PRESS RELEASE – 6 August 2008

The GLORYHUNTER : another innovation from Know The Score

Leading sports publisher Know The Score Books is delighted to announce The Gloryhunter: One Man’s Quest For The Ultimate Football Season.
As part of a unique multimedia partnership with ITV.com this ground-breaking project delivers the author to the online community through the website of the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster, which reaches more than 5.8m monthly unique users and delivers 83m monthly page impressions.
Through video ‘webisodes’, blogs, text updates, viral marketing, use of exclusive stills and providing readers with up-to-the-minute, exclusive content, The Gloryhunter will captivate an audience online before becoming a book tie-in at the end of what will undoubtedly be an eventful season.

From 9 August 2008, when the 2008/09 football season kicks-off, author Spencer Austin will become The Gloryhunter. Starting from a randomly selected club – Grimsby Town – he will follow the winning team from each game he watches. From Accrington to Anfield, Scunthorpe to Stamford Bridge, The Gloryhunter will eschew supporting one particular club and simply follow the winning side from each game. Will his quest take him to the Premier League title or the FA Cup final?
Throughout the journey, undertaken in a distinctive, custom-liveried car, provided by itv.com, The Gloryhunter will immerse himself in each of his new club’s surroundings. This could include anything from meeting fans, players, managers and celebrities to participating in any number of football-related shenanigans. Don’t be surprised if you see The Gloryhunter travelling on team coaches, sky-diving to raise money for a supporters club or writing new terrace chants to be sung across the nation.
His exploits will be presented in 2 x 3 minute weekly online videos, exclusive to itv.com/football, where possible on TV programmes and in the book, which will feature over 200 photographs

Know The Score Books Managing Director Simon Lowe said: ‘Desktops everywhere will click and follow the The Gloryhunter’s exploits around the country on itv.com/football for an entire season. Exciting and ground-breaking, it is THE cult concept of 2009.’

Marc Webber, Head of Content, ITV.com said: ‘We are delighted to commission The Gloryhunter as both Spencer Austin and Know The Score Books are leading providers of innovative sports-related content. The Gloryhunter – a true exploration of football culture in the United Kingdom – will touch millions of football fans and shows ITV’s commitment to providing exclusive content for our online audience.’

Visit www.itv/football or www.thegloryhunter.tv for further details and to watch the launch webisode.

The Gloryhunter will be published in paperback

(RRP: £9.99, ISBN 9781848183995) in June 2009.

To contact The Gloryhunter for interviews or updates please email glory@thegloryhunter.tv.

Captions for attached photographs:

Gloryhunter Departs1
Gloryhunter Spencer Austin departs on his nine month odyssey around English football clubs.

Gloryhunter Departs3
Gloryhunter Spencer Austin bids goodbye to Know The Score Books Managing Director Simon Lowe as he departs on his nine month odyssey around English football clubs.

Gloryhunter Departs5
The Know The Score Books team (from left Gareth Stringer, Tony Lyons, Richard Roper and MD Simon Lowe) bid farewell to Gloryhunter Spencer Austin (in car) as he departs on his nine month odyssey around English football clubs.

How on earth can it be allowed for matters to reach this point!

What is happening behind the scenes at our club?

Rafa Benitez Close To Quitting Liverpool Last Week

EXCLUSIVE: Rafa Benitez thought of resigning from Liverpool last week and even discussed leaving the club with his closest allies, according to sources close to the Spanish manager. The only thing that stopped him from leaving Anfield was his respect for the Liverpool fans and for the people that work with him on a daily basis. This is the first time since his arrival that Benitez has come this close to resigning, although on two other occasions offers from Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and a couple of other major European clubs led him to reassess his future at Anfield. On both occasions he decided to stay put and the club improved his contractual situation. According to sources this time around, it is his desperation with the Barry transfer deal, the lack of a satisfactory conclusion to the Alonso transfer and the gaping hole on the left hand side of midfield - yet to be filled - that are the major causes of his dissatisfaction and frustration. This has nothing to do with his contract. “Rafa doesn’t care about what he is getting paid, he thought he was being undermined this summer and was close to giving up”, says a friend of the manager. The situation at Anfield has been so confusing over the last few weeks - with the Gareth Barry saga and Xabi Alonso’s failed move to either Juventus or Arsenal - that Benitez felt the need to explain, at his Friday press conference, that he was not involved in the Barry transfer: another way of saying that if it did not take place, then it was not his fault. “Since I started talking with Martin O’Neill in April, I didn’t talk with Aston Villa. All of the talks have been between Rick Parry and the owner and chief executive of As ton Villa and they have been pretty good… I was not doing the talks about Barry, I was not doing the talks about Alonso, so if someone wants to talk about these players, then they have to talk with the chief executive of our club. If you want to talk about football, talk with me,” said Rafa. According to different sources, Benitez would have liked Gareth Barry to have been his first signing of the summer, ahead of even Robbie Keane, and by now the squad would have been closed. Instead, there is at least one new player to come in, although Liverpool have not yet given up hope in signing the Villa midfielder. The club, according to sources close to Tom Hicks, can afford Gareth Barry or a new left winger without the need to sell anybody. One final factor, that influenced Benitez’ decision to stay, was his belief that the team is set for a very good season and that they are in a position to improve on last year. Copyright GuillemBalague.com Please cite GuillemBalague.com when quoting from this article

Rick really is struggling & punching above his weight. Regrettably, Hicks is right …

Rafael Benitez Holds Rick Parry Responsible For Gareth Barry Saga

Rafael Benitez has blamed Rick Parry, the Liverpool chief executive, and the club’s owners for the protracted Gareth Barry transfer saga.

“I will try to be very clear over the [Barry] situation,” Benitez, the Liverpool manager, said. “Everyone has been talking and it seems that the blame is put on me. I get blamed for everything, for global warming to high petrol prices.

“But in this case I want to be very clear. Since I talked to Martin O’Neill about the situation in April, I have not talked to anyone at Aston Villa. All the talks have been between our chief executive Rick Parry, the owner and the chief executive of Aston Villa. And those talks have all been pretty good.

“So if anyone wants to talk about Barry in the future they must talk with the owner, Rick Parry or the chief executive of Aston Villa. And as I have said, those talks I understand have been good.

“I was not involved in the talks about Barry, I was not involved in the talks about [Xabi] Alonso and Arsenal. If you want to talk about these players you must talk to the chief executive of our club who was handling the discussions.

“If you want to talk about players, then you talk to Rick Parry. If you want to talk about football, then you talk with me.”

Parry made it clear last weekend that the club were not happy with the £18 million price tag for Barry or length of contract. But Benitez clearly still wants Barry in his team to solve his left-sided problems. “The squad is better but we now have problems on the left because we have lost [John Arne] Riise, [Harry] Kewell and [Sebastian] Leto. We will see what happens in the future with that situation, but clearly our squad is better.”

Carlsberg Does A U-Turn

Liverpool ECHO

Carlsberg called off their association with the Scum after facing the wrath of Liverpool fans over their decision to have a partnership with a newpaper which is known for printing lies about Liverpool fans.

The Danish brewer had planned to link up with the tabloid newspaper to give readers a free pint over this month’s bank holiday weekend.

But the partnership was met with a lot of anger by Liverpool fans since the club’s shirt sponsor was linking-up with a newspaper hated by everyone in Merseyside.

Carlsberg had an emergency meeting where they decided that they would not continue this partnership.

A spokesman for supporters union The Spirit Of Shankly said: “Carlsberg could have made a more careful choice.

“Lots of people were saying they should not sponsor us if they are doing things like this.

“There is no bigger issue for most Liverpool fans than Hillsborough and The Sun, and sensitivity was called for.”

The Carlsberg offer would have been made through vouchers printed in The Sun which were to be exchanged for a free pint in 13,000 pubs over the bank holiday weekend.

Liverpool fans made their displeasure known on the many sites where the story was reported, called the deal “insensitive”.

Ben wrote: “Lost for words. There’s no way on God’s earth I’ll ever buy that stuff again.”

Leopold wrote: “Disgusting! LFC should sever all connections with Carlsberg after this, utter disrespect for the 96 and the loyal fans who actively campaign against that rag mag!”

The Scum had published untruthful stories about Liverpool fans and their conduct, during and after the Hillsborough disaster. They have failed to issue an apology and hence, the rag has been avoided by the people in Merseyside.

A Carlsberg spokesman said: “We are quite aware there has been mistake and we are very sorry about this. We are doing all we can to repair the damage.”

He’s quick

He’s RED

He talks like Father Ted

Robbie Keane Robbie Keane !

www.thisisanfield.com

It has been confirmed today that Liverpool will take on Belgium’s Standard Liege at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne next Wednesday, 13th August in the first leg of their Champions League 3rd Round Qualifier.

The return leg at Anfield will take place on Wednesday 27th August with a 8.05pm kick-off.

Tickets for the away leg will be on sale to fans with at least one European away game from the 2007/08 campaign on their fancards from tomorrow. More details here.

Meanwhile, in other brief news, midfielder Yossi Benayoun has changed his squad number from 11 to his preferred 15, following the departure of Peter Crouch.

Liverpool have been drawn against Standard Liege in the Champions League.

Rafa Benitez’s men will play the Belgian outfit in the third qualifying round.

Games to be played on  August 12/13 or August 26/27.