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Awareness
Five years ago Manchester United were taken over by American tycoon Malcolm Glazer, he borrowed money from foreign lenders
at a high interest to secure the purchase of the club. As a result of the American's takeover the club went into debt,
a debt in the region of £680million, the biggest debt of any football club in the world.
Due to high interest
rates that sum is rising everyday, United pay an estimated £300,000 on interest every day, and that's on top of
the initial £680million we already owe as a result of the Glazer takeover. The debt currently stands at a staggering
£716.6 million and without the sale of the club's top stars, United can't survive financially. Cristiano Ronaldo
was first to go and that was only the start, if you want to see stars like Wayne Rooney, Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic wearing
a red shirt next season I suggest you act now.
MUST
If you want to help save the club and find a regime that has United's best interests at heart, I would suggest you
join the independent supporters organisation MUST. MUST is a Manchester United supporters trust, the objective is to secure
the ownership of Manchester United from the Glazer family. The idea behind MUST is to give Manchester United Football Club
back to the fans, the fans that love the club that is being neglected by the Glazer family.
If MUST gain control
they plan to maximize investment in the team by reinvesting profit rather than pay dividends or debt, rebuild the relationship
between club and support by rewarding supporter loyalty, and they also plan to make ticket prices more affordable and fairly
distributed amongst Manchester United supporters. The organisation group currently has 38,000 members and is growing fast,
a 'not-for-profit' organisation but costs a small fee of £10 to become a member.
All funds go to
securing the ownership of the club, donations are also encouraged if you wish to make them. MUST believe that Manchester United
is to be an independent club and not owned by the Glazers who want to use the great supporters and club to pay off personal
debts, this organisation is a direct action to put a stop to it and finally give the club back to the people, and I agree.
Facebook Campaign
I have started a campaign via a group
I created on the social networking site Facebook, the group is called 'GET THE GLAZERS OUT...United we stand, United we fall' and currently has over 3,000 members within its first two weeks.
My aim is to raise awareness of the financial
situation at Manchester United Football Club on a daily basis and support all Anti-Glazer campaigns in an attempt to force
them out of Old Trafford. This is a mission I don't intend to fail and would encourage all LOYAL supporters to join the
campaign. This is not a group I decided to create because I was bored one day, I made the group in support of MUST, and feel
very passionate about the cause.
We can't sit back and let the Glazer family rape our club any more, it's
time all Manchester United fans stand up and be counted for, the club DOES NOT belong
to the Glazer family, it belongs to the heart of the fans. Take back what is rightfully ours, help force the Glazers out
and defend the honour and traditions of our club.
Green and Gold
The Anti Glazer campaign has really got kick started in the last week or so, MUST have launched a new Green and
Gold campaign against the Glazers. The campaign is a colour code system devised as a symbol to let the Glazers know they're
not welcome any more. The idea was bought forward as fans were not being allowed to vent anger at games, stewards are kicking
fans out for holding Anti-Glazer signs and fans were becoming frustrated.
As most of you know Green and Gold were
our original colours when we were called Newton Heath before the name change. Anti-Glazer fans thought the best way to send
a message to the Glazer family was to return to the club's original routes, and as a result the Green and Gold campaign
got under way. We have already seen signs of this in progress as thousands fans showed their support to the campaign by wearing
Green and Gold against Hull City at Old Trafford on Saturday and in the second leg of the Carling Cup semi final.
This clearly indicates that the campaign is moving forward already and long may it continue. Please support this campaign,
it won't be long before you see a sea of Green and Gold waving right through Old Trafford, Green and Gold 'till they
die or fold. GET GLAZER OUT!
“United Soul is never sold, so proudly wear
that Green and Gold, we’ll never wear our famous Red, Till Glazers gone or even dead, so raise that ancient standard
high, by Green and Gold we’ll live or die, that day will come for sure, when we can wear our Red once more”.
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Given the unique nature of this appeal
- one of the world's biggest clubs in the midst of a civil war, threatened with the bleakest of financial futures - we
decided to source the opinions of people in the know. From the Manchester United Supporters Trust themselves to a leading member of the press, the support for the
campaign is almost unanimous. Here we gather a selection of opinions that we unearthed.
 It makes sense to start with MUST, the official
trust of Manchester United but run totally independently of the club. They genuinely oppose the Glazers' involvement at
Old Trafford and are fighting to secure a brighter future for the club.
"Our objective is simple. We envisage
a future where the supporters of Manchester United FC have a meaningful ownership stake in the club. "Our 38,000+ strong organisation is
grounded on two simple beliefs. 1. That supporters, not absentee investors,
are our club's lifeblood. It is our support, our passion, and indeed our funds
that propel the club. 2. That because we are its lifeblood, the club's
priorities should reflect our priorities. We want a rampant United with world-class
players winning trophies, where the money the club earns is continually reinvested and not creamed off by an investor to his
own benefit."
John Scales
John is a former England international, playing for Liverpool and Tottenham,
and despite the rivalry he might have felt with United during his playing days he has every sympathy with the club's current
plight. "If the fans don't speak
out who's going to fight on their behalf or voice their discomfort with the running of their club. I think they're
right to challenge it, I have concerns about clubs being bought and placing the financial burden on the club. I have every
sympathy with United fans. "Maybe
Cristiano Ronaldo would've still been at United if it wasn't for the Glazers' takeover or if they'd set things
up differently, financially."
Mark Chapman
Mark is one of the best recognised voices of Radio 5 Live and an avid
United fan, becoming a patron of MUST to show his support to the campaign. "Glazer is a businessman. He needs to make money
just to cover interest payments on his debt. I am not helping this man make money out of my football club. And that is what
it comes down to. He sees it as a business and not a sport. I won't buy a programme, or a shirt, or a scarf or a duvet
cover for my son."
Colin Mitchell
Colin is the editor of Shoot magazine, the voice of football for 40
years, and puts the campaign into national perspective. "I can see fan power become more and more important over the next few years as financial pressure mounts on
a lot of clubs. Fans buy tickets and products to keep clubs going and are going to want a bigger say in the running of clubs.
The fans own Barcelona and on a much lesser basis in England, Conference side Ebbsfleet. Newcastle fans have so far got promises
of £50m from fans to buyout owner Mike Ashley – so there will be many supporters at numerous clubs watching the
outcome of the Green and Gold campaign."
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