Meeting with George Gillett, 13th Sept 2008
On Saturday September 13th several Spirit of Shankly Union committee members met, at short notice, with George Gillett at Anfield a few hours prior to the match with Manchester United. The meeting had been called by Mr Gillett so that he could hear, in his words, "what was on our minds".
Mr Gillet was accompanied by Chief Executive Rick Parry and long-time family business associate, Jim Skidmore.
The Union laid out unequivocally its opposition to Gillett and Hick's tenure at the club. Mr Gillett was told in the strongest terms that they had failed to deliver on their pledges regarding their ownership. He was left in no doubt that the Union saw neither he nor Tom Hicks as fit to run Liverpool Football Club. He was reminded of three basic claims that they had made when acquiring the club:
That no debt would be placed directly upon the club
That work on a new stadium - the whole point of the sale of the club - would begin almost immediately. "A spade in the ground in 60 days"
That he would respect the clubs traditions and values conducting the clubs affairs in a proper manner in keeping with 'The Liverpool Way'
Mr Gillett was told that the management structure at the club was untenable; that the division within the club was causing stagnation at best, and at worst causing us to fall behind our rivals. Gillett was told that the club appears to have no real, clear leadership. The apparent lack of dialogue between himself and Tom Hicks was a real cause for concern for all Liverpool fans, as was the lack of dialogue between Tom Hicks and Rick Parry. We made it clear that the internal warring at the club was a great of source of embarrassment and concern for all supporters. The Union then pressed him on the issue of saddling the club with a huge debt, reducing its ability to compete in the transfer market as profits are eaten up by repayments.
In response, Mr Gillett agreed that the leadership issues were far from perfect and that communication was not as it should be. He described the position as "cumbersome". He did, however, take exception at being branded a liar over other issues. The club's financial position changed, he insisted, because of the global financial situation, not because he reneged on any previous promise. External circumstances outside his control, with the banks, were the cause of the debt being placed upon Liverpool FC during the refinancing process.
This was, he went on, at the banks' and other financial institutions' insistence although he would not explain how the credit crunch itself could cause such a reorganisation of the debt. Mr Gillett also failed to reconcile, in the Union's eyes, his own stated intention of not loading the club with debt, with his partner's modus operandi in the leveraged buy-out business, whereby - in Hick's words - "When I was in the leverage buy-out business we bought Weetabix and we leveraged it up to make our return. You could say that anyone who was eating Weetabix was paying for our purchase of Weetabix. It was just business. It is the same for Liverpool".
He denied that the debt and lack of operating finances had led us to fall behind in the transfer market; claiming that the club was in "decent" financial shape and had outspent everyone - bar Chelsea – over recent seasons. He claimed that the club had plenty of money to pay any debt repayments (he categorically denied it was anywhere near the £30m quoted in the press, but would not elaborate when pressed for a more accurate figure) and to operate in the transfer market. He denied that neither he, nor Hicks had taken any money out of the club, other than legitimate legal expenses accrued during the takeover. He reiterated the club's previous announcement that the turnaround in the global financial markets had led to a temporary halt on the stadium build. "The credit crunch", he insisted, "is here - it is real".
Mr Gillett agreed to look into a number of issues such as the £29 fan card membership scheme and other recent initiatives that we felt were squeezing the ordinary fan and were, instead, catering for the corporate market. He also agreed to consider the effect that the stadium delay was having on the overall regeneration of the Anfield area.
Despite all of Mr Gillett's claims, and his attempts to play down the situation we find ourselves in at the moment, we have not and will not be changing our stance. We remain unmoved in wanting Tom Hicks and George Gillett out of this football club, for the benefit of the club and for all of its supporters.
Meeting with Rafa Benitez, Melwood 18th Sept 2008, 2pm
A delegation from the Spirit of Shankly accepted an invitation from Rafa Benitez to meet with him at Melwood on Thursday 18th September after training had been completed. The meeting lasted just under four hours and covered the many aspects of Liverpool Football Club. The manager enthusiastically confirmed his commitment to Liverpool Football Club emphasising that he and his family were very settled on Merseyside and that he was as determined as ever to bring success to Anfield. The delegation listened to the manager’s passion and vision for the club and its future but also some of his already widely reported frustrations in not securing some of his primary transfer targets.
Rafa Benitez spoke at length of his love of Liverpool Football Club and especially the fans whom he described as 'the heart and soul of this football club'. He said he was extremely grateful to the supporters who had marched in his support last November 2007 prior to the Porto Champions League game. He persistently emphasised he was very happy at the club and was determined to win more silverware for the club and its supporters. He confirmed he had been approached by other clubs but was intent on staying here, as has been widely reported in the press previously. He acknowledged the financial situation at the club but emphasised that he was determined to bring more success to Liverpool Football Club even though he was 'not on a level playing field' with other top clubs in terms of finance, which would now include Manchester City after the recent takeover.
Rafa Benitez emphasised time and time again that he was a 'winner' and would do everything in his power to achieve this goal and he wanted everyone at the club to work together in order to achieve this. He felt that some of the other 'top clubs' had a united front when it came to dealing with The FA The Premier League and the Referees Body (PGMOL). He felt as a football club we were sometimes unwilling to fight our corner.
The delegation asked him if it would be possible for Liverpool Reserves to play at Anfield as this would give the opportunity for local youngsters to visit the ground and see some of the first team squad. Rafa Benitez said he didn't think the pitch at Anfield could sustain the added amount of games. He said he wanted the Reserves to play at The Academy with a small purpose built stand based on the Real Madrid model - he said he had given the hierarchy his ideas some time ago but as yet nothing had happened.
Rafa Benitez was very enthusiastic about the role Sammy Lee was undertaking and felt that Sammy embodied the Spirit of Shankly and understood the value of the Holy Trinity of the players, the coaching staff and the supporters.
The meeting finished with a tour of the excellent facilities at Melwood. During this tour Rafa explained that they had adorned the corridors with images of the history of Liverpool Football Club to emphasise the heritage and traditions of our great club. He also explained in detail why he had altered one tradition and requested that 'You'll Never Walk Alone' be played and sung when the players were on the pitch. He felt that this would inspire our players and strike fear into the opposition.
On Saturday September 13th several Spirit of Shankly Union committee members met, at short notice, with George Gillett at Anfield a few hours prior to the match with Manchester United. The meeting had been called by Mr Gillett so that he could hear, in his words, "what was on our minds".
Mr Gillet was accompanied by Chief Executive Rick Parry and long-time family business associate, Jim Skidmore.
The Union laid out unequivocally its opposition to Gillett and Hick's tenure at the club. Mr Gillett was told in the strongest terms that they had failed to deliver on their pledges regarding their ownership. He was left in no doubt that the Union saw neither he nor Tom Hicks as fit to run Liverpool Football Club. He was reminded of three basic claims that they had made when acquiring the club:
That no debt would be placed directly upon the club
That work on a new stadium - the whole point of the sale of the club - would begin almost immediately. "A spade in the ground in 60 days"
That he would respect the clubs traditions and values conducting the clubs affairs in a proper manner in keeping with 'The Liverpool Way'
Mr Gillett was told that the management structure at the club was untenable; that the division within the club was causing stagnation at best, and at worst causing us to fall behind our rivals. Gillett was told that the club appears to have no real, clear leadership. The apparent lack of dialogue between himself and Tom Hicks was a real cause for concern for all Liverpool fans, as was the lack of dialogue between Tom Hicks and Rick Parry. We made it clear that the internal warring at the club was a great of source of embarrassment and concern for all supporters. The Union then pressed him on the issue of saddling the club with a huge debt, reducing its ability to compete in the transfer market as profits are eaten up by repayments.
In response, Mr Gillett agreed that the leadership issues were far from perfect and that communication was not as it should be. He described the position as "cumbersome". He did, however, take exception at being branded a liar over other issues. The club's financial position changed, he insisted, because of the global financial situation, not because he reneged on any previous promise. External circumstances outside his control, with the banks, were the cause of the debt being placed upon Liverpool FC during the refinancing process.
This was, he went on, at the banks' and other financial institutions' insistence although he would not explain how the credit crunch itself could cause such a reorganisation of the debt. Mr Gillett also failed to reconcile, in the Union's eyes, his own stated intention of not loading the club with debt, with his partner's modus operandi in the leveraged buy-out business, whereby - in Hick's words - "When I was in the leverage buy-out business we bought Weetabix and we leveraged it up to make our return. You could say that anyone who was eating Weetabix was paying for our purchase of Weetabix. It was just business. It is the same for Liverpool".
He denied that the debt and lack of operating finances had led us to fall behind in the transfer market; claiming that the club was in "decent" financial shape and had outspent everyone - bar Chelsea – over recent seasons. He claimed that the club had plenty of money to pay any debt repayments (he categorically denied it was anywhere near the £30m quoted in the press, but would not elaborate when pressed for a more accurate figure) and to operate in the transfer market. He denied that neither he, nor Hicks had taken any money out of the club, other than legitimate legal expenses accrued during the takeover. He reiterated the club's previous announcement that the turnaround in the global financial markets had led to a temporary halt on the stadium build. "The credit crunch", he insisted, "is here - it is real".
Mr Gillett agreed to look into a number of issues such as the £29 fan card membership scheme and other recent initiatives that we felt were squeezing the ordinary fan and were, instead, catering for the corporate market. He also agreed to consider the effect that the stadium delay was having on the overall regeneration of the Anfield area.
Despite all of Mr Gillett's claims, and his attempts to play down the situation we find ourselves in at the moment, we have not and will not be changing our stance. We remain unmoved in wanting Tom Hicks and George Gillett out of this football club, for the benefit of the club and for all of its supporters.
Meeting with Rafa Benitez, Melwood 18th Sept 2008, 2pm
A delegation from the Spirit of Shankly accepted an invitation from Rafa Benitez to meet with him at Melwood on Thursday 18th September after training had been completed. The meeting lasted just under four hours and covered the many aspects of Liverpool Football Club. The manager enthusiastically confirmed his commitment to Liverpool Football Club emphasising that he and his family were very settled on Merseyside and that he was as determined as ever to bring success to Anfield. The delegation listened to the manager’s passion and vision for the club and its future but also some of his already widely reported frustrations in not securing some of his primary transfer targets.
Rafa Benitez spoke at length of his love of Liverpool Football Club and especially the fans whom he described as 'the heart and soul of this football club'. He said he was extremely grateful to the supporters who had marched in his support last November 2007 prior to the Porto Champions League game. He persistently emphasised he was very happy at the club and was determined to win more silverware for the club and its supporters. He confirmed he had been approached by other clubs but was intent on staying here, as has been widely reported in the press previously. He acknowledged the financial situation at the club but emphasised that he was determined to bring more success to Liverpool Football Club even though he was 'not on a level playing field' with other top clubs in terms of finance, which would now include Manchester City after the recent takeover.
Rafa Benitez emphasised time and time again that he was a 'winner' and would do everything in his power to achieve this goal and he wanted everyone at the club to work together in order to achieve this. He felt that some of the other 'top clubs' had a united front when it came to dealing with The FA The Premier League and the Referees Body (PGMOL). He felt as a football club we were sometimes unwilling to fight our corner.
The delegation asked him if it would be possible for Liverpool Reserves to play at Anfield as this would give the opportunity for local youngsters to visit the ground and see some of the first team squad. Rafa Benitez said he didn't think the pitch at Anfield could sustain the added amount of games. He said he wanted the Reserves to play at The Academy with a small purpose built stand based on the Real Madrid model - he said he had given the hierarchy his ideas some time ago but as yet nothing had happened.
Rafa Benitez was very enthusiastic about the role Sammy Lee was undertaking and felt that Sammy embodied the Spirit of Shankly and understood the value of the Holy Trinity of the players, the coaching staff and the supporters.
The meeting finished with a tour of the excellent facilities at Melwood. During this tour Rafa explained that they had adorned the corridors with images of the history of Liverpool Football Club to emphasise the heritage and traditions of our great club. He also explained in detail why he had altered one tradition and requested that 'You'll Never Walk Alone' be played and sung when the players were on the pitch. He felt that this would inspire our players and strike fear into the opposition.
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