Liverpool FC and Hollywood United

 

Image Copyright BBC

The latest twist in the Liverpool Takeover saga has seen top Hollywood film director Mike Jefferies join the fight against Tom Hicks. Jefferies, born in Liverpool has promised to make a film documenting the protest and will fly to Liverpool on Sunday 3rd October.

His motive is clear cut. To oust Tom Hicks from Liverpool by embarrassing him in front of his business peers In America Europe and indeed, worldwide. Jefferies is also rumoured to be joined by Samuel L. Jackson as well as Mike Myers, both lifelong Liverpool fans.

Jefferies is quoted by several major news sources as saying:“You won’t believe who’s involved. I’ve been stunned by terrific reaction of so many celebrity Reds, and many, many fans want to be involved in the film too,” Jefferies said.

“It is important to get the message across that the fans want Hicks and Gillett out. There are millions of supporters who can not accept their club being touted as a product like a soft drink.

“The viral is already building massive momentum and there is a real feeling now amongst the fanbase. But they don’t care, they don’t care about our club – except its valuation.

“They don’t care about the players or the fans. Or our history, or our heritage, and they don’t care about our future.

“By trying to refinance instead of showing some class and cutting a reasonable deal with someone and cutting his losses, Hicks is saying 'f**k you' to the fans.

“So what should we say in reply? ENOUGH! The only way we can get him to change his arrogant mindset is to give him a bloody nose and embarrass him in front of his family, friends, business associates, investors etc.

“Therefore, I flew up from Cape Town last night to come to Liverpool to make a short film here this weekend in which Liverpool fans and stakeholders will tell Tom Hicks – and the world – what they think of him. We are going to shame him and hit him where it hurts.”

The frustrated Reds pair will be in Liverpool on Sunday filming sections of the video they hope to have uploaded to YouTube by Tuesday.

“Our aim is to work night and day so that we can have the film uploaded onto YouTube by Tuesday, and we would then like fans to email the URL to their entire address books,” Jefferies added.

“Imagine if we could get a MILLION hits. If we can achieve that, then we can rest assured that everyone who counts will know that Tom Hicks is utterly despised. And more importantly, Tom Hicks will know.”

Liverpool fans everywhere will no doubt be astonished at this latest turn of events, as the campaign against Hicks goes truly viral. Jefferies brings true Hollywood muscle to the table with a long list of celebrity contacts and smash Hollywood hits to his name such as Goal and Bourne Ultimatum.

One thing is for sure, this will truly make RBS turn their heads as they also have celebrity account holders worth millions to their business.

The sh*tstorm has truly begun.

Game: Liverpool vs Sunderland 25th September 2010 (H)

Liverpool welcome Sunderland to Anfield on Saturday in what many are saying is a pivotal game on the back of their shock defeat to Northampton in the Carling Cup. The game was drawn at full time, with 2 more goals in extra time, taking the game to penalties. Liverpool subsequently crashed out 4-2.

At this point it seems Roy Hodgson needs to pull a rabbit out a hat as he tries to lift his demoralized troops. However, one can only wonder at his decision to leave out most of the senior squad, not even including Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres or Jamie Carragher on the bench. Roy had earlier challenged the youngsters to prove that they were stars by defeating Northampton, however this proved to be a most unwise move given the lack of experience on show.

Fast forward to Saturday and one has to wonder if the senior squad has what it takes to deal with an attacking Sunderland, with the likes of Zenden, Cattermole, and especially Bent, previously the subject of speculation about a move to Liverpool.

Torres (undoubtedly one of Liverpool's generals) is currently an enigma. There is a lot of speculation about him including doubts about match fitness, desire, tiredness, injury worries, confidence etc. The question must be asked: is the amount of media speculation affecting his concentration or confidence? He has shown small flashes of his best, contrary to what the rest of the press might say, including mazy runs, creating penalties and assisting goals.

It will be interesting on Saturday to see if Hodgson decides to drop his brand of seemingly very cautious play and actually go for the throat. In most people's opinion, this is a must, as Liverpool continue to languish at the bottom of the Premiership table.

A little less conversation, definitely a lot more action please.

Liverpool Takeover Latest

Christian Purslow has gone some way to reassuring Liverpool fans worldwide, that the takeover process is still underway. In an exclusive interview given to the club's own TV channel (LFC TV), he stated that there were still a small number of parties carrying out due diligence.

He also answered many other probing questions, sent in by fans, the best of which were chosen and presented to him. Perhaps the most pressing question though was whether Tom Hicks was actively seeking to refinance his loan to RBS once again, the repayment of which is due in 2 weeks time.

Purslow moved swiftly to reassure fans that the rest of the Liverpool board were opposed to such an action where it involved borrowing against the club's assets such as the players or grounds. This should come as great relief to most of the fans who are already seeing their beloved club being dragged around through one saga after another.

Another question was why Rafael Benitez, the clubs former coach had been sacked. Again Purslow had a very swift response stating that it was a parting of the ways, and that nothing could be more cut and dry in his eyes.

Let's hope then, that this 'parting of the ways' as he called it does not prove to be one more nail in Liverpool's coffin.

To see the interview in detail for free, follow this link: Christian Purslow's Interview

Breaking News - Tom Hicks Sighted At Deutsche Bank New York

A New York Liverpool fan has Tweeted the news that Tom Hicks has been sighted going to Deutsche Bank in New York.

The news has already caused a flurry of activity around the web with supporters groups already planning the next email campaign.

This could be bad news for Liverpool Supporters everywhere as Tom Hicks continues the grim fight to retain control and possession of Liverpool Football Club, the most successful club in British football.

However, the news may not be all bad. With Hicks' growing list of enemies, and his poor performance in obtaining credit recently, he may find that fewer and fewer banks or credit institutions are willing to take him seriously.

One can only hope.

Roy Hodgson - The Carling Cup Does Matter

Roy Hodgson has today revealed that he feels the Carling Cup is important to the club, with many supporters feeling that he wouldn't view the competition as a priority, while he also admits he will rest his star players.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the visit of Northampton Town on Wednesday, he said:

"It's a strange game for us in a sense.

"It's one where we definitely need to rotate the squad having played so many games, and with us having to play so many more before the international break.

"But on the other hand it's a competition I take very seriously and I want to have a good run in the competition. We are bothered.

"There's a responsibility on those who replace the big-name players like Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher to name but four."

This should send out a great message of faith to the fringe players like Brad Jones, Suso, Shelvey etc, while he also added:

"To be fair they've shown themselves capable of taking on that burden in a couple of European matches already.

"As we saw in the last game against Steaua Bucharest, Jay Spearing was arguably one of the best players on the field.

"If you never give him a chance, how do you know that?"

Fan Power Stage 2

Ok, lets get stage 2 under way!

Taken Directly from http://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php?topic=33070.new#new

Hi all - again, the Kop Faithful guys and also the staff at YNWA.tv have prepared draft email text and have asked if we can help them - if you can, please send emails as instructed below. Your help's much appreciated.

The email, as you see, challenges the premise of any refinance to the current owners. If you've any questions for Kop Faithful please ask them here:
http://kopfaithful.org/

------------------

To: stephen.hester@rbs.co.uk; john.hourican@rbs.com; roger.lowry@rbs.co.uk; rebecca.oliphant@rbs.com; richard.holliday@rbs.com; tommy.mclean@rbs.co.uk; customer.service.alerts@rbs.co.uk; online.service@rbs.co.uk; invoicefinance@rbs.co.uk; investor.relations@rbsir.com;tom.mckillop@rbs.co.uk; fred.goodwin@rbs.co.uk; guy.whittaker@rbs.co.uk; millermclean@rbs.co.uk; richard.oconnor@rbs.co.uk; info@rbsspreadtrading.co.uk; ellen.alemany@rbs.com; elaine.hunter@rbs.co.uk

CC: gngillett@bcmgt.com; ian.ayre@liverpoolfc.tv; philip.nash@liverpoolfc.tv; thicks@hicksholdings.com; tohjr@hicksholdings.com; martin.broughton@ba.com; mhicks@hicksholdings.com; stephen.schwarzman@blackstone.com; bennett.goodman@blackstone.com; timothy.white@gsocap.com; marketing@gsocap.com; jon.laycock@barcap.com; kopfaithful@hotmail.co.uk

Dear Mr Hester

Following revelations today that the private equity firm The Blackstone Group has ended talks with Tom Hicks regarding a £280m, two-year refinancing package, we ask that you finally take the appropriate action and call in the loans now and end the disastrous ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

We urge you to take the sale process out of the hands of the owners and their appointed representatives Barcap and focus on selling the club to suitable custodians who can bring stability to the football club, who will invest in the playing squad, and finally deliver the new stadium in Stanley Park on which the future prosperity of the club and the local area depends so much.

The Royal Bank of Scotland have previously stated that they wish to act in the best interests of Liverpool Football Club and that the long-term future of the club will be at the centre of any decisions. Well as a lifelong supporter of LFC and a British tax payer, clearly the best interests of all parties cannot be served by providing further extensions to the current financing arrangements, or by enabling Hicks and Gillett to remain in charge by any other means.

What we want

• Hicks and Gillett out now. RBS to call in the loans with immediate effect and oust the current owners.
• RBS to take over the club in the short-term and retain the current management team of Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow, Ian Ayre and Philip Nash who will continue to run the club on a daily basis until the club is sold.
• RBS to take control of the sale process from Barcap and seek suitable custodians who will: a) clear the current debt and not borrow against the assets of the club; b) run the club with a sensible business model; and c) Construct the new stadium in Stanley Park as soon as is reasonably practicable.

What we don't want

• RBS to extend the refinancing with Gillett and Hicks.
• RBS to sell the debt to a faceless investment bank who will load yet more debt onto LFC, increase the interest repayments, extend the disastrous ownership of Hicks and Gillett and put the final nail in the club's coffin.

Liverpool supporters worldwide are very concerned at the actions of RBS in recent days and get the impression that the bank want to wash their hands of the problems at LFC. While supporters are relieved that Blackstone appear to have pulled out of negotiations with Tom Hicks, inevitably it means that RBS' actions will once more become the main focus for the millions of LFC fans who've joined the successful email campaigns.

It is time for RBS to give something back to the Liverpool fans that contributed towards the £500bn taxpayer bailout, without which you wouldn't have a bank to manage.

Yours faithfully

The Kop Faithful - No to RBS refinance - Liverpool FC
http://kopfaithful.org/

Fan Power

Sticking It To ém
Tom Hicks must have finally realised that his time is running out once and for all. The news of his attempted refinancing of the 237m loan initially secured against the club was greeted with universal worldwide anger.

Several companies courted by Hicks were mailed repeatedly and told to expect a backlash from millions of extremely disenchanted Liverpool fans. These companies quickly moved to distance themselves, without reason, from talks with the Texan.

In the next two weeks, many Liverpool fans may find themselves holding their breaths, as they wait for the final decision from RBS on whether to force the Americans out, or refinance again. This looks increasingly unlikely however, owing to the fact that RBS themselves have quoted Liverpool FC as a "distressed asset".

A refinancing offer from RBS would also be unwise in the face of the recent increasing numbers of protests and public outcries at the behaviour of Hicks and Gillett.

This goes to show what is possible, when enough people are united in a common belief. With any luck, the ownership saga of Liverpool FC may be concluded within the next few weeks, and the fans can actually be proud to say that they were a part of stopping the demise of the worlds greatest footballing institution.

Fan Power!

Tom Hicks Suffers Major Blow

Tom Hicks has suffered a major setback in his attempt to regain control of Liverpool Football Club. Blackstone GSO have reportedly snubbed his request for aid in refinancing the clubs debt to RBS.

Over the weekend, following the news of his board meeting in London with Martin Broughton et al, Liverpool fans all over the world reacted angrily and voiced their displeasure at the Texan's latest plan.

The owner of Blackstone GSO, the American Billionaire Steve Schwarzmann, is a close personal friend of Hicks, and is the third richest man in America. This latest move was seen by some as a last desperate attempt to cling on to Liverpool for a further 2 years, while new owners were being sought out.

However, The Guardian has reported that Schwarzmann has walked away from the deal without comment and this can only mean that Hicks has failed.

There are still two weeks remaining until the current loans against Kop Holdings mature, however it seems unlikely that any buyers will come forward in that time. Indeed, it is estimated by many that there are many buyers waiting in the wings in order to get the club at the knockdown price of the club's debt, as opposed to the ridiculous asking price put in place by Hicks and Gillett.

Get Behind The Reds Now!

Over at http://www.empireofthekop.com, a storm is brewing. A letter, drafted by the site owners aims to keep Tom Hicks from refinancing his debt to RBS by using an outisde institution called Blackstone Associates.

They would like all red fans with access to email to send a copy of the letter to show that we will no longer sit down and take it. By putting pressure on Blackstone and letting them know what we are capable of (The Sun Boycott for example), we hope to prevent Hicks from taking full control of Liverpool again.

Click the link above and get in on the action now!

Lets do it!

UPDATE 20/09/10
Do not send any more emails. See this post instead.

The Meireles Mentality

New Liverpool FC signing Raul Mereiles has been quoted as saying "I came to Liverpool to win trophies". Roy Hodgson's £11m signing has also revealed that another part of the reason he came to Anfield was because Roy Hodgson worked so hard to get him.

The Portuguese midfielder, signed from Porto just before the end of the transfer window, also lauded the club's fans, saying "I played at Anfield with Porto and I lost 4-1, but I remember the supporters were great. Everybody in Portugal says the Liverpool fans are the best supporters in England.

"I have also played at Chelsea and Manchester United, but I can say the Liverpool fans are the best".

For most Liverpool fans however, this flattering praise is not needed. All that is required to play in red is heart, soul, and the desire to succeed, whatever the cost. And for Meireles, uttering the afore-mentioned words about winning trophies couldn't have been a smarter move, honest or not.

Alex Ferguson - It's all Rafa's Fault

Sir Alex Ferguson has hit out at former Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez by claiming its the Spaniards fault that Liverpool are in the mess they are in now. This should probably be interpreted as a reference to the playing squad as the club have announced they have satisfied the Premier League's requirements to continue meeting their wage bills and other financial commitments.

This also ties in with the fact that Fergie is quoted as saying "I don't know if Liverpool's current situation is anything to do with the financial position".

"In the last regime they spent a lot of money on players, far more than Manchester United did. They had a huge squad of players, so I don't know if the financial position is anything to do with it.

"I really don't know because I'm not there. So I can't judge what the impact of these things is."

Given the fact that Benitez had to sell to buy most of the time, these comments may be interpreted as slightly unfair, and almost illogical. Benitez is seen by a lot of Liverpool fans as an idol, given the fact that he brought home "Ole Big Ears" (The Champions League Trophy), for the fifth time, an occasion which meant that Liverpool would retain the trophy permanently. He also gradually improved their league position and points tally tremendously, with the exception of the 2009-10 season in which he bizarrely lost a lot of ground.

However, it can't all be attributed to Rafael Benitez. There was a top playing squad beneath him, however it seemed that for the majority of last season, there was no 'team'.

Was it really Rafa's fault? Did he lose the dressing room? The only people who know the answers to that question are those still inside the walls of Melwood, as well as the man himself. For most, it's not an issue; the man who brought home number 5 will always be special at Anfield.

Joe Cole - Misfit or Big Hit?

As Joe Cole starts to find his feet, questions are being asked around the hallowed halls of Anfield. The first of such questions concerns the sending-off during Cole's first game for Liverpool, against Arsenal. While fans may bemoan the fact that Liverpool were then starved of a natural outlet on the left for the remaining 50 minutes, Joe Cole must also be congratulated.

When the replay is examined, it can be seen that Cole hardly makes any contact, while at the same time, constantly watching the ball. The ball leaves play, and only then does Cole turn to face the player he is supposed to have "brought down", Laurent Koscielny. For an older generation of fans, this shows what Cole is all about. Professionalism, pride, and bags full of passion.

He was unfairly villified by the press after this event, and deserves no less than an outright apology from Laurent Koscielny as well as the referee that day. While Liverpool FC accepted the red card quietly, there were mutterings among hardcore red fans that the referee was blind, and that Koscielny would never have 'survived' in the older game.

Cole is an example of those days in modern day form, and long may he continue to demonstrate the skill he is renowned for as well as the passion and belief that has already endeared him to the fans. Questions answered? Without doubt.

Joe Cole - What Gerrard Deserves

Liverpool Playmaker Joe Cole has said he believes Steven Gerrard deserves the Premiership title.

"He's a tremendous player", he said. "I've known Steven since I was 17 or 18 and I obviously trained and played with him for England for 10 years so I know what he's all about".

Cole also said he would really like to help Gerrard make his Premiership dream a reality.

"But when you see him in a Liverpool shirt he's even better. A player like him deserves to win the championship," said Cole.

"I know that's what he wants over the next four to five years at the club.

"He's a fantastic player and if he plays well, the team plays well and it's up to me now to assist him and try and help the club move on."

Tom Hicks Strikes Again

Image Copyright nerdsonsports.com


Once again Tom Hicks is in the media spotlight after reports emerged that he is trying to retain control of Liverpool FC by reappointing his son Foster as a board member. Foster was reported to have told a fan to "blow me fuck face" after a heated e-mail exchange regarding frustration at the then current ownership issues.

Various major newspapers like The Sun and The Mirror are reporting that any attempt made by Hicks to try and regain complete control at Anfield will be blocked by the rest of the board members (excluding perhaps George Gillet, who has remained strangely silent in the last couple of months).

This latest debacle, which will be seen as yet another insult to the club by it's fans around the world, will undoubtedly do more harm to Hicks's already tarnished repuation, than good. Liverpool fans were absolutely outraged at the behaviour of Foster Jr, and rightfully so. Said one Liverpool fan: "Any person in a responsible position of authority in an institution of the calibre of Liverpool Football Club should not be making remarks such as that".

It remains to be seen whether Hicks will be successful in his latest adventure, however, such a move will not win him any support, one suspects, either in the boardroom or outside its walls.