GWistooshort

From the Liverpool Daily Post this morning............. Standard Chartered deal will give Liverpool FC manager Rafa Benitez ‘hugely enhanced transfer kitty', Christian Purslow Sep 15 2009 by James Pearce, Liverpool Daily Post Comment (1)Recommend 12next RAFAEL BENITEZ’S transfer kitty will be “hugely enhanced” by Liverpool’s record-breaking shirt sponsorship deal. Managing director Christian Purslow has vowed that a chunk of the cash from the £80million four-year contract with Standard Chartered will be available to spend on new signings. The biggest commercial deal in the club’s history starts in July 2010 and runs until the end of the 2013/14 season. “The commercial success of a football club is directly linked to your ability to invest in players,” he said. “Both in terms of the wage bill, which is probably the single most important aspect, and the availability of excess cash to invest in the transfer market. For us to have such a substantial step up in our financial performance enables us to grow our investment in our players both in wage terms and in competitiveness in the transfer market. “My ability to support Rafa in terms of the playing squad will be hugely enhanced from next year. “The stronger we are off the park, the more resources we have to invest in our team. “And it’s the team that has enabled us to do this deal. It’s not me or my commercial guys, it’s about a bank that wants to be associated with what we do on the pitch. “This is a reflection of that success. Our job is to invest in that success, nurture it and try to generate the resources to take the team forward.” After a summer when funds were limited and Benitez was forced to balance the books, the manager was buoyed by news of the biggest shirt deal in football history. “Rafa is absolutely delighted,” Purslow said. “When you do something which is a huge step forward and a reflection on everything he’s been doing you feel nothing other than a sense of pride and a sense of success. “I was with the manager and the players last Friday when we finally put pen to paper and they were all tremendously excited about his endorsement in Liverpool Football Club.” The deal won’t have any direct impact on plans to build a new 60,000 capacity stadium in Stanley Park but Purslow insists it’s a sign the club’s finances are improving. http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverp...92534-24689214/ Seems to be a problem with the Post's website as I can't access the second page of the article at the moment - will post it when I can

From the official site............. KENNY: DEAL WILL HELP RAFA Jimmy Rice 14 September 2009 Kenny Dalglish believes the club's new sponsorship deal will aid Rafa Benitez in his quest to bring silverware to Anfield. Liverpool today announced the biggest commercial contract in its history, with Standard Chartered set to appear on our shirts for four years from 2010-11. New club ambassador Dalglish claims the deal is another example of how the Reds are evolving on and off the pitch. "Like every other Liverpool fan, I want the best assets of this club to be on the pitch - and this deal will help that," Dalglish told Liverpoolfc.tv. "If it can help Rafa and increase his budget - well that's what everyone wants. "Success on the pitch leads to success off it and vice versa. It all leads to the same thing - a lot of happy Liverpool supporters. This is a fantastic deal for everybody." Dalglish met executives at Standard Chartered prior to today's announcement and believes our new partners fit perfectly with the traditions of the club. "The size of this deal commercially is very important, but equally as important are the people involved," he said. "Standard Chartered are good, solid people. I've met them before and they're very good." Dalglish thinks Liverpool's global support was a major attraction for our new sponsors. "The importance of the support Liverpool have in the Far East is very important for them because they have their base there as well as the Middle East and Africa," he added. "Our support out there was highlighted during our pre-season tour, and I think that time helped make up both minds that this would be a fantastic opportunity. "This only endorses what a lot of people already knew - that this is one of the most important clubs in world football." http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...090914-1154.htm

According to the Daily Mirror today Barcelona's director of football Txiki Begiristain has said their pursuit of Mascherano (& Fabregas) is "something the club has left for later" & that "Mascherano and Cesc did not come because of financial difficulties. It was impossible to pay the kind of money asked for after the spending of Real Madrid." http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Barce...icle154783.html

To watch the highlights & post-match interviews click on the links below.............. Liverpool v Burnley highlights (UK only I'm afraid) [5:05] Rafa (Sky) [1:30] Rafa (BBC) [2:10] Benayoun (BBC) [1:46] Burnley manager Owen Coyle (Sky) [2:06] Coyle (BBC) [2:57] Charlie Nicholas (Sky) [3:51]

Looks like you could be right based on these comments by Purslow........... “I must say Carlsberg have been fantastic partners for Liverpool FC over a very long time and I am very confident that we will enter into a new and different partnership with Carlsberg next season when they cease to be our shirt sponsor. I expect Carlsberg to be heavily involved in Liverpool Football Club going forward. “Certainly their chief executive and I have discussed that and they have expressed a strong desire for that to happen. “And when the ink is dry on this new shirt deal with Standard Chartered then I expect us to quickly sit down with Carlsberg and work out what that will look like." http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-n...252-24680967/2/

Gillett & Hicks appear to still be looking for minority investors from this comment by Purslow in the Echo today................ “On match day I am delighted to have businessmen, potential investors, potential commercial partners as our guests on match day spending time with Kenny [Daglish] and our other legendary footballers, taking in what it is to be part of Liverpool FC. “That’s the best way to drive long term commercial interest in our football club and that is something I‘ve been very proud to have done in the last couple of months.” http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-f...00252-24681033/

The Daily Mirror 14 September 2009 My secrets, by Fernando Torres By James Fletcher Penny Lane must have seemed a million miles away from Madrid to the young Spanish schoolboy. So too, the ‘Yellow Submarine’ that Fernando Torres sang about with his brother as they recited Beatles hits passed down from their father Jose. Indeed, ‘El Nino’, would not even have known who the Fab Four were given his tender years or what it was they were singing about. But he loved their tunes all the same. And that was all that mattered. Had anyone told him just how intricately linked he would ultimately become with Liverpool’s most famous sons and he would have laughed it off as madness. Liverpool? He’d never even heard of it. Yet the city was to become his second home. His future. The platform for his footballing dreams and the Beatles back catalogue was to become his Bible. He said: “One of the biggest problems I faced when I first moved to Liverpool was the language barrier. My English was limited to the classes I had taken at school in Fuenlabrada. You think you know a bit of English and that you can get by but when you actually arrive in England you soon realise that you haven’t really got a clue. “I was told to be honest and say; ‘I didn’t catch that, could you say it again?’ but the truth is I didn’t always take that advice. I nearly always just mumbled a ‘no’. That’s what I did whenever I was in the supermarket and was asked if I wanted ‘cash back’. It’s not something we have in Spain and I had no idea what it was. It was three months before I knew what they were talking about. “One afternoon, the way back from having lunch we decided to go shopping. I’d been told about Costco and so we decided to go in and have a look. As we were going through the door, the security guard stopped. We assumed he was asking for a member’s card that we didn’t have and so, not be able to explain in English, we just turned and left without a word. The next day I was told if you’re not a member you can’t shop there. “Two people were vital during my first few days in the city: Rob and Alan, the English teachers Liverpool laid on for me. One of the things they used to make me do was ring people in response to adverts in the paper. You’d get on the phone and ask about a puppy for sale, or that kitten being advertised, or the price of a second hand car. “The idea was to get me used to speaking in English on the phone but at first the idea terrified me. So much so that I would panic when I didn’t understand something and find myself having to ring Pepe Reina. “The car radio became my constant travelling companion. Every morning on my way to training at Melwood, I would listen and try to concentrate on what was being said. At first I only understood a few words but bit by bit I could feel myself improving. As I went past billboards I would try to translate them, too, and with every passing day I was getting better and better. “Some nights, I even dared to pick up the phone and order food. When it turned up, it was nearly always what I wanted. When we were in hotels preparing for games I watched films in English with the subtitles on. The other thing I always carried with me was ‘English Training’ on my Nintendo DS - language games and exercises that helped me develop my English. “I was terrified at the prospect of having to have a conversation on the phone. Imagine how much worse it is when that conversation is with the fire service! My smoke alarm kept going off in the house I was renting and one afternoon I got a call. I just about worked out that the man on the other end was from the local fire station but I didn’t understand anything else. A few minutes later a fire engine turned up at the house, packed with fireman thinking they were being called into action. “They came three times in three days before they worked out that the smoke from cooking was causing the alarm to go off prematurely. The next time the alarm went off, they called me first to check whether they really did have to set off again.” “I like the Beatles a lot. Before I ever imagined that I would end up in Liverpool, I listened to their songs. Now I’ve rediscovered them because listening to them has helped me to pick up the language more quickly. My favourite songs are ‘Penny Lane’ and ‘Yellow Submarine’.” A giant 51-foot long, 15-foot high, 18 tons steel Yellow Submarine, replica built to commemorate the famous song, greeted Torres upon arrival at Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport. Torres found himself immersed in Liverpool’s history, it’s culture, walking the famous streets, from Princess Dock to Victoria Street, taking time to enjoy Matthew Street and the Beatles tour, though he is still to visit the Cavern Club. “What can I say about the legendary band, a symbol of the city? There’s not much I can add, although it did strike me that – despite what you might imagine – people in Liverpool aren’t constantly talking about the Beatles and their success,” he added. “People have an enormous amount of respect and admiration for them, because everyone in London is conscious of the fact that the Beatles and Liverpool FC have taken the name of the city round the world.” Torres is not your average footballer. There will be no tabloid tales of bad boy behaviour, no sordid nightclub tales or weekly pictures of his latest supercar. Nights in playing cards, watching television with his stunning wife Olalla Dominguez Liste, or even a bit of DIY? Now you’re talking. He explained: “I’m very much a homely person. I am at my most comfortable and relaxed there. One of my favourite moments each day, matches permitting, is the evening stroll with Olalla (my wife) and our two dogs. They’re English bulldogs, a male called Pomo and a female called Llanta. We have found a couple of parks near where we live that are relaxed and peaceful, offering a real escape. “At home, we spend time playing board games with friends and family. When it comes to Monopoly, Scatergory, or Hotel, there are real battles. For a change, we sometimes play cards, even though I’m not one for the typical footballer’s game like poker or the games played with a 40-card Spanish deck, like mus or pocha. But I do enjoy playing brisca and tute, Spanish games similar to trumps. “Television is an alternative and I like to be up to date with what’s going on in the world, and not just the sports news. My favourite programmes are ‘The Dog Whisperer’ and ‘Super Nanny’. “I love Stanley Park, the one that divides Anfield and Goodison and which I got to know when I went to film the Spanish number 9 advert for Nike there. I’ve also been to Chester, and to Formby on the coast where, weather permitting, I like to devour a Flake 99, with raspberry sauce. “We have adapted perfectly to Liverpool but when it comes to eating we still follow a Spanish timetable. Eating at English times still feels too early so we started arranging barbeques. A few of us got together along with Mikel Arteta from Everton. One Sunday we started eating in the garden, it was a sunny day with the odd cloud and we didn’t think anything of it....until the heavens opened and it started snowing. Yes, snowing! Since then, the slightest sign of bad weather and we set up in the garage instead. “During my first few months in Liverpool I seemed to be permanently surrounded by hammers, screwdrivers, pliers and spanners as I discovered a new hubby: putting together furniture. There were tools everywhere. “In Spain I hadn’t put together a single wardrobe but here in England I found myself in the position where I either had to get on and do it or the box would just gather dust. Sometimes, I would end up getting so irritated I would end up crawling to bed shattered – but with the world done. “My determination to finish the job off meant that one night in 2007 I didn’t finish until the small hours. I had come home in a bad mood after we had lost 1-0 at home to Olympic Marseilles in the Champions League. I decided the best way to work the frustration out of my system was to put together two pieces of furniture for the living room. By the time I had finished it was 4am. “I haven’t experienced Liverpool’s nightlife. I have been out a couple of times to eat after Champions League matches and you can see there’s a lot going on. One thing that does surprise me is that no one seems to wear a coat. Everyone is done up and dressed to impress but few of them wrap up warm, even though the temperature can’t be much above freezing. One thing that I would like to do is watch a game in the pub. Everyone tells me about the passion with which fans follow matches between pints.” http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Exclu...icle154499.html

Liverpool Echo Sep 14 2009 Christian Purslow tells of amazing job for Liverpool FC ANFIELD supremo Christian Purslow today described working at Anfield with Rafa Benitez as a pleasure and a privilege – as he told of his determination to drive the club he has supported since boyhood into a new era of success on and off the field. And he insisted the club needed to embrace ‘all its great legends, like Kenny Dalglish’ to help cement the family feel at the world renowned club. In his first major interview since taking over the helm at Anfield from Rick Parry three months ago, Purslow also told of his concern at seeing how the Liverpool Academy in Kirkby had until recently become ‘disconnected’ from the Reds first team set-up. He pledged to continue helping restore the link between Kirkby and Melwood – as well as to ensure all footballing decisions remained firmly with the manager and his team. The top city banker, whose father and grandfather hail from one of Birkenhead’s poorest districts, was brought up a Liverpool fan by his father. He estimates he has attended 400-500 games since 1970, and was among thousands of Reds fans for great occasions like Istanbul and the UEFA Cup victory in Dortmund. He was also close to the Leppings Lane end in 1989 and, along with so many other supporters, witnessed first hand the horrors of the Hillsborough Disaster. Purslow was at Anfield on Saturday with other club officials and Benitez to personally welcome Michael Shields back to his first game since being wrongly jailed in Bulgaria. The 45-year-old, who along with the Reds board was today celebrating the biggest shirt sponsorship deal in football, with Standard Chartered bank, said: “My grandparents are from the avenues in Birkenhead and that’s where my dad was born and lived until he was 20. “My granddad and dad were fanatical Liverpool fans and that’s why I am. And by the way so are my four children. “I am incredibly proud and honoured to be now the custodian of the football club that my grandparents and my dad and I have been fans of. “I don’t think I’ve been hired because I am a fan. Hopefully I’ve been hired because people think I’m an experienced businessman who can drive the club forward. “But I’m not embarrassed about being first and foremost a fan.” “The job satisfaction I have felt in my first three months every day to go home from work, where unlike most normal jobs, satisfaction comes from maybe doing a good job. “The sense of satisfaction I get is that if I do a good job here something that I absolutely love, second only to my family, will be better. I can’t describe it any differently to that. “It’s just the most amazing job in that sense. “Clearly, if I mess up, it will hurt more than a normal job but that’s ok. “So yes I have an immense sense of pride and responsibility. I feel a huge responsibility to all of our fans because until three months ago that’s all I was – just a fan. “And I still am but I have now got responsibility to drive the club forward and that’s just a privilege.” Purlsow, a fluent Spanish speaker, went on: “An absolutely key part of my job, is to make sure that the business and football side work well together. “And in people terms that means Rafa and I working well together. “My view is that we have an extremely close professional working relationship. We speak all the time. We have very specific plans that we work to and stick to. “I enjoy immensely that part of my work. Again central to success in any football club is the relationship between the leadership of the business and the football manager working well. “And I couldn’t be more pleased three months in as to how that is working. “And Rafa – he’s a pleasure to work with because not only is he a great football manager, he’s extremely commercially literate. “But I wouldn’t be too excited about the Spanish – in that Rafa’s English is excellent and he constantly tells me that my Spanish is terrible!” Purslow insisted he would never interfere with football decisions and that all such matters lay solely in the hands of Benitez. He said: "It is entirely the manager’s job to decide who he wants in the football club at any point in time and I don’t believe that should be second guessed. And it isn’t. "My job is to support that and to provide the financial backdrop to make that possible and that’s exactly how it works. So every player at the club today is a player Rafa wants here. “That’s the way it must be and that’s the way it will always be between him and I. We work together on that basis. "And no, he’s not going to buy a player because I want him to and he’s not going to sell a player because I want him to. He’s going to make all of those footballing decisions. “And where we have to work well is in making sure we do so within a broad framework. "We call it ‘The Football Plan’. “That’s what we have and that’s what we work to. And this summer for the first time we road tested the idea of a Football Plan – of having a list of players to sell or buy for broad values, within an agreed budget. "And I’m delighted to say that we achieved all of those goals over the summer transfer window." http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-f...00252-24681032/

Liverpool Echo Sep 14 2009 Rafa Benitez: I work well with Christian Purslow LIVERPOOL manager Rafa Benitez today stressed he is working well with new Anfield managing director Christian Purslow – following the well-documented tensions which existed with his predecessor Rick Parry. Said Benitez: “We are working very hard together, very close. “I would say we have a meeting not just every week but every day. “We are on the phone and as soon as I try to do something or want to do something, he is there. “So we are working very hard here and I think the relationship is good. I am really pleased. Added Benitez: “I think he understands the club. “He was telling me about some games and he remembers who scored the winning goals and things like this – so sometimes it’s a problem for me! “He loves the club and he wants the best for the club.” Kenny Dalglish added: “I know as a managing director you are judged on many things. “Christian Purslow and the club’s commercial director Ian Ayre have to take a huge pat on the back for getting this record shirt sponsorship deal into the football club. “It shows we have men determined to push the club forward in the right direction. “And it illustrates the standing of Liverpool Football Club that a company the size of Standard Chartered Bank have come to put their name on our shirts. It's fantastic news.” http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-f...00252-24681030/

From the official site............. On why Javier Mascherano was not in the squad, Benitez revealed the midfielder was still in South America after representing Argentina this week. He explained: "Mascherano was not available. He still hasn't arrived. He is coming back on Sunday. He had some problems, and our doctor was talking to their doctor. "Now I think he's okay but he's coming back later because he had to do some tests over there. "Don't be worried, it's not serious!" http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...090912-1756.htm

You can watch a video of interviews with Purslow & Standard Chairman John Peace talking about the sponsorship deal HERE

& a top quality unit it is too...............

Pacheco does qualify for the B List However, Liverpool have already submitted their B List & it's unclear from the UEFA rules whether clubs are permitted to make changes to their B List once submitted Players on the B List don't count towards the locally trained quota - it's only the A List where this applies A maximum number of 25 players are permitted on the A List, of which 8 have to be locally trained - we have only 23 players on our A List because we only named 6 locally trained players (Martin, Gerrard, Carra, Johnson, Kelly, Spearing) Clubs can register an unlimited number of players on List B provided they were born on or after 1/1/1988 & have been eligible to play for the club for any uninterrupted period of 2 years since their 15th birthday Our B List as submitted consists of Amoo, Darby, Eccleston, Insua & Plessis You can see the full squad at http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/club=78...on=1/index.html & the UEFA rules at http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Downlo...77_DOWNLOAD.pdf

The Echo says Michael & his family have been invited by the club to be guests at Saturday’s game against Burnley. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-f...252-24654763/2/

BENITEZ DELIGHT AT SHIELDS RELEASE Jimmy Rice 10 September 2009 Rafa Benitez today spoke of his pleasure after Liverpool fan Michael Shields was released from prison. The 22-year old was sentenced to 10 years in jail in Bulgaria for an attack on a barman in 2005 but has always maintained his innocence. A campaign for his release, which was backed by LFC and the people of Merseyside, finally succeeded this week following a pardon from Justice Secretary Jack Straw. Benitez said: "I think everyone is really pleased and happy here. We were supporting him. We knew it was a very difficult time for him, his family and all the people involved. "The people here have shown again how they support someone for a long time. That's very positive. It was very good support and a good reaction from the people of Merseyside." http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...090910-1318.htm

Some more light on what the new evidence was that enabled Michael to be released - I assume that the reference to the "anonymous visit" in the headline & the article is meant to be "anonymous call"....... Anonymous visit made to Merseyside Police provided final evidence to free Michael Shields Sep 10 2009 by Ian Hernon, Liverpool Echo AN ANONYMOUS visit made to Merseyside Police over four years ago provided the final evidence which freed Michael Shields. The mystery caller asked if fellow Reds fan Graham Sankey could face extradition to Bulgaria if he confessed to the crime. He was told that any such confession would indeed lead to Sankey standing trial in Bulgaria. The logged call followed a meeting between the Sankey family and Michael’s sister Melissa. Mr Straw agreed it showed that Sankey’s confession, later withdrawn, was “credible”. The Justice Secretary was unaware of the last bit of evidence until he met Mr and Mrs Shields in Blackburn on August 28 this year. They told him that during their daughter’s visit to the Sankey home on July 22, 2005, the day after the start of Michael’s trial in Bulgaria, an oral confession was made in front of several witnesses. On hearing the allegations, Mr Straw instructed Merseyside Police to check. They found that the anonymous visit had been logged. A source said: “The problem all along was that the Shields’ lawyer has been unable to come up with fresh evidence which had not been put before the Bulgarian courts.” Soon after Sankey met a member of the Shields family he put out a written confession via his solicitor. However, he later withdrew that confession, saying that although he had been involved in a fracas in Bulgaria, it was a different incident from the one in which Mr Georgiev was injured. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-n...00252-24651806/

This morning's Liverpool Daily Post says Rafa may not allow Darby to go on loan because he's in the Champions League squad http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverp...534-24652137/2/

Club has put out an official statement welcoming the news........ REDS DELIGHT OVER SHIELDS PARDON Liverpoolfc.tv 09 September 2009 Liverpool Football Club today welcomed the news that Michael Shields has been pardoned by the Justice Secretary Jack Straw. The 22-year old Liverpool supporter was sentenced to ten years in prison in Bulgaria for an attack on a barman in 2005, but he has always maintained his innocence and supporters have campaigned tirelessly to clear his name. Today's announcement, clearing Michael of any involvement in the attack, meant those efforts have not been in vain and Liverpool Football Club was today delighted to hear the news. A club statement said: "It's great news that Michael has been granted a pardon by the Justice Secretary Jack Straw. "We know how difficult the last four years have been for Michael and his family and everyone at the club, the staff, the players and the fans have tried to support them during this time. "We hope now that Michael and his family will be able to move on with their lives and look to the future." http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...090909-1156.htm

Great news The parts of Straw's statement copied below make interesting reading........... 5. However, during the meeting on 28 August with Mr Shields’ parents, important new evidence came to light which, when looked at alongside all the previously available evidence, has now satisfied me that Mr Shields meets the high test set by the Court. 6. At this meeting, following a series of questions which I put to the family, I was told for the first time about a visit by two members of the Shields family to the home of a man alleged to be responsible for the crime for which Michael Shields was jailed. I was told that in the course of the visit that man made an oral confession to the crime in front of several other people. This episode, I was told, happened on 22 July 2005, a day after the start of Mr Shields’ trial in Bulgaria. 7. Since the 28 August meeting in my constituency further inquiries, including by the Merseyside Police, have been made at my request into the events of 22 July 2005. I will not set out in this statement all the evidence that has come to light over the last two weeks but suffice it to say that there is very good reason to believe I was being told the truth. This in my view profoundly changed the credibility of the various accounts of what actually happened in this case. 8. Whether or not this new evidence would have been admissible at Mr Shields' trial in Bulgaria, it is highly relevant to my consideration of Mr Shields' application for a pardon. 9. No reference to the events which took place on 22 July 2005 was contained in any of the formal written representations I received either before or after I made my provisional decision on 2 July. Mr Shields’ current solicitors have told us that they did not know about them, and their potential significance had not been fully appreciated by those who had been made aware of them. 10. It is clear that the victim in this case, Mr Martin Georgiev, was subjected to a brutal and vicious attack. It is not for me to say who was responsible for this disgraceful assault. That is a matter for the criminal courts in Bulgaria. The new evidence which has emerged from the meeting with Mr Shields’ parents and from Merseyside Police’s subsequent inquiries has been passed to the Bulgarian authorities by the British Ambassador in Sofia. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-n...00252-24644816/

From today's Echo........... Liverpool insist no illegal approach has been made for Crewe teenager Max Clayton. The League Two club’s academy director Dario Gradi is fuming at the Reds’ pursuit of the 15-year-old striker. Gradi hit out at the “rich robbing the poor” in English football after admitting Clayton wants to leave the club but he stopped short of naming Liverpool. Crewe have not made an official complaint to the FA and the Reds are confident they have done everything by the book. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-f...00252-24641133/

The Times September 9, 2009 FA saves face with £50m Carlsberg sponsorship deal Kevin Eason, Sports News Correspondent The FA has set about plugging its financial black hole by securing a lucrative £50 million sponsorship deal with Carlsberg. But the brewer's decision to renew its contract with the FA almost certainly means the end of the company's long association with Liverpool. The club have enjoyed the Premier League's longest relationship with a shirt sponsor, stretching back to 1992 when Carlsberg first signed up. But it is thought that Carlsberg was unwilling to double its £7.2million-a-year payments to bring the Merseyside club into line with deals struck recently by Chelsea and Manchester United. Liverpool are thought to have secured a new sponsor, though, with Standard Chartered, the insurance group, proving that despite the downturn in the economy, finance houses are not ready yet to abandon big sports sponsorships. A deal worth as much as £15million a year is being touted by industry insiders. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle6826488.ece

From the BBC............ Liverpool have played down suggestions they have been reported for an alleged illegal approach to a Crewe Alexandra teenager, BBC Sport understands. Crewe director of football Dario Gradi claimed on Monday that the League Two outfit had reported an unnamed Premier League club for tapping up a player. Reports on Tuesday suggested it was Liverpool, but the Reds say they are unaware of any complaint being made. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...dra/8241607.stm

Ajax open door for January bid for Ryan Babel Sep 9 2009 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post AJAX coach Martin Jol has opened the door for a January loan move for Liverpool winger Ryan Babel. Outspoken Babel has made no secret of his frustration at life on the fringes at Anfield this season. The Holland international, who has not started a game since the opening-day defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, claimed last week that Liverpool had broken promises made to him concerning first-team involvement this season. Babel also issued a clear plea to allow him to return to former club Ajax on loan during the January transfer window, in a bid to assure his place in his country’s squad for the World Cup finals next summer. And when asked about the possibility of a move for Babel in the New Year, Ajax coach Jol gave the prospect a cautious welcome. “I’ve read what he said, but I don’t have anything to say at the moment,” said the former Tottenham Hotspur manager. “Babel does appeal as a good option, but it all depends on whether we need him when the time comes.” http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverp...92534-24641345/

As I see it it’s the US where this battle’s going to be won or lost. This is why…………… Gillett & Hick’s over-riding objective IMO is to maximise their profit from their asset (LFC). They are seeking to do this by minimising the amount of their own money that they have to put in by getting LFC to pay their expenses & their debt from buying the club in the first place while simultaneously seeking to maximise the revenue that LFC is bringing in, provided it doesn’t require much investment. There is a question about the price/point at which they’d sell & whether they are really interested in building the new stadium themselves or not, but they want to maintain the attractiveness of LFC to potential buyers & this, combined with their need for income to cover interest repayments, requires the club to achieve a minimum of Champions League qualification each year (& I’d have thought possibly progression at least beyond the Group Stages). As some of the ideas suggested already on here show there are ways we could potentially affect some of the above (eg boycotts could reduce the club’s revenue raising ability), but as far as I can see success in affecting any of these means that we could well suffer in return eg the team is less successful on the pitch or Hicks & Gillett take revenge eg sell Torres or the club is less attractive to potential buyers so Hicks & Gillett remain in place. The success of the Cohen campaign was that it targeted Cohen’s weak links – those he depended on, his sponsors – with ruthless efficiency. We need to find Hicks’ & Gillett’s weak links & target them. The only ones I can think of that they depend on when it comes to the club are the banks that are financing their debt & the next re-financing is nearly 12 months away at the least plus it’s questionable how much influence we can have there as LFC are currently an ideal client for them as has been well documented on here previously. So I think we need to find Hicks’ & Gillett’s weak links in the US because unfortunately I don’t think there’s anything here that’s going to force them to sell (they pretty much hold all the aces when it comes to the club because they own it) without causing us a lot of pain too (see above). I’m thinking for example about potential partners for business deals they’re doing in the US etc. But, whoever they are, we need to find these weak links & target them so they feel that it’s not worth the aggro to them to do business with Hicks or Gillett. We need Hicks & Gillett going to totally non-LFC-related business meetings & the people that they’re meeting with saying “Liverpool fans really hate you, don’t they?” But even though it is in the US that the battle will be won or lost, at the same time we need a visible, vocal, high profile, well-supported & ongoing campaign back here at home in order to demonstrate to those we are targeting in the US that the vast majority want Hicks & Gillett out. It needs to involve fans – eg those going to the matches, SOS, celebrity fans, & if possible supporters clubs & ShareLiverpool (although it may possibly be problematic for the latter two because of a need to maintain relations with the club); ex-players - & ideally the ex-players’ association (although that again may be problematic for the same reason); politicians – eg local MPs & councillors; & media commentators – eg Brian Reade, Tony Barratt & the Echo. The challenge will be to keep it vibrant, fresh & newsworthy & to maintain the commitment & energy of everyone. In order to do this it needs to be carefully planned so that it builds on an upward trajectory rather than starting with a big bang, but not being able to get any bigger so anything that follows seems like a downgrading. I think we need a visible protest at all matches, significantly heightened if either Hicks or Gillett are in town, a campaign website, a viral or guerrilla ad campaign around the city, plus I think we need to make owning LFC a misery for Hicks & Gillett whenever they are in town (within the law of course). Among LFC fans, possibly even just on here, there must be all the people we need – lawyers, web folk, ad people, etc etc – to do this.

Tony Barratt's done an article on it as well in the Times today http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle6825422.ece