has a united fan too i was gutted united tried everything 2 of the line hit the post any other day could have gone in,so how did united devalue the cup.

also i am with kopite what is a franchise teams ? over 100 years of history for united arsenal and liverpool to be called a franchise.

I think it was a Newrcirus fan who was suggesting the Franchise thing. Pretty ridiculous, considering what a Franchise team actually is.

As for United pulling out in 99/00 that was entirely due to pressure from the FA and the governemnt, and had very little to do with United's respect towards the cup. Afterall, they certainly would have wanted to defend it as Champions.

mr toad and united ask for a bye to the next round but the fa would not allow this,united could have played a reserve side while over there which would have devauled the cup but chose not too.

Yeah, thats what I remember about the whole thing. BTW Nev I didn't ask for a bye

so when DIC buy liverpool does that mean we are no longer a franchise?

Looks like that is off the table now. Must be frustrating for Liverpool fans, as you know he wants to sell it and get out.

i should have wrote if instead of when

very frustrating at the moment. he will go eventually. i hope

so when DIC buy liverpool does that mean we are no longer a franchise?

Looks like that is off the table now. Must be frustrating for Liverpool fans, as you know he wants to sell it and get out.

i should have wrote if instead of when

very frustrating at the moment. he will go eventually. i hope

it's getting <deleted> ridiculous

george gillett did call liverpool a franchise, but straight away apoligised and said "i meant club"

I don't know if anyone knows but George Gillett is American! He speaks American English; there is a difference between what we think of 'franchise' and what the Americans do. If you say 'franchise to a Brit, they will think of KFC, McDs and the like. With Americans, it's different especially when referring to sports teams:-

"Professional sports leagues are organized in numerous ways. The most common are those in the North American mode and those in the European mode. Generally, the North American structure is characterized by its use of franchises and closed membership; the European structure is characterized by its use of promotion and relegation."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_...ue_organization