Michael Knighton, who many remember for attempting a takeover of Manchester United in 1989, claimed this week that has put together a consortium to prepare a fresh bid to buy the club from the Glazer family.
The Glazers have been under pressure to sell the club for years – but Knighton has promised a hostile bid at a time it’s no secret that the family will never be able to build their trust with the supporters.
In an interview with Man Utd The Religion, released on Tuesday evening, Knighton said: “We are a club in crisis and we all know the reason why. 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 also appeared to hit out at the Fans’ Shame Scheme – stating that it favours the Glazers, which is an opinion that might surprise a few as MUST look to give United fans a voice in the running of the club.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it will be intriguing to see how quick Knighton can deliver his promise to fans.
This, of course, is 33 years on from his takeover attempts collapsed shortly after investors withdrew their support. That will lead to United fans questioning whether Knighton is serious or not this time around.
Knighton took to Twitter on Wednesday to hit out at trolls and naysayers but thanked other fans for their continued support.
The former businessman wrote: “Many thanks to ALL the brilliantly kind messages of support, this is really much appreciated. I apologise for taking time to tweet back & respond to individuals but the response has been truly massive. Ignore the trolls & naysayers, they will always be there, they make me smile.”
Many thanks for ALL the brilliantly kind messages of support,this is really much appreciated.I apologise for taking time to tweet back & respond to individuals but the response has been truly massive.Ignore the Trolls & nay sayers,they will always be there, they make me smile⚽️
— Michael Knighton (@RealMKnighton) August 10, 2022
Knighton also predicts more anti-Glazer protests in the near future, with one tipped before the next home game against Liverpool.
SN’s verdict
We are bound to have lots of questions. Who are the billionaires backing the bid? What are their intentions for the club long-term? Will they take dividends? Where is there money coming from? And many more.
But I think everyone can agree that we want rid of the Glazers
If Knighton can somehow find the money to do that, I wish him all the best.
People are going to doubt everyone – regardless of their background — until a serious bid is put forward. Even at that, it wasn’t enough for Knighton in 1989.
