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01/05/2023

MUST bulletin April - takeover, protest, FA Cups ...

Please find the April bulletin below from the Manchester United Supporters Trust. Coming up we have two FA Cup Finals to look forward to - a first for the Club - and we also have the ongoing and slow-moving saga of the sale (or is it a sale?) process.

The MUST-know (in this bulletin)

Final bids in for Club due today - Glazers need to accelerate and follow through with sale process
Members survey shows fans back our list of demands for new owners
MUST back protests organised for Villa game on Sunday - fans groups unite around “Full Sale” message
Train strikes announced for the Cup Final against City - huge inconvenience for fans likely

A long and winding road
It is now nearly six months since the Glazers initiated the process to sell the Club, and today is the latest of their artificial deadlines to seek to elicit higher bids than received so far.

Right now, most United fans are pretty frustrated by the whole process. When it began, back in November, our very first statement called for the Glazers to make sure the process was delivered as quickly as possible so that uncertainty over the ownership did not impair Erik Ten Hag’s rebuild plan. Yet with the transfer window about to get going again in earnest, and with as much uncertainty as ever over the future ownership, we are now in precisely the situation we most feared.

With new bids for the Club coming in today, and Erik needing a good transfer window to address the obvious deficiencies in our squad, our message to the Glazers is simple - be realistic on the valuation and GET ON WITH IT!!

Fans back MUST demands of new owners
Alongside our demand for pace, at the commencement of the process we also set out our principles of ownership for any prospective new owners. In broad terms these were - to set out a clear plan to back Erik and restore United back to the top; to demonstrate an investment plan for the teams and for the infrastructure; and show a commitment to run the Club in partnership with fans, avoiding the mistakes of the past.

Since then, more than 16,000 fellow Reds have responded to an online survey and we are pleased to report that this list of demands enjoys very widespread support.

You can see a brief summary of the results here, but overall the voice of fans is very clear and, dare we say, united. People want a plan based on real investment not new debt. People want owners who will only take money out when we’re a success on the field - or not at all. And 90% of us want regular share issuances to allow fans to buy a growing stake in the Club over time.

The bidders have been making the right noises but, as ever, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

Protests organised for Villa game on Sunday - fan unity breaks out!
You may have already seen plans for a protest prior to the Villa game on Sunday. What is very encouraging to see on this occasion is the spirit of unity. That is essential if fans are to maximise our influence. We were pleased to see the tweet of unity from the 1958 group, which included an acknowledgment of the efforts of all who have campaigned for ownership change - both those in the recent protests and those who campaigned from the beginning - and everyone in between. There was also a poignant reference to those campaigners who are sadly no longer with us. And in that comradely spirit the march will stop outside MUST, en route to Old Trafford to reflect that sentiment.

We welcome and applaud this gesture of unity and solidarity - nothing is more important than fan unity and many feel the loss of that unity was perhaps the worst result of the 2005 takeover and aftermath. We will work with other groups to ensure this outbreak of fan unity becomes long term, to the benefit of all our fans, and ultimately our football club itself.

The march (gathering from 11am) will leave The Old Nags Head at 11.45am and supporters are also expected to join along the route.

Train strikes announced for the Cup Final against City - huge inconvenience for fans likely
Finally, and bloody inconveniently, train strikes have been called for the day of the Cup Final against City. What to say, other than this will be a complete and utter nuisance for all fans planning to travel by rail.

Yesterday, we put out a statement stressing the impact this will have on the tens of thousands of supporters travelling down from Manchester to London on the day. We need all modes of transport available to cope with the level of demand and the railways are a key part of that.

We have called on the Government and the trade union to get round the table and find a way to avert this industrial action. We still have more than a month until the day - there is time for them both to sort this out but it needs to happen fast. A last minute truce will not leave time for services to be reinstated.

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Thanks for reading what once again feels like quite a long members newsletter.

Before the next newsletter, our women’s team play in their first ever FA Cup Final. They go with the support of all of us, and we know thousands will be travelling down to support them on the day. Make us proud, and bring the silverware back to Manchester!!

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Many thanks for your continued support

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