GWistooshort

More comments from Roy............. Roy on Comolli appointment 3rd Nov 2010 Roy Hodgson today welcomed the appointment of Damien Comolli as Liverpool's new Director of Football Strategy. The Reds confirmed Comolli as the latest addition to the club's backroom staff on Wednesday afternoon. Comolli was born in Beziers, France and played as a youth team player at AS Monaco. He was previously European scout at Arsenal FC, Director of Football at Tottenham Hotspur FC and most recently Sporting Director at AS Saint-Etienne. Damien holds a French coaching license and is fluent in English, Spanish and French. Hodgson told an Anfield press conference: "I feel very good about it. "It is something we have talked about with the owners and something they were very keen to put in place. The owners come from an American sporting background where the team manager is very much responsible for team affairs, but alongside him there is a person who can have all sorts of titles, a type of sporting director in European terms. "It's someone who obviously has a large input into the running of the football club and has an input and a part to play in a management structure. "If you're going to run a football club these days there are a lot of elements that need to be dealt with. Recruitment of players and scouting is a major, major aspect in this respect, as of course is the Academy and all the work you need to do to bring players through. "All of this has a life of its own to some extent outside the life of a first-team squad. "In Europe I am very used to having a situation where you have to work alongside people like that and I think it is becoming more and more common in England as well, so that's something the new owners wanted to introduce to the club and I welcome it very much. "I think it is going to be a great advantage to us to have a man of Damien's qualities, knowledge and experience and I think we can only profit from it as a club. I am looking forward to working with him." Journalists quizzed the boss on whether he felt the appointment of Comolli was a sign of a cultural shift at Liverpool and also asked for his thoughts on the role Anfield's new man will play. Hodgson replied: "When I worked at Fulham I worked very closely with Alistair Mackintosh. He didn't have the title 'sporting director' but my dealings with him and the way we worked together, I would have called him sporting director. "He had other responsibilities as well with regard to Mohammed Al-Fayed, but as far as I was concerned he was my sporting director and I am very used to working in that way. "I think more and more clubs are. If you're managing a Barclays Premier League team, organising training, coaching, dealing with the press and organising and preparing for all the games, that is a large body of work. On top of that if you're also organising all the scouting, looking after the academy and reserve team and all the other numerous administrative things that are required to run a football club at this level, you are asking a lot of people. "The days of the 'dictator type' English manager have long since passed anyway, where everything went through one man and no-one dared even buy a paper clip without that person's approval. "It is just a question of strategy which I think makes a lot of sense for all football clubs and certainly makes a lot of sense for our football club at this moment in time because we're in a transition. "We've got new owners who have a very clear vision and philosophy for the club and they want a management structure in place they can identify with. That means one they can identify with from American and European sporting models, not necessarily an archetypal, if somewhat outdated, English model." http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/roy-on-comolli-appointment

Hodgson says he wants to sign 5 or 6 players in Jan! http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_6478523,00.html

Liverpool Echo Oct 29 2010 Liverpool FC boss Roy Hodgson to buy big but won't be held to ransom by Dominic King ROY HODGSON today stated his intention to improve Liverpool’s squad in the winter transfer window – but warned prospective sellers he will not be held to ransom. Having held discussions with Liverpool’s new owners about future plans, including player recruitment, Hodgson is confident he will be able to inject quality into the ranks in January. Finding a new striker and a wide midfielder remain the manager’s priorities and there is little doubt New England Sports Ventures will offer him every assistance. Hodgson, whose side face Bolton on Sunday, has run the rule over Standard Liege’s Steven Defour, Ibrahim Afellay of PSV Eindhoven and Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez. Improving Liverpool’s squad will not be done quickly, nor will it be done on the cheap, but Hodgson has made it clear he will not embark on a spending spree for the sake of it. "We should not be shopping in the bargain basement and quality costs,” said Hodgson. “If we want the right quality, we have got to be prepared to pay the right price. “The owners know that perfectly well. We have got to make certain that if we go out and spend £20m, we are getting a £20m player. “We want to be attracting the players that Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter are chasing. It would be nice to think that we can shop at a high level. “I’m like all managers in that I’m wary of the January transfer window. I think it can be dangerous as clubs try to correct mistakes. “But, having said that, we are going to very interested about trying to improve our squad in January. “There is no question about that. I am sure we will sign players. What I would hope to do is get this group of players playing well enough so we don’t need to panic. “Then I can say to the owners, if we are going to spend a lot of money let’s get the right man. “I don’t want to spend half the money that might be available on someone for the sake of buying when the player we actually want might not be available until the summer. “The lucky thing is that we are rebuilding around several top class players. We have got Reina, Carragher, Gerrard, Torres, Kuyt – it’s not as if we are rebuilding from nothing.” Hodgson, though, believes he has a duty to spend whatever money is given to him as carefully as his own and he doesn’t want to make the squad top heavy with players who are not good enough. “I think you can pay an awful lot of money for poor players and you can pay not very much money for very good ones – it is all to do with how good your scouting and your eye is,” he said. “There are a lot of things here that the club has got to get right. We have got a lot more expensive failures on our list than good players that we have brought in for next to nothing. “Free transfers don’t necessarily mean that you have got a bargain. My experience of them has been very mixed. You need to be sure that the player you get can do the job you want from him.” http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/10/29/liverpool-fc-boss-roy-hodgson-will-buy-big-in-january-but-won-t-be-held-to-ransom-100252-27562938/

1. Grabiner 2. Broughton 3. Floyd

Ben Smith from The Times linked Mill & Huang on Twitter after the sale went through yesterday "It's a safe move for #lfc which is what was needed. Mill/Huang may have brought greater riches but also carried greater risk" http://twitter.com/bensmith_times

RBS have released the following statement: "RBS is pleased the sale of LFC to NESV has been completed and are confident this will provide the foundation for the Club and its fans to enjoy renewed success on and off the pitch. "RBS is aware of reports that Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett may intend to pursue further litigation in relation to the sale of Liverpool FC. "The English Courts have described claims made to date as "not realistic and abusive". Any further claims against RBS will be vigorously opposed." http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/10/15/rbs-confident-nesv-deal-will-provide-foundation-for-liverpool-fc-and-vigorously-oppose-hicks-and-gillett-s-legal-action-100252-27481710/

A video of Tom's interview is up on the Sky Sports website http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_6446807,00.html

"Poulsen is well aware of how slow he is and has tried to make amends. He's given it to Lucas several times already but Lucas just keeps passing it back…" emails Gareth Sheerin.

Hicks applied to have Dallas TRO lifted at 1am Dallas time today - court hearing happening now - MilF applied to undergo PL's fit & proper person's test last night, but were turned down by PL who said they would only deal "with the legally constituted board of LFC"

Meanwhile Mukesh Ambani spends £630m on a new house http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/8063385/Indias-richest-man-Mukesh-Ambani-moves-into-630m-home.html

Latest from the BBC's Peston Update, 1248: As I understand it, Liverpool's directors will try to get the UK courts to injunct Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett, to prevent them frustrating the sale to NESV via the Texas courts. Sources close to Mr Hicks are confident that Liverpool's lawyers will not succeed. Also, bankers at RBS are beginning to wonder whether the money from Mill Financial will actually turn up. "It could have arrived any time in the past few months, so I see no reason why it should arrive today", said one. I fear Liverpool will be stuck in limbo for some time yet. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2010/10/liverpool_it_could_be_all_over.html

is that a euphemism?

From the Liverpool Daily Post today......... "The 30-year-old has suffered suspected ankle ligament damage but swelling around the injury means the extent of the damage cannot be determined for a few days. And Kuyt said: “The swelling is so bad that it will take three to four days to be sure. “But I fear the worst. You know your own body. It doesn’t feel good. In fact the doctors have the same feeling. “I’ve probably torn ankle ligaments, they say. Let’s hope that they and I are wrong.” http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/10/14/liverpool-fc-latest-injured-dirk-kuyt-fearing-the-worst-as-fernando-torres-returns-92534-27468522/

The Mirror's David Maddock says the sale agreement with NESV is binding & if the judge rules against Hicks & Gillet nothing else matters http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/mirror-football-blog/Liverpool-takeover-explained-David-Maddock-makes-sense-of-the-mess-at-Anfield-article599277.html

Bloomberg's Tariq Panja tweets "Peter Lim spokesman tells Bloomberg he'd be interested in #LFC even in advent of administration" http://twitter.com/tariqpanja

Nice snippet from The Independent on yesterday........... "Girolami also argued that Friday's deadline for repayment to RBS of a £200m debt facility did not mean that RBS would put the club into administration – with the attendant nine-point deduction that could jeopardise the NESV deal – and that the significant deadline was 1 November, by which time Liverpool must take or leave the NESV deal. The rest of the Hicks and Gillett case appeared to have been formulated on the hoof, with written notes passed to Girolami as he made the argument, not detailed in written legal submissions, that Hicks and Gillett had been "increasingly concerned" about the "us and them" culture that the English directors used to exclude them from sale talks." http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/hicks-and-gillett-play-for-time-as-liverpool-day-of-destiny-arrives-2104871.html

The fabled fist pump!

Some more info on whether we would have to consider any additional bids if we win from an article in The Guardian this morning... "NESV has until 1 November to complete its deal. RBS said it wanted a return on its loan and it was up to Liverpool whether it reactivated the auction process. Lawyers for NESV said in court it would seek damages if the deal fell apart. The club is seeking its own declaratory judgment to allow the sale to proceed, which it launched last night. This could become superfluous if the decision goes the way of RBS tomorrow. "The next 72 hours are crucial. Whichever side Mr Justice Floyd comes down on, the matter will not end with his decision. There are a number of subplots that still need to be played out before Friday, and beyond. Indeed, should the court rule that the board are entitled to sell, then it will have to give due consideration to Mr Lim's bid, should the due diligence prove it to be viable," said Andrew Nixon, a partner at Thomas Eggar LLP Sports Group. "The apparently pre-agreed deal with NESV, and NESV's rights to enforce any agreement, could then come under the spotlight. Further, in the event that the sale proceeds, and Hicks and Gillett remain of the view that the Club has been sold at undervalue, they may consider bringing a claim for damages against the board." http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/12/liverpool-rbs-high-court2

Apparently so - brought forward from 10.30am according to the BBC, the Guardian, Bloomberg's Tariq Panja & others

According to the Guardian Dutch media reckons it could be ankle ligaments & he may be out until the new year http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/13/dirk-kuyt-injury-holland-liverpool

Was also in The Guardian live blog "4.04pm: JUDGE SAYS IT WOULD BE A "LITTLE AMBITIOUS" FOR THE CASE TO BE SETTLED BY FRIDAY. (In reply to Broughton's QC saying board would desperately like a verdict by then)." http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/oct/12/liverpool-fc-rbs-hicks-gillett-john-w-henry

The BBC's Dan Roan is in court & tweeting http://twitter.com/danroan The Guardian also has live coverage from the court http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/oct/12/liverpool-fc-rbs-hicks-gillett-john-w-henry

From today's Liverpool Echo........... "A spokeswoman for the judiciary section of the Royal Courts of Justice said a decision would not be given today. According to normal practice, a judge can take a few days to reach a ruling which is then "handed down" in court." http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/10/12/liverpool-fc-sale-continues-despite-emergence-of-second-bidder-peter-lim-100252-27450687/3/

New owners support our current manager according to Broughton "They are very happy that this manager is the right person to take this club forward," said Broughton. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_6432056,00.html

Liverpool Echo article this morning says: * the court hearing may possibly be tomorrow * Broughton, Purslow & Ayre "remain confident the process will be over...before the crucial Merseyside Derby in 11 days time" * They also believe that if the club loses the court case RBS will call in the debt & immediately sell to NESV * RBS could sell to NESV for the £237m debt & pursue Hicks & Gillett for the £63m loss compared to NESV's offer as they opposed the sale * The 2nd bid, which came from Asia, was described by Broughton as “excellent”, who said he would have been "very happy" with it, & the article says it would have satisfied the club’s objectives. * H&G's £144m loans have been "converted into equity by the co-owners at the behest of RBS" Some additional quotes from Broughton from the article............ “They’ve [NESV] done their due diligence and they’ve recognised October 15 is the deadline to get their bid in. They could have put (their bid) in on October 14 to pressure the bank, but they’ve chosen to do it now. RBS has played a big role in this, working alongside us." “It wasn’t until this week that we had a formal proposal. We had two and there was a competitive tension between them, this wasn’t just one bidder bottom fishing. “If the case goes against us, we do have a fall back position, but we’re not prepared to discuss this at present.” “NESV don’t have that image of leverage, they don’t have any debt in their company at all. “I’ve not spoken to Tom Hicks since Tuesday’s board meeting, but he has been understandably disappointed.” http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/10/07/you-will-walk-away-humiliated-liverpool-fc-message-to-tom-hicks-and-george-gillett-100252-27419810/