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| At thirteen, he failed the entrance exam for ], his parents' first choice, and went to Cokethorpe instead. He left at 18 with six ] and no ]. | At thirteen, he failed the entrance exam for ], his parents' first choice, and went to Cokethorpe instead. He left at 18 with six ] and no ]. | ||
| He was elected to the |
He was elected to the Manchester United board in March ] and became chairman in March 1980 when his father ] died. When the English ] voted to allow football clubs to have one paid director, he became ] and paid himself an annual salary of £30,000. | ||
| He had never shown much interest in football before inheriting the club, preferring to play rugby on Saturday afternoons until giving up through injury. He tried to sell United to ] in ] and to the property developer ] in ]. The sale to Knighton collapsed when he was unable to raise the funds to pay for the club, after being given access to the club's books. Knighton was still given a seat on the board, and sources at the time<!-- I know, I really need to find one. --> suggested that this was in exchange for keeping quiet about what he had seen in the books. | He had never shown much interest in football before inheriting the club, preferring to play rugby on Saturday afternoons until giving up through injury. He tried to sell United to ] in ] and to the property developer ] in ]. The sale to Knighton collapsed when he was unable to raise the funds to pay for the club, after being given access to the club's books. Knighton was still given a seat on the board, and sources at the time<!-- I know, I really need to find one. --> suggested that this was in exchange for keeping quiet about what he had seen in the books. | ||
Revision as of 08:12, 16 June 2005
Charles Martin Edwards (b. 24 July, 1945 in Adlington, Cheshire, England) was the chairman of Manchester United from 1980 until approximately 2000.
At thirteen, he failed the entrance exam for Stowe School, his parents' first choice, and went to Cokethorpe instead. He left at 18 with six O levels and no A levels.
He was elected to the Manchester United board in March 1970 and became chairman in March 1980 when his father Louis died. When the English Football Association voted to allow football clubs to have one paid director, he became Chief Executive and paid himself an annual salary of £30,000.
He had never shown much interest in football before inheriting the club, preferring to play rugby on Saturday afternoons until giving up through injury. He tried to sell United to Robert Maxwell in 1984 and to the property developer Michael Knighton in 1988. The sale to Knighton collapsed when he was unable to raise the funds to pay for the club, after being given access to the club's books. Knighton was still given a seat on the board, and sources at the time suggested that this was in exchange for keeping quiet about what he had seen in the books.
The club's other directors were furious at the way the attempted sale was handled and persuaded Edwards to float the club on the stock market. This raised significant funds at the time, but this had all been paid back as dividends by 1999 and has since cost the club millions of pounds every season. It hasn't had the stabilising effect that was hoped for, with the threatened takeovers by Rupert Murdoch and the Irish duo J.P. McManus and John Magnier and the leveraged buyout by Malcolm Glazer having had exactly the opposite effect, leading to large-scale protests and the threat of a breakaway club.
Reference
Crick, Michael & Smith, David (1989). Manchester United - The Betrayal of a Legend. Pan Books Ltd. ISBN 0-330-31440-8.
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