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Posts Tagged ‘george-gillett’

• Benítez says Liverpool fall short in ‘terms of money and power’
• Manager refuses to be drawn on links to Juventus

The Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez has criticised the club’s American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett for failing to invest heavily in the squad, leaving Liverpool short of depth in a season that has seen them miss out on the Champions League for the first time since 2002-03.

“Always in the past two years the manager here has been taking responsibility for everything. The reality is that if you compare with other teams in terms of money, power and the option you have in the market so you can analyse carefully and then you have answers,” said Benítez.

“The fans are very clever, they know what is going on. It is very clear that things are like this now and still we have to carry on going forward.

“Next season we have to do almost everything perfect and if we make one or two mistakes we don’t have the possibility to react so it is more difficult for us.”

Benítez, who has been linked with a summer move to Juventus – who today were also ruled out of Champions League spot in Serie A after a 1-1 draw at Catania – once again refused to clarify his future.

“I have four years of a contract [left] so we will see,” said Benítez when asked if he would be at Anfield next season. “I was talking about the speculation during the last two or three weeks and I cannot be talking about it all the time.

“We will prepare for the next game [at Hull] and then start thinking about things for the future. The fans want to know [whether Benítez will be in charge next season] but I want to know what is going on next week against Hull.

“Now we have to concentrate on another game and then prepare for the future.”

When asked whether he had heard from the new chairman Martin Broughton, brought in by the owners to oversee the sale, Benítez added: “Not yet. I will have a meeting with the chairman in a few days.”

Benitez rejected the suggestion the lacklustre post-match lap around Anfield was his farewell to the supporters.

“We have to say thank you to our fans, as always, because they have been very good,” he said.

“We approached the game thinking about winning but we are very disappointed because it was a game that was equal and then we conceded the goal and things changed. When we conceded the second goal, against Chelsea that is normally the end.”

Rafael BenítezLiverpoolPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

• Admits to stalemate with lenders over sale of club
• Had hoped deal would be completed by 19 April

The Liverpool co-owner, Tom Hicks, has hit a brick wall over the sale of his Major League Baseball club, Texas Rangers. On the field at Fenway Park before the Rangers played the Boston Red Sox last night, Hicks said the dispute is over what the lenders think the Rangers are worth.

Hicks, who along with George Gillett has hired Barclays Bank to lead the search for a buyer for Liverpool, said he had hoped the sale would have been completed by opening day (4 April) or by 19 April.

“The lenders have to agree with baseball and the buying group that it’s the right price,” Hicks said. “There is some concern that they think somebody will pay a higher price. That’s what the dispute’s all about.”

The sides announced an agreement on 23 January, but creditors of the Hicks Sports Group, which owns the Rangers and the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars, have not approved it.

“We’re not really involved in it because we don’t get any of the proceeds,” Hicks said. “It all goes to the lenders.”

“I thought it would be done by opening day. I thought it would be done by 19 April. Right now, we’ll all just have to wait and see. There’s nothing I can do.”

The Rangers’ sale must be approved by three-quarters of the 30 teams before it can be finalised. The original asking price had been for around $600m but the sale is expected to realise a lot less.

MLBUS sportLiverpoolguardian.co.uk

• ‘Champions League makes no difference to spending power’
• Believes ‘on-fire’ Torres can steer side to fourth place

Rafael Benítez has issued a veiled criticism of his spending power under the Liverpool owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, by claiming his transfer budget has not benefited significantly from five successive qualifications to the Champions League.

Liverpool are in danger of missing out on a place among the European elite for the first time in the Benítez era, a failure that would cost the debt-laden club more than £20m and, by extension, impact on their transfer plans this summer.

Liverpool are four points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, having played one game more, and though new investment is being sought before next season, Benítez insists involvement in the Champions League should not affect his budget as qualification has not paid dividends in the past.

The Liverpool manager said: “They told me before that it [Champions League qualification] didn’t make a big difference [to his transfer budget]. Every year that we have qualified for the Champions League it hasn’t made a big difference so if we don’t qualify this time I don’t expect it to make a big difference.”

Benítez believes Harry Redknapp’s team are favourites for the final Champions League berth but that Liverpool’s greater experience could prevail. “Everything can change in one or two weeks. You have to be calm and try to do your job,” he added,” he said. “For us our experience could be key. It depends on each team. Spurs are in a good position now and maybe City will be if they win one game, so it will be close. It could go to the very end.”

The Spaniard is also enthused by Fernando Torres’s record of five goals in his last three appearances and believes his compatriot can inspire the team’s pursuit of fourth place, starting at home to Sunderland tomorrow: “People are talking about his frustration but I will talk about his accuracy,” said Benitez. “He is doing really well and if he can keep on doing the same we can win against anyone.

“He is on fire. I think he can carry on like this until the end of the season. He has no physical problems and he can score goals. Also, the team is stronger now. We played against United at the top of the table and there wasn’t a big difference.”

Rafael BenítezLiverpoolPremier LeagueAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk