19/10/2010

MUST response to the news that Wayne Rooney may be leaving Manchester United

In response to the news that Wayne Rooney may be leaving Manchester United a MUST spokesperson said

"Like the vast majority of United supporters we are disppointed to hear the news that Rooney may be leaving and we still hold out hope that the situation can be resolved."

"We back Sir Alex's judgement as ever but our concern lies with the owners. They have saddled us with a huge debt and they are taking more and more money out of the club every season and the lack of net investment in the squad since they arrived is clear to all. They've bought players but are they like for like replacements in terms of the quality of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane and Cristiano Ronaldo?"

"Our  club is generating  record revenues yet it appears we are unable to compete even with small clubs like Manchester City let alone Chelsea, Madrid and Barcelona. We know where the money is going and it has to stop. The question being asked by many fans is does the ambition of the owners match that of Rooney or indeed Manchester United supporters? On the evidence so far it would appear the answer is clearly not."

"The contrast could hardly be starker between the owners at Manchester City who are pumping millions into their club while the Glazers are leaching huge amounts out of ours. People talk about players being greedy with multimillion pounds contracts but those figures pale into insignificance compared with the hundreds of millions the Glazers have extracted from Manchester United through their takeover."

"Fans have power - we've seen that with the Green & Gold movement which is growing in numbers once again and this can only fuel that growth. The Glazers rightly fear a backlash will damage their sponsorship revenues so fans should be contacting AON, Nike, Audi and the other sponsors asking them to put pressure on the Glazers to stop taking money out of the club and start to reinvest some of the millions they have already squandered. The sponsors have huge influence - but If they aren't part of the solution then they are part of the problem."

A protest march against the Glazers is planned before the Spurs game on 30th October with supporters gathering at Trafford Bar Metro (leaving 4.15pm) before marching from Old Trafford Cricket Ground at 5pm.

MUST - the Manchester United supporters' trust
164,131 MEMBERS STRONG
www.joinmust.org
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