Keith Harris calls for man utd fan boycott
Tue 23rd Feb 2010 | Clubs Ownership
Football finance expert Keith Harris has called for Manchester United fans to boycott matches as he plots a buy-out of the club according to football365.com.
Harris, a United fan who has been involved in several takeovers involving Barclays Premier League clubs, has previously claimed to have spoken to several interested parties as he attempts to put together a takeover proposal.
And he now says "getting the money together is the easy bit" and that fans must now "force" the Glazer family to sell the club.
Harris, the former Football League chairman, is executive chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce and began working on a possible takeover after being contacted by members of the Manchester United Supporters Trust.
MUST have recently launched a 'green and gold' campaign, with fans donning the colours in protest against the Glazer regime.
But Harris reckons they must be prepared to take further action.
He told the Daily Mail: "The green and gold protest is fabulous, a symbolic and significant message to the owners. But it won't force the Glazers to sell.
"If enough people - and I'm talking about thousands - stop turning up to matches and do not renew their tickets then that does it.
"The supporters have to hurt the Glazers in the pockets. They have to be prepared to take the pain of not watching their club in order to achieve long-term gain.
"It's a big ask, it's a risk, but that is what must happen. The Glazers are thick-skinned and seem impervious to protest. They will not be impervious to enormous drops in revenue."
Referring to his proposed takeover bid, he added: "I would not talk about this if I didn't have full confidence in our ability to raise the money to do this.
"Getting the money together is the easy bit. But we can't make an offer until the Glazers are placed in a position where they are forced to consider it."
Other groups are also reportedly plotting buyouts of the Manchester Club. Red Knights, a consortium of wealthy Man Utd fans are also considering the possiblity of a takeover and are trying to raise enough cash, though to be around £1bn tobuy the Glazers out.
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