Fans vent fury in Liverpool owners protest

Around a thousand Liverpool supporters protested against
the club's American owners on Sunday ahead of their
all-important clash against Manchester United.

Upon learning that George Gillett and Tom Hicks would be
attending the match, the Spirit of Shankly group organised a
protest march from the LFC Supporters Club to the Kop.

Despite the continued in-fighting and politics at Anfied, fans had something to celebrate with Liverpool performing brilliantly to beat their arch-rivals 2-0 and ease the pressure and tension surrounding the club.

Manager Rafa Benitez will feel more comfortable after ending the side's run of four consecutive defeats, which threatened to ruin Liverpool's season.

Benitez still retains the fans' support despite the poor results so far but Kopites are unhappy with the way the club has been run since Gillett and Hicks took over.

There was extra security and increased police presence inside and outside Anfield but the march passed off peacefully. Protest songs demanding that the American owners "get out of our club" were the only expressions of fury.

The protest was another demonstration of Liverpool fans' great anger towards the owners, who they believe have lied to supporters, particularly in regard to a proposed new stadium and the level of debt that the club has been left with. Fans carried banners and flags calling for the American joint-owners to leave.

Hicks and Gillett sat together at the beginning of this afternoon's match in a rare show of unity, but conspicuously moved seats before the second half. Hicks was clearly delighted when Fernando Torres opened the scoring at Anfield, as he was pictured on TV high-fiving his way around the Directors' Box.

New investment in Liverpool FC now looks likely in the near future with the joint-owners admitting recently that they are searching for fresh investment and have both sold some of their American sports assets to alleviate financial pressure.

Robert Kraft, an American businessman who owns the New England Patriots, retains a keen interest while Saudi Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah has been in negotiations with Gillett for the past few weeks.

Several protest marches against the owners have taken place and around 4,000 fans took part in a march before last season's game against Manchester United at Anfield.

Chris Shaw on how 2-0 win over Man U boosts Rafa >>