SU-MUST NEWS - A Weekly Bulletin of the latest information from MUST

[Paul Brooks]

[1] Glazers First 100 Day's of Woe.
[2] Win a 20GB colour screen iPod
[3] PHOENIX SHIRTS - AND EARN £5 FOR MUST PHOENIX FUND
[4] SU COMMITTEE RESOLUTION ON FUTURE DIRECTION
[5] VISIT THE MUST SHOP

[Duncan Drasdo]

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[1] Glazers First 100 Days of Woe.

Cantona Doesn't Care For Glazer http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=18850
Red faces over United prank http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=18865
Keane row is another own goal http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=18932
Vodafone to be told: "Hang Up on Malcolm Glazer"
http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=18957
Empty seats a worry for Gill http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19000
Gill admits to United's fragile grip on China http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19014
United Board's Orient Distress http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19022
IRATE RIO IN RUUD BUST-UP http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19052
Fans groups kicked off MU fans' forum http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19053
RIO'S £75,000 V-SIGN http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19067
Man U finds apathy in Asia http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19088
Gill Plans a PR blitz to win over anti-Glazer fans
http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19094
GLAZER: GET ME OWEN http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19102
Gill Offered Cash To Ward Off Glazer http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19147
Gill: Hypocrisy, double standards and U-turns
http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19145
Ferguson ordered to offload players http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19178
Joel Glazer's - "absolute bull"? http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19344
TV blow to Glazer's United plans http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19449
Man U's new owners hire translators http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19477
Ferguson clash with fan over Glazer http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19503
FERGIE TELLS FANS: GO SUPPORT CHELSEA http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19508
Reds fans kicked out of seats http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19550
MUTV Is Air Tight http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19568
Glazer Jobs Cull At Old Trafford. http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19589
Fans blast Man U redundancies http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19600
Giggs admits transfer concern http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19634
Anti-Glazer song set for release http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19720
Majority of fans won over by performances according to Gill
http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19770
Glazer Sues Own Fans http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19973
Angry supporters turn on Ferguson http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=19980
Old Trafford boos Ferguson: Is this the beginning of the end?
http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20010
Ferguson ducks a rising red tide of outrage http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20012
Glazers selling off businesses to raise cash http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20022
Ferguson Feels the heat as great club starts slipping.
http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20045
Glazer Elitist Debenture Scheme ? http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20059
Queiroz is off the hook over 'stupid' fans http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20097
Real Madrid Overtakes Manchester United as Richest Soccer Team
http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20103
Salute to Fergie was more like a farewell http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20137
The rise and rise of FC United http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20185
Glazers put two mansions on market http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20225
Row as Reds pay Glazer bill http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20289
United axe casino plans http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20307
Empty night for Glazer's at Old Trafford http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20414
Keane left to simmer as Gill stays silent http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20440
Man Utd's Silvestre: Glazer takeover has added pressure
http://www.suforum.org/newforum/showthread.php?t=20461

Thanks to Sean for compiling the above.

[Duncan Drasdo]

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[2] Win a 20GB colour screen iPod

There are currently only 28 entries in the draw to win a 20GB Colour Screen iPod and the first draw closes in a few days on 1st November so enter today if you want to play.


In order to play please visit:
https://secure.iconmatch.com/client/?GameID=2

You can practise playing the game for free as many times as you like and then when you want to play for a prize the game costs £1 per play. You can top-up your account using your mobile phone or PayPal. The Phoenix Fund gets a larger contribution if you use PayPal though. Profits from you playing the game are split 50:50 between the Phoenix Fund and the game designers (iconMatch - a company belonging to one of our long-standing members). iconMatch have generously donated the initial prize for this draw too.

For the first draw on November 1st, 2005 we have a wonderful prize of the iPod shown above. Everyone who pays to play and "drags and drops" all 5 player's faces correctly, will go into this draw. Since we asked for people to "beta test" the game, over 1000 games have been played but you have a great chance to win as there are currently only 28 entries into the draw for the iPod, which is happening in a few days time. You will never have better odds than this to win an iPod! Remember that every time you pay to play successfully for a prize you get an extra entry into the draw while money is going into the Phoenix Fund. Remember it is only £1 to enter, and you can play as many practice games as you like.

[Duncan Drasdo]

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[3] PHOENIX SHIRTS - AND EARN £5 FOR MUST PHOENIX FUND

If you order either of these shirts from Red News they donate £5 to the Phoenix Fund. We've just received our first payment of £355.

http://www.rednews.co.uk/shop/shop64.htm

http://www.rednews.co.uk/shop/shop65.htm

[Duncan Drasdo]

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[4] SU COMMITTEE RESOLUTION ON FUTURE DIRECTION
Resolution of the SU Committee first discussed at the sucom meeting in Manchester on 24 September - concerning the future of Manchester United FC and of our organisation.

Shareholders United remains implacably opposed to the takeover of Manchester United by Malcolm Glazer and the dangerous level of potentially crippling debt that has been forced onto our Club. We agreed with the stance taken by the chief executive David Gill, Sir Roy Gardner and the rest of the previous board - that this deal is not in the best interests of the company and that the business plan Glazer will implement, in order to pay back the vast loans and exorbitant rates of interest, will put an enormous strain on the company's finances and cause great damage to Manchester United Football Club.

Since Glazer completed his takeover, it has become apparent that, not only did he massively overpay to buy the club using huge and expensive debt, but he has acquired United at the peak of the cycle in terms of popularity of the football 'product'. Falling attendances at grounds; ever-higher ticket prices; too many mediocre games on TV; unsuitable kick-off times - football's problems are growing and United is not immune. Look at attendances and falling demand at OT this season and the club's increasingly desperate attempts to sell tickets for both domestic and European games.

Glazer's business plan and debt repayment is dependent on huge price hikes, particularly on tickets and merchandise. Not only are such hikes unjustified and unfair, they are unsustainable. We believe this will become increasingly apparent over the coming two to three seasons as fans demonstrate that if you treat them solely as customers, they will act like customers too. And higher TV revenues are not looking likely either. On top of all this, will corporate sponsors be willing to pay more for this increasingly tainted 'product'?

All of this presents a serious threat to Glazer's business plan, and we are convinced that this plan will fail within 2-5 years. And let's be very clear about this - it will not be SU which damages MUFC or brings the club down, it will be solely down to Glazer himself and his aggressive and damaging takeover.

Some fans have taken the heart-wrenching decision to stop attending Old Trafford on a regular basis or have chosen to withhold part or all of their usual spending - this is a matter of principle and of individual choice and SU supports them in that choice. More and more fans will exercise this choice over the next couple of years - or will have no other option, when price hikes begin to bite, the prawn sandwich brigade take ever more priority, and other aspects of the style of the Glazer regime become clear. The Disneyfication of OT is already underway with news of a planned ice rink this winter - which the marketeers even have the nerve to say will be 'overlooked by Sir Matt Busby'. In another couple of years ... MU Glazerdome, anyone?

Just like all supporters trusts, SU has always had as its primary objective the acquisition of an ownership stake in our club. Glazer's takeover does not change that - in fact the scenario unfolding at United and in football generally makes it even more likely. And SU is now in a far stronger position than it was even one year ago. Our campaign against the Glazer bid was universally acknowledged as powerful - we will now channel our efforts into a positive campaign to prepare for the day when Glazer's plan collapses under the weight of its own unrealistic and over-reaching assumptions. It is the supporters - the true custodians of the club - who will be there to pick up the pieces.

That is why we are setting up the Phoenix Fund. Most of our energies will be directed to raising money for this Fund from a variety of sources. The Phoenix Fund is aimed at all United fans and anyone with the future health and survival of Manchester United at heart. We owe it to the heritage of our great Club, as well as to future generations of supporters, to unite around this common goal and move forward together.

[Duncan Drasdo]

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[5] MUST SHOP
Visit the MUST shop (www.shareholdersunited.org/shop.php) page for all the latest offers from Amazon. Everything you buy through these links will help to raise a small commission for MUST.