Manchester businessman Jim O’Neill joined the board yesterday but not as a direct replacement for the three directors voted off last week. It was announced at the AGM that the board were nearly ready to appoint a new director, and this was before Watkins, Anson and Yea were disposed of by the high-trousered yank. The Evening News quotes Sir Roy Gardner as saying: "We have been speaking to Jim for some time so I am delighted that he has accepted the offer to join the board.
"Jim is a first class businessman who brings with him an energy and commitment that few could match. His knowledge and experience will be a great asset to the Board in our future growth. We are delighted to have recruited such an able operator."
O'Neill, who starts on November 22, said: "It is a great privilege to be appointed to the board of Manchester United. I am very much looking forward to working with the board and the management team at this important time for the company."
The Guardian report in his links to Ferguson and, maybe more importantly, Coolmore:
‘O'Neill, 47, is a friend of Sir Alex Ferguson and knows the Irishmen JP McManus and John Magnier, whose Cubic Expression fund has a 29% stake in United.
‘He even offered to act as a mediator in the dispute between Ferguson and Magnier over the stud rights to the racehorse Rock of Gibraltar, having been concerned the affair was disrupting the club.
‘He is a United season-ticket holder, having played for Manchester schoolboys. The son of a nurse and postman, he grew up in the Gatley area of the city and in recent years has made substantial donations to Manchester schools and hospitals.’
According to the Guardian we should expect more appointments in the near future:
‘O'Neill's recruitment was already in progress before Glazer voted three United directors off the board at last week's annual meeting and the club is still looking for two more non-executives.
‘It is thought the chairman Sir Roy Gardner and chief executive David Gill have abandoned the idea of reappointing Maurice Watkins and Philip Yea, two of the victims of Glazer's hostile action.
‘However, the board is expected to try to reappoint the commercial director Andy Anson at some point. He joined only in February and is continuing to perform the same day-to-day job in a non-board capacity.’