Tuesday 23 February 2010

Does Keith Harris want United fans to cut off their noses to spite their collective face?


When you are on your knees and there is no where to turn, its very easy to grab out to the first person for comfort

Football finance don and general cash geek Keith Harris is the man that the United fraternity have reached out too. A man who has brokered many a takeover. A man who seems to know everyone that you need to know in this business. His little black book is squeezed with names who are more wealthy than we could ever imagine...or is it?

Harris' latest call is for all of us to boycott the club. To boycott games and to turn our backs on the cash cow of Old Trafford

"Getting the money together is the easy bit" says Harris. "If enough people - and I'm talking about thousands - stop turning up to matches and do not renew their tickets then that does it. The supporters have to hurt the Glazers in the pockets. They have to be prepared to take the pain of not watching their club in order to achieve long-term gain. It's a big ask, it's a risk, but that is what must happen. The Glazers are thick-skinned and seem impervious to protest. They will not be impervious to enormous drops in revenue."

They are very big words and very big asks.

You see..if i could clearly see that the path to a post Glazer era laid in the fact of simply chucking in your season ticket and watching United from the comfort of my sofa on the box, then i would sign up yesterday.

But its not the truth.

The fact is that if the base of the clubs fans who turn up in all sorts of inclement weather to watch a team in red decided that they were not going to do that anymore, we would have a Theatre of Dreams full of 78,000 football tourists...and The Glazers would be none the wiser or bothered. That is the truth.

I would rather we kept our tickets..and THEN not showed up for games. An empty stadium will have more of an impact. The reason why we all launched this green and gold campaign was to be vocal and SEEN. A boycott would only make us invisible and insignificant.

Harris proclaims that getting the cash together is the easy bit...oh really? Well lets see the colour of your money! I'm not into all this Red Knights stuff. Either put the cash on the table, or stop the pretence. If this turns into a huge game of United Texas Hold Em Up poker, then the Glazers hold all the cards and they don't buy a bluff.

What we need to do is to actually devalue the product of United..and you don't do that by 'hitting them in the pocket' with a flimsy statement of mis-intent. Firstly you wear your Green & Gold. Secondly, you stay away from 'official' MUFC merchandise. Thirdly, you make as much noise..whether that be with your mouths, your blogs, your twitters or your forums. And fourthly, those of us to have the privilege to go to OT every week...we should sit on the floor outside the ground on Sir Matt Busby way, awash in the colours of Newton Heath, at every game..protesting the way that Martin Luther King did..or the way Gandhi did..peacefully..forcefully..telling those that matter that they cannot win but they can only change. WE are not GOING anywhere. This may sound overtly political, but this is as political as football gets! This form of protest has defeated both racism and tyranny..I reckon it could topple a family of Fat Cat Billionaires

Bar all that, we could all just go for a pint in one of Old Trafs many boozers and sing about Scousers, Bitter Blues and iconic number sevens.

The point is that until a bone fide buyer is found, and that entity has a plan with the fans for the disposal of the Glazers, i am NOT turning my back on United. I will protest til I'm old and grey if i have to. I will wear the Green & Gold with pride. But continued peacefully, attention grabbing events will always outshine gimmicks and hollow statements.

The G&G army has only just begun to fight this fight..there's plenty of legs left in us.

And we wont be anyones puppet



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8 comments:

  1. If you read his comments. Harris said They Won't Put a Bid in until The Glazers are forced to talk and they can see action. This isn't just Harris, this is MUST/IMUSA and the red knights. Its what MUST have been saying for years! This Article totally misses the point. Dressing him up as a puppet doesn't help anyone and negative stories are not what United fans need right now. If the Glazers are not removed soon. I might be forced to give my season ticket up. Not because I don't want it, because I can't afford it. Next year season tickets the East and West stands will hit £700+ a season. People will give them up, boycott or no boycott! For now Boycott, pies, programs, beer and shirts.

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  2. Andy...ah so its a loaded gun? the message is "we wont do anything til the fans force it through!" That doesnt wash for me.

    There is a massive difference between demanding some truths and being negative. This piece reflects what many of us feel..we want the Glazers out..we will fight them..but we wont be USED by others for their own means. So lets reveal who the Red Knights are..lets be honest with the fans and lets get on with it.

    As for season tickets, yep cost is always an issue, but its a personal problem. I have always said the day i will give my ticket up is the day i no longer believe it is of value. A £1.50 per match price rise this last season didnt break the bank and still represented value..certainly more than Arsenal and Chelsea fans who have to fork out double OT prices. Price wise its still better value than a litre of petrol!

    Thanks for your comments, but please be open to the broad opinion of United fans. At the moment there isnt alot of trust floating around..not with Harris or MUST..but for now they have our backing..hopefully they will have some solutions

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  3. I don't see the point in the G&G campaign if fans aren't willing to give up their season tickets. The Glazers will just continue laughing all the way to the bank.
    Steve S

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  4. The truths will come out and its been made pretty clear that this will need the fans support to pull off because it will be the fans taking over the club. MUST and IMUSA have already said they won't support it unless the trust gets given 25% of the shares. Its not Harris taking over, hes just the organiser. I also can't see where Glazer will find 78,000 day trippers if from now till the start of the season people give them up? No season ticket waiting list, loads of empty seats because the people who have multiple season tickets just so they don't lose them can't find any buyers, prices going up season on season. Driving away more fans. Last season I heard the figure of 66,000 season ticket holders. This season 57,000. Boycott or no boycott. Next season that figure will likely drop. Glazers plan is out in the open and people don't like it.

    One thing I don't like is Harris telling us to give them up now, in a very unorganised way. He should come out in a big press conference with detailed plans, saying boycott etc, we will defo put a bid in, MUST will be given 25% of the club, show who some of the reds knights are. One thing he should do is say if you give up your ticket you'll get it back once we've taken over. Something along those lines. I believe that's what you Rob and others would be looking for. It believe the timing isn't right yet.

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  5. You are Glazer's puppet by paying him to go to OT everyweek. You have been paying him for 5 years and that hasn't helped get him out. Why not try decreasing his revenue by not going to games to see if that gets him out.

    Daytrippers will not pick up season tickets. That is a FACT. The office was calling people trying to get them to TAKE season tickets this year because people didn't want them. How that will lead to 76,000 (not 78,000) daytrippers suddenly buying season tickets this year is beyond me.

    Wearing green and gold is easy but when it comes down to taking the bigger steps to get Glazer out of this club people have to be willing to sacrifice. Hopefully you will be on board.

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  6. You call for devaluing of the club? The only way a club will be devalued is if ticket sales take a hit.

    As for season ticket holders being replaced by tourists? Doubtful, this season average attendances have been lower than a long time, most game now go on general sale, there is no waiting list for season tickets anymore. Season ticket numbers have dropt from 65,000 to about 52,000.

    Buying tickets and not turning up gives them money, buying tickets and shouting, still gives them money. Glazers don't care if we call for them to die, they will care if they don't get a few millions in there pockets.

    The Glazers won't turn round and sell just because we call them a few nasty names, The Glazers will only sell when there revenues take a hit and money is not going into there pockets.

    And this is the point of Harris calling for a boycott. Because at the moment, The Glazers won't sell, they have no need to sell. There has been at least two bids for the club since he's came in and both have been rejected. So he won't just turn around and sell no for no reason. Hitting his pockets, will make him far more likely to sell. It's not about the Red Knights not having the cash, it's about getting the Glazers into a position where they want to sell.

    I'm not saying people should give up tickets, it's incredible tough to stop watching your club. I just think you've completely missed the point Harris was trying to make.

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  7. Thank you! Finally someone talking sense, we all know that if we boycott our seasons, some muppet from Norway will take the tickets and not sing or get behind the team, this will not help the team, which is the opposite of what we want.

    I hope more people take your view, as the boycott seems to me to be an idea from people who have already given theirs up and regret it!

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  8. Chris..i think the main point is that people think that if every single season ticket holder gave their seats up then it would 'hit the Glazers where it hurts'..its a terribly naive outlook. Even though waiting lists have dwindled since the quadrant expansion they would still find ways to sell seats..if not a sell out they would still get near on 70,000 per game. The way to hurt the Glazers is to intensify the protest, utilise the press and damage the value of the United brand..this will destroy sponsorships with the club and the Glazers would be scared to death. Its a long term strategy but it will work

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