What would it take for us

[Jezzman]

..... to buy our beloved club back from the two yanks?

 

Is it insane to think that Liverpoolfans around the world might be able to raise the money required? I think I read in the anual report at one point that there are around 35 mill. active LFC supporters around the world. That's the ones connected to a local branch of some sorts. What if just 1 of the 35 mill. supporters could raise a £ 500 each? That's £ 500.000.000. Is that being unrealistic?

 

Anyways, as said, it might be a nutty idea.... just something I've been thinking about lately and wanted to share.

[Powelly]

whos got the mega-bux then?

[Jezzman]

whos got the mega-bux then?

Sign me up for the first £500

[alias75]

The supporters of Ron Paul a Texas congressman running for President organised what they called money bombs the first one was on Nov 5th and rasied $4.2 million (in a single day) the 2nd was on Dec 16th and that raised $6.2 million from approx 35,000 donations.

 

This is something ive thought about before given the millions of supporters worldwide Liverpool has, i have no doubts if it was organised properly you'd raise millions, but i think its unrealistic to think you could raise the sort of money needed to buy the club.

[Amit83]

Sign me up for £500 as well

[alias75]

Id stick 500 in too so that 999,997 to go!

 

maybe we can own the stadium instead that'll only cost 350 million

[Falconhoof]

The Barcelona model of ownership.

 

I'd put £500 in.

[Kahnee]

And put yourself in the firing line the minute things got a bit sticky? I'd demand an end to all knee-jerking before I got involved

[Rimbeux]

The Barcelona model of ownership.

 

I'd put £500 in.

 

 

If research showed it to be viable, it would take a consortium of wealthy enough people and institutions to put up the initial cash to buy out the owners, and then move to a subscription system, with elected presidents and board members serving terms. It brings politics into the running of a club, with all the boom and bust danger that going with the biggest promises may bring, but it brings the club back to it's fans. Setting up a constitution that has checks and balances while allowing freedom to put a 'manifesto' into action will be a tricky process for those in the consortium to sort out, but there are examples to go and study. I'd be in.

[Sion]

If it was for real i'd happily put forward more than £500 if it meant a stake in our club, not just donating money never to be seen again. Nice idea, but far too many problems.

 

We could raise nowhere near £500m

Puts us back to square 1, if not further behind. There would be no extra inward investment and would only be able to rely on revenue like under Moores

Who runs the club?

Do 'Donaters' own shares? do they have any say in what goes on?

If so how do make sure only real Liverpool fans get involved and we're not over-run by mancs and jester hat whoppers. RTK-led interviews for every potential investor?

[Jezzman]

We could raise nowhere near £500m

 

Why are you so sure of that ?

 

I can see the problems you describe and I don't have the soloution for them. How do Barcelona make sure they're not overrun by Madrid supporters etc?

[alias75]

the Barcelona model is a decent one to look at, they appoint a President and other specialists to run the various aspects of a football club, but the club is owned by the fans.

 

The President i think makes the key decisions like hiring / firing managers but because they have to be re-elected by the fans they obviously take their opinions seriously. you still need to appoint good people in those key positions, but Barcelona are the proof that that type of model can work.

[alias75]

Barcelona is owned by only 142,000 fans

 

The Camp Nou way

 

142,000 Barcelona members or socios

 

£69 Cheapest adult season ticket at the Camp Nou (Barcelona)

 

£579 Most expensive adult season ticket at the Camp Nou

 

£84m Barça's income in 2002-03, before Joan Laporta took over

 

£163m Barça's income in 2005-6

 

2 Maximum number of four-year terms a Barça president may serve

[Sion]

Why are you so sure of that ?

 

I can see the problems you describe and I don't have the soloution for them. How do Barcelona make sure they're not overrun by Madrid supporters etc?

 

Unless we could recruit a number of wealthy persons who would be willing to input millions each i see no way we could reach £500m through £500-1000 investments.

 

Of all these so called Liverpool fans globally, there's bound to be a) loads of part-timers b) loads of people who can't afford to invest money c) people who don't understand the problem with the yanks and won't bother

 

I honestly don't think there are 500 000 to 1 million fans out there who would be willing to invest at least £500

[surf]

Is the Barcelona model - which sounds pretty solid - the same as the Real Madrid one, where the president promises to buy this or that player to appease the fans? A danger of democracy is that whoever runs the club will always need to show success during their 4-5 year tenure and keep the fans happy. I'd hate to see us go down the road of Real Madrid clownery.

[alias75]

I think talk of needing to find a million fans willing to donate is unrealistic but if you look at the Barcelona model they have only 142,000 members. I think a more realistic way of doing things is a smaller number donating more. I think you'd find a hardcore of fans willing to spend in the thousands to become a life member and have a say in how the club is run.

 

Im not sure how the Barcelona model works but their membership did go from 100,000 to 142,000 im sure they have a waiting list of fans wanting to be part of the club.

[Gunga Din]

I think talk of needing to find a million fans willing to donate is unrealistic but if you look at the Barcelona model they have only 142,000 members. I think a more realistic way of doing things is a smaller number donating more. I think you'd find a hardcore of fans willing to spend in the thousands to become a life member and have a say in how the club is run.

 

Im not sure how the Barcelona model works but their membership did go from 100,000 to 142,000 im sure they have a waiting list of fans wanting to be part of the club.

 

 

the problem is the Barcelona model was started before the current big money football we have today. they own a huge stadium, have no debt, and can run things quite well on their fans contributions, gate receipts and tv money. if you were to try and start a similar model from now, you'd have to start right at the bottom, and try and work your way up. Leeds could possibly make such a scheme work if they got the right people to run it. unfortunately, there is no way such a plan would work with us, due to the size of the club and the amount of money needed would be huge

[alias75]

the problem is the Barcelona model was started before the current big money football we have today. they own a huge stadium, have no debt, and can run things quite well on their fans contributions, gate receipts and tv money. if you were to try and start a similar model from now, you'd have to start right at the bottom, and try and work your way up. Leeds could possibly make such a scheme work if they got the right people to run it. unfortunately, there is no way such a plan would work with us, due to the size of the club and the amount of money needed would be huge

 

Yes thats right, doing something like this now is next to impossible for a big club like Liverpool. We can dream though

[Wardy]

I just want to canvas some opinion here, this is 100% pie in the sky!

 

If it meant the club could be owned by the support and all you got for your donation was some piece of mind that the club isn't being run by someone with their own agenda would you be prepared to make a donation to a trust every year?

Edited January 7, 2008 by Wardy

[Frosty Jack]

http://myfootballclub.co.uk/

[Elisha_Scott]

I just want to canvas some opinion here, this is 100% pie in the sky!

 

If it meant the club could be owned by the support and all you got for your donation was some piece of mind that the club isn't being run by someone with their own agenda would you be prepared to make a donation to a trust every year?

 

How much?

[Wardy]

That's what got me thinking but as I said - all you'd get for your money would be a vote in who the custodians of the club would be - like Barca.

[Wardy]

How much?

 

Up to you but it would probably have to be a minimum amount to guarantee you a vote.

[_00_deathscar]

How much?

 

£100k/week, or roughly your weekly wage.

[matty]

This has been on my mind for some time. I reckon we could do it. Raise enough money to buy the club, get some decent people into administration of it, elect a board, let's go.

 

I reckon there's a million people around the world who could put 500 sovs in.

 

I volunteer to hold the money in my account while we're waiting to exchange contracts.