Manchester United Still Scoring

In the wake of yesterday’s announcement that the Manchester United board have accepted BSkyB’s takeover offer (see Newsline), there were angry fans at yesterday’s match at the Old Trafford between its team and Charlton. The decision of the club’s chief executive, Martin Edwards and the rest of the board, to sell the club has led to accusations that they have betrayed fans, a charge Edwards denied at yesterday’s press conference (see Newsline).

In an open letter to Manchester United fans, the media giant assured those opposed to the buy-out that it would not mean that Manchester United games will only be available on pay-per-view television, and that ‘BSkyB are going to let Manchester United be Manchester United. It is not just a business, it is part of the cultural fabric of Manchester and the nation. That is why we will make sure that the current management is left to get on with running the most successful club in the country.’

Unperturbed by all the fuss, Manchester United crushed Charlton with a 4-1 win at last night’s game.

On a lighter note, Channel 5 is running a promotional campaign for its own football coverage which takes the mickey out of BSkyB’s imminent acquisition of Manchester United. The radio campaign features an Australian boss whose stock response to all suggested products or groups is “Buy It!”. The punchline to the ad is “We’d rather buy the games than the clubs!” and there are plans for them to be run in The Sun, The Evening Standard and The Mirror.

BSkyB: 0171 705 3000 Channel 5: 0171 550 5555