So after all the shite we , the fans , have gone through regarding this and Rafa's reps havent even spoken to the owners yet ?
I find that hard to believe personally
wtf is going on like ? ?
The articles are rolling in thick and fast, and all I can say is they leave me with even more questions unanswered.
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From Times Online - Oliver Kay
February 27, 2009
Analysis: Rick Parry departure strengthens position of Tom Hicks and Rafael BenitezLiverpool have been rocked yet again by news that Rick Parry, the chief executive, is to leave the club. Oliver Kay, The Times's Chief Football Correspondent, explains the significance of the latest development at Anfield
First of all, what does Rick Parry’s departure mean for Liverpool?It could mean a variety of things, simply because of the number of different characters and agendas that he leaves behind at Anfield. Rafael Benitez might regard it as another battle won in his power struggle, or at least the removal of an obstacle from his path. Tom Hicks will regard it as a triumph, having first demanded Parry’s resignation last April. George Gillett Jr may find himself out on a limb, with Parry having been his ally in the boardroom.
A
nd why has it happened today?Well, it has been on the cards for a while. Parry has known for some time that his days were numbered. Hicks has been highly critical of the club’s lack of commercial success in the decade that Parry has been at Anfield, while Benitez has questioned Parry’s method of negotiating transfers. When Hicks demanded his resignation last April, Gillett blocked it, but Parry knew that the arrangement had become untenable in terms of working under Hicks. There are strong suggestions that Gillett finally relented after a disagreement with Parry over the rumours about Benitez’s position earlier this week.
Was Parry was one of the good guys?He is an extremely good guy. His problem is that he, along with David Moores, the former chairman, made a poor decision to sell to Hicks and Gillett in February 2007 and they have regretted it ever since. Parry has tried to rise above the mudslinging that has been rife at Anfield ever since and tried to preserve something of what he calls “the Liverpool way”. But the whole affair has been ugly, meaning that little or nothing could get done. Something had to give and, sadly for Parry, it was him – to be followed, I strongly suspect, by Gillett’s departure.
Does this mean Benitez has got what he wants?I think it’s important to look at the power struggle at Anfield as a war, not just one battle. Things at Anfield really have been that bad for the past 18 months. Benitez didn’t have a good working relationship with Parry, which was the source of a lot of problems for both of them. Unlike a lot of other fraught relationships at Anfield, it was purely a professional, rather than a personal, conflict, but I am pretty certain that Benitez will feel his own position is a little clearer this morning.
What was the problem between them?Benitez often complained publicly about transfer deals or contracts that weren’t tied up quickly enough. He blamed Parry for that. Benitez’s view is that, with a different chief executive, he would have signed Nemanja Vidic, Daniel Alves, Gareth Barry and others. Parry’s view is that any “delays” were merely the kind that exist in any corporate structure. He would also argue that, with a different chief executive, Liverpool would not have invested large sums on Andrea Dossena, Lucas Leiva and others. It is a question of whether or not the manager should be accountable to his chief executive over transfers.
There were reports this morning that Liverpool wanted to replace Benitez with Jose Mourinho.Well, if Liverpool sounded out Mourinho’s advisers, however tentatively, I suspect that had less to do with Hicks or Parry than with Gillett, who was the architect of the infamous talks with Jurgen Klinsmann in the autumn of 2007. But that is a big “if”. Contrary to this week’s rumours, Benitez’s position has been secure and will become increasingly so.
So what happens next?Benitez will sign his contract soon – not purely because of today’s developments but because he was going to do so anyway. Parry is expected to stay on until the end of the season while a replacement is found. If an interim is needed, I suspect it will be Ian Ayre, the commercial director, or Philip Nash, the finance director. Either of those two, who were appointed by Hicks, could end up getting the post, but the word already from Anfield is that they will advertise the position in the hope of getting a top-quality candidate from outside the club.
And what happens with the owners?Hicks, having been very open to selling last year, is going nowhere. He has built up a strong power base over the past six months or so and his alliance with Benitez has become powerful. As for Gillett, he has been looking to offload his stake for more than 12 months and today’s news leaves him with even less reason to stay around. There were strong rumours yesterday that an announcement today would be about Gillett finding a buyer and selling up immediately. In the end, the story was a different one, but I am sure Gillett’s departure will not be too far away.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article5814391.ece