01.06.2010
Man Utd chief admits fan protests here to stay
Manchester United chief executive David Gill admits there is little chance of his club's supporters abandoning their highly-visible 'Green and Gold' protests against the Glazer family.
Supporters of Sir Alex Ferguson's team have taken to wearing green and gold scarves - the colours used by United's forerunners Newton Heath - to show their displeasure at the American owners, who have left the club saddled with massive debts of more than 500 million pounds.
There have also been protests outside Old Trafford, while the Red Knights - a group of wealthy United fans - have been trying to put together a takeover bid to buy out the Glazers.
A meeting is due to be held later this week between members of the Red Knights consortium, but the Glazer family have made it clear they are not interested in selling up at any price.
Gill does not think a sale to the Red Knights is either likely or a good idea, yet he knows full well that the green and gold campaign will be back to pose more embarrassment to the club next season.
"I don't think they will go away," Gill told Sky Sports News. "There is a protest movement there and a lot of people feel exercised by it and very passionate about it. That is one of the strengths of Manchester United.
"There were some comments last week that I was belittling the protest. That could not be further from the truth. We understand it and it will be there."
Even if the Glazers did want to sell, Gill believes a large group of investors, be they fans or not, would struggle to run the club effectively.
"But my experience of being at this club for 13 years and being involved in business before that, suggests that having a whole group of people running Manchester United would be difficult," he said.
Source: © 2010 AFP - Paul Ellis
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