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| '''Michael Knighton''' is an English businessman |
'''Michael Knighton''' is an ] ] who is best known for his involvement in ] and ] ]s. | ||
| ==Early life== | |||
| Knighton grew up in ] and was a talented ] in his youth, and took on an apprenticeship with ] in 1965. He failed to make his mark there, however, and moved to ]. His dreams of playing football, however, were shattered when he ruptured a muscle in his ].<ref name="injury"> Knighton's early career, Retrieved ] ]</ref> After achieving a degree in ] at ], he briefly became a ], also receiving a ] coaching badge. He then moved into property trading, buying a number of properties in the ] and the ], basing himself in the latter.<ref>]</ref> | |||
| ==Manchester United Takeover== | |||
| '''LEGAL ACTION''' | |||
| In 1989 Knighton made a takeover of £20 million for Manchester United. At the time this was a record figure for a British football club and the offer was accepted by Chief Executive ].<ref> BBC News, Accessed ] ]</ref> Knighton promised to invest £10 million in ], the team's stadium and to help rebuild the club at which ] was ]. | |||
| The eminent London Law Firm David Price - Specialist Advocates in Media Law - in 1996 this Firm successfully won substantial libel damages for Knighton when they sued the Sunday Times Editors and Reed International Books for publishing their..."The Sunday Times Illustrated History of Football". In this publication, like so many others before them, they claimed, inter alia, that Knighton did not have the funds to Complete his £20m bid for Manchester United in August 1989. Evidence produced in the High Court in London proved to the Court that the publishers malicious and damaging claims were completely unfounded and untrue. Indeed, his lawyers demonstrated to the Court that not only did Knighton have the financial wherewithal to Complete the Takeover of Manchester United by buying all of Martin Edwards shares, further, the lawyers also proved that Knighton had sufficient financial clout to carry out the proposed development of the Stretford End of Old Trafford Stadium. ''(1)'' | |||
| Knighton appeared on the pitch at Old Trafford before a game dressed in a full Manchester United football kit to publicise the takeover. Famously, he showed off his football skills by completing a long series of skilful "kick ups".<ref> ], Accessed ] ]</ref> However, the deal eventually fell through,for reasons that cannot be published.<ref> Sportstar, Accessed ] ]</ref> In retrospect, the purchase could have been one of the business moves of the century; Manchester United went on to grow as part of the football boom of the 1990s and a bid from ]'s ] for £680 million was accepted in 1999 (though eventually blocked by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission); they were later sold for £790 million in 2005 to ]. | |||
| ==Carlisle United== | |||
| REF:''(1)'' Legal Archive: | |||
| After the Manchester United deal, Knighton went on to buy ], based in the ]n city of ] in 1992. At the time, they were in the bottom division of ] and Knighton set about building up the club who he claimed he could return to the top league of English football, the ] (Carlisle had previously played at that level in the ]).<ref> This is Lancashire, Accessed ] ]</ref> | |||
| David Price Solicitors and Advocates-Specialists in Media Law. | |||
| 21 Fleet St | |||
| London | |||
| EC4 Y1AA | |||
| +44 (0)2073539999 | |||
| enquires@lawyers-media.com | |||
| Initial success saw Carlisle win ] and achieve ] in 1995, as well as reaching the final of the ]; they were ] the following season but promoted back again to ] in 1997. In 1997 they also reached a second Football League Trophy final, beating ] on penalties. | |||
| THIS FIRM ARE RETAINED BY MICHAEL KNIGHTON TO PROTECT HIS REPUTATION FROM LIBELOUS STATEMENTS PUBLISHED BY ANY MEANS INCLUDING THE INTERNET | |||
| In 1996 Knighton was publicly mocked over his claims to have seen a UFO.<ref> UFOs over America, Accessed ] ]</ref> He claimed that he and his wife Rosemary had seen a UFO in 1976. The local newspaper, the "Carlisle News and Star", broke the story with the headline 'Knighton: Aliens Spoke To Me'. | |||
| After a poor start to the ], Knighton dismissed popular manager ] and took over the management and coaching of the team himself.<ref name="injury"/> The move proved unsuccessful, and Carlisle were relegated back to Division Three. He kept himself as head coach until December 1998, when he handed the job over to ]. Knighton remained chairman of the club, but no longer had the financial resources to achieve another promotion. Carlisle struggled in the bottom division, only avoiding relegation to the ] with a last-minute goal by ] ], in what is one of football's most famous comebacks.<ref> The Informer Online, Accessed ] ]</ref> | |||
| Knighton became increasingly unpopular with fans, who formed the 'United Trust' organization to protest against his control. Knighton attempted to sell the club in 2001 to ], but he eventually backed out of the deal. The fans instead backed John Courtenay to take over, but negotiations were protracted and Knighton fired manager ] for his comments over the deal. Eventually, after Carlisle were put into voluntary ], Courtenay purchased the club from Knighton in July 2002 and reinstated Collins.<ref> Accessed ] ]</ref> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| {{Carlisle United F.C. managers}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Knighton, Michael}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 05:24, 9 September 2007
Michael Knighton is an English businessman who is best known for his involvement in Manchester United and Carlisle United football clubs.
Early life
Knighton grew up in Derbyshire and was a talented footballer in his youth, and took on an apprenticeship with Everton in 1965. He failed to make his mark there, however, and moved to Coventry City. His dreams of playing football, however, were shattered when he ruptured a muscle in his thigh. After achieving a degree in physical education at Durham University, he briefly became a teacher, also receiving a FA coaching badge. He then moved into property trading, buying a number of properties in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, basing himself in the latter.
Manchester United Takeover
In 1989 Knighton made a takeover of £20 million for Manchester United. At the time this was a record figure for a British football club and the offer was accepted by Chief Executive Martin Edwards. Knighton promised to invest £10 million in Old Trafford, the team's stadium and to help rebuild the club at which Alex Ferguson was coach.
Knighton appeared on the pitch at Old Trafford before a game dressed in a full Manchester United football kit to publicise the takeover. Famously, he showed off his football skills by completing a long series of skilful "kick ups". However, the deal eventually fell through,for reasons that cannot be published. In retrospect, the purchase could have been one of the business moves of the century; Manchester United went on to grow as part of the football boom of the 1990s and a bid from Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB for £680 million was accepted in 1999 (though eventually blocked by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission); they were later sold for £790 million in 2005 to Malcolm Glazer.
Carlisle United
After the Manchester United deal, Knighton went on to buy Carlisle United, based in the Cumbrian city of Carlisle in 1992. At the time, they were in the bottom division of the Football League and Knighton set about building up the club who he claimed he could return to the top league of English football, the Premiership (Carlisle had previously played at that level in the 1974-75 season).
Initial success saw Carlisle win Division Three and achieve promotion in 1995, as well as reaching the final of the Football League Trophy; they were relegated the following season but promoted back again to Division Two in 1997. In 1997 they also reached a second Football League Trophy final, beating Colchester United on penalties.
In 1996 Knighton was publicly mocked over his claims to have seen a UFO. He claimed that he and his wife Rosemary had seen a UFO in 1976. The local newspaper, the "Carlisle News and Star", broke the story with the headline 'Knighton: Aliens Spoke To Me'.
After a poor start to the 1997-98 season, Knighton dismissed popular manager Mervyn Day and took over the management and coaching of the team himself. The move proved unsuccessful, and Carlisle were relegated back to Division Three. He kept himself as head coach until December 1998, when he handed the job over to Nigel Pearson. Knighton remained chairman of the club, but no longer had the financial resources to achieve another promotion. Carlisle struggled in the bottom division, only avoiding relegation to the Football Conference with a last-minute goal by goalkeeper Jimmy Glass, in what is one of football's most famous comebacks.
Knighton became increasingly unpopular with fans, who formed the 'United Trust' organization to protest against his control. Knighton attempted to sell the club in 2001 to Brooks Mileson, but he eventually backed out of the deal. The fans instead backed John Courtenay to take over, but negotiations were protracted and Knighton fired manager Roddy Collins for his comments over the deal. Eventually, after Carlisle were put into voluntary administration, Courtenay purchased the club from Knighton in July 2002 and reinstated Collins.
References
- ^ David Wilkes, Michael Knighton & John Halpin Knighton's early career, Retrieved May 22 2006
- ibid
- Man U Sold in Record Deal BBC News, Accessed May 22 2006
- Daydream believer The Spectator, Accessed May 22 2006
- United against Glazer Sportstar, Accessed May 22 2006
- Carlisle wanted Beardo on trial This is Lancashire, Accessed May 22 2006
- Soccer chief who saw UFO is under the moon UFOs over America, Accessed May 22 2006
- Working Glass Hero The Informer Online, Accessed May 22 2006
- United Trust History Accessed May 22 2006
| Carlisle United F.C. – managers | |
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