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By Nick Harris
3 October 2010
Liverpool have suffered a shocking 2-1 home defeat to Blackpool this afternoon following the latest set of protests against the American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The two sides were meeting for the first time January 1971, and this was Blackpool’s first win at Anfield since a 3-1 win in May 1967.
The final whistle was greeted with boos by the home fans, and some chants calling for the return of Kenny Dalglish reflected the pressure on new manager Roy Hodgson.
Liverpool are third-bottom of the Premier League this evening, and according to Infostrada, this is the first time in 46 years that Liverpool have been inside the bottom three at the end of a full round of matches (when a minimum of three matches have been played).
A post-match sit-in began at the end of the game; a pre-match march had seen protestors call for the Royal Bank of Scotland to refuse to refinance the existing debt, heaped on the club and on its holding company as a result of the effective leverage buyout by Hicks and Gillett.
James McKenna, a spokesperson for the Spirit Of Shankly fans group (also active in plans for fan ownership), said this week: “For too long the soap opera in the boardroom has been allowed to continue. Now that it is hopefully coming to an end, the ongoing sale / refinancing saga is quickly becoming a soap opera, dominated by rumour, spin, PR and deadlines.
“We need an end to this for the sake of our football club and its future. Tom Hicks and George Gillett must not be allowed to cling on to power. We need supporters to come out and send them a message that we won’t let them.”
Direct action is being planned against the owners and senior club executives.
In a separate anti-owner initiative yesterday, the screenwriter and Liverpool fans Mike Jefferies (website here, and Twitter feed here) filmed fans and well-known local figures as they made personal protests against the American owners.
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