Spirit Of Shankly

http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Liverp...or-granted.html

http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Michae...t-Date-Set.html

Spirit Of Shankly, the Liverpool Supporters' Union, have arranged with Liverpool FC for a Bucket Collection to take place at Anfield on Saturday, prior to the Stoke City match. Collectors will be inside each turnstile, so please give what you can to support the campaign to Free Michael Shields. Michael turns 22 this weekend, and more than ever needs our support, to help try and free him before he has to spend another year of his life wrongfully jailed. For more information on Michael's Case, please visit http://www.michaelshields.uwclub.net/. Spirit Of Shankly http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Michae...Collection.html

Spirit Of Shankly, Liverpool Supporters' Union, have released the following statement about Saturday's march and a meeting that took place with George Gillett - http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Saturd...ge-Gillett.html

http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Spirit...n-Saturday.html

sorry, forgot to add, donations to the Ray of Hope, Ray kennedy appeal. the Hillsborough Justice Campaign and Hope for Hillsborough, Anne Williams fight to get her son Kevin's case reopened.

So who have you actually asked? Or have you just made a post on an internet forum? I am only posting under the official Spirit of Shankly login because i cannot register with a free email address. All accounts will be released for the AGM, but off the top of my head i'll let you know the recent spending: Hosting costs for the website Small amount to the person who had registered the "spiritofshankly" domain name. Printing Bill of approx £1400 Postage costs to send out Membership packs and Information letters. I am not the treasurer these are just off the top of my head, i don't have the exact amounts to hand so i haven't put them up, no other reason than that.

This has been agreed upon as a course of action at today's meeting. Royal Bank of Scotland are the Main Financers of Tom Hicks and George Gillett in their ownership of Liverpool Football Club. They borrowed the initial money, £350 million, from them, and subsequently approached them about finance for the new stadium which as we know, has been turned down. However, RBS still have a vital role to play. The initial re-financing of the club, the £350 million, is due for renewal or to be paid in full in January 2009. There is an option of a 6 month extension – However this is at Royal Bank of Scotland's discretion. If they say no, the American Owners cannot change that. So let's send a message to RBS. Lets send a message to Tom Hicks and George Gillett. And lets send a message to anyone who may have considered offering them finance. NO MONEY FOR HICKS AND GILLETT But let's make sure Royal Bank of Scotland, and anyone else who might be listening, get that message loud and clear. Let's hit them where it hurts – In the pocket. The way to do this is simple. Call this number between 3pm and 5pm today: 0845 300 4400 It is the contact centre for Tesco Motor Insurance – ran by RBS. RBS get paid according to the service level. So lets affect the service level. Call the number. Select Option 1, and Option 2. If enough of us do this, lines will become clogged. So everyone needs to play their part. After holding on the line for 1 minute – Put the phone down and do it all over again. For every call not answered within a minute, RBS get charged. Their clients will be asking questions. RBS will have to listen. There are other numbers we can phone, and next time, we will phone one of them. You can also express your concern over Royal Bank of Scotland's involvement with Hicks and Gillett to the Chief Executive of RBS, Sir Frederick Goodwin Frederick A. Goodwin Address: 42 St. Andrew Sq., Edinburgh, Britain EH2 2YE Phone: 0131-556-8555 For Royal Bank of Scotland Customer Relations - 0800 015 5035 To make a complaint - http://www.rbs.co.uk/global/h/contact-us/p...g/feedback.ashx http://www.rbs.co.uk/global/h/contact-us/b...g/feedback.ashx

Agenda for Saturdays meeting http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Agenda...er-2008_-1.html

Spirit Of Shankly, the Liverpool Supporters' Union, would like to invite all members, and non member wishing to join and take part, to a specially convenened meeting next Saturday 6th September. The meeting will take place in the Liverpool Supporters' Club on Lower Breck Road, Anfield, and will start at 1pm. The American owners have hit yet another stumbling block in their attempts to further burden our club with debt, this time for the stadium. We need to increase the pressure on them further, to force them into a sale, and out of our club. There will be a number of ideas proposed, one including targeting those who have financed Tom Hicks' and George Gillett's ownership of the club - Royal Bank of Scotland. But there are more ideas out there. So let's come together. Give your ideas. Let's force Hicks and Gillett out. Spirit Of Shankly

Statement from Spirit of Shankly in response to today's announcement: http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Reds-C...dium-Delay.html

The prices quoted by Thomas Cook are steeply over priced, its touting literally. We are protesting against it because we don't want you all getting ripped off, whether you live on the other side of the ground or the planet.

Please see the following statement: http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Meetin...Rick-Parry.html

If there are any parents who have young children, or young people themselves, who would be willing to be outside the Kop for a press photo tomorrow evening at 5pm, we would be very grateful. There is an opportunity for a story that is building in the press, not a protest as such but a chance to make a point about liverpools ticketing policy and the thomas cook touting disgrace. Particularly the big question of how the next generation of supporters will be able to go to the game we love with the rising cost of tickets and the present methods which make it dfficult to even get the tickets.

Spirit Of Shankly, the Liverpool Supporters Union, are pleased to announce that we will be taking a coach to Standard Liege. Further details can be found at http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/SOS-go...dard-Liege.html. Spirit Of Shankly notes that one of our competitors is now offering this trip at £65, which is the price originally discussed by the Union. As a result of this, our price has now been reduced by £5 and set at £60 to ensure our members are getting the best deal available. Spirit Of Shankly

"Hot" on the heels of our recent coach to Glasgow Rangers, details for our next coach to Sunderland are available at http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/Coach-...Sunderland.html Spirit Of Shankly

Spirit Of Shankly Website - Now Live! Spirit Of Shankly, the Liverpool Supporters Union, is pleased to announce the launch of its brand new website - www.spiritofshankly.com The new website will be the focal point for news coming from the Union and where members and non-members can read about what is going on. The website will be updated regularly with news, features and with information on any future plans. It will grow as the Union grows, with more features as and when required. We appreciate it has been a long time coming, but as with everything there are always unexpected delays and last minute obstacles. We wanted to make sure we got everything right, first time round, rather than having to continually go back with a quick fix here and there. After all, this will still be going in 10-20 years, not 10-20 minutes. So take a look around the site. Read about what has gone on so far. If you haven't joined, you can now do so now online. Spirit Of Shankly

Spirit Of Shankly, the Liverpool Supporters Union,are pleased to announce the details of their first coach. Travelling to Ibrox for Liverpool's pre-season friendly versus Glasgow Rangers on Saturday 2nd August 2008, the coach will take members at a price significantly lower than any of our "competitors" (less than half price in some instances). The price for the coach is as follows - £15 for Members £25 for Non-Members (This includes your £15 coach fare, and £10 membership fee) The coach will depart from: The Liverpool FC Supporter's Club on Lower Breck Road, Anfield (near to The Cabbage Pub) at 6:45 am. The Rocket (near to the flyover) at 7:00am. Please confirm when booking where you would like to be picked up from. The coach will return after the match has finished. To book Coach Tickets can be purchased and collected from The Liverpool FC Supporters Club, Lower Breck Road, Anfield, between 7:30pm and 8:30pm, Monday to Friday. To reserve a coach ticket you can Email jamesmckenna@spiritofshankly.com, with the number of seats you would like to reserve along with the names to reserve them Call 07923127607 or 07511569783 If you fail to collect tickets at an agreed time, your reservation may be cancelled. Those who have already emailed enquiring about coach tickets will be contacted. Tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis, and as such we cannot guarantee that all who want to travel with us will be able to do so. We look forward to you travelling on the first SOS Coach. Spirit Of Shankly

Email should be tonybarrett@liverpoolecho.co.uk

Yes I will answer it. going back to a previous post i made, do we know for sure if the tickets are being taken from supporters clubs and given to corporates or is this just guesswork? also, if it is true, where will these corporate fans sit and will season ticket holders be moved to accomodate them? WE have been told they are being taken from supporters clubs and the development association and going to corporates. How would it be guess work? We haven't been told if people will be forced to move. The email address should be tonybarrett@liverpoolecho.co.uk

This is about the fancard issue being £29, but also the fact that allocations for the development association are being taken away to be given to corporates. The tickets being taken away from the Development Association and from Supporters Clubs aren't going to fans though. They are going to corporates. Good ideas there about the fans of the future.

Basing what, on what? Sorry not quite sure what you are saying here.

“Belong". The motto for Liverpool Football Club's new Membership Scheme. Well what if you already 'Belong'? Do you have to cough up £29 or £20, to continue to belong? Or can you still belong, but anyone new who wants to belong, has to pay for the privilege? The whole idea of someone belonging to a club is fair and right. But to pay for it, where is the fairness in that? We all belong to Liverpool Football Club. From the minute you were born and had your first picture taken with a Liverpool scarf. Or from when your Dad, Mum, Aunty, Uncle, Cousin, started taking you to the match or when you watched MOTD and realised there was only one club for you. The point is, you didn't start belonging, when you paid YOUR club, a certain amount of money, a membership fee, each year. So why is Liverpool Football Club, a religion to most fans, now charging for you to 'Belong'? The "benefits" of this new scheme mean improved access to tickets, in the form of a Ticket Exchange. What about existing fan card holders? Do we have improved access to tickets, such as Window Sales, an Improved Internet service for buying tickets online, or an improved telephone system for buying tickets? How much access do fans get to tickets via this exchange for their fee? Will those subscribing to the new Membership Scheme receive any priority over existing fan card holders? How will the PTS scheme be affected? Will they still have the same number of tickets available to them? For your £29 membership fee, you can join the Season Ticket Waiting List. A list that up until this point was free to join. Can people still join the waiting list for free, or do you have to pay to join it? If so what about all those fans presently on the waiting list, what happens to them? This Membership, is replacing fan cards. You can no longer buy a £3.50 fan card. So any new fans that previously weren't able to go to the match and haven't got a fan card have to pay £29 a season if they want to realistically even consider going to a game, young kids wanting to start going to games, have got to pay £20 a season. This is just for the CHANCE of a ticket, to be able to record loyalty. Existing fan card holders – well no one seems to be willing to say what exactly will happen to them. What we do know is that an S.O.S Committee Member contacted the Ticket Office about this proposed scheme a few weeks ago. We were told that fan cards would be ok for the 2008/09 season, but not for the 2009/10 season. So what happens to fan card holders then? A card that was described as being the only card you will ever need, is it now going to be rendered useless? They said so. It means everyone has to cough up to stand a chance of getting a ticket. Have they decided sensibly against this? Have they any intention of informing us? The Club’s very own charter says this about fancards: “The Fan Card is the only card that you will need with Liverpool Football Club” http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/club/charter.htm See the section on fan cards. It tells you this. So why the change? Did the club consult with supporters? If it has – and in the charter it claims to on a regular basis – then can it release the minutes of those discussions? Do you know of anyone who has taken part in them on this issue? If it hasn’t consulted with supporters, well, why not? We’re the ones who go through the ticketing rigmarole week in, week out. We’re the ones frustrated by the ticket office, by losing tickets to touts. Is it in any way arduous to actually remember simple values of customer service or to carry out surveys? The club calls upon the twelfth man when it requires it and then casts him aside from its thoughts other than as a minor irritant to be bled dry at all other times. What about Season Ticket Holders? They currently pay a minimum of £650 per season. Do they get the same benefits of this new membership? Will the receive the discounts and the special offers? There are so many questions that the club need to answer. So many questions that we, as fans, need answers to. We will be asking the club for these answers, a letter has been sent to Rick Parry, and to the Ticket Office Manager, asking for answers to all these questions. The only answer we have for definite is cost. £29 for adults, £20 for children. Per season. So a family of 4 must pay £98. Per Season. Just to give themselves a chance of getting a ticket in a season. A young supporter, living in the shadows of Anfield, who might want to attend just one game, as they can't afford it regularly, now has to pay £20, just for the 'privilege' of applying for a ticket. This is even before fans have to consider the rises in ticket prices, of £3 per ticket, per game. From a one off payment of £3.50 to £29 per season. With an estimated 250,000 people holding fan cards, that is £7,250,000 extra revenue per season. The cynic in us, might wonder exactly where that money will be going. This isn't like Barcelona, where they have members, who pay their money and have a say. This is pay your money, maybe get a ticket to take your seat and be happy with it. We have also learnt today, that the Development Association, who provide tickets to fans (which they pay for) who sell pools on behalf of the club (http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/tickets/devassoc/ ), are to lose their allocation of tickets. Supporters Clubs, many of whom have fans who come every week from all over the country, are to have their ticket allocations cut in half. Where will these tickets go? To Corporates. So less tickets for fans who go every week, everywhere. More tickets for those who swell the clubs coffers, and want to turn up for a “jolly good afternoon of sport”. So we will ask the questions. We will get the answers. And we’ll help the club do what it seems to find so hard – tell supporters what is going on. But in the meantime, why don’t you ask the club. Or if the club ignore us, let’s ask the Liverpool Echo to ask questions on our behalf. Email Tony Barrett - tony.barrett@liverpoolecho.co.uk. Lets put pressure on them to ask questions to those who make these decisions, and lets pressure the club in to answering OUR questions. Spirit Of Shankly

Spirit Of Shankly presents a Sportsmans Evening, Friday 11th July 2008 Following on from the success of our End Of Season event at The Olympia, Spirit Of Shankly are pleased to announce we are to hold our second event for fellow Liverpool fans. A Sportsmans Evening will take place on Friday 11th July 2008, at the Liverpool Supporters Club on Lower Breck Road, Anfield. Tickets are £12. Commencing at 7:30pm, Our Guest Speaker for the evening will be Joey Jones. We also have a comedian, Mark Langley, and a guest compere for the evening. There will also be a Scouse supper served, and the opportunity to win a range of prizes, including signed Liverpool memorabilia, in our raffle. Due to the venue, we only have a capacity of 200. Tickets will be distributed on a first come, first served basis. The vast majority of tickets will go to members with a small number available for non-members. For members tickets, please email admin@spiritofshankly.com, with the subject heading as Sportsmans Evening. Please give your name and the names of other members you are buying tickets for. You will then be contacted about tickets being collected. For those who are not members, but are wishing to join and want to attend the Sportsmans Evening, please email admin@spiritofshankly.com, with the subject heading Sportsmans Evening - Non member. We will then contact you with regards to joining and purchasing tickets. For other non members, there a small number of tickets, available from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign shop, opposite Tke Kop.

S.O.S Update Just a quick update on where we are at the moment with regards to membership packs, the website and online joining, and some other events that we have planned. 1. Membership Packs All members who had joined before 12th June 2008, have now had their Membership Packs sent out and these should be with you shortly. In the pack is your joining letter, membership card, and Spirit Of Shankly pin badge. Please sign your card when it arrives. If there are any queries or problems, please email admin@spiritofshankly.com, with the subject header, Membership Packs, and we will deal with them for you. All members who have joined after 12th June 2008 are having their memberships processed and membership packs will be sent out shortly. 2. Website and Online Joining The website is currently being finalised and will be launched in the next ten days. Once we have the exact date, this will be publicised. As soon as the website is live, you will be able to join Spirit Of Shankly online. We know there has been a long delay in getting this up and running and we apologise for that. It was a number of unforeseen events that kept pushing back the website being launched, along with the online memberships. 3. Joining Now If people want to join now, before it goes online, they still can. Go to www.spiritofshankly.com and download our Membership Application Form (It is currently the old one, as the new one is being edited and needs to be uploaded. Either of the forms are acceptable). All you need to do is then send it off to the address on the application form, enclose your cheque, postal order (made payable to Liverpool Supporters Union) or cash if you wish, and send it off. If you have friends, family who want to join, pass the membership form to them as well. Alternatively you can go into EDT on Great Homer Street (near to the NSPCC building) and join. We will soon have a drop off point for memberships in a number of locations around Anfield. 4. Other Events We will be giving out some information shortly on a Sportsmans Evening that we are holding, as well as details on our first coach, for the pre-season friendly against Glasgow Rangers at Ibrox. The details for both will be released shortly.