Hodgson wants Liverpool sale

Posted Sunday, July 04, 2010 by theguardian.com

Hodgson wants Liverpool sale
Roy Hodgson said he wanted Liverpool's ownership to change hands as soon as possible.

Roy Hodgson has said it is imperative that Liverpool's co-owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, sell the club this summer even though a takeover could affect his own position at Anfield.

The new Liverpool manager spoke to the Americans in a brief conference call on Wednesday night and, at his official unveiling the following day, promised to avoid the ownership issues that have blighted the club and the reign of his predecessor, Rafael Benítez, in recent years. Nevertheless, at a time when the Liverpool futures of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano are all uncertain, and with only limited funds available for squad rebuilding, Hodgson believes the prospects of recovery are inextricably linked to the timing of Hicks's and Gillett's departure.

Asked if he wanted the club to change hands at the earliest opportunity, the 62-year-old said: "Absolutely. That is what all the fans want. They want new ownership, maybe in the way Manchester City found new ownership. I don't know whether that would be a possibility but I can understand the fans wanting that. The fans want the best for Liverpool Football Club. They want the best players and the best quality football, and they know the only way to get that is to have the quality of players on the pitch and they cost money."

Hodgson admitted his arrival at Anfield was due, in part, to Liverpool's £350m debt and the associated problems that have plagued the club since Hicks and Gillett arrived in February 2007. He added: "It's very unusual to get the job at the club you want to be at if something is not there niggling in the background. Obviously the thing in the background here is the financial situation.

"The financial situation doesn't bother me. This club will always find a buyer and there's always going to be people who want to be the owner of Liverpool Football Club. It's just a question of when it can be sold and whether the new owners, when they come in, are prepared to back the club as we all think it should be backed."

Liverpool's chairman, Martin Broughton, has confirmed there have been no offers for the club since Hicks and Gillett announced it was officially for sale in April, although he hopes to receive a first round of bids by mid-July and complete the sale before the end of August. A takeover would raise the prospect of the new owners wanting to appoint their own manager, but Hodgson is confident his work will dissuade such a move.

The Liverpool manager, who confirmed he is contractually protected "to some extent" if new owners decided they wanted a change, said: "You can't ever get stone guarantees with these things. I believe that I was selected fommm,,,,r the right reasons and that if there are new owners they would go along with that as well. If they didn't, and the new owners wanted a complete change, then I would have to accept that. It wouldn't make a major dent in my career but it would be very sad because I want to work here."

Hicks and Gillett remain the target of derision among Liverpool supporters and an "Independence Day Rally" will be held in the city tomorrow, organised by the Spirit of Shankly supporters group. The rally, at St George's Hall from noon, features speeches from John Aldridge and the newly elected MP for Walton, Steve Rotheram, the comedian John Bishop plus several musicians, and the SOS will launch its proposal for supporters to buy into the club.

A spokesperson for SOS said: "This is our chance to send out a message that we want true independence, not only from Tom and George, but others who work the same way as they do. We no longer want leveraged buyout merchants with their eyes on the accounts, not the football pitch."