Why The Red Knights would be a billion times better than the Glazers for United fans

By David Anderson in Mirror Football Blog

Published 14:31 02/03/10

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Rival fans have often joked about the number of Manchester United fans who live in Surrey's stockbroker belt and speak with posh accents.

But having so many rich and powerful supporters living and working in London could prove key in the battle to oust the Glazers.

These self-styled Red Knights, made up of big hitters in the City in the worlds of finance, law and advertising, are determined to buy out the Glazers and end their detested rule at United .

They see themselves as knights in shining armour, riding to Old Trafford to rid the club of that dragon Malcolm Glazer and his lacky sons.

They are wealthy, well-connected United fans and are some of the most influential figures in the City.

Their unofficial leader is Jim O'Neill, Goldman Sachs' chief economist and a former non-executive director at United.

The group's most high-profile member is merchant banker and dealmaker Keith Harris, who has been involved in several football takeovers.

Also on board is leading City figure Mark Rawlinson, a partner in the legal firm Freshfields, who hosted yesterday's meeting at his Fleet Street office.

Others involved include Paul Marshall, a partner at the hedge fund Marshall Wace, and Richard Hytner, a leading executive at advertising giants Saatchi & Saatchi.

Their plan is to get as many United fans on board as possible to raise the £1billion plus needed to tempt the Glazers into selling.

They accept that the unpopular US-based family do not want to sell because United is such a high-yielding cash cow for their business interests across the Atlantic, but they believe the can be persuaded to sell.

Key to this strategy are fans group Manchester United Supporters Trust and their effective "green and gold" campaign to drive the Glazers out.

Their campaign is one strand of the Red Knights' grand plan and they hope the fans' pressure could force the Glazers to the negotiating table.

In addition to persuading the Glazers to sell, the Red Knights' other big problem is raising the cash to buy them out.

Harris claims this won't be a problem with their contacts, but they might need in excess of £1.5billion to pay off the Glazers and United's huge debt.

"The Red Knights are a number of people," said Harris. "They are people in senior positions with financial services, who have access to capital and have some influence. This is serious. We don't just have support in our hearts, but the ability to muster it from our pockets to get after this.

"We hope there would be enough money to clear the debts and show the Glazers they can take a profit and go after five years and put the ownership of the club into more caring hands."

If Harris and his pals succeed, United would overnight go from being run like a closed dictatorship to being the most democratic club in the Premier League - in theory at least.

Any fan who invested would have a say in the ruling of this new Barcelona by the Irwell with the Red Knights filling at least some of the seats on the new board.

In reality, though, the club would revert to what it was like as a plc.

Sure, fans would have a stake and could attend the AGM, but the controlling power would rest with the big institutions who invested in the Red Knights.

For most supporters, though, this would still be a million times better than the hated absentee landlords the Glazers.

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