www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Mon Sep 07 GMT+00:00 1998
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. ***WEEKLY STATMAIL*** ISSUE 4: 6th Sept 1998
2. Man Utd confirms in talks with BSkyB
3. SKY CONFIRM TALKS OVER MAN UTD
4. DOC FEARS FOR UNITED'S HEALTH
5. What Happens Next (TeamTalk)
6. Bskyb takeover
7. Blomqvist & Cruyff Reports
8. Ireland v Croatia - a view from the East Stand
9. BBC: Supporters shirty about kit
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Daily RED Trivia Monday 7th September 98:
1895: Walter Cartwright made his debut against Crewe Alexandra, his former
club. Cartwright played in every position, including in goal, and amassed 257 games
and 8 goals in a spell with the club lasting from 1895-1905.
1957: United beat Leeds United 5-0 at Old Trafford in a Division 1 game watched
by 50,842. Johnny Berry 2, Tommy Taylor 2 and Dennis Viollet scored for the
Reds. Team was: Wood, Foulkes, Bryne, Colman, Blanchflower, Edwards, Berry,
Whelan, Taylor, Viollet, Pegg.
********************************
Next 4 games:
Index: http://www.red11.org/mufc/fix9899z.htm
Wed 9/9 Charlton (H) PL Wed 16/9 Barcelona (H) CL
Sat 12/9 Coventry (H) PL Sat 20/9 Arsenal (A) PL
Republic Of Ireland 2 V 0 Croatia (Latest)
United's Denis Irwin and Roy Keane were named in Mick McCarthy's side for
this afternoon's European Championship qualifier in Dublin.
Denis Irwin opened the scoring from the penalty spot, Roy Keane making it
2-0 when he latched on to McAteer's cross.
This weeks survey:
Who will be UNITED's leading scorer this season?
Choices are: Cole Giggs Sheringham Solskjaer Yorke
Vote now at: http://www.red11.org/miva/survey.mv
You get an "INSTANT UPDATE" on how the vote is going
UNITED Stats v Barcelona are here:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/vsbarcelona.htm Url
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/vsbarcelona.xls Excel File
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
"Click on pic for Fergies All-Time Signings!"
Subject: list: ***WEEKLY STATMAIL*** ISSUE 4: 6th Sept 1998
*** FIXTURES ON 08/09/98 ***
Leeds United v Southampton
Nottingham Forest v Everton
*** FIXTURES ON 09/09/98 ***
Aston Villa v Newcastle United
Chelsea v Arsenal ***Sky sports TV
Derby County v Sheffield Wednesday
Leicester City v Middlesbrough
Liverpool v Coventry City
Manchester United v Charlton Athletic
Tottenham Hotspur v Blackburn Rovers
West Ham United v Wimbledon
*** FIXTURES ON 12/09/98 ***
Aston Villa v Wimbledon
Charlton Athletic v Derby County
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest
Everton v Leeds United
Leicester City v Arsenal
Manchester United v Coventry City
Newcastle United v Southampton
Sheffield Wednesday v Blackburn Rovers
West Ham United v Liverpool
*** FIXTURES ON 13/09/98 ***
Tottenham Hotspur v Middlesbrough
*** CONDENSED LEAGUE TABLE AS AT 30/08/98 ***
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
---------------------------------------------------------
1 Liverpool 3 2 1 0 6 2 4 7
2 Aston Villa 3 2 1 0 4 1 3 7
3 Nottingham Forest 3 2 0 1 4 3 1 6
4 Charlton Athletic 3 1 2 0 5 0 5 5
5 Wimbledon 3 1 2 0 4 2 2 5
6 Arsenal 3 1 2 0 2 1 1 5
7 Leeds United 3 1 2 0 2 1 1 5
8 West Ham United 3 1 2 0 1 0 1 5
9 Leicester City 3 1 1 1 4 3 1 4
10 Blackburn Rovers 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
11 Coventry City 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
12 Sheffield Wednesday 3 1 0 2 3 2 1 3
13 Derby County 3 0 3 0 1 1 0 3
14 Tottenham Hotspur 3 1 0 2 2 6 -4 3
15 Manchester United 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2
16 Middlesbrough 3 0 2 1 2 4 -2 2
17 Newcastle United 3 0 2 1 2 5 -3 2
18 Chelsea 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1
19 Everton 3 0 1 2 0 3 -3 1
20 Southampton 3 0 0 3 2 9 -7 0
Produced by:
E-mail: statmail@iname.com
ICQ UIN: 4358182
Homepage: http://www.graphite.demon.co.uk/
MUFC Hon. Executive CP Cheah
Webmasters: Barry Leeming & Bill McArthur
Graphics: Sam Hayward Stats: Paul Hinson
Site Design Diana Low
Webmaster Mail: barry@www.red11.org
Url: http://www.red11.org
World of Manchester United Football Club.
"Click on pic for Fergies All-Time Signings!"
Subject: Man Utd confirms in talks with BSkyB
LONDON, Sept 6 - Manchester United * soccer club
confirmed on Sunday it was in discussions with satellite broadcaster BSkyB
* on a possible takeover of the club.
"The board of Manchester United has noted the recent press speculation regarding
the company and confirms that it is in discussions with British Sky Broadcasting
Group plc which may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company. A
further announcement will be made in due course," a statement issued on behalf of
the club said.
A Manchester United spokesman said any decision taken by the club would be
taken in the interests of the shareholders, the supporters, the players and the staff.
"Click on pic for Fergies All-Time Signings!"
Monday 07 September 1998
Subject: SKY CONFIRM TALKS OVER MAN UTD
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB have confirmed they are in talks to
buy Manchester United - a move that could change the face of football
forever.
If Murdoch is given the opportunity to hand over a cheque, estimated at
£575million, to take a controlling interest at Old Trafford, the
shockwaves would reverberate around the world's most popu
lar team sport.
In a statement, the satellite TV company said: "The Board of British
Sky Broadcasting Group Plc has noted the recent press speculation, and
confirms that it is in discussions which may or may not lea
d to an offer being made for Manchester United Plc."
United are due to make an announcement to the City on Monday
morning, when they are expected to outline the latest developments.
Murdoch's purchase would render discussions over future Premier
League television contracts meaningless, would almost certainly
hasten the arrival of a European Super League and throw the national
in stitution that is Manchester United
into chaos.
Fans, former managers and government ministers were among those lining up
to condemn the possible takeover, while nervous mandarins from the
Football Association and Premier League await further deve
lopments.
Sports Minister Tony Banks said: "There are clear implications here
that make me feel that this can't be treated as if it were just a normal
takeover of one publicly quoted company by another.
"We must look very carefully at the way media companies are allowed to
buy up football clubs. The commercial implications are fairly profound."
"Click on pic for Fergies All-Time Signings!"
Sunday 06 September 1998
Subject: DOC FEARS FOR UNITED'S HEALTH
Former Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty says the heart will be
ripped out of the club for many fans if Rupert Murdoch's proposed bid to
buy the club goes through. Murdoch is set to spend up to
£575million to buy the Old Trafford giants, and the media magnate's
BSkyB, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph, has already
negotiated a cash deal with United chairman Martin Edwards, who is
said to be selling his 14% stake in the club for £80million.
Docherty said the supporters would never forgive Edwards if he did sell
out, and that he felt that with the increased possibility of a European
Super League, the Australian-born media tycoon may not
stop at United.
"Once Murdoch gets hold of the club he will no longer have to negotiate
with the Premier League over the introduction of pay-per-view," said
Docherty.
"They were obviously having problems with the European Super League so
they had to find a way of resolving the problem. But I don't think he
will stop there, I think he might try to get hold of anoth
er couple of top clubs yet."
Docherty envisages a day when fans will be a thing of the past, with
players plying their trade in front of a purely corporate audience.
"Everything will be geared towards television, there will be no fans
sitting in the stands, they will all behind glass entertaining their
business clients. The game has already moved away from the tr
ue fans and this type of thing just dilutes the passion even more," he
said.
"If this deal goes through I would no longer support the club because from
a football point of view it just wouldn't be the same.
"Martin Edwards is not a football man and never has been. He has already
made a lot of money selling shares and good luck to him but I don't
think the fans would ever forgive for selling out to Murdo
ch."
Docherty concluded: "That club is worth £1billion and for Murdoch to
get his hands on it would be like winning the Lottery."
"Click on pic for Fergies All-Time Signings!"
Subject: What Happens Next (TeamTalk)
What Happens Next
United fans have been warned what to expect this week over the prospective
buyout of the club by Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB - just look at recent American
sports history.
The Aussie-born tycoon took control of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball club
last year amid frenzied denials of any involvement.
The current takeover saga looks like running along similar lines at the
moment after the present round of comments claiming the reports to be pure
speculation.
Murdoch's US TV arm Fox Sports eventually did the deal and the proceeded to
shake-up the mediocre ball club and it's fans by abandoning all links with
tradition and trading it's best player.
The Dodgers moved to a new stadium and traded slugger Mike Piazza to a rival
after the star refused to sign a contract extension, upsetting fans from day
one.
It is unlikely that there will be such wholesale changes should Murdoch's
money gain control at Old Trafford but the portents are there for all to
see.
United's plc decision makers have become increasingly removed from the fans
over the last few seasons which has seen some strange things happen.
Take, for example, how United could launch a European home kit for the
Champions' League in the same year of the 40th anniversary of Munich and
include white socks in the kit, when United's traditional black socks were
first introduced as a Munich tribute.
But questions will surely arise about how long this deal has been on the
table with indications now emerging that the Brokers, Goldman Sachs, have
been working on the deal for several months.
Martin Edwards has been steadily offloading his stock in the club since the
flotation in 1991 while rumours mounted that he wanted to get out via the
back door.
Tommy Doherty summed up the view of most fans on Edwards today when he said:
"He would sell his own grandmother if he thought he could get a good price."
"Click on pic for Fergies All-Time Signings!"
Date: Sun, 06 Sep 1998 17:44:09 -0700
From: walker@mail.bogo.co.uk (john walker)
Subject: Bskyb takeover
I like the idea of the takeover by bskyb.
It seems obvious that the future of football is closely linked to global
media and communications, so who better to be partners with than bskyb?
Ok, the ideal situation would be for united to be owned by thousands of
small shareholders with a board which is 100 per cent obsessed with
manchester united football club. it's nearly so at present, 22 per cent of
the shares are held by 'small shareholders', but the board has always
seemed to be fattening up the club for a takeover. it's always seemed to be
likely that we would be bought...if we have to be bought, then I can think
of no better purchaser than bskyb. their expertise in the media world is to
our benefit. their economic clout will be to our benefit. this company can
make governments sit up and listen, never mind the idiots and abus at the
fa.
There is a brave new world dawning. football has changed so much over the
last 5 or 10 years, but this is only the beginning! in 5 years time the
organisation of football will be vastly different to the way it is now. the
recent euro super league talks are only the start. if the talks fail then
uefa will at least reorganise and make concessions, if the talks are
succesful...either way we will need some backing to compete with clubs like
juventus, milan and barcelona. they keep telling us that we are the richest
club in the world, but this is only because they only take into account our
earnings as a football club. juve are backed by fiat...milan by berlusconi
and his satellite tv company...if they want to they can just stick their
hand in their pocket and come up with countless millions that we as a
football club cannot afford. if we are backed by bskyb we can compete. we
will be there when decisions are made, the decisions which will affect how
the game is run for the next decade and beyond.
One good indication of how good this deal is for us, is that it has truly
pissed off just about everyone else! this deal puts us in our rightful
position of being able to dictate to everyone else just how we want the
game to be organised. for too long little clubs like chelsea, coventry,
leicester, villa have been exerting an undue influence over our operations.
uefa and the fa dreams up restrictions to stop us growing as we should. why
should they be allowed to stop us recruiting youngsters from wherever we
can? why should we be restricted to the number of 'foreign' players we had
in our team. the bskyb deal will give us the power to develop in the way
our popularity gives us the right to.
Small clubs rely on us for a large part of their revenue, the fa and
premier league rely on united for any credibility, and uefa rely on the big
clubs like united, bayern, milan, juve, real, barcelona...why should they
dictate to us how we operate? these people are not the custodians of some
corinthian ideal, they are just ripping us off and restricting us in their
own interest.
Closer to home, bskyb will want old trafford to remain at the forefront of
stadia, and will want the best players and staff at old trafford.
On the negative side...if they don't get us they'll move on to arsenal or
liverpool...we'll be left behind to be bought later by a lesser 'player'
someone like granada.
If we have to be sold, and sooner or later that looks likely, then I hope
this deal goes ahead quickly with bskyb.
glory glory man united :)
no copyright
"Click on pic for Fergies All-Time Signings!"
Subject: Blomqvist & Cruyff Reports
Here are some interesting stuff from the Manchester Evening News' The Pink.
Colin
Extracts from the article
Jesper Look Class in The Manchester Evening News The Pink By Chris Butler.
Jesper Blomqvist will quickly become a darling of the Old Trafford faithful
if his first appearance in a red shirt for Manchester United is anything to
go by.
United fans have always had a soft spot for wingers and the Swedish
international looks set to join the ranks of the wide men whom they have
taken into their hearts.
His jinking runs down the left wing caused Villa constant unease and his
excellent vision set up several openings for his fellow attackers.
Tricky footwork, an enthusiasm for taking on defenders, and a huge appetite
for running with the ball, had the fans drooling in the stands in
anticipation of what's in store when he returns to full fitness.
The Dutch international Jordi Cruyff was in eye catching form with a series
of darting runs into the Villa area which had the visitors' rearguard
scampering to cover.
He was a real handful and the abundance of talent which he undoubtedly
possesses shone through like a beacon.
Cruyff hasn't had the best of fortune since joining from Barcelona two
years ago, but a few more displays like this and he will be knocking loudly
on the first team dressing room door once again.
Although he didn't score, he was involved hugely in three of the goals as
the reserves cruised to their first success of the new season.
Report on the Reserves match with Everton from The Manchester Evening News
The Pink: Jesper chews up the Toffees. (No Author)
Everton Res. 0 Man U Res. 2
Jesper Blomqvist's route back to full fitness took him on the short journey
along the M62 to Goodison Park this afternoon.
The Swedish raider, who impressed on his reserve debut against Villa at Old
Trafford in midweek caught the eye again.
He completed a full 90 minutes and his surging runs set up a goal for
Jonathan Greening. More wizardry forced the Everton defence into strong-arm
tactics.
He was taken out three tomes in the opening 10 minutes, with the third
offender Gavin McCann being booked. McCann was later sent off for a second
bookable foul on Michael Clegg. Bright young striker Mark Wilson, who
scored twice in midweek, again looked lively as he tested Paul Gerrard, the
former Oldham keeper, and hit the bar from 30 yards.
United took a firm grip on the match with goals in the opening 10 minutes
of the second half. Jordi Cruyff grabbed the first, in the 51 minute, with
a delicate chip over Gerrard after clever work by Greening. Three minutes
later it was Blomqvist who crowned a fine run by setting up Greening for a
simple tap in after the Everton defence, including former Red, John O'Kane
had failed to clear.
X-Mailer: Calypso Version 2.40.40
Date: Sat, 05 Sep 1998 21:05:37 -0400
From: "William McArthur"
To: barrylee@post3.tele.dk
Subject: BBC: Supporters shirty about kit
As the football season kicks off many fans will be considering stumping up the cash for that badge ofloyalty - their team's new home shirt.
Replica kits are big business and it seems that many teams - especially those in the Premier League - change their shirts with alarming frequency.
At roughly £40 a throw for an adult's shirt it can prove
costly for the dedicated follower of football fashion.
Kevin Monks, of the Football Supporters Association,
says: "Clubs could bring out a new kit a week if they
wanted. It's all done to fleece the fans and to make as
much money as possible from the supporters."
BBC News online carried out a survey and found that just
over half of the teams in the Football Association's
Carling Premiership League are changing their home
shirts this year.
Most of the clubs said they like to keep home shirts for
two seasons.
Frequent changes
The FA is unwilling to set out strict rules governing the
number of strips a club introduces, but it says clubs are
discouraged from frequently redesigning their strips.
But although many clubs do abide by the unofficial two
season rule for home shirts, some like Newcastle United
change their away kits yearly. Others like Manchester
United have third and fourth kits which are also
frequently updated.
Kevin Monks says he would like to see each team
restricted to just two kits.
But the frequency of kit changes is only half the story.
The high cost of replica kits can also be a financial drain.
The Office of Fair Trading is currently investigating the
cost of kits. It has written to all 20 clubs following
complaints from shops that they are under pressure from
suppliers to keep prices high.
The OFT says it has evidence that some football clubs
are putting pressure on manufacturers and distributors to
withold supplies from shops selling replica kits at a
discount.
Retailers have been urged to blow the whistle on
offenders.
Supermarket challenge
Price fixing is also being attacked by the supermarket
giant Tesco, which is now selling Manchester United and
Liverpool home strips for 25% less than the
recommended club price.
The Man Utd home shirt is the most expensive in the
Premiership and will set you back hefty £45 from the
club shop.
But Tesco will sell you one (while stocks last) for £33 -
and a child's shirt for £25, an £8 saving over club
prices.
The supermarket was denied official supplies from brand
owners and so sourced the strip entirely outside the UK
on the European 'grey' market.
But fans of other teams will have to continue to fork out
for their shirts.
There is some good news for Charlton Athletic fans
though. In addition to their club being promoted last
season, their shirts are also the cheapest in the
Premiership.
But despite this, Addicks supporters are still paying for
their club's success. Last year when the team was in
the first division the shirts were £5 cheaper.
Bill McArthur
"There's only ONE United - Manchester United!"
"Click on pic for Fergies All-Time Signings!"
Pic Link today is http://www.red11.org/mufc/fergie.htm
Barry
J. Leeming Digest Prgram
by 
William
McArthur Canada
