Can the supporters save the club?

Maldini · June 21, 2009

I just noticed that ShareLiverpool updated their site a couple of weeks back with the following:

http://www.shareliverpoolfc.co.uk/index.ph...pporters-direct

Supporters Direct released the following statement on Wednesday 10 June.

'Supporters Direct, the independent supporters’ trust initiative that is backed by MPs from all parties, is working with supporters of Liverpool Football Club to investigate a plan to make Liverpool owned and run by its fans, like European Champions Barcelona.

Both of the main Liverpool supporters’ campaign groups, the Spirit of Shankly supporters’ union and fans’ buy-out group ShareLiverpoolFC, together with local businesses and politicians, have been engaged in dialogue to inform the drafting of a business plan and a bid to take control of the football club.

Dave Boyle, Chief Executive of Supporters Direct, expressed enthusiasm for the supporters’ aims:

“We are working with representatives of ShareLiverpoolFC, Spirit of Shankly and the business community in order to develop a viable fan ownership proposal. We are hopeful that the various parties involved will soon be in a position to present their joint proposal.

“It’s pretty clear that whoever owns the club will have massive debts, which will be paid for by Liverpool fans over the coming years, so why shouldn’t Liverpool fans be the ones owning the club since they’ll be paying for it? It’s the difference between paying the mortgage for your landlord or paying for it on your own house.”

Liverpool FC’s financial position is precarious, with transfer funds limited and auditors KPMG expressing reservations about the club’s ability to continue as a going concern. '

Interesting timing considering Kilfoyle's statements in the week and Moores' resignation. Are we about to see a renewed effort for fan ownership?

There are a lot of questions to be answered if that's the case.

- What model should a potential fan takeover implement? (one member one vote or a tiered membership system?)

- What would encourage you to get involved?

- What are the deal-breakers?

- What happens once the revolution is successful?

If this is going down I think we need to let them know what we think would work, otherwise there'll be chaos afterwards.

Sion · June 21, 2009

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