A week is a long time in politics, so the saying goes. In football it can seem like an eternity. Only last week the fans of Manchester United Football Club were busy contemplating the start of the new season, perhaps wondering if this year they might make more of an impact on the European scene and win back the premiership title from last year's winners and London rivals, Arsenal.
On Sunday their lives were turned upside down by the appearance of Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB and its multi-million pound bid to buy their club. In the space of a few days that offer had increased from £575 million to the bid accepted by the Manchester United board this week of nearly £624 million and the seal was set on the deal of the millennium.
Or is it? The battle to wrest control of Manchester United Football club from the clutches of Murdoch's BSkyB is far from over if the fans of the club have anything to say about it. The financial institutions in the City of London, which hold nearly 60 per cent of the shares in the club, may have found it hard to turn down the opportunity of securing such huge returns on their investments, but a large number of the 20,000 or so individual fans who own shares and many that don't are bitterly disappointed that they might not be able to afford a ticket for the "Theatre of Dreams".
In the tradition of passionate supporters from smaller clubs like Southampton - who faced a takeover bid of their own a few years ago - a group of Manchester United fans led by the journalist, Michael Crick, have set up a group called Shareholders United Against Murdoch. The new lobby group is convinced that the sale of the club to Murdoch is anti-competitive and called on the Trade and Industry Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, this week to use his power to block the deal.
However, Labour's links with Murdoch, not least BSkyB's part-sponsorship of the controversial Millennium Dome in London, has raised the question of whether Mr Mandelson and Mr Blair will want to upset their friend by blocking the deal. And with the Sun firmly behind the Labour government, Mr Blair would not want to see embarrassing headlines there, either.
But as with all issues surrounding football, opinion is divided, even if the club in question is the envy of every other team in the premiership, and it is being purchased by a man some believe is intent on world domination through the media. Some will point to the fact that with Murdoch's financial clout behind it, Manchester United fans could be treated to the skills of Brazil's Ronaldo on a Saturday afternoon at the Old Trafford stadium. And surely the promotion of the beautiful game to millions of football fans in Asia and America is a good idea? If sport is for all and brings people of every nation together then it is worth pointing out that the BSkyB-Manchester United arranged marriage will benefit a much wider audience than their fans in the north-west of England.
On the other hand, a lot of their fans and a number of Labour politicians, including the Sports Minister, Tony Banks, have completely rational fears about the future of Manchester United and football as a whole now that Murdoch seems to have his hands on the most successful club in the English premiership.
The careful manipulation of Manchester United fans by the Murdoch-owned Sun and the Times newspapers did anticipate their fears, but it completely misjudged the strength of their opposition to the BSkyB bid. Celebrity fans were wheeled out by the Sun to welcome the deal and sources at Manchester United were quoted, assuring fans that the deal was good for them and good for football.
But still the voices of opposition were heard above the fanfare and trumpet-playing. Fans have spoken about the fact that Murdoch's ownership of American baseball and basketball teams has hardly seen improvements in their performances. Prices would increase and prevent ordinary fans from going to watch matches and Manchester United would become yet another pawn in Murdoch's empire.
Sam Johnstone, a lecturer at Liverpool University's football research unit, said this week he thought a small group of Manchester United fans would form a consortium to block the BSkyB deal. But whether the 55,000 supporters who flock to home games every fortnight would mobilise themselves to oppose the Murdoch empire, was much more difficult to predict.
It may be that Manchester United's fans will eventually grow to accept their new bedfellow when short-term concerns are replaced by silverware in the trophy cabinet: "The independent supporters feel very deeply about it. But the ordinary fans are probably not that bothered who owns the club as long as they are winning."