[lfc-news] Moores shows strain as Reds air 'dirty linen' - Echo

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Liverpool Echo, 3 Dec 2004
Moores shows strain as Reds air 'dirty linen'
By Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo

THE unshakeable feeling following Liverpool's 112th AGM is that the reign
of chairman David Moores is nearing an end.

Emotional and distressed, at one point during a fiery meeting it seemed
Moores was ready to resign on the spot.

But shareholders must also have experienced deja vu.

Moores made similar comments last January as the pressure of leading
Liverpool clearly took its toll.

He managed to ride the storm then, and until the investment issues at
Anfield are fully resolved, Moores will remain in control.

Rival Steve Morgan stressed it was not his intention to let the club "wash
its dirty linen" in public, but by the time he spoke Anfield's Centenary
Stand was already resembling a launderette.

"It has been a difficult year and I have got to consider my options. I love
this club dearly but I cannot compete with Mr Morgan's millions," said Moores.

"These past 12 months have not been easy. I have got nothing against Mr
Morgan personally. We are looking at all roads to get investment into this
club and as far as I am concerned I am still considering Mr Morgan's offer.

"Perhaps it is time now . . . " Pausing to compose himself, he added: "It
has been unbearable, it is affecting my family and we have all tried to do
everything in the best interests of the club.

"At the end of the meeting I will have to come to a decision one way or the
other."

Liverpool revealed a fresh approach 'as good as a formal offer' was
currently under consideration from Morgan.

Chief executive Rick Parry also said the club is analysing a new investment
offer from an unnamed group, but stressed it was not the L4 American-based
consortium led by Mike Jeffries and Stuart Ford.

Jefferies and Ford are rumoured to have recruited Liverpool legend Kenny
Dalglish to support their bid, but have yet to make an offer.

Tensions rose when Morgan's wife, Didy, criticised board members for the
delay in reacting to her husband's offer.

"My husband has spent £300,000 in legal fees this year trying to put money
into Liverpool Football Club," she said.

"The response to his offers has just been slow and intolerable. It seems as
if a deal would be done with the devil himself rather than with my husband.

"Here is a local, successful businessman willing to put millions into this
club. He has behaved impeccably and tried his hardest to put his own money
into the club yet we are still waiting by the phone and receiving
incredibly sluggish responses.

"It is quite tiresome I can't understand it. Only tonight we hear there is
someone else trying to invest and yet we have someone here in this room who
is willing to invest."

Morgan then spoke for the first time, insisting he wanted to "draw a line"
under his battle with the chairman.

"I had no idea my wife was going to get up and speak tonight but I am very
proud of her," he said..

"You can see on the chair-man's face he has endured a lot of anguish over
the last 12 months. I do not like washing our dirty linen in public, it is
not good for this football club. I want to draw a line and move forward.

"I can assure the chairman and directors they don't need a first-class
ticket to Thailand to find new investment - I am only 20 miles down the road.

"They can have the money in the bank by Christmas and Rafa (Benitez) can
have the money he desperately needs and we can get the stadium on the go.
Please accept my offer."

Board member Terry Smith then provoked Morgan into a further statement by
claiming he wished "his own wife was here to speak on his behalf" while
stating the original bid "wasn't worth the £70m claimed".

"We have received four offers in total from Mr Morgan. All of them have
been at different prices," he said..

"I don't want people leaving this room tonight believing we have turned
down a £70m investment because that is entirely incorrect. These offers
have been very different to what has been presented in public.

"The first offer valued the club at a fraction of what it is worth. All of
them involved Mr Morgan taking control the next day and that hasn't come
out in any press conference.

"We are bound by confidentiality so cannot go into the full details but I
would ask Mr Morgan to nail the myth that £70m is coming into the club."

Morgan retaliated: "I tried to do this the nice way.

"The reason £70m is not coming into this club is because shareholders don't
want £70m coming into the club. They want £35m for the club and £35m for
the cost of their shares. My first offer was for £70m, there have been
others since.

"I am trying to be constructive, I have put various offers forward in
various guises, but you are not being constructive at all.

"I would never break the confidentiality agreement but we know there is a
lot more and people would be appalled if they knew the situation.

"There are massively escalating costs of the stadium - the figures are
nothing like what has been reported. The board should come clean. Then
people will know why I had to revise my offer."

Listening quietly to all this was manager Benitez, who sat alongside Parry
waiting to present his own report.

One shareholder summed up the feelings of the room after the meeting.

"The last thing we needed was for our new manager to witness all that," he
said.

Building costs rise

THE cost of building a new Stanley Park stadium has risen £35m in the last
year.

Liverpool anticipated they would pay £80m when the scheme was presented at
the AGM a year ago.

Last night, the club announced it will now cost an estimated £115m.

"The issue is not cost, it's affordability," said Rick Parry, who stressed
the importance of the NWDA grant application.

Shareholders voted unanimously against a groundshare with Everton.

'Gullible board'

LIVERPOOL were accused of being 'gullible' in allowing the sale of Michael
Owen to Real Madrid for just £8m.

One shareholder said the club had lost a £25m windfall in the deal,
claiming those responsible should "fall on their sword".

Rick Parry responded: "I'm responsible so hand me a sword. Michael decided
to go and with one year left on his contract we were left with little option.

"There were no other bidders for Michael. We decided to get the best deal
there was."


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