impware

You getting one of those new seats that face away from the pitch?

I, for one, welcome our new uninspiring and mediocre overlord.

There's a clear explanation as to the thinking behind this at the link in the 1st post.

Well as long as you're OK then...

No autocup for me.

Went to Hamburg for the Europa Cup (we'd taken a chance and booked before the semi and decided to go for a laugh anyway) and visited St. Pauli's ground and shop. My mate had been banging on about what a good bunch their fans were, and I have to say after doing a bit of digging, I agree. I don't do 'second favourite teams' but if I did it'd be them. There's a bit we could learn from their fans. St. Pauli Fans gegen Rechts!

Someone on TLW has posted that they've had their renewal come through: MAIN STAND / CENTENARY 732 ONLINE ( 785 OTHER) ANNY ROAD 722 ONLINE ( 774 OTHER) KOP 680 ONLINE ( 732 OTHER) ALL RENEWALS BY 25TH JUNE NO EARLY RENEWAL DISCOUNT, ONLINE DISCOUNT ONLY

Fully support this idea and have been banging on about it for a week or two to anyone I know who's a match goer.

Sadly yes, it's not something I take lightly but if there is the possibility it helps remove H&G then it's a sacrifice I'm prepared to make. I can't see any other action that I can take as an individual, that would increase the pressure on them to sell. Even giving up the ST altogether could be worse as it could go to someone who doesn't care less about the owners (not a dig at you, I understand where you're coming from). I'm not sure that's true anymore. With the current feeling around the town a lot of casual gloryhunter fans won't bother as we're likely to be crap, a lot of the more committed but non ST holding fans won't as they want H&G out as much as the rest of us, especially if it's made into an 'official' boycott. Then the OOC (hardcore aside) crew are always less likely to appear as organised trips to cup games, especially midweek one, are too much for those travelling in from Ireland or Norway. It got harder and harder as last season went on to even give tickets away when we had a spare going, so I think with a bit of publicity from SOS it could be made to work.

That's why by boycotting cup games only, those from the 30,000 (or whatever) ST holders that want to, can make a gesture that'll be noticed. Without them being left out in the cold for their sacrifice when H&G have finally gone.

In the past your heart would have been in the right place with that sentiment, but, the rules have changed. It's not because of a poor season on the pitch that people are questioning putting their cash into the club, it's exactly because Hicks is banking on that kind of 'brand loyalty' you express to keep the turnstiles spinning - no matter how much debt he can pile onto the club before he one day does a bunk with a tidy payoff, leaving us a smoldering wreck. Spoilt bandwagon jumping wannabe? I don't think so.

I've made my choice. I'm never giving up my ST but when the renewal does arrive I'm not signing up to the autocup. No more cup games for me while H&G are still here. Sky sports is going too.

Wasn't it about £630 last year? That's a bit of a jump, we must be signing snoogy doogy or someone.

Paul Dalglish maybe...

With that sort of thinking the team would be transformed alright, probably into a Coca-Cola championship side.

I can't help but think of it as the club needing chemotherapy as soon as possible before the debt tumour grows too big. Hicks has shown stateside that he's difficult to remove so any tactic that cuts him out, whatever the short term damaging side effects, is worth it to prevent greater long term damage or a terminal decline. Sorry for the hyberbole. A two pronged approach would be good though, pressure on the bank with negative publicity, but at the same time as has been suggested an open and friendly approach to the new Government, (possibly via Michael Howard?). Point to the damage to the local regeneration of the Anfield area and suggest that the Tories massive unpopularity in the area might, just might, start to be reversed if they were to assist in some way...

RBS need to call in the loan, in the current climate and with their reputation H&G wouldn't be able to repay. The club goes into administration with RBS in control. They set the price to £235m to recoup their original loan (they've made a killing on fees and interest anyway) and tell the buyers to form an orderly queue. We may have to take a 9 points deduction but we're not going to win the league next season anyway and we should still be able to stay clear of the relegation zone.

Posters outside all the main RBS offices, along the lines of... By the way, I take no credit for the bloodbag image - I've just copied and rejigged one done by someone unknown and spotted by Maldini a while back on the Takeover thread. It was originally aimed at H&G.

But that's got little to do with his game plan. He's never banked on success, but the loyalty to the brand. Midtable is fine for him as the club can carry on paying the interest and he can sit and wait for as long as he wants for a silly offer. His valuation of the club has always been based on it's long term potential, he even includes the potential revenue generated by the unbuilt stadium! He will try and sell the club on it's potential to fill an imaginary stadium and it's potential to earn silly money from imagined future tv and internet contracts 10 years down the line, not on whether we're in next year's CL. If it all goes horribly wrong he can still walk away without having lost a cent, so he's not got any reason to sell quickly or cheaply.

RBS are turning the screw on us though, the club are paying the interest, not H&G. While that continues Hicks can play a waiting game as long as he likes for a mad offer that will never arrive. It's not costing him a penny.

You just have to look to the States to see how Hicks can drag things out to screw every last dime out. The Dallas News article from earlier today contained a quote that despite Hick's 'prepackaged' bankruptcy ploy: Get him out asap, if it takes administration so be it. It's easy for RBS to sit back and coin in the interest payments to the detriment of our club. Having a go at RBS and bringing them bad publicity may just bring a change - but protesting at Hicks is a waste of time.

H&G are gone. The bank looks to offload us quickly for a sensible amount rather than the 800 million Hicks is again quoted today as looking for. We've a good chance of hitting administration eventually anyway, it'd be better to get it done with before another 18 months has gone by with crippling interest payments and the prospect of losing the decent players we still have. H&G are gone. Worth repeating. I've put my money where Molby's mouth is and just joined SOS. No point in sounding off about things if I'm not prepared to at least try and change things.

Molby has this spot on. The future of the club can be changed by the bank but they sit back and screw us (not the yanks) for the interest payments. Nevermind the "H&G Not Welcome Here" posters, there should be "Boycott the RBS" posters plastered around as widely as possibe, with the biggest outside the front door of their HQ.

Keeps it in the back of their mind, more likely that someone will raise the issue in a meeting, works away in their subconcious that the banks image is tarnished by association. That sort of thing. If the posters are just aimed at us match going types then SOS shouldn't bother as it won't change a thing.

Heard a story once from one of my clients, an independant cereal manufacturer (bear with me). They were trying to get one of the major supermarkets to carry their line and getting nowhere, fobbed off repeatedly by the chief buyer who obviously didn't want to know as they weren't a well known brand and he only wanted popular household brands. So as they didn't have much money, they bought advertising billboards across the road from his office window and an ad panels on the side of a bus that went past the same window. 3 months later their MD went to see him and instead of being kept waiting for an hour before being brushed off, he was ushered straight in, given the red carpet treatment and, as 'your cereals are everywhere', given a big order. Subconciously he'd taken in the message and more importantly, assumed that it was in all of his customer's minds too. The point of this tale is that the current billboards and posters scattered around Liverpool are aimed at the wrong people, they're preaching to the converted. This LFC bloodbag poster needs putting up outside wherever the top brass of RBS are to be found. Let it catch the corner of their eyes on the way into work everyday and just sit there, subconciously gnawing away, keeping the pressure on so the next time the vermin ask for an extension...