MANCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTERS CLUB PLYMOUTH BRANCH FOUNDED 1996

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1 I find myself asking the same question over and over-was this a good season? And I never reach the same answer. But I write it is a resounding yes. 6 th in the league is disappointing to say the least, but it is objective achieved and we are back where we belong-the champions league. Having completed the jigsaw and become the most decorated side in England following our Europa league success, combined with the Community Shield, the EFL cup triumph, reaching the quarter final of the FA Cup and scoring 105 goals in all competitions-not bad for a side who have missed twice as many chances- I have to say yes, it has been an incredible season, but with the caveat of if only. If only Herrera had stayed on the pitch in the FA Cup quarter final. If only Mourinho had taken charge after Sir Alex. If only Welbeck, Keane, Chicharito were still United players-where would we be now. And finally if only we d beaten Stoke, West Ham, Burnley, Bournemouth, West Brom, Swansea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton at home. By my reckoning that s 18 points better off, 2 nd in the league with a Champions League place booked and paid for, before heading to Stockholm, but instead we finished 6 th. And still we, the Plymouth Reds, keep coming back for more. 6 hours (occasionally closer to 9) on a coach to watch the best team in the world is commitment above and beyond. Your dedication to United and the branch, through the transition from the Fergie glory days has been incredible and my hope is that it will continue for many years to come. Thank you for your amazing support this season, without this we would not be a branch. I hope to see you all next season and please remember to tell your friends all about us, the more the merrier and new faces are always welcome. Have a great summer and thank you once again for your fantastic support. Aaron West, Branch Chairman

2 Our branch arrangements/procedures for 2017/18. As stated in previous newsletters the branch has existed since 1996 and developed a system which needs no amendment. Please note the Branch Correspondence address has changed. Please send all ticket and travel applications to the address detailed below: MUSC Plymouth Branch 3 Churchill Rd Whitchurch Tavistock Devon PL19 9BU Applying for tickets The current arrangements will be unchanged and we will continue to allocate on a first come first served basic, subject to adjustment where we have a restricted number of tickets which we feel is the fairest system. As such we ask again that you apply as early as possible for all games and likewise make any cancellation as soon as you are aware that you are unable to attend a match please do not wait until you have a postcard saying you have been allocated a ticket as we may not be able to transfer it to another member and will thus have to charge you for it! Travel prices will be finalized once we have conducted our negotiations with the travel company. We will as in previous seasons, endeavor to make any increase as little as possible. We are however pleased to continue to help keep down your costs in these difficult times by retaining a loyalty discount for adult members introduced last season. This will be applied to any adult who is an official Manchester United and MUSC Plymouth branch member for 2017/18 and who travels upon branch organised travel more than 5 times in the season with the discount being 5 per trip after 5 games. Website Most of the questions posed by members re fixtures dates, ticket availability coach departure and kick off times can be answered by looking at our website and we ask that those with internet access make this the first port of call for information rather than leaving or telephone messages for committee members. We are all volunteers with other commitments and may not be able to get back to you immediately.

3 Season Tickets As advised in the past members should be aware the branch has a small number of season tickets in the Stretford End which are available for use by members and applications are invited from members interesting in using these as per the details at the end of this newsletter. Priority will be given firstly to those members who have subscribed for these in the past season, then by reference to the number of games involved i.e a member applying to use a ticket for all 19 games will have preference over one applying for 10 games,and finally on the first come first served basis. Please express your interest in a season ticket before the 31 st May Membership Renewal (One United and Branch) We again ask that you renew membership as soon as possible. In this respect please ensure that the correct size envelope is enclosed and that sufficient postage is paid for. In past seasons some members have not done this and incurred a surcharge applied by royal mail but more significantly our membership secretary has had to travel across town to collect mail from the sorting office. Membership packages will be sent out in June with the form needed to apply for games, to take account of the relegated /promoted teams. Members will then be able to apply for as many games as they wish once the fixtures are announced, usually in mid-june. It is imperative that as well as renewing your Branch membership that you also do the same with regards to your official One United membership. For your information, please note as of this year an all new membership lite package-all the benefits of One United membership without the pack-at a cost of 20. In additional United also offer an auto-renew option. The following will apply to anyone already using this option: Automatic payments for 2017/18 Membership will be processed on, or shortly after, Thursday 1 st June Payments will be debited from the credit/debit card/bank account which paid for supporters 16/17 season Membership Your pack will include an invitation to our AGM, and confirm the date, but we give advance notice that we plan to arrange this to take place at the Plymstock Inn commencing 7.30 pm Sunday 23 rd July Hope to see you all there, have a great summer.

4 Season Ticket application details. For the season, the branch will again have 8 seats in Stretford End. The total cost of these is 4921 (which we have to pay in full to United before the end of April). As previously stated without these season tickets, the branch would have insufficient tickets in total to make regular coach trips affordable, and thus the branch would cease to be viable in its present format. As a branch member for 2017/18 you are invited to express an interest in having use of one of these season tickets for Premiership games in 2017/18. This will give you the right to have guaranteed seats for the games of your choice, including the big four which are normally oversubscribed with applications from members. In order for your application to be considered the following conditions will need to be accepted by you. 1. Renewal of your branch and Official Manchester United membership for the coming season. 2. Receipt of payment to reach the branch by no later than 31 st May The cost for 6 matches is 222, for 10 games 370, and for all 19 fixtures 703.If you wish to apply for use of the ticket for other than 6, 10 or 19 games the cost will be at 37 per game but 6 is the minimum number. A 50% discount applies to prices for senior members. 3. Notification on a fully completed ticket application form, accompanied by a separate travel cheque and stamped self addressed postcard (blanks to be supplied by us), for each game that you wish to attend. This must be received by the branch no later than 8 July In the event that you cannot attend any game you may cancel your application by letter to the Branch Secretary, in accordance with the cancellation clause of our Ticket & Travel Ordering Procedures. Subject to that clause, we will then refund the payment made for that game..verbal cancellations and those made by cannot be accepted. 5. The practice of "swapping" applications from game to game has caused considerable administrative problems and is no longer possible. 6. Accordingly, if after cancelling a game, you want to" top up" your games attended back to the original number applied for, you will need to submit a new ticket application form with accompanying cheque, etc. 7. If you do make such a "top up" application, and provided that application is successful, it will be accepted for entry into any ballot for cup tickets as if it was a game attended using one of your originally allocated tickets. 8. In this regard it should be noted that where the branch obtains tickets resulting from its ownership of season

5 tickets, e.g. cup final tickets, it will undertake a ballot to decide on the allocation of those tickets to members. 9. Entry to such a ballot will be limited to those persons who have either demonstrated "support / loyalty " by having used a branch season ticket for at least10 games in the season or served a full term of office on the branch committee for the season in which the ballot is conducted. Even if fulfilling both criteria, a member will only be entitled to a single entry in each ballot. 10. A number of members will be using tickets for less than the total number of matches but for a limited number of games, there may well be more than 8 persons applying for use of a season ticket. In such cases, it may be necessary for a non season ticket, located other than in the Stretford End, to be allocated to you. In the event you wish to proceed with an APPLICATION for use of a season ticket on these terms please complete the statement at the bottom of this newsletter ensuring that you enter the number of games and date and send it back to me as soon as possible, together with the relevant cheque,at the branch correspondence address. All applications must be received no later than 31 st May 2017 and everyone will be notified as to whether or not their application was successful notified shortly after, but relevant payments not processed until after 1 st June. Cheques received from unsuccessful applicants will be shredded unless a SAE is enclosed with the application with a request for their return. MUSC Plymouth Branch 3 Churchill Rd Whitchurch Tavistock Devon PL19 9BU Please accept this notice as my confirmation that I wish to apply for use of a branch season ticket for games during the 2017/2018 season on the terms and conditions set out in the April 2017 branch newsletter. My cheque for the relevant sum of is enclosed and I understand that if my application is successful this will be presented for payment as soon as possible after 31st May Name and address address Date Tel no.