MAY 12
Hicks-Gillett rift at Liverpool
‘had roots in differences over Benitez’

By Nick Harris - Sporting Intelligence

As the Spirit of Shankly group of Liverpool fans confirmed today that they will meet with Premier League officials on Friday to discuss ownership and governance issues at their club, sportingintelligence can reveal the historic rift between Tom Hicks and George Gillett was fueled by their contrasting views on Rafa Benitez.

Sources with intimate knowledge of the Hicks-Gillett relationship during the Americans’ time at Anfield tell us it was Hicks who “made all the running” in sounding out Jurgen Klinsmann as an “insurance policy” management option at the end of 2007.

After the Klinsmann talks were made public in January 2008 – when it became evident the owners had doubted Benitez – Hicks fell firmly into the pro-Rafa camp. Our sources add it was also Hicks who was the driving force in giving Benitez a five-year deal last year.

Gillett, on the other hand, although supportive of the Spaniard, felt Benitez worked best under the supervision of a “moderating” executive, specifically the former chief executive, Rick Parry.

Parry left in the summer of last year, after it became clear that, according to one source, “it was obviously going to be a dysfunctional situation going forward.” Hicks was aligned to Benitez, who had been given more powers in his new deal, while Gillett was aligned to Parry, who Gillett believed “kept Rafa in control”. Except Benitez didn’t want to be kept in control, and would not be.

Fast-forward one extremely disappointing season, and Hicks and Gillett are much closer now in mindset. The club is up for sale and Barclays Capital are actively talking to potential bidders, one of whom we reported on earlier this week.

The Americans still privately insist the club is in great financial shape, despite losses for the parent company of £55m last year, mainly due to interest payments of £40m on debt. They are also prepared to inject more money for transfers this summer “for one last time”, a source says.

The rationale is that they need an asset in good shape to make it attractive for a decent bid, but the Americans harbour “grave doubts” that Benitez should be the man to spend the money to keep the asset in good shape.

Figures acquired from inside the club by sportingintelligence show Benitez has spent more than £244m on transfers in the past four years. Hicks and Gillett do not trust Benitez to spend any more of their money.

They will not sack him because his £16m pay-off is too expensive, and thus hope he leaves of his own volition. If he doesn’t leave – for Juventus or elsewhere – then they will only spend in the summer if the club’s chairman, Martin Broughton, oversees any deals.

Benitez wants cash and the freedom to spend it. All this is understood to have been part of a series of recent discussions (to be continued) between Benitez and Broughton.

MAY 12
Liverpool fans 'union' set to meet
Premier League chief Richard Scudamore

By Mark Ogden - Telegraph.co.uk

Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, will meet with Liverpool supporters’ group, Spirit of Shankly, on Friday to discuss their concerns over the club under their American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Figures released last week revealed that the club’s debt stands at £350 million after losses of £55 million during the last financial year.

With Liverpool’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League likely to hit the club’s financial situation further, the future appears uncertain, with Hicks and Gillett wanting to sell the club.

Scudamore and fellow Premier League officials will now meet Spirit of Shankly representatives following an email campaign aimed at pressuring the league’s senior figures.

James McKenna, spokesperson for Spirit of Shankly, said: “The Premier League have a duty to run the game properly, to regulate it and make sure it is protected. However, they don’t seem to take this duty seriously, allowing the debts at Liverpool to pile up, with owners who are far from fit and proper.

“We would like the Premier League to better protect clubs and put in place regulation that stops what has happened with Hicks and Gillett from happening all over again.

“It isn’t right or proper that a club should pay for its owners to actually own them, and it isn’t proper for the future and the finances of a club to be put in jeopardy for the sake of ... making a profit. Those in charge need to act, and they need to act now.”

MAY 12
Chinese tycoon quiet on Reds

Sky Sports

Chinese internet gaming tycoon Zhu Jun has refused to deny claims he is interested in buying Liverpool.

Reports have claimed that Zhu, chairman of Nasdaq-listed online game company The9 Limited, has held provisional talks about purchasing the Premier League club.

Zhu, who already owns Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, is said to have met with Barclays Capital, the investment bank hired to handle the sale of the Reds, in Hong Kong in late April and more recently in Shanghai.

Officials at Shanghai-based The9 would not confirm the talks had taken place, with company spokeswoman Phyllis Sai saying: "So far we have no comment on this."

Zhou Liang, Zhu's assistant, also gave an enigmatic response about whether the 44-year-old had held discussions with Liverpool about making a bid for the 18-time league champions.

"I cannot tell you any information at this moment," Zhou added.

"(The report) was information from the English side. Information moves very fast but there are some entities that need vehicles to travel. As soon as they arrive in China, we will let you know."

MAY 11
Chinese tycoon in talks to buy Liverpool

By Nick Harris - Irish Independent

A chinese multi-millionaire internet gaming tycoon from Shanghai has held provisional talks about buying Liverpool.

No offer has been tabled yet but Zhu Jun (44) the founder, chairman and chief executive of The9 Ltd -- one of China's leading online gaming firms -- is described by local sources as "sincerely interested" in the club.

When Zhu's gaming firm floated on America's Nasdaq stock exchange in 2004, Zhu pocketed around £60m and his personal fortune has expanded considerably since. Zhu has a long-term active interest in football and is the chairman and majority owner of Shanghai Shenhua of the Chinese Super League.

An informed source in Shanghai says Zhu has already had two exploratory meetings about buying Liverpool with Barclays Capital (BarCap), the global investment bank.

BarCap was hired by the club's new chairman, Martin Broughton, to find a buyer after owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett formally put the club on the market last month.

One of Zhu's meetings with BarCap took place in Hong Kong at the end of April and a second was in Shanghai in the past week, according to a business source in China. A spokesman for BarCap declined to comment.

Broughton wants a "leak-free" media strategy until a deal is done with whoever eventually buys the club. This is understandable, given the attention likely to be given to any potential buyer. But the revelation of Zhu's interest and meetings is significant in that it suggests BarCap is now actively engaging with potential bidders.

Before Broughton and BarCap were brought on board, Liverpool's owners had struggled to attract any interest from would-be partner investors that was satisfactory to Hicks and Gillett.

"There is certainly a mood change now," one insider said. "But we're not close to any done deal yet."

Zhu is one of dozens of parties contacted across the world by BarCap already, as the firm chases up previous interest in the club and explores new leads. He proposes to head a consortium of businessmen, perhaps including one or more other owners of Chinese Super League clubs, to make a bid. It is known, however, that he feels the owners' nominal asking price of £800m is double a realistic valuation.

Price will be a sticking point but is acknowledged on all sides as negotiable. A swift sale is clearly in Liverpool's best interests because it would allow a new owner to take decisive action over whether to keep Rafa Benitez in charge before the summer transfer window closes.

Hicks and Gillett will not sack Benitez. A senior club insider insisted last night that there is "no chance at all" of that happening because a £16m pay-off would be necessary to facilitate it and the American owners will not spend that cash. Yet the Spaniard's position remains in the balance, as does the club's transfer policy.

The £800m price tag has been circulated in China as a starting point for negotiations among rich potential bidders. Sources say the price tag has deterred many potential investors from even coming to the negotiating table.

However, the verbal 'prospectus' that BarCap has been touting highlights Liverpool's potential growth, and Zhu is among those willing to explore the possibilities of buying at a "decent" price.

BarCap is looking for a buyer committed to the new stadium, and is stressing to would-be buyers that it is as integral to Liverpool's long-term stability and growth as monetary investment. Zhu is confident he can raise or borrow funds to build it, if the purchase price is right.

Zhu's background has been romanticised on his firm's own website, with a description of his early business life talking about how he graduated from a delivery man who used a tricycle to do his rounds in the 1980s to someone who sold clothing and then cars before moving into non-specific "international trade".

The last 12 years are easier to track: he started a gaming company in 1998, moving into online virtual communities in the early part of the last decade as the internet boomed, and then floating The9 six years ago.

MAY 10
Liverpool leaking fuel and
braced for crash-landing

Comment by Vincent Hogan - Irish Independent

So Liverpool FC is now, officially, the prime basket case of the One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest League. The figures are quite startling. Every day they open for business, another uninsured Porsche 911 is gone missing from the car park. Or, if you like, they're down £110,000 to interest payments on the company debt.

Interest on a debt is, essentially, oil leaking from a pipe. I'm sure the likes of Seanie Fitz or Fingers could summon a more positive analogy. But, in a league riddled with accountancy practices that a Greek Finance Minister would blanche at, Liverpool take the biscuit.

Actually, as the tents fold up for summer, English football itself teeters on the edge of a very big hole that looks set to leave any club without a billionaire sugar daddy to call upon queuing up for benefit.

And that covers just about everybody, of course, outside of Chelsea and Manchester City.

I watched that nice, confident gentleman, Martin Broughton, give his happy-clappy Anfield sales pitch on the club's website last Friday and it was like hearing a pilot announce, 30,000 feet above the Atlantic, that those flames spilling from engine one would not necessarily spread to engine two.

Broughton is Liverpool's short-term chairman. He admits that he envisages holding the position for only "a matter of months". His job is to find a buyer and, in business, the seller must always radiate optimism.

So it's maybe best not to over-analyse the small detail of anything he says. Not because we doubt the man's integrity. We don't. It's just he faces pretty much the same imperatives right now as Arthur Daly on a crowded forecourt.

A lot was being made last week of his 'lifelong' allegiance to Chelsea, particularly in the context of Fernando Torres and a supposedly imminent bid of £70m from Stamford Bridge. But, on Friday, Broughton insisted: "We've got him (Torres) and there's no intention of selling him."

To Liverpool devotees, this was undoubtedly welcome news. Assuming, that is, his use of the word "we" doesn't prove hopelessly disingenuous.

Suffice to say, a long summer looms for supporters. The assumption that Rafa Benitez was house-hunting in Turin seems to have been replaced by a suspicion that he'll choose, instead, to hawk a few collection tins around Liverpool and maybe spend the proceeds on some sprightly 32-year-old utility player from Turkmenistan, hungering for a new challenge.

The internet, meanwhile, blazes with little nuggets of escapism. Liverpool are £351m in the red, yet continue to be linked with every strip of football fantasy around. I read just last week how they're planning an £18m bid for Joe Cole.

How exactly does this work? Technically, you haven't the price of a pint, yet you're still being linked to every nice, turreted piece of real estate that happens to come on the market.

Then again, when you look at the scale of borrowing undertaken by Tom Hicks and George Gillett to buy Liverpool in the first place, maybe it's reasonable to deduce that no one needs actual money to join in this great, big game of bluff.

Everything will be fine, of course, if Broughton locates someone willing (and able) to absorb that monstrous debt, finance a new stadium and arm the manager with a £70m transfer kitty that doesn't require stripping the company of its main assets (Torres and Steven Gerrard) like stripping a roof of lead.

Hicks and Gillett have been joke owners, who probably now depict Liverpool to their American friends as the kind of place that would make Indiana Jones homesick. Yet, even as we speak, they're valuing the club at £800m.

History will recall them as football's Morecambe and Wise.

All bets are off for the future, then. I mean Manchester United may dwarf Liverpool in a commercial sense but, by all accounts, they're also close to three times deeper in debt. And Arsenal look doomed forever to be a vandalised masterpiece under Arsene Wenger.

Spurs, true to their dreamy DNA, will keep buying strikers (yesterday, they were linked with ageing Real Madrid front man, Raul) because they hunger -- above all else -- for glamour.

And City? They will keep on playing Monopoly until, quite probably, they tire of Roberto Mancini this side of Christmas and toss the keys of a bank vault to Jose Mourinho. Thereafter, the list of prospective Eastlands signings will be a virtual queue for a Disney ride.

And that, naturally, should send Sky Sports into high-pitched orbit, the Special One returning to haunt Abramovic.

The rest of the Premier League will command attention on a purely superficial level. Clubs like Aston Villa, Everton and Fulham can be expected to remain heroic against all odds.

West Ham, with their classy owners, will probably be a soap opera. Likewise Newcastle United.

And Liverpool Football Club, stymied by irritating stuff like beach balls and long throws and bank overdrafts and £20m midfielders who turn out brittle as Ming vases, will exist in a kind of micro-climate of gorgeous pomp and hopeless denial.

They'll still have their history and, for millions, the very sound of Gerry Marsden's voice will always bring a sting to the eye.

But they need more than an investor now. They need a supporter with access to vast funds and the willingness to commit those funds to what is, essentially, an emotional gamble. And maybe that's Martin Broughton's greatest difficulty.

He's banked high in a long queue, awaiting clearance to land. Engine one still burning.

MAY 6
Liverpool FC co-owner Tom Hicks
dashes fans' hopes of quick sale

By Ian Doyle - Liverpool Daily Post

Tom Hicks believes there are “plenty” of people willing to invest in Liverpool – but has hinted it may be up to another 18 months before the club is sold.

And that could impact on the future of Rafael Benitez with the manager poised for showdown talks with new chairman Martin Broughton in the next 48 hours.

Hicks, along with fellow co-owner George Gillett, appointed Broughton last month to oversee the sale of the club after the pair expressed a desire to completely cut ties at Anfield.

Benitez is seeking assurances over significant funds in the forthcoming transfer window which is likely to only come from the cash injection brought by a swift takeover.

Speaking yesterday, Hicks confirmed a number of parties have expressed an interest in investing in Liverpool during the past two years, the most recent of which was the New York-based Rhone Group.

But the American – who took control of the club along with Gillett in February 2007 – intimated there is unlikely to be any imminent change of ownership, which could push Benitez closer to a move to Juventus.

“From discussions we’ve had over the last two years, there are plenty of those people (to invest in Liverpool) out there,” said Hicks. “We’ve owned it three years. We won’t own it for five.”

Both Hicks and Gillett have met with strong opposition from sections of the Liverpool support for much of their tenure, with demonstrations held both inside and outside Anfield on each of their recent visits to the stadium.

And the Dallas-based businessman believes he has “paid a terrible price” for being co-owner, but admits the club is not part of his heritage, comparing his ownership to that of two of his local peers.

“I can still be a fan, but I’ve paid a terrible price,” said Hicks. “I’m 64 years old. I don’t want that anymore.

“Jerry Jones is a good friend of mine, but his life and his family’s life is the Dallas Cowboys. Mark Cuban, the (Dallas) Mavericks are his life. This isn’t my life.”

MAY 4
Financial expert David Bick fears for
Liverpool's future as board deliver
nothing but 'broken promises'

By Alex Dimond - Goal.com

Liverpool need a "rescue" rather than just a takeover, according to football finance expert David Bick, who believes the club is at an important cross-roads in its history.

Bick, chairman of Square 1 Consulting, believes fans of the Reds should not be fooled by financial results set to be released by the club, which he believes will see them announce a profit of around £35 million.

The expert sees similarities with Manchester United's figures last year — where the club's profits, a result of Cristiano Ronaldo's sale, paved the way for a bond issue that alleviated the club's short-time problems but only caused greater long-term concerns.

Bick also believes the Merseyside club, whose owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have reportedly set an asking price of around £500 million, has been over-priced and needs investment in almost every aspect of the club's infrastructure — starting with a new stadium.

"Liverpool has potentially reached its most important historic point," Bick wrote in an open letter, as reported by ESPN Soccernet.

"The club has now gone 20 years without winning the English league title. It has never won the Premier League. It was drummed out earlier than expected from this year's Champions League and now, as one of the world's biggest clubs, faces the ignominy and reality of failing to qualify for next season's premier European competition.

"To my mind, the people running the club over the last two decades must bear the bulk of the responsibility and the brunt of the criticism.

"Whether it comes down to incompetence or thoughtless arrogance at Liverpool, we have seen the club left behind by the other great clubs like Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Spurs. They have rebuilt their stadia to high standards and, largely speaking, to capacities that accommodate their substantial fan bases.

"Yet all Liverpool fans have heard is talk and a string of broken promises."

While their rivals have adapted to the modern game and taken advantage of the money-making avenues open to them, Bick reckons Liverpool's owners have long been slow to adapt.

"The other clubs have built their revenue streams or attracted owners that have given them the wherewithal to compete effectively at the top of the modern game," he noted.

"It seems to me that the Liverpool fans are being treated to a 'product' that is rooted in the 1970s. Sadly, in very recent times, Liverpool has also been owned by people who have said much and delivered little of the stated vision. Replacing them is a very urgent imperative.

"Liverpool claimed in a recent statement that it has 'overseen a significant improvement in the financial performance of the club since 2007'. Well, that's difficult to assess. The management has not published accounts for Kop Football (Holdings) Limited - the main trading company - since the filing for the year to 31 July 2008 and, in that year, the business showed net losses of over £42 million and net interest payments on debt of £35 million not covered at all (let alone adequately) by operating profit - pre-player amortisation and trading - of £25 million."

APRIL 26
Huang plays down Reds talk

Sky Sports

Kenneth Huang has denied speaking to a newspaper about a proposed takeover of Liverpool.

A report in the Sunday Mirror suggested Huang, described as a former Wall Street stockbroker, was leading a consortium who were in advanced negotiations to buy the Merseysiders for £500million.

Co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett officially put the club up for sale just over a week ago, having admitted someone else needed to take it to the next level.

However, a statement released on behalf of Huang has distanced the China-based businessman from the claims.

"Mr Huang would like to clarify that he did not speak with the newspaper and did not make the statements attributed to him," said the statement.

"Mr Huang would not make any comment in relation to Liverpool FC."

Just over a week ago Benitez's agent Manuel Garcia Quilon claimed an unnamed Chinese investor was interested in taking over the club and had already spoken to the manager about keeping him on next season.

Benitez subsequently denied Quilon's claims.

APRIL 26
Clarification statement from Kenneth Huang
regarding Liverpool Football Club

BEIJING, April 26, 2010 - With reference to the article published on the Sunday Mirror dated April24, 2010 quoting
Mr. Kenneth Huang regarding his investment interest in
Liverpool Football Club ("Liverpool FC"), Mr. Huang would like to clarifythat he did not speak with the newspaper nor the reporter and did not makethe statements attributed to him.
Mr. Huang would not make any comment inrelation
to the Liverpool FC.

APRIL 25
Liverpool suitor
wants Rafa to stay

Football 365

Chinese businessman Kenneth Huang has revealed he is in talks to buy Liverpool and wants manager Rafael Benitez to remain at Anfield.

Huang is at the head of a consortium interested in ending the ownership deadlock at Anfield and has claimed he has been granted access to the club's accounts by Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

And the former Wall Street broker, who has a huge portfolio of investment interests in Hong Kong and the United States, expects a deal to be in place within the next two months.

Huang, who is working alongside business partner Adrian Cheng on the deal, insists Benitez is at the heart of his £500million master plan and has already contacted the Spaniard to give him assurances about the future in a bid to keep him out of the clutches of Italian giants Juventus.

"Negotiations have taken place over the last few months and we are at a crucial stage," he said in the Sunday Mirror.

"I really hope it turns out to be a successful bid. Right now my audit team is examining the books and my legal team is in close contact with theirs.

"We have a fierce competitor in the Middle East, but it could be finalised in June."

He added: "I was first approached (to buy Liverpool) in 2008 when I was in Singapore attending a Formula One Grand Prix, but the asking price was 1billion US dollars.

"It was totally unreasonable so I turned it down. The asking price has dropped significantly and we are talking again.

"I want Liverpool to win the Champions League and Premier League and I think Benitez is a very good coach."

APRIL 19
Hicks claims he will sell the club
for four times the price he paid

By Gary Stewart - Liverpool Echo

Tom Hicks has said he expects to pocket £600m from the sale of Liverpool FC – making the deal his most profitable yet.

The Texan businessman told the Wall Street Journal he expects the Anfield club to fetch £600m to £800m, four times what he and co-owner George Gillett paid for it.

Industry experts believe the true sale price will probably be lower.

Mr Hicks said: “Liverpool will be the most profitable investment I have ever made.

“It has been the most rewarding in so many ways and the most painful in so many ways.

“When you feel fans turn against you, it is very frustrating.

“The fan blogs blame the owners but we had terrible injuries with our star players out for more than a month, and we just were not a very good team without them.”

James McKenna from the anti-Hicks and Gillett pressure group Spirit Of Shankly, said: “This sale was forced on the owners by those who financed them.

“This is just Tom Hicks puffing his chest out and protecting his ego.

“He seems to think the decision to sell is his.

“I would imagine it will be down to Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland.

“RBS gave him a very small window to sell and I doubt they are going to be taking orders from Tom Hicks on how much he wants for Liverpool.

“They will just want to sell.

“He is living in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks he is getting £800m for Liverpool Football Club.”

APRIL 18
Hicks: No cut-price deal

Sky Sports

Tom Hicks believes Liverpool have tripled in value under his co-ownership as he continues to search for a buyer.

The Texas-based business tycoon joined forces with fellow American George Gillett to take over the Reds in 2007 in a deal worth a reported £218million.

Their time in charge at Anfield has been marred in controversy, with rumoured bust-ups with manager Rafa Benitez and Liverpool now suffocating under a speculated debt of £237m, which has halted plans to build a new stadium in Stanley Park.

It was announced on Friday that Hicks and Gillett have finally agreed to put the club up for sale, but the former has indicated that they will not be prepared to accept any cut-price bids.

Hicks said in the Sunday Mirror: "Liverpool football club has been a great investment. It has probably tripled in value.

"We have doubled player spending, both gross and net, and the new stadium is now fully designed and permitted. With fresh capital from a new owner, the stadium will be operational by August 2014.

"Liverpool will be as profitable as any other club in the Premier League and can compete financially and on the pitch with any other club.

"This is a great step forward for Liverpool FC, but we will now take our time and find the best possible owner."

Hicks added: "The fans blame the owners, but we had terrible injuries with our star players out and we just weren't a very good team without them."

British Airways boss Martin Broughton has been appointed chairman of Liverpool to work alongside Barclays Capital in a bid to find new owners.

APRIL 16
Rafa welcomes Reds changes
Broughton offers assurances over Gerrard and Torres

Sky Sports

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez believes that the arrival of new chairman Martin Broughton (pictured) is a sign that the club is making positive progress after being put up for sale.

The news was confirmed by the Anfield club on Friday morning and Barclays Capital is also to offer advice to Reds co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks as they look for a buyer.

Financial struggles combined with a reportedly fraught relationship between Gillett, Hicks and Benitez has led to speculation about the future of the latter and as a result the announcement of the sale has been welcomed by Liverpool fans.

But Benitez, who has been repeatedly linked with Juventus, has remained characteristically guarded on the subject as he prepares for Monday's Premier League match against West Ham.

He said: "We have a new chairman and he is in charge of these issues.

"At this moment, for me as a manager, I have to concentrate on the West Ham game.

"I think the club is moving forward and that is positive. It is important for the club to move forward. It could be good news."

Sales
Broughton insists there will be no pressure on the club to sell star players Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard this summer and predicts a bright future, with money available in the transfer market.

He said: "I can't see any reason for any forced sales. I think everybody concerned, fans, players and the manager, can all look forward to a very bright future.

"There will be money available for transfers, but I am not going into how much."

Broughton said any new owner would have to prove they had the funds to take the club forward and would be 'crazy' not to include building a planned new stadium.

"What's best for the club is somebody or bodies to come in and build the new stadium, make sure that the club is properly financed and that there is enough money available to take the club forward," he said.

Stay
"I have looked at the stadium project and frankly there is an overwhelming financial logic to any buyer to proceed with the stadium. Any buyer would be crazy not to do so.

"We wouldn't get to be the winning bid with that commitment."

Broughton also made it clear that he wants Benitez to remain on Merseyside, adding: "Rafa is a good manager, we want him to stay and he's under contract to stay."

APRIL 16
Tom Hicks and George Gillett,
the best a fan can forget

By Neil Jones - Goal.com

It is the news every Liverpool supporter has been waiting for: George Gillett and Tom Hicks are set to end their ill-judged, ill-fated, three-year association with the club.

The American pair announced this morning that Martin Broughton, current chairman of British Airways PLC and deputy president of the Confederation of British Industry, has been appointed as chairman of the club with immediate effect. Broughton, in association with Barclays Capital, will now oversee a formal sale process which will remove Gillett and Hicks from the Anfield boardroom.

Broughton's appointment signals the beginning of the end for the Americans, who breezed into Anfield in 2007 boasting grand ideas and promising big things. Three years on, Liverpool are struggling financially, with pressure from supporters at an all-time high.

Goal.com UK charts the disastrous three-year reign of 'Uncle George and Tom'...

January 2007 - Dubai International Capital (DIC) pull out of a takeover bid after they try in vain to force Liverpool to come to a decision while the club's board consider a new offer made by American tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

February 2, 2007 - Gillett and Hicks offer £435 million for the ownership of Liverpool. This includes £215m for the building of a proposed new stadium on Stanley Park. The club's board, led by chairman David Moores and chief executive Rick Parry, unanimously recommend that this offer be accepted.

February 6, 2007 - The offer from Hicks and Gillett is accepted, valuing the club at £218.9m (£5,000 per share), and confirming debts of £44.8m. In their original press conference, Gillett promises work on Liverpool's new stadium would begin immediately, saying: "the spade has to be in the ground within 60 days."

May 2007 - Liverpool are beaten by AC Milan in the Champions League final, with Hicks promising afterwards that serious funds will be made available to manager Rafael Benitez with which he can strengthen the squad. It results in the infamous soundbyte: "If Rafa said he wanted to buy Snoogy Doogy we would back him".

Summer 2007 - Liverpool embark on a major spending spree, adding Spanish star Fernando Torres, as well as Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun. Supporters welcome Torres, a club record signing at around £20m, in particular.

November 2007 - Benitez and the owners fall out over the Spaniard's transfer targets for January 2008. Gillett and Hicks reportedly tell Benitez to 'concentrate on training and coaching the players he already has'. Benitez responds with a frosty press conference in which he repeats that phrase in answer to every question. Liverpool's form, impressive in the early weeks of the season, begins to deteriorate.

January 14, 2008 - Hicks admits the club had made an approach to former Germany manager Jurgen Klinsmann, with a view to Klinsmann replacing Benitez as manager. The meeting took place at the height of the feud between Benitez and the owners in November. Hicks says, however, that such a move was "an insurance policy, to have him become manager if Rafa left for Real Madrid".

January 22, 2008 - Liverpool supporters, who have formed the supporters' union Spirit of Shankly, protest against the Americans' ownership before, during and after the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. Banners pledge their support for Benitez, as well as urging Gillett and Hicks to sell to DIC, who are rumoured to be interested.

April 2008 - It emerges that Gillett and Hicks are barely on speaking terms, throwing the club into turmoil. Rick Parry, it transpires, was present when Gillett and Hicks met with Klinsmann the previous November, further souring his relationship with Benitez. Days later, Hicks rounds on Parry, accusing the chief executive of failing in his commercial and professional duties, and advising the termination of his contract. Parry would leave his role at the end of the following season.

January 2009 - Benitez is left frustrated by the club's transfer policy, as funds are denied following the sale of striker Robbie Keane, and the club fail to act swiftly over the contract of Daniel Agger. Benitez himself refuses to commit to a long-term deal until assurances are made regarding the control of the club.

March 2009 - Rumours surface ahead of the Reds' Champions League clash with Real Madrid that Benitez has quit. They prove to be unfounded, and days later it is announced that Parry will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Liverpool finish the campaign second, just four points short of Manchester United.

Summer 2009 - Christian Purslow, financial expert and Liverpool supporter, is appointed as managing director. His brief is to find £100m of fresh investment, which will help satisfy Liverpool's creditors. The playing side suffers, with Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa sold, and Alberto Aquilani and Glen Johnson added, but further funds are denied.
September 2009 - Gillett criticises Benitez in a meeting with supporters' union Spirit of Shankly. The American claims that Liverpool's financial situation is healthier than that of Manchester United, and also denies promising fans that work on a new stadium would begin 'within 60 days' of his arrival at Anfield.

January 2010 - Liverpool fans are left incensed after Tom Hicks Jnr, a board member at Anfield, responds to an e-mail from a supporter with a foul-mouthed tirade. Hicks Jnr is forced to resign, with commercial director Ian Ayre and financial director Philip Nash added to the board.

March 2010 - Reports surface suggesting a bid of £110m has been made from the Rhone Group - a New-York based private equity firm - for a 40 per cent stake in Liverpool. Gillett and Hicks fail to respond to the offer within the deadline.

April 2010 - Gillett and Hicks announce the appointment of British Airways chairman Martin Broughton, who will oversee the formal sale of the club as soon as possible. The Americans' statement reads: "Owning Liverpool Football Club over these past three years has been a rewarding and exciting experience for us and our families. Having grown the Club this far we have now decided together to look to sell the Club to owners committed to take the Club through its next level of growth and development."

APRIL 16
Liverpool put up for
sale by American owners

BBC Sport Online

Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have confirmed their intention to sell the debt-ridden Premier League club by appointing a new chairman.

British Airways boss Martin Broughton will oversee the sale of the Anfield club, which is £237m in debt.

"They've recognised a complete sale is the right thing to do at this stage in time," Broughton told BBC Sport.

Hicks and Gillett say there have been numerous expressions of interest and have asked Barclays Capital to assist.

Chief executive Christian Purslow, along with two banks - Merrill Lynch and Rothschilds - had been asked to find £100m of investment to satisfy a request from the club's principal creditor, RBS.

But with significant investment not forthcoming and issues over funding for a new stadium in Stanley Park and providing a substantial transfer budget for manager Rafael Benitez becoming increasingly significant, the Americans have decided their best option is to sell up - a move they say has the "full support of the existing bankers".

In a statement, Hicks and Gillett said: "Owning Liverpool Football Club over these past three years has been a rewarding and exciting experience for us and our families.

"Having grown the club this far we have now decided together to look to sell the club to owners committed to take the club through its next level of growth and development.

"We are delighted that Martin Broughton has agreed to take the position of chairman, working alongside the club's excellent senior management team.

"Martin is a distinguished business leader of excellent judgment and with a great reputation. He is a genuine football supporter and will seek to oversee the sales process in the best interests of the club and its supporters."

Broughton, a Chelsea fan, added: "I am excited and honoured to be taking up this position. Liverpool is a great club with a fantastic history.

"I will run this sale process in the right way, for the benefit of the club and its fans.

"Liverpool is one of the world's greatest clubs and my aim is to try and ensure that we find new owners who are able to build on the club's recent improved financial performance in order to help deliver sporting success."

Liverpool are in serious danger of missing out on qualifying for next season's Champions League, which would have a major impact on the finances at the club and the value to any prospective buyer.

They are sixth in the Premier League and trail Manchester City, who occupy the last of the four Champions League places, by six points with four games to play.

Rogan Taylor, who founded ShareLiverpoolFC - where fans would pay £500 for one share with the idea being to run the club along the lines of Barcelona - believes stumbling blocks still remain in the way of the proposed sale.

"The real problem is the price they want - they've piled a lot of debt onto the club and the effects on the pitch have been obvious this season," Taylor told BBC Radio 5 live.

"The question is are they going to be realistic in their valuation of the club - it's only worth what someone will give you for it."

Co-owners Hicks and Gillett have endured a difficult time at Liverpool since taking over at Anfield in March 2007.

Supporters have regularly voiced their dissatisfaction at the level of debt taken on by the club after the buy-out by the American duo.

Last October, several hundred Liverpool fans staged a protest march organised by the Spirit of Shankly group against the owners ahead of their Premier League clash against Manchester United.

The board's popularity with the fans disintegrated further when Hicks' son, Tom Hicks Jr, became embroiled in a row with a supporter who alleged the American had sent him abusive emails.

As a result Hicks Jr resigned as a director of the club and parent company Kop Holdings, leading to a restructure of the board.

Gillett and Hicks have also endured a fractious relationship with each other, which early on in their reign threaten to undermine their ownership with the former revealing the partnership had become "unworkable".

In 2008, Hicks blocked Gillett's moves to sell his 50% share to Dubai International Capital group as the pair feuded over future plans for the club and an outright £500m takeover bid by the DIC group was also rebuffed, with Hicks hinting he would attempt an outright takeover bid himself.

They subsequently patched up their differences but the sense of unrest at the club continued, not least in the often difficult working relationship the board shared with manager Benitez.

The Liverpool boss, who is celebrating his 50th birthday on Friday, is yet to speak to Broughton, but said he was optimistic that any changes would have beneficial consequences for the club.

"I think the club is moving forward and that is positive. It could be good news," Benitez said.

"At this moment, for me as a manager, I have to concentrate on the West Ham game (on Monday)."

The Spaniard has previously spoken of the limited transfer funds made available to him to strengthen his squad, highlighting this as a factor behind the decline of the team's performance on the pitch.

The sale of midfielder Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid for £30m has been widely criticised as Liverpool's difficult campaign unfolded, with his £20m replacement Alberto Aquilani struggling for fitness all season to the frustration of Benitez.

While Hicks and Gillett have publicly backed their manager, who signed a contract until 2014 in March last year, they undermined Benitez's position in 2007 when they admitted to having held talks with former Germany boss Jurgen Klinsmann.

APRIL 16
Syrian eyes Reds takeover

Sky Sports

Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi claims he is in advanced talks about buying Liverpool.

Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are reported to be finally willing to sell their stake in the club after hiring Barclays Capital to find new owners.

A number of potential investors have been linked with a move for the Anfield outfit and now former Syria international Kirdi is ready to end Hicks and Gillett's time on Merseyside.

Former Celtic player Andy Lynch has been brought in by Kirdi to act as a go-between in the deal and he is hopeful a takeover could be completed soon.

"Talks are on-going with Tom Hicks and George Gillett and are at an advanced stage," Lynch told the Daily Mirror.

"The planned buy-out will have massive implications for Liverpool. Liverpool aren't the force they were so this is just what they need.

"I've been to Anfield on business recently and I'm acting as the go-between in the whole deal.

"Hopefully it's not too much longer before it's all done and dusted."

Thor Zakariassen ©