NO FUDGE PLEASE

Last updated : 28 March 2005 By editor

SU spokesman Sean Bones has warned the board that refusing to reject Glazer’s next bid outright will not be tolerated, "That would be a fudge of the highest order. Of course, this would be in no way acceptable to United supporters. If a similar aggressive bid by Glazer was not rejected by the board, their position in the eyes of supporters would be untenable.

"However, it's a very grey area as JP Morgan, who are the bankers providing the backing for the bid, pride themselves on never supporting a hostile bid. If the board fudge the issue and leave it up to the shareholders, does this make the Glazer bid hostile?"

Bones also re-iterated the reasons behind the opposition to the bid, "It is not surprising when you weigh up the implications. Fans are not stupid. We can see what happened to Leeds United with £100m of debt, and yet this takeover would run up levels of debt five times as high as that. And even if Glazer cleared that debt over the next five years, it would simply leave him in charge of the club, with the supporters owning nothing."