MANCHESTER United fan Steve Donoghue was given a standing ovation at the club's annual meeting last week for an impassioned plea to the board to back a fans' takeover.
The media reporting the meeting was obsessed with the big "players" in a drama which unfolded as the day wore on.
Three directors were voted off the plc board by predatory American tycoon Malcolm Glazer and the subsequent withdrawal of support for Glazer's bid by bankers JP Morgan hit the headlines.
But, largely ignored, there were also a series of from-the-heart speeches from United fans, expressing their concern at what the future holds for their club.
Among them was Donoghue, a 47-year-old Red who claimed to have clocked up 246,000 miles following United to 16 different countries in a lifetime of support.
He appealed to the board to back the efforts of fans to take a bigger stake in the club and wrest control from men whose sole concern is to make money.
M.E.N Sport reproduces part of his speech here:
"The board is so fond of quoting statistics, and pointing out to us how much it spends, it seems it has forgotten the true meaning of what running a football club should be all about.
"It's about doing the best on and off the pitch for the supporters that come to be entertained by the players on a Saturday, Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday or whatever day Sky wants.
"And you can't blame the media vultures for grabbing what they can. No, it seems you were that busy grabbing their TV money, somebody forgot to check the small print that allows them to change fixtures at a whim, which I am sure everyone here, including the manager and players, is fed up with.
"I'll give you a few statistics. In my 47 years of following United I have travelled 264,000 miles to 16 different countries at an approximate cost of '45,000. That's about 14 per cent of my 32 years' adult earning salary - a week's wages for some players nowadays."
Holding up his scarf, he went on: "This is my 1960's scarf. It has taken 40-odd years to build this collection into a fine work of art - it has character, it provokes memories and emotions, it is part of the history of what being a Red is all about.
"All those years, all those emotions, all that money was spent willingly, because of the love and loyalty to my club, asking nothing in return, except honest toil from my team on the pitch.
"Before you think these are just inane ramblings, all of you present, just ask yourselves how much have YOU spent following United over the years. Do a few quick sums and then multiply that by 60,000 and you will see that we, yes WE, have invested hundreds of millions of pounds into OUR club. And you lot get it all for free.
"When you needed us, when the club wasn't doing so well, we were there. When you had no sponsors, we were there. When you begged us to help the Development Associations we dug deep and helped to build parts of Old Trafford.
"Buy shares you said. One United, it's your club, you said. Buy a brick for the walk of fame, be part of the dream ... well you made us what we are today. Look at what WE the fans did out of respect for Sir Matt. We stood for hours in the pouring rain to honour him. WE came to the Munich memorial game because we knew the club did too little too late, WE paid that money to the surviving relatives, and WE have stood by Sir Alex Ferguson when some influential shareholders wanted him out.
"So you are to blame for our obsession, yet you expect fans to just hand it all over to the next fat cat who comes along, to maybe one day, asset-strip us like our feeder club down the road in Yorkshire ... I don't think so.
"This scarf is true commitment, fans re-investing all their hard-earned wages, this is OUR long term investment in OUR club. Without OUR support you would have no revenue, no sponsors, no TV contracts.
"Don't forget, its not just the fans who will be affected by a takeover, all your jobs will be on the line as well.
"But, hey, you'll all be very rich men. The people of Manchester and Salford won't forget what you've done, you will be in the club's folklore, but for all the wrong reasons. Don't let that happen."
Donoghue went on to ask the board to commit itself to encouraging the millions of Reds worldwide, using their own media outlets, to build the supporters' trust holding in the club to the 25 per cent mark that would allow any takeover bid to be thwarted.
He wound up: "This, is our Alamo, the line has been drawn. It's ironic that if Glazer wants to vote you lot off the board, you'll have to come to the small shareholder fans to keep your jobs.
"So, to coin a phrase, you are either with us or against us ... which will it be?"
Heart of the matter
November 18, 2004
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I am proud to say that I was one of the crowd who stod to give Steve the standing ovation that his speech truly deserved. He spoke for all the fans who have paid and paid down the years to watch the team we all love. His feelings ran deep and were echoed to the rafters of Old Trafford. He is what the club is all about. United belongs to him and to us, the fans. Those of us who have bought shares have done so in order to have a voice that the Board have to listen to. I would urge every Red to either buy shares, or join Shareholders United. Its only by banding together that we can keep our beloved club out of the hands of the vultures. We really can make a difference. Its like holding a match in your hand. Just one can be very easily broken, but get a box full in your hand and you can't break them. The time has come for all of us to get together and make sure we will still have a club to follow. If we don't, we could find ourselves talking about the days when Manchester United was a club in Manchester, not in some far flung outpost, where the new owner thinks it will serve him to make even more money, or even looking at The Glazer Theatre of Nightmares.
steve donoghue: our thank's for making all those points, not obvious to some at the am. you spoke for all the united supporters around the world. had the reds in my heart since 1956. united should forever belong to the fans.
Who is the real United fan. First prize for the correct answer is 1 (one) premier league football club
1.Peter Kenyon
2.Brian Kidd
3.Malcolm Glazier
4.The Coolmore Mafia
5.Steve Donoghue
Wow, Steve Donoghue. That is bang on. You're another one with boxes full of programmes and ticket stubs, token sheets and Shoot mags, wool scarves and silk scarves, tartan edged skinners and demin jackets full of badges, bakers coat and miners helmet, red and white bob hat. A Selwyn says banner from the cup final in 1977. Can't find my cherry red docs. True reds rarely count the cost of supporting United but it's a useful tool when the point has to be made to those who are driven by finance.
True Red. Legend.
To the aussie, any chance of speaking in English.
Well said Stuart Brennan.
Inspirational. Whatever type of fan you are, consider what your investment is, has been, will be in your club - whether it is B#1000 or B#100000. Share ownership is not some posh side show to the real work of fans on the terraces and at the grass roots of the club in the Development Association and other such organisations, it is the only way to protect that investment you have made in your club into the future. So buy and hold shares, perhaps even buy more than you think you can afford long-term. I have bought, sold, bought again - lost a small amount of money along the way (not the point) and felt a traitor when I sold, even though I needed to, but if everyone did that then, at any given time, the fans would own so much more of the club - as one fan feels he needs the money back himself another will feel flush.