ILSA
Newsletter August 2001 - Issue 2
Welcome
to the second of our (almost) monthly newsletters. The aim of the
newsletter is to keep members informed on campaigns ILSA is undertaking,
provide news on the latest communications with LFC and other bodies,
and also to act as a means of soliciting help and gathering suggestions
and ideas on what ILSA should be doing for you. If you haven’t
received the first newsletter then get in contact with us as we have
been having a few problems with invalid email addresses provided on
sign-up.
Charity
Shield Travel Information
We’ve
been contacted by the South Wales traffic coordination office with
details and suggestions for Liverpool fans on leaving Cardiff by car/bus
after the Charity Shield on Sunday. Their advice is as follows:
The
best three alternative routes out of Wales are as follows:
i)
To avoid delays at the Brynglas Tunnels (north of Newport), leave
the M4 at Junction 32 and join A470 (north) to Merthyr Tydfil. At
Merthyr take the A4060/A465 to Abergavenny joining the A40 to Monmouth/Ross-on-Wye
leading to M50/M5/M6.
ii)
Leave the M4 at junction 24 and join A449/A40 to Monmouth/Ross-on-Wye
leading to M50/M5/M6.
iii)
Leave the M4 at junction 20 to join the M5 (north) through Gloucester
and then M6.
There
are no bridge tolls on outbound routes from Wales over the River Severn
crossings (M4 or M48) if you wish to take the M5/M6 route.
Charity
Shield activities in coordination with the FSA
The
Football Supporters Association is coordinating a series of activities
to coincide with the Charity Shield in Cardiff. There will be a fans
embassy at the ground on the Sunday providing both sets of fans with
information. A free fanzine has also been produced with articles by
Liverpool fans on Man Utd and vice versa. ILSA was asked to contribute
to this in the form of a dialogue with IMUSA, the largest and most
active ISA in the country, on what ISAs can do for fans, and on the
issues currently facing football fans.
We
have also helped the FSA organise a five-a-side tournament between
teams supporting Liverpool and Man Utd. Representing Liverpool will
be Jamie McNally’s team from the Sandon pub and Jason Robert’s
team of London based Reds. The tournament kicks off at 1 pm the day
before the Charity Shield and takes place in the wonderful setting
of Cardiff Castle. Get along and support if you can.
Latest
Communication with Liverpool
We
have faxed Liverpool a series of questions, comments and suggestions
in the run up to the new season. These were collated from emails sent
to us at ILSA and threads on the message board. In brief, the areas
covered were:
·
Priority Ticket Scheme - various questions on the way the PTS is run.
·
Season ticket list - requesting frequent updates for people on the
list and an indication of exactly where they are in the queue.
·
Customer Charter 2001/02 - could a fully updated version be made available?
·
Category A matches - why are 12 out of 19 games category A?
·
Touting - any new steps being taken to prevent touting outside Anfield,
agencies selling tickets at inflated rates and the increasing amount
of touting over the Internet?
·
Photos with Cups - why the double payment of museum fee and photo
fee and why the extortionate charge of 15 pounds for one photo?
·
Ticket Announcements - could these be made earlier this year for the
big games?
·
Postal Applications only for Charity Shield - is this the intention
for all big games?
·
Youth ticketing - any steps taken to increase youth access?
·
Hillsborough - has the club reconsidered its decision not to recognise
the HJC and are there any plans for CCTV to be installed in light
of recent vandalism of the memorial?
·
Hall of Fame - suggestions for a hall of fame in the light of the
deaths of Billy Liddell, Joe Fagan and Tom Saunders.
·
Banners and Flags - could space be provided at Anfield for storage?
If
there is anything you would like us to approach the club over, get
in contact with us and we'll include it in our next fax.
The
Football Licensing Authority and Away Ticketing
You
may be aware of some newspaper reports suggesting that the Football
Licensing Authority (FLA) is likely to ask for reduced away ticketing
in the Premier League. This appeared in The Observer on Sunday:
"Fans
of top football teams such as Manchester United and Liverpool will
be banned from receiving tickets for away games this season to prevent
a potential disaster caused by supporters standing up in all-seater
stadia ........ A partial or even blanket ban on visiting fans will
also be used 'as a coercive measure' if supporters do not respond
to warnings to keep seated, De Quidt confirmed. Clubs told to limit
or ban opposing fans by their local council would sell those seats
to home fans to avoid suffering huge losses as a result of the FLA's
initiative."
The
only two teams mentioned in the report (and in a later leaked document
from Old Trafford) were us and Man Utd. We have been in contact with
IMUSA over this and offered our full support. Atmosphere at games
has been diminishing in recent years, and the barring of away fans
can only be detrimental to the game. The Football Supporters Association
is meeting with the FLA on Friday to raise objections to these proposals.
We will keep you informed.
Loyalty
Schemes and Youth Access
ILSA
working groups are still researching both of these areas and we will
submit our ideas and suggestions to the club. If you have anything
you can contribute your input would be appreciated.
Helping
ILSA gain publicity and awareness
We
are looking for volunteers to hand out contact details for ILSA at
the first couple of home games of the season. If you can hand out
some leaflets for us it would be a great help. You could leaflet your
supporters coach, regular pub, stand around the ground or just pass
on the information to friends who are unaware of us. Every little
helps.
Contact
us
email:
lfc_isa@hotmail.com
website:
http://www.ilsa.org.uk/
fax:
0870 136 6532
write
to: ILSA, PO Box 23, Bootle, Merseyside, L30 2SA.
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