Sos

Some of the SOS lads are due to have a meeting with Ian Ayre to discuss new ticket plan on Tuesday

 

Hope it doesn't end up like the Purslow debacle, or for that matter the letter to John Henry.

An opportunity to do good here.

 

Great picture of supporters from a few different clubs uniting to hold the banner

 

That's my wee head over the O in without, next to Mono another shortarse haha, great meeting June 19th london next. get yer flights booked. Liverpool and coach or london direct.

 

The entire event last night is repeated on AnfieldFM tonight at 6pm

 

Sunday 19 May 2013 at 12:09
Following a unanimous vote in favour at the recent #footballwithoutfansisnothing meetings in the North West & London, there will be a demonstration on June 19th to show our anger at the spiralling cost of attending football matches & the refusal of the football authorities to address fans' concerns.


The demonstration will take place at the headquarters of the Premier League & Football League in Gloucester Place, London. Full details will be released in the next few days, after Spirit of Shankly contacted all of the supporters' groups that were represented at the North West & London meetings to agree our joint message to the Premier League & Football League

As shown by the wide range of clubs, from all levels of the game, represented at the meetings, this is an issue that transcends club rivalries. We are therefore asking that you share this message with fans of all clubs & that those of you attending today's Premier League matches spread the word among supporters of your team.

Spirit of Shankly is finalising details of transport to the demonstration from Liverpool. We hope to make a more detailed announcement in the next few days.

#FootballWithoutFansIsNothing
£nough is £nough

http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/footballwithoutfansisnothing-june-19th-demonstration

 

Worth a watch this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHOnEODN6tg

 

http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/premier-league-money-for-away-fan-initiatives

 

Just seen the post from SOS about cards not working at the turnstiles, anyone have any probs?


Following the problems experienced by supporters at the turnstiles at the home games against Stoke City and Notts County, Spirit of Shankly is concerned that a number of important issues remain unresolved.

Supporters with "active" season ticket/membership cards have been unable to pass through the turnstiles, in spite of the card reader accepting their cards and showing a green light. This has resulted in a build up of queues at a number of turnstile blocks.

The club's response to this issue has been confusing and ad hoc. At some turnstiles a "Fan Support" steward has re-validated cards with a hand held scanner and a representative of the "access control system" company has over ridden the turnstile computer to allow supporters through. At other turnstiles, supporters were required to go to the ticket office to have their cards re-validated and have a paper ticket issued, some at a cost of £10.

These problems at the turnstiles have meant that hundreds of supporters missed up to 20 minutes of each of these games. It has also led to safety issues, with the queuing system failing altogether at turnstile block B before the Stoke game.

Spirit of Shankly is concerned that these issues have revealed the fragmented nature of crowd management at Anfield. Stewards at unstaffed turnstiles have no manual over ride facility, meaning that in the event of a build up of crowds they would not be able to allow supporters at the front to pass through the turnstiles more quickly.

The issues arising at the Stoke City match were raised by Spirit of Shankly members at last Sunday's meeting of the Liverpool FC Supporters' Committee. Spirit of Shankly is shocked at the response given by Ged Poynton, Stadium Manager. Flying in the face of the problems faced by supporters and communicated to the Supporters' Committee, Mr Poynton trotted out the staple "late arrivals" excuse and a line about inactive cards being presented - the latter day "ticketless fans". Mr Poynton further claimed that all supporters affected had gained entry to the stadium by 12 minutes into the game. Something we know to be untrue.

At the subsequent Notts County match, Spirit of Shankly members again observed numerous supporters being denied access by the computerised turnstile system. At kick off time the queues for turnstile Block B at the Kop end stretched across to Lake St and down to the Albert pub (see images). Ten minutes after kick-off the queue of supporters at the ticket office had reached the entrance to the club shop & museum (see image)

Clearly the problems experienced at the Stoke City match have not been resolved. Rather, conversations with supporters and stewards suggest things may have been exacerbated by issues with Auto Cup Scheme membership cards not being activated.

Spirit of Shankly believes that it is purely the good nature and co-operation of supporters that has prevented more serious issues arising. However, it is possible that supporters will not be so accepting about such problems delaying their entry to the stadium at more high profile fixtures. The response of Mr Poyton to the Supporters' Committee, coupled with the fragmented nature of stadium access management, indicates that the club is neither prepared for such a scenario nor equipped to deal with it.

We believe that the club has to put egos and empires to one side where supporter safety is concerned. Many supporters have suggested what may be workable solutions to the problems that have now occurred at two successive matches. The Supporters' Committee minutes indicate that Mr Poynton is not willing to accept that there are continuing issues, he also appears to be totally dismissive of supporters' legitimate complaints and concerns.

Liverpool Football Club and Mr Poynton would do well to remember that Liverpool supporters have good reason to raise safety issues and that Liverpool supporters have a first hand knowledge of what can happen when problems at turnstiles trigger a chain of events. Spirit of Shankly therefore calls on the club to open dialogue with supporters and to listen, without prejudice or threat of job losses, to the views of club stewards who have been open in their criticism of the access control system.

We expect the club to make a full statement explaining the measures that will be put in place before the Manchester United match. We also request that the club fully explain, with evidence, Mr Poynton's claims regarding the problems at the Stoke City game being a result of late arrivals and invalid cards being presented.

In addition, we call on Merseyside Police and the licencing authority to carefully monitor proceedings at the turnstiles on Sunday in order that the competence of the new access control system can be independently verified.

 

Always came across as an arrogant jobsworth that Poynton. I remember him on Footie Focus back in the early 90's telling about how the new Kop will be state of the art, with "Spacious, comfortable seating". Anybody that is 6 foot tall will tell you that's far from the truth. These latest remarks he made are crass to say the very least. I hope somebody gets dragged over the coals for this as it's simply not good enough to treat supporters with this distain after charging them up to £50 a ticket and using stupid marketing terms such as #allofus and #lfcfamily

 

A lot of late arrivals in the Kop at Stoke who had to go to the Ticket office.

 

What's the problem only a certain amount of time to push the turnstile or something ?

 

Response from the Club to this.

Over the summer, Liverpool has made some upgrades around Anfield stadium and ahead of Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash with Manchester United is asking fans for their support as there are new turnstiles in operation.

The club acknowledges that a number of fans experienced some difficulties accessing the new turnstiles during the Stoke game and would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

We also acknowledge some comments made by a member of staff during the LFC Supporters' Committee meeting the following day were not helpful in this regard and would apologise for this.

Subsequently, we have carried out an investigation into the various issues that were experienced for this game and have put in place measures which will be in place for Sunday.

Additionally, we would also like to ask fans for their help to ensure access to the stadium on Sunday is as smooth as possible.

Supporters who are attending Sunday's game are asked to:

- Please ensure you bring with you the current membership card, season ticket card or match ticket on the day of the game. It is important that you don't bring old membership cards, season ticket cards or match tickets as the turnstile readers will not recognise these.

- To access the stadium, please ensure you insert your current membership card, season ticket card or match ticket into the opening of the reader at the turnstile. When the light goes green, remove the ticket or pass, push on the turnstile and immediately enter the stadium in the normal way. It is important to note that you will only have a set time to go through the turnstile, so we would ask that once the green light shows that you enter the stadium via the turnstile without delay.

- In the unlikely event that your membership card, season ticket card or match ticket is not accepted, the light will go red. If this happens, speak to the steward at the turnstile, who will advise you where the nearest Fan Support Team member is located, who will endeavour to resolve the issue.

- As always, please ensure you allow sufficient time to travel to the ground. Kick-off for Sunday's match is 1.30pm BST.

If you have any concerns about your membership card, season ticket card or match ticket before you arrive at the turnstile, please seek help from a member of the Fan Support Team, who are positioned near each turnstile block around the stadium.

Please note, if your purchase was made using your membership card, you should receive a text message reminding you of your seat details and the turnstile you should be using to enter the stadium. If you are unsure, please check your details by clicking here.

If you are still in doubt on arrival at the stadium please contact a member of the Fan Support Team.

Thank-you for your continued support.

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/143743-fan-access-info-for-sunday-s-match

 

Did anyome off here get to the AGM on Saturday??just doing some lurking over om the rattle and someones posted up the membership has really declined in the last 2 years something like 5500 in 2011 down to around 1200 now

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

 

Ian Ayre's response to ticket Prices

Last week, after the announcement about reciprocal ticket initiatives at Newcastle, and Manchester City ticket prices being subsidised by player donations, it was clear that some football clubs and the powers that be were beginning to listen. These initiatives followed on from the £200,000 that had been set aside for away supporter initiatives at each club. This shows that the message about ticket prices being too high is being heard and acted upon.

Today we have seen that some club’s have taken Newcastle up on their offer, which we would applaud and encourage.
It's clear that with the promotion of these initiatives the previous message from the football cartel and others that nothing could be done is nonsense. It's also clear that it isn’t enough for clubs to act in isolation with individual gestures, and that more can be done across all clubs and leagues. We recently contacted Ian Ayre and Phil Dutton to follow up on our meeting with them earlier in the year on ticket price increases to raise some questions regarding the Newcastle and Manchester City initiatives and to see what Liverpool planned to do next.

This is our letter to them:


Dear Ian and Phil,

Obviously a lot has changed since when we last met to discuss ticket prices back in March this year. There was the campaigning and meetings we held in both Liverpool and London with supporters from not just LFC but from across the country. Subsequently there was the demonstration we planned and co-ordinated at the Premier League on 19th June. It’s fair to say that the strength of feeling towards ticket prices has also grown in that time.

As a result of this pressure, the Premier League offered £200,000 to all clubs for away fans initiatives which you have now utilised in a positive step to reduce prices for supporters.

Today, you will no doubt have seen the announcement from Newcastle United about their planned reduction in prices for away tickets to £20 as part of a reciprocal arrangement with any club who offers the same to their supporters when they travel away from home. We’ve also heard today that staff and players at Manchester City have each donated £1,000 to reduce away ticket prices further. You will no doubt recall that at our meeting, you said you felt it needed other clubs to step up and take action and that Liverpool could not be the only ones doing this as you needed to compete. Today’s announcements make clear that other clubs are willing to lead the way and still be able to compete.

With this in mind, and the repeated comments of Richard Scudamore on 19th June and subsequently that it is for clubs to take action, we would like to ask:

1.Will LFC be taking up Newcastle United’s offer of a reciprocal arrangement to charge away fans £20? (We appreciate our match at Newcastle will come before such an agreement but a commitment to do so would show willingness on the part of the club)

2.Will LFC be looking to offer the same reciprocal arrangement to other clubs?

3.Will LFC be looking at any other initiatives to reduce ticket prices for home and away supporters? It would be a great gesture if the club could match the £200,000 from the Premier League and the players as a collective too

We will be following up our initial contact to sponsors to ask them to also contribute as it is important all those who put money into the game, or make money from it, are asked to share this with those who make it the much loved game that it is.

The tide is turning in football – supporters are becoming increasingly aware that changes are possible and can be made to happen. Small steps are being taken in the right direction and we would very much like to see our club do what LFC has done for many years – lead whilst others follow.

We look forward to your response.

Regards

James McKenna

Chair

Spirit of Shankly


We have subsequently received this response from Ian Ayre:



Dear James

Thanks for your note

As we have indicated previously this type of question needs to be channeled through the official LFC Supporters Committee which is the vehicle we created to act as a consultation group that allows fans questions to be raised and to help shape the club’s future. I would therefore ask that you to utilise that route – the relevant details can be found on our website.


The official LFC Supporters Committee is an independently elected body of individuals and was established to ensure that the club is interfacing with a single group that represent the wider views of the majority of fans from across all segments of our fan base, rather than the views of individual supporter groups. For this reason we would encourage all fans to utilise the Supporters’ Committee to make their views known.

To answer this specific enquiry, I would point out a couple of things that are inaccurate in your note.

The £200,000 award made by clubs in the Premier League was not allocated because of pressure from fans or fan demonstrations. In fact that matter had already been discussed at Premier League Shareholders meetings before your interaction, which was instigated as a result of a research done by the league on behalf of all clubs that indicated an annual growth in home attendance and a slight decline in away attendance. The clubs collectively decided to sanction an initiative to help promote away support.

Secondly the £200,000 was not “from the Premier League”, it was from each individual club, so we wont be matching our own contribution. What we agreed and voted for as individual clubs was to allocate that amount to any initiative of our choice to support attendance.

We took this matter to the official LFC Supporters Committee and asked them for their views on how this money could best be utilised to help our fans. As a result we subsequently introduced this initiative which has been widely welcomed.
We have not seen the offer of Newcastle United FC to reduce prices and we have not received any formal notification from them, but understand it is just something they are currently exploring.

As I said, we have a very open, healthy and regular dialogue with our Supporters’ Committee on all aspects of ticketing and other matters and will continue to consider all ideas and discuss with them. Any changes that we make or implement will be as a result of that consultation and we will communicate our decisions via the committee and the club’s media channels.

Kind regards

Ian

The response from the club is disappointing. Their stance on reciprocal ticketing arrangements could be explored and supported given today’s news and we don't need to, nor should we, wait to see what others are doing. We have an opportunity, with our supporters being at the forefront of this campaign with banners and flags that have raised the profile of this issue to our subsequent march on the Premier League offices, to lead the way in ticket price reductions for supporters. It would seem that the club is at best hesitant and at worst completely against taking positive steps on their own to address this issue for supporters.

Whilst the Supporters Committee is something we support and we have recently promoted their election, it’s clear that on this issue the Union has been a leading campaigner for the reduction of ticket prices. This isn’t about us thinking that we should be heard over anyone else – more that the voices of our membership should be heard as well. We’ve responded to the reply from Ian Ayre expressing our disappointment and making clear our position and we have also written to all members of the Supporters’ Committee about this issue. We’ve said that we will encourage our members to contact the Supporters Committee. As a result, we have now put together details of how members can do this and questions they might like to ask their Supporters’ Committee representatives to put to Ian Ayre and the club at the next meeting, which can be found here.


http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/ian-ayre-response-to-ticket-price-reductions

 

Really disappointed with the way the club has reacted to this movement to reduce ticket prices. #allofus #lfcfamily #my****inarse