SOS: - På tide med forandring

Spirit of Shankly har kommet med en meddelelse der de kritiserer eierne for liten støtte til Benítez på overgangsmarkedet. De oppfordrer supporterne til å stå samlet mot Hicks og Gillett.

Supportergruppen Spirit of Shankly skal dele ute løpesedler i forbindelse med kveldens kamp mot Stoke. I går la de ut en meddelelse på sin nettside der de kritiserer eierne Tom Hicks og George Gillett for manglende støtte til Rafael Benítez på overgangsmarkedet i sommer. Manageren ser ikke engang ut til å få bruke pengene han selv har generert ved spillersalg. I uttalelsen blir også tidligere eier og formann David Moores beskyldt for å forholde seg rolig og ikke gjøre noe mens supporterne kjemper for klubbens fremtid. Spirit of Shankly oppfordrer supporterne til å stå samlet for å få til en endring i klubben.

Our Need for Change

Tomorrow night is important for Liverpool fans. On the pitch we want to see a victory in the season's first home game. Off the pitch, the situation remains as bleak as ever. Today's news of the massive lack of a transfer budget for the manager, only emphasises that point. £1.5 million doesn't buy you much in modern day football. Not only is the off the pitch situation depressing for fans, with mounting debt, no new stadium, and an ownership structure that cares only for finances, but now the staple part of being a fan, the football, is being affected.

On Sunday it was painfully obvious to see that the squad does not have the depth that the manager desires. Instead of seeing further investment in the playing staff, the manager has to work within a budget derived from the theory 'you can only spend on transfers what you make from transfers'. Is that really good enough for LFC? Questions must remain about where the revenue from Champions League success and TV rights is being spent, but with the owners having a track record of using such revenues to pay off their debts - Tom Hicks' old favourite of leveraged buyouts - it's quite clear where the answers lie.

Further questions must be asked about how we have found ourselves in such a situation. Not only has the 'family silver' been passed on for considerable profit by David Moores, and the now departed Rick Parry, but it is now being melted down to squeeze every last penny from it. What is David Moores response? Nothing. He resigns from his position on the board and maintains his Honourary Life Presidency with a seat in the Directors Box. Why are you sitting back, doing nothing David, while the fans fight for the club's life?

Do we as fans want to see the club standing still, or even worse, being left behind, as other clubs spend millions on players to bolster their squads? Do we want a situation where the main financial priorities each summer are debt and more debt, rather than transfers and contracts? If the answer is no, then it's time to say no. Time to say no to Hicks and Gillett. Time to stand up for yourself. Time to bring about change. David Moores and Rick Parry didn't want to do it. But we can. And we will.

Hicks and Gillett - OUT NOW!

Spirit Of Shankly