Karen Matthews
1st September 2004, 20:10
COMMITTEE MEETING
SATURDAY 21ST August 2004 (1.30 P.M.)
The Norseman Room, Samuel Platts, Trafford Park
PRESENT
Nick Towle (Chair), Margaret Orhan ( Company Secretary), Sean Bones (Vice Chair), Oliver Houston (Vice Chair), Karen Matthews (Finance Director), Jonathan Michie, Mark Southee, Theresa Towle, Willy Teigen, Chris Boulderstone, Rachel Harris, Helen Sadler, Alex McDonald, Merrily Richie, Sammy Clarke, Lynnette Cawthra, Tim Shaw, Howard Kings, Nick Barber, Keith Barber, J. McGurk, Martyn Russell, Daniel James, David Hall, T. Hall, D. Menzies, D. Natian, A. Graham, Scott Fletcher, P. Sadler, J. Marshhady, S. Baxter, M. Ferguson, J.Kyle, J. Dempsey, D. Friel, J. Pugh, Blaine Emmett, Alison Wall, John Skelton, Brian Pendlebury, L. Pendlebury, Matt Martel, Andy Proctor, Eddie O’Hara, Tom O’Hara, Murray Angus, Adam Riley, K. Quarmby, Reg Lord, I. Longmire, Chris Small, Setu Phipps, Shirley Cawthra, Colin Howard, Chris Hobbs, Paul Goulding, J. Molyneux, K. Molyneux, D. Molyneux, Paul Dempsey, Pete Butler, Martin Creasy, John White, Marc White, Paul White, S. McEnemy, Steve Wilson, Jackie Bryan, Shiela Claydon, Roy Addison, Sam Roberts, Matthew O’Brien, Richard Stubbs, C. Lill, Julian Lord, Andy Green, Bruce Crawford, Nick Hodkinson, H. McCartney, L. Spencer, Sue Simpson, Alastair Lees, Roger Brierley and Mark Thaw.
APOLOGIES
Apologies had been received from Paul Brooks; Pete Boyle; John Hurst; Tanya Taylor and Richard Hytner.
MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes of the previous Committee Meeting held on 20th March 2004 were approved as a true record.
MATTERS ARISING
There were no matters arising.
PLATTS PRE-MATCH MEETINGS
Karen Matthews has been responsible for organising pre-match meetings. She emphasised that kick off times can vary from those already published, so members should keep an eye on the SU web site for announcements. Platts will be open 2-3 hours before every home game. It is hoped there will be different events from time to time, to provide entertainment. Plans are being formulated to get Patrons to attend. Members urged to support this venture.
TAKEOVER SPECULATION
Nick Towle reported that everything is fairly quiet at the moment. The leak that Glazer was meeting with Cubic has been denied by Cubic. It is felt that there is no real meeting of minds between the two parties. Glazer’s buyer for his property sale was rumoured to be Murdoch, but this is unconfirmed. SU is preparing a battle plan, involving lots of activity. Nick is adamant the Takeover Panel would not allow a “whitewash” under Clause 9, if any prospective buyer wanted to run the club without a complete buyout and that it is illegal for parties to act in concert on any issue or agreement. SU is in regular contact with the Takeover Panel, but they will not release any details to SU, because of confidentiality issues. Takeover speculation tends to be good for SU, as it increases recruitment and as SU is the only group capable of fighting a takeover, numbers will increase with each rumour.
NOT FOR SALE CAMPAIGN
Richard Stubbs took the banner down from the Stretford End and posted it to J.D. in America, who used it to great effect during the American tour. He has turned out to be a spectacular find, raising SU’s profile greatly. It is planned to try and get him to Manchester for a pre-match meeting sometime soon. Thousands of SU cards were given out and plenty of publicity achieved for the banner and SU. Many of the players signed the banner at one of the practices. As well as the American tour, SU is trying political lobbying, using the Parliamentary Patrons. The campaign is growing apace and will be continued with vigour.
BRIEF PROGRESS REPORTS
Chair:
Nick explained that, at the last plc A.G.M., there were many questions as to what the club were doing for SU. A presentation by SU was given to the Board of MU in December 2003, after which the “Offer Period” began. Since the end of that offer period, some progress has been made. It is hoped there will be an advert in the United programme soon, possibly for the Liverpool game. SU will keep pushing on such items as a web site link. There was a feeling from the members that the MU Board should be pressed on SU being able to put leaflets/cards on seats in the stadium.
Share Scheme, Web Site and Recruitment:
Duncan Drasdo combined all three reports, showing a graph, illustrating SU’s growth. Figures for these reports have been circulated previously. There are lots of ideas for the web site, such as links to Partners, Fanzines etc. Next week a letter goes out to certain shareholders, urging them to join SU. The advert for the United Programme has been agreed and discussions on further social evenings, the placing of leaflets/cards on seats in Old Trafford are under way. The setup of regional email groups has begun along with the viability of advertising on Google, the internet search engine. Supporter branches have been offered a free SU membership, (only for the branch). Individual members will be encouraged to join separately. An SU advert has appeared in today’s fanzines.
Media:
Oliver Houston reported that SU have enjoyed a lot of publicity recently. Media attention has grown with every fresh item of takeover speculation, resulting in many favourable articles appearing in the press and on television.
Patrons:
At the first social evening on 26th May, Keith Duffy, the Coronation Street actor and ex Boyzone singer, verbally agreed to become an SU Patron. Margaret Orhan has sent him two letters, formally inviting him to join, along with leaving several messages on his mobile. However there has been no response whatsoever. It is felt that Mr. Duffy simply agreed to become a Patron, in order to be left alone on the evening and had no real intention of becoming a Patron. There will be no further invitation made to him. Patron Tony Lloyd M.P. attended the social evening on 31st July, gave a short interview to MUTV and stated that he would try to bring members of the Parliamentary Manchester United Football Group to a future event for a Q & A session. Efforts will be made to get other Patrons to attend future social meetings as well as Platts’ pre-match meetings. A suggestion was made, by a member, that SU approach David Beckham with a view to him becoming a Patron.
Finance:
Karen Matthews reported that the bank balance presently stood at £26,368 and that SU's own shareholding was 10,752 shares presently worth approx. £28,172.
Newsletter:
Julian Lord informed the Committee that the newsletter has been re-designed and will be up to 12 pages. However the aim is for 16 pages, with advertisers being actively pursued. The new edition is due out before the end of September and will be a great marketing tool for SU.
IMUSA:
There was nothing to report from IMUSA, until after its next meeting.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Nick advised that, as part of SU’s bid to continue dialogue with the MU Board and in light of the possibility of a takeover bid coming in, a resolution was unanimously passed by the Directors, that no Director, or member, would enter into any agreement, or confidential discussions, with anyone outside of SU, without the approval of the SU Board.
Nick offered congratulations to Karen Matthews on her successful election to the Board of Supporters’ Direct. As Jonathan Michie is also an SD Board member, this doubles SU’s presence and influence within SD.
Lynette Cawthra confirmed that the MU plc AGM will take place on Friday 12th November 2004 and that, for the first time, electronic proxy voting, via the MU web site was available.
It was agreed to pay Richard Stubbs the balance of the £150 cost of the NFS banner, after he paid the expenses of shipping the NFS banner to the US out of the £100 he pledged.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting to be an Extraordinary General Meeting on Sunday 24th October 2004, commencing at 2.15 p.m. at the Samuel Platts (prior to home fixture against Arsenal)
SATURDAY 21ST August 2004 (1.30 P.M.)
The Norseman Room, Samuel Platts, Trafford Park
PRESENT
Nick Towle (Chair), Margaret Orhan ( Company Secretary), Sean Bones (Vice Chair), Oliver Houston (Vice Chair), Karen Matthews (Finance Director), Jonathan Michie, Mark Southee, Theresa Towle, Willy Teigen, Chris Boulderstone, Rachel Harris, Helen Sadler, Alex McDonald, Merrily Richie, Sammy Clarke, Lynnette Cawthra, Tim Shaw, Howard Kings, Nick Barber, Keith Barber, J. McGurk, Martyn Russell, Daniel James, David Hall, T. Hall, D. Menzies, D. Natian, A. Graham, Scott Fletcher, P. Sadler, J. Marshhady, S. Baxter, M. Ferguson, J.Kyle, J. Dempsey, D. Friel, J. Pugh, Blaine Emmett, Alison Wall, John Skelton, Brian Pendlebury, L. Pendlebury, Matt Martel, Andy Proctor, Eddie O’Hara, Tom O’Hara, Murray Angus, Adam Riley, K. Quarmby, Reg Lord, I. Longmire, Chris Small, Setu Phipps, Shirley Cawthra, Colin Howard, Chris Hobbs, Paul Goulding, J. Molyneux, K. Molyneux, D. Molyneux, Paul Dempsey, Pete Butler, Martin Creasy, John White, Marc White, Paul White, S. McEnemy, Steve Wilson, Jackie Bryan, Shiela Claydon, Roy Addison, Sam Roberts, Matthew O’Brien, Richard Stubbs, C. Lill, Julian Lord, Andy Green, Bruce Crawford, Nick Hodkinson, H. McCartney, L. Spencer, Sue Simpson, Alastair Lees, Roger Brierley and Mark Thaw.
APOLOGIES
Apologies had been received from Paul Brooks; Pete Boyle; John Hurst; Tanya Taylor and Richard Hytner.
MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
The minutes of the previous Committee Meeting held on 20th March 2004 were approved as a true record.
MATTERS ARISING
There were no matters arising.
PLATTS PRE-MATCH MEETINGS
Karen Matthews has been responsible for organising pre-match meetings. She emphasised that kick off times can vary from those already published, so members should keep an eye on the SU web site for announcements. Platts will be open 2-3 hours before every home game. It is hoped there will be different events from time to time, to provide entertainment. Plans are being formulated to get Patrons to attend. Members urged to support this venture.
TAKEOVER SPECULATION
Nick Towle reported that everything is fairly quiet at the moment. The leak that Glazer was meeting with Cubic has been denied by Cubic. It is felt that there is no real meeting of minds between the two parties. Glazer’s buyer for his property sale was rumoured to be Murdoch, but this is unconfirmed. SU is preparing a battle plan, involving lots of activity. Nick is adamant the Takeover Panel would not allow a “whitewash” under Clause 9, if any prospective buyer wanted to run the club without a complete buyout and that it is illegal for parties to act in concert on any issue or agreement. SU is in regular contact with the Takeover Panel, but they will not release any details to SU, because of confidentiality issues. Takeover speculation tends to be good for SU, as it increases recruitment and as SU is the only group capable of fighting a takeover, numbers will increase with each rumour.
NOT FOR SALE CAMPAIGN
Richard Stubbs took the banner down from the Stretford End and posted it to J.D. in America, who used it to great effect during the American tour. He has turned out to be a spectacular find, raising SU’s profile greatly. It is planned to try and get him to Manchester for a pre-match meeting sometime soon. Thousands of SU cards were given out and plenty of publicity achieved for the banner and SU. Many of the players signed the banner at one of the practices. As well as the American tour, SU is trying political lobbying, using the Parliamentary Patrons. The campaign is growing apace and will be continued with vigour.
BRIEF PROGRESS REPORTS
Chair:
Nick explained that, at the last plc A.G.M., there were many questions as to what the club were doing for SU. A presentation by SU was given to the Board of MU in December 2003, after which the “Offer Period” began. Since the end of that offer period, some progress has been made. It is hoped there will be an advert in the United programme soon, possibly for the Liverpool game. SU will keep pushing on such items as a web site link. There was a feeling from the members that the MU Board should be pressed on SU being able to put leaflets/cards on seats in the stadium.
Share Scheme, Web Site and Recruitment:
Duncan Drasdo combined all three reports, showing a graph, illustrating SU’s growth. Figures for these reports have been circulated previously. There are lots of ideas for the web site, such as links to Partners, Fanzines etc. Next week a letter goes out to certain shareholders, urging them to join SU. The advert for the United Programme has been agreed and discussions on further social evenings, the placing of leaflets/cards on seats in Old Trafford are under way. The setup of regional email groups has begun along with the viability of advertising on Google, the internet search engine. Supporter branches have been offered a free SU membership, (only for the branch). Individual members will be encouraged to join separately. An SU advert has appeared in today’s fanzines.
Media:
Oliver Houston reported that SU have enjoyed a lot of publicity recently. Media attention has grown with every fresh item of takeover speculation, resulting in many favourable articles appearing in the press and on television.
Patrons:
At the first social evening on 26th May, Keith Duffy, the Coronation Street actor and ex Boyzone singer, verbally agreed to become an SU Patron. Margaret Orhan has sent him two letters, formally inviting him to join, along with leaving several messages on his mobile. However there has been no response whatsoever. It is felt that Mr. Duffy simply agreed to become a Patron, in order to be left alone on the evening and had no real intention of becoming a Patron. There will be no further invitation made to him. Patron Tony Lloyd M.P. attended the social evening on 31st July, gave a short interview to MUTV and stated that he would try to bring members of the Parliamentary Manchester United Football Group to a future event for a Q & A session. Efforts will be made to get other Patrons to attend future social meetings as well as Platts’ pre-match meetings. A suggestion was made, by a member, that SU approach David Beckham with a view to him becoming a Patron.
Finance:
Karen Matthews reported that the bank balance presently stood at £26,368 and that SU's own shareholding was 10,752 shares presently worth approx. £28,172.
Newsletter:
Julian Lord informed the Committee that the newsletter has been re-designed and will be up to 12 pages. However the aim is for 16 pages, with advertisers being actively pursued. The new edition is due out before the end of September and will be a great marketing tool for SU.
IMUSA:
There was nothing to report from IMUSA, until after its next meeting.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Nick advised that, as part of SU’s bid to continue dialogue with the MU Board and in light of the possibility of a takeover bid coming in, a resolution was unanimously passed by the Directors, that no Director, or member, would enter into any agreement, or confidential discussions, with anyone outside of SU, without the approval of the SU Board.
Nick offered congratulations to Karen Matthews on her successful election to the Board of Supporters’ Direct. As Jonathan Michie is also an SD Board member, this doubles SU’s presence and influence within SD.
Lynette Cawthra confirmed that the MU plc AGM will take place on Friday 12th November 2004 and that, for the first time, electronic proxy voting, via the MU web site was available.
It was agreed to pay Richard Stubbs the balance of the £150 cost of the NFS banner, after he paid the expenses of shipping the NFS banner to the US out of the £100 he pledged.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting to be an Extraordinary General Meeting on Sunday 24th October 2004, commencing at 2.15 p.m. at the Samuel Platts (prior to home fixture against Arsenal)