Liverpool’s new chairman Martin Broughton has so far not accepted an invitation to meet with Spirit of Shankly (S.O.S.) the Liverpool Supporters Union. This is very disturbing considering that the Union represents thousands of Liverpool Supporters worldwide. This comes on the heels of Tom Hicks claiming that it might take two years for the club to be sold. Does this mean that our club is going to be run by a Chelsea fan who does not care about the supporters for the next two years?
The Union is however meeting with Premier League officials next week, and hopefully this issue will be brought up then.
Below is the full release from Spirit of Shankly
The Spirit of Shankly can confirm that their members’ hard work in pressurising the Premier League to consider Liverpool FC’s current predicament has paid off with Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore, inviting a delegation from the Spirit of Shankly to a meeting with him at Premier League Headquarters in London next week. This contrasts markedly with the response received from Liverpool FC Chairman Martin Broughton, who was written to on the 22nd April (letter below) with a request for the Union to meet with him to discuss the issues that arose from his appointment. Despite speaking to his office at British Airways Headquarters and receiving confirmation that he had received our letter we have had neither the courtesy of an acknowledgement or response.
The only feedback we have received is via Liverpool FC Commercial Director Ian Ayre who has said that Mr Broughton has decided to respond to fans “en masse” rather than having “individual meetings”. How is he planning to do this? It would seem via the testing medium of a set piece interview on LFC TV. The Union has asked to be allowed to take part in the questioning but is yet to receive a response and suspects it unlikely that we would be allowed to officially participate.
The Spirit of Shankly is making a further attempt to speak to Mr Broughton by calling upon him to reconsider. The Union represents a significant number of LFC supporters and the Club’s credibility in liaising with supporters is being damaged through his refusal to engage.
While we understand his reluctance to meet based upon briefings he has no doubt received from other senior members of the Club he might be surprised that his objectives and ours may be closer than he thinks and, as we say above, Martin, you can do the minutes.
Dear Mr Broughton,
Liverpool Football Club
I am writing on behalf of the Spirit of Shankly Liverpool Supporters’ Union. While supporters have cautiously welcomed the news that current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have decided to publicly place the Club up for sale and to appoint you to manage that process, it leaves many questions and concerns unanswered.
The Spirit of Shankly Liverpool Supporters’ Union was established to meet a number of short, medium and long term objectives (please see http://www.spiritofshankly.com/index.html) but to constantly hold whoever owns Liverpool Football Club to account. In the last two years this has resulted in the Union managing, and coordinating, a sustained campaign and protests to see Hicks and Gillett removed as owners, due to the way in which they have brought the Club to the brink of financial disaster for no one’s benefit other than their own.
The Union has had contact with the Club at all levels – we have coordinated protests with the stewards and police, met with the manager, had players attend our End of Season events and we have met with Gillett and the Hicks’ family and subsequently with Ian Ayre and Christian Purslow.
In all of our dealings with the Club our aim has been to represent the interests of our members while respecting the opportunities we have been given in terms of access to Club employees. The contact we have had with senior staff has been helpful, not only to the Union and its members, but also to the Club in projecting a perception that supporters are respected and have a voice that is at least heard within the Club.
The only problem we have ever had with senior staff at the Club was a meeting in February 2010 with Christian Purslow where he subsequently sought to significantly misrepresent Minutes of the meeting (contradicting the recollection of fifteen other people attending the meeting and the verbatim record that exists). The result of this is that Mr Purslow seems to have unilaterally decided to cease contact with us to the detriment, we believe, of supporters and the Club.
Our concerns centre on a few major issues and there are questions we wish to ask you to answer at a meeting with us:
- What was the motivation for your appointment? Who appointed you? What is your role and your objectives?
- Who is running the Club on a day to day basis?
- What role did the Club’s bankers play in the sale decision and what conditions have they placed upon a sale relating to time and any terms?
- What criteria, other than the asking price, will you apply in accepting any bid?
- What are the immediate implications for the team on the pitch and the urgent squad strengthening called for by the playing staff?
- Would you speak to supporters’ representatives about a stake being taken in the Club by them? If not, why not?
- Would you broker meetings between the Union and any serious prospective purchasers PRIOR to any sale being confirmed (we would appreciate the need for discretion).
The next few months are a key time for the Club and supporters are naturally concerned about the future and how this impacts on the Club’s financial position and, as importantly, the on the field progress supporters hope to see. You clearly have a key role to play in this period and we would respectfully request an early meeting with you to discuss some key issues and to also consider an element of conciliation between you (representing the owners) and supporters.
We are pleased that our “Not Welcome Here” campaign (see http://www.spiritofshankly.com/debtliescowboys.html ) has made a contribution to Hicks and Gillett leaving but we are also prepared to consider any positive proposals you might have that we could put to our members to see protests suspended. As supporters we want to see an end to uncertainty and to get back to what we all want to do – support our side on the pitch without the worry of the intentions of any future owners and what they have in store for us.
We hope that your appointment will see a change in our fortunes going forward and we are writing to you in the spirit of working with you for the good of Liverpool FC and its supporters.
Yours sincerely
Francis Stanton
Chair
Spirit of Shankly
PS It was over the line.
www.spiritofshankly.com
GOOD! that’s what i say, S.O.S has alienated many fans with their dirty tactics, they only represent theirselves and THEIR ideals, not what the majority of fans want or need, they are a disgrace, who made them the official voice of the fans? Not the majority of the Kop that’s for one!
So why should he meet them? Time they got off their high horses and realise they do the club image more harm than good a lot of the time!
I’m glad it was Hicks who said it may take two years to sell the club and not Broughton, as he seems confident it can be boxed off quickly and easily (obviously we all want whats RIGHT not whats quickest).
Again I do feel unsure about the guy with what has happened at British Airways but like I said in Amanda’s post I can’t really comment as I don’t know the in’s and out’s of it all.
I’m hoping the club he supports has no effect on his abilty to make a good judgement call. If we believe what the papers and media are saying there is no way Liverpool will be sold for the price they are asking, but there has been no official statement to how much they actually want for the club. It’s obviously to them they are no wanted here, so I believe if the right person was found then a reasonable offer would be accepted. even if they did make a profit i’d rather that than have the wrong person in control.
But all in all, if he wants to win the fans over, by holding even an intimate meeting with a select few from the SOS would be a great start. We’ve established the SOS are not just a football thug organised group causing terror, these are a group of people who fully support our club, and want whats best for the club. I hope everyone can understand this and contribute towards membership.
Hey Paul, I’m not a member of SOS but I don’t see anyone else stepping to the plate to call to account those entrusted with our club. Having a whine around the water cooler in the office or posting comments is hardly going to affect these hard nosed businessmen. If SOS had no impact why would Purslow have met them and also Hicks’ son who was subsequently removed owing to an email he sent to one of the SOS memebers. I’m more than happy for you to try and pose these searching questions to Broughton at a pivotal moment on our history.
I don’t care if SOS is good, bad or evil. Based on this letter of intent, they’re doing something right, so I’ll support them for that. And for anyone thinking there’ll be any other motivation behind this sale other than money, you’re fooling yourselves. If the flaming walking corpse of Hitler bleeding acid paid the price they want, they’ll sell it, no questions asked. I mean, Moores did it, and he’s supposed to be a lifelong supporter with his family and all. Or did he think that with Hicks track record and Gillett taking the “Reds franchise” out of his hands would bring success and glory to the club?
Just sell it and I’ll be glad. And may they choke on their profit.
Paul can I ask how we (I say we as a member) are doing the club more harm than good?
Please represent the club if you so wish, have you bothered to write any letters? Did you send a postcard to Rafa? Do you not believe that the SOS had any effect on the removal of the owners? (yes it may not be just because of SOS but i’m pretty sure they have played a big part in it.)
All protests like stated in the letter have been organised with officials and the police to ensure no fould play takes place, they aren;t just a bunch of hooligans.
So as far as I’m concerned they have only improved the image of Liverpool fans, as they are organised, intelligent and want the best for the club, hence why I’m a memeber, and alot of other people I knwo have joined up.
Do you not want cheaper travel to away games? I for sure as hell do, if I wanted to take my nephew to say…Fratton park it’s going to cost me a fortune, at least the SOS are trying to lower this cost by providing transport themselves. They are also trying to sort out the joke of a ticketing allowance that has been in place for far too long. Ensuring the younger fans can obtain tickets just as easily as older people.
I personally can’t see how anyone wouldn’t want to support their causes, I appriciate everyone is entitled to an opinion, but surely it’s a power in numbers thing with there cause.
this must be read by all lfc and rafa fans
a wolf in sheeps clothing
we’ve come to a critical juncture folks
LFC chairman must deal with those causing the damage
Posted on May 6th, 2010 by Anfield Road
By Tom Wilson and Jim Boardman
On Saturday a senior Liverpool official made it perfectly clear that there was absolutely nothing to read from the fact that Reds boss Rafa Benítez was yet to meet new chairman Martin Broughton. He claimed it was all part of some plot to paint a false picture of disharmony at Anfield. He got on great with Rafa and Rafa was happy.
Even now it’s difficult to work out how he thought anyone would fall for that. Or why he seems to tell different stories to different people. People compare notes, compare what he’s told them, then shake their heads.
On Saturday the senior official said that there had been one meeting planned. It would have been ahead of the first-leg of the Europa League semi against Atlético Madrid, but volcanic ash put paid to that idea. When the call came out for the squad to meet up at Runcorn station, the meeting was unsurprisingly called off.
Obviously the new chairman is quite different to the last man to have the job all to himself. David Moores used to travel on the team bus with the squad; Martin Broughton doesn’t come across as someone who would feel comfortable slumming it across Europe in first class with the players.
According to the senior Liverpool official on Saturday, no other meeting had been scheduled so far. The first opportunity following the journey to Madrid would probably have been tied in with the return leg a week later, but with Rafa unavailable until after midnight it was decided, the senior official said, that there was no time for the chairman to meet the manager. Presumably the chairman – who of course has other responsibilities away from Liverpool FC – was unable to pop round to Melwood the following morning.
That following morning, the Friday, had been the day before the senior official was explaining why there hadn’t yet been a meeting. And at almost the exact time as the senior Liverpool official was explaining why there hadn’t been a meeting so far, the club’s official site was making it clear that the next opportunity for a meeting was also going to be missed.
Liverpool’s last home game of the season was the following day, the Sunday, against the team Martin Broughton has supported all his life, Chelsea. Broughton had presumably set off home early on Friday morning after watching the Atlético game, and he told the official site he wouldn’t be coming back up for that Chelsea match. He wasn’t even going to be in the city for the game, he didn’t want to be seen to celebrate any Chelsea goals. “The only sensible thing is for me to stay at home and watch it on the television,” he said.
So he wasn’t exactly making himself available for a meeting with Rafa, which in itself isn’t really a major issue. He’d cleared off before Rafa was available on the Thursday night, he didn’t stick around on Friday to meet then and he didn’t come back up on Saturday in preparation for the Sunday match, so no chance of squeezing a meeting in there.
Rafa did want to talk to him, but there clearly hadn’t been time. It was frustrating but understandable. Surely a meeting would be held before the week was out, with no game for Liverpool Rafa would have more room in his own diary to match up with Broughton’s no-doubt hectic schedule.
But then came the story on the BBC website, and other BBC outlets, soon to spread like wildfire around the rest of the media.
“Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has cancelled two scheduled face-to-face meetings with the club’s new chairman, Martin Broughton,” wrote David Bond, the BBC’s replacement for Mihir Bose as Sports Editor.
Bond had the same title at the Telegraph before joining the BBC, but will be best remembered by Liverpool fans from his time as the paper’s Chief Sports Reporter. From knowing full details of Gillett and Hick’s refinancing deal with RBS before it was announced, to publishing emails DIC and Amanda Staveley had been sent by Hicks, Bond was clearly getting information from people inside and outside the club during that very turbulent period.
So who would be talking to him now? Whoever it was wanted to add more weight to the campaign to see Rafa hounded out of the club. “It is understood that he [Benítez] pulled out of talks with Broughton last week and another the week before,” wrote Bond.
As has just been explained, Rafa did not cancel any meetings with Broughton, and whatever any fan thinks of Benítez, or where his future should be, the fact that someone from Liverpool is trying to smear the manager should set alarm bells ringing loud and clear.
This is about far more than Rafael Benítez. This is just the latest in a long line of examples of the press being briefed about Rafa in a way that certainly wasn’t designed to be supportive of the manager. What other lies are being peddled?
Even Bond seemed to be unsure of exactly what the story was, writing: “It is not clear why Benitez cancelled the meetings with Broughton, although the last two weeks have been affected by preparations for Liverpool’s Europa League semi-final meetings with Atletico Madrid. The first week in particular was heavily disrupted as Benitez’s team were forced to make the long journey to the Spanish capital by road and rail after flights were grounded by ash from the Icelandic volcano.”
Benítez didn’t cancel the meetings, but if he had it was probably slightly more important he got on that train at Runcorn than staying back to meet Broughton. Even Rafa can’t be blamed for the volcanic ash. So why would someone at Anfield feed the BBC this “story”?
There aren’t too many candidates for the source of this latest leak. Bond said it came from a Liverpool board member: “There is some surprise inside the Anfield boardroom at the timing of Benitez’s call on Tuesday for an urgent meeting with Broughton to discuss the future.”
Bond was one of the first reporters to interview Martin Broughton after his appointment, so perhaps he is a candidate for this story being fed to the press. But Broughton wasn’t at the club when the earliest briefings against Rafa began, to other members of the press. Of course it’s always possible that somebody else told Broughton that Rafa had cancelled the meetings. Someone wary of Rafa actually getting to meet the chairman, and telling the chairman exactly what has been going on.
One subtle hint that somebody was talking out of turn came in one of the infamous Henry Winter columns. In November he wrote: “The impressive managing director, Christian Purslow, is not the type for knee-jerk reactions. But it is known around Anfield that Purslow has talked to Benítez about his style of management, notably his cold detachment from the players.”
So back in November someone from the club was telling Henry Winter that Benítez had been given a dressing-down by Purslow, that Benítez was being told how to manage his players, essentially being told how to do his job. And it’s as obvious as it looks exactly who it was that impressed this information on Winter.
That wasn’t all that Winter learned from his new source: “Liverpool can afford to sack Benítez,” wrote Winter. “Compensation would be less than £5 million under the ‘mitigating the loss’ principle if he found employment.” Which perhaps should now have Winter scratching his head as to why impressive people would be on the phone to him angrily criticising the manager instead of just sacking him.
And it’s not as if Winter wasn’t afforded the opportunity to ask that question. No prizes for guessing which senior Liverpool official spent a good part of the bank holiday weekend frantically phoning around trying to get his side, or one of his sides, of the story over. It was almost as if he was frightened that the truth might come out. And Winter had a chance to challenge this particular Liverpool board member on where his stories didn’t really add up. But some reporters would rather just take the information they’re fed and repeat it, hoping there’s plenty more where that came from, than question what they are being told.
Having managed to get so many column inches out of the politicking of a certain LFC board member, Winter completely missed the irony of his opening paragraph: “If Rafael Benítez truly respects Liverpool Football Club he’ll leave Anfield today. The players have lost the faith, the boardroom is unimpressed with the politicking and the supporters are suffering, albeit in silence.”
When the truth does come out about a certain LFC board member and his efforts to keep the truth from the supporters, perhaps that silence will be broken. And maybe that silence needs to be broken. Maybe the efforts to keep the attention on Benítez to take it away from the failings of the Managing Director and the owners he worked for need to be emphasised a little more. And that might just be a bit messy – but what’s new? That’s how it’s been at Anfield for some time. “If he stays, the inevitable long goodbye becomes indescribably messy, distressing for all concerned and demeaning to a club of Liverpool’s great history. This is not a warning for Benítez, this is a fact,” wrote Winter. The same fact applies, but much more strongly, to the club’s temporary MD.
Bill Shankly was the man who made Liverpool great, the man who brought so much of that “great history” to the club. Nobody knows what he would have made of Benitez; chances are he would have seen good and bad in him and he could well have been saying Rafa’s time was up by now. But it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to work out what he would have thought of the club’s owners. And it takes even less imagination to work out what he would have thought of Christian Purslow. And less still what he would have thought of the tactics employed by the club’s current custodian to force Rafa out.
Shanks would also have torn a strip off Henry Winter had he ever been unfortunate enough to cross his path. Winter wrote of Rafa: “He’s got a centre-back at left-back and a holding midfielder at right-back.” With the only two left-backs at the club injured, what else was Rafa meant to do? One thing Rafa tried was putting the right-back at left-back, which was why the holding midfielder played at right-back on the Thursday. By the Sunday the right-back was injured too, which is why the centre-back went to left-back, and the holding midfielder stayed at right-back. This isn’t a string of excuses; it’s just some simple facts. Liverpool have to make do and mend.
Christian Purlsow’s arrival coincided with spending on transfers that, going off the fees available in public, went from being “net spend” to “net profit”. Liverpool brought more in than went out last year. That’s the calendar year 2009.
When Winter used the phrase “How embarrassing,” in his article it surely should have been to describe his own willingness to stick up so transparently for his source in the Liverpool boardroom. And really his article didn’t deserve much more time than that, as went into some kind of rant out of sympathy to his new friend on the board at Anfield.
That new friend should have the balls to stand up in public and say what he’s saying privately to the press, if he truly believes it and feels it would stand up to scrutiny. But he knows that, despite claims to the contrary, most Liverpool fans either want Benítez to stay or only want him to leave because they feel he’s been worn down by the unnecessary pressures of the past few years. The vast majority of fans will always consider Benítez a hero, whatever happens.
And that is what frightens the board member. He knows that sooner or later the manager will blow him up for what he’s done. He knows that more and more people are starting to see through him. And he knows that if he sacks the manager he’ll never be forgiven.
Liverpool’s new chairman was appointed in a non-executive role. The senior Liverpool official constantly points out that the new chairman was appointed in that way, and that he has no control over the actual running of the club, that he’s merely there to sell the club.
But the senior Liverpool official fails to mention something very important about the role of a non-executive director. According to the government-commissioned Higgs report, non-executive directors “are responsible for… where necessary removing, senior management.”
Surely a senior Liverpool official briefing the press against the club’s manager, over such a sustained period, is grounds for his removal. His decision to bad-mouth the club’s owners, however accurate it might be, is hardly the best way to attract £100m of investment. And that was his major objective when appointed. Perhaps he wanted to delay the partial sale to prolong his own career as Mr Liverpool, to help build up that empire. Is this not also grounds for removal? To discuss transfer targets – even if they are his own, not the manager’s – with the press is also grounds for removal. The list goes on.
And that, Martin Broughton, is where you come in. You need to get to the bottom of this mess and you need to get to the bottom of it fast.
It’s not just your reputation that depends on it
Wasnt it hicks that said he was going to make a large proffit from the sale of LFC which was obviously done to upset the liverpool supporters and now he has come out with this two years to sell the club again with intent to get back at liverpool supporters it just goes to show what a nasty old man he is as for the alloted chairman not talking with sos that again rubs salt in to the liverpool wound for all you reds on this forum having a go at sos how abcent minded can you be we left the sale of the club to what every red thought were capable people to sell the club last time and look at the mess were in now would you want that to happen again . THE people of sos are representing the people who go to anfield and all liverpool supporters around the world by asking these relevent questions to this broughton fellow who dont for get is a chelsea season ticket holder ( would you let fergie pick the liverpool team against man u ) No my fellow reds these question need to be asked for the piece of mind of all us reds
@Paul Davies: We need Spirit of Shankly and other fan unions in these dark days of football ownership. No longer is an owner in it for the “love of the club” – modern club ownership is at best a “vanity project” and worst “a short term investment”. Liverpool got shafted because it was rip for the picking at the worst possible time. Broughton is NOT here for the interests of the club, he’s here for Hicks & Gillette. Liverpool will be sold to the highest bidder without any interest in whats good for the club, worst case, look no further than the asset stripping ownership of Portsmouth. Does that scare you? It should.
http://www.spiritofshankly.com/aims.html – Check it out sometime.
I would advise EVERY L.F.C. fan to join. Its only £10.
Oh dear the poor SOS! So f**king what. The man has more important things to do at the moment, like sell the club! Get real man…
Hicks doesn’t like anyone being imposed – Broughton. So he is stirring it up.
As far away in the neighbourhood of SA, I cannot agree more with the initiative of the SOS.
Thank you for the honest, noble meaning and the seriousness of purpose.
Really you guys are doing your name pride.
Who else has taken that initiative and if the SOS does not who will???
Go on, walk with confidence amid all the storms and see the light of day.
Let us rather put our efforts together for the sake of the club. Keep your comments and desires to be seen away and support SOS> They only mean the BEST for the CLUB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111
Whilst I agree with what SOS stand for I’m sorry I dont agree with some of their actions, after ailenating Christian Purslow do they really think Broughton is going to meet them, I’m surprised they even had the audacity to write the letter.
Plus at protest marches they abuse people who are not memebers who are in the march to join the procession. Not good and not the way to go.
There is more as most probably know but I’ll leave it at that.
There are millions of LFC fans worldwide and whilst thousands maybe in the SOS there are more against them becuase of the way they act sometimes, if they want a response from the club they need to be more professional and not so much militant coz thye’ve tried that and its got them nowhere really!
Plus what gives SOS the right to have a say on the owners when they only represent a very small minority of fans, dont the other millions of fans have a say also if they do?
At the end of the day G&H will do what they want no matter how much SOS pester them, snd there is also the chance perspective owners will be put off buying us, so SOS wind your necks in and think up something more positive like our counterparts in manchester have done which seems far more effective to me.
I am offended that SOS use the name of our late great manager because of their aggressive, amaturish ways. It’s kids stuff. Do you really really believe that it’s because of them Gillett and hicks decided to sell ? The answer is no. To them, they are a fly on the wall. I am a long standing season ticket holder and I hate SoS. They do not represent me. The sooner they squirm back under their rock, the better.
To all you S.O.S. haters, what are you doing to get rid of Hicks & Gillett? Or you just do not want to be bothered and want our club to sink into the abyss.
Are you having a laugh? How aretey not professional? Has anyone ever been hurt in their protests? Yes they give people stick for not being memebers only because they should be members! Purslow fucked them over by not quoting them properly, they go through all the professional channels they direct the correct letters to the correct people!
Oh yeah I forgot buying a green and yellow scarf is more productive than challenging the fa to what is fit a proper for an owner! They have the clubs best interest at heart and that’s all that matters they want facts not lies!
With all due respect to SOS, I can understand why they are doing what they are doing and why they are doing the things they do. However, whilst i understand what they are doing, i think they are also having a diverse affect on the club.
Why do i say this?
I say this purely down to there methods, protests at games, before and after matches etc etc. I think anyone who thinks that these protests only may have only affected the owners are blind.
Those protests that were held at games, are bound to have had an effect on everyone who has ever been in and around them. That go’s for the playing staff also. So maybe at the end of the day, S0S in some respect are doing more damage than good.
Certainly, i dont think abusing non members is exactly the “Liverpool way” is it?
it is the financial restrictions that have forced the sale of the club, NOT the S.O.S
It is not YOUR club, nobody is accountable to you!
You do not speak on behalf of most fans. You drag this club through the gutter when your protests are given media coverage. Your protests have NOT forced the americans to sell. They have bled as much money from the club as possible and must therefore move on.
The results this season have been humiliating enough without S.O.S adding to it.
Does us all a favour with your celebrity members and shut the **** up.
Cant really blame him. It’s like Gordon Brown refuses to meet corner shop Union rep.
Do you think the lies those clowns told would have been as well publised if it hadn’t been for them? Fair enough if your not a fan of these guys, maybe you should start your own union, call it Spirit of Souness. Your all quite content with the downfall of our club, all the SOS want is for us tobe owned by the correct people, why is that wrong? Your all moaning and bitching about the owners et you haven’t done a fucking thing to try and remove them. So all you spirit of souness union members I salute you to wanting your club to be mediocore, I understand your right to be over charged for travel to away games, I ven understand you don’t have a problem with it being 15 credits to go watch us against Pompey at fratton park.
At the end of the day at least they took a stance are tryin to make a difference, before you moan about them ask what have you done for the club recently?
He should have meet fans representatives, even if he was a chairman just for 2 days, 2 months or 2 years.
But he knows he has no good news for the fans so he will try to avoid them as long as he can.
Don’t think it really matters that he’s a Chelsea fan – he’s a business man that has been called in to sell the club – let the guy do his job, and if that involves SOS then great and if it doesn’t, then we’re just going to have to trust him.
I guess when he has something to tell the fans he’ll tell us.
@minnniepk17, although you have the best interest of the club at heart, I believe your sentiment is a bit naive to say the least. To just allow him to sell the club and let that be the end of it is supremely careless. So he sells the club to some rich owner who does not give 2 hoots about the clubs competitive standing, tradition etc. It is not just enough to sell or do we have such short memories. We the fans need to know who is buying and their intentions either from SOS or anyone else. This for Broughton could just turn out to be a summer job. He sells, gets his bonus and its back to the day job at British Airways. Unfortunately for us the supporters its slightly more important.
sos have no stake in the club.
sos represent some fans.
sos are not appreciated by a lot of fans.
Why should a privately owned business even consider the demands for consultation from a group that owns no part of it?
sos just want to know what every fan wants to know – why do sos think broughton should take them more seriously than any other fans requests for info.
no-one knows the future of the club – it’s all up in the air. they’ll talk when they have something to talk about. the opinions of a fan group are pointless at the moment.
off your high horses boys – when the dust settles at anfield, i’d say you’d be the last fan group the new owners would consider for consultation
Do you people who say they support our club but who are against sos really realise what getting the right people to buy liverpool means this is are second and maybe last chance to get this sale right for if it falls in to ruthless buisness men as it did last time it could spiral out of control example leeds united ,portsmouth , nottingham forest so with out these people who love our club and who give up there time to represent weather you like it or not all us liverpool football club supporters then they must be backed to ask the relevent questions that we all should be wanting to know the answers to the searching questions that some supporters may be scarred to ask for the love of liverpool football club we should show solidarity in the pursue of the right buyer,s . as for the person who put forward the man united protest as the way forward what have they achived nothing they wear green and yellow scarfs yes over man united football shirts that they have bought and the money spent has gone in to the glazers pockets they have shouted abuse at the glazer family have they sold the club no not todate they havent and cant see them seeling up in the near future get real mate we are liverpool fc we do things are way not the mancs way if all us supporters dont all pull in the same direction we could be in the wilderness very soon if you dont believe me ask the teams mentioned did they believe it could happen to them football is a buisness not a sport and ruthless people are out there waiting to make a quick buck as we all no so let hope we dont get are fingers burnt twice because most of you had your heads up your arses so stand up and be counted like the sons of shankly
Ross sos do have a stake in the club as we all do they have had generations of familys supporting liverpool fc whos money has gone in to build the ground and build the great teams with out these people paying up front for season tickets or on the gate we would have no club . No ross sos represent all fans from all clubs because it is not only happening to our club mate and some one has to shine the light so others may stand up for there clubs . sorry mate sos are apreciated by lots of fans just not you .this privately owend buisness needs the support it gets the funds generated the shirt sales the merchantdice sold so why shouldnt they have a say in were there hard earned money is going and how its used . Ross the club cant even tell us if our manager is staying or going do you not think this is important i personnaly do mate and i think every supporter thinks the same what every feel about rafa . Ross if the current board do not no the future of the club then they should clear out asap thats why there on the directors board mate as for opinions of fan groups if the fan groups dont speak up we will be shafted once again mate .Ross my uninformed friend ther are no sos people on any high horse if any one is on there high horse it is the likes of you and a few other people on this site and i think that sos would not really care if they were the last fan group the new owners would talk to the most important thing is that they are the right owners due to the questions asked by the sons of shankly and the right answers that makes them the new owners and let me just add this Ross hopefully in the very near future i hope you and other people on this site are sitting in your seat at anfield and the club is running smoothly and the manger is still there or an equally sucsesful one is in place and we have new top class players on the playing field that you do not think it was you and the others on this site that achieved this because my friend it is not it is down to the efforts of the sons of shankly and by the way i am not amember of the sos but i soon will be after reading your post i have pulled my head out my arse i suggest you and others do the same
@Jack – couldn’t agree with you more and I have stated this in previous posts. The right checks and balances must be in place to avoid another Tom and George disaster. All I was trying to say was, let the guy get on with it. I do believe we the fans will be communicated with, but ultimately we’ll have very little say as to who gets to buy the club.
We have to trust in MB and CP and allow them to get the best deal for the club, the fans and the City (Liverpool that is) – it is not in anyone’s interest to mess up all over again.
By Antoine Zammit (Other posts by Antoine Zammit)
£40.1 million could have bought us a certain David Villa and we would have had change to spare for another player but instead the money went out to pay interest on the loan which Tom Hicks and George Gillett burdened on our club.
The club’s parent company Kop Football (Holdings) Limited published it’s financials (for the year ending July 31st 2009) today which I am sure will anger many Liverpool supporters like myself who keep hoping and praying the end of the Hicks and Gillett era comes soon. Also revealed in the financials was a huge payoff that former Chief Executive Rick Parry received as part of his severence package, Parry received a whopping £4.33 million (the price of two Sotirios Kyrgiakos) as compensation.
What is even more sickening is seeing that turnover has increased by £20m, operating profit by 10%, commercial revenue grew from £13.5m to £67.7m however the club made pre-tax loss of £54.9m thanks to the huge interest payments.
The only positive note to come out of the financials is that the number of employees at the club has increased by about 50% which does help the local economy.
We simply can not help it but be angry when we remember that the debt the club has was imposed by Tom Hicks and George Gillett when they purchased the club via a leveraged buyout.
BLOOD SUCKING COWBOYS, OUT NOW!!!!!
Ross did the liverpool board tell you about this !!!!
Maybe he couldn’t be bothered with people who can’t even spell ‘heels’?
It’s really sad to see not only the ‘fights’ within the club but that Pools supporters are quarreling among themselves. Shameful …. Sigh~
points taken albey, the ‘ high horses’ dig at the end was unnecessary and the best interests of the club are what we all have in common at the end of the day.
unfortunately though, generations of support and devotion count for absolutely nothing in terms of ownership or… a right to have a say in what happens to the club. while sos may feel that they have a right to have a say in the club, the simple fact is that as things stand, the banks are the only ones who have a say. h&g have defaulted on their loan, which is why the club is being flogged to the highest bidder…by the banks.
i don’t like this and would support a credible initiative to involve the fans in the ownership but there is nothing on the table at the moment. the fans, the life and soul of the club, are powerless
also, correct me if i’m wrong but sos seem to like the idea that their protests have taken the americans to the point where they are prepared to sell? undoubtedly, they have made the americans feel unwelcome but the decision to sell has come from the banks. have you ever seen any evidence suggesting that h&g give a sh$t what the fans think?
unfortunately, it’s out of our hands and the only thing that any of us can do is intimate to the board what we would like to see happen and hope that it be taken on board. that aside, all we can do is wait and see what happens.
we have a chairman drafted in to sell the club… he would be a fool to discuss this with anyone who was not seriously interested in buying the club and until a deal is struck, you – me – sos – or anybody will know a thing about it. that’s the simple truth.
as for sos, i don’t disagree with their principles and i admire their love of the club but i do think they have an inflated sense of self importance. without a share in the ownership, they are powerless and will never know what goes on in the boardroom. without wishing to be conceited about it, all that they are in a position to do is to organise more protests. against who or what though?
sitting tight and hoping for a rosey outcome is all anyone can do about it now regardless of how bitter that pill is to swallow.
no offense intended – only one fan’s opinion
albey – i’ve read more of your posts and come to the conclusion that it it would be best for all concerned if you put your head back up your ass. pulling it out of there hasn’t improved the cognitive process. there’s this thing, you see, it’s called the bigger picture and you seem to have missed it altogether..
ross 96 lives gives us the right to be involved or are you one of the new supporters who came in 2005 and you need to look at the bigger picture it is people like you and that numpty damo that this club is in the state its in and the cognitive process bet your one of them people that wont join a trade union but wants a pay rise every year wasting my time posting with you try pulling your head out of your arse mate you may smell the roses or are you a manc in disguise ?
Can I ask why you are bringing the 96 in to this? 1.) it has nothing to do with this discussion 2.) I won’t have my families name dragged into this arguement no way no how! I’m sorry but there was no reason in that, they didn’t fight a war to give us freedom like my grandad in the war they were involved in a horrific tradegy!
you seem more interested in name calling and the 96 deserve more respect than to be dragged needlessly into your cheap point scoring – shame on you
you’ve also struck a blow against constructive debate
you’re too low to bother with anymore
I didn’t agree with Ross but then that’s the point of debate to get your opinion out there. But like I’ve said before to bring in the 96 into this arguement is beyond belief for me. My cousin would be raging if he knew you were trying to use that as a valid point for the horrid position our club is in.
At the end of the day everyone is going to have their own opinion and you will always think yourself as being right, yes it gets heated but thats the joy of football as much as we might be having a heated debate, come sunday we’ll all be cheering the same team on together as one!
Whether you like the SOS is a matter of choice, a choice we all have, not something thats been given to us by the death of a family memeber, and 95 other fans. Quoting Hillsborough in a argument doesn’t make you a better fan, it makes you a better idiot.
End of discussion as far as i’m concerned
Ross you still don’t get it. Your arguments are sound but your missing the crux of the problem. You say all the fans are looking for answers. Well how many of them as a unit have actually requested a face to face meeting with the people entrusted with the sale of the club? We are all including myself sitting writing posts but we are not sure what Broughton’s mode of operation is. I am genuinely more than happy to support you if you actually try and pose these qustions to the board. Sitting at home and complaining will not get any of us supporters anywhere.
To steve please for give me for bringing up the cherished 96 and i do appoligise if i upset you and did not mean any disrespect to your cousin or you in any way . The reason i brought this up was to highlight to ross that we lfc supporters have got a say in the running of the club in no way did i mean to refare that the club is in the state its in because of the 96 i was there in the lepings lane that day my friend and have suffered ever since i dont expect or want sympahty because i was lucky i escaped with my life . And Ross that is a very cheap shot to jump on stevens valid complaint to which i have acknoledged and explained but you my friend is whats up with this country you have no back bone nothing gets done individualy its gets done collectivley so as i pointed out to you in an earlier post when your sat in your seat in anfield and the club has been taken over and god willing by good owners and every thing is back to normality do not my friend sit there with a smug grin on your face because you will not of done anything constructive enough durring these dark days to warrant that grin . One last thing Ross my friend with out protest we may all be speaking german today but your probly not old enough to understand that statement .
Ross my friend read Jacks post very sensible post it is to.
I’m sorry mate but I genuinly don’t believe you were there for one second, my cousin who lost his life there went with his brother and like everyone else who came out of hillsborough would never dream of using it in any arguement to better someone! And in all fairness they don’t even talk about it because of how horrible it was him and his friends don’t even speak about it even when I ask about the truth of the day
hi jack and steve and albey and all of you,
reading back just now, this has all got a bit heated and it’s as much my fault as anyone’s so ‘hands up’ for my part.
it’s my first time ever actually posting anything and i lost the run of myself a bit.
We shouldn’t be rowing with each other like this – we need to be more respectful of each others opinions when we don’t agree – we’re all the one at the match, we all want the same thing, we’re all of us shitting it a bit about the future and it’s frustrating not knowing anything about what’s going on, reckon that’s what’s making me a bit cranky
once again, hands up
ross
Nice one Ross respect mate and i appoligise if i was over the top as you rightly point out were all scared shitless what happens to our club and yes lets all pull together in the red course and to steve my friend unfortunatly i was at sheffield weds ground and i seen things that haunt me as much today as on that day mate and just to let you no how bad i watched the sheff wed game against palace last week at the end when they came on to the pitch i broke down and cried like a baby as it all came flashing back to me and the horrors i seen so steven i once again appoligise for any upset to you and your family mate i may have caused it was a stupid statement but at the time i thought it was relevant in the discussion but i was wrong very sorry mate .albey
just to cheers us all up chelsea 5-0up no number nineteen ha ha ha
Here’s a scenario, if you (H&G) failed on your mortgage payments, you would need to sell your house in order to pay your debts. It would go to auction, so if you owed 350 mill, do you think the bank is going to wait for someone to pay 600 mill? I think they,re going to take the 350 and call it quits, that’s why a quick sale is likely……….goodbye H&G, let Broughton do his job and select the right buyer.
Just like rick parry did a billy right !