SIR Alex Ferguson has pleaded with Manchester United supporters to call off their planned protest on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day.
Supporters had been planning to launch a demonstration on the final day of the Festival meeting in retribution for Ferguson's on-going legal battle with John Magnier, and the threat of a takeover of Manchester United by Magnier and his Irish business partner JP McManus.
"The Cheltenham Festival is a classic meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar, which people from all over the world and all walks of life come to enjoy," said Ferguson in a statement this morning.
"It is effectively the equivalent of the FA Cup final to horse racing fans and I would not wish this special festival to be marred in any way.
Opposed
"I am therefore asking supporters to refrain from any form of protest and am strongly opposed to any violent, unlawful or disruptive behaviour which may reflect badly on the club and its supporters in general."
It had been reported earlier this week that Cheltenham officials had given permission for a demonstration to take place.
However, Ferguson's call is bound to have an effect on the planned protest, which was scheduled to take place around the time the Stayers' Hurdle was due to be run, in which McManus' Baracouda will aim for a third successive victory.
"My current dispute with John Magnier is a private matter not involving the club and its supporters and I am concerned first and foremost to protect and serve the best interests and further success of the club," added Ferguson.
"I wish to express my real appreciation for the support which I have always received from supporters in the 17 years I have been with the club and re-affirm my complete commitment to furthering the interests of the club."
It has been suggested that the dispute between Ferguson and Magnier over the stud rights to record-breaking stallion Rock of Gibraltar is reaching a conclusion.
However, that is actually believed not to be the case and the matter is still scheduled to enter the Irish High Court.
Should the fans heed Fergie's plea? Have your say
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I hope they listen not like Fergie.
Hmmmm, feel the force of the PLC behind this plea from a worldwide business "Disaster" and "Public Relations" are terms that spring to mind here.
Let them have it...they`ll soon see and feel how stupid they are when at least 60 thousand Irishmen tell them where to go!
I agree with Sir Alex, I love Man Utd as much as anybody, but the saga around the horse is not football related and so called Manchester United fans should not use the clubs name in this manner. They are not acting in the interests of united or the manager, it is always great to see the support of the fans to Sir Alex, but not in this way. Magnier has put a lot of his own money into buying a stake in the club, he is not a fool and I am sure his knows the importance of Sir Alex to our future succes. Fans should be taking a close look at what Rio Ferdinand has caused by being stupid enough to miss that drug test, he has caused more trouble than people want to admit.
Strange to believe that a once strong friendship between Magnier and Taggart should fail over the question of who owns a horse's stud fees. I feel sorry for Van Nistlerooy who is surely the innocent one here.
1. Thank you Alex for all the success you've brought us. It is partly because of you as to the reason we feel so proud of being a Red.
2. If you want the protest to end, then try giving up your rights to what you feel is yours. The same way I may have to give up my rights to what I feel is mine.
3. Get Mc & Mag to declare their intentions regarding my club OR get them to SELL.
4. Why shouldn't we protest? Do you want these people to walk all over us? We are always quoting we are a business - shouldn't the Board be doing more to promote ourselves off the field - we are a large virtually untapped source of wealth generation but we still live in the quaint football lore of yesteryear. It's about time, as a business, we got real but we need to do this for ourselves.
The protest goes ahead!
This WAS a private matter and would have remained so if M&M hadn't bought a threatening amount of shares and commenced to: disrupt the AGM; send the plc their 99 questions re the running of the club; investigate transfer dealings only involving Fergie's son's company etc.
All of which has disrupted the club and taken the petty (if a m few million is petty!) squabble over stud fees to malevolent heights.
This now involves the fans.
Anthony you must be the most sensible City Supporter ever, why not become a Red as some of our fan base seems to be lacking in intelligence or be clueless about how a Plc works also what happends to the boss at a Plc when he longer does his job properly.
Unfortunately the dispute that was once private IS now a matter for United fans. Magnier is not a football fan and does not claim to be, and it is no coincidence that he only seems to be concerned with Fergie's transfer dealings since the dispute started. In other words, HE is dragging United into a personal dispute. In return United fans have every right to drag horse-racing into the dispute too. I do not see what the difference is; one sport is connected to each of the two men and both sports are going to be dragged into the conflict. If Magnier had no moral qualms with threatening the stability of MUFC, United fans should have no qualms with threatening horse-racing. I would actually say a pre-organised legal protest permitted by Cheltenham organisers is a lot less radical than Magnier's actions and threats. But for United fans another course of action is also very important; they must buy shares to ensure that in future the likes of Magnier and Glazer have no opportunity to create a wave of chaos through the club.
The earlier protests were a strong statement that we will not be cast aside...but I think that to continue will do more harm than good..the best way to fight Magnier / Glazer is to buy shares or canvass others to buy shares..winding up Magnier is likely to spark a negative reaction..
I also think that Ferguson has every right to ask fans not to protest seeing as he has been the main person affected by Mssr's Magnier and McManus..we as fans can of course choose to ignore his advice but I think that telling him to mind his own business is a little out of order...
As much as my hatred for all things magnier grows, I don't think this protest will do any good and could potentially do a lot of harm. As well as negative press, iit could irritate magnier and co. and provoke a reaction. Besides, Fergie is closer to this than most and considering his reasonably successful record so far(!), I think we should trust him on this one. So anyone planning on travelling there to protest, use the money it would cost; to join/increase no. of shares in; shareholders united instead.
Taking the voice of Manchester United supporters to Cheltenham is a direct analogy to the refusal of the clubs two main sharholders to attend Old trafford or publicly acknowledge the concerns of the fans over their increasingly public involvement in the affiars of the club.
Their private dispute with the team's manager is almost a separate issue. Two racing tycoons who have a defnitie interest in Cheltenham have purchased a significant influence on the way Manchester United plc (not necessarily football club) operates in the past year or two and then proceeded to circulate concerns about the business's internal affairs around the national media.
Supporters - who also invest hard earned money into the success of the club, together with belief and passion - are therefore entitled to ask questions of these shareholders and learn more of their intentions (they could possibly be in agreement on certain matters). As yet, the shareholders have ignored and practically shown comptempt for the customer base of their investment and if the press are to be believed they take great pleasure from not attending matches - which is the fundamental to their investment.
Until, Magnier and MacManus either publicly acknowledge the right of suppporters to care about the club's future or invest in some business they know more about, what option do committed supporters have than to take their concerns to a media that the investors will be interested in (ie Cheltenham).
It may not improve the image of football supporters in the eyes of the racing world, but the racing world needs to be made aware that two of it's most successful particpants are currently disturbing the image of racing amongst a large group of football supporters.