Spirit of Shankly continues to fight for Liverpool FC fans

[StevieH]

Spirit of Shankly continue to fight for Liverpool FC fans - News - Liverpool FC - Liverpool Echo

 

Liverpool FC Supporters Union Spirit of Shankly flag on the Kop at Anfield 300

 

THE war which prompted its formation may have been won but Spirit of Shankly continues to fight the good fight for Liverpool supporters.

 

That was underlined on Christmas Eve when the supporters’ union urged the club to ask Blackpool to bring forward the time of the scheduled noon pitch inspection for yesterday’s doomed clash at Bloomfield Road.

 

Thankfully, the message seems to have come through with the 10am peek under the covers confirming the inevitable and saving fans a wasted journey and unnecessary expense.

 

Anyone who thought SOS would drift into obscurity after October’s momentous High Court verdict ended the reign of Tom Hicks and George Gillett was mistaken.

 

 

The collective desire to get rid of the wretched American double act may have been the catalyst for the union’s formation when 350 fans packed into The Sandon in Anfield in January 2008, but there was always a lot more to their work than simply protesting for regime change.

 

SOS are about supporters standing together to ensure their voice is heard as opposed to being abused or ignored as they were under Hicks and Gillett.

 

It’s about holding those in charge to account for their actions and trying to improve the experience of following their beloved Reds. The battle to do that goes on.

 

“For those supporters who campaigned long and hard to get rid of Hicks and Gillett to finally see that come to fruition this year was special,” said SOS spokesman Jay McKenna.

 

“With them gone we were finally able to move on and start talking about football again. To be able to put all that behind us was a massive step for Liverpool supporters and for Liverpool Football Club itself.

 

“A lot of why we were formed was down to Hicks and Gillett. We began looking at the ownership of the club but then saw a lot more issues.

 

“We represent fans on issues of ticketing and travel – running coaches to improve the standard and value for supporters.

“We also campaign to ensure the Anfield community is involved. You have to look after the local area but Anfield as an area has been left to fall into neglect and we want to address that.”

 

Liverpool FC Supporters Union Spirit of Shankly flag on the Kop at Anfield 300

 

Initial discussions with new principal owner John W Henry and Fenway Sports Group have been positive.

 

The Boston Red Sox chief and Reds chairman Tom Werner vowed to listen to fans and so far have been true to their word.

 

Henry even paid tribute to the role the union played in forcing out Hicks and Gillett with their protests and marches ensuring the pressure on them never dwindled.

“If it wasn’t for yourselves and supporters doing what you have, we wouldn’t be here now,” Henry said.

 

 

 

SOS hope this is the start of a new era of co-operation between owners and supporters.

 

“When you are paying vast sums of money to follow your team everywhere then you deserve to have your voice heard,” McKenna said. “Under Hicks and Gillett we were paying for them to have the club and supporters cash was being used to pay the interest on the debt but we didn’t have a say. As a result supporters stood up and fought back.

 

“SOS don’t want a fractious relationship with the club – we just want to work together with everyone pulling in the same direction for the benefit of the football club.

 

“The new owners have done well so far and it was positive that they met with us. They have certainly learned from the mistakes made by Hicks and Gillett.

 

“They haven’t burdened the club with debt. They have listened and taken every opportunity to engage with supporters. There have been no false promises.”

 

Since October, SOS’s membership has swelled to 10,000 and new branches have recently opened up in New York and Finland.

One of the major issues heading into 2011 surrounds the stadium. Should the Reds redevelop Anfield or resurrect plans to build a new ground in Stanley Park?

 

SOS have an open mind but insist sharing with Everton is a non-starter.

 

“People are joining the union all the time and it’s growing because fans realise now we have a genuine voice within the club and our views are heard – that’s something you can’t put a price on,” McKenna added.

 

Liverpool FC Supporters Union Spirit of Shankly flag on the Kop at Anfield 300

 

“It’s not just a Liverpool thing. We’ve got members all over the world who realise this is a way to be heard.

 

“Going forward the stadium is a big deal and supporters certainly deserve to have a say on what happens. After all it’s us who will be filling it.

 

“When we’ve taken a vote at meetings in the past it’s been overwhelmingly against a ground share and it was pleasing to hear the owners recently say ‘if the fans don’t want it that’s fine’.

 

“In terms of staying at Anfield or moving to a new ground, we just want to see a plan and be presented with exactly what the options are. Then we’ll be able to make a properly informed decision.”

 

 

 

In the longer term the ultimate goal remains supporter ownership of the club.

Last summer SOS formed a partnership with fellow fans group Share Liverpool to work together to pursue that ambitious goal.

A realistic starting point would be convincing Henry to sell a small stake to supporters in return for fan representation at boardroom level.

 

“The utopia is for supporters to own their club,” McKenna said. “We know it’s unrealistic to think that overnight you could buy 100% but fans would like a stake and a fan on the board.

 

“SOS and Share Liverpool are doing a lot of work on supporter ownership. We want to push forward plans for that in the next five to 10 years. In the meantime we’re here to deal with supporter issues.

 

“The new owners know our ideas and what we want. At the moment they are still in a settling in period and most thoughts are rightly focused on the football side of things.

 

“But we hope to speak to them in more detail over the coming months. If a stake was up for grabs people would be queuing around the block to own part of the club they love so dearly.”

 

Tomorrow: Rogan Taylor on why he believes 2011 could be a momentous year for Share Liverpool.

 

 

Read More Spirit of Shankly continue to fight for Liverpool FC fans - News - Liverpool FC - Liverpool Echo

[Horus]

Thank god Blackpool moved the pitch inspection, otherwise SOS would have got really angry about it and then had an EGM in 3 months time.

 

Tomorrow: Rogan Taylor on why he believes he should have his swarthy palms greased, just for being Rogan Taylor.

[Antynwa]

What if our owners are proper boss and we win everything? Are SOS gonna pursue fan ownership?

[Durango]

What if our owners are proper boss and we win everything? Are SOS gonna pursue fan ownership?

 

What if the owners are proper shite and we win nothing?

[Joe Le Taxi]

What if our owners are proper boss and we win everything? Are SOS gonna pursue fan ownership?

 

Have you learnt nothing from the past regime?

[Faustus]

What if my uncle had balls?

[PaulMcC]

What the fuck is your problem, Ant?

[Fugitive]

What if someone had not made a blag story up about the Baby Jesus... We would have no fucking presents.

[Gav]

hahaha a innocuous comment and all hell is gonna break loose again...some of you boys really need to remove the sticks from your arses

[Red_or_Dead]

Fan representation on the board won't work. Look how much everyone argues now. How the hell could someone be 'chosen' to do that job? They'd still have people criticising what they do, that they don't represent 'them', etc.

 

BTW I'm an SOS member, so I'm not anti-SOS in the slightest.

[Chinandeler Bong]

What if our owners are proper boss and we win everything? Are SOS gonna pursue fan ownership?

 

What an incredibly shortsighted question to ask.

[andyj]

What if our owners are proper boss and we win everything? Are SOS gonna pursue fan ownership?

 

valid question i think and one that would be nice to have an answer to

 

if NESV do return the club to the good old glory days would people want to upset the apple cart with a fan buyout (part or full) and 2 would it then be affordable to the average fan?

after all sucess on any front in business bumps the price higher

[PaulMcC]

NESV own us to make a profit to make themselves richer.

 

The fans would own us to put everything back in the club and make us the best.

[PaulMcC]

k

[andyj]

NESV own us to make a profit to make themselves richer.

 

The fans would own us to put everything back in the club and make us the best.

making money making a profit and being richer is part and parcel of being in business mate

and aslong as the club does not suffer or go without what it needs then i wouldnt begrudge them for it

before we even get to the point of talking about this i think its fair to say NESV deserve a fair crack of the whip and see what they can do and if they stay true to there word on what they want to achieve with the club first

 

dont get me wrong im not saying its a bad idea but lets get our breath back from the stormy few years we have had under the last ownership first

[PaulMcC]

making money making a profit and being richer is part and parcel of being in business mate

and aslong as the club does not suffer or go without what it needs then i wouldnt begrudge them for it

before we even get to the point of talking about this i think its fair to say NESV deserve a fair crack of the whip and see what they can do and if they stay true to there word on what they want to achieve with the club first

 

dont get me wrong im not saying its a bad idea but lets get our breath back from the stormy few years we have had under the last ownership first

 

I agree completely.

 

The fans wouldn't be in it for business, though.

 

I've no problem with our new owners, apart from letting Hodgson continue as manager, btw.

[cochcaer]

I guess this post is a recruit drive due to members not renewing.

[Guest TesticleOReilly]

I guess this post is a recruit drive due to members not renewing.

 

Don't be so cynical, they do a good job, organising away coaches.

[Anubis]

Rogan Taylor can suck my balls.* Other than that, SOS can get on with being SOS if they want.

 

 

 

*I should point out that this is meant as a term of offence, and I wouldn't let him have the privilege of sucking my balls, no matter how much he begged.

[Red Nick]

I guess this post is a recruit drive due to members not renewing.

 

The fact they have to state they have a role to play in the future sort of says everything about the reality they find themselves in,

[Malarkey]

Rogan Taylor can kiss my arse.

 

He'd have to shave his muzzy off first, though. As it'll irritate my soft, baby-like skin.

[StevieH]

We’re still after a fair share says Liverpool FC fans group leader Rogan Taylor - News - Liverpool FC - Liverpool Echo

 

Rogan Taylor at the launch of Share Liverpool 320

In the second of a two-part series James Pearce looks at the future for Liverpool fan groups after an eventful 2010. Today the spotlight falls on Share Liverpool FC (read part one here)

FORMED nearly three years ago in response to the growing resentment among fans about the huge debts being piled on the Reds by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the mission was to buy the club.

Plans were unveiled to create a ‘member-share’ scheme where 100,000 supporters around the world would invest £5,000 each with the £500million being used to oust the co-owners and build a new stadium.

Liverpool would emulate the model of European clubs like Barcelona and Bayern Munich and become the first Premier League club to be owned by its supporters.

The initial rush to sign up led to their website crashing and among those to commit was Reds legend John Aldridge, but the dream failed to materialise.

With October’s takeover by New England Sports Ventures (now Fenway Sports Group) having finally turfed out Hicks and Gillett, fans’ anger has waned.

However, the desire to have a greater say in the way the club is run remains and rather than slip quietly into the background Share Liverpool have continued to gather support.

A takeover may be unrealistic now – after all John W Henry insists he’s at Anfield for the long haul – but the hope is the Boston Red Sox chief will agree to sell a stake in the Reds back to supporters.

“We always had two aims,” said football business lecturer and Reds fans Rogan Taylor who founded Share Liverpool.

“That was either buy the club outright or buy an unsqueezable minority to get us on the road to ownership.

 

Rogan Taylor at the launch of Share Liverpool 320

“Clearly it would be pointless now to try to buy out the new owners who have only just bought the club and are serious about developing it.

“But a stake is what we’re after and we hope to have a detailed discussion with them about that early in the new year. We want to talk about the role fans might take in return for an unsqueezable stake in the club.”

Since last summer Share Liverpool have been working together with fellow fans group Spirit of Shankly (SOS).

With their combined resources, Taylor believes they will be able to put on the table a very generous offer for Henry to consider.

“The combined membership of SOS and Share Liverpool is 60,000 plus in terms of the wider network it represents,” he said.

“If everyone wrote a cheque for £500 that would be £30m.That gives us an amount of cash to change the ownership structure of the club.

“We believe that would be beneficial for fans and beneficial for the owners as well.

“I’m sure £30million to £50million would be a useful down payment on the new stadium or it could swell the player recruitment account.

“We don’t care where it goes as long as we get an unsqueezable equity and a seat on the board.

 

Rogan Taylor at the launch of Share Liverpool 320

“It’s a fairly straightforward idea and something they need to consider.

“After all why would they not want that money raised by fans? This is our fit and proper persons test and it’s much more rigorous than the one set down by the Premier League.

“If the owners don’t want a partnership with the fans then you have to ask ‘what are you doing here?’”

Taylor, who is director of the Football Industry Group at the University of Liverpool, admits his joy at seeing the back of Hicks and Gillett in 2010 was tempered by the Reds’ struggles on the pitch.

It was no surprise to him that Fenway Sports Group were so keen to complete their £300million takeover but he insists the owners face a major task transforming the club’s fortunes.

“Looking back it’s a mixture of feelings really,” he said.

“Of course I’m extremely glad we got rid of Hicks and Gillett. It was great not only to see the back of them but the fact they went with a hole in their pocket made it even sweeter.

“But the team is clearly not playing well and very significant work is needed to be done. The reality is the club has lost its debts but there’s an awful lot to do.

“I’ve met them once to say hello and clearly the new owners are creatures of a very different order. But they don’t plan on doing anything very quickly as that’s not the way they operate.

“People who own American sports franchises only buy Premier League clubs with one aim in mind and that’s to access the markets that American franchises can’t deliver.

 

Rogan Taylor at the launch of Share Liverpool 320

 

“The Premier League is shown in over 200 countries and has a big fan base in Asia. It doesn’t matter how many baseball, basketball or gridiron teams you own, none of them will deliver that.

 

“Their focus quite rightly is on unpacking some of the value in the club. For nearly two decades it was shamefully unexploited and what’s wrong now goes back a long time.

 

“It doesn’t get fixed quickly and they have a lot on their plate. They have to think strategically as there are big decisions to be made on the stadium and player recruitment which demand significant amounts of money.”

Taylor is keen to ensure no set of supporters ever has to endure again what Liverpool fans did under Hicks and Gillett.

 

 

 

In January he will sit on the advisory panel of experts for the Government’s select committee looking into the ownership of English clubs.

And he hopes changes will be made to tighten up the rules on who can and can’t buy them.

 

Taylor said: “The Government may decide it’s time to do something about the situation English football finds itself in. After all is it really appropriate for a proud football institution to be the play thing of shysters?

 

“The current regulatory issues are so easy to overcome that anyone can have a punt these days.

 

“The analogy I use is that a club is like a woman standing on the street corner waiting for a passing punter to pick her up. That punter doesn’t even need to have money in his pocket as he can just borrow it off his mate.

“Is that appropriate? Clearly something needs to be done.”

 

 

Read More We’re still after a fair share says Liverpool FC fans group leader Rogan Taylor - News - Liverpool FC - Liverpool Echo

[Ted]

You won't be getting anywhere near it you horrible fucking cunt.

[Skidfingers McGonical]

NESV own us to make a profit to make themselves richer.

 

The fans would own us to put everything back in the club and make us the best.

 

That may be the case bit unless you subscribe to SOS with a membership fee they won't represent every fan. That is why it won't work.

[Graham Smith]

That may be the case bit unless you subscribe to SOS with a membership fee they won't represent every fan. That is why it won't work.

 

Membership of SOS and owning a stake in the Club are two entirely different things.

 

Those that take a share in the Club will elect one of their number to be on the Board, nothing to do with the Union.

 

The representative will represent the investors, not every supporter. In the same way that the Union only represents its members, not all supporters.