meredithmathieson

First of all, supporting the team is a given. But the opportunity to demonstrate against the PAIR of them should not be missed, in my opinion. The question is merely how to go about it in the best way. fao Pam - said relatives will be in no state to fight the proletarian fight as the coach leaves the LA at 0930, if you get my drift!

For those going to the game tomorrow, what are the options: 1. Sing against them before the match, at Half-Time and at the end (when neither will be able to hear, and the journalists will have upped and gone also) or 2. Give them both barrels during the game? Can a protest be arranged outside the Emirates stadium? [Like in the car park at Anfield before the Reading game?] As this seems to be the nearest to Anfield either of them dare to come, the opportunity can't be missed.

First of all, fair play to Rafa. He obviously doesn't like the Blues**** and knows how to wind them up (which admittedly isn't hard). My point is this, though: we will lose the PR war on this, because we always do. We are just not geared for the modern PR world. Everton employ ex-Guardian journalist Ian Ross, who although as bitter as the rest of them (and he's from Yorkshire originally), at least knows the industry and how to get a response out quick, which they have done. Gerrard = Lescott etc. Our equivalent is who? Ian Cotton? Not really, don't think that dealing with the media as such is in his job description, he seems to be more of a 'Player X will be back from injury in 3 weeks' type spokesman. The Mancs used to have Paddy Harveson, who was headhunted by Prince Charles. Is this kind of thing important? I think so - having people like this on board turn negative stories (Mancs charge Italian bizzies in Rome) into positive stories (Innocent Mancs battered by baton-wielding Italian thug police - Foreign Office demands explanation and an apology) etc. See how the perspective changes? And yet anybody who goes the match and saw the Mancs in Rome knows that (with the ODD exception) they got what was coming to them. Having opened up this argument, we should now focus on Everton's complete inability to prevent the singing about murderers, Hysel and the anal rape of Michael Shields, and ask whether or not this equates to tacit consent. Make no mistake, the Bloos are too far gone to bring them back into the 'Scouse' umbrella so we may as well go for it, for you can guarantee that the local media are either too scared - or too Blue- to do so. Then watch them explode.

Was it really 2005 since Bennett last officiated at Old Trafford? How can that be right when there is such a small pot of Premier referees? So, he gets exiled from officiating at OT in 2005, presumably after when Ronaldo got sent off and Ferguson's referees report would have been less than complimentary. Now that he has 'redeemed' himself, we'll see how long it is before he refs there again.

Congratulations on the support, particularly the Fernando Torres 'bounce' song, which could be heard clearly for about ten minutes mid-way through the Second Half. Not easy when you're surrounded by 70,000 inbreds. Well done. Our day will come!

Just a thought from the meeting last Saturday, in that there is possibly a conflict of interest between the stated aim of getting supporter representation on to the Board ASAP, as an immediate and not just longer term aim, and the desires of some for a more direct form of action. Not dismissing the latter in the least, just think that it makes it more unlikely for any owners to accept fan representation on the Board if said fans are seen to be undertaking some of the options that were outlined in the meeting.

And yet if the man knew anything about our club or support, he would have said to himself that it was highly improbable to say the least that Liverpool fans were chanting for England - and yet this is his chosen profession, a field in which he is supposedly some sort of expert. He should be professionally embarrassed, not trying to save face with a backhanded apology.

And will the heating be on this time? Some of us are getting on you know..

Si. Do you know if there are plans for another march to the ground? I need to get fitter before I do that again - knackered by the end!!

QUOTE(meredithmathieson @ Mar 6 2008, 20:58) Apologies if I have missed this amongst the rest of the thread, but who gets the shares from Granada, now that they have sold them back to the club? Could this be how Hicks keeps control? Granada sold up a year ago NOT ACCORDING TO THE DAILY POST TODAY: ITV to sever football clubs broadband linksMar 6 2008 by Alex Turner, Liverpool Daily Post BROADCASTING giant ITV has sold its 50% stake in Liverpool FC’s broadband operation for £15.75m back to the club, eight years after Granada invested £20m in the joint venture. The club, which was advised by lawyers from DLA Piper’s Liverpool office, has paid £10.5m on completion of the deal, with £5.25m to be paid in December. ITV is also being repaid £3.5m of debt. The move became likely after the change of ownership at Anfield last year, which included ITV selling its 9.9% share that Granada had purchased in 1999. Rogan Taylor, director of the Football Industry Group at the University of Liverpool, said: “It’s the most visited football club web- site in Europe. I think the site makes the club money, around £1m or £2m-a-year, it is pretty successful.” ITV also sold its stakes in Arsenal and MUTV, the broadcast arm of Manchester United, last year.

Apologies if I have missed this amongst the rest of the thread, but who gets the shares from Granada, now that they have sold them back to the club? Could this be how Hicks keeps control?

"Bill is a graduate of the University of London with an MSc from the London Business School" Going slightly off topic, can we not use this guy as a rebuttal to every time that Tom Cannon spouts his drivel?

The website has been updated to include the following: News Update ANFIELD LEGENDS SIGN FOR SHARELIVERPOOLFC The organisers of ShareLiverpoolFC have taken the idea of turning Liverpool Football Club into a membership organisation off the drawing board by announcing the formation of a high-powered Steering Group to take the plans forward. The proposal to put ownership into the hands of the fans has drawn the direct involvement of city financiers, top lawyers, marketers and media specialists, as well as Liverpool FC legends such as Phil Thompson and John Aldridge who are backing the initiative. The Group met for the first time in Liverpool on Sunday, 24th February and began work on the detailed plans that are needed to realise their ground-breaking objective. Rogan Taylor, the founder of the initiative, stated: “This puts ShareLiverpoolFC onto a proper footing. We have brought together the different skill-sets in areas such finance, law and marketing that are needed if we are to succeed in this venture. Its just great to get support as well from such great former players like Phil Thompson and John Aldridge. These guys stood on the Kop as kids before they became players; they have always been fans. They know as much as anyone can, what this Club means to its supporters.” The support of Liverpool FC greats will also be essential if the huge passion supporters feel for their club is to be translated into the significant funding that buying the club will require. Phil Thompson called on Reds fans to show their traditional commitment and enthusiasm for the Share Liverpool FC scheme: “Liverpool Football Club has always needed its fans; now more than ever. Not IF but WHEN our current owners decide to sell, we as fans need to be in a position to help. The biggest thing that people ask is: Can the Share Liverpool scheme really work? To this I say one word: Istanbul. That fantastic victory could only have happened to a Club like Liverpool. Why? Because the fans BELIEVED it could happen – and with their help, we pulled off one of the greatest ‘miracles’ in the history of Club football. So, if we believe we can make ShareLiverpoolFC work – it will happen too. Get onto the website now and pledge your support just as I am doing.” John Aldridge outlined why he has got involved: "What a great concept! I'm glad to 'sign' for ShareLiverpoolFC. This is a fantastic opportunity for the fans who dearly love the Club to own it themselves - and also to set the standard for other fans to follow. It would terrific if it led to other fans owning their own clubs too." With other bidders circling the club in the hope of buying out the current owners, the ShareLiverpoolFC team are aware that time is of the essence. However, setting up a membership organisation and organising a multi-million pound takeover are major enterprises. Rogan Taylor explains: “Everybody who has pledged their support desperately wants to see this happen – preferably overnight. However, for anybody looking to buy a football club which is valued at over £350 million, and in particular one where we are asking tens of thousands of individuals to contribute several thousand pounds, we need to go through proper financial procedures. This, and the drafting of the provisional constitution of the club needs to be done properly, and that is why we have formed the Steering Group. We’ll be keeping in touch with all those who have expressed a commitment to making this happen, and we are asking for a little patience while we put a proper management plan into action, and gather the level of support we need. We do not intend to be a flash in the pan”. Rogan also added: “We have got off to a fantastic start, with thousands of pledges with already signed up on the shareliverpoolfc.com website. We had thought it was even better, and I apologise for incorrect figures announced previously, but once we’d sorted the files out and removed the duplicates we have a solid core of 9500 people pledging £5000 each – and another 9,000 who are interested but need more information - after just one effort. This gives us a tremendous platform to become a serious player in the future of Liverpool FC. But we still need more, and anyone interested should sign up at www.ShareLiverpoolFC.com”. BUT PLEASE DON’T ‘SIGN UP’ IF YOU ALREADY HAVE DONE SO – WE HAVE HAD LARGE NUMBERS OF REPEAT PLEDGES – AND THAT JUST CONFUSES THE PICTURE. The Share Liverpool FC Steering Group These are the people currently involved, divided into two sub-groups of expertise: Communications Rogan Taylor Martin McEwan Madeleine Tan Bill Rylance Liz Crolley Phil Thompson John Aldridge James Maxton Peter Furmedge Hugo Sharman (Advisory) Legal & Finance Chris Talavera Barrie Baxter Mathew Saunders Madeleine Tan Michael Jayson Paul McDonald Kevin Jaquiss (Advisory) Brief biographies of some members: Chris Talavera, FCA - LFC fan and season ticket holder for many years. Chris is 55 years old and a chartered accountant. Now retired, he spent his professional career in public practice. A former senior partner in accountants and business advisors PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Isle of Man. During his career Chris specialised in the audit of offshore banking and insurance companies and corporate recovery. He now acts as Non Executive Chairman of the International Trust and Corporate service provider "Abacus" based in the Isle of Man. Martin McEwan has a distinguished marketing background in industry, charitable, political and public sectors at strategic level, including global marketing strategy, research, segmentation, comprehensive branding and other marketing communications. Martin now runs an international marketing consultancy, McEwan Hackett International Marketing. He’s been a Reds for over 30 years. Madeleine Tan is a Singaporean, with considerable international experience as a management consultant covering Asia, the US and Europe – and a Liverpool fan since childhood. Michael Jayson is a Partner of Horwath Clark Whitehill LLP, where he is the Head of assurance services in the North West. He has played leading roles in working on transactions and providing consultancy and assurance services to a variety of mutual and membership led organisations including co-operatives, building societies and industrial & provident societies. He is therefore familiar with the differing requirements and challenges that financing and governance can pose for this diverse range of entities. He, too, is a lifelong Liverpool fan. Paul McDonald is a Liverpool based Finance Director of a national retail chain; he is also lifelong Liverpool fan and season ticket holder at Anfield Bill Rylance is Chairman, Asia Pacific & Vice Chairman, Global Development, Burson-Marsteller Worldwide. Born in Merseyside but has spent most of his professional life in Asia. He led the global communications programme for the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games Organising Committee and was integral in the worldwide campaign host the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, working closely with the FIFA Vice President, Dr. Chung Mong-Jun. From 1999 to end-2007, he was President and CEO of Burson-Marsteller Asia Pacific, the world’s leading public relations firm, a role responsible for 500 employees across 18 countries including China, India, Japan, Korea, and the markets in South East Asia and Oceania. In January this year, he was appointed the company’s Vice Chairman for global development. Bill is a graduate of the University of London with an MSc from the London Business School. He and his two sons have a deep and unwavering passion for Liverpool Football Club. His Korean-born wife also supports LFC, if only for a peaceful life.

Just received the following e-mail from ShareLiverpool: First, let me thank you for ticking the 'Count me in!' feedback box on the website for the ShareLiverpoolFC scheme. Thanks, too, for your patience; it has taken us some time to be able to get back to you directly, but we hope to be able to stay in touch with you now, both via email and through the new, 'Latest News' page at: www.shareliverpoolfc.com As you will understand, it has taken us some time to recover from the huge initial response to our proposal (you can read about the numbers on the news page), and for us to get together formally as the 'Share LiverpoolFC Steering Group' (SLSG). We have also updated the news page to tell you who some of the members of the SLSG are and how we plan to proceed from here. We have also established the Share LiverpoolFC Company Ltd so we have a legal base from which to operate. This is the start of a very challenging but exciting adventure and you have taken the first step on the way. No group of fans has ever attempted a 'buy out' of a big English club with a view to installing a one-member; one-vote system of ownership ? not unlike the model used so commonly in Spain, most famously at Barcelona, and elsewhere on mainland Europe. But as anger and dissatisfaction grows amongst fans (not just at Liverpool FC) about the way in which Club ownership is being traded, the question of 'Who should own our football clubs?' will rise increasingly to the surface. We are leading an 'ownership revolution' that will deliver LFC into the hands of its fans and also act as an inspiration to many others with similar concerns (Liverpool fans are used to leading the way!). We at Liverpool are lucky; we love and support a Club with a huge following, at home and abroad, which makes us 'fan rich'. There is enough of us to make this work; we just need to get the message out; explain the concept in much more detail and rely on the strength and intensity of the relationship that Liverpool fans all round the world have with their Club to make it happen. That's precisely what we will be doing over the next few weeks. You will probably have heard that we have been joined by two 'Liverpool Legends' ? Phil Thompson & John Aldridge have 'signed' for the ShareLiverpoolFC scheme (if you haven't heard, go to our webpage). We will address the local and global following as directly as we can by running publicity campaigns in UK, Asia, USA and Scandinavia (some major 'hot-spots' of LFC fans), also visiting some of these regions to raise the profile of the campaign. We'll give it our best shot ? but without your support there is little we can do. We urge you to tell every Reds fan you know about the share Liverpool scheme; direct them to the website and encourage them to reply via the tick boxes. BUT PLEASE DON'T ENCOURAGE REPEAT TICKS OF THE BOXES ? IT JUST CONFUSES OUR DATA! In the meantime, we will try to stay in touch with you via email and the 'latest news' page on the website. At the moment, it is difficult to reply to individual emails, so please bear with us. So, Welcome aboard! And many thanks for your support. LFC needs us as much now as at any time in the past. Rogan Taylor, On behalf of the Share Liverpool Steering Group www.shareliverpoolfc.com An interesting use of '?' aside, not much of an update, but passed on nevertheless. [Awaits deluge of 'Nice idea, but it will never happen' type comments!].

In answer to his question, 3.

"The Barcelona style setup still hasn't got a prayer, but a great effort nonetheless. " Why doesn't it have a prayer? To get 10% of the way already, with absolutely minimal marketing; yet to announce the financial partnership which will allow people to take out a long-term loan, thereby making it more affordable; yet to fully exploit our foreign support. There does seem to be a negativity along the lines of 'nice idea, but it just won't work' that I just don't get. There will come a 'tipping point' when those people who dismiss it as pie in the sky will realise that it is actually viable and serious; they will then realise that this is possibly the only time that they will ever get the chance, if they don't they may miss out forever, and the numbers will follow. And as for 'Barcelona style' it's replicated in loads of clubs: e.g. in Germany, so it's hardly unique. In fact, any advertising campaign should read as a 'What have the Romans ever done for us'-esque list of clubs who work like this.

"where did that rogue apostrophe occur mate?" On the banner behind and above the top table.

"Just how long does one man get?" The fact that you say this says it all. Less than 4 seasons apparently. To come from miles behind (Does anybody else remember the posts about how poor we were under Gerard Houllier? Well you can't have it both ways - if we were that poor then, then that had to be overcome), compete and then overtake Chelsea and the Mancs (who consistently blow us out of the water on the transfer front) and Arsenal (where Wenger has been allowed the time and patience to develop youngsters, despite a trophy record that is no way better than that of Rafa, and funnily enough appears to be the path that we are attempting to replicate). At this rate, our next manager will be on borrowed time following the first defeat.

As a grammatical pedant, I would also like to point out that there is no apostrophe required in 'Son's of Shankly'. Sorry.

"'Money can never guarantee success' in football has always been the oldest adage. It's funny that when Mourinho achieved it, so many were prepared to suspend that truism for him." Possibly because nobody in the history of football, or any sport ever, has had that sheer amount of financial muscle afforded to him.

Obviously depends upon the manager, Graham. Shouldn't really have said 'any', I'm just trying to get the point across that Rafa's CV is right up there with the very best of them, which I think some on here are too quick to overlook/dismiss. If we do sack Rafa just see how long it takes him to find top-flight employment elsewhere (unlike Mourinho - does that not make anyone think? His 'gardening leave' only applies to the UK as far as I am aware). And I agree with Guz - it's a long haul job. Painful at the moment, agreed, but it's a long haul.

A second to everything Armin said. With the addition that there was an immaculately observed one minute silence for Alan Roy, the 40 year old Irregular who passed away suddenly. And I mean immaculate. And Knox was very good. Although one of my mates said beforehand that 'He looks like an Evertonian!'. Ouch!!

And if you compare any of the CVs of possible alternatives to Rafa, they don't pass muster. Getting rid of Rafa now, look at the Reserves/Youth etc., would put Liverpool FC back years. The real problem is that we are now unmanageable as a club. Unless DIC come in with a big transfer fund and we do get some kind of level playing field financially (How many times have Chelsea and the Mancs beaten our transfer record?), then I think the expectations of some on here as to a realistic title challenge will always result in this explosion of simplistic finger-pointing. By and large, Rafa has had to cut his transfer cloth accordingly, hence we pay half the amount of money for a striker (Kuyt) as the Mancs do for holding midfielders. And it shows.

Oh yes. Hotel Monday night: 105 Euros; Hotel Tuesday night: 290 Euros. Same room in the same hotel! Go figure. But it'll be well worth it!

Indeed, Mottman. The first Irregular Funeral? Still can't believe it.