All out on 77 minutes

[Guest Pistonbroke]

Good to see Shearer (echoed by Lineker) being supportive of fans on MOTD.

 

Here's some coverage from Italy and Germany too.

 

http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Premier-League/06-02-2016/premier-tottenham-secondo-liverpool-rimontato-2-0-2-2-pari-guidolin-140572487414.shtml

 

http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/intligen/startseite/644658/artikel_fans-gehen-liverpool-kassiert-noch-zwei-tore.html

 

Lineker only agreed after his initial snigger and asking if the fans leaving had an affect on the result. 

[stringvest]

Today was a powerful demonstration that I was very proud to support and take part in but on the walk away from the ground it did occur to me that actions like this are not sustainable for us a loyal match going fans and it doesn't hurt the Owners financially.

 

I think a development on this is a total boycott of any/all snacks, drinks, programmes, merchandise etc inside and outside the Stadium on match days (basically anything with an Official Club stamp on it).  

 

If we can somehow get the masses to buy into this idea that will really start to hurt them and maybe hopefully have them start to re-think their current values when it comes to us as supporters.

 

They probably wouldn't even notice.  They will, however, be made very aware of the damaging PR.  That's what'll frighten them, not the fact they can't sell a few scouse pies.  They'll be terrified of the negative press any sustained protest will land them with.

[Paco]

I go to nearly every home game because I've built up the credits on my fancard.

 

There is no better way. If we don't go then some jabroni who doesn't give a fuck about the prices will just go in instead and where does that leave us? Walking out is a visible protest that can't be ignored and I don't consider it wasting my money when the club are looking to pilfer more if they get away with the price rise.

 

And I've got bad news for you, lots of our fans sing "who are ya" all the time and I'll leave people to draw their own conclusions about why they do it.

 

On matters like this you don't need to agree 100% with the method as long as you agree 100% with the message. If you don't then there's not much more to say.

alright then we dont sing who are ya to a man and we wish anyone who does would stop it because we re not just another club.

 

I agree with the message 100% as long as the message is we want reasonable ticket pricing for all fans. I agree that the club belongs to the people of liverpool and more should be done to make sure there are future generations of liverpudlians going to games. The club also belongs to people all over the world and as you said thousands of them would gladly take your seat but I think we have to be careful it doesnt become us and them.

[andyj]

Did you go and did you stay or walk out?

if id have been there and id paid to see a game id have stayed im not about to piss 25% of what ive paid they already would of had the cash so the only person i would be shafting is myself simple economics really id want to get every penny i could out of it

 

saying that  it dont mean i agree with ticket prices and i havent for along time  but at the same time im yet to see anyone put a better solution forward other than 20 quid a ticket and thats just living in la la land if your going to protest  do it in numbers before and after the game where it dont hit you in the pocket .....imagine 10 thousand outside the ground before and after the game blocking the streets etc etc that would get some press id say more than a walk out 

 

playing devils advocat here for 1 moment   but what happened if your boss said they wernt happy with what they pay you and wanted to pay you alot less so to get better value for there money? some may argue thats irelivent but the principle is the same  could also say nobody forces people to buy the tickets again a true statement 

 

football fans are a fickle bunch some will pay the price some wont  its human nature same thing happens in tesco's every week  you see people moan about the price but a week later that item as gone up again yet they pick it up and put it in the trolly done it myself many times you only have to look at the forum tonight  2 weeks ago shearer and lineker were the biggest cunts to walk the earth and this week because they agreed with what happened they are the best thing since sliced bread as fans we are about as consistent as our defence me included 

 

but the only thing i can defend FSG on is the fact they saved LFC  from H&G without them we would have gone bankrupt and we might not of had a club to sit here arguing the rights and wrongs of ticket prices...some have a short memory  

[Longview1982]

if id have been there and id paid to see a game id have stayed im not about to piss 25% of what ive paid they already would of had the cash so the only person i would be shafting is myself simple economics really id want to get every penny i could out of it

 

saying that  it dont mean i agree with ticket prices and i havent for along time  but at the same time im yet to see anyone put a better solution forward other than 20 quid a ticket and thats just living in la la land if your going to protest  do it in numbers before and after the game where it dont hit you in the pocket .....imagine 10 thousand outside the ground before and after the game blocking the streets etc etc that would get some press id say more than a walk out 

 

playing devils advocat here for 1 moment   but what happened if your boss said they wernt happy with what they pay you and wanted to pay you alot less so to get better value for there money? some may argue thats irelivent but the principle is the same  could also say nobody forces people to buy the tickets again a true statement 

 

football fans are a fickle bunch some will pay the price some wont  its human nature same thing happens in tesco's every week  you see people moan about the price but a week later that item as gone up again yet they pick it up and put it in the trolly done it myself many times you only have to look at the forum tonight  2 weeks ago shearer and lineker were the biggest cunts to walk the earth and this week because they agreed with what happened they are the best thing since sliced bread as fans we are about as consistent as our defence me included 

 

but the only thing i can defend FSG on is the fact they saved LFC  from H&G without them we would have gone bankrupt and we might not of had a club to sit here arguing the rights and wrongs of ticket prices...some have a short memory  

 

It's simple economics? The same thing happens in Tesco? You have the same emotional investment in a supermarket as you do in watching Liverpool FC, do you? It certainly explains the contents of your post.

 

Oh, and as has been said umpteen times during the past few years, Just because they're not being as shit or crooked as Hicks and Gillet doesn't mean we shouldn't hold FSG to account on their own actions, policies and decisions. 

[Dicko]

if id have been there and id paid to see a game id have stayed im not about to piss 25% of what ive paid they already would of had the cash so the only person i would be shafting is myself simple economics really id want to get every penny i could out of it

 

saying that  it dont mean i agree with ticket prices and i havent for along time  but at the same time im yet to see anyone put a better solution forward other than 20 quid a ticket and thats just living in la la land if your going to protest  do it in numbers before and after the game where it dont hit you in the pocket .....imagine 10 thousand outside the ground before and after the game blocking the streets etc etc that would get some press id say more than a walk out 

 

playing devils advocat here for 1 moment   but what happened if your boss said they wernt happy with what they pay you and wanted to pay you alot less so to get better value for there money? some may argue thats irelivent but the principle is the same  could also say nobody forces people to buy the tickets again a true statement 

 

football fans are a fickle bunch some will pay the price some wont  its human nature same thing happens in tesco's every week  you see people moan about the price but a week later that item as gone up again yet they pick it up and put it in the trolly done it myself many times you only have to look at the forum tonight  2 weeks ago shearer and lineker were the biggest cunts to walk the earth and this week because they agreed with what happened they are the best thing since sliced bread as fans we are about as consistent as our defence me included 

 

but the only thing i can defend FSG on is the fact they saved LFC  from H&G without them we would have gone bankrupt and we might not of had a club to sit here arguing the rights and wrongs of ticket prices...some have a short memory  

It's Havant & Waterlooville all over again.

[Delmar]

No, I grew up in South Wales. I wasn't able to go to my first game until I was 13. I didn't get to go to my second game until I was 19. I have never lived in Liverpool, the closest I've lived is Nantwich in Cheshire. I now live in Mansfield, it's a 250 mile round trip for every home game I go to. I can guarantee you this, and it doesn't make me better and it isn't a boast, but I'd still walk out no matter what my circumstances were. Local, OOT, overseas - everyone should feel solidarity with those affected the most.

 

I reckon this is a good post  Also, it needs to be repeated.

[andyj]

It's simple economics? The same thing happens in Tesco? You have the same emotional investment in a supermarket as you do in watching Liverpool FC, do you? It certainly explains the contents of your post.

 

Oh, and as has been said umpteen times during the past few years, Just because they're not being as shit or crooked as Hicks and Gillet doesn't mean we shouldn't hold FSG to account on their own actions, policies and decisions. 

i think you missed the point so i will point you in the right direction 

 

yes it is simple economics  you should value every  pound you earn not throw it away like 25% of a ticket that you spent your hard earned cash on then bitch you cant afford to pay the hike thats just hypocritical  only message that sends to FSG is hey they can afford to buy a these tickets then walk out hence why i say do it in a way it does not cost you.....that my view on it 

 

the tesco's part  was along the same lines we have all done the bitch about something 1 week  but if we really want it we will pay for it the next week...... are you telling me that you have never done that ? same applies to a ticket and FSG know that people will pay even if its not us    

 

where did i say that  FSG shouldnt be held accountable  for what they do i just said i can only defend them on 1 front 

[Anubis]

I'm impressed that you are as prudent with capital letters and your punctuation as you are with your money.

[andyj]

I'm impressed that you are as prudent with capital letters and your punctuation as you are with your money.

cant be arsed to much drink and to late to worry about :) 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

if id have been there and id paid to see a game id have stayed im not about to piss 25% of what ive paid they already would of had the cash so the only person i would be shafting is myself simple economics really id want to get every penny i could out of it

 

saying that  it dont mean i agree with ticket prices and i havent for along time  but at the same time im yet to see anyone put a better solution forward other than 20 quid a ticket and thats just living in la la land if your going to protest  do it in numbers before and after the game where it dont hit you in the pocket .....imagine 10 thousand outside the ground before and after the game blocking the streets etc etc that would get some press id say more than a walk out 

 

 

 

Do you think?

 

The blocking of some of the least-loved residential streets in an impoverished suburb of a provincial city, at a time when those streets would be blocked by fans anyway, would get the message of the protest carried by the BBC, Sky, national newspapers, papers in Spain, Italy, Germany, etc?

 

Do you really think that?

[AngryOfTuebrook]

The other thing we should all join in with is this idea that Spirit of Shankly and Spion Kop 1906 have got to tweet and email the sponsors, to let them know we're not happy with FSG's pricing policies.

 

This is likely to be a sore point with FSG.  If the sponsors (or "official partners") think that there's something not quite right with the "brand" they are buying in to, then they will get nervous; and if they get nervous, FSG will get very nervous.

 

[andyj]

Do you think?

 

The blocking of some of the least-loved residential streets in an impoverished suburb of a provincial city, at a time when those streets would be blocked by fans anyway, would get the message of the protest carried by the BBC, Sky, national newspapers, papers in Spain, Italy, Germany, etc?

 

Do you really think that?

i  see people shooting ideas down but not putting others forward  FSG  in effect got a free 200k today by people walking out early dont you think that defeats the objective here ? i was basing that thought on what others have done over the years but it can be affective 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

i  see people shooting ideas down but not putting others forward  FSG  in effect got a free 200k today by people walking out early dont you think that defeats the objective here ? i was basing that thought on what others have done over the years but it can be affective 

We've already got two good ideas put forward.

 

The walk-out and the targeting of the sponsors will hit FSG where it hurts them - right in the brand!

 

Anyway, before I shoot off to bed, I should just clarify that that last post wasn't meant to be as dickish as it sounds.  Booze and tiredness.  All is booze and tiredness.

 

Night!

[Tyler Durden]

i see people shooting ideas down but not putting others forward FSG in effect got a free 200k today by people walking out early dont you think that defeats the objective here ? i was basing that thought on what others have done over the years but it can be affective

The protesting of the directors box and all that did fuck all in terms of when H&G were about it was the more creative ideas like the campaign against RBS/banks that caused problems for them.

 

The protest was organised in a few days and 10,000 took part plus it was all over the national and some international media, I'm afraid most people would beg to differ with you that it wasn't effective.

 

Sitting on the side lines sniping as if people are foolish for walking out is a joke to be honest, it represented a visual protest inside the ground that will be seen world wide yet you think blocking a few derelict roads outside the ground (which is a ridiculous idea due to the trouble it will cause when fans are trying to get home plus the associated danger with trying to block people in) will be more effective? I'm glad your not having an input.

 

With any luck the publicity this has gained will kick start something nationwide and people like you might be a bit more proactive rather then fucking moaning about it.

[smicer07]

Haha!

 

We're currently 9th in the league with a minus goal difference. We're one of, if not the lowest scoring Liverpool side in history. By the time Firmino scored today it was our first goal in 250 odd minutes of football. We can't defend. Our defensive record is shit. Our goalkeeper is getting worse by the week. Of the last 26 goals we've conceded, 21 of them have come from the opponents first shot on target in the game.

 

Sunderland had 2 shots on target today and scored 2 goals.

 

And you're blaming the fans for a shit result?!

 

Give your head a fucking wobble.

So because we're shit it's ok to walk out on the team? If we were top of the league do you think these protests would be happening? I don't.

 

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Denny Crane]

The solidarity is coming from lots of football supporters not just Reds. Some good comment apart from the ineffective as it was very effective for a plan put together in a handful of days.

 

Liverpool Football365

 

“People should be careful what they wish for…People should make their own decisions but I feel absolutely we have made the right decision and have everyone’s best interests at heart. I respect everyone’s right to do what they think is right but for every fan thinking about that I would say ‘Have a look at the facts’. If people want to leave after 77 minutes that is disappointing but it shouldn’t be because they feel the prices are wrong as there is something for everyone in there” – Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre.

 

It’s funny how “Be careful what you wish for” is usually a phrase uttered by those in a position of influence or power. Ayre’s statement is deeply patronising – ‘You ignorami couldn’t possibly understand the decisions we’ve made’ – but there is a far more damaging element to his words: threat. You wouldn’t like these owners when they’re angry.

 

The alleged crime of Liverpool fans was to plan a walkout in the 77th minute of their home game against Sunderland, in protest against proposed ticket prices in Anfield’s new main stand. Some supporters will see prices decrease, other freeze and more still increase. It shouldn’t need repeating, but these are fans already pushed to their economic limit.

 

Walk out they did. Thousands of empty spaces in the Kop, videos of chanting supporters shared by thousands of people. “Enough is enough,” supporters chanted. “You greedy bastards, enough is enough.” One hopes they understand the irony of their words. In the boardrooms of elite sports companies, no revenue is ‘too much’. This is an all-you-can-charge buffet. Bring your own knife and fork.

 

It is difficult to overstate the relative futility of Liverpool’s move. Liverpool currently make £35m from ticket sales. A freeze across the board (with added capacity) would take that revenue to £37m, but the club wanted £39m. In 2013/14 – without the added riches of the new broadcasting deal – Liverpool earned £97.5m from that source alone.

 

One would have more empathy for Ayre if he had at least been honest rather than turning on the bulls**t tap, the default reaction in football’s corridors of power.

 

“You know what, you got us,” Ayre could – but never would – have said. “This new stand is expensive, and we figured this was the perfect way to bleed a few more quid out of a set of supporters whose lives are now irrevocably entwined with their club. These are Liverpool fans. They’ll come crawling back.”

 

Yet honesty seems in short supply from Liverpool’s chief executive. “It’s not about jacking up prices to pay for it, it’s about giving our fans fair value within football and within our facilities,” Ayre said in December 2014. “On ticket prices, the building of this and construction of this doesn’t change anything.”

 

Ayre’s ‘You don’t know how good you’ve got it’ line is pure emotional blackmail. Supporters asked to pay more for their tickets should not just take the financial punch in the face, but offer their sincerest thanks for the pain inflicted.

 

This is, of course, where the whole ‘fan as customer’ concept falls down. In any other industry, customers would not need to protest at such rabid greed, but instead choose a different product. Football clubs are different. Liverpool spent its first 100 years acting as a social institution, creating a loyalty from supporters that would not die. Like English football itself, it has spent the 24 years since largely exploiting that loyalty.

 

There is an inevitability to developments at Anfield. This week Premier League clubs voted down proposals for a £30 cap on away tickets, and fans continue to be inconvenienced by changes in match times for television scheduling. The only thing that seems to change is the height from which supporters are shat on from. In a game of give and take, they seem to be the only ones giving.

 

There is a tendency to dismiss Saturday’s protests as ineffective, and there is logic in that view. Liverpool will be confident that behind every dissenter is a queue of at least two people, cash in hand ready to fill the space. Realistically, Premier League clubs are so driven by gluttony that only regulatory measures will place a ceiling on ticket prices. Even then, large swathes of the game’s traditional audience can afford to watch only from their armchairs.

 

Yet ‘ineffective’ is not a synonym for ‘meaningless’. A mass walkout may not hit Liverpool’s owners in their pockets, but it at least sends a message of unrest. The ability of long-time supporters to buy match tickets may not worry the club’s hierarchy, but bad PR does. Take this development lying down, and Liverpool will only take it as carte blanche to implement similar measures.

 

Perhaps walking out will make a difference, perhaps it won’t; that’s beside the point. This is about reminding Ayre, John Henry and FSG that long after they, the players and the manager are gone, only the supporters will remain. When Anfield’s new main stand has gathered moss and weathered in the rain, still the fans will sing. Protest is not just a response for revolutionaries and anarchists, but from those who have united to say “no more”.

 

Liverpool’s situation is replicated to lesser and greater degrees all over the country, so fans as a whole must stick together. Those who have become entrenched in tribal obsession, remember: In this battle of ‘us vs them’, supporters of Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool are all on the same side.

 

So do not mock those who preferred to stay in their seats at Anfield. Do not scold others that left for their alleged disloyalty. Rather than scoffing at empty seats in other grounds, understand the explanation. Each one is a lurid plastic shrine to the greed of modern sport.

 

Most of all, don’t stop fighting the fight. The moment that football supporters lie resigned to their fate, the battle is lost. Defeat is not the worst of failures. The real failure is not to have tried

 

http://www.football365.com/news/liverpool-the-importance-of-enough-is-enough

[Denny Crane]

So because we're shit it's ok to walk out on the team? If we were top of the league do you think these protests would be happening? I don't.

 

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

If we were regularly top of the league and on the way to a Champions League final the greedy cunts would be putting the price up even more.

[Sputnik1]

i  see people shooting ideas down but not putting others forward  FSG  in effect got a free 200k today by people walking out early dont you think that defeats the objective here ? i was basing that thought on what others have done over the years but it can be affective 

 

How did they get any money free? They had that money if the fans stayed or if they left. I've seen us capitulate even when everyone has stayed, was that our fault too?

 

There's no way that a protest before or after gets the same coverage as we got today. All I've seen is support for this from lots of rival fans and positive comments from a lot in the media.

 

Negative PR will cost them more than your imagined £200k, a lot more if they continue to milk the fans. 

[Paulie Dangerously]

This is going to turn into a local v oooter war. I can see it now, gangs lads in jester hats giving it the bigguns and throwing club shop bags full of hot dogs at locals

[jimmycase]

This is going to turn into a local v oooter war. I can see it now, gangs lads in jester hats giving it the bigguns and throwing club shop bags full of hot dogs at locals

 

Is it? There's video footage from outside the Kop yesterday (the black flags present so its not the two cowboys footage) of fans singing you greedy bastards, get out of our club.

 

Is this where we're going again, on the road to try and drive out FSG now?

[Lascaille]

A full boycott of official merchandise has to be essential - buy merch from the stalls outside the ground or in the city centre.

 

Stop buying the shirt & wear your old Fowler one from the 90's (if you're my age, Kenny or Barnes if you're old enough to remember a league win).

 

It has to be things FSG will notice disrupting their plans - the walk out was brilliant as it makes their claims of "Uniquely Anfield" sound ridiculous.

 

Bring refs whistles to the game, 5,000 people ask blowing them would make it impossible for the game to carry on, then walk out. Every week. This really is more important than the football itself because one day none of us will be able to go & those who can will do so in quiet boredom.

 

So you lose 25% of the money you spent on a ticket. So what? Where does the other 75% go? Why should it be more expensive than say the cinema? Two hours to sit & watch albeit in larger numbers. They exploit the loyalty & deep togetherness of the supporters to justify charging huge money which is now insignificant compared with the rest of the income, only to make millionaires out of their high up staff, some lucky teenagers who can kick a ball & viperous agents.

 

This is why I hate football but am stuck with it through loyalty & tradition, & if there is anything that can be done to change it for the better you can count me in.

[Sputnik1]

This is going to turn into a local v oooter war. I can see it now, gangs lads in jester hats giving it the bigguns and throwing club shop bags full of hot dogs at locals

 

I don't think many fans could afford a ticket and a hot dog. I've not eaten at Anfield for ten years.

[dave u]

i  see people shooting ideas down but not putting others forward  FSG  in effect got a free 200k today by people walking out early dont you think that defeats the objective here ? i was basing that thought on what others have done over the years but it can be affective 

 

Thats just complete fucking nonsense.

[Brownie]

So because we're shit it's ok to walk out on the team? If we were top of the league do you think these protests would be happening? I don't.

 

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

The prices would be even higher in that case so yes, I do think it would still happen. I can only speak for myself here but we could be 10 points clear at the top and i'd join in with a protest about ticket prices. The prices are a disgrace and the only way to do something about it is to take action ourselves as football fans.

 

No-one is going to do it for us, we have to grab the situation by its balls and do something about it.

 

Football simply cannot function without the paying public. We have the opportunity to shape the game any way we want but to be frank (and apologies for being so blunt), people like you are holding us back with your apathy and brain-washed attitude.

 

EDIT - I stopped going last year anyway so its moot for me but trust me i'd be walking out.