When Sloane gave his testimony before the court, he said clearly.
"In early October 2012, Filbert told me directly that he was concerned and worried that Horne had been reselling tickets that were supposed to be distributed to the players. Frank told me that he and his colleagues had personally witnessed with their own eyes the scene of Horne conducting transactions with buyers in a hotel setting.
They had even managed to photograph the moment when both parties signed documents to finalize the illegal deal. Filbert was worried that this situation might not have been occurring for just a day or two—that it could have been going on for a substantial period of time. He felt strongly that Liverpool should initiate a proper investigation into the matter."
According to the investigation that followed, Sloane had not been fabricating his story or lying under oath.
Multiple informed witnesses, including Filbert himself and several others with direct knowledge of the situation, all came forward to testify in court, exposing and verifying the existence of Horne's ticket-selling operation.
The investigation revealed that the complimentary tickets Horne had been illegally reselling were originally meant to be given to players José Enrique and Nuri Şahin as part of their contractual benefits.
Under normal circumstances, even with this scandal, Liverpool's situation would have been manageable.
The club's team performance had been steadily improving and rising in recent times. Their commercial development was also getting back on track and gaining positive momentum.
There was genuine optimism building around the club for the first time in years.
But then came the damaging context that made everything exponentially worse. A series of consecutive scandals had already severely damaged the club's public image and reputation.
There was Luis Suárez's racism controversy, followed by his shocking biting incident on the pitch, which had put Liverpool in a position where they faced universal condemnation from the football world.
The club had become a target of ridicule and criticism across international media.
Now, just as those wounds were beginning to heal, another scandal had emerged to engulf Liverpool—high-ranking club executives caught illegally reselling tickets for personal profit. It was yet another humiliating episode casting a dark cloud over the institution.
The Saudi ownership group was absolutely furious when they learned of these developments. Their anger was swift and complete.
As a result, the Saudis, who had originally planned to take a moderate approach, intending to retain some of the original management team to continue running the club's operations completely reversed course after this incident came to light.
The previous management team was directly and immediately terminated. Every single one of them, not one person remained from the old regime!
The reason was simple. Those Saudi sheikhs and owners could never have imagined in their wildest dreams that the management of a football club would stoop to engaging in the resale of tickets for personal gain.
How much money could tickets possibly generate?!
The amounts involved weren't even a tiny fraction of their pocket change—not even close to a rounding error in their daily expenditures.
This kind of petty corruption was too degrading, too embarrassing, too beneath the standards they expected!
Subsequently, Julien also discovered another related piece of news.
The crucial message was that after Liverpool's executive shakeup and complete management overhaul, Brendan Rodgers had lost all of his supporters within the club management. Rodgers's future prospects and career trajectory at Liverpool were now completely uncertain and unclear.
Additionally, after the news of Liverpool's executive changes had fully spread and generated public discussion, David Dein gave an exclusive interview to The Daily Mail newspaper.
When the reporter asked him directly about Brendan Rodgers's future at Liverpool, Dein's response consistently revolved around themes of uncertainty and ambiguity.
Between all his carefully chosen words, there was not a single clear or direct expression of support for the manager.
Dein said frankly,
"The progress that Manager Rodgers has led Liverpool to achieve over the past period of time is evident and visible to everyone. The team's ranking in the league has been steadily rising and improving.
The performance on the attacking end has also been very convincing and impressive, especially the fact that a player of Julien's exceptional caliber has been able to perform at such an elite level within Rodgers's tactical system. This demonstrates clearly that he has his own thoughtful ideas and concepts about tactical development and refinement.
However, at this current stage, it's very difficult to provide a clear and definitive statement about the future, because our new management team hasn't yet completed the full transition and handover process.
They need adequate time to thoroughly sort through and assess the club's current situation and status. This includes everything from the first team's tactical system and framework to the coaching staff's working methods and operational approaches. All of these elements and factors need to be evaluated one by one in a systematic manner.
We cannot use the standards and criteria from the past to judge and determine future decisions, because the new leadership will naturally and inevitably have their own evaluation dimensions and benchmarks for success, as well as their own specific objectives and goals for the club moving forward.
In the world of football, the degree of compatibility and alignment between the coaching staff and the management structure is extremely important and crucial. If the previous foundation of cooperation and collaboration has undergone changes, as it clearly has in this case, then whether both parties will continue to work together going forward requires much more detailed and thorough communication between all involved.
What I can say with certainty is that Liverpool is currently positioned in a stage where we need to redefine and reestablish our identity and direction as a club. All positions and roles related to the team, including the entire coaching staff structure, could potentially be included within the new management's comprehensive evaluation scope and review process.
Right now, discussing either retention or departure would be far too premature and speculative. What we can clearly observe is that the club is going through a critical transition period. Stability and strong alignment with the new strategic planning framework will be the absolute core principles guiding all future decisions that are made.
As for the question of whether it will be Manager Rodgers who leads the team forward to achieve these goals and objectives—that's not something I personally can judge or determine. It will depend entirely on the final choice made by the new ownership team."
David Dein's tactful words were actually quite ambiguous and evasive in their nature. And in these kinds of major club decisions, when there is no clear affirmation of support, the absence itself functions as a form of negation.
After finishing reading through this entire series of connected news reports and articles, Julien was completely stunned. He never could have expected that after leaving to join the national team and play just two qualifying matches, he would return to find the club had undergone a complete transformation and revolution!
Very soon after, Julien called Gerrard back.
"Finished reading the news?" Gerrard's voice came through immediately, his anticipation was clear in his tone. "Complete management overhaul, the Horne ticket-selling scandal, and Rodgers's uncertain future with no clear support—right now things at Anfield are absolutely chaotic and in disarray."
Julien made a sound of acknowledgment. "I just finished going through everything. I genuinely didn't expect that so many significant things could happen in just over a week's time. It's all too sudden."
"The Saudis were extremely decisive in their response, though this aggressive approach does show they're serious about wanting to manage the team properly and professionally. As for the manager's position..." Gerrard paused meaningfully for a moment.
"There's word circulating that they might not necessarily keep Rodgers in his role. After all, all the old executives who previously supported and backed him are completely gone now.
I'm calling you specifically because I want to understand your attitude and position on this situation. You're currently the absolute core of this team, Julien. Whether it's the new management or the media outlets, everyone is watching and paying attention to your attitude and stance.
If you were able to make some kind of public statement expressing support for Rodgers, or even if you just mentioned hoping to maintain stability in the coaching staff, it would provide some real assistance and help to his position.
But if you don't have particularly strong feelings about it one way or another, and they really do end up changing managers, then we all need to have some kind of preparation for that scenario."
Julien remained silent for two full seconds, carefully considering his response.
Then he replied in a very calm voice, "Steven, I understand what you're asking me, and I know that you're thinking about what's best for the team. I genuinely appreciate that concern. But I need to be completely honest with you: I've never wanted to get involved in these kinds of matters and situations.
Who the management decides to hire, whether the coach stays or leaves, these are decisions that they should be making. I'm just a player. I don't understand and honestly don't want to understand all these complicated political intrigues and considerations.
If the new management believes they need to change the manager, then that's also their decision based on what they think is best for the team's long-term future and development.
For me personally, no matter who ends up sitting in that manager's chair, what I need to do remains exactly the same regardless. Train hard and properly, play hard and give maximum effort, put the ball into the opponent's goal, and help the team collect points and win matches. That's my fundamental responsibility and duty."
On the other end of the line, Gerrard let out a soft sigh. His tone carried more understanding and acceptance when he spoke again.
"I knew you would say something like that. That's always been who you are—you've always kept your sole focus on the pitch itself and never gotten involved in these off-field political matters.
I suppose I'm just watching the team go through all this management upheaval and I can't help worrying that it might end up affecting the mental state and performance levels of you and the rest of the squad on the pitch."
"You don't need to worry about that," Julien reassured him with confidence.
"No matter how much things change and shift off the pitch, our fundamental objective on it hasn't changed at all—win every single match that we're capable of winning. Even if there really is a coaching change and managerial transition, as long as the tactical approach and system can connect and transition smoothly, we'll be able to adapt to it quickly enough."
Gerrard's relieved laughter came through the phone speaker which was warmer and more relaxed now.
"You're absolutely right about that. Hearing you say this actually puts my mind much more at ease. As long as you can maintain this kind of clear focus and concentration, that's what matters most.
Don't let any of these external situations disturb your mentality or mess with your psychological state. If there are any significant new developments or information later, I'll make sure to keep you informed. For now, you just need to focus on preparing properly for the upcoming training sessions."
"Got it!" Julien responded with certainty.
Just as he had finished hanging up his call with Gerrard, another incoming call immediately appeared on his phone screen.
It was David Dein calling.
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