Spirit of Shankly Union's part in all this.....

[LUCASzade]

The Spirit of Shankly Union has been basically powerless in all of this ownership mess despite their rising popularity.

 

Granted, they have arranged a few marches/protests and they have also given some clever interviews to the media and such but in all honesty where can they go from here?

 

The proposed new owners will not consult with SoS and why should they, its their money going into the club.

 

My questions is:

 

If the new owners dont meet with SoS and do not divulge some of the information that SoS clearly 'demand' answers to, will they start protests and marches against them because I fear that in the long run, SoS will ultimately end up doing more harm than good.

[R2 D2]

The Spirit of Shankly Union has been basically powerless in all of this ownership mess despite their rising popularity.

 

Granted, they have arranged a few marches/protests and they have also given some clever interviews to the media and such but in all honesty where can they go from here?

 

The proposed new owners will not consult with SoS and why should they, its their money going into the club.

 

My questions is:

 

If the new owners dont meet with SoS and do not divulge some of the information that SoS clearly 'demand' answers to, will they start protests and marches against them because I fear that in the long run, SoS will ultimately end up doing more harm than good.

 

I also fear that SOS could possibly do more harm than good, by being unreasonable. At the same time though it's not unreasonable of SOS love them or hate or for an independant and impartial fan group to have ongoing dialogue with the clubs owners,

[njackets]

The Spirit of Shankly Union has been basically powerless in all of this ownership mess despite their rising popularity.

 

Granted, they have arranged a few marches/protests and they have also given some clever interviews to the media and such but in all honesty where can they go from here?

 

The proposed new owners will not consult with SoS and why should they, its their money going into the club.

 

My questions is:

 

If the new owners dont meet with SoS and do not divulge some of the information that SoS clearly 'demand' answers to, will they start protests and marches against them because I fear that in the long run, SoS will ultimately end up doing more harm than good.

 

You're whole post is based on guess work!

[TommyW]

quiet down you fools

[23CARRAGOLD]

Here we go, the first calls for an IRA like disbandment.

 

Why would any new owners not want to speak to a Supporters Group? If they didn't want to speak to them it would make me nervous as to their intentions thats for sure. If they had nothing to hide I wouldn't see the harm in speaking to SOS on their own terms.

[stringvest]

SoS have undoubedly had some success in rallying some of the fanbase, but for every positive action, there's been something negative emanating from the group. Calling the board members who have actually stood up to H&G 'cunts' and all sorts is I'm afraid indicative of the mentality and it's one of the main reasons why I could never buy into it as an organisation, and certainly would not want them to represent me as a supporter.

[LUCASzade]

Here we go, the first calls for an IRA like disbandment.

 

Why would any new owners not want to speak to a Supporters Group? If they didn't want to speak to them it would make me nervous as to their intentions thats for sure. If they had nothing to hide I wouldn't see the harm in speaking to SOS on their own terms.

 

My point is not one of disbandment at all.

 

My understanding is that George Gillett has met with SoS during his tenure, as has Christian Purslow. Unless I am mistaken, despite being positive steps, nothing good has come of either of these meetings apart from interesting meeting minutes.

 

A supporters group demanding answers from potential new owners before they have even bought the club can only do harm IMO

[ritchie]

As supporters we have to hold them to account, and not let them walk all over us like the Yanks initially did.

[Graham Smith]

SoS have undoubedly had some success in rallying some of the fanbase, but for every positive action, there's been something negative emanating from the group. Calling the board members who have actually stood up to H&G 'cunts' and all sorts is I'm afraid indicative of the mentality and it's one of the main reasons why I could never buy into it as an organisation, and certainly would not want them to represent me as a supporter.

 

Can I be pointed at the "cunt" comments please by the Union (as opposed to individual members posting on sites etc).

 

Cheers.

[23CARRAGOLD]

My point is not one of disbandment at all.

 

My understanding is that George Gillett has met with SoS during his tenure, as has Christian Purslow. Unless I am mistaken, despite being positive steps, nothing good has come of either of these meetings apart from interesting meeting minutes.

 

A supporters group demanding answers from potential new owners before they have even bought the club can only do harm IMO

 

Potential new owners being the operative word at the moment. If, they were to take over I would see nothing wrong with having an informal chat about things with SOS. SOS represent a part of the Liverpool fan base and if new owners have good intentions and care about their 'investment' then wheres the problem with entering healthy dialogue with their consumers?

 

I strongly believe we need to have representation to any potential new owners and have a link to the owners from the fans. I dont mean board representation, I just mean a direct link. Maybe the new owners can have someone who is a direct link and is there to address such groups so they can report back to us.

 

They will need some sort of direct dialogue with us, so I hope SOS is the way they go.

[Jules Winnfield]

i like the idea of a fans group and agree with them but it could end up with reasons for anarchy as some of them are simply there for the ride and have no idea how club is run and certainly not how liverpool is currently being run.

 

for the majority though - fair play. we are no walkovers.

[Original202]

SoS have undoubedly had some success in rallying some of the fanbase, but for every positive action, there's been something negative emanating from the group. Calling the board members who have actually stood up to H&G 'cunts' and all sorts is I'm afraid indicative of the mentality and it's one of the main reasons why I could never buy into it as an organisation, and certainly would not want them to represent me as a supporter.

 

Agree with your overall point, though as Graham says I don't recall them labeling anyone a cunt - not in so many words anyway.

 

The personal vendetta against Purslow lost them a lot of credibility in my eyes and I think they were equally unfair on Broughton just because he refused to speak to them. Both minor issues in the grand scheme of things which didn't need a fuss over.

[stringvest]

Can I be pointed at the "cunt" comments please by the Union (as opposed to individual members posting on sites etc).

 

Cheers.

 

I'm sure the union didn't call them 'cunts' in any official statement, because that would be silly. Plenty of individual members have been doing it with regularity Graham, as I'm sure you're aware. Your churlish post earlier made it obvious that you were trying to downplay Broughton's, (let alone Ayre's and Purslow's ) efforts in bringing this poisonous tenureship to a conclusion.

 

I find it small-minded, chippy, and not a little ungracious.

[Graham Smith]

i like the idea of a fans group and agree with them but it could end up with reasons for anarchy as some of them are simply there for the ride and have no idea how club is run and certainly not how liverpool is currently being run.

 

for the majority though - fair play. we are no walkovers.

 

Can you name the SOS Committee members just there for the ride - you've identified them clearly presumably.

 

Cheers.

[Graham Smith]

I'm sure the union didn't call them 'cunts' in any official statement, because that would be silly. Plenty of individual members have been doing it with regularity Graham, as I'm sure you're aware. Your churlish post earlier made it obvious that you were trying to downplay Broughton's, (let alone Ayre's and Purslow's ) efforts in bringing this poisonous tenureship to a conclusion.

 

I find it small-minded, chippy, and not a little ungracious.

 

So the Union hasn't called anyone a "cunt" then. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

The comment about Purslow and Broughton is spot on - the Club has been sold in the midst of a legal dispute and in a fire sale (with RBS pulling the plug pending it seems).

 

We just have no idea of the desperation relating to the sale or the outcome of the new owners and until we do we can't congratualte anyone. Not churlish or chippy just unfortunately where Purslow and Broughton found themselves through no fault of Broughton to be fair.

 

Same point to be made about the Union too maybe (and other non-Union people on this site)? It banged on and predicted pretty much everything about our tailspin over the last two and a half years, generally well in advance of it happening.

[lifetime fan]

Talk is cheap, lets see the actions of the new owners hey?

[stringvest]

So the Union hasn't called anyone a "cunt" then. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

The comment about Purslow and Broughton is spot on - the Club has been sold in the midst of a legal dispute and in a fire sale (with RBS pulling the plug pending it seems).

 

We just have no idea of the desperation relating to the sale or the outcome of the new owners and until we do we can't congratualte anyone. Not churlish or chippy just unfortunately where Purslow and Broughton found themselves through no fault of Broughton to be fair.

 

Same point to be made about the Union too maybe (and other non-Union people on this site)? It banged on and predicted pretty much everything about our tailspin over the last two and a half years, generally well in advance of it happening.

 

The bids came in recently precisely because the prospective owners and the rest of the world knew that H&G would be in no position to negotiate. If you're having a pop at Broughton for not being able to persuade someone to pay £500 million for an asset they knew they'd be able to get for £300 million, then okaaaaay.

 

It was surely always going to be like this once it was clear there was no easy refinance option for the two owners. The pressure on them has been exacerbated massively by Ayres and Purslow refusing to side with the owners they were apparently employed by, blocking refinancing and outvoting them on this sale. The fact is that Barcap, Broughton and RBS have positioned the whole process, from initial discussions, to the review of a business plan, through DD, and providing support for the construction of the bid, without the approval of H&G. They have timed the announcement of the bids, and the acceptance of the US bid, to make it very difficult (if not impossible) for the existing owners to prevent it's successful conclusion.

 

As I say, you can attempt to downplay it, but you can't deny they've delivered.

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

.

 

Your user name is fucking shite.

[WrongIslander]

SOS have done a lot of good whether I like them or not. If we are being fair they did not show the same apathy a lot of people did over the direction the club was going and for that I thank them.

 

I don't believe SOS have demanded anything, nor are they in a position to do so. I would assume that they will ask to speak to the owners or more likely a representative working on their behalf and they may or may not be granted an audience. If they arn't that hardly makes me "nervous" but my feeling is they will be more than happy to sit down with the fans as that's their style and they seemingly have nothing to hide.

 

As usual reactionary nonsense is overtaking good informed judgement and it's once again backed up by pathetic name calling.

 

To show how "harmless" SOS have been, my biggest problem with them was an action they undertook which they believed (wrongly in my opinion) was best for the club. They started the "singing section". It doesn't sound like a big deal but by taking the "singers" from all round the ground and inviting them to one section all they did was dilute the chance that chants would start naturally and sweep through the stadium and instead ended up with something akin to a bloke with a microphone telling everyone when and where to sing. Not our way really is it?

[WrongIslander]

Your user name is fucking shite.

 

"Lucas Aid" would have been brilliant, alas he missed the boat.

[Pidge]

The below quote has annoyed me, despite all that has gone down in the last 24 hours. I don't want to see them use the evident threat that we - as a collective of fans - can hold to try and leverage more political power.

 

"We need to rid the club of Gillett and Hicks," James McKenna, who helps run Spirit of Shankly, told BBC Sport.

 

"It does not matter where they come from as long as they understand Liverpool Football Club. That was the problem with Gillett and Hick, they never really got Liverpool.

 

"We have not been involved in discussions with the potential new owners about fans ownership but hope to be involved. The supporters are very angry and believe that any new owners should listen to our views."

 

BBC Sport - Football - Liverpool to be bought by Boston Red Sox owners

[LUCASzade]

What a pointless thread, there's a few new posters on here who talk some absolute shite.

 

.....and some old ones aswell:

 

Your user name is fucking shite.

[WrongIslander]

The below quote has annoyed me, despite all that has gone down in the last 24 hours. I don't want to see them use the evident threat that we - as a collective of fans - can hold to try and leverage more political power.

 

 

 

BBC Sport - Football - Liverpool to be bought by Boston Red Sox owners

 

It's things exactly like this which is why I don't like SOS.

[LUCASzade]

It's things exactly like this which is why I don't like SOS.

 

and it is also more than liklely the reason that SoS have not got anywhere near as many funders/members that they thought they might

[TheHitman]

My point is not one of disbandment at all.

 

My understanding is that George Gillett has met with SoS during his tenure, as has Christian Purslow. Unless I am mistaken, despite being positive steps, nothing good has come of either of these meetings apart from interesting meeting minutes.

 

A supporters group demanding answers from potential new owners before they have even bought the club can only do harm IMO

 

So you don't think an organisation who has the fans interest as its core goal should find out some vital facts.

 

How are they planning to finance in the long term ?

 

What their policy on ticket prices for fans are ?

 

Will they look to rebuild the stadium or try and move elsewhere what their view on groundshare is will they ballot the fans on such issues etc etc.

 

If we are lead to believe they are genuine and want to liaise the fans what do they have to hide.