WAR IS INEVITABLE
Another day another dollar, as one of America's most powerful sports moguls, Malcolm Glazer, is revealed as the name behind a mystery 2.9% stake in United.
Peter Kenyon is starting to sound like Tony Blair; in public Blair denies that war against Iraq is inevitable yet it is an open secret that the armed forces are on a war footing and preparations for battle are well under way. Similarly Peter Kenyon continues to insist that there is no attempt to takeover United but it would be a serious mistake if behind United’s glass façade Kenyon and the board were not preparing themselves for a bidding war.
In both the war on Iraq and United’s looming take over battle a clearer view of the immediate future can only be gained from an American perspective. As Bush and his hawks circle the United Nations Security Council, the thermals generated by the hot air of frenzied City speculation has attracted the vultures to M16.
If the Coolmore Mafia do have any designs on United they now have some seriously interested parties other than supporters. In the last few weeks alone Coolmore and Sky have been joined by Dutch billionaire television tycoon Jon De Mol and now Glazer the owner of NFL team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Red Issue has reported the increasing share activity of recent months could eventually lead to an all out takeover bid and it is hard to believe that Kenyon and the board are as blasé in private as they appear to be in public.
Jonathan Michie, chairman of the Shareholders United has shown more concern: "We think there's a danger of a takeover bid. We would be understandably suspicious and worried and would want to know what the plans are. We would be worried that it could lead to asset-stripping. In the past, that has been a reason for people to buy football clubs."