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Thompson: Fan representation on the board is important

Phil Thompson has called for fan representation to be part of the board as a way of the club winning back their trust.

 

Liverpool went through one of its most testing weeks of the modern era after the news emerged that they were one of 12 clubs who had signed up for the rebel European Super League.

 

The fact that owner John Henry had gone ahead and put Liverpool’s name in that group without any consultation with the manager or playing squad was widely and correctly viewed as a disgraceful act.

 

And of course the fans, so often the forgotten factor when it comes to matters like this were rightly up in arms and made their feelings known loud and clear.

 

After seeing the backlash, the six English clubs knew they had to make a quick retreat and own up to their monumental mistake.

 

There is understandably lingering resentment from the Reds fans to FSG and the major question after this debacle is what exactly happens next.

 

As a lifelong Red, Phil Thompson has seen the greatest and toughest of times and therefore is well placed to say what can be done moving forward to prevent the same thing from happening again.

 

The Daily Star reported the club great as saying:

 

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“I've seen and witnessed a lot in football - but this last week has been astonishing.

 

"Wealthy and intelligent men have made a right pigs ear out of this.

 

“What you would like to see is fans on the board.

 

“Somebody at least to share ideas and put them forward. If just one person had asked the Spirit of Shankly supporters group, it would have been a non-starter straight away. 

 

“It's the same with the other clubs. They understand the history and heritage, which a lot of owners don't.”

 

Thompson gave praise to Henry for his video apology to the key stakeholders of the club, but admitted it was long and difficult road back to win the trust of the loyal fanbase.

 

“Henry was the first one to come out, even though Liverpool were one of the last to pull out of the Super League - obviously Chelsea and City did first.

 

“Will it be enough? Not for now. I think they'll have to earn the trust again of supporters. 

 

“I thought it was a wonderful apology, but still more has to be done."

 

In the aftermath, there has been loud calls for new owners to take over the club, but in this current uncertain global landscape, that is easier said than done.

 

The trophy laden former club captain also wanted to highlight the good that FSG has done in their 10-year tenure.

 

"We have to work together because Liverpool's owners, believe it or not, have been very good.

 

“Since they came in we've played two Champions League finals back-to-back, winning one. We've also won the Premier League after 30 years and seen some great players. We've been run in a proper manner.”

 

 

 

 

Edited by TLW

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Is fucking right, Thommo.

 

If we put aside partisan differences with both Manc clubs and protested, boycotted merchandise and conditioned May 7th votes on guarantees,we could bring these absentee cunts to their knees.

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6 hours ago, aws said:

If it ever happened it would need to be someone who commanded respect rather than a fan to be patronised  and ignored. 

I agree. A fan,or fan who is chairman of a supporters association just wouldnt be treated with any respect. Businessmen dont need to allow the person to have an input on how the clubs money is spent but they would be useful to gauge how the club is perceived at least.

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13 minutes ago, aRdja said:

I don’t see how having one fan on the board would’ve stopped us from going ahead with the ESL decision. 

Were the board even consulted on this decision? 

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What pissed me off most about the ESL was that, having marketed the Club as a community, family, This Means More, 12th Man etc, the owners didn't consult the fans before committing to the failed plan. They are not fools or bad business people and so the only conclusion is that it didn't matter what the fans had to say.

 

I used to be on the national committee of the FSA and met with the "football authorities" on many occasions. For the most part they paid lip service to the consultation process; our presence enabled them to say they had consulted fans. However, there were a number of occasions when we were able to influence decisions and I would be in favour of fan representation on the Board even if it will likely turn into a very frustrating role.

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3 hours ago, Barnesey said:

What pissed me off most about the ESL was that, having marketed the Club as a community, family, This Means More, 12th Man etc, the owners didn't consult the fans before committing to the failed plan. They are not fools or bad business people and so the only conclusion is that it didn't matter what the fans had to say.

 

I used to be on the national committee of the FSA and met with the "football authorities" on many occasions. For the most part they paid lip service to the consultation process; our presence enabled them to say they had consulted fans. However, there were a number of occasions when we were able to influence decisions and I would be in favour of fan representation on the Board even if it will likely turn into a very frustrating role.

does it need a seat on the board? They have Tony Barrett in a fan liaison role - of course he could reach out to fans, but actually they probably just need to ask him. The bottom line is they just don't give a fuck. If you believe what they leaked to the press last week, the CEO didn't even know. Klopp didn't know and was on record of being against it. I refer to my original point - they don't give a fuck.

 

They sit in Boston and know little or nothing about the club, fans and city, all their decision are make cold based on what benefits them most. A seat on the board? Well that would be someone giving up their time to talk to the people in Chapel Street who appear as on the outside of the real decisions as the rest of us. 

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What happened to that fans representative thing they did quite a while ago, where there was supposed to be a disabled rep, an overseas rep and stuff along those lines who were meant to have meetings with the club. Did that just stop? Or did it never get off the ground?

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