Michael Knighton, who attempted to buy Manchester United 30-years ago, has said he and a consortium are in the process of making an offer to purchase the club from the Glazer family.
The Glazer family have been the club’s owners for 17 years and they are under pressure again to sell the club following a disappointing season and transfer window.
Fans protested the Glazers on Sunday ahead of the first game of the season – from Media City to Old Trafford.
Knighton has now confirmed that he is working on a bid – put together by his consortium – to push the Glazers out of town.
“We are a club in crisis and we all know the reason why,” Knighton told Man Utd The Religion. “We have an inept and frankly useless ownership who know little about this game of football.
“Everyone knows that we need new ownership of this football club and that is my aim and those are my objectives. I am making good progress, continuing to talk to the people, I have got some good pledges and good finance.
“We are now working on the offer document. Remember, it is a hostile bid – that simply means that the club isn’t officially for sale. But my intention is to present these owners with a legitimate, potent and commercial offer to say: ‘You have run out of road, it’s time go, because your time is up’.
“And frankly, the fans worldwide have had enough of this regime. The exciting feeling of a new season, which we all have, and that balloon of excitement that is there, it was all burst when we quickly saw the performance against Brighton. The club is in crisis and it will remain in crisis while we have this current ownership.”
Knighton added: “We need to rid our football club of this ownership as they have had their day, time has run out and we have had 17 years of disappointment, really. It is time for them to go.
“They have to stop drawing these huge dividends out of the club. We have to stop paying these huge debt servicing costs. It is time for them to sell.
“Putting this bid together, I don’t need to be the front person, I don’t need to be the spokesperson. I just want to see our Manchester United Football Club in the hands of proper football people with proper vision.
“We need to repair our stadium and put our club back where it belongs. We are in crisis and it won’t alter until they go.”
Hope he’s actually got the money this time. It will cost a bit more than the £20m he offered last time.
Fryingpan > Fire?