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From MUST Press Release:
'Share Liverpool FC' was today launched with the aim of raising £500m to buy-out American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett by persuading 100,000 fans to each pay £5,000.
MUST, with 32,000 members, is the largest Supporters Trust in the country and began campaigning for supporter ownership during the failed BSkyB bid in 1998-99.
Since the bitterly-opposed hostile takeover of United by the Glazers in 2005, which brought with it vast levels of debt and hugely inflated ticket price rises, fans at all clubs are waking up to the fact that something needs to be done now or we risk losing our national game forever.
MUST chief executive Duncan Drasdo said:
"This is bound to spark fierce competition between the two sets of rival fans.
"We've been working on our own plans, which we'll reveal later in the season. But, whilst we believe that supporter-led bids for any of the big clubs are likely to require a mixture of investment bank finance and money raised directly from fans, we'll be watching this latest scheme with great interest.
"There is a huge financial dividend that flows from supporter-ownership, and we'd hate to see Liverpool being able to take advantage of it before we can at United."
Supporters everywhere should be greatly encouraged that, in an interview with the Observer last Sunday, the newly appointed Culture & Sport Secretary, Andy Burnham MP said that: "The Barcelona model, to me, is how a football club should be run. They are one of the most pre-eminent names in world football, yet the club is owned by its supporters on a one-member, one-vote basis and they control it. That strengthens it because it's never subject to the whim of one person; it's a collective endeavour. English football should see that as a big strength. I'd love to see if we could grow the Barcelona model here."
Drasdo continued:
"Supporter-ownership has a great many advantages, especially when compared to the rash of exploitative, profit-draining, debt-laden and out-of-touch regimes that we've seen pervading football in recent times.
"First and foremost, a supporter-owned club is able to re-invest all profits back into the football club, rather than seeing it being siphoned off by private owners - whether to pay interest on loans, finance their other businesses, or simply buy bigger yachts. Currently, at United, that represents a £70m windfall that could be spent on players.
"Secondly, the increased affinity between 'customer' (supporter) and 'provider' (club) makes the business more attractive to sponsors, as has been demonstrated in Germany, where supporter-ownership is the norm.
"With supporters' priorities placed at the heart of everything a club does, the experience for the loyal match-going fan in particular would be greatly enhanced, leading to an improved atmosphere inside grounds - benefiting fans and players alike.
"The bottom line is simple: supporters are currently paying for these takeovers anyway, through increased ticket prices and the like, but will end up with nothing to show for it. So it makes far more sense for us to own the clubs ourselves."
See also: Share Liverpool FC
From Sporting Life:
A publication from the MUST, due to be released on Monday, claims the interest payments of the Old Trafford club have increased by £28million this year.
It also maintains increased TV revenue and money from a new shirt sponsorship deal with AIG is being used to service debts.
However, a Glazer family spokesman dismissed the report on Sunday, saying: "The story is inaccurate. Nothing has changed.
"The debts continue to be comfortably serviced by the business, which is performing better than ever.
"As always there have been substantial funds for the manager to purchase players over the summer."
MUST, though, stand by their claims, and urged for more open scrutiny of the club's financial situation.
A statement from MUST read: "The Glazers' claim that "nothing has changed" is laughable. Why then were they forced to cancel plans to refinance some of the debt this summer? Have interest rates not gone up? Has the global credit crunch not begun to bite?
"The Glazers' debt is tied into LIBOR [the London Interbank Offered Rate], and if the economics of the world change, then debt changes.
"Furthermore, our calculations are based on the Glazers' own refinancing documents of 2006, which were signed by Joel Glazer himself. If they wish to dispute the figures, then let them open up the books to independent scrutiny.
"Let the Glazers bring their own figures out and we would be happy to be proved wrong and for the club to be shown to be less debt-laden than we think it is."
The statement continued: "The facts are simple: there is a vast debt of £660m hanging over the club, which carries with it vast interest rates and annual repayment demands of up to £100m, whilst ticket prices have risen astronomically in each of the last three seasons under the Glazers.
"Money for players has either been offset by sales, or has had payment schedules spread way into the future, with little money offered up front."
The statement concluded: "The team did wonderfully last season, and we're delighted, but sticking our heads in the sand about what's happening off the pitch would do a grave disservice to those marvellous efforts."
United have spent heavily since the end of last season, recruiting Owen Hargreaves, Carlos Tevez, Nani and Anderson, and Sir Alex Ferguson has not been restricted in the transfer market since the Glazers completed their £790m takeover in 2005.
United fans have been hit with up to a 14% rise in ticket prices this season and season ticket holders have had to join the club's compulsory automatic cup scheme, which ups the overall cost and increased financial strain of continuing to follow the Red Devils in all competitions.
But the club has to fund rising player salary demands and keep stars like Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand at Old Trafford.
The Trust report claims that the Glazer family "continue to face an extraordinary and growing debt problem".
The report states that since last year's refinancing, United and the Glazers have been faced with "a series of interest rate rises which have increased the annual debt service bill from £62m a year on the total debt of £660m.
"The interest bill is currently an annualised £100m-plus, of which £73m is payable this year and the other £27m in the future - a ticking debt time-bomb."
Speculation has emerged over recent weeks of potential buyers for United based in China and Dubai, but the Glazers have stressed that they have no interest in selling and are completely committed to the club.
See also: The independent Manchester United supporters trust
