AFC Liverpool Grassroots - Website & news

[alunevans]

We received an apology from Brian Reade this morning about the false way AFC Liverpool was described in his column in today's Mirror.

I refer you to our statement, which also appears on the front page of our website:

Oh Bloody Hell Brian!! A response to the Brian Reade Column
--------------------------------------------------------------

We just want to correct the inaccurate description of AFC Liverpool from Brian Reade's column in the Daily Mirror which described us as "a breakaway team called AFC Liverpool is being formed on the lines of FC United, the club set up by disillusioned Manchester United fans when the Glazers took over."

Brian has wrote to us to apologise stating that he sent this correction but it failed to go in: "As well as SOS, there is a fans' collective called ShareLiverpool trying to buy out the club, and a breakaway team called AFC Liverpool joining the North West Counties League to give working-class people who've been priced out of Anfield the chance to watch players wearing all-red, in the flesh."

We want to reiterate once again that we are NOT a breakaway team that is anti Liverpool. We are pro Liverpool and our target is those people who simply can't afford to go to Anfield to watch our beloved Liverpool. We want to keep those lost Reds together in an LFC community to pass on the Liverpool way to the next generation. We do not want to breakaway from Liverpool or replace Liverpool.

Our reason for being is also nothing to do with the owners!!!! Unless there's an owner on the horizon promising ticket prices that everyone could afford then the ownership issue is irrelevant because we are driven by the affordability of Premiership prices.

We hope Brian will now give us some serious coverage to correct this very damaging and untrue description. We ask those who have come here misinformed by this column to read everything on this website in order to reach a correct view of what we are all about.

[Darth Marty]

Alun, your doing a sterling job and lets be fair what you are attempting is fantastic. Its like a mini liverpool and will instill all the values our supporters need. Good stuff mate and keep it up, dont let the pessimists get you down mate. YNWA.

[alunevans]

Alun, your doing a sterling job and lets be fair what you are attempting is fantastic. Its like a mini liverpool and will instill all the values our supporters need. Good stuff mate and keep it up, dont let the pessimists get you down mate. YNWA.

Thanks mate. You've got exactly what I'm aiming for bang on the head. Didn't realise it'd take my every waking hour though. Thanks for the kind words. It lifts the exhausted.

[Jayesh87]

Why are you leafletting at Anfield on Sat, Anfield is for Liverpool FC and not AFC Liverpool ffs!

You will get a bad reaction imo.

[alunevans]

Why are you leafletting at Anfield on Sat, Anfield is for Liverpool FC and not AFC Liverpool ffs!

You will get a bad reaction imo.

Maybe some will give us ****. That's up to them. We're leafletting to let people know about us. Not everyone is on the internet. And I don't see what's so offensive about handing someone a leaflet.

If you were us, how would you let people know about us given that you expect your supporters to be Liverpool fans or friends and relatives of Liverpool fans.

Whats the problem with handing out some leaflets before the game. We're not calling a protest. We're saying this is who we are and this is why we exist, go have a read of it. So pass it onto a mate who can't afford the game no more.

What's so offensive about that?

How else are we meant to tell the LFC community about us outside of the internet. Trust me I'd rather not leaflet. I'm sick as a dog at the moment and I've got a major gig on Thursday and standing in the cold is the last thing I want to do. But how else are we meant to tell people about us?

And whats the big problem with handing out a leaflet?

[Jayesh87]

Maybe some will give us ****. That's up to them. We're leafletting to let people know about us. Not everyone is on the internet. And I don't see what's so offensive about handing someone a leaflet.

If you were us, how would you let people know about us given that you expect your supporters to be Liverpool fans or friends and relatives of Liverpool fans.

Whats the problem with handing out some leaflets before the game. We're not calling a protest. We're saying this is who we are and this is why we exist, go have a read of it. So pass it onto a mate who can't afford the game no more.

What's so offensive about that?

How else are we meant to tell the LFC community about us outside of the internet. Trust me I'd rather not leaflet. I'm sick as a dog at the moment and I've got a major gig on Thursday and standing in the cold is the last thing I want to do. But how else are we meant to tell people about us?

And whats the big problem with handing out a leaflet?

Well put it this way if someone come up to me at Anfielf before a Liverpool game and started talking to me about a new team that i should support and donate £35 too, i would be pissed off.

I like the idea of a AFC Liverpool.

But the fact you are sponging off Liverpool FC (forums, anfield etc.) is the wrong way to go about it imo.

Can i be manager now?

[Jayesh87]

Oh and whats with the emails every 5 mins ffs?? No need to update us on every lil thing. Just set up a website

[alunevans]

Oh and whats with the emails every 5 mins ffs?? No need to update us on every lil thing. Just set up a website

we didn't speak to anyone, we just politely gave out leaflets and moved on. nobody gave us grief. most seemed glad to get the leaflet, some were curious, the occasional person wasn't interested at all.

nobody is "sponging" off LFC. its LFC supporters who we have set up for, specifically the ones priced out of the top flight game.

as such it's impossible to let those people know about the fact that we now exist without speaking to the LFC community. i'd like to hear other ways of doing it if this is the wrong way, and i mean that genuinely.

and we have a website. its at www.afcliverpool.org.uk

if you read your emails you'd already know that

[Jayesh87]

we didn't speak to anyone, we just politely gave out leaflets and moved on. nobody gave us grief. most seemed glad to get the leaflet, some were curious, the occasional person wasn't interested at all.

nobody is "sponging" off LFC. its LFC supporters who we have set up for, specifically the ones priced out of the top flight game.

as such it's impossible to let those people know about the fact that we now exist without speaking to the LFC community. i'd like to hear other ways of doing it if this is the wrong way, and i mean that genuinely.

and we have a website. its at www.afcliverpool.org.uk

if you read your emails you'd already know that

i actually have the website bookmarked

you have to admit you guys av sent alot of emails!

the way i wud do it is just thru word off mouth, local media and maybe try and get on SSN and not at LFC games. Not saying dnt talk to lfc fans just not on matchday at Anfield.

[alunevans]

i actually have the website bookmarked

you have to admit you guys av sent alot of emails!

the way i wud do it is just thru word off mouth, local media and maybe try and get on SSN and not at LFC games. Not saying dnt talk to lfc fans just not on matchday at Anfield.

thing is lots of stuff is happening and new people are joining by the score all the time. when you're setting up an entire football club within the blink of an eye everything moves fast, plus we want to let people know that there are jobs that need doing once we're up and running and even before.

on top of that, when we go quiet we get loads of people asking why they've not heard from them. given that this club will be a coop we'd rather be guilty of too much info rather than too little. its one of them i suppose.

i don't think anyone objected to getting a leaflet. we did it early and it's resulted in a lot of new members so well worth doing. i wouldn't do it at the Everton game mind you, but don't see the prob doing it when playing Reading.

We're starting to get some more media coverage now that we're looking for players and have advertised for a new manager, albeit the coverage has been either local or non league specific.

Plus Ricky Hatton's PR company have come on board for free because they're so enthused by what we're doing, so hopefully there'll be more media coverage in the weeks ahead.

But it's hard to get media coverage when you refuse to attack LFC. I've been advised by a journalist that we'd get a ton of media coverage if we said this was a protest against Liverpool but there's no way anybody within the group is going to do that.

So if the media don't touch us because we refuse to become a war story for them then we have no choice but to go direct to the fans - and matchday is the easiest time.

We have press released the likes of Sky and Setanta, and all the nationals know we exist (well, all but the obvious!!!) but only Brian Reade has shown any interest so far. And that's because we loyally defend the club and refuse to attack it. Even when talking about affordability (the reason why we exist) we point out that Liverpool FC has always been one of the most sensitively priced.

The media prefer a fight. They'd be all over us if we had a pop at LFC but of course we won't because thats not what we're about. As a result the big media aren't fussed about us at the moment. So going direct to our own is the only way to go. I don't think anyone minded, and judging by the response, many were keen enough to join.

I know what you're saying mate, but it's not so easy when it comes to doing it. We could get on Sky tomorrow if we knifed the club, but we're all Reds, we love the club, we have no issue with LFC, we want a friendly relationship with LFC - and because we won't crap on the club the media aren't so interested so getting on the likes of SSN or Setanta isn't as easy as it seems

[Kenneth]

From Beeb:

"Liverpool supporters who are no longer able to afford to watch their team have formed a breakaway club, AFC Liverpool. (Telegraph) "

So it's a Liverpool paupers club

[smither]

It's not about being 'paupers.'

If you can afford £35 every other weekend then fine. But there's a lot of people who can't, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to even get hold of a ticket at Anfield these days.

The plans are in place so you can watch AFC Liverpool on Saturday at 3pm and all things being well won't clash with any Liverpool FC home games. How many times have Liverpool played at 3pm this season?

It's not just about affordability, it's about bringing the game back to how it used to be.

[Resu]

Looks like Football365 has got the idea right:
http://football365.com/story/0,17033...318678,00.html

And your even getting mentioned over here in Norway, Alun.
http://www.nettavisen.no/sport/fotba...cle1693357.ece

[Kenneth]

It's not about being 'paupers.'

If you can afford £35 every other weekend then fine. But there's a lot of people who can't, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to even get hold of a ticket at Anfield these days.

The plans are in place so you can watch AFC Liverpool on Saturday at 3pm and all things being well won't clash with any Liverpool FC home games. How many times have Liverpool played at 3pm this season?

It's not just about affordability, it's about bringing the game back to how it used to be.

I know. I was commenting on the impression given by the headline.

[smither]

I know. I was commenting on the impression given by the headline.

Sorry, thought you were having a pop