Liverpool FC Forum

by **Leonmc0708** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 10:03 am

I was invited to the question and answer session yesterday held at Anfield with our much maligned chief executive Rick Parry and organised by the people behind the Reclaim The Kop initiative.

I will try and post some of the more pertinent points as I recall them, but the most common themes of the evening where (as you would expect) as follows:

@) The "25 incident" report from UEFA as muted by William Gilliard recently when he labeled the clubs fans the worst in Europe - Rick's reponse was damning, he said they have not seen a copy of the report, and went as far as questioning if it even existed. To bak this up, he said that they had re-read all the reports from the 23 European away games since 2003 (the supposed timeframe of UEFA's list) and there where NO incidents recorded in there

@) The ticketing policy in particular the ballot scheme employed in the distribution of the tickets for the Champions League final in Athens - Mr Parry played the nubmers game and quoted the figures of Istanbul and Athens (which where comparable) but never (IMO) really allayede peoples fears that the ballot was unfai or addressed peoples concerns that it was ill advised although he did look resigned to the fact that it was wrong. He will also have got hte message and I seriously doubt that style will be used in future

@) The loyalty scheme, how it has been employed, the plans for future employment and the pitfalls of the current system - No real response from Mr Parry nthis other than promises to look into it

@) The lack of support for/backing of the fans in the light of the UEFA reports and the (joyous) reporting of the comments by Sly Sports News and the Beeb in particular - Again, dissapointed by the response from Mr Parry on this, he kept on saying that Mr Gilliard had "hung himself" with the comments and there was little need to do anything on the clubs part. For me and everyone there a "More Robust" response and defence of the fans was in order from the club. Many would like to see comments on the pofficial site to defend us, although they where not forthcoming. Many times fans asked for the club to come out and defend us - we will see if this happens

@) What are the actual numbers on the season ticket waiting list and total nubmer of fan card holders - PArry said there where 60000 on the season ticket waiting list and 160000 fan card holders

@) Will there be a season ticket amnesty to allow people to have the names changed on the season tickets they have inherited ? - Parry said he will look into this, but probably

@) With the 7 12.45 kick offs from last season compared to only 2 for United, after Fergie and their fans moaned about it) is this a sign that the club are a soft touch ? - Dissapointingly Parry skirted round this issue and never offered a thorough answer other than saying we wher not without any real evidence

More to follow when I get a minute . . .

by **account deleted by request** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 11:04 am

Leon, did Parry explain the £9million projected loss? It seems strange to me that in a year when we reached a CL Final, finished 3rd and will receive record amounts from TV that we are still expecting to post a loss(transfers?),and even more the next year.

by **Well Red** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 11:10 am

Parry needn't have bothered turning up really. God, he's so wishy washy and buisness-like about all the big issues so as not to get on anyone's back. Where's his passion for the club? He should e defending the supporters vehemently after this nonsensical "25 Incidents" baloney. It seems to me like he mutters a lot of promises but never actually does anything about the core issues. Nice man who cares about the club, but clueless when it comes to realising how ruthless and brutal the world of Football is.

Thank God that Rafa's not one to rest on his laurels and is sending out wake up calls to the right people. Looks like Hicks and Gillette are decisive men too so hopefully once all the contract negotiations are out of the way, and the American we're bringing into the backroom staff to oversee transfers gets his visa, we can effectively condemn Parry to the backbenches of Liverpool F.C.

by **redtrader74** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 11:12 am

s@int wrote:Leon, did Parry explain the £9million projected loss? It seems strange to me that in a year when we reached a CL Final, finished 3rd and will receive record amounts from TV that we are still expecting to post a loss(transfers?),and even more the next year.

It can't help that we run out of shirts on the OFFICIAL site, commercially we are stuck in the late eighties.

by **Paul C** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 11:51 am

How come you got invited Leon, have you got mates on the inside?

by **Leonmc0708** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 12:08 pm

Paul C wrote:How come you got invited Leon, have you got mates on the inside?

No I just said if I didnt get to go I would tw.at them.

Ha ha

I really submitted a boss question to the site.

by **redhayesy** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 6:32 pm

quality Leon mate, i"m going off parry more & more every time he open"s his gob.
he has never really impressed me as chief ex - especially after the stevie g saga
but he just comes across as someone who hates confrontation etc
glad though mate that fans got the chance to confront him
on massive issues, we have had to put up with lately.
also being treated like sh1t, & being accused of allsorts.
please mate let"s have some more!

by **dawson99** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 6:35 pm

real stupid q so forgive me, but is dein (ex goon) the same sort of role? would u rather have someone like him? (who a lot of gooners that i know cant stand)?

by **maypaxvobiscum** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:59 am

hey dawson...why cant gooners stand dein? i heard wenger and henry saying great things bout him..maybe we shuld have one of those elections like the ones they have in madrid and barca. i'll buy messi and c.ronaldo if you vote for me

by **dawson99** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 2:19 pm

dunno if wed like that. itd be too much politics of football in the forefront. from the gooners point of vierw they just see dein as slimy, but whenever someone leaves somewhere people will say bad things.

personally i think he did alot of good for the club.

by **Effes** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 9:59 pm

Edited

by **Simari** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 8:45 am

Hmm .. wrote a long post but then this thought struck me:

It is quite possible that Parry no longer has the desire to run this club and knows he is on his way out (not confusing this with the fact that he does love the club).

He sounds like a very tired man.

by **Leonmc0708** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:36 am

From the offcial Reclaim The Kop Site

Several months ago the RTK group highlighted to Rick Parry the concerns from many supporters regarding the lack of two way club-fan communication at Liverpool Football Club. He acknowledged this and it was proposed that a question and answer session should be held so that supporters could pose questions to the clubs Chief Executive on a face to face basis.

We were asked to arrange this. We advertised across several online forums for people to submit questions to us as well as asking people in several 'offline' circles for theirs. We ended up with a wide range of issues from a good cross section of Liverpool fans. Season ticket holders, fan card holders, young people, older people, locals and out of towners. The evening was loosely compared with a free flowing debate ensuing on most of the issues and held in Anfield last Thursday.

At no point prior to the meeting did anyone at the club see the questions or had any warning or knowledge of the issues that were to be raised. Most of the major points were covered. However due to time limits, and a few particular aspects taking longer to cover than others, some were unfortunately but inevitably missed out.

A brief summary of the main points covered during the evening is documented below.

Lack of Athens Reaction

It was highlighted early on in the Q&A session that there was some unrest towards the lack of reaction from the club post Athens to defend the vast majority of fans who acted responsibly. The situation was compared to Manchester United at Lille earlier this year. There were reports there of forged tickets, bunking in, drunken behaviour and trouble between fans. United reacted early and turned the focus on the inadequate ground and policing. Whilst no-one was suggesting that we disregard the problems caused and exacerbated by a minority of our fans, the believe held by many in the audience was that Liverpool should have done more to highlight the flawless attitude from tens of thousands of reds, and in turn focus some of the attention on the obvious concerns with the failings of the organisers.

Rick Parry drew attention to the behind the scenes role the club played before and after the European Cup Final. A dossier was produced by the club alerting UEFA to problem areas stating everything they "predicted would go wrong did go wrong". The club believed UEFA would react in a "rational manner" and couldn't have predicted Galliard coming out with his comments and for these reasons they never came out with their own statement. The club have asked UEFA repeatedly for the report containing the apparent 25 incidents but are yet to obtain it. They also liaised with Sports Minister Richard Caborn during this time to ensure their feelings were aired in his meeting with Platini.

Perhaps next time with the benefit of hindsight, and the feelings aired on this issue from subsequent points the club have a clear message that they need to do more in the future to defend the ordinary fans. Unfortunately this time it's probably too late and our names are all tarred, the smear worked.

Stewarding at European Aways

The role of LFC stewards at European aways was brought up. It had been noted that official LFC stewards were gathered at an empty entrance to the Olympic stadium in Athens at a time when there was a serious crowd build up at the main entrance where fans were being guided from the Metro station. The stewards at the time were quoted as saying they have "no authority".

The "authority of initiative" was then questioned but nothing was done. Both Rick Parry and a senior steward categorically stated that in most grounds across Europe the offers of assistance to the local authorities are rejected, they are met with the “We know what we’re doing” attitude by most authorities abroad. The problems that occurred outside the PSV away leg in April when LFC fans were caged in outside the ground, leading to a bottle neck situation, were also mentioned. Again, here the offer of assistance from Liverpool was refused.

Tickets

Rick Parry confirmed that, along with 26,000 season ticket holders, there are approximately 160,000 fan card holders. There were several passionate words exchanged over season ticket loyalty, but just as heated was the issue of cross competition loyalty. The consensus from everyone present seemed to be that issuing European Cup final tickets to people who may have only been to six games was not good enough. The argument was that fan card loyalty should at least be taking into account the attendance of matches in other competitions as we support "Liverpool in all matches not just the European ones".

There was even a suggestion of bringing in a supermarket style loyalty scheme in, where the less attractive games would score more points than the likes of Everton at home. Rick Parry admitted that the current system may not be the best but it is still fairly new, and they are open to ideas in the future.

A point was raised over season tickets that have been handed down over the years, person to person. The club recognise that this happens, and although it does offer some form of updating a name and address on a season ticket it would look into perhaps a season ticket amnesty to allow people to officially transfer ownership.

The possibility of European away loyalty not being carried over this year, as in previous years was brought up with the obvious concern that several thousand people, with no intention of going the game, could apply for the first away creating chaos. It was promised that this would be looked in to.

At the minute loyalty is taken from the previous years attendance for each competition. 13 league aways from last year for a ticket for Goodison, last year’s FA Cup ties to entitle you to a ticket for this year’s 3rd round game. A rule that doesn’t apply in Europe, a rule that could result in mass application for tickets for the first European away game. An issue that really does need addressing.

15th April

The notion of LFC making a stand against playing on the 15th April was brought up, if anything to avoid a repeat of the scenario surrounding the Blackburn away fixture last year. Rick Parry made it clear that it is Liverpool's intention to never play on this date and as far as he's concerned "we won't" but it could not be guaranteed. He said that it would be easier not to play a domestic game but UEFA have "very little sympathy, understanding and knowledge" and can force teams to play.

A question was asked about what plans the club has to remember and pay respect to the victims of Hillsborough in the new ground. It was said that the club are open to ideas, including whether or not to leave the memorial as it stands now or incorporate it into a prominent position in the new stadium. The club will be consulting the Hillsborough families on this issue.

Early Kick Offs

The grievance with the amount of early kick offs we seem to get was given significant air time. This season we had far more than any other team. A question was posed querying LFC's role in accepting change of kick offs from Sky and whether we are an "easy touch". The evidence presented was that a few years ago Manchester United fans and Alex Ferguson spoke out against the amount of 12.45pm starts they were being handed. This season they have only had two at home, compared to our seven.

Rick Parry was insistent that the club "do not have a choice" when it comes to allocated slots and the money that sides get for playing in such fixtures is less than other kick off times. The role of catering for the Asian TV market was also played down as Sky are not involved in selling TV rights to any other broadcasters.

It was said that Merseyside Police have always refused 5.15 kick offs since the Everton-Manchester United FA Cup match a few years back. It was pointed out we have played Arsenal at this time since and Everton have also played a later kick off.

It's a contentious issue that many fans will be keeping an eye on when the Sky changes are announced. Parry was unequivocally told by one fan to stand up to Sky, "put the pressure on" and tell them "we're not inconveniencing our support more than anyone else no longer".

These kick off times seriously affect the atmosphere at the game, and that reflects on the team and at times the result. This was also pointed out to Rick Parry as something we feel strongly about.

Children

A 12 year old posed the question of how can he expect to go and watch his local team every week and will he ever get a season ticket? The simple answer was hopefully the new stadium. With a greater capacity it was said that there would be more scope to introduce new schemes. Pay on the gate was suggested by one person, and Rick Parry mentioned the possibility of a reintroduction of a boys pen. Just an example of what could happen with more seats.

Window Sales

The possibility of bringing back sales at the ticket office in the weeks leading up to home league games was brought up. The suggestion was not to replace telephone or internet sales but to give people a third option. It was pointed out that Liverpool is still a working class city and many people who want to go the match can't necessarily spend several hours hitting redial on a phone nor do they have internet access in work. Yet they may be able to spare an hour before or after work to get down to the ground. Much like the setup for the sale of all away matches and home cup games.

Rick Parry highlighted the problems of too many people queuing, and the possibility of increased touting (which may be eliminated with the introduction of a fan card swipe entry system at turnstiles) but will look into it.

The new Kop block next year

As some people will be aware Liverpool are moving adult/child tickets from the back of The Kop as of next season. This is due to a variety of reasons and has been planned for several years. Earlier this year the RTK group were approached about helping to fill it. The club were moving the block regardless and had other potential groups ready to take up the seats but their first choice was to try and fill it with likeminded people who may be interested in helping create an atmosphere.

Rick Parry confirmed this was still going ahead, and the offer to move is open to any Anfield season ticket holder. Current adult and child season ticket holders are being given the option of staying in their current seat, moving slightly lower down or moving to the Anfield Road. There is more information available on this section on our site.

We are expecting further details in the next few days, but are asking any season ticket holder that would like to move, to mail <a href="nextyear@reclaimthekop.co.uk" target='_blank'>nextyear@reclaimthekop.co.uk</a> with their current season ticket details (stand, row and seat number) with their contact name and address, and we'll be back in touch once we get more information of how the process will work from the ticket office.

Some may question the role of the RTK group in these matters. We simply highlighted to the club the lack of input from supporters from all walks of life. They responded by giving us the opportunity of hosting this night. Particularly in the current climate it would have been easy for the plug to be pulled on this event, so those concerned at Liverpool must be applauded for letting it go ahead.

It can only be good for both the fans and the club alike that supporters are able to sit in a room with the Chief Executive and ask questions. There are not many other groups of fans at other clubs that can say this. We will see what will come out of the points raised but hopefully this will be the start, in one shape of another, of a more open dialogue between everyone at Liverpool Football Club.

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The Rick Parry Q & A Session. - Last night at anfield

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