Interview with Christian Purslow on Five Live
This morning Gary Richardson of Sportsweek had a ten minute telephone interview with Managing Director, Christian Purslow.
It began with several questions about retaining the services of Stevie G and Fernando Torres.
TORRES: He was extremely tired after what had been a very disappointing season and was then thrown into the cauldron at the World Cup, which is what led to the subsequent speculation surrounding him. Christian said that he was very grateful that Fernando allowed him to interrupt his holiday, so that Roy's plans for the future could be explained in full. Once known it was then that he pledged his future to the club.
Christian was then asked if there had in fact been any offers for Torres. These he said came in throughout the previous season and are continuing to do so, but as I have said he is staying with Liverpool Football Club.
STEVIE G: Steven assured me very early on that he was not going to leave the club. Yes he has had times where perhaps his loyalty has been tested but he has now been at Liverpool for 21years and deserves to be rewarded and I hope this season will see that happens.
JOE COLE: We are very pleased with signing him and are sure that he is going to do well at the club.
Gary then asked Christian about the mood at the club:
He said that the mood had definitely changed at the club and there was a great deal of optimism amongst the staff and the players. The example he gave was that, on several occasions he has been over to Melwood after the close of the normal business day, and there were still players training and working on their fitness. This has not happened for quite some time. This has given him a great confidence in the coming season and he believes that we can do well.
Gary then brought up the change of Manager.
Christian mentioned Rafa in passing and did not elaborate on why he was sacked. On the appointment of a new manager for club, he said that they had received 5 applications in total and each one was interviewed thoroughly. At this point Gary interrupted and asked if there had in fact been another premiership manager interviewed as well as Roy. To that he said yes but once they had made their initial decision , they began to seek the advice of Chief Executives and other people who had worked with all the candidates. Once this was done the board agreed to appoint Roy.
He was asked about whether there would be any further movements in the playing staff at the club. Yes he said, we are looking to bring possibly 2 players in and there will certainly be several more moved on. The subject of Masherano was then brought up. Christian said that, to date there have been any offers received for him.
What brought a smile to my face and tells me that the club is going back to its old fashioned values is Christian's next comment. When Roy is interested in a player, he goes on his own scouting missions. At the moment he is not at the club that much because he is chasing players.
At the end of interview the sale of the club came. Christian said that yes there have been several written offers received, but as yet no proof of finances have arrived. What he cannot understand about several of the candidates is why the press have found out first. I think personally it is called self-publicity. Asked if there was a favourite amongst the bids received, he said no and everyone is going to be pulled apart and the tiniest piece of information investigated. They are going to ensure that the club will be sold to the right person and if this takes time, so be it. He also said that he was bound by the confidentiality laws surrounding take -overs to be able to see any more.
There are several reports in the press this morning about the club's relationship with RBS. Christian said that had not in fact read any of the morning's papers so could not comment on it. What he did say though, was as far he was concerned, the clubs relationship with RBS was going along well. They have been the club's main bankers for many years and will continue to be so. I can confirm this, having received a letter from the gentleman who deals with the club's accounts at RBS. They are seeing this as a glitch and are looking forward to serving Liverpool Football Club for many years.
Finally Christian was asked where he would like the club to be at the end of the season. He said that the club had high hopes of being in contention for a champions League place again.
The full interview if you wish to listen to it is now available on BBC i-player at about 33 minutes in.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00tgcyf/Sportsweek_15_08_2010/
It was in all honesty a good interview for the time scale that had been allotted. I am quite sure that when we have been sold, there will be a much fuller one which will give us all a better idea of what is happening.
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good draw for the reds at the weekend.
lets hope they can build on this in the upcoming games. should be a good season.