraguay earlier this month, during which Mascherano – who is skipper for his country – sustained a pelvic injury that ruled him out of last week’s 4-0 win over Burnley. And as Liverpool prepare to visit his former club West Ham United this evening, Mascherano has been urged by manager Rafael Benitez to focus his mind solely on Anfield matters. “When you are not winning while playing for a big country like Argentina, you have to be worried,” said Benitez. “But Javier is a player with experience so he will come back, focus his mind and start thinking about Liverpool. “He is the captain so he will be really worried because in Argentina, they live and breathe football, so as captain it will obviously be a worry for him. “But since the first day he arrived here, his commitment has been 100%. “I am watching him in training sessions and he is doing well and working really hard. I was watching him specifically because we were doing some exercises that needed hard work and he was very good in both and today was the same. “The atmosphere in our training sessions is very good now and he is one of the players who is always working so hard that as a manager you have to be pleased.” Reports in Spain suggest Barcelona are preparing a January bid for Mascherano, despite their director of football, Txiki Begiristain, having already been warned off any move by Benitez. And the Liverpool manager has intimated the Argentine, who arrived at the club in January 2007, could be offered a new contract later this season. “Top teams are always interested in signing top-class players,” said Benitez. “It’s normal. But he has a contract and we want to keep him. “I told Txiki Begiristain before that we wanted to keep him and he knows my opinion. “I have told him how important it was for him to come here, and now he is the captain of the Argentina national side thanks to Liverpool. “For us, to have the best from Mascherano is really important if we want to win more games. “He has two more years, but if we need to do it we will talk to him. He has enough time and has to play at the level he has played at before and we will be really pleased with him. We are really pleased with him.” Mascherano made only a fleeting appearance as a late substitute in the midweek Champions League win over Debrecen. And with Lucas Leiva and Steven Gerrard impressing in central midfield in his absence, the Argentine is not guaranteed a starting place at Upton Park. “I am really pleased with the way that the team is playing now but I was also happy with the two games previous,” added Benitez. “All the players know what they have to do on the pitch, so to change one or two of them is not a big difference. If Mascherano is fit he can play but Lucas and Gerrard are doing well as midfielders. “He is a key player for us and he will be a key player for us during the season but he was away and Lucas and Gerrard were playing well so I have to manage this situation. But it is better for me to have these problems.” Along with Mascherano, both Fabio Aurelio and Ryan Babel are pressing for recalls this evening. http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverp...92534-24726928/

Rafa says Agger could be available next week http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_5566890,00.html

The Daily Mirror Rafa phoned to sign me... I thought it was a prank! By James Fletcher Three times his mobile phone rang with an English number. Three times he ignored it. Eventually curiosity got the better of Fernando Torres and he returned the call. There was no answer. He jested to his wife Olalla: ‘That’ll be Benitez wanting to sign me!’ How right he was. He said: “I don’t pick up the phone if I don’t recognise the number. Whoever it was had been very insistent – and that evening, a Sunday night, I rang back. There was no answer but a couple of seconds later, whoever it was returned the call. “’Hello Fernando’ said a Spanish voice at the other end, ‘do you know who this is?’ ‘No’ I replied. ‘You mean, you’d ring a random English number when you don’t even know who it is?’ the voice said. ‘Not normally, no,’ I said, ‘but I’ve had three calls from this number and I want to know who it is.’ ‘It’s Rafa Benitez.’ “There wasn’t much conversation – not from me, at least. My responses were to the point, short and cold. Too cold. Off hand. I’m amazed he didn’t tell me to get lost. “My mind was racing, trying to place the voice, to decide if it really was Benitez. But how should I know when I had never spoken to him before? He didn’t stop talking. He explained what his plans were and he told me that he had decided that I was the player he wanted to be Liverpool’s centre-forward. He needed to know if I was committed enough to the idea for him to fight for my signature and start negotiating with Atletico Madrid. “I didn’t know what to think; my mind wasn’t clear, it was spinning. I was thinking that maybe it was a mate of mine fooling around or some impersonator trying to catch me out. “ I thought I might be falling victim to another bad taste joke, like Jose Antonio Reyes when someone from a radio station rang him pretending to be the Real Madrid’s vice president Emilio Butragueno while he was still at Arsenal and he got himself in all sorts of trouble by admitting to ‘Butragueno’ that he would love to join Madrid. “Almost all I managed to say was ‘Speak to Miguel Angel Gill, Atletico’s owner, and when the leagues over I’ll think about my future.” Benitez did indeed pursue their conversation. He ordered the Anfield hierarchy to secure Torres signature and despite Atletico Madrid’s attempts to persuade him to stay a £26.5 million deal was eventually thrashed out. He didn’t have to do much convincing of the player. Torres had long been fascinated with Benitez as a manager. He had watched him guide unfancied Valencia to two La Liga titles and UEFA Cup triumph. Only after working with him did he realise the secrets behind Benitez success. The picture he paints of Benitez is fascinating. A man totally consumed by football. Unable or unwilling to converse with his players about anything other than football - as he proved to Torres the day after Liverpool’s magnificent win over Chelsea in . He added: “I’m doing up my boots ready to head out to the training pitch when the manager Rafa Benitez comes over. During the previous few days the papers have been full of stories about me becoming a father. ‘Congratulations Fernando,’ Rafa says. ‘Thanks boss,’ I reply. “I assumed that he was congratulating me on the pregnancy and I paused, expecting the obvious next question: How’s the mother? Or: Will it be a girl of a boy? I was wrong. I’d forgotten the man standing in front of me was a coach who thinks about football 24 hours a day, seven days a week. ‘Just as we’d anticipated, attacking the near post really paid off yesterday’ he said. ‘You got ahead of the defender into that space we talked about, which gave you an advantage and allowed you to beat Cech with a header. It was a good pass from Fabio but you worked it well. Congratulations.’ And with that Rafa turned and headed out for training. “Rafa Benitez, football coach. A football coach through and through. A man so absolutely dedicated to a difficult, demanding and often ungrateful profession. “Benitez is a manager who knows how to get the best out of his players. He knows how to choose the right players for his system, players who fit his philosophy for the team and the squad. He builds a strong group and helps to improve the individual within it. He pushes you so hard that you end up playing at 120 per cent of your potential. Then he pushes you some more. Once he has got you playing at your very peak, he finds a way to fit all the pieces together for maximum effect. “Rafa lives football 24 hours a day. He’s meticulous and so insistent on the small details that it can be hard to deal with. He’s so on top of you that a lot of the time he’s on the pitch reminding you of your mistakes the second the game is over, while he normally ignores the things you did well. “He encourages you with criticism, pushing you to improve every day. If you can’t handle that, it can damage your self-esteem, but if you can handle it, it pushes you on. He provides you with information and detail you didn’t even know about and hadn’t even noticed but that help you get better. He lays great store by the geometry of football: where you are in relation to the ball, if you’re half a metre further forward or half a metre further back...The work you do and the improvements that come with it gives you confidence. So does he. “Rafa likes to encourage dialogue. He doesn’t want to just show us a video, talk on his own and then jump on the bus to go to the ground. He asks the players for their opinion and tries to involve them in the debate over what we should do. Sometimes he even interrogates you about your role or some move you’re supposed to carry out. “Sometimes I feel like I’m back being a schoolboy in Fuenlabrada with a teacher testing me on what he’s just taught us. I remember that during one of the first team talks I was involved in he asked us, in a way, what the key to winning the game was. It was my turn to answer. I couldn’t think of anything. I was racking my brain but drawing blanks when Yossi Benayoun rescued me with a whisper in my ear: ‘Pass’ “During team talks you realise just how closely Benitez studies the opposition. He likes to tell us the line-up when we get to the dressing room but even before that he has given a tactical lesson in how the other team plays. Even though he doesn’t want us to know what team, we’re going to play, he insists on us knowing what team the opposition will play. “I honestly don’t think I have ever had a conversation with Benitez that hasn’t been about football. That’s just the way he is.” http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Torre...icle158665.html

The Daily Mirror Day I realised I'd never walk alone By James Fletcher His head may have been in Madrid but his heart was already in Liverpool. Even though Fernando Torres didn’t actually realise it, his fate was already sealed. A flick of the arm, a fleeting connection with a defender jostling for the ball and the ripped skipper’s armband revealed his destiny. The words were clear: ‘We’ll Never Walk Alone’ It wasn’t a ‘come and get me plea’ to Rafa Benitez. Far from it. Instead, the words were meant to signify the bond that existed between Torres and his friends. It was their motto. A play on the words used in famous song adopted by Liverpool Football Club as their anthem. His friends had the words tattooed on their forearm. Torres, aware of the controversy it would cause opted out so they gave him an armband with the words inscribed on the inside. Their secret – until a clash with a Real Sociedad defender on April 23, 2007 revealed them to the world. “Destiny seemed to have decided that if I ever left Atletico Madrid it would be for Liverpool,” he said. “It happened in San Sebastian, in northern Spain, when I was playing for Atletico Madrid against Real Sociedad. I was battling with a defender, and the captain’s armband I was wearing came loose and fell open. “As it hung from my arm, you could see the message written on the inside, in English. We’ll Never Walk Alone. It wasn’t what I had intended but right there and then I became identified with Liverpool. I hadn’t planned for it, and a future at Anfield hadn’t even crossed my mind but that moment of chance. That accident came to symbolise the next big step in my career: my captaincy at Atletico gave way to the words that define Liverpool. “All my best friends have the words tattooed on their arms. We were eating together once and they suggested that I do the same. I told them I couldn’t. ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is a phrase so intimately linked to one of Europe’s biggest clubs, so clearly associated with Liverpool, that I didn’t think it was a good idea. “I was an Atletico player and a rojiblanco through and through. They decided to give me a new captain’s armband for my birthday with the phrase on the inside so that, even if I wouldn’t get it tattooed on my arm, we would never walk alone. “I gave the armband to the Atletico kit man, who kept it with the team’s shirts. When it slipped down that day against Sociedad, an eagle-eyed photographer snapped the picture and I was immediately linked to Liverpool. “Maybe that day I took my first steps towards Anfield, or maybe it was because I already shared things with Liverpool. I identify with the values that define the club: hard work, struggle, humility, sacrifice, effort, tenacity, commitment, togetherness, unity, faith, the permanent desire to improve, to overcome all obstacles...Once a week Liverpool fans feel like the most important people on earth and make the players feel like it to. They give everything and they ask for nothing in return. “Liverpool FC is a club that despite being used to winning never succumbs to the temptation to start cruising. If you play well the fans enjoy it, and if you play badly they help you get over it. The Liverpool family helped me off the pitch too. It’s as if you live in a neighbourhood where everyone knows you and everyone joins forces for the same cause: the team. Good people, honourable people, who have always got back on their feet however many times destiny has knocked them down. The harder things have been, the more united they have become.” Torres was tracked by virtually every club in Europe. He wanted to play out his career at Atletico Madrid but eventually realised he must move to achieve his footballing dreams. When Liverpool came calling it provided him with a date with destiny. He added: “Having turned down various proposals, Rafa Benitez’s call made me reflect and start to have doubts for the first time. I decided it was the right moment to leave and I asked Miguel-Angel Gil Marin, Atletico’s owner, to listen to Liverpool’s offer. “I didn’t know that Liverpool was the most successful club in England. Since Rafa went to Anfield and took Spanish players with him I had got to know Liverpool better but I didn’t realise that. I thought they were some way behind the teams that I assumed dominated English football: Manchester United and Arsenal. I was surprised when I found out just how incredible their history was and how many titles they had won. “Istanbul revealed Liverpool’s true spirit. The Spanish television channel Canal Plus broadcast a report about the history of the club after they had won their fifth European Cup in Turkey – about the tragedies at Heysel and Hillsborough, the connection between players and fans, the struggle against adversity. “The commitment to overcome difficulties and stand tall, the ability to face up to every situation and beat it, it is reserved for true giants. Liverpool FC is a special and complete club, one that plays and fights, that gives everything for the people that follow it. “I had heard the names that are most associated with Liverpool: Dalglish, Rush, Souness, Keegan, Owen, Fowler, McManaman, Hamann... As someone who has always followed those players who come through the ranks at their clubs, I was especially interested in a young lad from the youth team called Steven Gerrard. “In the 1980s Liverpool were practically invincible. I was told that the European ban they suffered after Heysel made them stronger domestically, even though they had an important handicap with less of a presence on the international club stage. Rafa Benitez, who has changed things at the club and revived some of the old Liverpool philosophy, giving the club a global presence again." http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Torre...icle158731.html

Update from SOS on the Purslow meeting............ Spirit of Shankly meeting with Christian Purslow Thu 17 Sep 2009 Representatives of the Spirit of Shankly met with Christian Purslow at Anfield last night prior to the Debrecen Champions’ League match. It was agreed that a it would be fair for a full minute of that meeting to be agreed by both parties prior to release to members. If consensus on an agreed minute could not be reached then any differences of opinion could also be disclosed (although we have no reason to believe that will be the case). The draft is currently with the Union Management Committee for agreement and will then go to the Club for approval but we would hope to release it prior to, or over, the weekend. The meeting was cordial and it would be fair to say that Mr. Purslow answered all the questions put to him positively and without prevarication and was extremely positive about a continued dialogue with the Union going forward. http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Spirit...an-Purslow.html

The Hargreaves example illustrates very well the flaws in this ruling if it is being done to develop the national side precisely because it can't be done by nationality without falling foul of EU law Of the 32 players in our current squad who either already qualify as home grown or would do in the future only 12 are English http://www.ynwa.tv/forum/index.php?s=&...t&p=2451810

This is from last weekend's News of the World, which says "Valencia were ready to sell Silva to Real Madrid or Liverpool in the summer until boss Unai Emery insisted on keeping the player". http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/incoming/5...t-in-Silva.html There are also these quotes from Silva in today's Mirror, which says "Silva was top of Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez’s wanted list in the summer but they were put off by cash-strapped Valencia holding out for £30m". http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Spain...icle160479.html

Interview on the BBC website with founder of New York-based investment bank Inner Circle Sports which apparently represented Hicks & Gillett in their takeover http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/20...ner.html#136145

Click on the links below for the post-match interviews & highlights............... Rafa (Sky) [1:38] Rafa (BBC) [1:17] AUDIO Kuyt (Sky) [0.30] Highlights incl interviews above (Sky) [4:38] Highlights (UEFA) [0:30]

The Times September 17, 2009 Tom Hicks starts to intensify search for Liverpool investors in Middle East Tony Barrett Financiers acting on behalf of Tom Hicks, the Liverpool co-owner, have offered a minority stake in the club to potential investors in the Middle East. Merrill Lynch, the investment bank, has been instructed by Hicks, who is recovering from a hip operation, to open and conduct negotiations with interested parties with a view to selling a 25 per cent share in the club at a price of £100 million as Liverpool continue attempts to reduce their levels of debt. Although wealthy individuals and organisations in the Middle East have been sounded out about the possibility of buying into Liverpool, none have indicated that they would be willing to enter into what would become a three-way shared ownership venture featuring Hicks, George Gillett Jr, his co-owner, and a third party. Liverpool will require substantial success at home and abroad if they are to realise the full potential of their lucrative new sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered, the London-based international bank. Under the terms of the agreement, Liverpool have the potential to earn £80 million over the course of the four-year deal, which begins next July. But The Times understands that a significant element of the deal is performance-related with bonuses to be paid out to the club should they win either the Barclays Premier League or the Champions League. Liverpool’s annual income from Standard Chartered is not dependent on qualification for the Champions League, but only by being in that competition will they stand a chance of receiving the full £20 million a season on offer. Standard Chartered is delighted with its newly forged association with Liverpool. It believes that paying to have its brand name displayed on the shirts of Britain’s most successful club is a wise investment, particularly given the international television exposure afforded to Liverpool. “Given how popular football is in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, where most of our business is, and Liverpool’s brand and huge fan base there, this is a great deal for both of us and a cost-effective way to raise our name recognition and drive growth,” the bank said. “We can’t wait to have Standard Chartered on the millions of Liverpool shirts sold every year.” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle6837483.ece