Financial balls, but just what is administration?

By Christopher Hall

Dundee are in it, Liverpool just might be going into it and a number of other football clubs are cautiously striving to avoid it. But just what are the key factors of the phenomenon which is flaunted cautiously in board rooms of football clubs around the United Kingdom?

Administration.

The key points of this are not as complicated as one may think. The main reason for a club going into administration might be viewed by many fans as an utterly dark portion of a club’s existence, with chances of survival bleak. Many clubs, however, have been in and out of administration just as quickly throughout the years and to understand the fundamentals of the process would shed light on a truly fascinating phenomenon of modern football.

In simple terms it should be seen as a misdirection of the clubs finances. The common admission of problems, similiar to that of Dundee who recently published a bill of £365,000, is pressure from the tax man. The club then were revealed to have overall debts of around 2 million pounds and the administration proceedings were uncovered.

The next stage of the journey involves the appointment of the “administrator” who will oversee the club’s finances rather than the men in grey suits within the board room. They will look into minimising the club’s losses as well as striving to find a buyer (similiar to the Hicks/Gillett saga currently ongoing at Liverpool FC).

As Dundee football club Chairman Harry Maclean recently uncovered to the BBC, the administrators run and assess everything at the club, short of picking the team on a Saturday:

“Speculating on the amount of figures and players that would be leaving is a bit pointless at this time because there’s only one person that’ll know that and that’s the administrator.”

The administrator may also not be as sympathetic in terms of personal issues which arise, such as the unfortunate and real threat of redundancies. The authorities will do all they can to accrue as much of the lost finances as possible. Gordon Chisholm recently feel victim to this process, being removed from his post as part of the administration proceedings at Dundee FC:

Their’s boys getting laid off in their with mortgages, its a horrendous time. I’ve never been through been through anything like that in my life and I hope never to see it again

Finally, If the club is then deemed by administrators to be incapable of saviour, and finances spiral into irreparable levels, then the threat of liquidation (commonly known as a “winding up” order) becomes a very real possibility. The ins and outs of this process can be read in detail at the UK statute law website.

The threat of administration truly is a worrying time for any club. Only time will tell what fate has in store for clubs such as Dundee, Liverpool and Portsmouth. Perhaps the biggest nail in the coffin and realisation of crisis would materialise when clubs of substantial stature fall victim to the perils of a debt ridden management system.

Until then, clubs struggle on as football pulls itself out of the financial culmination of the last decade and beyond.

Broughton confident Liverpool will soon officially be under new ownership

By Graeme Mclarty

Liverpool chairman, Martin Broughton

Liverpool chairman, Martin Broughton has said he is “confident” that the proposed sale of the club to New England Sports Ventures will be official very soon.  This is despite current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett’s attempts to block the sale.

In an interview with LFC TV, Broughton said: “I am confident. I wouldn’t have taken the board through that process yesterday if I hadn’t been confident, but you can never be certain. These things are legal judgements”.

Former BA executive Mr Broughton was brought on board by Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett earlier this year to help find a new buyer at Anfield.

However the, the proposed sale of the club is reported to be around £300 million, seriously below Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett’s valuation of £600 million.  The duo are therefore trying to block the sale.  Broughton has said that the current owners could “effectively” block the sale and drag the process through the courts for months. However, he reiterated his confidence that this would not be the case.

He said: “We should het a declaratory statement probably by the end of next week, in short order”.

He assured fans that “for all intents an purposes” the burden of debt would be removed completely.

Liverpool to be sold to new American owners

By Zac Baker

Liverpool this morning confirmed that the club is to be sold to American organisation New England Sports Ventures (NESV).

However, the deal is said to be subject to a legal challenge from current owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, who say a deal is “far from done”.

John Henry - Current owner of Boston Red Sox and potential owner of Liverpool FC

With their grip on control of the club slipping, Hicks and Gillett yesterday tried to sack club directors Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre in an apparent last ditch attempt to retain ownership.

Hicks and Gillett have since vowed to challenge the validity of the deal through the courts, despite chairman Martin Broughton this morning confirming the deal on the official club website.

“I am delighted that we have been able to successfully conclude the sale process which has been thorough and extensive. The Board decided to accept NESV’s proposal on the basis that it best met the criteria we set out originally for a suitable new owner. NESV’s philosophy is all about winning and they have fully demonstrated that at Red Sox”, Broughton said earlier.

On the situation with the current owners, he added, “I am only disappointed that the owners have tried everything to prevent the deal from happening and that we need to go through legal proceedings in order to complete the sale.”

Debt-ridden Liverpool had been attracting the attentions of several potential buyers over the last year, including Hong Kong businessman Kenny Huang and a bid from a Syrian consortium led by Yahya Kirdi, but nothing had come to fruition until now.

The deal reached between the Liverpool board and NESV is said to fall well short of the current owners’ valuation, further adding to the belief that Hicks and Gillett will fight hard to keep a controlling interest in the club.

NESV, part owned by multimillionaire John W. Henry, said to have a fortune of around £540 million, own an array of sporting companies including Fenway Sports Group, Rousch Fenway Racing and most notably, the Boston Red Sox.

Henry’s track record is impressive, having successfully transformed the fortunes of the Boston Red Sox. Having taken over in 2002, he led them to World Series victories in 2004 and 2007, their first major titles since 1918.

Fans of Liverpool are said to be relieved at the news breaking today, with ‘Spirit of Shankly’ union member James McKenna saying, “We need to rid the club of Gillett and Hicks”

“It does not matter where they come from as long as they understand Liverpool Football Club. That was the problem with Gillett and Hick, they never really got Liverpool.”, McKenna added, when speaking to a BBC reporter.

Diving row hits Scotland

By Phil Turnbull

The Scotland versus Wales friendly match tomorrow is threatening to be overshadowed by the continuing row over diving.

In a week where Liverpool striker David N’Gog dived to win a penalty in a Premier League game against Birmingham, the diving row has now reached the international scene.

While Scotland hitman Kevin Kyle conceded he personally would take a dive in attempt to influence the outcome of a game, national team-mate James McFadden yesterday hit back, saying: “No way, I couldn’t dive”.

faddy

James McFadden (picture credit: skysports.com)

Birmingham striker McFadden said: “You try to play as fair as you can. You can foul for tactical reasons but I don’t think you can get away with a tactical dive.”

“I would not deliberately do that and try to con a penalty or to get a benefit because in the end you look stupid.”

Earlier in the week Kilmarnock striker Kyle admitted he would dive in a match if it helped Scotland to win.

Asked if he would take a tumble in the box, Kyle said: “I probably would because you go out on a Saturday afternoon just wanting your team to win at any cost and you take every opportunity that’s available to you.”

Kyle’s views are at odds not just with McFadden, but also SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith.

Smith has been at war with FIFA over players diving ever since Arsenal star Eduardo dived to win a penalty against Celtic in the Champions League Qualifiers, eliminating the Glasgow side in the process.

It is not known how SFA bosses will react to the conflicting points of view from their star strikers.

Meanwhile Scotland captain Darren Fletcher has been passed fit for the clash in Cardiff.

fletch

Darren Fletcher (picture credit: independent.co.uk)

The Manchester United playmaker had missed training on Wednesday, but has now been given a clean bill of health by the Scotland medical staff.

The decision will come as a relief to manager George Burley, who is already without Old Firm quartet Steven Whittaker, Kevin Thompson, Scott Brown and Shaun Maloney.

Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon also misses out due to a broken arm.

Scotland’s last friendly match, against Japan in Yokohama, was dogged by call offs that entered into double figures.

While the Scots have no such problems this time round, Wales have been hit by a raft of withdrawals.

Eight players, including £14 million Manchester City star Craig Bellamy, have pulled out of the Welsh squad, forcing manager John Toshack to select Swansea City centre-half Ashley Williams as his new captain.

Williams will be Toshack’s 11th skipper used in his five-year tenure as national team manager.

Wales versus Scotland kicks off at 3pm tomorrow at the Cardiff City Stadium, and is live on Sky Sports 1 from 2.30pm.

Liverpool K.O.’d by Arsenal Young Guns

By Benjamin Zand

Arsenal fought through an enticing battle against a weakened Liverpool side to win an intriguing 4th-round Carling Cup tie at the Emirates.

Fran Merida
Merida Celebrates wonder strike (Courtesy of SkySports)

Arsenal youngster, Fran Merida, broke the dead-lock with a cannonball from 18-yards out past second-string Cavalieri.

The scoreline was only to be levelled with Liverpool’s Emiliano Insua firing a phenominal 25-yard dipping strike past Fabianski to secure his first goal for Liverpool. Liverpool then fell victim to a 50th minute power house into the roof of net by Nicklas Bendtner which proved to be the winner.

Arsenal, known for repeatedly fielding youth-sides  in the Carling Cup, went for an unusually more experienced approach against a side which didn’t feature Gerrard, Carragher or Torres. With Wenger deciding to include several first team players in his side who he deemed to be in need of match practise.

The weakened Liverpool side almost took its chance early on though, with a cheeky back-heel from Liverpool’s Ngog finding the feet of Phillipe Degen, with the full-back only managing to pull his attempt wide.

Despite Liverpool’s early dominance, Arsenal’s swift play and crisp passing, which seems to feature in every Wenger team in spite of who’s playing, brought about a fantastic opener. With Fran Merida powering a left footed screamer in off Liverpool’s left-hand post. This came after some great determination from 18-year old Arsenal debutant Craig Eastmond, who put in a great display, and managed to win the ball on the edge of the Red’s box.

Celebrations were cut short though when a cleverly placed nod down from Babel led to an equally wonderful strike by Liverpool full-back Insua, leaving Arsenal keeper Fabianski hopeless.

Arsenal’s winner came through a powerful strike from one of their more experienced members, Bendter, who shrugged off pressure from Martin Skrtel to fire a shot into the roof of the nest past Cavalieri. Cavalieri, who was not the best on the night, had a couple of nervous moments. With one being a huge escape from embarrassment, after he missed a cross and then ran around the box cluelessly trying to obtain the ball creating a goalmouth melee with players coming in from every angle, but in relief gathered Bendter’s close range shot on the turn.

Both teams had weakened defences, and that combined with both of their desires to attack, led to a captivating game.

Liverpool had their chances to equalize, with Vorinin firing wide from close-range, and Babel missing a fantastic oppurtunity after failing to latch onto a cross from Kuyt, who captained the side in the absence of Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, but they just couldn’t get the breakthrough.

Although Liverpool slumped to their 7th defeat of this campaign, which is nearly double that of last season, there are still positives to take out the game. Like great displays by many of their fringe players, with Jay Spearing having a particularly promising game, and with the appearance of 20-million pound signing Alberto Aquilani who made his debut, and finally returned after months of recovery. Aquilani also impressed, making a cameo late in the 2nd half and

Aquilani
Aquilani makes debut (Courtesy of the BBC)

showing some decent touches and energy, and nearly awarding his team with a penalty when his overhead shot hit the arms of Senderos, only for Alan Wiley to dismiss the claims.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said of the game, when talking to the BBC, “The worst thing was the result, but the players showed passion, character and quality – Aquilani was one of these players. You can see he can pass the ball and make a difference in the final third. He is getting closer every day, but he needs games to improve his match fitness. It’s a question of time.”

Arsenal though, once again triumphed in the Carling Cup with a team mainly of youth players, continuing their impressive home record against Liverpool, who have failed to win at Arsenal since 2000.

Speaking of the match, Arsene Wenger said when asked by the BBC, “Overall it was a game of top quality with two teams who really went for it, played at a high pace. We gave people what they paid for – top quality. The experienced players played well, so did the young players. Liverpool came back to 1-1, and we still managed to win, that shows we have also mental resources.”

British Backpackers not practicing safe sex Down Under

by Linn Dupont

Backpackers-6356853British backpackers traveling around in Australia has been accused for spreading sexually transmitted diseases caused by their risky behavior. That is found from a study made by Britain’s John Moores University in Liverpool and Australia’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.

A survey carried out amongst backpackers at hostels in Sydney and Cairns found out that the British backpackers often had triple the number of sexual partners compared to how many they were normally having sex with at home. This regardless being single or not.

The report shows that of those who were single when arriving to Australia and having sex, 40.9 percent reported not using condom on a regular basis, while 24.0 percent had unprotected sex with multiple partners.

Australia is a very popular travel destination and each year 700, 000 young Britons go there to enjoy life while traveling around and provide for themselves by carrying out different jobs on the way. Almost one fifth of the backpackers have more than one sexual partner when they’re on vacation.

“Backpackers are at high risk of sexually transmitted infections and other negative sexual outcomes”, the study sums up. Both John Moores University and Australia’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre strongly wish for backpackers to take a closer look at their behavior both before and during their travels in order to make an effort for improvement.

Backpackers

MTV is Set to Rock the UK with the Most High-Profile Award Show of the Year

By: Dustin L. Gee

 

Get ready to party like a rock star because MTV is hosting the 2008 European Music Awards on Thursday, November 6 at the Echo Centre in Liverpool, England and everyone who wants to honour the biggest and loudest names in the industry are invited to attend.

 

Bryan Gray, Chairman of Liverpool Culture Company, said: “The MTV European Music Awards in Liverpool  is a perfect match – it’s pop music coming home.”

 

From flashing camera lights to the biggest artists in rock and pop music today, MTV is going all out for this year’s award show and taking the word “glamorous” to a whole new level.

Hot an sexy Katy Perry will host the 2008 MTV European Music Awards on Thursday, November 6. 2008.

 

The show will be hosted by the twenty-three year old sizzling, hot female star, Katy Perry, who is noted throughout the world for her song “I Kissed a Girl.”

 

MTV Producers announced earlier this month that Liverpool is going to explode with outstanding, live performances from Beyonce Knowles, who is set to release a new album in late November, Pink, The Killers, Duffy, and plenty more.

 

Don’t be fouled though, the fun won’t stop after these performances end, but continue on as MTV hands out some of the most impressive music awards of the year. A few of these awards include: Best New Act, Album of the Year, Video Act, Most Addictive Track, and Headliner just to name a few.

 

Best of all, these awards are presented to performers based on the highest number of votes from fans and viewers. You get to decide who wins and can vote online at www.ema.mtv.co.uk.

 

Other big names that will be present at this years award show include: Leona Lewis, Chris Brown, and Britney Spears, who racked up three awards for her song “Piece of Me” in the USA during the Video Music Awards and just released a new single titled “Womanizer” that has toped the charts across the globe.

 

The award show will be broadcast around the world on MTV, plus online, mobile, and thousands of radio platforms.

 

According to the Northwest Regional Development Agency, “This will be the third time that the UK has hosted the Awards.”  Previously the event has been held in London (1996) and Edinburgh (2003).

 

“It is fantastic to be back in the UK and it is only natural that Liverpool should host the fifteenth annual Europe Music Awards. Not only is it the European Capital of Culture next year but the influence of its rich music heritage is still felt today,” stated Richard Godfrey, Senior Vice President Content & Music, MTV Networks International and Executive Producer.

 

It’s a red carpet event that you don’t want to miss and one of the most high-profile events of the year. See you there!

 

 

 

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