Government set to back fans' bid to buy Liverpool

Feb 3 2008

Liverpool fans on the Spion Kop _320

AN EARLY day motion has been tabled in the House of Commons welcoming Rogan Taylor’s “Share Liverpool FC” concept.

MP John McDowell has signed the motion supporting the idea of 100,000 Reds fans putting in £5,000 each to take over the club, which is currently owned by US tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

The Liverpool-born MP for London’s Hayes & Harlington seat, said: “The ‘Share Liverpool FC’ initiative could be an absolutely huge development for football in this country and if it succeeds will show that there is an alternative route to the corporate take-over of clubs with all the attendant dangers for the clubs and fans.

“Football is rightly the property of those who go every week, commit their life’s savings and every second of their time and energy for the club they love.”

In response, ‘Share Liverpool FC’ spokesperson, Rogan Taylor, said: “It gives us a lot of heart to hear this kind of encouragement and backing for our proposal. The website www.shareliverpoolfc.co.uk is receiving a tremendous number of visits and in a few days we should be able to put some figures on just how many fans have signed: Count me in!”

When asked about the Saturday’s post-match Kop demonstration, Mr Taylor said: “I knew it was coming. I would not like it to be confused with the share holder group proposal, but I understand how they feel. People are angry and I have every sympathy with them.

“With our proposal you can sort the issue out forever and the club can never be sold again. It can’t be taken over. A share would give them (fans) an influence over their club.

“As I walked to the match yesterday a fire engine stopped and one of the firemen pulled his window down and told me ‘it was a brilliant idea’ to allow the fans to have shares.

“Work mates, lads who go to the pub, families can buy them between them if individuals can’t afford to pay for one on their own. They would have a diluted share but they would still have a say on who would become the club’s President. The person whose name the share is in would have the final say.

“At the moment we are renting the club from the Americans, but with this idea fans can own the club themselves - like you own your own home and do not have to pay rent.”

He added: “Fans approached me at the game yesterday and said we won’t be able to pay for players, but if they owed the club themselves the buying and selling of players would not work any different from how the transfer market works now.

“The fans won’t be asked to pay for anything else other than the share they buy. You will never be asked for more money unless the directors want to ask. Remember the club profits £180m a year at the moment. The fans owing the club would not cut off transfer pots in any way.”

Hundreds of fans stayed behind on The Kop and other parts of the ground to call for the Americans to leave the club in Saturday’s protest organised by new group, the Sons of Shankly.