NOT FOR $AL£

[Gampern]

Also, um das nochmal hier zusammenzufassen (c/p):

- Die Ticketpreise werden über die nächsten 5 Jahre um 54% erhöht

- Die Ticketpreise für CL-Spiele werden um 25% erhöht

- Jedes Jahr 1 Freundschaftsspiel in Tampa um zusätzliche £2Mio einzunehmen

- Der Umsatz an Spieltagen soll um 61% steigen

- Der Umsatz durch die "Medien" (z.B. TV-Verträge,...) soll um 13% erhöht werden

- Im Bereich Merchandising soll man 76% mehr einnehmen

- 2010 soll man £10.8 Mio vom Trikotsponsor pro Jahr bekommen

- Gesamte Umsatz soll auf £246 Mio bis 2010 erhöht werden

- Pro Jahr bleiben £27.3 Mio für Transfers (wers glaubt...)

SU's Full Financial Analysis of the Glazer Takeover

Press Conference; 11.30am, Thursday 16 June 2005

Atlee Suite, Portcullis House, Westminster

“Shareholders United can only be good for the game.

I’d urge United fans to get involved.” – Sir Alex Ferguson

The Panel

Nick Towle, SU Chair

Oliver Houston, SU Vice-Chair

Richard Wilson, SU Patron & Actor

Tony Lloyd MP, Chair of Man Utd Group of MPs

Alan Keen MP, Chair of All-Party Parliamentary Football Group

Claudio Rojas, Capital Partners Group

Shareholders United, the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust, has approaching 35,000 members in almost 100 countries around the world (with approximately three-quarters of its membership in the UK & Ireland). SU is a not-for-profit, democratic organisation established in 1998 to safeguard the independence of United and to provide a collective voice to fans.

SU is part of a coalition of fans groups and fanzines who are all united behind the campaign to take the ownership of Manchester United out of the hands of one man and for the supporters to have a significant stake in what is still our club. After all, it it is the supporters who have been building and investing in United for generations before Malcolm Glazer appeared on the scene, it is those supporters who will still be here long after he has gone.

Over the coming seasons we will pursue a twin-track strategy to Reclaim United: firstly, put pressure on Glazer’s “aggressive” business plan by disrupting income streams and ‘tainting the brand’; secondly, build up sufficient funds to regain a significant collective stake in the Club once Glazer is forced to relinquish control, as we confidently believe he will be within three years.

The ‘Phoenix Fund’ to Reclaim United

The ‘Phoenix Fund’ is a working title for the fund to buy back our shares in United once Glazer has departed. Phoenix will begin its life with several million pounds (from the sale of shares to Glazer by SU and its members, as well as the 41,700 individual private shareholders), and will grow through one-off contributions, monthly standing orders and a variety of other fundraising mechanisms, including:

· a series of “Phoenix Nights”, beginning with a major fundraising benefit concert in Manchester to coincide with the beginning of the new football season;

· a special CD, which will soon be released. SU Patron, Primal Scream’s Gary ‘Mani’ Mountfield, formerly of Stone Roses, says: “I wanna get me, Squire, Ashcroft and Terry Hall [also an SU Patron] together to knock out a single. It'll be superb.” Other SU Patrons include Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien;

· a range of “Real United” merchandise, including an ‘alternative’ kit in the colours of Newton Heath (green/yellow) bearing the Phoenix crest, the dates 1878 & 2005 and the Latin motto ‘Numquam Moribimur’ (We’ll Never Die). This will be sold in, amongst other places, the new ‘Real United Megastore’ at Red Star Sports on Sir Matt Busby Way;

· a number of sponsorship and revenue-sharing schemes with corporate partners, including online gaming, travel and telephone deals.

SU is discussing the potential structure of Phoenix with our financial advisers, but we hope to be able to offer supporters a model based on our existing share scheme - a series of individual savings accounts, attracting a competitive rate of interest, held collectively with a financial institution and managed by professional fund managers. We expect to launch Phoenix officially within the next two months.

No Customers = No Profits

We will soon distribute a “Little Red Book”, outlining how supporters can exercise their customer power and put pressure on Glazer’s debt-repayment plan. This will include ways in which not only can income be withheld from Glazer but can also be positively diverted to raise money for the Phoenix Fund.

Particular targets include:

Nike: encourage fans not to buy any ‘official’ merchandise (or any other Nike products), whilst offering them a range of ‘alternative’ items through which they can continue to show their allegiance for the Club they love – the ‘Real United’. We are currently in discussions with major suppliers and distributors.

Vodafone: encourage and facilitate the cancelling of contracts. SU has deals with two corporate communications firms, Phoenix Telecom and Upgrades Direct, which will allow fans to retain their telephone number and tariff when they switch from Vodafone (principally to Orange, but also to other networks), and will also provide an average of £60 to the Phoenix Fund per switcher. Fans locked-in to contracts are encouraged to switch to the lowest possible tariff and buy-out the remainder of their time. Those who cannot afford to do so, but who terminate their contracts in advance, will present a ‘ticking time-bomb’ for Vodafone over the coming 12 months.

MUTV: encourage the cancellation of subscriptions, whilst offering venues where fans can gather to, for instance, follow the fortunes of the team on their summer tour of the Far East.

Budweiser & Pepsi: encourage fans to boycott match-day catering, as well as encouraging bars and restaurants to remove these products from their shelves.

*** SU Patron, Primal Scream’s Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield has pulled out of Glastonbury in support of United fans' ongoing offensive against Glazer. The former Stone Roses' star cancelled his slot at the festival after discovering that the venue he was booked to DJ in - The Crown - is sponsored by Budweiser. “I'm not having anything to do with Budweiser or any of the other United sponsors until they stand up to Glazer and help get him out of our club. I love Glastonbury and I was looking to forward to DJing there again, but there's no way I'm doing it if Budweiser are involved.” ***

Ladbrokes: encourage fans not to use high-street outlets, match-day kiosks or to bet online, whilst providing them with alternative gaming opportunities.

Glazer’s business plan is balanced on a knife-edge. He has borrowed hundreds of £million to buy the club, but it will only take a few £million of withheld custom to make his plan unworkable. Glazer has placed our club in jeopardy with his mountain of debt and he will continue to alienate fans with his drive to increase the revenues necessary to pay down this massive debt. United fans are being asked to pay that price and they are entitled to exercise their customer power in saying ‘No’ to the price increases he plans for tickets and every piece of merchandise on sale at Old Trafford.

Glazer has handed United fans the best possible opportunity to own a significant stake in their club and it is up to United fans to be ready to take that opportunity when the time comes. Glazer will have to disgorge the club sooner or later - let’s make sure it it’s the fans who are there to Reclaim United. [...]

Fortsetzung und Quelle: http://suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=17990

[Gampern]

THE PHOENIX FUND - THE MANCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTERS' TRUST

You will know that on 23 May 2005, Red Football Limited (“Glazer”) published its formal offer document to acquire Manchester United plc (MU) at £3 per share. The Glazer offer (unless extended) is open for acceptance until 13 June 2005.

The MU Board has now recommended that, in light of the risks of remaining as a minority shareholder, all remaining shareholders in MU should accept Glazer’s offer for their shares, unless they have strong non-financial reasons not to do so.

First, let us assure you that SU (Shareholders United - The Manchester United Supporters' Trust) will continue despite the Glazer takeover, as we are in the process of converting our organisation into an Industrial & Provident Society which will be registered with and overseen by the FSA. We will still be the only official supporters trust for Manchester United FC and will continue our fight for an independently-owned club. We will continue to recruit and represent United supporters who are unhappy with Glazer’s takeover and who wish to join the large and growing number of members who are committed to achieving our aims.

However, it is clear that SUSS (Shareholders United Share Scheme) cannot continue as presently run, because Glazer will de-list the shares from the stock exchange within a month from now and SU cannot guarantee to be able to buy shares for members after that, or that there will be any market for the disposal of shares which are withdrawn by members from the scheme in future. As we have now ceased buying shares in Manchester United, new members who would have had one Manchester United share in their annual membership fee will have the sum of £3 deposited in their name in our scheme bank account, pending the setting up of what we are calling the ‘Phoenix Fund’.

We are confident that we will get our club back with a collective stake in the hands of fans. The Phoenix Fund, which you may have already heard about, is a vehicle for this. It is intended that the Fund will collect money from supporters as a ‘war chest’ with which we aim to reclaim our club if and when the Glazer business plan fails or the club or its assets come back on the market. We are looking at a number of different ways of doing this, and if we can we would like to model the Fund on SUSS, in that the money will be held in your name, you will have access to it and be able to withdraw it on notice (similar to a high street or online savings account) and it will attract interest at what we intend to be a competitive rate. The Fund will be professionally managed but we are still in discussions with our bankers, brokers and lawyers about the best way to set it up. We will give you further information about this Fund as soon as we can.

While we are confident that the vast majority of members will support and contribute to the Phoenix Fund when it is set up, we are also very aware of the many members who do not want to, or cannot, give up their ‘emotional stake’ in the club.

If you are interested in the Phoenix Fund please register your interest by supplying the following information using the form here

Please supply the following information:

1. Name

2. Address

3. Phone

4. Email

5. Number of MUFC shares currently held (if any)

6. Number of MUFC shares sold to Glazer (if any)

7. Cash sum you'd be interested in investing (if any, no obligation)

http://www.shareholdersunited.org/shares/phoenix.php

[Gampern]

Man Utd fans stage Uefa protest

Manchester United fans, angered by Malcolm Glazer's takeover of the club, have urged Uefa to block United's participation in European competitions.

Thirty fans staged a peaceful protest at the City of Manchester Stadium as European football's governing body met ahead of the Women's Euro 2005 Final.

The fans got the chance to speak to Uefa chief executive Lars-Christer Olsson during the meeting.

He was told Glazer's takeover had landed the club with a £265m debt.

'No intervention'

Fans urged him to ban United from European competitions.

Olsson said: "We can voice an opinion, but we do not have any right to intervene. If clubs are allowed to have debts under their domestic legislation then that is okay.

"But under our licensing system they are not allowed to have debts to others in the football family."

One of the protesters, Nick Clay, of the Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association (IMUSA) said: "Malcolm Glazer is saddling Manchester United with a huge debt and 98% of supporters are against him.

"We want Uefa to look at whether the clubs in debt should be allowed to continue in European competition."

BBC

[Gampern]

Heute ist es also soweit:

Man Utd shares leave stock market

Shares in Manchester United have been delisted from the London Stock Exchange after 14 years on the market.

The action had been widely expected following the takeover of the club by US entrepreneur Malcolm Glazer.

The move means remaining shareholders will have to trade shares privately if they want to buy or sell them.

Mr Glazer owns 97.3% of United shares, but this is expected to rise past 97.6% - a level which would allow him to buy the remaining shares compulsorily.

An update on the precise level of Mr Glazer's share ownership is expected by Monday, the deadline he set for shareholders to sell their remaining shares to him for £3 each.

Mr Glazer, who owns NFL franchise Tampa Bay Buccaneers, became the majority shareholder of the club on 16 May in a £790m takeover.

BBC

bearbeitet 22. Juni 2005 von Gampern

[Gampern]

Glazer gets 98% of Man Utd shares

American billionaire Malcolm Glazer has said he has acquired enough shares in Manchester United to force remaining investors to sell their stock to him.

A statement from his Red Football bidding vehicle said he now owned 98% of the Old Trafford club.

This takes him past the 97.6% level needed to force a compulsory buyout of remaining shareholders.

Fortsetzung und Quelle

[Bretwalda]

Quelle orf.at

Stirb, Glazer, Stirb!

Zwei Festnahmen und ein Großaufgebot der Polizei haben den ersten Besuch der Glazer-Brüder in Manchester überschattet.

Rund 300 ManU-Anhänger demonstrierten am Mittwochabend gegen die neuen Besitzer des Traditionsklubs. Joel, Avi und Bryan Glazer, die von Vater Malcolm in den Vorstand berufen wurden, mussten das Stadion in einem Polizeiauto verlassen, um vor den wütenden Fans geschützt zu werden.

"Stirb, Glazer, stirb", skandierten die Demonstranten und errichteten Straßensperren. Ein 100-köpfiges Polizeiaufgebot war nötig, um die Situation vor Old Trafford in den Griff zu bekommen. Joel Glazer gab dem vereinseigenen Fernsehsender MUTV ein Interview, das an diesem Freitag ausgestrahlt werden soll.

Fans befürchten Verschuldung

Die Fans von Manchester United befürchten die Erhöhung der Kartenpreise für Abonnenten und eine Verschuldung des reichsten Fußballklubs der Welt. Sie haben bereits gedroht, den Verein zu boykottieren, und haben laut UEFA-Website sogar schon einen eigenen Konkurrenzklub gegründet: den FC United.

Laut UEFA-Website wird der neue Verein tatsächlich den Spielbetrieb aufnehmen und ab kommender Saison in der Amateurliga Nord-West im Butcher's-Arms-Ground-Stadion spielen.

Nach erfolgreicher feindlicher Übernahme hält Malcolm Glazer mittlerweile 98 Prozent an Manchester United. Der US-Milliardär hat den Verein vergangene Woche nach 14 Jahren von der Londoner Börse genommen.

[Gampern]

Etwas verspätet...

Here's BBC's video's from last night

1st video was put together in the early hours:

http://rapidshare.de/files/2708030/09012da...6x9_bb.wmv.html

2nd video is the one that is now being used by the BBC:

http://rapidshare.de/files/2708124/09012da...6x9_bb.wmv.html

bearbeitet 7. Juli 2005 von Gampern

[Gampern]

United Rant Interview mit Joel Glazer!

http://www.unitedrant.co.uk/archives/2005/...words_mass.html

[Gampern]

Fans group want Man Utd boycott

Manchester United fans have been urged to boycott the club's Champions League qualifier in an attempt to help force out new owner Malcolm Glazer.

United play in the third round next month as they try to book a place in the Champions League group stage.

But the Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association do not want fans to attend the fixture.

"This boycott is the chance for them to show Glazer they do not want him or his debts," said the IMUSA's Mark Longden.

He added: "It's simple - do not buy a ticket for this match. This is our chance to demonstrate to Glazer that supporters do have a voice and are prepared to use it.

"He will keep targeting us to pay off his debts if he thinks we are weak and willing. We are neither.

"We react with horror at his plans for ticket prices, as more and more decent, loyal, United fans will be priced out of going to the club they love and support.

"We will not allow that to happen."

United will have to wait for the draw on 29 July to see who they play and whether they will be at home on either 10 or 24 August.

BBC

[Gampern]

Gill: Hypocrisy, double standards and U-turns

FOR RELEASE 7.30am WEDNESDAY 3 AUGUST

- Hypocrisy, double standards and U-turns -

DAVID GILL DENIES BEING GLAZER’S ‘YES’ MAN:

“I’LL TELL HIM WHAT I THINK”

But what do you think David? Will you be telling him what you were thinking a few weeks/months/years ago, or what you seem to be thinking now? Because having heard your statements before the takeover, fans are struggling to understand how you can be saying the kind of thing you are saying now.

David Gill’s replies to Garry Richardson on R5’s Sportsweek on Sunday 3 July left many fans gasping at the U-turn in Gill’s position, when compared to his previous statements on a range of key issues. Many fans will be questioning Gill’s integrity and his decision to stay on as CEO when they see how his mind has been changed so easily and quickly on such vital questions as the Glazer’s business plan, the debt in the club, the ownership of United and the role of supporters.

And those fans will also be surprised to hear that Gill offered a donation of £25,000 to Shareholders United in December last year, at the time he was about to exercise some £1.1 million of share options and when Glazer was preparing a new offer for United. The support that he showed the fans groups then has disappeared – new owner, new set of values.

Look at Gill’s public and private statements before the takeover compared to those since:

On Glazer’s business plan

Before:

“The Board believes that the nature and return requirement of this capital structure will put pressure on the business of MU, particularly if Glazer’s business plan was not met. The Board continues to believe that Glazer’s business plan assumptions are aggressive and that the direct and indirect financial strain on the business could be damaging” (MU Board statement of 11 February 2005)

“The Board remains of the view that the assumptions in Glazer’s business plan are aggressive. The Board’s unanimous view is that they could not support Glazer’s [takeover] proposal…….as being in the best interests of the Company” (MU Board statement of 28 April 2005)

After:

“[since the takeover] we’ve got to know a bit more about their plans…………..and we’ll get to know more about [their plans] over the coming weeks and months” (Gill on R5 Sportsweek, 3 July 2005)

"I'm not sitting here and saying I've suddenly seen the light with the Glazers' plan. I think there are certain issues involved and hopefully, as we get to know them better, I can explain some of the concerns we have and explain where some things may work and others won't” (Gill in MoS 31 July 2005)

Ehhhhh?

Gill has not done his homework on the Glazers – no-one tells them what they can and can’t do. They need him for a while, maybe a year, so that they can show that “nothing has changed” as a result of their takeover. But come next year and the year after, big changes are planned and there is no sign yet that the Glazers think Gill is the right man to execute what he termed their ‘aggressive’ and ‘damaging’ business plan.

On United and Glazer’s £650 million of acquisition debt

Before:

“Manchester United is a debt-free, profitable and sustainable business” (MU plc AGM November 2003).

“We could borrow money but it would not be good business for a football club. Borrowing large sums of money is the road to ruin” (SU members’ open meeting, August 2004)

“The Board has decided to inform all shareholders that it would regard an offer which it believes to be overly leveraged as not being in the best interests of the Company” (MU Board statement of 25 October 2004)

“The level of debt required is not in the best interests of the Club. The Club has 126 years of history and is recognised as one of the most successful football clubs in the world. I don’t think any sensible person would think we could recommend a proposal that could jeopardise something that has been built up over so many years” (October 2004)

After:

No comment.

Despite misgivings, Gill now seems perfectly happy to work for owners who have made United the most indebted sports club in the world, executing a business plan which he still doesn’t seem to know much about. Joel Glazer’s highly illuminating comments on the debt were limited to stating that the level of debt was “comfortable” and that “debt means different things to different people”.

On ownership of United

Before:

“United doesn’t have and doesn’t want a sugar daddy. We want to become a long-term sustainable business that is not reliant on one single person. We believe we have a model for a successful business and it is the appropriate thing for us” (AGM November 2003)

“In due course we would like to work with the Glazer family, Cubic Expression, Shareholders United and our other shareholders to work on a structure that we think will bring the club long-term stability. That must be our aim and is what the Board intends to do" (MU Official Website, 25 October 2004)

"We have to look at the solution going forward. Shareholders United are pleading for supporters to buy shares and that's how they can show their allegiance and control of the club going forward" (October 2004)

“I will be clearly open to the shareholders groups and bodies like yourselves and IMUSA, and that dialogue we spoke about at the AGM [setting up a supporters trust] will hopefully continue and we will move on to new heights. Don’t quote me on this, but my own personal view is if we can work together to make sure we are (and this is off the record).…we keep this company independent. That is better for everyone” (‘United Shareholder’ interview transcript tapes, December 2003)

“Nick, you know that if I wasn’t in the position I’m in, I would be behind the barricades with you” (Said during a telephone conversation with Nick Towle of SU in December 2004, in which Gill offered to make a donation of £25,000 to SU out of the proceeds of exercise of share options he wanted to complete)

After:

“You have to separate ownership from following the club. If I wasn’t working for the club, I’d still be a fan and I’d be very much concerned as to what was going on on the pitch, not who owned it, that’s irrelevant, it’s not my area so to speak” (R5 Sportsweek interview, July 2005)

On the role of supporters

Before:

“We have very vocal fans and one of the key strengths of Manchester United are those fan groups” (October 2004).

After:

“Shareholders United, as a representative of a body of fans who have purchased shares in MU plc, has historically had a seat on the [Fans] Forum. However, as a result of the new structure of the company, SU clearly has no legitimacy in representing such a block of people – since no external shareholders exist….SU’s seat on the Forum will from the start of the 2005/06 season be given to a representative of fans in Manchester, Salford or Trafford.” (Letter to SU, 5 July 2005)

Ehhhhh?

So that’s a democratic 32,000 member fans’ organisation, which is the official supporters trust at the club, expelled from the Fans’ Forum. IMUSA, the other main democratic fans organisation, has also been booted off the FF. So the ‘vocal’ fans groups, one of the ‘key strengths’ of MU, are no longer wanted at Old Trafford. Perhaps that is one of the “opportunities” which Gill talked about when listing the merits of being a private company as opposed to a plc? Being able to ignore the legitimate and democratic voices of the fans?

Conclusion

It is hard to escape the conclusion that Gill says whatever his particular audience wants to hear, and it is even harder to maintain respect for someone who manages to face in so many different directions in such a short space of time. The comparison of before/after statements show a lamentable level of hypocrisy, double standards and about turns.

This surely has nothing to do with the fact that Gill (and his Finance Director Nick Humby) have been well rewarded for their continued ‘loyalty’ to the club and its new owners – Gill sold his shares to Glazer and received around £2 million more (pre-tax) for unexercised options which might have vested in 3 years time; Humby also sold shares and trousered around £1 million for his options.

Some would say these are clues as to why Gill is singing his new master’s tune so shamelessly and willingly. And why he appears to many fans to have surrendered his integrity so easily.

Notes:

David Gill, CEO of Manchester United, went public on 3 July for the first time in 4 months at the end of the Glazer brothers’ recent visit to England, which saw a tightly-managed PR campaign featuring plenty of warm words and verbal assurances to a range of interested parties – except the fans and the press. No-one is any the wiser as to hard plans and the future of the debt-laden business, the object of the exercise being to calm fears and reduce the temperature surrounding the takeover.

The tough questions remain unanswered. The fans groups and fanzines, who represent well over 50,000 United fans, will continue to demand answers to those questions.

bearbeitet 3. August 2005 von Gampern