Yesterday must have been the first occasion in Old Trafford's illustrious history that the crowd came in the hope of catching a glimpse of a middle-aged American businessman, writes Barry O'Halloran

Mr Malcolm Glazer may be known as "the leprechaun" in the US media because of his size, but his presence loomed giant-like over the Manchester United plc a.g.m. at the football club's grounds.

Mr Glazer is the enigmatic self-made billionaire whose recently acquired 10 per cent stake in Manchester United makes him its second-largest shareholder. He already owns an American football team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and is known to be looking for other sporting investments.

Small shareholders, drawn from the club's 58 million-strong fan base, fear that he's going to pull off a coup similar to the one which landed Chelsea for Russian oil entrepreneur, Mr Roman Abramovich.

But he's not known for sharing his plans with the companies he intends buying and is playing his cards close to his chest on Manchester United.

So close in fact that the board has yet to talk to him.

One fan and shareholder summed it up neatly when she bluntly stated that he "does not even return Sir Roy's phone calls" (meaning chairman Sir Roy Gardner, they haven't knighted Mr Roy Keane).

Sir Roy pointed out that the board was seeking a meeting and expected this to happen in the near future. Both he and recently appointed chief executive, Mr David Gill, were adamant that Manchester United was not for sale.

In a thinly veiled reference to what befell Chelsea over the summer, Mr Gill told the meeting that Manchester United did not want a "sugar daddy who funds all our playing requirements".

The fact that Chelsea's "sugar daddy" coughed up £17 million sterling to sign Republic of Ireland international, Mr Damien Duff, prompted another shareholder to ask why Manchester United had not been willing to do the same when it had the chance. Mr Gill bluntly replied that manager Mr Alex Ferguson and the board did not think the Irishman was worth £17 million.

A surprisingly small number of speakers from the floor were concerned about the designs that two other Irishmen, Mr John Magnier of Coolmore stud fame and Mr JP McManus of Cheltenham winners fame, have on the club. One shareholder asked about them getting board representation, Sir Roy said he thought this was unlikely.

Nobody seemed particularly worried about Mr Jon de Mol, the Dutchman who made millions from originating and franchising the Big Brother reality TV series.

However, Mr Oliver Hunter, chairman of shareholder activist group, Shareholders United, suggested that a Big Brother series featuring the Manchester United board and Messrs Magnier, McManus and Glazer would be a good idea. It would be interesting to see who would win that one.