Shareliverpoolfc announces formation of steering group and restates intention to make a serious bid to buy Liverpool FC.
Liverpool FC legends Phil Thompson and John Aldridge show their support by joining the Steering Group.
[UKPRwire, Thu Feb 28 2008] 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, 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.”
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 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”.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
More information is available at www.ShareLiverpoolFC.com
Or call Rogan Taylor: 0151 734 5340/07977 928364 (rogan@liv.ac.uk)
Share Liverpool FC is a group of Liverpool fans, advised by some of the foremost experts in supporter and co-operative ownership in football. It includes:
Leading the initiative:
Rogan Taylor, Kop season ticket holder and LFC fan for over forty years; founder member and Chair of the Football Supporters’ Association, launched in Liverpool after the Heysel Stadium Disaster in 1985. Rogan is currently the Director of the Football Industry Group at the University of Liverpool.
Advising the group:
Supporters Direct: The organisation that assists in the formation of supporters’ trusts, and assists them in gaining equity and democratic representation at their clubs.
Kevin Jaquiss, of the law firm, Cobbetts, the top UK firm for co-operative and mutual law which has played a leading role in the development of mutuals and co-operatives in housing, health and education. Kevin was part of the group which developed the Supporters Trust concept and wrote the model constitution which is now used by over 100 trusts in England, Wales and Scotland.
STEERING GROUP
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)
For more information on the Steering Group members, please visit www.shareliverpoolfc.com
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Blinklist
Reddit