On This Day – 18th August
Entrepreneur Michael Knighton was unveiled to Manchester United fans as their new owner latest ahead of the opening match of the 1989/90 season on this day back in 1989.
The businessman headed out onto the famous Old Trafford turf dressed in a full United kit and tracksuit ahead of their match against reigning champions Arsenal. Never one to hide away from the limelight, Knighton took a football out on the pitch, did a few keepie-uppies (quite skillfully it have to add) before blasting the ball into the empty net at the Stretford End.
The crowd were encouraged by the fact that Knighton was supposedly going to buy the club for £20 million, a record offered for an English football club at the time. He had also promised to invest £10 million on improving the stadium in the aftermath of the Taylor Report.
A contract was written up and signed for Knighton to buy United Chief Executive Martin Edwards’ 50.06% shares in the club. Two major financial backers dropped out of the agreement a few weeks after the publicity stunt and Knighton had to pull out of the deal. He did secure a seat on the United board though.
Three years later, Michael Knighton went on to buy Carlisle United of the Fourth Division. In his time at the club, Carlisle reached two Wembley finals (winning the Autoglass Trophy and losing the second) and were also promoted twice to the Second Division.
His time at the club ended on a sour note as he fired popular manager and former West Ham goalkeeper Mervyn Day and took over the role for over a year. The club began to plummet down the table when he was in charge and had to be saved from relegation on the final day of the 1998/99 season. A last-gasp winner from Jimmy Glass, a goalkeeper that they had signed on an emergency loan deal prevented them from dropping into non-league.
Knighton became increasingly unpopular with the Carlisle fans and finally found someone to take ownership of the club in the summer of 2002. It was definitely a turbulent ten years for the fans of Carlisle United and left Manchester United fans thinking that they were better off without the keepie-uppie chairman who so nearly took over back in 1989!
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