Over the passed few years Liverpool fans have been left wondering what is actually going on behind the scenes at our beloved football club. With only paper talk and unsubstantiated rumours to go on, it has not been easy to pinpoint the real truth.
Things the way they are at the moment are no different.
If I had a real magic 8 ball in my palm as I wrote this there would be a list of questions I would like answers to. Will the next managerial appointment be the right one for the club? Will we have new owners come the end of the summer? Will Gerrard and Torres still be there next season?
In the absence of magic I will try my best to give my view on a few of these points.
Our next manager?
If you believe the papers and the rumours floating around there are only 2 main candidates for Liverpool Manager. Roy Hodgson, the bookies favourite and our own King Kenny.
Now this may not go down too well but I don’t particularly agree with either option. Don’t get me wrong Roy Hodgson did a terrific job with Fulham last season and possesses a wealth of experience but is his style of football what we want to see at Anfield? As for Kenny, he is a Liverpool legend but he hasn’t managed at the top level for almost 10 years. Could he really seamlessly slip back into the Liverpool hot seat?
Although many of these managers are ‘unavailable’ I for one would like to see a style of football associated with a Guus Hiddink, Frank Rijkaard or Louis Van Gaal.
New owners?
Like every Liverpool fan on the planet I want to see the back of the Americans as soon as possible and new owners installed by the time the new season kicks off.
If you believe recent newspaper reports, Hicks and Gillett have received substantial offers for the club. These offers have come from parties who have been deemed suitable by the Managing Director and new Chairman. So what’s the problem? Hicks’ ridiculous valuation of £800m. No capable businessman or investor is going to pay such a great sum for a club so riddled with debt.
Now is surely the time for RBS to step in and demand the greedy Americans lower their asking price. If they don’t I fear Liverpool Football Club could still be owned by Hicks and Gillet come the end of next season.
Gerrard and Torres?
I firmly believe that our 2 biggest players will still be with us come the start of the 2010/11 season but my feelings on this matter are mixed. In the case of Gerrard I would do everything in my power to ensure he remains at the club. He is the heartbeat of Liverpool and as Captain, drives every player forward on the pitch. He is more that just a player.
Now I’m sure I will get a host of negative comments for what I am about to say, but if a club came in with a bid in the region of £70m for Fernando Torres there is a good chance I would accept it, providing it was guaranteed the money would be used for squad strengthening.
My reasoning? There is no doubt Torres is up there with the best strikers in the world but like Michael Owen before him he has become overworked and injury prone. Ask yourself the questions: Would we ever get the same price for him again? Would you turn down £70m now for Torres to leave on a free transfer in a few years time?
Not selling Michael Owen to Real Madrid when we had the chance was a huge and costly mistake and Liverpool should learn from this. If Torres sees his future elsewhere and Liverpool get the right price then perhaps it is time to cash in?
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not a bad set of opinions although I have to say selling Torres would only pay for the Yanks’ debts which I rather didn’t happen even if Torres sees his future else where and we risk loosing him for nothing. Much better for us to keep him rather then service the Yanks.
In agreement. I said a few weeks ago that Torres should be sold as he manages so few games per season as he is a marked man in the EPL.There is little or no protection offered him ny match officials.As for RBS. This is a business and requires profit. Why should they be interested in getting new owners as they are receiving a tidy interest profit on their loan of a respectable £40million plus each year? No help looking to them in this predicament methinks or as the French say, “Plus ca change”…..
Rafa was fired because he would fiercely reject bids for Torres, Masch and SG. Now Rafa has gone, the asset-stripping can commence. Daglish will not be appointed because he would also oppose these sales. Hodgson is a good manager, but he’s a mouse when it comes to standing up to a Board or club owners. Think about it guys: The yanks and their puppets appoint a Chelsea fan as Chairman, they remove Rafa and then – lo and behold – a big offer comes in from the Chavs for Torres. Even the hapless Inspector Clousseau could get to the bottom of that plot! We are being royally screwed and it is an absolute travesty.
Your Article is a waste of time the yanks got rid of Rafa to enable the wholesale pillage of the club, the question now is how can we rid ourselves of the present owners and include Purslow and Broughton too, wether you were for or against Rafa the way the board acted over the mutual sacking was despicable is is a sign of just how far this mighty Club has fallen, join SOS. March of the Sons of Anfield (Music Video)
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Billium, you claim that “Rafa was fired because he would fiercely reject bids for Torres, Masch and SG.” Do you actually have any proof for that strong statement or are you just like too many other right now spinning and turning anything to make up stories out of thin air to stir the rather xenophobic hatred against “yanks” even further as it already is? For starters you could stop referring to more than 300 million people when you try to tell how bad TWO of them are.
Sorry
Sorry mate, although i agree that selling torres would be profitable, it would be a devastating blow to liverpool. We should not be a selling club. There is not many players who posses the charisma, enthusiasm and talent of Torres. He is a talisman for liverpool. We need to retain Torres, and Gerrard, appoint Kenny as interim manager until the club gets sold, or someone assasinates H&G (hopefully the latter as it seems that they will not sell the club). Hopefully the appointment of Kenny would bear fruit and he could stay as permanent manager, but whatever happens, no other manager will want to touch liverpool at the moment, as their future is not concrete once the club is eventually sold.
Sorry, that was supposed to say we should not be selling the clubs major assets.. doh…
To anteater: What’s wrong with using the word “yanks”? You must be diluted thinking that Liverpool fans hate or dislike yanks in general, when using the word yanks we refer to two specific yanks. Yanks is a synonym for Tom & George, not the average Joe, it’s a common interpretation. I have seen very little anger against Americans in general, the most fierce was the burning of your (?) flag, but it had the (two) yanks picture on it.
Come off it, if you didn’t understand that yanks = two yanks in particular you better stay out of discussions.
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