I wont start a new thread cos I always get it moved
http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2010/05/rafa-benitez-or-hicks-gillett-who-is.htmlThe sources of information quoted in this article are links from the original article web page.
Stick this in the mix !
Monday, May 17, 2010
Rafa Benitez or Hicks + Gillett: Who is costing Liverpool FC the most money?
According to the massively biased media and growing numbers of misinformed fans, Tom Hicks and George Gillett are the cause of all of Liverpool FC’s financial problems.
Is this really true though?
As I will illustrate, the reality that the Pro-Benitez Cult refuse to accept
is that Benitez has cost Liverpool FC significantly more money over the last year than the club’s much-maligned owners.Sources for the following figures:
1. Official UEFA Report detailing current CL money awards
2. Official UEFA Revenue Distribution Report
3. Official FA Prize Fund report
4. Official accounts for LFC and Athletic Grounds Ltd (the CLUB) for 2009.
My aim is to illustrate:
1. How Rafa Benitez
has cost the club more money than Hicks and Gillett in the last year.
2. How Benitez
will cost the club more money than H+G in the coming year.
The Club
The club = Liverpool FC + Athletics Grounds Ltd (LFCAGL).
Not Kop Football Ltd.
Not Kop Football (Holdings) Ltd.
Not Kop (Cayman) Ltd.
Any losses I highlight here come directly out of the club itself.
The Reasonable Expectations
Taking into account the quality of the club's squad, and past footballing performance under Benitez, I submit that at the start of last season (2009-10), it was
reasonable to expect the following;
1. Qualification for the Quarter-finals of the CL.
2. Qualification for (at least) the 5th round of the FA Cup.
3. Quaification for next season's Champions League competition.
At the end of season 2008-9 (when we finished 2nd) I have no doubt that most - if not all - fans would've agree with the above 3 expectations.
As such, I have outlined the losses the club has accrued as a result of not meeting the reasonable (conservative) expectations above.
Fans should think about the following figures the next time they want to blame someone for the lack of money available for transfer funds.
So, without further ado:
HICKS + GILLETT£9.3m - Interest payments from LFCAGL to Kop Football Limited.
*KFL has loaned LFCAGL a total of £100.8m. £9.3m is the TOTAL amount of money paid by the club to one of H+G's holding companies over the last year.
This constitutes ALL the money that H+G have directly cost the CLUB in the last financial year. Any other figure advanced is, quite simply, wrong.
RAFA BENITEZGeneral losses
£4.3m – Termination payments for sacked staff sacked, plus Rick Parry's pay-off.
Benitez sacked large numbers of the club’s backroom staff in the last year, including 16 in one go. He also lobbied to have Rick Parry kicked out of Anfield, and this was achieved. All of this costs money though, and as the club accounts illustrate, the total cost of the changes Benitez wanted amounted to £4.3m.
Champions League losses
I’ve estimated this conservatively, not including potential losses from making it to the semi-final/final of the CL. Given the club’s record in the competition under Benitez, progress to the quarter-final is not an unreasonable expectation:
€ 2.2m - Failure to qualify for the Second phase of the CL
€ 2.5m - Failure to qualify for Quarter Finals of the CL
€ 3m - Failure to qualify for next season’s CL
€ 2.4m - Loss of potential revenue from the group stage of next season’s CL
€ 2.2m - Failure to qualify for the Second phase of the CL
€ 2.5m - Failure to qualify for Quarter Finals of the CL
€23.2m - Projected loss of CL television money next season (This is the figure LFC made this season in CL money)
TOTAL CL LOSSES = €38m
Converted to pounds = £32.4
* Figures are stated in the UEFA Report referenced in the sources section at the start of this article.
FA CUP
Again, I've estimated this conservatively, only including figures up to the fifth round stage (in line with the expectations I proposed at the start of this article).
£67,500 - Loss for failing to win the third round tie.
£90,000 - Loss for failing to qualify for (and win) the Fourth Round tie.
£180,000 - Loss for failing to qualify for (and win) the Fifth Round tie.
FA CUP Television Fees
£222.7 - Fourth Round TV revenue loss
£377.4 - Fifth Round TV revenure loss
TOTAL FA CUP LOSSES = £937.5K
TOTAL PROJECTED LOSSES ATTRIBUTABLE TO RAFA BENITEZ = £37.5m
* This figure will, of course, be offset by gains in the Europa League (£900k this season - potentially £3-4m next season if we go all the way).
*
That still doesn't change the fact that the club's turnover and profit margin will take a huge hit next season a result of this season's atrocious performance.
*
The squad was more than strong enough to finish in the top 4 this season.
The failure to achieve that reasonable expectation lies mainly with Rafa Benitez.
It's all too easy just to blame the club's lack of spending power on Hicks and Gillett, but as I've illustrated,
Rafa Benitez has cost the club a hell of a lot more money.Having said all that, Hicks and Gillett may potentially cost the club a further £10-£16m if/when Benitez is sacked.
Handing him a new 5 year contract last year was an act of unbelievable negligence on the part of the Owners.Jaimie Kanwar
By Jaimie Kanwar - Monday, May 17, 2010
Oooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooo !
(Tomahawk time again!)