Spirit Of Shankly – March on Saturday

[RoadEnd]

ShareLiverpoolFC Supports SoS Action

On Friday 5th September, the Liverpool Supporters’ Union, Spirit of Shankly, published an open letter addressed to the CEO and shareholders of RBS, the financial institution that has provided Tom Hicks & George Gillett with the loans that they, in turn, have used to burden Liverpool Football Club with unprecedented levels of debt and massive interest repayment liabilities. The letter urges RBS to consider carefully before extending this loan, a loan that, ultimately, must be paid for by us, the supporters of Liverpool Football Club. ShareLiverpoolFC supports the sentiments expressed in the letter and welcomes wholeheartedly the open discussion on the future ownership of Liverpool Football Club that Spirit of Shankly is seeking to generate.

Why has it come to this? Why are supporters famed throughout the football world for their unstinting loyalty and inspirational support of a legendary football club, a club renowned the world over for the unique bond that it has with its supporters, resorting to protests and lobbying financial institutions to prevent their football club from re-financing its debt? Put simply, we are devastated that fans should need to resort to such tactics. However, Liverpool Football Club is in a parlous state and we share a belief with Spirit of Shankly that the owners of the club must take full responsibility for the current, increasingly desperate, situation.

Gillett and Hicks have proven that they are not able to run Liverpool Football Club in the ‘Liverpool Way.’ They have betrayed Liverpool fans and the club itself over and over again. They have failed to keep their promise to uphold the traditions of Liverpool FC and be true ‘custodians’ of the Club. They have failed to keep their promise not to burden the Club with debt. They have failed to support our manager, both in his day-to-day work and in the transfer market. They have failed to make any progress in building the promised new stadium. Never before have we seen our club embarrassed publicly as we have over the last year or more. The owners have demonstrated a lack of integrity and professionalism and have failed miserably in their ill-conceived attempts to communicate with Liverpool supporters.

Spirit of Shankly’s open letter to RBS is a poignant drive by loyal match-going fans for something to be done to de-stabilize the current unsustainable situation. The immediate aim is to make RBS aware of the strength of feeling among Liverpool fans and of the risks involved to the long-term business strategy of Gillett and Hicks if they do not have the fans’ support. The ultimate aim is, of course, to remove the current owners from their untenable positions.

Spirit of Shankly is calling for all fans concerned for the future of Liverpool Football Club to demonstrate their concerns and join them on a march prior to the match this Saturday (13th September). The march will begin at Liverpool Supporters’ Club, Lower Breck Road, at 11am.

Like Spirit of Shankly, ShareLiverpoolFC believes that the solution to Liverpool Football Club’s current predicament must lie in a change of ownership. We believe that the fans – the very people who create the Club’s identity and uniqueness, and those who collectively pay more into the club’s coffers than any sponsor –should have the right to determine the club’s future direction. For this reason, and in solidarity with the common goal of ousting the current owners, ShareLiverpoolFC fully supports Saturday’s protest and we urge you to join with us in marching with many other loyal Liverpool supporters on Saturday morning.

ShareLiverpoolFC

[Gaz]

I certainly think this is a better course of action rather than the boycott of RBS etc and with this being covered by every major sports channel this will definately get some decent media coverage if enough people get involved and it's done properly

[redwien]

I wish these buffoons would stop claiming to speak for fans, I can't stand them and now I've heard that they're spreading rumours that if you don't join their union then you won't be able to get tickets for the match!!!

Shanky would be spinning in his grave

Scab

[matthew57]

I wish these buffoons would stop claiming to speak for fans, I can't stand them and now I've heard that they're spreading rumours that if you don't join their union then you won't be able to get tickets for the match!!!

Shanky would be spinning in his grave

Please elaborate.

[redwien]

not from any of them, there's a panic among some fans because of it

and no, I don't work for any of them

I was actually just joking with the "Scab" comment but the more I think about your post the more I think maybe you do ****in work for G&H - ya know divided we conquer and all. What's your problem with fans protesting about the owners? And just where did you here this "rumour" about tickets? or are u just a WUM?

[redstaralex]

I was actually just joking with the "Scab" comment but the more I think about your post the more I think maybe you do ****in work for G&H - ya know divided we conquer and all. What's your problem with fans protesting about the owners? And just where did you here this "rumour" about tickets? or are u just a WUM?

you should know better than to call someone a scab purely because they don't agree with you, it's a vile insult

I dislike g&h as much as the next supporter and I've got no problem with marching to protest, I'll stick with not spending at the match and not spending in the shop, what I don't like is the way that sos speak as the voice of the fans when we don't all agree with them

and as for the rumour, you'll notice that I said it was no more than a rumour (I received several text messages from different friends who go to the match all saying the same thing) but these things tend to cause trouble very quickly and people will turn up and follow because they're scared of missing out in the future not because they agree

[redstaralex]

Please elaborate.

please see last reply to redwien

[Exiled_red]

Just wondering how this went, I didn't see any media coverage of it

[Tee]

Hope the march went well - seemed to get soem media coverage, well from the BBC anyway. Well done to those who participated.

[Exiled_red]

Hope the march went well - seemed to get soem media coverage, well from the BBC anyway. Well done to those who participated.

Ah the BBC covered it then? I didn't see anything on Sky but I guess I shouldn't be suprised at that

[Jayesh87]

Anfield approach suggests Premier league doomsday is not far off

It is a sad indictment of English football that a game as big as Liverpool v Manchester United should be overshadowed by protest



The doomsday theory says the Premier League will eat itself should the influx of overseas investors and the march of the global brand continue. The approach to Anfield this morning said we are already there.

For at least 1,000 Liverpool supporters, and it appeared far more when they congregated next to the Kop before kick off, the biggest game in the league calendar meant another protest march and another demonstration against the unfulfilled promises and debt-ridden reality of the club's American owners. The presence of George Gillett - and to be fair to the co-owner accused of ruling in absentia, he rarely misses a home game against Manchester United - thus ensured more eyes were trained on the directors' box than Dimitar Berbatov when these hated rivals took to the field at Anfield. Whatever happened to just meeting in the pub? To the escapism and, perish the thought, the fun? It is, for many, long gone.

Disillusionment and skewed priorities were not confined to events surrounding today's fixture, when Rafael Benítez's side overcame an ominous start superbly through sheer force of will. At Newcastle, thousands more will stage their own protest at the reign of Mike Ashley and the presence of Denis Wise, doing a conga around St James' Park as they go, while no less an authority that Mark Hughes believes Manchester City versus Chelsea represents the grandest fixture on show on account of their respective bank-balances. Not their combined total of three league titles in the past 40 years against the 21 championships and eight European Cups that Liverpool and United can boast between them in the same period, of course, just their projected cash flows. The sad thing is so many buy into the chilling ideas of Garry Cook, City's executive chairman, and barely raise an eyebrow when Peter Kenyon, Chelsea's chief executive, leads the team up to collect their Champions League runners-up medals.

Those who do recoil can be found on Liverpool's Breck Road and outside St James' Park today. And they will be drowned out if, or when, their club becomes awash with Arabian money and is able to talk seriously of fantasy transfers once again. Gillett at least cannot claim to be unawares of the depth of anger against himself and co-owner Tom Hicks following this weekend's protests, whether organised by the Spirit of Shankly group or otherwise.

Gillett and his minders are believed to have had to leave a Liverpool city centre pub on Friday night amid concern for the American's safety. Either that or they left in disgust at the early drinking curfew in Ye Cracke's beer garden. We've all been there. Gillett was sat four rows back in the director's box instead of at the front and directly behind those supporters straining to catch a glimpse, and pass on their thoughts, to Liverpool's co-owner. Meanwhile, out on the pitch, an enthralling game took place.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog...ewcastleunited

[Exiled_red]

Thanks Milkman

[Jayesh87]

Thanks Milkman

I ALWAYS deliver

[Rashid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0OFAXPyBO4

Well done lads.

[matthew57]

and as for the rumour, you'll notice that I said it was no more than a rumour (I received several text messages from different friends who go to the match all saying the same thing) but these things tend to cause trouble very quickly and people will turn up and follow because they're scared of missing out in the future not because they agree

This is feeble , you said SOS were spreading the rumour. Evidence?