More backroom shenanigans - Parry to be sack?

After the monumental achievement in reaching our 3rd semi-finals in 4 years, Hicks decided it was high time for Parry to go. Most of us would happily see the back of him, but the manner of how this was conducted was of utter shame: imagine learning you'll be ask to resign through the ticker on SkySports.

What ever happen to the "Liverpool Way" of conducting our business behing close door? It's as if it theres not enough dirty linens already being washed in public the past couple of months. Congrats Hicks! You've self-signed your death warrant.

Liverpool Echo will run an exclusive story where David Moores will open his heart on the current shameful situation in Anfield. We will post excerpts and links to the article once its up later today. Be sure to check back.

Check out Tony Barrett's article on the situation below. It's taken from the Liverpool Echo , click on the link to acces the article directly:


Liverpool FC crisis: Tony Barrett on the boardroom war that's split Anfield in two
Apr 11 2008 By Tony Barrett Liverpool Echo

IT WAS only a little over 12 months ago when Rick Parry told Liverpool's outgoing shareholders that the club would be in safe hands with Tom Hicks and George Gillett. at the helm.

Today, Parry will no doubt be regretting his ringing endorsement of Hicks, who has plunged the knife deep into the back of Liverpool's chief executive by telling him to quit.

The shock demand was delivered to Anfield by letter yesterday afternoon, while Parry was at FA headquarters in London. making an unsuccessful attempt to have Javier Mascherano's extra one game ban overturned Parry was blissfully unaware of the letter. The first he knew of it was via text messages from family members asking if the story breaking on TV was accurate.

There had been no board meeting to discuss his position as protocol demands, nor had there been any verbal communication from Hicks.to suggest that his position was under threat.
Despite this, Parry was not shocked by the dramatic turn of events, mainly because members of the Hicks clan have made no secret of their desire to see the 53-year-old ousted from the club during recent visits to Anfield.

The timing was also unsurprising, coming two days after Parry had accompanied Gillett on a visit to the city centre office of Liverpool's commercial director Ian Ayre, who is viewed by the pair as Hicks's ally on Merseyside.

The ECHO understands Gillett gave Ayre only 15 minutes’ warning that he wanted to meet him, and on arrival launched into a tirade, reminding Ayre he answers to Gillett as well as Hicks.

It was now Gillett and Parry against Hicks and Ayre.

As soon as he learned of Ayre's dressing- down by Gillett, Hicks hit the roof, and hearinghat Parry was also present only served to hardened his desire to see Parry removed.
Sources in the Hicks camp insist this meeting was not the catalyst for yesterday's developments, and that the Dallas-based businessman had simply been waiting for the three matches against Arsenal to end before making his move. They also say Hicks could not afford to wait until the end of the season to make his move because a new chief executive would have to be found in readiness for the busy pre-season period.

The ECHO understands that Tom Hicks junior has been informing friends in Liverpool for the past six weeks that they want Parry out. so there was no need to wait until the Arsenal games to be out of the way – yesterday's dramatic move could have been made at any point before then

On February 26, the ECHO was made aware of Hicks's desire to sack Parry and sent him an email asking if he was planning on firing him. But Hicks refused to answerthe question, saying: "I won't comment on management."

The boardroom battle has been going on for some time but much of the fighting has taken place behind closed doors. Now it’s on open show.

The fact that the internecine battle for Liverpool was played out on a satellite news channel yesterday will greatly upset Anfield traditionalists and those who continue to cherish the much fabled "Liverpool Way".

As will the revealing of private discussions between Rafa Benitez and Hicks about misgivings the manager has over Parry's ability in the transfer market.

Benitez has been privately critical of Parry for some time, and was particularly irked over the loss of long-time target Florent Malouda to Chelsea, but Benitez has never made his concerns public. Yesterday, Benitez was no doubt as shocked as Parry to see such detail laid bare. Similarly, Liverpool’s players will be at least disappointed and at worst disgusted that their magnificent achievement of reaching the Champions League semi-finals in such glorious circumstances three days ago will now be overshadowed by yet more unseemly events off the field.

Hicks’s decision to go public with his call for Parry to quit could simply come down to the fact that he does not have the power or the authority to sack him.
It would take a majority vote by the Liverpool board to sanction a dismissal of such a high ranking employee and the current make-up of the board means Parry's position is safe.
With Gillett, his son Foster and life president David Moores all supporting Parry, Hicks and son Tom junior would be out-voted, and with Parry having no intention of quitting there is an impasse.

It is the most bitter of power struggles, one with no immediate sign of resolution
That is the reason why Dubai International Capital's chief executive Sameer Al-Ansari produced a bombshell of his own yesterday, announcing DIC were shelving their bid to buy Liverpool.
DIC's desire to buy the club has not lessened but they believe a deal remains impossible while the boardroom rows continue.

Hicks remains unwilling to sell to DIC while Gillett has previously indicated his willingness to do a deal. But in recent weeks both men have attempted to put in place the finance to buy the other out.

In the current credit crunch the possibility of that happening remains slim. as even the world's biggest financial organisations are unwilling to lend out the kind of capital required to fund such a venture and It seems likely that Unless either party can attract a second party as an investor, Hicks and Gillett seem stuck with each other for the time being. at least.
The ECHO understands a "first refusal" agreement between the Americans, in which one must offer his slice of the club to the other before selling to a third party, does not come to an end until the end of May.

That is an unpalatable thought for everyone at Liverpool, as one senior Anfield figure put it today: "We simply cannot go on like this, one of them has to go.

"We've got a European Cup semi-final coming up and maybe even a final, all this is doing is damaging the team's chances.

"How can owners act like this?"

If rapid change does not occur then the position of manager Benitez will inevitably be brought into question.

The Reds boss has been a patient figure as civil war has raged around him, and has managed to keep his players focused despite the obvious distractions.

But basic common sense tells us that the position he is in, with two bosses at loggerheads and the club's entire decision process now so complex and fraught, is not one which any manager would enjoy, never mind one with the kind of CV which would inevitably be attractive to Europe's top clubs.

Up to now, Benitez has avoided taking sides in the battle but yesterday he found himself dragged into it by Hicks.

It is a similar situation for the Liverpool fans who are now taking sides and worryingly for Hicks, it seems that many of them are backing Parry against him.

Parry is not a particularly popular figure among Liverpool's fan base and many have not forgiven him for the role he played in the tickets fiasco ahead of last year's European Cup Final.
But there is something about the way Hicks is currently conducting club business which means the American’s every move has the potential to backfire.

It is all so different to a year ago when Hicks was given the seal of approval by Parry in that fateful letter of his own to shareholders.

At the time he said of Hicks and Gillett "To them, our virtues, heritage and culture are precious assets that will help to inspire everyone connected with us to continue to strive for further success – both on and off the field."

Having now been told to depart so abruptly, Parry's opinion of Hicks will today be quite different.