Everton fan Andy backs Anfield fans' plan

12:14pm Thursday 28th August 2008

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Leigh MP Andy Burnham, a keen Everton fan, has given his backing to fans of close rivals Liverpool who are planning to buy out the club.

Sports Minister Burnham put aside cross-city allegiances to back ShareLiverpoolFC’s dream of co-operative ownership of the Anfield club.

Burnham spoke prior to the Champions League qualifier with Standard Liege last night.

He said in a statement: “I’ve long believed that more supporter ownership is the right way forward for football.

”The game needs to stay in touch with its roots in the local community and this is a good way of achieving that.”

ShareLiverpoolFC founder member Dr Rogan Taylor, director of the Football Industry Group at Liverpool University, had earlier 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 Liverpool’s American owners’ ability to continue, 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 database of people willing to help and we could say, ‘We want 10% now, so let’s talk’,” Taylor explained.

ShareLiverpoolFC have 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.