Liverpool co-op dream gains momentum

The Liverpool fan group who want to buy the club will tonight get backing for their dream from sports minister Andy Burnham.

The MP for Leigh, a life-long Everton fan, will put aside cross-city allegiances to back ShareLiverpoolFC's dream of co-operative ownership of the Anfield club, eventually ousting American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Burnham will speak at a meeting prior to the Champions League qualifier with Standard Liege, at the Liverpool Lighthouse pub near the stadium.

Also speaking will be officials of the Spirit of Shankly fans organisation to emphasise the solidarity of Liverpool supporters' groups behind the scheme.

ShareLiverpoolFC founder member Dr Rogan Taylor will also address the meeting, aimed at re-establishing the group publicly as the current Liverpool owners try to raise money to re-finance their own loans as well as the £400m needed to build a new stadium.

Taylor, director of the Football Industry Group at Liverpool University, said: ‘We want to make sure everyone realises that we are serious and intend to be around and ready whatever happens.’

Taylor believes that financial pressures will soon call into question once again the Americans' ability to continue as owners and prompt more interest from Dubai-based investors, who have been waiting in the wings to mount another takeover bid.

Taylor continued: ‘Whoever takes over the club, they are going to need a local partnership. We are here to stay, and have people signed up to help and support the plans we have.

‘We want to be around when the next roll of the dice comes, and that could be very soon.’

ShareLiverpoolFC have what many observers see as a romantic, if distant, aim of running the club, but are realistic enough to know that may not be their initial involvement.

‘We will be ready, we have a data-base of people willing to help and we could say, 'we want 10 per cent now' so let's talk,’ Taylor explained.

ShareLiverpoolFC has re-launched their website and want the 28,000 fans who had initially registered their interest, to sign up again.

The grand idea is to have 100,000 people pledging £5,000 to create a financial base to fight for control of the club.

Currently the group have 9,500 who have signed up, another 9,000 who have registered interest but cannot afford £5,000, plus a further 9,000 who want to be kept informed.

Taylor added: ‘There is a long way to go, but we believe we can have a genuine impact. You can't score a goal if you are not on the pitch, and we are certainly on the pitch as players.’

It is believed that ShareLiverpoolFC have held exploratory meetings with possible Dubai investors and members of the previous Anfield hierarchy.