Morgan raises stakes at Anfield

The power struggle within Anfield intensified last night as Steve Morgan, Liverpool's third-largest shareholder, launched a counter-offensive in an attempt to deflect a potential investment in the club by the controversial prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Morgan's proposal would see him inject up to £73 million into the Premiership club, leaving the chairman, David Moores, with whom he has endured a fractious relationship, facing a stark choice this morning that will shape Liverpool's future. Moores can either accept Thaksin's £56.5-million offer, ignoring Thailand's dubious human rights record, or welcome his long-time adversary on to the board.

The club's chief executive, Rick Parry, was returning last night from talks in Thailand, though supporters back on Merseyside are swaying towards Morgan, largely because the 51-year-old is seen as one of them.

The Jersey-based founder of Redrow Homes, who boasts an estimated fortune of £312 million and a five per cent stake in the club, hand-delivered his proposal to Anfield yesterday in which he hopes to underwrite a rights issue worth £61 million via his company Bridgemere Investments Ltd.

This would be backed by a new shares issue, to be directed at fans, aimed at raising a further £12 million. The rights issue would be open to all shareholders including the chairman, crucially offering Moores the chance to add to his current 51 per cent stake and ensure he remains the major - if not necessarily the majority - shareholder at the club. Morgan would expect the place on the board long denied him at Anfield in return.

"In my view, the future of Liverpool Football Club is best served by the people who love the club the most, its supporters, of whom I am proud to be one," said Morgan, who will detail his plans at a press conference today.

"This proposal will not only keep ownership of the club with its supporters, where it rightfully belongs, it will also inject £73 million of new capital to strengthen the playing squad and help finance the proposed new stadium. In addition, the club's commercial rights to Asia and indeed any other part of the world would remain where they belong - in the ownership of the club. This would enable LFC alone to benefit from the use of these rights, which is essential to generate future income."

Parry is due to arrive back from Bangkok today, with Thaksin still convinced his own £56.5-million proposal for a stake of just under 30 per cent in the club is on the verge of being agreed after exhaustive talks.

Their initial meeting took place at Liverpool's FA Cup third-round victory over Newcastle in January, with Thaksin introduced to Liverpool by the sports marketing company Kentaro. Yet, four months on, it still remains unclear whether the money required would be generated through public funds in Thailand or via a private consortium.

Regardless, a ground swell of opinion is building behind Morgan - whose £50-million proposal was rejected in March, with Moores unwilling to dilute his shareholding to around 37 per cent - not least because of pressure from human-rights groups scrutinising Thailand's less-than-impressive record under the present coalition government led by Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party.

A spokesperson for Amnesty International stressed yesterday: "Besides looking at who invests in the club, Liverpool as a business have a responsibility to ensure that any relationships with clubs or suppliers which it develops in Thailand do not contribute to human-rights violations."

There is also suspicion of Thaksin's intentions. "There are a lot of fans asking: 'Who is this guy? What's his interest in Liverpool Football Club?'" said Steve Davies of the Liverpool Independent Supporters' Association.

"We have seen him photographed holding up a Manchester United shirt next to Alex Ferguson and now he says he's always been a Liverpool fan. We are wary of the unknown, though most people trust Moores and Parry to do right by the club."

That trust will be put to the test now with Liverpool's chairman of 13 years forced to contemplate welcoming a vociferous critic of his reign - not least at January's annual general meeting - on to the board.

"I think there is going to be a long-term fight over this," added Professor Tom Cannon of Kingston Business School. "It might get dirty."