RTK

We understand there are a few RTK critics on here, that's fair enough, everyone has an opinion. Some people don't want to stand and sing, they want to sit and watch the game. Some people don't want to bounce, they want to study what's happening on the pitch. But this move gives more people that do want to get involved in what's happened in 306 this season, to do so. The choice is there.

As most of you will have noticed this season, a few hundred season ticket holders relocated to the back of the Kop, and 306 has become their home. When the old adult / child area was moved to the Anfield Road End, the club offered RTK the chance to move their season tickets into these now vacant seats, and gave us a platform to try and improve the atmosphere at Anfield. We feel it has been a great success, even with the relatively small numbers we have in Block 306 at the minute. The club also agree that the initiative has been a great success and we have been in discussions with them about the next steps over the past few months. From those discussions, we are delighted to inform you that we have agreement and cooperation from the club in expanding the current core of Season Ticket holders in block 306, and opening up Blocks 304 and 305 to all Season Ticket holders that wish to move there for next season. There will be a leaflet sent out to all season ticket holders with their renewal forms, offering everybody a chance to move their season tickets into Blocks 304, 305 or 306. If you want to move your existing season ticket from the Main Stand into 306, and to be relocated next to friends that are currently sat in the Kemlyn - then just include all of your details together on the same application letter with your renewal forms, and the Ticket Office will relocate all those season tickets together in Block 304, 305 or 306, whichever you request, and subject to availablity. The difference that Block 306 has made this season has been noted by the club, and everyone at Anfield this season will have noticed the change. Now is time to improve upon that and build on the foundations that have been put in place. If you're fed up sitting in The Main Stand in silence and want to be up there at the back of The Kop instead, then get those change of seat applications in this summer and join the party. There are just under 2,000 seats available for season ticket holders to move into. Lets get them seats filled and make Anfield and The Kop as it used to be. An iconic stand within an iconic stadium, revered the world over. This is a massive chance to take Anfield to a new level and make the League atmosphere rival those we can produce on European nights. Let's have 2,000 fans at the back roaring the side on every week and wake the sleeping giant below. The success we've had in Europe, as well as being down to the manager the players, we've also played a massive part in the stands. It's time to make that effort for League games as well. This is the start of trying to do that. We want number 19 sooner rather than later, we can at least do our bit. Get the word out there. Talk to your mates. Get together. Get moving. Get organised. Get up to the back of the Kop. As for the non-season ticket holders that have been getting their tickets up in 305 and 306 all season - thank you. You've been brilliant all year. Once the number of season ticket holders is known that have requested a move into these blocks, then the selling details for the seats remaining will be addressed again. It is RTK's idea to have these tickets sold differently to others, giving those non-season ticket holding fans a chance to get up there as well. We'll cross that bridge when more details are known about the amount of season ticket holders moving. It's been a good year in the stands, lets make this next one even better. See you in August. RTK

I can see the headline in the papers now: "RTK GET INTO BED WITH IRAQ" What exactly can the papers spin about a chant of "we all fucking hate yanks"? It's glaringly obvious to everybody who that chant is directed at. It's staring you right in the face and cannot be spun any other way. Unless of course we do form a friendship with Iraq and RTK are deployed as allies in an attack on New York. Otherwise, the chant is an attack on our owners. Nothing more.

This is football. Football crowds swear. Setanta will not turn down their microphones because a song has swear words in it. I wonder what Steven Gerrard would think if we stopped singing his song because of the words it contains. Everybody seems to be nit picking the slightest things, when we should all be focused on one issue only. Getting "The Yanks" out of our club.

When we play Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham or West Ham, and The Kop sings, "Shit on the cockneys". Do we all need to turn around and apologise to any friends we have from down south, and state that we don't mean them, just the team we're playing? Or whatabout "We hate the cockneys" (as heard on the Kop Choir clips) that was sung every time we played a London side? Did we mean we hated everyone from London, even our own fans? No. It was aimed in the direction of the opposition. It was crystal clear to everybody. Just as it is crystal clear to everyone this time, the opposition are George Gillett and Tom Hicks. The Yanks.

Tonight, we all have a duty. Do we sit back and accept the way our club is being run, dragged through the mud and splattered all over the front pages of every paper in the country? Do we ignore the LIES spouted by our new owners? Do we sit there in silence and shrug our shoulders at the way Liverpool Football Club's great name is being tarnished by liars like Tom Hicks and George Gillett? They promised us they would never place the club into debt, and all finance would be secured against their personal assets, not the clubs. THEY LIED. The promised they would back the manager in the transfer market, even buying him Snoogy Doogy if he wanted. We have spent the same as we do every year. THEY LIED. They promised to build us the best football stadium in the world. THEY LIED. Most of all, they promised to act as custodians, and respect the name of Liverpool Football Club, it's history, heritage and traditions. THEY LIED. We're not happy to sit back and accept all that. We answer back. We make ourselves heard. We let them know exactly how we feel about the events of the past few months. About their failure to follow up the promises made with their PR spin last summer. It's time to ask them the question. We're supposed to place our trust in the men who thought Klinsmann was qualified enough to take over the reigns at Anfield. A man with no club management experience. A man with no track record of success in management. And all this selected by 2 Americans who confessed themselves just over 6 months ago that they know very little about "soccer". That, as well as the above lies – are you happy for these men to continue running OUR club? We urge everyone to make their feelings known tonight. And if the person next to you isn't, urge them to join you. We're all in this together. We fight for OUR club. They own the deeds, we own the spirit. You can buy one but not the other. Leave them in no doubt of our thoughts. No matter where you are in the ground tonight, play your part. Forget success. Forget the new ground. Forget the supposed Holy Grail of the 19th League title. This is about honour. It's about history, principles, tradition and soul. Liverpool F.C is one of the handful of sporting institutions left in the world that has any soul, and these two 'custodians' are nakedly and shamelessly trying to sell our soul down the Swanee. It's down to ourselves, the ordinary fans, to stand up and be counted tonight and send Hicks and Gillett a message that, even with their communication problems, they can't possibly mishear. Kopites Unite - Save Our Soul Tune: (with old words - ) They don't care about Rafa They don't care about fans Liverpool Football Club Is in the wrong hands Tune: Same as "We're not English We are Scouse" Get the Yanks out Get the Yanks out Get the Yanks out of our club Tune: (30 seconds in) Fuck off Foster Fuck off Foster Fuck off Foster Tune: "We've won it 5 times" Get out of our club Get out of our club You lying bastards Get out of our club Tune: We all hate Yanks and Yanks and Yanks Yanks and Yanks and Yanks and Yanks Yanks and Yanks and Yanks We all fucking hate Yanks… Tune: I think we all know this one You're not fit to You're not fit to You're not fit to run our club You're not fit to run our club S.O.S

The events of the past few days have proved what, deep down, we've known for a long time. These two jerry builders are not fit to be associated with our club. Whatever we might have thought about their motives, their personas, their politics, we allowed ourselves to believe that they had a gut sense of Liverpool's special ness, and a good sense of what is the minimum acceptable requirement here in terms of honour and tradition. In short, they gave a good impression of understanding, and cherishing The Liverpool Way. They said they would build a stadium fit for the world's most legendary football club. They said they would never contemplate securitising their loans against the club. They said they'd back our manager. They lied. We know this now We know it for an absolute fact. Our club is in the hands of disreputable men, men who, if they want success for Liverpool, want it solely in order to fatten up the calf for sale. The current situation is unworkable. Rafael Benitez, with his ingrained sense of honour, dignity and morality, has been publicly humiliated by Hicks and Gillett (and while Hicks is far and away the baddie of the piece, let's not underestimate the smiling, twinkling George's complicity in all this any more than he has underestimated our intelligence, our nous, and our own ingrained ability to rat out a wrong 'un when they wheedle their way in.) Rafa would have walked away by now but for one small thing the Americans will never 'get'. He loves it here. He loves the club, loves the fans, loves the city, and loves The Liverpool Way. More than anybody at the club, he is desperate to deliver for us that which we long for so badly. They will sack him in the summer. They have left themselves with no other option. If Hicks had come out on Sunday and said: "Fair do's Rafa, we were itchy on the trigger, you weren't conforming to the chart flow on our business plan, we wanted you out... but we realise now we got it wrong. Go buy Drenthe, Daniel Alves and Sergio Aguero, and while you're at it, tie up Mascherano long term and here's a new 5 year contract..." You'd possibly have given them a stay of execution. But he didn't. He gave the manager (and thus the fans, the club, the players) a vote of no confidence in front of, and to the delight of, the world's slavering media. He'll have to sack Rafa in the summer, just to keep face. Unless... Unless he's not there. And he's not too far from doing one, you know. This whole madcap scheme that George has dragged him into is far, far madder, far more expensive, and far less fun than he'd thought it'd be. He thought it was going to be like planting money seeds and picking dollar bills off the tree in a few years time. He thought Liverpool fans were going to be like Dallas Cowboys supporters, if a little louder - but nonetheless grateful for his patronage, and a little bit cowed by his enormous wealth. What he's found here is that it's difficult, it's cold, it's expensive - and the fans care a little too much about their team. They care so much that they answer back to the owners. That's what we have to do, comrades - answer back, loud and clear. We know the arguments, we know we're not Geordies, we know there's something very un-Liverpool about all this marching and protesting. But there's something very, very Scouse about the refusal to lie down and toe the party line, the refusal to swallow corporate shite and the willingness to strike and fight back if we need to right a wrong. Our immediate target needs to be Foster Gillett. In the way that these flinty oligarchs always send their disappointing offspring away to the furthest, most hostile outposts of their empire to try and toughen them up, Foster has drawn the Liverpool straw. He's only pretending to live here. He spends his time in London, comes up for the Monday meeting, pads around Melwood then vapourises. He doesn't really want to be here. A sustained period of invective targeted at Foster on Monday night will unsettle him further. He'll be straight on the phone to his Dad saying: "Look what that idiot partner of yours has subjected me to. I'm out of here." No matter how rich the magnates or how close their partnership, filial loyalty and the need for a father to protect his offspring will come ahead of everything. The splinters we're hearing about in Hicks and Gillett's relationship will become a chasm, with the effect of accelerating their exit strategy. Be under no illusions. If DIC come in, they'll want to run it as a business, too. Whoever comes in next - and we could be bracing ourselves for a future where ownership changes hands every 5 or 10 years - will never have Liverpool's traditions running through them like we do. But there's a minimum acceptable standard in ownership too, and Hicks and Gillett have fallen badly short. It gives me no joy to recommend it, but we have to drive them out - starting with Foster on Monday night. These are critical times for Liverpool F.C. If Hicks stays, Rafa goes - it's that simple. And if Rafa goes, the empire he's building crumbles - no-one would even bet against Carra and Stevie Gerrard walking out on the shell that used to be LFC. All and any other reservations and complaints we've got about ticket allocations, ground moves, and horrid purple ties have to be put to one side. Any feeling about Rafa's rotation and tactics. All to one side. This is Us against Them. The Liverpool Way against The American Way. We've got run the bastards, end of story. Monday night, let them know. Yankees, Yankees fuck off home..." THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT RAFA THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT FANS LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB IS IN THE WRONG HANDS Please use this thread for ideas for next Monday night. Catchy ditties that can be aired by all. Get the message acoss vocally to young Foster in the stands and his guardians back across the Atlantic. Post anything you've got below – and we'll sweep through the best of them over the weekend and get them back up, ready for everyone to air on Monday night. Tuesday night against Luton was just the start. We need to flush this cancer out of our club. We can all play out part. Fighting for The Liverpool Way. We want our club back. We'll fight for the boys in red, We'll fight the fight for Liverpool, The team that Shankly bred….

PLEASE Don't think "What a great idea" and then leave it to someone else to attend the march. Rafe Needs You! The more numbers there are, the better. Don't stop in for an extra pint, or queue up at the chippy. To get the message across to everyone that Rafa has 100% unconditional support we need to have thousands there. Get down the Sandon for 6:30, show your support. JUST DO IT!

First off all, hats off to each and every one of you for the support shown towards our manager already. The planning, effort and preperation for tonight is unbelievable. We'll always have the banter between sections of the support, but when it really matters, we come together and stand as one. We're Liverpool. Tonight - There will be a few thousand flyers available in the HJC shop from 5pm onwards. We are appealing for anyone to pop along and pick up a big handful each and help hand them out around the area. A few lads going down to The Stanley and The King Harry, another few to The Solly and The Albert, others targetting The Park and The Sandon and so on. To make as many people aware as possible as to what is going on, incase they've been living in the land of nod for the past few days. There is also a version attached below in PDF format for you to print off and hand out on your way to the game and to anyone you see tonight. Using a catchphrase from across the park, "every little helps". Get printing off and get handing out. And anyone that can get to the HJC shop between 5pm and 6pm, please do so and help get them flyers out there. Download this flyer and print - Rafa_March_Flyer_Here Just print off and tear into two peices, giving a couple of A5 sizde flyer with each print. Simple. Get yourselves in and around The Sandon for half 6, and there'll be lads there ready to take the lead and let everyone know exactly what's going on. Lets make this special. A real show of red strength. It's been built up by the press already, now it's time for us to deliver. Our manager needs us. Let's leave any anti-American and anti-Rick Parry feelings to one side for tonight. No matter how you feel on the subject, lets leave that for another day and use tonight to show our passionate support for our manager. Our Club. Our Manager. Don't let anything dilute that. Just use tonight to march in support of our manager, the man that's brought us so many special nights, the man who's working towards bringing us more of those nights and the man that needs our backing more than ever. Lets show him how much he means to us. Starting with the march outside, then lets take that inside the ground and get Anfield rocking. It's down to us, all of us, to make that happen. Over to you...

The RTK is helping organise the demo on Wednesday: We are calling on all supporters of Liverpool FC to demonstrate their unconditional support of the Rafael Beneitz this Wednesday. Rafa is far and away the most important figure at Anfield - bar none. Under his guidance the club has appeared in 2 European Cup finals in the little over 3 years that he has been manager. We currently stand well placed in the title race and remain undefeated. Rafael Benitez also needs the full support of his employers. It is Rafa's job not only to train and coach the players, but also to be proactive and decisive in acquiring new ones. Bill Shankly turned down the Liverpool job in the early 1950s because he was told it would not be his job to sign new players. It was only when he was promised a free reign in the selection of his squad that he agreed to become manager of Liverpool FC. Rafael Benitez deserves similar support from our current owners. If you want to pledge your support publicly for Rafa Benitez then join us on Wednesday evening at 6:30pm, outside the Sandon pub on Oakfield Road, close to The Kop. If you have any Rafa flags and banners then please bring them along. We then urge you to continue your support of Rafa during this crucial European Cup game by singing and chanting his name . We call on all Liverpool supporters to unite and publicly display their devotion to our manager. Rafa needs us, and we owe him every ounce of love and support that we can possibly muster. Remember: Liverpool Football Club exists not to make money - it exists to win trophies and be a source of pride for it's supporters. It serves no other purpose. Hala Rafa!

Not all of the questions were asked due to time constraints. Most of the time was taken up with pressing issues surrounding the events of Athens. You were more than welcome to ask that question yourself (or submit that question at least) We do know that the club are actively seeking to replace the current paper match tickets with a purely electronic access system, crediting fancards with access for certain games instead of issuing an individual ticket. This will make it a lot harder for touts and agencies to sell tickets, as they will not recieve the fancard back from the person buying it. It's something we can question the club on in detail at a later date, whether that be through a further Q&A session, or sat around a table again. But in recent weeks and months most of the focus has been surrounding the organisation around the new block, and the athens debate at the Q&A session.

Just a few things: There has been accusations on here at the tail end of the thread that we (RTK) do not speak on behalf of everyone. We know that and accept that. But we have a group of lads behind RTK that represent a decent mix of fans from all ages, mostly scouse, a few from out of town, one foreign lad and all match going regulars for most of their lives. We're also in touch with well respected and well known fans on a regular basis to gauge their opinions on matters. We've also hosted a Question and Answer session with Rick Parry, and the invite went out on this forum as well as the other main ones, asking anyone that had a question for Rick Parry and the club in general, get in touch and you'll be invited along to the session. 40 people outside of the RTK attended that Q&A session, you were all offered the chance. The meetings RTK have with the club have involved lengthy discussions over issued raised by fans outside of RTK via the RTK forum. There are a few issues with that communication channel at the minute, but we are always open to ideas and suggestions from anyone. Just get in touch mail@reclaimthekop.co.uk or nextyear@reclaimthekop.co.uk It's been repeated time and time again, anyone that has an issue can either contact us directly via e-mail, or arrange to meet us in person and discuss any issues. It's not a closed shop - but regarding discussions with the club, it would not be practical to have 40 people sat around a table in debate. It wouldn't work. Instead we try and take on as many views and issues as possible, then have 4 or 5 people sat around a table and discussing these issues with the club. All this is then reported back out to the forums to keep everyone in the loop of what is happening. Newsletters are sent out to the RTK mailing list available on the RTK site. What more can we do to involve people and ask for their ideas and input? And once again - we asked for the section to remain nameless, the club requested and insisted on the name for ticketing purposes. So naming a section of the ground after ourselves is wide of the mark. RTK Area now becomes Block 1892 says that. We'd personally prefer it left at blocks 304, 305 and 306. So again - anyone with issues, ideas, suggestions, get in touch.

An update on questions being asked for those that have already renewed their Season Tickets but wish to move, and for fans buying tickets via methods other than postal applications: RTK have spoken to the club and the following information can be passed on: Season Ticket Holders: People who have already renewed their Season Tickets, but wish to move to the RTK Area, please write to the Ticket Office address, clearly marking the envelope "RTK AREA". Also enclose a letter requesting to move to the RTK Area. Include your current details (name, address and fancard number) if you have already renewed and enclose your current fancards so they can be replaced. Also request a refund if you have renewed for £650 in another part of the ground. £50 will be refunded to you. If you have a group of friends, some have renewed and some haven't, then staple together the forms as per a normal application detailed in the initial post, enclosing fancards and payment. Then enclose an accompanying letter with the details of those that have already renewed (fancard number, name, address). The Ticket Office will then re-issue that Season Ticket for the RTK Area with the rest of the batch in that application. It is vitally important to do this NOW, as the longer you leave it the less chance the Ticket Office will have in making these changes. If you have already renewed and want to move, apply NOW. Fan Card Holders: Postal applications have already been explained in the intial post. There WILL be tickets available via telephone bookings. Just request RTK Area when ringing to order. There WILL be tickets available in this section through the PTS scheme. Online sales were not discussed specifially. We're assuming RTK Area tickets can be bought this way, but it will be discussed in detail at the next meeting. So at the moment, we can presume they will only be available via the 3 sources stated above - post, mail and telephone. Phase One was to organise the re-location of Season Tickets into this section. Phase Two involves the distribution of match day tickets for the section, which is why the details are not yet finalised. I hope this helps. RTK

I take it non of you bothered to read this bit from the post made earlier: If you have a better idea and a better way of improving the atmosphere then feel free to contact the club with your thoughts, or start your own fan movement. Suppose it's a lot easier to have a cyber moan than actually do something.

I just thought I would try and add a bit of perspective to this thread and respond to the criticism yet again. "RTK Area" - it was emphasised on the post to ensure that people wanting to buy tickets in this area did not miss the point. This is what the club have asked for it to be named, for ticketing purposes only. A way for them to identify who wants to sit up there when allocating tickets to applicants. As far as RTK are concerned - it is blocks 304, 305 and 306 - the section has no name. This is not meant to be a singing area as such, with all those not singing pelted with rotten tomatos, but more of a chance for those that want to sing and have banters with their mates to do so. What made the old Kop special? Being able to stand next to whoever you wanted to. Mix with your mates, and all those that wanted to sing would gather together in the middle of the Kop. This is the closest thing we can get to that in the current climate. Allowing mates to move their Season Tickets together, which in turn makes it more likely that they will sing. There are 100's of lads around the ground sat on their own, some in the Kemlyn, some in the Main Stand, that love nothing more than getting behind the side, but because of where they are and who they are sat with, they just don't do it. If they want to move with mates and support the side vocally, now is their chance to do it. Nobody is being forced to sing, nobody is being forced to move. And for those fan without Season Tickets - if they want to be surrounded by people they know will join in with songs, and be of a similar mindset, then they know where to apply for. The option is there. RTK