Knighton has indicated to supporters that he will be appealling against the DTI's five-and-a-half-year ban on him from acting as a director of any British business. If Knighton won his appeal he could return as a director at Brunton Park after being out of the picture officially since September 2000. Mr Knighton resigned as acting chairman in May 2000 and left the board of United. He had no role in the later appointment of Ian Atkins as manager. But it seems he didn't enjoy retirement too much and was soon drawing a "salary" of £2,000 a week from the club as part of a "consultancy" firm in which his wife Rosemary was a partner. The DTI ban, imposed in September of that year saw his direct income from United dry up. It later came to light that he had made numerous phone calls to his son Mark Knighton at Brunton Park whilst banned. The farcical Mamcarr takeover saga occurred in January 2001 and since then, the discredited owner has been in talks with several interested buyers, without being able or willing to complete a deal. Knighton claims his family are "made of steel" and will not walk away from the club. Debts of £2 million, a boycott of season tickets by supporters and an ongoing investigation by both the DTI and the Football Association have not seemingly deterred him from soldiering on. He is unable to attend home matches and rarely visits the ground as his safety can not be guaranteed by the local police force. Already groups of fans have camped out on his doorstep at Heads Nook, near Brampton. The Knighton family also own several other properties in the area as well as other parts of the UK. Supporters have vowed to continue the campaign against him and are now setting their targets on Carys Wine Bar in Ashbourne, which is owned by Mr Knighton. The Shopkeeper comes out for charity United fans Stephen Dunn and John Chambers are to release a special CD single for charity under the persona of The Shopkeeper. Dunn, who shot to fame with early-90s megaband The Daisychain Connection, wants to give downtrodden Cumbrians fans something to smile about this summer as their club lurch from one crisis to the next. The single, entitled The Eighth of May will be a celebration of the club and in particular the great escape act made possible by Jimmy Glass. Featuring heavily on the single will be the commentary of Derek Lacey as he described the remarkable scenes before, during and after Glass's life-saving goal. It will be released on June 17 with the intention of getting enough sales to reach the national Top 40 thus bringing United's sorry plight to a larger audience. There will also be two other tracks on the CD. The pair hope to sell the single in massive quantities locally, but it can be ordered TODAY by sending a cheque made payable to Stephen Dunn for £6.00 to the following address: The Shopkeeper The CD will be despatched as soon as it is released and all sales via this channel will qualify for inclusion in the national Gallup charts. The only outlet to stock the single in Carlisle will be the Pink Panther record store in Chapel Street. Dunn hopes to promote his single both locally and nationally and all profits will be split evenly between supporters' trust CCUIST and the Eden Valley Hospice. You can find out more on the magic of Stephen Dunn and musical partner Ian Kirton at the following address: www.dunnandkirton.co.uk Picture from News & Star |
