Liverpool FC

[Josedinho]

I think new owners and Jose will be coming

[maldini32]

I think new owners and Jose will be coming

plz be true

[George2Loose]

I think new owners and Jose will be coming

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[kinboshi]

I think new owners and Jose will be coming

plz be true

Really?

[chrisbruce]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4_4abCWw-w

Think you have more chance of this Jose 

[maldini32]

I think new owners and Jose will be coming

plz be true

Really?

U takin the piss? Id love jose to come and take over.

[The Baron]

I think new owners and Jose will be coming

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

He wouldn't come without money, as he wouldn't in 2004, but he is a Liverpool fan. (or was before Chelsea)

No top manager will come without funds, I wouldn't even be surprised if Rafa left because of it.

[The Baron]

Mourinho's win over Manchester United foreshadowed a move to the English league, where he and manager Alex Ferguson would compete in the Premier League. Porto were on the verge of an away goals defeat when Costinha scored an injury time goal to win the tie and Mourinho celebrated to goal flamboyantly. As a response to his European and domestic success, Mourinho was linked with several top European clubs, including Liverpool, Real Madrid and Chelsea. Mourinho publicly stated his preference for the Liverpool job over the Chelsea one:

"Liverpool are a team that interests everyone and Chelsea does not interest me so much because it is a new project with lots of money invested in it. I think it is a project which, if the club fail to win everything, then [Roman] Abramovich could retire and take the money out of the club. It's an uncertain project. It is interesting for a coach to have the money to hire quality players but you never know if a project like this will bring success.[19]"

Liverpool offered their managerial position to Spanish coach Rafael Benítez and Mourinho instead accepted a large offer from Roman Abramovich and pledged his immediate future to Chelsea.[19]

[The Baron]

Pretty good piece from a fan imo:

Xabi Alonso said it in a Spanish newspaper interview last April when the team was in such a rich vein of form, that everything Benitez had been working towards for the past 5 years was finally coming to fruition, everything was in perfect alignment regarding the players he needed and the balance of the team.
Still, it wasn't enough for us to win the league, further improvements needed to be made but the foundations were certainly there to be built upon. It seemed the necessary progression was being realised when we signed Glen Johnson, with the manager speaking at the press conference about the possibility of signing another player without selling anyone, even the possibility of breaking our transfer record. Tevez, Silva or dare we think even David Villa?? OK maybe not but just a few more quality options in the side and we'd be serious contenders for the league title this season, the players confidence reaffirmed and carrying through to the new season in the knowledge that they were well equipped to deal with the expectations of the fans as well as facing up to the competition at hand, confident also in that the club was healthy, from top to bottom and that things were genuinely in place to continue the progression. Then came 2 moments which would have a massive negative bearing, the departure of Alonso and RBS demanding repayment on their loans.


The rug had been swept,even after the sale of Alonso along with Arbeloa (£35 million), funds that seemed readily avaliable to the manager in June had suddenly disappeared, why?? Because of the greed and incompetence of Hicks and Gillett. Any plans for this season had suddenly been undermined and for what?? Because the people running the club simply don't have the best interests of the club at heart, only their personal gain.

I'm sure the manager felt we could cope with the departure of Alonso had the funds been available but instead he was suddenly caught between a rock and a hard place. I'm convinced Aquilani was signed with the view to another attacking option coming in. Do people really believe the manager, coming into the season under such huge expectation to deliver, was happy to rely upon a stop gap free transfer like Voronin who had been loaned out the season before or a youngster like N'Gog, signed for £1.5 million?? Do people genuinely believe the manager saw the inexperienced Lucas as the next midfield general to replace Alonso?? Players like Dossena and Babel, who were virtually on their way out of the club, were now suddenly being asked to do a u-turn and work for a manager who had clearly lost faith in them. Consider players like Mascherano and Riera, both unsettled after having their heads turned by lucrative offers coming in from Spain, do you think the manager may have considered their sales had he known he'd be able to reinvest the money into the side?? Why cant people now consider the knock on effects all that would have had on the moral of the squad??

There was a major shift in priorities (dealing with the debts was the main focus now not league titles) from within the club during last summer but still on the outside, supporter expectation remained as high as ever. What kind of bearing did that have on the moral of the squad?? I'm guessing the anticipation of the forthcoming pressures served only to tighten the noose a little more given the cloud that hung over the squad on their pre season tour.

With all that in mind the biggest accusation you could throw at Benitez is that he has failed to motivate the players under difficult circumstances. His tactics and team selections have seemed confused and only added to the malaise at times this season. He has made mistakes whilst trying to rediscover a balance in the side. After seeing his philosophy and his vision of how football should be played over a season, undermined and compromised, it's fair to say he hasn't coped well with the situation. Injuries to key players at key times only serving to compound issues. The teams home form is better than it was at this stage last season, it's our away form that has let us down massively. In a bid to halt the steady stream of goals conceded and to put an end to the uncharacteristic mistakes from certain players, the manager reverted to an ultra cautious style of play to try and re-establish some order and iron out the deficiencies in defence. Although seeing impressive results away at West Ham and Aston Villa we've also been subjected to truly awful performances at places like Wolves, Portsmouth, Man City and Wigan.

The players obviously, have felt let down having seen their efforts from last season failed to be built upon, with the money generated by the team being used to pay off debts rather than improving the side. As said, a good number of performances this season have been unacceptable and inexcusable but 2 of the better performers this term in Pepe Reina and Fernando Torres have both made their feelings clear and their frustrations known about the lack of investment in the side during the past year. Torres has been visibly the most frustrated with on the pitch acts of petulance, probably stemming from the fact that he was baring more than enough responsibility whilst still trying to heal and overcome his persistent injury problems. Key players, aware that expectation remained as high as ever, could see that the team was ill equipped to mount a serious title challenge, the buck would ultimately fall with them and they were now on a hiding to nothing. That for me explains the sudden down turn in moral from the end of last season and the stark contrast in the players demeanour in the space of just 3 months. Just reading the minutes with Christian Purslow shows the massive amount of uncertainty running through the club but for some apparently, the players are akin to robots and are capable of detaching themselves from such goings on, despite these goings on having a direct influence on the future of their careers.

Part of me wishes that Benitez would walk because his presence seems only to distract from the real problems going on at the club. He is the main target for the gutter press (Sky et al) whilst his presence also continues to polarise debate and cause division amongst the support. He, for many, is the fall guy ahead of Hicks and Gillett and that is more than a little warped. Maybe the owners realised that Benitez would shoulder most of the blame from the fans if the team were to experience a sudden down turn in form thus giving him a 5 year contract knowing that the manager would provide the perfect screen to the damage they were doing to the financial prospects and potential of the club?? Maybe they saw a down turn in form as an inevitability given their lack of financial power and proper investment into the side?? Maybe they really do have the measure of the majority of supporters. I mean why else have someone like Matthew Freud, an international PR guru, under their employment?? They are hardened in the cut throat world of business after all, with more than a few tricks up their sleeves, savvy in public relation and knowledgeable to how a sporting public can easily be manipulated. I'm also sure the owners would be loath to compensate the departing manager considering the financial difficulties they are currently both experiencing. Put yourself in their shoes, you have to make some nasty decisions, your only option is to asset strip the club just to break even, so why not give your manager a whopping 5 year deal and full control of the club, serving his head up on a platter as you know things are about to go wrong, with the baying mob set to be looking for answers. Why replace Benitez with your own man knowing then you become fully culpable to everything going wrong on and off the pitch?? Instead why not set up Benitez as the perfect scapegoat whilst you continue to look to make a profit from the cash cow that is Weetabix FC....oh er, i mean Liverpool FC of course. Hell, i've heard Benitez is the master politician when it comes to dealing with boardroom members, CEOs and money men but here you could quite easily draw the conclusion that he has allowed himself to be backed into a corner with no room to manoeuvre, the owners using his ego and desire for full control at the club against him.

Purslow has already stated Benitez will be here next season and going by his minutes with the union, his priorities right now are very much on finding new investment for the club and to ease the burden of the debt that is threatening to break the very foundations of Anfield. Any decision regarding the manager right now seems like cosmetic fiddling and counter productive to say the least. Any potential investors will initially forgive under performance from the manager and players but would be more than a little concerned at real and immediate signs of instability. Imagine, not only having to take on Tom and Georges debts whilst financing a new stadium, but overseeing a squad rebuild as well, that inevitably comes with a new manager??

Supporters of this club are finding it difficult to know exactly where they should be apportioning the majority of the blame for the poor showing on the pitch this season. Some even deny that the ownership/financial situation and the teams performance are 'intrinsically intertwined'. For others it's almost as if Benitez is the one guilty of conning his way into custodianship of the club, heaping the club in debt and spinning all those lies about a new stadium/Snoogy Doogy etc. Ultimately, there are those who see this seasons failures as being down to a culmination of things, for them the root cause being found way back in July 2009. It runs much deeper than that though, try February 2007 as your start date and go from there.

The supporters union, Spirit of Shankly, which continues in it's fight to draw attention to the damage being done by Hicks and Gillett, are still being met with apathy, ignorance and accusation. That in itself gives a clear indication as to how fractured the support has become at Liverpool. Something has got to give and i feel now it has to be the manager who makes the first move.

I've barely touched on how Hicks and Gillett conduct their business, through deception, lies, spin, arrogance and a complete disregard of the traditions and values this club was built on. I haven't even mentioned the frightening prospect of yet more LBO (leverage buy out) merchants investing into the club in order to ease the debts of their 'buddy' and fellow Republican, Tom Hicks. I'll leave that to someone else who has a far greater greater knowledge on the business side of things.

For those with a pathological dislike of Benitez or simply with an axe to grind, in the sight of his departure i think your satisfaction will be short lived.

For those who see the departure of Benitez as the cure to all the clubs ills, well you're in for a rude awakening, that's for sure.

I'll simply be happy to see Randolph and Mortimer ride off into the sunset, on horses that would have undoubtedly been paid for with someone elses money.

[George2Loose]

Mourinho's win over Manchester United foreshadowed a move to the English league, where he and manager Alex Ferguson would compete in the Premier League. Porto were on the verge of an away goals defeat when Costinha scored an injury time goal to win the tie and Mourinho celebrated to goal flamboyantly. As a response to his European and domestic success, Mourinho was linked with several top European clubs, including Liverpool, Real Madrid and Chelsea. Mourinho publicly stated his preference for the Liverpool job over the Chelsea one:

"Liverpool are a team that interests everyone and Chelsea does not interest me so much because it is a new project with lots of money invested in it. I think it is a project which, if the club fail to win everything, then [Roman] Abramovich could retire and take the money out of the club. It's an uncertain project. It is interesting for a coach to have the money to hire quality players but you never know if a project like this will bring success.[19]"

Liverpool offered their managerial position to Spanish coach Rafael Benítez and Mourinho instead accepted a large offer from Roman Abramovich and pledged his immediate future to Chelsea.[19]

Yep and your point is? Just because he was going to join you 5 odd years ago doesn't mean he'll ever join you now

[The Baron]

We were in worse state 5 years ago. I doubt he will join but the statement isn't as outlandish as you made out.

[The Baron]

Translation from various Chinese press but they're a bit clumsy, the original article was more focused on the development of NBL (Chinese National Baseball League), I combined few reports here:

-----------
Kenneth Huang, who recently linked to the take over of Liverpool, has denied the link on few occasions. As the Liverpool owners announced the English football giant is up for sale, Huang finally speaks up for the first time when he attended a NBL (Chinese National Baseball League)game yesterday at Chengdu, China.

On the Liverpool take-over, Huang said:' I really wish it turns out to be a successful bid, but then we will see."

But how was it started? Huang replied:' Back in 2008, I was at Singapore attending a F1 Grand Prix, the representatives from Liverpool contacted me to see if I am interested in taking over the football team. They were quoting $1 billion US dollars. The price was totally unreasonable so I turned them down."

"Last year, they came back again and their asking price has dropped significantly, at that point, I think we could talk."

"Actually the negoiation has been going on for few months already. We are now at a crucial stage. "

On current progress, Huang continues: "Right now, my audit team is examining the books and my legal team is keeping close contact with theirs. But then we have a fierce competitor from Middle East."

When will you know if the bid is successful?: "It will be finalized in June."

Why sell up Cleveland Cavaliers then? He said:' I didn't want to sell Cavaliers at all, but there's a rule that you can't own a sporting franchise outside US when you're the owner of a NBA team, so I just had to.'

Huang went on to say football is the most popular sports in the world, premier league is the leader of them all. But why Liverpool? Huang said"Liverpool fans are passionate bunch of people, they really are. I went to Merseyside on few occasions, you can totally feel the vibe."

Huang stressed that 'money is not a problem', so what is his goal he wants to achieve for Liverpool? "Get back to where we were, to be the double champion of Premier League and Champions League."

When asked if he's the one who allegedly called Benitez, Huang replied with a smile:' Benitez is a top coach."

[George2Loose]

We were in worse state 5 years ago. I doubt he will join but the statement isn't as outlandish as you made out.

Disagree. He'll never manage Liverpool

[The Baron]

We were in worse state 5 years ago. I doubt he will join but the statement isn't as outlandish as you made out.

Disagree. He'll never manage Liverpool

I didn't say he would.

[boldie]

Huang stressed that 'money is not a problem', so what is his goal he wants to achieve for Liverpool? "Get back to where we were, to be the double champion of Premier League and Champions League."

If this translation is accurate the future seems rather bright.