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Red Knights plan United bid but Glazers sitting tight

Roar Rookie
3rd March, 2010
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The Red Knights, a group of wealthy Manchester United supporters, confirmed on Tuesday that they had begun moves towards a possible takeover of the heavily-indebted club.

The group, which includes some senior City of London figures including Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill, want to wrest control of the Premier League champions from the US-based Glazer family and give United’s global fanbase a significant role in running the club.

In a statement, they said they were examining the feasibility of a proposal to be put to the Glazers and called for backing from United fans worldwide for what could turn into the biggest takeover deal in football history.

The current owners have ruled out a sale of the club for the forseeable future but the Red Knights move will inevitably fuel a burgeoning anti-Glazer protest movement among United fans who are angry at the way the club’s debts have spiralled since the Americans took control in 2005.

The most recent accounts for United’s parent company, Red Football Joint Venture, showed that it had debts of 719 million pounds ($A1.19 billion).

Supporters fear the cost of servicing that debt will act as a brake on investment in Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, if it is not already doing so.

The scale of the debt also means that, for any takeover bid to succeed, the would-be purchasers would need in excess of one billion pounds to enable the Glazers to walk away with the kind of profit on their investment that would convince them to sell.

In their statement, the Red Knights confirmed that a group of “high net worth individuals who support Manchester United” had held preliminary discussions on the future of the club in London on Monday.

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“This group is supportive of current management but are looking at the feasibility of putting together a proposal to be put to the Glazer Family regarding the ownership of Manchester United,” the statement said.

“These discussions are in early stages and no contact has been made with the Glazer Family.”

The Red Knights are liasing with the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) and said that their plans for the club would involve significant involvement from fans.

“Any new ownership model would aim not only to put the club on a sound financial footing, but would also aim to put the supporters at the heart of everything the club does,” the statement added.

United fans have, this season, begun wearing green and gold scarfs to matches as a symbolic protest against the Glazers.

Those were the colours of Newton Heath, the club which changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 after going bankrupt and the emphasis on the club’s pre-Glazer history and traditions was in evidence at Sunday’s League Cup final, where a majority of United fans appeared to be decked out in green and gold.

Duncan Drasdo, chief executive of the Man Utd Supporters Trust, described the Red Knights initiative as “hugely welcome.”

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“Initially the Red Knight Group has effectively set a challenge to Manchester United supporters to demonstrate they wish to see an alternative ownership proposal developed,” Drasdo said.

MUST is hoping to increase its membership to at least 100,000 fans, and Drasdo urged Old Trafford season ticket and box holders to get behind a campaign which, at first glance, would appear to have little prospect of success.

A Glazer family spokesman reiterated that, “Manchester United is not for sale,” and analysts believe the owners have little to gain by selling in the short term, unless they get tired with being the subject of the supporters ire.

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