meredithmathieson

Why? Why? Why? Just don't get it.

Of which the most significant bit is probably: "You won't need to send any money now – as and when we're in a position to buy shares in Liverpool Football Club, we'll send out a call for a non-refundable deposit (or a "part-paid share") – probably for £500. Once you pay, you (or your group) will then be a member of the ShareLiverpoolFC society, with an obligation to pay the remainder of the £5000 if and when we need it. If you can't, or don't want to pay the full amount at that point then you would cease to be a member."

"Doesn't make much sense. Why would Rafa insist on an unrealistic valuation. If he doesn't sell Crouch in this transfer window then we risk getting nothing." Maybe because, without that extra funding to allow Rafa to pursue somebody he wants, he would rather Crouch stay as the best alternative, and Crouch helping to achieve CL qualification next season is worth millions?

Dudek says that in 'One Night in May', which I last watched on a Wednesday evening a couple of weeks back. To be honest, I don't see where he says it, and it's not caught on camera at all, but it's a nice story.

And I thought that he was leaving because Gerrard had dumped him for a younger model!!

http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/mhgbeykfmhoj/ The link to the 38,000 Irish fans who have signed up. As I've said before, don't agree with or understand the apparent negativity re. ShareLiverpoolFC. As regards being 'attention whores', at least there are people trying to rectify the walking disaster-zone that is currently Liverpool FC, rather than just moaning about it on forums (like me!).

Indeed there is, Gunga Din. But if there is absolutely no chance of ShareLiverpool getting the numbers/pledges/finance that they need [as conventional wisdom on this Forum deems to be the case], I wonder why they are still around, going to the lengths they are?

Did anybody see that link saying that 38,000 had signed up IN IRELAND ALONE [my emphasis]. Is that right, or should it be 38,000 in total? Of course, I can't find the link now, which doesn't help...

I would like to think so, Mr. Whelan. The thought of Xabi leaving - one of only two players [OK, three if you include 'Pepe Reina'] that Rafa refers to other than by surname alone - makes me feel very sad.

That would be The Guardian that Ian Ross, the current Everton media man, used to work for then? Wonder how they managed to place that story? Everton worried about Kirkby if it gets called in by the Government, presumably?

QUOTE(Jonesy15 @ May 27 2008, 11:08) Is it too Machiavellian to think that Hicks started the rumours anyway just so that he could appear to be the great defender of Liverpool? "Look how much I'm backing Rafa, I won't sell Torres for £50m" Or is it too Machiavellian to suggest that the rumours were begun by DIC? We're sitting ducks for s***e like this at the moment.

As has been pointed out in many,many threads previously there certainly was, and surely still is despite rising costs, an overwhelming ECONOMIC argument for not groundsharing: i.e. the increased long-term revenue streams from a new stadium dwarf the short-term gain of only having to pay for half the ground. If there's one thing that G&H seem to appreciate, it's the filthy lucre, so hopefully this can be put to bed. Again. Plus, Everton can only afford the new stadium through the most generous efforts of Tesco. Why should Liverpool potentially endanger their future by taking up a huge loan with a club that don't have the proverbial pot to piss in? After all, you wouldn't take out a mortgage with a tramp that you don't like, would you?

Negativland: "still don't get why they will choose to have their press conference in another city, let alone, country. " As far as I understand it, this press conference is purely to raise awareness of ShareLiverpool in Ireland.

Just received this e-mail: [Once again, cue all the 'Nice idea, but it will never happen' replies!!] Close Season? Not for us! There may no club football for the next couple of months but that doesn't mean we won't carry on developing the ShareLiverpoolFC project as vigorously as we can. Over the coming weeks, a number of significant developments will take place. We expect the Financial Services Authority to finally approve the Constitution of the ShareLiverpoolFC Provident Society in the next few days. The Constitution provides a detailed account of the way the Society will operate and how its democratic structure will give 'fan members' the voting rights which will determine the running of ShareLiverpoolFC - and the appointment of the Executive Board which will run Liverpool Football Club when we gain a controlling interest. We will soon publish a shortened version of the Constitution on the newly built www.shareliverpoolfc.com website which will also go live shortly (we will inform you directly when that takes place). The new site will offer much greater flexibility and interactive facilities, with a sophisticated data system behind which will enable us to understand much more about the nearly 40,000 Liverpool fans who have already registered their interest in our project. Next week ShareLiverpoolFC will launch in Ireland, taking our message directly to one of our most passionate and supportive territories. A press conference will be held in Dublin on 30 May. More Legends to support ShareLiverpoolFC We will also be announcing the latest Liverpool FC legends to join the cause. That will be in the press at the end of next week, but you'll hear it from us here first. Support continues to grow from ordinary fans as well as former players, with over 3000 more people expressing an interest through www.shareliverpoolfc.com over the last few weeks. The issues that are driving support for ShareLiverpoolFC will not go away - indeed they will become even more significant as our Club tries to negotiate the vital transfer period, hamstrung by a divided ownership. Last week I addressed the All Party Parliamentary Football Group at Westminster, to contribute to its inquiry into "English Football and Its Governance". Being a subject dear to our hearts, I put forward a number of suggestions to limit the ability of individuals to take-over football clubs, how they are structured financially, and how fans could and should be given a proper role in the running of clubs. Ultimately the All Party Parliamentary Football Group is probably aware of most of these issues. As is the government, with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham, being a former Chair of Supporters Direct. What it really needs is the political will to act, and stop football clubs being traded as though they were any other commodity instead of vital parts of the community. If you want to get your feelings about what's happening to LFC off your chest, why not write to your MP? In the end, it's government that can most effectively protect the nation's football clubs from the outright predations of 'leveraged buy outs' (simply borrowing money to buy clubs - and then moving the debt onto the club). Recently, the French government blocked Pepsi from buying Danone on the grounds that it was a 'national strategic asset'. If yoghurt production can be a 'strategic asset' in France, why not football in UK? We'll be in touch again soon. Rogan Taylor On behalf of ShareLiverpoolFC www.shareliverpoolfc.com

The Benefit night for Alan Roy will take place at the Queen Of Peace in Litherland on Friday 6th June 2008. If anyone has got any raffle or auction items or would like to make a cash contribution please get in touch with me via PM. For those that didn't know Alan, he was one of the greatest Reds you could ever meet. A home and away die-hard for well over 20 years. One of the Vladikavkaz 38, an Amberline and later on Irregular stalwart, a great mate to so many and a caring Dad who left a wife and 2 young children. His sudden and completely unexpected death, at the age of 40, was not just a shock to his Irregular mates; there were hundreds of great Reds from all over the city who turned up for his emotional funeral in Kirkby too, and it would be great to see similar numbers turning up for this Benefit Night. Please spread the word accordingly and most importantly, please show up in great numbers again. Alan Ball Roy, RIP YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE ( credit due to German Tommy for the original post on RAOTL). Already in the raffle: signed Kenny shirt; signed Carra boots; signed, framed photo of Carra with Big Ears plus much more.

I'll be going to the Olympia, gang of us. OK to pay on the door, Molby?

But, for example, Gooner Spy, did Wenger receive one iota of criticism for fielding an understrength team against Spurs in the League Cup semi-final? Rafa would have been slaughtered by the Press had we been beaten 5-1 by Everton.

Anybody on here got tickets? Didn't even hear about it until they said it was all sold out. Be a good chance to demonstrate pro-Rafa, anti-American support. Also to have a pop at John Motson for tarring all Liverpool fans with wanting Rafa out based on a phone-in after West Ham away this season. Does my head in, that kind of logic.

'There's a party going on up there' - John Motson on the Liverpool end, Wembley, 1986. He wasn't wrong, either.

"ronnie whelan was a right hard little b*****d and a terrific tackler". Excey that Ronnie never used to really tackle, as such, more get in their way and just nick the ball off the toes of the opposition. Fantastic player, criminally underrated at the time.

"The Majority couldn't, and it's doomed to fail anyway. The working class Liverpool Fan could not afford that, as well as financing a season ticket on the side. This could all be blown up if they get the Money and Hicks wants more, then we need a few other people to chip in £5000, and maybe we might be looking at restructing the finance package. Without going into too much detail I've heard a few alternatives to Rogan's plan and I prefer them over his. Bottom line I just can't see this working." Absolute rubbish. Like it or like it not, the working class Liverpool Fan, living in Liverpool, is very much the minority of our support across the globe, and it is this GLOBAL support that I think shareLiverpool will tap into. So 'The Majority couldn't' is a fallacy, I believe. In the world in which we live, for a lot of people this is not a vast amount of money. For a lot of people it is. ShareLiverpool need to find 100,00 for whom it isn't, or , like johngibo YPC, can share with their mates. I like the fact that they have beavered away behind the scenes, got a steering group comprising professionals in every field, and prepared the ground. It smacks of being done properly, if frustrating because it has taken time.

As far as I understand it, but I'm not connected to shareliverpool, the money for the new ground will be from a loan, paid back through the increased revenues generated by the ground, plus any money left over after a takeover. Don't see anything wrong with that. Money for transfers? Well, we'll be saving £30 million a year on interest payments that the two liars have dropped on the club, plus there's no share dividends to be paid, so there's a start. People who are blindly negative about this, I think, underestimate the sheer size of our club across the globe, and the fact that for a fan in say, Malaysia or Thailand, Norway or maybe even Ireland, what better way could there be to demonstrate your support for The Reds than to buy a share? Plus, such a group are harder for Hicks & Gillett to ignore or bad mouth like DIC, as they are by definition your customers. I've said before, that when shareliverpool 'go live' and start actively canvassing and colecting money, people who have just dismissed it as 'nice idea but it will never happen' will have to rethink, and there will come a tipping point where people realise that they need to jump onboard or miss the bus. ps realise that I say 'ground' and not 'stadium': does that make me officially arlarse?

E-mail received, haven't seen posted elsewhere: Dear friend, Work is continuing on our quest to bring fan ownership of Liverpool FC, and I wanted to give you a quick update, as well as ask for your help. Our formal proposal to enable ShareLiverpoolFC to be an investment vehicle to enable us to bid for the club is on the verge of approval by the Financial Service Authority (FSA). This is a complex, yet necessary step in the practical requirements needed, and we thank our specialist lawyers, Cobbetts, for their work on our behalf. The heart and soul of Liverpool FC rests in L4, but Liverpool FC would not be the global force it is today without the support we have attracted all over the world. So we continue to take the concept of the fans owning the club to our international fan-base around the world. Members of the ShareLiverpoolFC steering group have been meeting with key contacts from Norway, the US, Republic of Ireland and elsewhere, and I myself have just returned from Japan, where I was able to promote the concept on Japanese national TV and radio. In the UK, we continue to attract national and local media coverage, though we need to keep our message in people's minds as the saga of Hicks and Gillett's ownership rumbles on, and DIC await in the wings. Only fan ownership can bring the club management run in the interests of the supporters and the community. This is where you can come in. We'd like you to get on the websites and forums and talk about ShareLiverpoolFC, and the concept of fan ownership. Where people are discussing the ownership of the club on phone-ins, please get on the phone and talk about it. We're serious about this project - that's why we're taking the time to get it done properly. You can help us keep the momentum going. Tell your friends, and get involved - let's do this together. Best wishes Rogan Taylor, On behalf of the Share Liverpool Steering Group www.shareliverpoolfc.com

What were we saying about losing the PR war here? "Make Merseyside derby friendly again - Everton By Telegraph staff and agencies Last Updated: 5:02pm BST 01/04/2008" Headline on the Telegraph website. Everton are calling for the Derby to be made friendly again, after both sets of fans crossed the boundaries of decency. One set by calling an individual player ugly in the last two Derbies; the other set by hurling 'murderers', songs about Hysel, banners with '39 Italians Can't be Wrong', disgracing the Hillsborough minute's silence back in 2001; singing about the anal rape of Michael Shields; bottling Patrick Berger's car back at the Royal Oak. And so on. And so on. Get thy own house in order.

To the tune of 'They don't care about Rafa'.. Everton sing about Hysel, They sing about Hillsborough too, But the Echo never condemns them, Because the Liverpool Echo is Blue. Prentice = Blue; John Thompson = Blue. The Echo actually sponsors Everton games, so what do you expect?