UNTOLD ARSENAL » 2009 » January » 14

Companies, like individuals, that are in trouble tend to be a bit circumspect with the truth when debating their situation.

And so we have seen with the situation concerning Liverpool FC – and it looks like there is more to come.

I reported that Liverpool’s finances are so awful that the banks that have loaned them money have given them an extension until the summer, and suggested that at that time they expect Liverpool’s financial mess to be sorted by the club – or else no more loans.

However it has now become clear that there is another clause, that the club have been hiding away.  It emerged after my silly open letter to the banks, protesting at the way they have loaned the money.  I doubt that my post achieved that – it must be a coincidence.

Anyway, we now know that the £350 million loan must not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES be used for the buying of players.

What really screws Liverpool at this point is that they, like most clubs, buy players on the never-never – so when you hear someone buys Johnny Foreigner (to use the ex-chairman of the Tiny Totts name for Bergkamp) for 20 million what you are actually getting is 20 million over five years.

What this means is that Liverpool need that £350 million loan not just to pay Benetiz his newly inflated salary, and players wages, and all the other players Benitez wants to buy, but to pay for people bought in the past.  And the strict interpretation of the loan is that it can’t be used for that.  (Even if it can, they still can’t use it to buy players, or else the bank closes the loan down).

Of course Liverpool are not the worst placed club today.  That honour goes to West Iceland United.

In simplistic terms, their owner has gone bust (because he owned an Icelandic bank), the club is for sale and no one is buying, Sheffield United want their 50 million having won the Argentine case, and now the EPL and FA are investigating them again, and will probably end up deducting points.
West Iceland’s problems stem from their fanatical secrecy – they chose not to show the FA and EPL the contracts relating to Tevez – and that is the cause of all that happened after.  After that it got worse and worse, as the club starting telling the EPL and FA one thing, but then were telling the player’s lawyer something else.

In the midst of all this – with every aspect of the affair going against them West Iceland are doing nothing other than denying everything.  For each issue they have an excuse.

A bit like the EPL itself.  EPL top dogs are currently stating that they expect the next Sky deal to be as big as the current one.   Yes well, not in the world I live in.

Last point – just a detail.  I tried taking off the checking process (the maths question) for those who wish to post, and have just spent an hour getting rid of 250 spam emails sent to the group.  Sorry – it has to go back on.  If you want to post you will be asked a simple maths question (like 3 + 5 =).  Annoying I know, but it makes the smooth running of this group (which is after all just a hobby for me) much easier.

(c) Tony Attwood 2009.