Liverpool on security alert over protest march threat

Target men: Liverpool’s American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett
Andrew Hodgson11 April 2012

Security will be heightened at Anfield on Sunday as Liverpool fans plan a march to protest against club owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

The American pair, who have come under pressure from supporters angry at the debt and direction of the club, are expected to attend the clash with Manchester United.

Club officials are not prepared to discuss their plans to protect Hicks and Gillett, but last season a similar march ahead of the same fixture saw extra police and security staff around the stadium. The Spirit of Shankly fans' group hope for a 10,000-strong march to the stadium.

Gillett attended Champions League clash with Lyon on Tuesday - when Liverpool suffered their fourth defeat in a row - and watched Alberto Aquilani make his club debut in the reserves at Tranmere on Wednesday.

It is believed there are plans for thousands of placards to be waved at the Americans if they sit in their usual front-row seats of the directors' box.

Les Lawson, spokesman for the Liverpool Supporters Club, who is a also member of the Spirit of Shankly group, said: "There is no point in sitting back and doing nothing. This will be a direct action to keep the campaign in the public eye.

"There are plenty of other things going on behind the scenes to keep the campaign going, though. The fans have to do something to show their anger at the way Liverpool is being run."

Despite the troubles on and off the pitch at Anfield, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has told his team not to be complacent on Sunday.

A United victory would open up a 10-point gap on their struggling rivals but Ferguson said: "Derby games are derby games and anyone can win. It has happened so many times and strange things can happen.

"I am not interested in their League form, I am more pleased with the kind of form we are in. We are consistent and that is important. I'm more concerned about what can do rather than them on Sunday."

Ferguson said that Wayne Rooney faces an "uphill struggle" to face Liverpool because of a calf injury and Darren Fletcher is another bid doubt because of a groin problem. Both will undergo fitness tests tomorrow but Patrice Evra should have recovered from a heel injury to play.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in