Spirit Of Shankly – ShareLiverpoolFC is aware of the increasing speculation regarding the potential sale of our club. We can confirm that Spirit Of Shankly – ShareLiverpoolFC (SOS-SL) have made contact with those involved in the transaction process to register our interest in acquiring a shareholding on behalf of our constituents.

We have received a polite and positive response and have passed on details of the role an SOS-SL supporter stake might ultimately play in the ownership of our Club, and we await developments.

We would all clearly welcome the prospect of the departure of the Club’s present owners. However we also want to make sure that the Club, the directors responsible for overseeing the sales process, as well as the financial institutions involved, are aware of their responsibility to ensure that if the Club is sold, it is sold to the most suitable owners, who have the interests of the Club and its fans at heart. In that event, we would seek supporter involvement in any proposed purchase.

Whilst selling the club, the interests of Liverpool’s supporters must be considered. Supporters make this club what it is, we provide it’s value – financially through branding, merchandising and sponsorship opportunities, and emotionally through unwavering support for our club, the famed “12th man” which makes our club so special. Any prospective new owner should be fully aware of this and we would expect that new owners would seek to develop a mutually co-operative relationship between the supporters, the club and its owners as a matter of urgency and for the benefit of all parties.

With so much speculation and misinformation, we cannot be sure of the intentions and resources of ‘interested parties’. We do understand that Hicks & Gillett’s overriding objective will be to sell the club to the highest bidder in order to extract as large a profit as possible. This will not be in the best interest of the club, or the fans and it must not bear influence on who the club is sold to. The club must be sold to those who are ‘fit and proper’ and who will be ‘true custodians’ who have the necessary expertise and resources to restore our great club to its rightful place.

As a consequence, those responsible for overseeing the sale need to ensure that, as a minimum, any new owner is the right person for the football club and it’s supporters, not for the profit they can provide to greed driven businessmen.

The long-term future of this football club, as well as any investment in it, is entirely dependent on the goodwill and support of the fans. Supporter ownership of the Club remains the overriding goal. Should we have new owners, we need to know what role supporters can play, to make sure the problems of the past three years are not repeated and to make sure that supporter issues are heard.

We’ve been in this situation before. The last decision regarding the ownership of Liverpool FC proved to be the most disastrous in the history of the Club. We cannot afford to let anyone else get it wrong again. The supporters can help them get it right.

Make sure you are on board. Make sure your friends are too – tell them about it, pass on the message that we can and will be a part of it. Now more than ever, we have to come together, stand together, and unite to make a change, to protect our club.

Spirit Of Shankly-ShareLiverpoolFC Board