On his appointment as Chief Executive Peter Kenyon promised he would make himself available to supporters and on Saturday he kept his promise and returned to Sam Platts before the Villa game to answer questions from members of Shareholders United. The size of the audience was smaller than that of the last couple of years with the lack of numbers and the sharpness of some the questioning indicating that SU members are getting tired of hearing the same old ‘it takes time to change things’ line trotted out previously.
SU members complained bitterly about the new away ticket distribution scheme and asked why the club had ignored the views of the fans’ forum who had voted that any new scheme should incorporate a loyalty factor. Kenyon insisted that the fans forum was only a consultative body and not a decision making body, he failed to explain why the club chose to ignore the views of these ‘consultants’.
The plc have rejected previous requests from SU for the appointment of a fans’ representative on the board on the grounds that it would be more appropriate for the shareholders group to have a seat on the Fans Forum. SU members on Saturday pointed out to Kenyon that a seat on the Fans Forum is worthless if the club continue to ignore the views of fans over such fundamental matters as ticketing.
Undeterred by plc arguments and bolstered by over two and half million shares (roughly one per cent of the total stock} Shareholders United believe that the time is now right to press for a supporters’ seat on the board and have submitted a resolution to this year’s AGM.
A second SU resolution calls for future AGMs to be held at a weekend so that more shareholders could attend. The plc board has rejected both requests.
SU chair Jonathan Michie said: "We feel double crossed. We have to expose them for what they have done and will do so at the annual meeting. While we would like to have both resolutions passed. They actually implied strongly to us that they were going to agree to weekend AGMs."
"They used that argument to get us to withdraw that resolution from the AGM the year before last. They admitted that basically there weren't any real objections, but then they double crossed us."
Paddy Harverson told the MEN that Shareholders United had got it wrong.
"At no point did the club agree to move the AGM. All we ever said was we would consider it, but concluded quite decisively that it is not in the best interest of all shareholders."
‘United argue a bigger venue would have to be found with increasing costs,’ reports the MEN and Harverson added: "There are serious practical difficulties in holding the AGM at a weekend, particularly around the need to schedule the meeting well before we know the fixture list. Our AGM is always well attended by more than 1,000 shareholders, and at no point has anyone other than Shareholders United requested we move it from a weekday to a weekend."
United's plc chairman Sir Roy Gardner has recommended shareholders vote against both resolutions which appear on the agenda for the AGM on November 15, adding: "All directors have a duty to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its members as a whole, rather than for the benefit of a minority group of shareholders. The Board is always willing to listen to the views of shareholders, supporters and other stakeholders."
And then ignore them!
The United AGM will be held at 11 am in the Manchester Suite in Old Trafford's North Stand on Friday, November 15.