Liverpool Fans Intend To Buy Their Club

[Fulham Broadway 16,444]

From BBC News

Liverpool supporters are to launch an ambitious plan to buy the football club from its current American owners.

US tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks recently finalised a £350m refinancing of the club which they bought in 2007.

But the Share Liverpool FC Group is to reveal plans for a buy-out of the club by 100,000 Reds fans around the world.

The model proposed will be a Barcelona style, "member-share" scheme, aimed at raising £500m to purchase the club from its US owners and build a new stadium.

606: DEBATE

Can the fans succeed in their bid to take over the club?

As well as UK-based fans, a website will be launched to attract interest from Liverpool's supporter base around the world, particularly in East Asia.

Club refinancing

Those behind the move are football business lecturer and Liverpool fan Rogan Taylor, former director of communications at the Premier League Phil French, and lawyer Kevin Jacquiss - an expert in launching co-operatives.

"The time is right to offer a different solution to the rising concerns that football fans have about the patterns of ownership developing at our major football clubs," said Taylor, who is director of the Football Industry Group at the University of Liverpool.

He said the "time is right" for such an initiative in the UK.

Full details of how the fans' group hopes to buy the club will be revealed later on Thursday, although the initial figures seem to suggest an investment per supporter of £5,000 each.

Thousands of Liverpool fans have already demonstrated their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs

Rogan Taylor, Share Liverpool FC Group

Many Liverpool supporters have been unhappy at the recent uncertainty surrounding the refinancing of the club.

After much delay, and reports that either one or both of the owners was willing to sell a stake to Dubai's DIC, a refinancing deal was signed last week with the Royal Bank of Scotland and US bank Wachovia.

Hicks confirmed to the BBC last week that of the £350m refinancing package, £105m of that will be debt tied to the club.

Of that total, £45m will be used for future player transfers and to meet the club's working capital needs, and the remaining £60m is thought to be free for start-up money for a new Liverpool stadium.

However, some supporters are unhappy about debt being placed on to the club, and there is also a perception that the owners' support for manager Rafa Benitez has not been as strong as it might.

Debt burden

"Thousands of Liverpool fans have already demonstrated their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs," said Taylor.

"Large amounts of debt often devolves onto clubs newly purchased, but the fans know that in the end, it will be they themselves who will have to pay it off through increased ticket prices and other schemes.

All looked rosy when the US duo took over in early 2007

"In such a case, why not simply buy the club yourselves?"

He said that many fans were unaware that there were other ways of financing and taking ownership of big clubs.

Taylor said that in Germany and Spain most top-level football clubs were not for sale as they were owned by many thousands of "member fans".

"The Champions League has been won on six occasions in the last 15 years by clubs owned and run in such a way," he said.

Barcelona, which won the Champions League in 2006, is owned by its 100,000 fan-members.

Stadium plan

Earlier this month a survey carried out by the Liverpool Supporters' network showed that 76% of 2,000 fans questioned said they would "seriously consider reducing their financial commitment to the club" if the current owners stayed in charge.

When asked to choose between the owners and the manager as to who had the best interest of the club at heart, 99% backed Benitez.

However, Hicks and Gillett have insisted that they are fully behind Benitez. They also say the club plans to build the 71,000-seat venue close to Anfield in Stanley Park in time for the 2011-12 season.

[Badboy 1,526]

I would be angry if they could do that i dont want my taxes going to shit field.

[Fulham Broadway 16,444]

I would be angry if they could do that i dont want my taxes going to shit field.

Lol, I dont think your taxes would BB

Putting the obvious dislike of the club aside I really think this is the best way any club can be run. Everyone knows that Barcelona is the club that is run this way, but by Spains socialist tradition, so are other Spanish and German clubs.

The very word 'club' suggests a shared ownership and participation, and although we're lucky to have a debt free single owner, most other clubs are run by an owner or a couple of blokes, or a tribe of dodgy brothers in Man Uniteds case, solely to make profit for them alone.

Not only that, but they've borrowed the money in the first place, so for every £40 replica shirt or £50 admission £10-£15 of that is paying off their overdraft.

[captainmarvel 1]

lol shouldn't the scousers get a job first

[Fulham Broadway 16,444]

lol shouldn't the scousers get a job first

Lol, Well they are a global club and have fans world wide who maybe interested, ie your dad Meera ?

[ChrisGnu 0]

Like they can afford it.

[captainmarvel 1]

Lol, Well they are a global club and have fans world wide who maybe interested, ie your dad Meera ?

lol.. my dad would defo support it.. i constantly have to hear him ranting about the two Yanks.. but the figures that they are stating.. 5000 pounds a fan?! its ridiculous and no way could any middle-class families like us afford it.. but some rich fans might certainly be interested and donate much more to help the cause..

I like the idea.. but it could go very wrong.. how would decisions be ultimately made? with so many people involved, wouldn't it be impossible to please everyone..

[We Hate Scouse 10,261]

They think 100,000 of there fans will give £5000!!!!!!! there living in a dream world. Never gunna happen.

[Fulham Broadway 16,444]

I wouldnt be surprised if they pull it off somehow. Vast swathes of their fan base are not yer stereotypical scousers. They have middle class Irish, yanks, Asians, and Scandinavians who would like a piece of it. Believe me a £ 5000 investment would reap dividends.

Failing that ,they can always plead for a lottery grant, being City of Culture and all that . Still, make doubly sure to lock up yer doors now

[KENT_BLUE 1]

lol shouldn't the scousers get a job first

loool just what i come on here and was ganna post but guess someone beat me to it lol!

kent_blue

[.Cee 50]

Guess they can always burgled the players' homes or something for the funds...

[Layla 0]

Guess they can always burgled the players' homes or something for the funds...

Haahah exactly what my mumsie said lol.

I dont think this is gana work,they raise the money then what lol gotta raise more to pay for everything.May work for Barcalona but thats Barcalona lol and this is coming from the fans who thought they'd win the prem this year

[We Hate Scouse 10,261]

There all gunna raise the money and then hicks and what his name will say no and the money will then disappear and the 99,999 scousers will be angry except the one that ran away with £500million.

[Alee. 182]

I live in Asia.. and i know that there are sooooo many scousers here

[EskWeston 696]

I wouldnt be surprised if they pull it off somehow. Vast swathes of their fan base are not yer stereotypical scousers. They have middle class Irish, yanks, Asians, and Scandinavians who would like a piece of it. Believe me a £ 5000 investment would reap dividends.

Failing that ,they can always plead for a lottery grant, being City of Culture and all that . Still, make doubly sure to lock up yer doors now

Surely there wouldn't be any money to be made in the investment?? I thought the Spanish model works in the way of a sort of "membership fee" which means they then get to vote on the key descisions, like voting for the president ect...

[Fulham Broadway 16,444]

Presumably you'd have the option to sell your share anytime, and unless they went into serious freefall, any Premiership clubs value is constantly increasing.

[EskWeston 696]

Presumably you'd have the option to sell your share anytime, and unless they went into serious freefall, any Premiership clubs value is constantly increasing.

Hmmm, really not sure how it would work with shares like that? It doesn't sound like it is the same as the Spanish model, and i am not sure that the scousers could pull it off either.

[Fulham Broadway 16,444]

Hmmm, really not sure how it would work with shares like that? It doesn't sound like it is the same as the Spanish model, and i am not sure that the scousers could pull it off either.

Well it seems fairly simple, you buy a bit and can sell it anytime.

Barca with the Spanish socialist tradition, limits the amount owned by any individual or consortium. With this Liverpool lark, it depends if Rogan Taylor et al will limit the number of share allocations. Its a new venture, and there are obviously doubts, but the only difference is that there would be loads of owners instead of one. I dont think there would be many actual scousers buying in, as it's a steep amount for your average person.

But with the Premiership being advertised throughout the globe, I dont think there would be many problems with finding enough investors.