Player power for the supporters

[topscorer]

Liverpool players have been more openly, if still subtly, expressing their unity with the fans in the desire to see new owners but with the recent revelations that Hicks is seeking to pay off RBS & buy out Gillett & even bring his son back onto the BOD I think it's time for the players to flex their muscles & use their 'player power' to help the fans.

However admirable or not the work of SOS in it's attempts to force change I have reached the conclusion that fans are not united enough or organised enough to force change & we need the forceful support of the players to end the nightmare we currently live in.

It's time for the players to unite with the fans & use the ultimate power they have & we don't.

It's much easier, & far more influential, for a couple of dozen players to boycott a game through strike action than it is for fans to try & keep over 40,000 seats empty when so many are season ticket holders & so much emotion is involved.

I think players must make clear, publicly if necessary, that they will strike if H&G still control the club after the 6th October deadline.

The threat of a strike will, hopefully, force the BOD & RBS to use all their powers to block any attempt by Hicks to keep control of the club & give RBS the nerve they need to take control of the club & sell it at a realistic price.

The players more than anyone else are the smallest group of people with the greatest influence over the decision makers.

A strike threat would make it impossible for Hicks to retain control.

We need our players more than ever in the history of the club to step forward & force the will of the fans onto the power brokers & to show their unity with us off as well as on the pitch.

Gerrard, Carra - scousers & heart of the club stand up & lead us. Everyone will follow.

[Buzzo]

Liverpool players have been more openly, if still subtly, expressing their unity with the fans in the desire to see new owners but with the recent revelations that Hicks is seeking to pay off RBS & buy out Gillett & even bring his son back onto the BOD I think it's time for the players to flex their muscles & use their 'player power' to help the fans.

However admirable or not the work of SOS in it's attempts to force change I have reached the conclusion that fans are not united enough or organised enough to force change & we need the forceful support of the players to end the nightmare we currently live in.

It's time for the players to unite with the fans & use the ultimate power they have & we don't.

It's much easier, & far more influential, for a couple of dozen players to boycott a game through strike action than it is for fans to try & keep over 40,000 seats empty when so many are season ticket holders & so much emotion is involved.

I think players must make clear, publicly if necessary, that they will strike if H&G still control the club after the 6th October deadline.

The threat of a strike will, hopefully, force the BOD & RBS to use all their powers to block any attempt by Hicks to keep control of the club & give RBS the nerve they need to take control of the club & sell it at a realistic price.

The players more than anyone else are the smallest group of people with the greatest influence over the decision makers.

A strike threat would make it impossible for Hicks to retain control.

We need our players more than ever in the history of the club to step forward & force the will of the fans onto the power brokers & to show their unity with us off as well as on the pitch.

Gerrard, Carra - scousers & heart of the club stand up & lead us. Everyone will follow.

Believe it or not there is a precedent for this. I live in Edinburgh and have been a season ticket at Heart of Midlothian (though not now). Hearts are now owned by a Mental Lithuanian Banker called Vladimir Romanov. Hearts are supported by 16,000 passionate supporters, and as a support the Hearts supporters are renowned as being very vocal and vociferous in their support of the team. If things are not going well you here about it form the stands... all the time.

A few year ago now exactly the scenario you are outlining happened, with 3 leading players holding a press conference (Steven Pressley (Club Captain), Paul Hartley, and Craig Gordon) explaining the disillusionment with the clubs owner, a view mirrored by the clubs support. It was believed at this point that the owner was picking the team and faxing it through to the manager from Lithuania before kick off, and some of the selections were bizarre to say the least.

It did not all end well. I went to the game the weekend after this happened, all 3 were dropped despite being the clubs three best players, other than Craig Gordon I am not sure if any of them played more than a couple of games after this. Pressley went on to be sold to Celtic, to be followed by Hartley - they both won the league there (!) and Gordon was sold later on in the season to Sunderland for £9m. Steven Pressley (Elvis to the fans) was a player held in the highest of esteem by Hearts supporters, a player similar to Jamie Carragher in so much as he had made the most of his limited ability, he was a proud chap and had captained Hearts to win the Scottish Cup the previous season, only the second time they had won a trophy in 40 odd years.

As the ring leader of the three he was first to get shown the door. He then signed for Celtic (he had no choice but to move on) and scored for them on his return to Hearts. He is still hated to this day for celebrating the goal a bit too much..! To this day I can't believe big Elvis ended up being booed at Tynecastle, but this is how it ended up for him. He went out on a limb, and it back fired... the club continued and moved on, he was moved on. Imagine if you will Jamie Carragher ending up in the position where his contract isn't renewed, he still wants to play football though. What offers are on the table for him... Everton??? Man U???

Hearts problems remain to this day, the team is weaker, the supporters just as disillusioned, but they turn up week after week to vent their frustrations - at the board, and at the team. It is what they have always done it is what they always will do. There is little success at Hearts but the crowd are vocal win, lose or draw. The guys that buy seaosn tickets do so because they always have and if they don't who will keep the club giong.

At the end of the day the players are employees of LFC and any actions - whilst admirable in the eyes of the supporters - will undoubtedly breech contracts and could result in them being benched and then sold on - no matter who they are. Supporters will still turn up week after week and the players involved would be resigned to memory within a few years, reputations potentially tarnished, I have seen it happen.

As supporters we could do a lot more, boycott games, demonstrate etc. but in my opinion we should leave the players to play football for the club.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article616909.ece

[Fernandinho]

I think the difference between these cases is that if the club tries a quick fire sale of their best players, it wont be 2 or 3 mil difference in the transfers it could be 10 or 15 mil difference and probably an amount the yanks won't be too keen to loose.

[Arn]

Another difference seems to be that Gillett and Hicks isn't in control anymore. The other three board members seems to be in full controll(Ayre, Broughton and Purslow).

That means that our players can strike or make their voice heard without any fear at all of being dropped or sold.

That is a BIG difference.