UNITED fans are now ready to take on the Reds board as American tycoon Malcolm Glazer's takeover bid headed towards collapse.
They want to ensure that the club can be saved from further predators and plan to make sure their point gets across at a potentially explosive AGM next month.
Glazer's hopes bit the dust as the club's largest shareholders John Magnier and JP McManus rejected the 76-year-old's efforts to buy their 28.9 per cent stake.
The Irish racing millionaires' Cubic Expression vehicle has informed the Takeover Panel that there is no basis for future discussion with Glazer. But the United plc board must now face their supporters on November 12.
At a meeting of United's independent fans' group IMUSA last night in Stretford attended by 300 supporters, six times more than a normal get-together, the fans were delighted by the news.
But, after Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB bid in `98 was sent packing and with Glazer seemingly failing in his efforts, they insist that this must never happen again.
"Everybody is now united in the belief that, even if we have seen off Glazer, that can't be the end of it. We cannot put ourselves in a situation where it is third time unlucky," said Shareholders United vice-chair Oliver Houston.
"This can never, ever be allowed to happen again. When we saw off Murdoch we were pretty powerful and effective then but it was a small vocal minority. But now with Glazer six years on it is the mass of support.
"Everyone to a man and women at the IMUSA meeting was saying that we cannot allow this to happen again. We have to take responsibility as fans.
"We are not going to rest on our laurels now and sit back and say `aren't we fantastic we have seen off a second predator' because United is still very much in play.
"Now there is going to be a concerted effort to reclaim our club. We are not going to let this momentum slide.
Phenomenal
"These last 10 days have been phenomenal. This is the starting point of something very special.
"Fans who would have shied away from the kind of issues we've been banging on about for years have seen that the core central issue is that the club has to be run in the best interest of supporters.
"The only way to ensure that is not to leave it to the board. The only way to ensure that is to have a significant stake in the hands of the supporters.
"Everybody was united that this is the start of an effort to take back our club. That will be the campaign now.
"We will be holding the board to account. We pay their wages and we want to know what they are playing at. They should have come out immediately and say that this bid is not going to plunge us into debt. We'll be looking for solid commitments from them now," Houston added.
"We have to hold our board to account now. We told them before Murdoch's bid that we were vulnerable to that. They recommended that bid but we have built up good relations with them since all that bitterness and now we find ourselves in a situation where all that can be thrown away again.
"The board has to stand with the fans now and make every effort they can and transform the ownership model at Manchester United.
"The AGM on November 12 is going to be an extremely rocky affair unless we get something extremely concrete beforehand.
"This AGM more than ever has to be our AGM. Fans are now determined and have a positive agenda in the way to go forward.
"As soon as the Takeover Panel say the offer period is over we will be in there with a comprehensive list of demands from Shareholders United and IMUSA."
Do you support the efforts to block future bids? Have your say.
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Mike, USA (15/10/2004 at 12:58)
SAL the KID, Oldham (15/10/2004 at 13:08)
Derrick, Bournemouth (15/10/2004 at 13:41)
In the meanwhile the share price is at BST lunch time today back to the B#2.50 range that it has been in for recent months, and this before Glazer hopefully formally withdraws, after which, assuming Magnier and McManus do not buy shares, [you will recall that Cubic Expressions are nearly at the point where they would then HAVE to make a bid] then we can all do our duty by buying all the shares in our club that we can. One last thought that I have not read elsewhere, any purchaser is having to deal with fans who, with many of us, are the dangerous cocktail of both part owners and customers, which is why they think twice!
bill, new mills (15/10/2004 at 16:54)
and lets not forget the butchers who used to own all of man utd they were creaming off the money when they were in charge!!
chopper, denton (15/10/2004 at 18:23)
no amout of demos and huffing and puffing will not stop any take over. there is only two men who can stop the yank and you no who they are.so save your southern cash. better still go and watch
stockport county and give them your cash!!
John, Hazel Grove, CHESHIRE. (16/10/2004 at 10:36)
Just because the Rock was settled did not end the problem, this was not the problem & was not what all the fuss on the terraces,etc was about - that was about SAF's potential removal if Coolmore took over or got control.
The fight to keep MU in our hands should have continued from Murdoch & certainly after C/more debacle. We need to beef up our stake in the club.
The club is in danger from predators for as long as the club is open to such bids. The only way to stop it is for every MU fan to buy shares (68,000 x B#100 might go a long way but 75million x B#100 around the world should sort it once & for all.)
By the way - what assurances were there from the Board this last 10 days? I didn't read any anywhere. The silence was deafening. Do they want a takeover (i.e. are they in it only for the money or where was the "we'll fight this all the way!") or do they want to keep their jobs. Let's find out at the AGM - after all Red fans we pay their salaries - BE AT THE AGM.