Supporters' Committee: Annual report

These individuals are all volunteers who have given up their time freely in order to assist the club to achieve two goals:

1. Provide the opportunity for more strategic dialogue with its fans.

2. Develop the best possible relationship with its fans.

The first joint meeting was held on Saturday, August 13, 2011 and this was preceded by the Committee meeting by themselves for the first time on the Friday evening.

Three further sets of meetings have taken place in the first 12 months which has allowed for a number of questions and answers to be tabled and discussed.

However, the four minuted meetings that go out on the official website only give a glimpse of the dialogue that takes place between club officials and Committee members.

In between official meetings, the Committee have access to senior club officials and have formed some sub-committees covering such aspects as strategy, ticketing, communications and a 'review group' which is currently looking at how the Committee is structured and what improvements can be made. All sub-committees have additional, regular meetings and telephone conversations as well as email communication with club staff to assist the full Supporters' Committee to resolve as many supporter issues as possible.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to please everyone and sometimes things take a lot longer to conclude due to a host of reasons.

In regards to the Committee, it is made up of 18 individuals who have come together for the first time with their own diverse backgrounds and personalities. It takes time, as a Committee, to get to know one another and develop the trust and confidence in each other.

This is growing all the time, as is our relationship with club officials, whom we are also developing a relationship with in order for some trust and mutual understanding to evolve. The Committee is fully inclusive and represents LFC Supporters from the four corners of the globe taking in the equality strands, supporters' clubs, members, season ticket holders and all other match going and non-match going supporters.

We have set up our own private forum, held telephone conference calls, have active email accounts (which can be accessed via the official website and Kop forum) and have created our own independent Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Progress so far

Here are some improvements that we believe we have made a contribution to or have resulted from our direct involvement that are either current or are to be introduced shortly:

1. Ticket price freeze for season 2012-13.

2. Completion of a transparent season ticket waiting list (STWL) and disabled (STWL).

3. Auto Cup Scheme (ACS) improvements such as published guide prices for home cup games and the option to enrol into the ACS outside the season ticket (ST) renewal period for those who wish to sit elsewhere (friends and family) and also for Members wishing to do the same.

4. A streamlined ACS payment process so supporters will have a better idea of when payments will be taken from their accounts.

5. The introduction of a full online queuing system providing greater transparency to supporters during the sales process.

6. Car parking for the over 65s closer to the ground and a proposed drop-off zone.

7. First Premier League club to be officially represented at a UK 'Pride' event.

8. A further disability access audit of the current stadium to ensure all reasonable steps are taken to maximise our wheelchair space capacity and to recommend other access improvements.

9. The creation of a 'family area.

10. The introduction of a two-tier entry level of membership for those who mainly just require access to tickets.

11. £5 discount off membership for those who were on the STWL.

12. Assisted many individual supporters who have experienced various problems.

There are many other aspects that we are working on and we hope to see progress made on these during our second year. We realise that just because we have been selected on the Committee does not necessarily mean we are the best at our chosen roles, but we are all committed to ensuring that our supporters have a voice in the boardroom of Liverpool Football Club.

Please contact the relevant member if you have any ideas, suggestions or issues that you believe need to be addressed and we will do our best to assist. The contact details of all the Committee members can be found on this page>>

For and on behalf of the Liverpool Football Club Supporters' Committee.