LET BATTLE COMMENCE

A rival consortium last night declared war on US tycoon Malcolm Glazer's bid to
take control of Manchester United.

Former Football League chairman Keith Harris is heading a team of 'red knights' to wrestle the club from dollar billionaire Glazer.

And he has insisted that it can only succeed with the support of United's share-
owning fan base, who he believes have the power to make or break any deal.

Harris is asking the club's biggest shareholders John Magnier and JP McManus
to join a plot to scupper Glazer's plans once and for all.

The consortium wants the Irish racing tycoons to join with them and oust Glazer, with the possibility of buying him out.

To secure the support of the Irish duo, a radical overhaul of the way the club is
run has been mooted with sweeping changes at board level.

A new business structure to push the United brand and bring in extra profits is
also planned.

United captain Roy Keane's influential lawyer Michael Kennedy is now involved
in blocking the £700million takeover.

He is believed to be on "good terms" with Magnier and McManus and able to
open talks with the publicity-shy businessmen.

Magnier and McManus have been linked with a possible takeover bid themselves in the past.

But after protests about their row with Sir Alex Ferguson over ownership of
racehorse Rock of Gibraltar they are said, "not to want the grief".