Just some random odds and ends for you to read as you bide your time waiting for Lyon's Champions League clash with Liverpool.

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< Sid's Serious Captain-y Face.

If you're wondering why the captain's armband showed up on Cris last Saturday, despite Sidney Govou also being on the pitch, it's because our dear (former?

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Liverpool FC has sought the help of investment bank Merrill Lynch to find a buyer for the club, according to a report in The Times newspaper. Out of the 20 clubs in the Premier League, Liverpool has been one of the hardest hit in the credit crunch due to the £350 million that American owners George [. Click to continue reading...

The Middle East investment arm of the Dubai government, DIC, have moved to disassociate themselves from suggestions that they are still trying to buy Liverpool, or have moved on to Newcastle. The move has come following claims that Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has tried to interest them in a bid to buy the club, but Monday's [. Click to continue reading...

Dubai International Capital (DIC) have no plans to buy West Ham United, the investment group has confirmed. DIC, who have previously made an attempt to take over Liverpool and have been linked with bids for both Newcastle United and the Irons, have insisted that they have no intention to buy a Premier League club at the [. Click to continue reading...

Technically, they're waiting for the owners of both clubs (Hicks & Gillett at Liverpool and Ashley at Newcastle) to be forced by the financial credit crunch to reduce their asking price and get out or risk defaulting on the debts the clubs have accrued. Today DIC came out with a statement saying that: "DIC is not involved [. Click to continue reading...

There appears to be at least 5 different buyers that are reported interested in buying Newcastle United, and we knew that negotiations with Dubai Investment Capital (DIC), had already started in earnest over the weekend. Dubai Investment Capital (DIC), the investment arm of the Dubai Government, has been in discussions with Liverpool about a possible takeover [. Click to continue reading...

Sheikh Mohammed will step up his bid to buy Liverpool by using his own money to invest in the club.
The oil-rich Arab leader of Dubai has ditched DIC - the investment arm of his government - as the buy-out company he will use if he gets the chance to purchase the Anfield club from Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Click to continue reading...

I got up this morning expecting another tense, dull day to be spattered with the occasional factual transfer as the transfer window creaked shut getting excited about nothing much in particular. A day spent scouring the BBC and Sky Sports transfer vidi-printers and tutting at bored 14 year old's just texting and e-mailing rubbish to [. Click to continue reading...

Dubai International Capital are "only interested" in buying Liverpool FC, it was confirmed by a source last night, after it was reported the company was bidding for a stake in Manchester City.
It was reported yesterday that troubled Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra was in talks with DIC about buying a 10% to 15% share in the club. Click to continue reading...

Tom Hicks and George Gillett are slowly making friends in what could not only be a worrying sign for DIC, Liverpool fans worldwide and most of all Rick Parry.
Rick Parry was asked to resign earlier this year by Tom Hicks but George Gillett's casting vote gave the man a stay of execution.
George Gillett was adamant that he would not be selling his stake to Tom Hicks who wants to take full control of the football club after revealing that ‘most fans don't want me to do it'. Click to continue reading...

Hundreds of Liverpool fans united to protest at Anfield against the club's American owners.

They gathered on Walton Breck Road outside the Kop yesterday in another message of opposition to Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Banners saying Yanks OUT and Repossessed were pinned on railings around the ground. Click to continue reading...

Well according to co-owner Tom Hicks anyway, and can you really trust a man who has already undermined Rafael Benitez by speaking twice with Jurgen Klinsmann, as well as publicly stating that Rick Parry should walk away from the club? Nevertheless, The Times reports that Hicks had some productive discussions with Benitez regarding new summer [. Click to continue reading...

We've all watched James Bond films where the bad guy (Blofeld and Goldfinger spring to mind) is trying to take over the world and becomes slightly unhinged in doing so. Sadly, Liverpool fans seem to have a real-life person seemingly doing the same thing at Anfield in the form of Tom Hicks, who has chosen [. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool's Parry & the boardroom battle are media fodder once more
At the end of a week in which Liverpool reached their third Champions League semi-final in four years, after not reaching it for the previous twenty (a fact lost on Rafa Benitez's critics), Liverpool's unseemly boardroom battle plunged new depths in the national media. Click to continue reading...

I know, I know, I promised to stop talking about Statler & Waldorf, DIC, or any of the travails surrounding the ownership of the club. So I'll make this short.
Get fucked, Tom Hicks.
You are the only person who could turn Rick Parry into a saint. Sell out. Now.
Also, folks, put down the razor blades. Click to continue reading...

It looks like the bitchy backstabbing is only going to get worse at Liverpool. With the Merseyside giants on a glorious run of form, things at the very summit of Liverpool FC are looking surprisingly ropey - with the Guardian alleging that owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks refusing to even sit next [. Click to continue reading...

DIC reportedly to meet Hicks & Gillett to discuss Liverpool takeover
DIC, Tom Hicks and George Gillett are reportedly all to meet at the Emirates on Wednesday night to discuss the ownership of Liverpool, and DIC's proposed takeover.
George Gillett has now indicated he won't sell to his partner, and it is anticipated the credit crunch will soon force Tom Hicks hand, as he won't be able to raise the finance to buy out his partner. Click to continue reading...

Gillett claims death threats and relationship with Hick untenable
George Gillett speaking on a radio station in Canada, has claimed he has been recieving death threats from Liverpool fans. He also claimed his partnership with Tom Hicks has completely broken down.
He said: "We get as many as 2,000 emails a week. Click to continue reading...

Credit Crunch opens the door, with DIC confident of a deal for Liverpool within the month
Long-time pursuers of Liverpool, Dubai International Capital are reportedly set to be within three or four weeks of making a bid for complete control of Anfield.
DIC is set to offer £400million for Liverpool FC, and would also bring in a minority investor. Click to continue reading...

Talks between Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks and the Dubai-based DIC collapsed on Monday and everything is back to square one. But why did the talks break down? We have had two conflicting stories. DIC say that Hicks didn't approve their proposal to have a Liverpool supporter drafted into the Liverpool board will full voting rights. Click to continue reading...

Latest reports suggest that Liverpool co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks have rejected a £400 million offer for the takeover of the Merseyside club. Dubai-based consortium DIC were reported to have placed the offer on the American duo's table on Tuesday and it is now reported that both Gillett and Hicks immediately turned down the [. Click to continue reading...

Dubai-based consortium DIC offered £400 million to Liverpool's co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks on Tuesday but that bid was reportedly immediately rejected by the American duo. But DIC are in no mood to walk away with tails between their legs. The head of the Dubai International Capital Sheikh Mohammed is supposedly asking the Liverpool supporters [. Click to continue reading...

Billionaire American dosh-meister Tom Hicks has saved up enough dosh to gobble up his friend billionaire American dosh-meister George Gillett's stake in Liverpool according to every newspaper worth its salt, oh and The Sun too.... However, George Gillett is digging his feet in and stubbornly refusing to sell up to his business partner mate. Click to continue reading...

DIC tell Hicks and Gillett its midnight or your dreaming
The battle to gain control of Liverpool is rapidly reaching a climax, with DIC telling Tom Hicks and George Gillett they have until midnight to accept their offer of 400 million or they will walk away.
DIC also upped the ante in their rhetoric, with Al Ansari accusing the American duo of being in dreamland in their valuation of the club. Click to continue reading...

The Guardian reports that Tom Hicks is inclined to stop his Liverpool co-owner George Gillett from selling his 50% stake at the club to Dubai International Capital. Both Hicks and Gillett have been in negotiations with the Dubai-based consortium in recent weeks and while the former has publicly declared that he has no intension whatsoever [. Click to continue reading...

Rumours turning to action as DIC close to securing takeover of Liverpool
In news that will delight Liverpool fans, it is being widely reported that a deal for a DIC takeover of Liverpool has moved substantially closer today. The American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, are reportedly ready to open Liverpool's books and DIC's advisors have set themselves a mid-March deadline to complete the first stage of a two-stage takeover process. Click to continue reading...

Hicks softening to DIC Liverpool bid, as Gillett is expected to be first to go
Reports are being leaked to the media by one of the camps fighting over Liverpool, that Tom Hicks is now softening towards a takeover of Liverpool by DIC. The News of the World is reporting that the Americans will profit by 50 million pounds, when the deal is finally done, with Gillett the first one to be bought out. Click to continue reading...

DIC edging closer to a deal for Liverpool and Yanks looking likely to move on.
Dubai International Capital are looking likely to agree a deal before the end of March, with Liverpool's American owners. The Mirror says an outline agreement to transfer ownership of the Anfield giants from George Gillett and Tom Hicks, to Dubai International Capital is in the pipeline. Click to continue reading...

Alex Ferguson is defending Rafa Benitez. John Terry has called Carragher the best defender in the world.
There are still loads of contradictory rumors about Hicks, Gillett, DIC, the refinancing, etc (the RAWK thread is currently at 125 pages in a week, which has to be some sort of record), and I still have no idea what's the truth and what's being spun or created in the media. Click to continue reading...

A lot has been written and said over the past few days about the American owners' plans and intentions for the club. Most of us seem to have made our minds up without really understanding what is going on. In that respect, This article on the BBC's website offers a quick, knowledgeable and unbiased summary of what re-financing actually means and its implications for the club. Click to continue reading...

DIC still keen as Hicks and Gillett get closer to refinancing
Dubai International Finance is preparing to bid again for Liverpool Football Club. The Liverpool Echo, long known as the voice of the club, is reporting that DIC are preparing to launch a bid for Tom Hick's stake in the club. Hicks and Gillett are getting closer to a refinancing deal, but DIC see the present struggle to refinance the loan as a window of opportunity to once again acquire an asset they have long coveted. Click to continue reading...

DIC back in the frame as Gillett & Hicks get cold feet
Dubai International Capital are according to reports, back in the frame for a takeover at Liverpool. Also the Americans have, due to the global credit crunch, struggled to refinance the loan they took out to purchase the club, which is due for repayment at the end of February. Click to continue reading...