Sir, - To those who have balked indignantly at Mr Murdoch's proposed purchase of Manchester United and have cried "shame" at the ruthless manipulation of football for money, I say this. Are you not the same people I see cheering on the latest multimillion-pound imported talent, filling the pubs to watch Sky Sports Super Monday Premiership Action and paying £60 for the latest "away kit" ? Soccer has long been big money. We should not be surprised at this. It is not acceptable to applaud the benefits of big business in football one day and bemoan its evils the next. - Yours, etc., Michael Kelly,
Milltown, Dublin 6.