the other, other plan.
I would threaten a boycott from October 6th if the club is not taken from H&G's hands on or before that date.
However, and this is the big if, the problem with any discussion of a boycott is that season ticket holders are generally unwilling to withhold for fear that they will lose their rights. So, start a register of all season ticket holders who are prepared to take a risk and boycott, keep this register of names in the hands of some neutral lawyer, (SOS could organise it, but not maintain it), on the clear understanding that these season ticket rights would have to be restored upon new ownership. Any person taking up the vacated season ticket rights would be effectively crossing the picket line and would, upon new ownership, understand that their actions were contrary to the long term health of the club and would automatically be put to the back of the queue for season tickets upon new ownership, though of course with a new stadium there may be room for all. WE should focus on dissuading, not punishing. Either way, the task becomes:
a. Persuade season ticket holders to withdraw their labour ( ie. send back the tickets ) and go on strike, knowing that the one thing they fear, losing their rights, would be protected in the long term.
b. Persuade those on the waiting list not to pick up the tickets that become available, for such action would be both selfish and destructive to LFC.
What is important is that if RBS take the club away from H&G on or before October 6th, then no action is necessary. On the contrary, we should start to financially support the club as best we can if they do this. This action would hopefully never need to be more than a threat, framed as a way to properly support the club and save it from an ignominious death, but most of all as a way to press the reset button and get H&G gone. Such a threat, if properly supported, would be the only really meaningful way for the support that pays the bills to have any effect.
Only if RBS do not follow through would this action need to start up. This would mean a picket from that day forth, with clear guidelines to take the ghandi approach, passive non violent resistance to block/dissuade/shame any from entry to the ground.
To put it bluntly, anyone continuing to use their season ticket would be directly betraying their club. It would, imo, be unreasonable to ask season ticket holders to just give up their tickets without some recourse, down the line, to reclaim their rights to such tickets. We would make it a condition of sale that any new owner would reinstate the seasies rights......or very simply we would hound them like we've hounded H&G, something a new owner would never want to do since we are where the money comes from.
The other advantage of this approach is that it makes protest meaningful. There will be little real protest I think between now and October 6th, because, maybe, just maybe, the club will be sold. We just don't know, so there is little to target right now except to beg RBS to take the club out of their hands. We have no idea if they either can, or even will. But I do think that we should demand H&G's departure no later than the 6th, regardless of the circumstances. And this threat, if we (I mean SOS and SaveLFC etc.,) were able to ask the support and organise the Season Ticket Refusers Register, would really have the teeth we have always lacked in this fight. I also believe, perhaps naively, that with this protection in place, and the simple request that the club be sold or taken out of H&G's hands is a reasonable one that most of the support could get behind.
I understand that SOS may have looked at this type of thing years back and binned it as an idea, but if not.....
So the question becomes to Seasie holders....... are you willing to risk H&G continuing their rape of the club by standing by and continuing to give them your financial support? Would you join such a resistance if the above protections were in place?
Redguard added:
"The merit in your suggestion is this - it is an avenue if taken seriously could offer a Season Ticket holder the opportunity to desist from giving G&H money and therefore support, on the understanding that the supporter is 'ring fenced' / protected at such time that the club has new ownership. That to me is a fair proposition - leaving little room for further apathetic excuse.
Perhaps a Season Ticket holder out there may wish to respond to the proposal?"