How The Sun sees the deal

Most of the papers that is - those owned by News Corporation, another part of the Australian tycoon's business empire, sing to a different tune.

Murdoch-owned papers, The Sun and The Times, are telling readers just how good a buy-out would be for Britain's biggest club.

'The most valuable team on earth'

The Sun says the £565m purchase by Mr Murdoch's BSkyB television group would give manager Alex Ferguson " a fortune" to spend on players and make the club "the most valuable sports team on earth".

Fans also stand to gain from the "mega-deal" with a freeze on ticket prices, The Sun says. Shareholders will also get a stockmarket windfall, the tabloid adds.

And as if the voice of The Sun were not enough to convince readers, it enlists celebrity fans to the cause.

Radio 1 presenter Zoë Ball says: "Sky will bring in more money to the game in general and to the team, which means we can splash out on some new players.

"It's great for the fans because it will bring an extra sense of excitement to Old Trafford."

The Times is similarly bullish about BSkyB's prospects for a successful end to the bid.

Tommy Docherty: Sick as a parrot or over the moon?

The paper points out that ownership of the club would guarantee BSkyB some of the most attractive games, and deals could be done with other clubs.

But it concedes that "the deal would be closely scrutinised by the Office of Fair Trading".

Hearteningly, the European Union's competition authority is unlikely to object to the acquisition, it says.

'Rape and pillage'

Those more likely to object are the fans. Some are not convinced that having the man otherwise known as Dirty Digger at the helm will be good news for the Red Army.

As "stunned fans" staged a protest at Old Trafford, the Chairman of the Manchester United Independent Supporters' Association, Andy Walsh, warned in The Mirror that "Rupert Murdoch will rape and pillage the club."

It is not just the fans who are being enlisted in the papers' war of words. Veterans of the club have also been drawn into the row.

Former manager Tommy Docherty says in The Mirror that the takeover would "rip the heart out of the club".

Elsewhere, in The Star, Mr Docherty said: "If this happens, it will be good for Sky, good for Murdoch - but terrible for the fans."

Strangely, Mr Docherty seems less angered in The Sun, where he is reported as saying: "It's a fantastic business coup. If he [Rupert Murdoch] paid a billion pounds he'd still be getting it cheap."

The papers have also recruited members of the UK Government to the cause.

Sports Minister Tony Banks warns in The Star: "There are clear implications here that make me feel this can't be treated as if this were just a normal takeover of one publicly quoted company by another."

The Express says the official Downing Street line is that the government would have to "look very carefully" at the competition issues.

But it points out that Prime Minister Tony Blair is likely to be put in an embarrassing position because of his relationship with Mr Murdoch.

'Not a big fan'

Perhaps more damning than any other criticism which has been hurled at Mr Murdoch is that, in such a football-obsessed nation, the tycoon does not really understand what football is all about.

"He's not really a big lover of the game," says an 'acquaintance' in the Daily Telegraph.

"As far as soccer goes, it is purely a business interest. He is not a big fan."