|
Click here to order For the past twelve months, I have been a member of the United Electronic Mailing List. As soon as I bought a PC I went on the Internet. The first thing I did after logging on to AOL (didn't we all start there?) was to run a search on Manchester United. As I was not Net savvy, I didn't know how to search properly and wasted a lot of time looking for any information about United. As it was Cup Final week, I wanted up-to-date information and many of the sites I visited had not been updated in weeks or months. A few of the links led to 'File Not Found'. I eventually found the Sky site, the Carlingnet and Soccernet sites. I also wandered upon many excellent supporters pages that were fairly up-to-date. About a week after the Cup final, I found the ultimate site for any United fanatic who is far from news about their beloved club. CP Cheah's homepage led me to the Mailing List Homepage and I joined immediately. I was prepared for the 50+ messages a day that CP warned about but I wasn't prepared for what happened next. The quality of writing, the camaraderie and the sheer enjoyment surpassed my expectations. This book is a selection of the best posts of the season 1996-97. It covers the highs and the lows and I have tried to make it representative of the best the list has to offer. It would have been easy to edit a book made of posts purely about our rich history. Or I could have simply put together a few dozen match reports but I wanted this book to be a momento of a season. Something that we'll be able to look back on in five years and remember how it was before we won the European Cup three times in succession ;-) As I mentioned earlier, this book is unique. It is a good yarn of how technology, and the revolution people don't yet understand, can affect them. It has affected me in a way I never could have guessed. I have never edited a book before but technology allows an ordinary supporter like me to be able to put together a project like this. I have had a huge amount of assistance from many people. This book truly is a collaborative effort. Over 90 list members have their material included in it. About 20 people working in 10 countries have helped it to become a reality. I have only ever met one of these people and have only spoken with three of them. The marvels of technology - over 300 hours on a combined effort to produce a first. A Letter from Alex Ferguson's Office In late June, I spoke with one of Alex Ferguson's assistants and expressed the desire that we would like the profits go to a charity of his choice. Below is a letter I received on July 11th from Alex Ferguson's Office. To: David Menashe Subject: The World Wide Web of United COMMENTS: Thank you for your fax outlining your book 'The World Wide Web of United'. Mr Ferguson has asked me to thank you for your generosity and he would like the profits to be donated to The Rainbow Trust. The Rainbow Trust is a hospice based in Didsbury for terminally ill children. All the staff work extremely hard to make things as comfortable as possible for the children and their families and we cannot think of a more worthy cause. The address is as follows: The Rainbow TrustSt John Vianney Lower SchoolDidsbury Road Heaton Mersey SK42AA
Tel: 0161 443 2200 On behalf of Manchester United, I hope your book is successful for you. Yours sincerely, Lynn Laffin
MANAGER'S OFFICE So, now you have a great reason to buy the book. About $5 from the sale of each copy will go the The Rainbow Trust. As the letter states, it is in Didsbury and that's where I lived until I was 18 so I am paricularly pleased with this selection. |
