[Archived] Liverpool In Difficulties

[iamarover]

Never underestimate the stupidity of the general public. Particularly the shallow sentimental stupidity of the Liverpooh general public.

When they're not busily organising candlelit vigils, minute silences, leaving teddy bears at blood stained street corners, festooning yellow ribbons on garage railings, they're either emotionally blackmailing or plaintiffly bullying the rest of us in to sympathising with their peculiarly loutish and dishonest form of victimhood.

For sheer thick or maliciously disingenuous cynicism however, professional Scouser and self professed football 'expert' Rogan Taylor is surely peerless. Rogan Taylor who built his name on the back of the Hillsborough disaster, (as Liverpool FC are currently doing too, to be fair), proves the rule that being a bit thick is clearly no disqualification from holding a doctorate. Taylor's vacuous brand of reflexive sentimental folksiness, combined with his high-pitched, moustachioed, self-pitying Scouse whine would have any sentient bunch of supporters scrambling for the exit.

Instead, this is the man, who until last week's implosion of Dubai's make-believe economy, was, according to his other cod-academic colleagues and the Liverpool Echo, planning to take a 10% controlling share through his absurdly titled "Share-Liverpool-FC-Group", whilst Dubai International Capital (DIC) would buy 90% of the equity. This is the same DIC that is owned by the odious al-Maktoum family, who preside over the modern day slave state of Dubai. A bankrupt medieval desert boghole, comprising a fifth of the United Arab Emirates, which owes way more than it can ever hope to repay, with debts conservatively estimated at $80 billion.

This is what Taylor and the odious Munich mocking 'Spirit of Shankly' group had in mind when demonstrating and unleashing their mindless vitriol toward the current owners of Liverpool FC. The same owners who Taylor frequently refers to as 'these American no-marks' - like he would dare if they were any other nationality. The same American no-marks who lavished a kings ransom on the saintly Rafael Benitez, which on the whole, has been, if not squandered, then certainly not wisely spent.

Liverpool fans should heave a sigh of relief that they are owned by the much hated Tom Hicks and George Gillett American no-mark combination, rather than the corrupt Dubai despots, who were the majority of Liverpool fans' clear choice as their new Anfield masters.

And therein lies a new dilemma. Emirati banks are shouldering a large chunk of Dubai's debts, and international ratings agencies have either downgraded the ratings of some of the country's banks or at least placed them on review for further downgrades, citing exposure to Dubai World's debt. The UAEs' central bank is exposed to Dubai's crushing debt. Things might be about to become a little uncomfortable over at Eastlands.

Magnificent prose my friend. And all too true. I once asked a question of this self serving faux academic ( an academic in Liverpool is one who has learned to leech off another State outlet other than the Corpy - in Taylor's case Leicester University) about Heysel at a forum on hooliganism. Essentially i asked why the 39 who died at Heysel were deemed less important that the 96 who tragically died at Hillsborough. Why were the Italians were not recognised by the club or its fans and the latter all too prominently were? I pointed out that this was odd given that while facts at Hillsborough were hard to ever establish, those at Heysel all too tragically were not. The 39 dead and the 600 injured, were directly affected by Liverpool hooligans. Why, I asked, were these people not worthy of the eternal flame at the Kop and why did the club not permanently recognise their guilt? His answer was appalling. Having started on war memorial analogies he quickly backtracked and started meandering about how he could never understand or explain this 'one off' event, where people, he had been 'assured' had attended the event who previously had never been to...etc etc etc. Try telling that to the Scousers still in gaol in Belgium for murder.

Never forgive them while they weep only for their own. They always will - and for that they will be forever damned.

[mellison24]

Magnificent prose my friend. And all too true. I once asked a question of this self serving faux academic ( an academic in Liverpool is one who has learned to leech off another State outlet other than the Corpy - in Taylor's case Leicester University) about Heysel at a forum on hooliganism. Essentially i asked why the 39 who died at Heysel were deemed less important that the 96 who tragically died at Hillsborough. Why were the Italians were not recognised by the club or its fans and the latter all too prominently were? I pointed out that this was odd given that while facts at Hillsborough were hard to ever establish, those at Heysel all too tragically were not. The 39 dead and the 600 injured, were directly affected by Liverpool hooligans. Why, I asked, were these people not worthy of the eternal flame at the Kop and why did the club not permanently recognise their guilt? His answer was appalling. Having started on war memorial analogies he quickly backtracked and started meandering about how he could never understand or explain this 'one off' event, where people, he had been 'assured' had attended the event who previously had never been to...etc etc etc. Try telling that to the Scousers still in gaol in Belgium for murder.

Never forgive them while they weep only for their own. They always will - and for that they will be forever damned.

I asked this question to a Liverpool supporting mate (we were in a group of mates). He told me it is the one thing he hates about his club. He claims to never bother with the Hillsborough tributes or anything purely because of the double standards involved.

[philipl]

Liverpool have apparently lost the chance of a sale to the Saudis through the Americans being greeded and divided.

There is some disingenuous stuff in the papers that following Hicks and Gillett disposing of their sporting interests in North America, there will be cash for Benitez in January.

Doubt it somehow.

Here's hoping Rafa spares us the folly of rescuing James Beattie.

[tcj_jones]

Liverpool have dangerously few full backs at the moment. Rafa needs to go out in January and bring in at least three more or they're certainties to drop out of the top four IMO. £50m should be enough.

[bobsterbrfc]

To be fair that Rogan Taylor is widely disliked by thinking-Liverpool supporters...

[philipl]

Judging by the Arsenal game in which both Gerrard and Torres featured, I think it is fairly safe to say that the current Liverpool are not good enough to win a CL spot this season.

[RevidgeBlue]

They're only three points above midtable.

It's the 50th aniversary of the great Bill Shankly taking over tomorrow and he must be spinning in his grave at the fat Spanish waiter dismantling the Club he built.

It takes quite some doing for a Club that size having the advantage of the CL money every season to be so stunningly ordinary.

[philipl]

Sorry could not get search to find the original thread but things are looking dire considering that Christian Purslow, their new CEO, has been saying this in the Telegraph

I think the banks need to be refinanced this summer. Liverpool need to find an additional £100m to pay them off partly so they will roll over the rest and there is no plan B. Well there is a secret plan C of course- sell Torres and Gerrard.

[thenodrog]

Sorry could not get search to find the original thread but things are looking dire considering that Christian Purslow, their new CEO, has been saying this in the Telegraph

I think the banks need to be refinanced this summer. Liverpool need to find an additional £100m to pay them off partly so they will roll over the rest and there is no plan B. Well there is a secret plan C of course- sell Torres and Gerrard.

They need Gary Cook on the job. He managed to pull City up by the short and curly's when shinawatra's light dimmed.

[Rover Down Under]

Back in the news:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8668320.stm

55m loss in a year and still rising, no Champs League, no new ground. Torres probably already house hunting in Madrid...

[47er]

Was listening to 5 Live's Monday night panel show with Motty etc. Apparently Rafa has spent 224M on----wait for it-----77 players! He is now saying, as he does every year, that he needs 5-6 quality players and complaining that the owners haven't backed him! The man is a complete charletan.

Nobody on the panel could understand why so many Liverpool fans still support him.

[gumboots]

Was listening to 5 Live's Monday night panel show with Motty etc. Apparently Rafa has spent 224M on----wait for it-----77 players! He is now saying, as he does every year, that he needs 5-6 quality players and complaining that the owners haven't backed him! The man is a complete charletan.

Nobody on the panel could understand why so many Liverpool fans still support him.

Probably for the same reason so many "undecided" voters went for the Labour Party - it's often better the devil you know than giving some new untried leader a go when you're in a crisis. Liverpool haven't exactly done well with managerial appointments since they stopped internal promotions, there's no money for a big name, either to bring him in or to buy the players he'd undoubtedly want, it would presumably cost a air bit to sack him and so you put the best face on it you can and hope that if you say often enough he's the right man for our club, he'll turn out to be the right man. The fact that they have alternative hate figures in the owners helps a lot too.

[thenodrog]

Was listening to 5 Live's Monday night panel show with Motty etc. Apparently Rafa has spent 224M on----wait for it-----77 players! He is now saying, as he does every year, that he needs 5-6 quality players and complaining that the owners haven't backed him! The man is a complete charletan.

Nobody on the panel could understand why so many Liverpool fans still support him.

As I've said before I cannot understand any other club wanting to even touch him with a bargh pole. And before I'm reminded of his previous successes the saying in football that you are only as good as your last game or in this case last season is valid.

From that link.....

"Newspaper reports have linked Torres and Gerrard with possible big money moves away from Anfield this summer.

But Broughton said: "There's absolutely no reason to sell either Torres or Gerrard. We don't need to do it to pay off any debt."

This bugggers intent on following the Gordon Brown financial blueprint. I wonder if the Chairman of the RB of S is thinking along the same lines now that the emergence of Spurs and City will likely make Lpools future appearences in the CL as rare as ours. Even the board of Arsenal must be wearing rather worried expressions of late.

More of the same..... "Liverpool's huge loss was 34% worse than 2008's figure as £40.1m went on servicing the club's £351.4m debt to Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and US firm Wachovia."

Basically thats currently the entire Prem league money blown on the wages of with the exception of Torres largely average players.

Happy days.......

[thenodrog]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article7120084.ece

"But the most telling indication of their difficulties was once again provided by KPMG, the auditors, who expressed a “material uncertainty” about Liverpool’s ability to continue as a going concern, the second successive year that they have issued such a warning."