Liverpool FC

[KiwiBrit]

A sad day the pool08. One that changed the face of English football.

No one should have to go through that.

[Durbsboi]

Another fitting tribute to the 96

YNWA

[clarky]

http://www.anfieldroad.com/news/2008...nditions.html/
Hicks delays Glorypark due to “extreme conditions”

A press release issued in Dallas overnight UK time will add more weight to the claims that Liverpool FC co-owner Tom Hicks will not be able to find suitable finance to purchase the other half of the club from partner George Gillett.

The Glorypark project in Arlington, Texas, is to be delayed due to financial concerns.

The Dallas Morning News quotes Hicks as saying: “We’re in the most difficult credit crunch I’ve seen the last 20 years.”

The press statement, from Hicks Holdings, said that “financing and construction of a proposed mixed use development between Rangers Ballpark and the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington has been put on hold because of ‘extreme conditions’ in the country’s financial and retail markets.”
It goes on to say that “the nation’s economic markets today have made it impossible to come to terms with lenders for Glorypark, a half billion dollar (approx £257m) project.”

Hicks Holdings’ development partners on this project are Steiner +Associates, and the statement says that S+A have “been unable to secure a firm and final commitment from an anchor department store.” It’s reported in the Dallas media that S+A have been in lengthy discussions with Dillard’s department stores.

Now, the statement says, “The developers do not plan to exercise a May 15, 2008 option to extend a letter of commitment to underwrite bonds for roads and parking garages. As a result, construction mobilization will not begin this spring as planned.”

Tom Hicks is quoted in the statement: “We have put an enormous amount of time and money into Glorypark. In the end, the dream can’t become reality without the right financial package. We will pursue alternative funding options and examine our reprogramming options.”

Hicks compared it to another project he was a partner in, the Victory Park project, a similar initiative sighted alongside the American Airlines Center, home of his Dallas Stars NHL side. “This is extremely disappointing to me, personally,” Hicks said. “It’s almost the exact situation we had at Victory when we were ready to go, but the financial markets were in deep trouble after 9/11. That’s when we had to regroup.”

Of the Victory Park project, the statement says: “After two years, Victory did re-emerge although the project has evolved and continues to evolve.” Last week Ross Perot Jr’s company announced their plans to build a 43-storey hotel on the Victory development were being delayed, also due in part to the condition of the financial markets.

Hicks said in the statement that the land between his Texas Rangers baseball stadium and the new Dallas Cowboys stadium would still be developed: “When my family purchased the Rangers, we pledged to invest in a development around the Ballpark. We are still committed to doing that, but we may have to re-examine what should be built and what actually can be built if the market conditions continue.”

Hicks said he contacted Arlington’s mayor, Robert Cluck, about their decision: “These events are in no way related to the City of Arlington. The city did absolutely everything possible to facilitate negotiations while, at the same time, protect the taxpayers’ interests. We all must take the long view for this important piece of real estate between two great sports venues.” The Fort Worth Business Press says: “The city of Arlington has approved several zoning changes to make way for the development and the city had planned to contribute about $135 million through various taxing districts.”

According to Hicks, the developers will now be most likely to concentrate on attracting dining and entertainment businesses to the site: “We have had enormous response from those business segments at Glorypark. I believe reprogramming will produce a plan that is more incremental and includes those elements as well is specialty retail, residential and office components.”

The statement says that Hicks Holdings has invested “almost $50 million into the improvements, design studies, and master planning of the area around the Ballpark.” It also says “plans will continue for the development and opening of the 310-room Westin Hotel and condominium project that was previously announced by Hicks Holdings and Gatehouse Capital. It will be located across Johnson Creek from the new Cowboys stadium.”

Glorypark was due to open in March 2010. The Dallas Morning News talks about how Dallas and the rest of the US have felt the pressures of the current financial environment: “Since last summer, lenders have increased requirements for virtually all types of real estate loans. And some debt sources that previously financed office buildings, hotels, high-rise condos and such have exited the market. The so-called credit crunch is expected to significantly reduce the amount of speculative development this year in Dallas and cities across the nation.”

According to the same paper, this isn’t the first holdup to the project: “The completion of Glorypark, which would have included restaurants, retail, office space and residential, had been delayed at least twice previously.”

As well as needing to raise investment of around £200m (approx $389m) to buy George Gillett’s half of Liverpool FC, Hicks also needs to raise the funds to continue with the building work on the club’s new £300m (approx $584m) stadium, due to open on Stanley Park in 2011. £60m is already in place to commence the work, but the other £240m (approx $467m) still has to be found.

Much can be read into this announcement.

On the one hand it does add weight to the various claims Hicks had been struggling to get finance for his Liverpool FC needs, but on the other hand it suggests the Texan could now be in a stronger position to get the finance for LFC - the total borrowings of the Hicks Holdings group of companies won’t now include this figure in the immediate future.

Again, on the one hand this announcement adds weight to the claims that the US banks Hicks does business with have been looking to call time on his borrowings, but on the other it could be said that recent talk of Hicks approaching hedge funds related to his quest for finance for Glorypark rather than Liverpool FC.

Is it possible Hicks has sacrificed this phase of Glorypark for now in favour of finalising the LFC situation?

The fact remains that Hicks is adamant George Gillett cannot sell without his say-so. This would leave Dubai relying on Hicks hitting financing problems as their only means of getting control of the club. If their assumption turns out to be true then sitting it out could eventually see them take control for the figure they’ve already decided is their top price. But if their assumption is wrong, and they don’t make a substantially higher and tempting bid, George Gillett may just go back on his vow not to sell to his partner rather than sit in this state of limbo for too long.

[the pool08]

Liverpool Fc is expand Kop Block 1892 in quest to boost atmosphere

May 24 2008


LIVERPOOL’S bid to improve the atmosphere at Anfield will see them triple the size of Kop Block 1892 next season.

The specially designated block towards the rear of the stand was introduced at the start of last season after fans groups complained to the club about the decline in noise and atmosphere since the introduction of all seater stadia.

The year long experiment has gone well and club chiefs are now ready to expand the block – named in honour of the year Liverpool Football Club was first formed – so that even more fans can get involved.

Chief executive Rick Parry said: “We think the new block has been a success and it has given us something to build on.

“It hasn’t always been easy because there are rules and regulations which we have to follow but we are very much in favour of initiatives which help bring back atmosphere.

“When you bring about change it is not always plain sailing but that is not a reason not to give it our very best shot.

“It would have been easy to say no and just do nothing but it is a good idea and one which we should definitely persevere with.

“I think it has had a positive effect on the atmosphere at the ground and I think this will only improve if we nurture it.”

Fans group Reclaim The Kop had the original idea for the initiative and John Mackin from the organisation is hopeful that more and more Liverpool supporters will give it their backing by moving their season tickets to Block 1892 which will cover blocks 304, 305 and 306 of the Kop from next season.

He said: “The diaspora that resulted from the seating of the Kop meant that the old core – the 500 to 1000 who regularly formed the nucleus, and who stood together shoulder to sweaty shoulder, between the stanchions on the world’s greatest terrace – was no more.

“They were now scattered all over the Kop and all over Anfield.

“Going all seater also meant that fans are not getting into the ground until the last 20 or 30 minutes before kick off.

“The long hours that we used to spend standing and waiting for kick off used to be filled by having a laugh, inventing new songs, practising the old ones – there was a real sense of comradeship and belonging.

“What we’ve tried to do with the 1892 is to get some of those people – and likeminded supporters from all over Anfield – back together again and encourage those younger ones who want to be a part of it to step up to the plate.

“It’s not for those who want to soak up the atmosphere, it’s for those who want to generate the atmosphere and ratchet it up several notches. It’s for supporters, not spectators.”

Season ticket holders will be given the option of moving from their current seat to Block 1892 when they receive their renewal forms next week.
_________________

[Tony Sebo]

I wonder if they will ahve auditions?

Will the fellow with the high waistband get to decide?

[Durbsboi]

HAPPY NUMBER 5 DAY BOYS



For all kopites out there who will forever remember THAT day...

the day when you woke up in the morning tingling with excitement

the day you couldnt stop thinking about what might happen later that night

the day the first thing you did in the morning was put on every single piece of liverpool clothing u had

the day "you'll never walk alone" was stuck in your head all day

the day you look at your watch every 5 minutes counting down the hours until the start (and possible end) of the match

the day you dropped EVERYTHING you were doing as soon as u heard the champions league music being played on the telly in the background

the day that was the most rollercoaster day of your life...from absolute despair at half-time, to absolute JOY after penalties

the day you stayed up awake all night reliving the moments of the match

the day your jaw ached after hours and hours of continuous grinning

the day you called up all your family and mates after the match, whether they liked liverpool, football, sports in general, or even if you knew they wouldnt give a monkeys, just so that you could say "liverpool are the champions of europe!!!!" over and over again to people

the day you realised you would never have to think "oh i wish i could've been alive to see liverpool be the champions of europe"...EVER AGAIN

the day you realised the HOPE IN YOUR HEART was fulfilled

the day you saw the GOLDEN SKY and heard the SWEET SILVER SONG OF A LARK

the day you realised liverpool were back!!!

the day you fell in love with liverpool all over again and realised that no matter in what part of the world you are in, and no matter how few fellow supporters are around you wherever u may live, YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE

[Noostairz]

haha. just randomly came across this.

[Toadboy]

That would make him a Scouser Noo. Anyway we've got God.

[Noostairz]

disappointing signature there, Toad. you've missed out an apostrophe.

[Toadboy]

Gah, pedant.

[Tony Sebo]

Originally Posted by Noostairz

liverpool football club is special, the city of liverpool is special, and the people of liverpool are special. if jesus was an englishman he'd come from liverpool and be a red.

He is, on both counts. I remember reading it in the Echo and the priest confirming it at school.. Jesus is a scouser. Praise the Lord!

Toad. I actually liked the other strapline much better

[Durbsboi]

REDS ARE NUMBER ONE IN EUROPE

It's official. Liverpool are Europe's number one ranked team according to UEFA for the first time since 1985.
The basis for the UEFA rankings is the performance of teams in the European Cups during a five year period.

Having won the competition in 2005, been runners up to AC Milan in 2007 and losing semi-finalists last season, Rafa Benitez's team has accrued more ranking points than any other club in Europe.

Rafa's men top the rankings table with 104.284 points, giving them a one point lead over Italian giants AC Milan.

Liverpool's recent form in the Champions League also means that they will go into the qualifiers for next season's competition as number one seeds and will thereby avoid the other seeded teams when the draw for the qualifying rounds is made in July.

Behind Rafa's team and AC Milan are Chelsea and Barcelona, with Arsenal in sixth and current Champions League holders Manchester United in seventh.

Other British teams on the UEFA list include Newcastle in 19th, Rangers in 20th, Middlesbrough in 27th, Spurs in 31st, Bolton in 41st, Everton in 44th and Celtic in 52nd.

[Toadboy]

We should be given a bye to the final in Rome but we won't because UEFA are cheating bastards.

SORT IT PLATINI YOU BUBBLE HEADED SPASTIC

[Toadboy]

Statement from the SOS:

LFC's Marketing blurb says:
"It's not a badge, it's a family crest. Nothing is impossible."
Adidas Poster.

"It's set to be a paradise for Liverpool fans - the biggest official
club shop anywhere in Europe." Club Press Release about the new club
shop opening tomorrow.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldow ... 2-0940.htm



A paradise for Liverpool supporters. A veritable utopia for us all.

Whatever the marketing blurb says we know that paradise isn't a place
where Manchester United are league and European Champions and look like
investing significantly this summer from a position of strength. We know
paradise isn't inertia; two owners desperate to wring every last penny
over their abortive eighteen months in charge of the football club. We
know paradise isn't being lied to again and again. It isn't Rick Parry.
It isn't David Moores. This isn't paradise but, well, nothing is
impossible.



Supporting this football club isn't buying into a franchise; it's
committing yourself to shared values and aspirations. It's a necessity
of modern football that this collective identity is taken and sold back
to us. However that doesn't mean we should accept it when those shared
values and aspirations aren't simply being ignored but are being ridden
roughshod over by those who stand to gain from our support.



We've asked you to withhold that support wherever possible and we ask
you to do so again. We've asked you to spread this word around and we
ask you to do so again. We've asked each and every one of you to
consider every pound that goes into the football club as being a pound
which goes towards us paying off a debt which is not ours, which has not
been instituted for the benefit of the football club but for the two
greedy individuals who hold our potential back, and work out whether or
not that pound is worth spending.



The fight has dragged on but that doesn't make it any less worth
fighting and it doesn't make it any less urgent. Every day that passes
damages our club and we're looking for new fronts to open, to
re-emphasise there is no custodianship here, no integrity, no honesty,
no dignity. Nothing that makes LFC fans proud.



Next week we're hoping to start sending membership packs out, we're
hoping to launch the online membership. Within our membership packs is a
badge. The badge we send out isn't just a badge, isn't a family crest
but it is a simple statement - that the wearer will not accept our
shared values being destroyed, that the wearer will fight against this
now, and will ensure that after this fight has been won the next
custodians will be held to account.



We know nothing is impossible; that's why we're here: an organisation
created from the ground up, energised by Liverpool supporters who will
not watch what they believe in be eroded by lies and ongoing
incompetence. A democratic organisation which has and will continue to
speak for the collective, speak for the shared values and aspirations
and will speak out as the erosion takes place. We still need your energy
and your support; we shall always need it if we are to fulfil what we
said we would. We can only come together and hold the club to account
for years to come if we do stand together as a massed force of Liverpool
supporters.



Paradise isn't a shop. It's being one red in a crowd, urging this
football club towards success.



Spirit Of Shankly.

[Toadboy]

Also today a moment of thought and rememberence for the 39 who died at Heysel and their families and friends.

[the pool08]

nice one


Fernando Torres - Nike Advert...in liverpool, class


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p9AWfmoF1c

[2005]

lol Why did he say gracias mate? I swear scouser always say lad.

[Toadboy]

Mate is well more preferable to lad, just as widely used and scans better.

Good job it didn't feature a street ninja in that clip or he'd have said "garcias lid".

[Pobbie]

I've never seen that advert before. Is it only being shown in Hungary?

[Durbsboi]

Originally Posted by the pool08

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p9AWfmoF1c

lol, lovely add there