Liverpool are not for sale, insists Hicks

Liverpool co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks insist they remain 'fully committed to the club' despite Dubai International Capital reportedly preparing another bid to acquire a share of the Anfield team.

A year ago this month DIC were stunned by the last-minute failure of their bid to take control of the club but it is believed they are now set to try to buy the American's 50% stake in Anfield. DIC yesterday made no attempt to play down speculation when a spokesman said: 'We do not comment on such things, we have nothing to say on this.' However, a spokesman for Hicks was less equivocal. He said: 'Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett remain fully committed to the club. 'Any suggestion that Messrs Hicks and Gillett are contemplating a sale of the club or any portion thereof to DIC or anyone else is categorically untrue.' Liverpool will step out on Monday for their Barclays Premier League home game with Aston Villa with their minds focused just as much on beating non-league Havant and Waterlooville five days later. By the time the troubled Reds walk out at Anfield, they expect to be even further adrift of the top three.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea all play tomorrow away to teams in the bottom half of the table - Reading, Fulham and Birmingham respectively. So no-one would be surprised if the gap between Liverpool and the top spot is a massive 15 points by then, with the Gunners and Chelsea also pulling further away from the Anfield men. And that would even further reduce the chances of the Merseysiders making even a dramatic last-ditch bid to stay in the hunt. But less than a week later, Liverpool are at home to the little Hampshire club in the FA Cup fourth round, a game they surely will win to keep themselves at least with the hope of one domestic honour this term. The future ownership of the club will still hang like a dark cloud over Anfield, and boss Rafael Benitez knows that he must keep his side in with a chance of winning something. But even the ever-optimistic Jamie Carragher, who made his 500th appearance for the club in the midweek cup win over Luton, knows time is up on the title bid. He said: 'We are not stupid. You never throw the towel in, but for us to get back into contention for the title we would have to have an unbelievable second half to the season. 'And the rest would have to have an unbelievably bad second half to the campaign. We realise our best chance of silverware is the cup competitions. That is why they are so important.' Liverpool need to beat Villa to maintain their hopes of a fourth-place finish and a Champions League spot, now clearly the minimum requirement for Benitez. And Carragher insists that the players must not allow themselves to be affected by what is happening off the field at Liverpool. He said: 'You have to be strong mentally to play for Liverpool. Things happen off the pitch but you do not let it affect you.'

Your views on this story? Email newsdesk@soccernet.com

Football: Gerrard hat-trick puts a smile back on Benitez's face

Posted: 16 January 2008 0631 hrs

	Photos 1 of 1 Liverpool's Steven Gerrard celebrates after scoring his third goal against Luton.

LIVERPOOL, England : Steven Gerrard brought a rare smile to the face of his beleaguered Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez with a hat-trick in Tuesday's 5-0 FA Cup third round replay win over Luton.

Gerrard, who now has 15 goals this season, scored three times in the space of 20 second half minutes at Anfield as the seven-times FA Cup winners eased into the fourth round.

Cash-strapped Luton, who are two divisions below Liverpool, had held the Merseyside club to a surprise 1-1 draw nine days earlier yet there was never any doubt about the outcome of this replay once Ryan Babel had opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time.

Finland defender Sami Hyypia also found the net to ease the pressure on Benitez whose long-term future at the club appears increasingly uncertain.

There was an overwhelming outpour of support for Benitez before and during the game following revelations that Liverpool's American co-owners had spoken to Jurgen Klinsmann about becoming the club's new manager.

The talks took place in November when Benitez's relationship with George Gillett and Tom Hicks was strained. Klinnsman has since agreed to manage Bayern Munich, but Benitez's treatment at the hands of the Americans has not been well received by the fans.

One banner which was held aloft in The Kop before kick-off read 'thanks Yanks More Friendly Fire' while fans chanted Benitez's name throughout the tie.

Yet supporters might just as well have jeered their players off the pitch after a forgettable first 45 minutes which was punctured by Babel's seventh goal of the season with virtually the last kick of the half.

Despite wheeling out leading scorer Fernando Torres and Gerrard, both of whom were rested in the draw at Luton, Liverpool found chances hard to come by against opponents 62 places below them in the League ladder.

Babel was unfortunate not to open the scoring in the ninth minute when his curling effort struck a post and rebounded to safety after Gerrard had surged through Luton's non-existent defence.

Luton manager Kevin Blackwell has just as many problems as Benitez. His team are facing relegation to the fourth tier of English football after having 10 points deducted for going into administration.

Blackwell has announced his intentions to quit the club in February after being forced to sell a number of his best players to raise funds for the cash-strapped club.

Yet he could be proud of his side's dogged first half defensive display before the floodgates opened in the second half.

Despite the scoreline, it had looked like being a frustrating night for the hosts until Babel broke the deadlock after rounding off a fine move involving Torres and Gerrard.

Liverpool never looked back from that moment as Gerrard turned on the style to sweep his team into the next round.

Renowned for scoring spectacular goals from distance, he used his head to make it 2-0 in the 52nd minute before Hyypia killed off Luton five minutes later with his third goal of the campaign.

Gerrard's second goal of the tie arrived in the 64th minute after Torres's effort had rebounded off a defender into his path while his third, and Liverpool's fifth, was a stunning 30-yard drive which left Luton keeper Dean Brill rooted to the spot. - AFP/de

Blogged with Flock

Reds' owner Hicks admits meeting with Klinsmann

Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett sounded out Jurgen Klinsmann about becoming the club's next manager, according to a report.

Hicks claims the talks would not have resulted in the immediate dismissal of the man who led the team to Champions League glory but that Klinsmann was 'an insurance policy'. Klinsmann is no longer an option, however, as he has agreed to take charge of Bayern Munich. Hicks told the
Liverpool Echo: 'We attempted to negotiate an option as an insurance policy to have him (Klinsmann) become manager if Rafael left for Real Madrid or other clubs that were rumoured in the press.

Or in case our communication spiralled out of control for some reason.' The article also claims that had Liverpool tumbled out of the Champions League, the owners would have tried to replace Benitez. However, Benitez steered the team through with a crucial victory against Marseille in France. Klinsmann's name has been linked with Liverpool since November. It is believed to be the root cause of Benitez's testy media conference when he had been told to concentrate on running his team by the owners.

Under such circumstances, winning the FA Cup may be the minimal requirement to stay in his job come the summer. Liverpool face Coca-Cola League One side Luton in a replay at Anfield tomorrow - and Benitez knows defeat is not an option. Benitez made it clear before Hicks' dramatic public admission about Klinsmann that he intends to field a strong side. He said: 'We will approach the game with the idea of using our best players, we want to reach the next round. 'I know it will be a different Luton side. They have lost players now so we know it will be more difficult for them, but they will still try their hardest to win.'

Your views on this story? Email newsdesk@soccernet.com
Join the discussion on our Message Boards