Liverpool fans considering season ticket boycott
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Liverpool fans considering season ticket boycott in bid to hasten exit of Tom Hicks and George Gillett
Summer of discontent: Liverpool face plenty of upheaval in the close season, supporters protest against the club's owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett
Liverpool fans are weighing up a season ticket boycott in protest against the club's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
The duo are looking to sell the Anfield club and have brought in new chairman Martin Broughton to that effect but supporters' group Spirit of Shankly revealed fans would consider not buying tickets in a bid to hit the owners in the pocket and hasten their departure.
Broughton has said he expects the sale to take several months but Reds fans are unhappy at the prospect of starting the new season under owners who have burdened the club with £237million of debt.
Liverpool recently revealed that the Kop Holdings, the company set up by Hicks and Gillett to buy the club, had made a financial loss for the year ending July 2009 of £54.9m, and supporters are concerned the club's present financial situation is not sustainable.
But, although Spirit of Shankly maintain an organised boycott is being considered, as yet it has not been arranged.
'Fans are considering giving up season tickets to the games next year if Hicks and Gillett are still in charge,' Spirit of Shankly spokesman James McKenna told Goal.com.
'Fans are looking at what we can do to affect Hicks and Gillett's ownership. 'A mass boycott is not something that's on the agenda at the moment. But if their regime continues, I know that a lot of fans will be asking serious questions whether they should go to the games.'
McKenna added: '[The Premier League] are satisfied the long-term future of the club is not threatened because we have saleable assets such as players who can still be sold down the line.'
'But our idea of sustainability is different to theirs. We are aware we could go down the path of Leeds United if the debt can't be paid. When you are losing money, you can't move forward. It's a very scary thought.
'Fans want issues resolved. We support the football team and don't support the financial team.'
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just go straight to the owners, such actions will only damage the club further.