Smiling George Gillett was reported after a recent meeting with the Spirit of Shankly supporters group to have told fans to pinpoint blame on to Benitez after ‘record investment’ in Liverpool Football Club.
As reported in today’s Daily Telegraph, Gillett said:
“We have invested more money than our competitors, in keeping with the history of the club,”
“In the last 18 months, we have invested £128m on top of what has come in. That means it should be getting better.
“Now if it’s not getting better, it’s not Gillett and Hicks, it’s the manager, it’s the scouting. You have to make sure you balance out your analysis.
“There was plenty of money, so if you have any complaints, take a look at the ins and outs.”
“The club is in extraordinarily good financial condition. Far better than Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal.
“We have invested massively, we have put more money in than anyone other than Manchester City, with the craziness they have got.”
Like many Liverpool fans I feel personally insulted by his ridiculous comments.
Liverpool had manageable debt of around £45-60M before the new owners arrived. Now that figure has more than quadrupled to around £250M. Liverpool Football Club is paying interest to two commercial banks at a figure of approximately £1M ($1.6M) every 9 days. Between the Chelsea and Sunderland games, under our new ownership, we will have handed over nearly £1.5M ($2.2M) in interest alone for the privilege of having Hicks and Gillett as our owners.
As our figures have already shown this summer, in terms of actual player transfers in and out – in 2009 Liverpool made a transfer profit of roughly £14M. I don’t know of any club that has ever gone on to success after a summer of asset-stripping the playing staff.
To suggest Liverpool are in as strong a financial position as the likes of Arsenal, with their brand new stadium and well run business is laughable.
But above all, claiming that he personally has invested massively in Liverpool Football Club is the biggest insult of all.
George – you are propping up Liverpool with money that isn’t yours but belongs to the banks. You promised us a stadium – you failed. You promised us no debt mountain – you’ve saddled us with debt. The amount we paid in interest alone last year is equivalent to giving every person who attended a Premiership game at Anfield last year their £35-£40 back. (that’s 855,000 people).
Robbie Keane and Xabi Alonso alone were sold for more than Aquilani and Johnson cost. Where was the actual summer transfer budget on top of that? What happened to the rest of the money. What did you do with the Sebastian Leto and Alvaro Arbeloa money? Where did the Champions League qualification money go? The Premier League runners up prize money?
We need more than International Rescue now. George and Tom need to be removed from their control of our proud historic football club. Probably the best supported football club in the world. As we approach the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the man who transformed us in to the famed football club it is today – these two men are ripping the soul out of our club.
Go. Go now.