Sir Bobby Charlton was in Abu Dhabi this week for the Laureus Sports Awards. He was asked about Manchester City owner, Sheikh Mansour, who he recently met, and Sir Bobby claims that he was more interested in talking about the reds than the blues.
“This [Abu Dhabi] is not the home of Manchester City,” said Charlton. “I once had the pleasure of speaking with Sheikh Mansour because I had to bring back the trophy after we won the Club World Cup and Manchester City were playing the national team here. I was sitting next to him and I am sure he talked to me more about United than City.”
Man Utd News 24/7
perhaps he is already growing tired of his team’s attitude. well, you get what you pay for!
buncha prima donnas, those bitters
How’s that you bitter blue fuckers?
obsessed about united
These Qatar rumours are back, lets hope they don’t try and flash too much cash….. though Iniesta would be nice…
Looks like he did a Robinho!
Hope he leaves City in the gutter.
I am sure the project is becoming boring.
Could be us soon, yippie. We could buy endless players from other clubs for ridiculous money all jealous of the guy next to him in the changing room. And we could be on an international friendly match with Quatar and Sheik Yabouti our owner could incidentally meet up with the big boys of Barca and chat all about Barca or carpets.
Dont mock City and their owners we are just about to sell up to the neighbours..
Green and Gold, whoevers in charge, pull your fingers out and oppose ALL non fan ownership of the club. If you want to be like Barca and Madrid, get the players you want and be a world leader then you have to structure the Barca and Madrid way. Dont follow the path of City or Chelsea, sure the moneys there, but non of the history, non of the undying interest in real football is there.
I agree the Glazers arent perfect but to become the next City, no thanks. Dont be blinded by your hate for the americans by letting in others just to fill the bank. The football side of things has to be taken into account.
Remember the addage he who laughs last!. We laugh at City and rightly so, 30 million for Santa Cruz etc etc etc but if we sign Aguero and co what will be left of the youth system and the team that is top of the league now. Remember the he who laughs last – taking the piss out of Gerrard and Terry and what did we get – Rooney. We are looking ripe for a Liverpool style down turn of fortunes and it isnt because of lack of team performance – its all to do with stupidity and greed.
i was in there in the stadium watching it and i can remember a man with this thing on head sitting next to sir bobby
The fly on the wall speaks!
Do you guys think that if a billionaire buys this club that Sir Alex will start spending like crazy? I doubt it
maba723
You’d hope that a billionaire owner would signal NO change in transfer policy.
However, a billionaire owner would mean an entirely new management, which COULD mean an entirely new, ‘modern’ structure for the club. This would almost certainly involve a ‘director of football’, AKA an interfering executive with too much of a say over transfer policy. I’m not saying that Fergie does it all himself – I mean, hell, he’d never seen Bebe play and we spent £7m on the lad – but it is CRUCIAL that the manager, be it Fergie or whoever succeeds him, has the absolute final say over whether a player is bought or sold.
This just in:
United buys Messi for 660 million goats.
We can look forward to headlines like that if we ever get bought by that clown car of money
I fail to see how this relevant. Big hoohah.
A brilliant read on expiring player contacts at Old Trafford, who all will leave the theatre of dreams?
Are we playing city tomorrow?
http://www.thehardtackle.com/index.php/man-utd%e2%80%99s-corner-spring-cleaning-the-theatre-of-dreams/
GoatinaUnitedShirt, absolutely agree with you!
The Glazers aint saints, but ABU-type ownership is not a hot prospect for me. What if the next owner decides to sack Fergie and bring Mourinho as a more experienced big spender?
Yet I’m not falling in love with the Barca model too… Its clearly dangerous if clubs good fortune is of nobody interest, but the fans.
Ideally, we should find a businessman, who really cares about the club and is willing to turn fans’ support into his biggest asset! And this businessman will be a smart guy if he does that, which wasnt the case with th Glazers…
So Mansour came to buy United but was accidentally whisked to the wastelands where because he was so tired and suffering jet lag he accidentally signed up them lot
Ha ha ha – couldn’t make it up
It’s okay Sheikh Mansour – apparently your not so loveable Qatari Royal family want to buy us out – soon the fireworks will begin once and for all
This is how it feels to be City
This is how it feels to be small
This is how it feels when your team wins nothing at all
Nothing at all…
Still a good day! Happy Derby Eve!
My expected line-up:
Van der Sar . Rafael Smalling Vidic Evra . Nani Scholes Carrick Giggs Park . Berbatov
sus: Kuszczak, Evans, Fabio, O’Shea, Ando, Rooney, Owen.
I have presumed
- Fletcher’s eye socket is not ready to risk
- Rio is still injured
- Brown is not selectable
- Chicharito is jet-lagged
I chose to:
- bench Rooney.
- play 4 – 5 – 1. If Rio is in for Smalling, I’d drop Giggs, play Rooney in a 4 – 4 – 2.
Build a bonfire,
Build a bonfire,
Put the Scousers on the top,
Put City in the middle,
And we’ll burn the f*cking lot
‘
‘O Sole Mio
‘
A brilliant read on who will play at the theatre of dreams?
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/city-owner-more-interested-in-united/#comment-272037
Anti-Man City wallpaper – 24 Years
http://hdfootballwallpaper.com/misc.html
@Smartalex: Interesting. Giggs and Park in the same xi would be interesting if they continuously swap positions. One cuts in, another drifts out. Could spell trouble for opposition defences.
As long as SAF is given ‘adequate’ transfer budget, not atrocious, but adequate and free hands in his dealings. I think most if not all potential owners are welcome.
Im just afraid that once these Arabs took over they’re gonna start sacking managers for breakfast. That would just disrupt the whole stability = faith in the gaffer thinggy in United over the years.
We would become a trophy club.No trophy = new manager followed by new players.Then we become the ultimate plastic glory hunting fans,cant see it happening.
Jeet. Carrick will then protect VidaSmalling, with Paul and Ryan breaking up play. Park on the left. Our left, with Evra, Ji and Giggs would be venomous. Nani on the right is a bag of tricks, and has Rafael in tandem. Paul switching play.
I think that we can’t carry Wayne tomorrow, so his inconsistency rules him out. Berbatov won’t be isolated with the speed we have on the flanks, and Ryan in the centre.
parryheid – The Glazers will sell the club, It’s gonna happen eventually.
Alot of you are talking about the money that will come in. But that is not the point isn’t it? I’m not defending the Glaziers, but they did do something alot other owners failed to do, and that was to leave Manager in 100% control over team matters regardless of the results. This is something which might not be, when the new owners take over. Do you think they will spend 1.6b and jus leave the team to run by itself? Surely they might have an itch to have some say in team matters would you think not?
Of course they’d leave Fergie in charge. They’re probably still wondering
why the ball isn’t oval.
saf would not over pay regardless of how much in the bank. He is not hypocritical and he is Scottish. He would buy a big name for big bucks but he would not overpay for mediocrity. Like others.
Yes he has made mistakes but overall he is a real savvy buyer and developer of talent.
And of course the Sheik would talk more about united. CAuse there is more to talk about
it doesnt matter about how much money they can give us cause with the new UEFA rules no team can go into the market and just throw money around anymore. the only problem i have eva had with the glazers is the debt if we can get rid of that then we should be ok given that our youth system has had made such an impact on the premiership and europe for the past 20 years. this wont go ahead because simply the glazers don;t want to sell and they don’t think there is no REAL reason for them to sell
I am under no illusion the club will at some stage be sold on,trouble is I have never been able to put my view about our current owners because I would be tagged as pro this or anti that.What I will say is I am as far away as it is possible to be from people who write in here about dirty jews,parasites,hoping the family head dies and the rest of his family get cancer,gimps leeches and the like.In fact these people make me feel dirty,
Ive always said that if you want the situation with the Glazers to improve spend your fucking money. “Im not feeding those fat yanks”…….. you cry, no but at the moment your cutting your noses off to spite your face and opening another can of worms.
Lets be realistic. Weve had the Glazers for quite a few years now and other than the money leaving the club to finance the debt theyve left footballing and management decisions to those that know. No Shevchenkos here. We have to give them some credit EVEN if it turns our stomachs. By that token we have gained a very sensible and loyal ownership that holds all that is United close to the club without turning us into a trophy club. Surely they have proven themselves in being THE BEST ownership we could ever wish for “if only there wasnt a debt”. If we want our club to compete with Barcelona and Madrid then I reckon we should hold our hands up, congratulate ourselves for putting the owners (Glazers) through a rigorous initiation and start spending the cash at OT. We can clear the debt, we can put the money in the transfer kitty and we can fend off potential buyers who could destroy our heritage.
As I said if it wasnt for the debt then weve already found the best owners for the club, WHY fix something that isnt broken.
Sir Alex conference, 3 minute video
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/8318563/Ferguson-Ferdinand-will-miss-decisive-game.html
parryheid – Cripples? lol. We’ve all got our POV mate. I started anti Glazer, then moved in to the middle. I felt, I needed to give the Glazers the benefit of the doubt, which I have done, but we need to see some action from the Glazers on money front IMO. I couldn’t give a toss where they are from mate. If they were English, I’d be saying the same things. I can’t affect other fans opinions on here.
GoatinaUnitedShirt – Everbody has his POV and I don’t want to offense you, but imo your talking to kind about the Glazers. I would never wish someone the death and the like, but they are responsible for our poor situation. Despite all the negativity they are great businessman and know how to run a cashcow.
That still is no excuse for the big amount of debts we have.
Imo we can’t clear the debt on our own as long as glazer is sucking the money out of the club. We have to pay off till 2017 and I can’t see that happen.
The Glazers will sell. just a matter of time.
Guys the United vs City Preview, have a look:
http://www.thehardtackle.com/index.php/man-utd-v-man-city-italian-job-for-mancini%e2%80%99s-men/
the saying better the devil you know, springs to mind.
Yes, GoatinaUnitedShirt, but its really hard to give the Glazers rightfully deserved credit, when they manage their PR department so bad. Its the f*cking dept that causes all the anemosity and they should have managed this issue differently. Nobody actually knows is there a financial problem @ UTD, but for many laic observers it seems that way…
And thats Glazers fault!
Glazers should be more transparent about the debts and their plans for United. Are we in financial trouble? Aren’t we?
And that’s where MUST should be instead of going against the glazers and support the morons who call themselves red knights.
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/475296150?-11193
City fans up to their old tricks.
Zelh @ 16:08: “Glazers should be more transparent about the debts and their plans for United. Are we in financial trouble? Aren’t we?
Why should they be more “transparent” ? MUFC i’s a private company. “Financial trouble” ! I should be so lucky ! They bought MUFC for 275 million in cash – the rest was financed. Now, they’re probably going to sell MUFC for 1,600 million – paying back 500 million in debt. Not bad. Basically, they’ll probably go back to running their trailer parks with a net profit or around 500 million – after deducting all the legal fees, interest payments, and so on . Maybe more. Like I said, I should be lucky !
In the six years of their “stewardship” UTD have won plenty of trophies and renewed a moribund playing squad with a huge investment in youth – remember 2004/5 ? remember 2005/6 when CSKALondon shat all over UTD ? Right now, UTD are FIRST, four points clear, best goal difference AND in the last 16 of both CL and FACup. Like I’ve written before, we might no longer be “invincible” and we might still be “crap” but it ain’t bad. IF TheLads can rampt their game into top gear then maybe another treble is on the horizon – ya never know.
So, overall, the whole financial turmoil has been an overblown side-issue. MUFC is a business that – for all our different reasons – we care about. It’s also entertainment – and if it ain’t melodram, it’s shite. The Glazer-era has provided UTD fans with first-class melodrama – maybe more on Saturday.
If?
hi guys
off topic:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/878771/qataris-close-to-buying-manchester-united-in-L1.6bn-deal—report?cc=4716
wow it’s on soccernet now.. i guess this means it is 70% true..
denton davey – 1.6 million? I hope not lol.
Willie
1,600 million is in fact 1.6 billion !
Ok how will the Qataris be any worse than the Glazers, they are the biggest single shareholder in VW and the Grosvenor Hotel, they own Harrods outright as well as a few other prime London sites, so I think we can safely assume they are serious businessmen.
Some people on here have almost congratulated the Glazers for be able to make/run a cash cow what a fucking insult, their only motivation is to leech more money from the club, we are facing a financial blackhole in a few years, its right there in the bond prosprectus.
Someone also mentioned the Glazers had made us focus on youth, again a fucking huge insult, its something we’ve always done, jeez they’ll be getting credit for the 92 youth team before they’ve gone, the difference now is we have an over reliance on youth, where we used to have a better mix, lets not forget we are still the club (for now) that has broken the British transfer record more than any other.
If you want to simply go for the lesser of two evils, then surely gimps with money are better than gimps without!
@willierednut
I also use point to separate hundreds and thousands
Fair comments from the lot of you. I think the best solution is for the Glazers to sell. At the reported 1.4B
= 2B US they are among the richest men in the world. Only down side is they can’t use the leverage on United to continually gain additional credit. But with 2B in liquidity from 300M give or take invested, who the F#%k cares!
On the side of those who think the Glazers should be more transparent. I just think you lot have lived in a parlimentary democracy for way to long to consider what the real world would look like to the Glazers.
The Glazers are very successful business men (read an oligarchy) not something you lot can make up or dictate to. They are rich if you think 300M is rich, but they arn’t rich in terms of 2-4B in liquidity. They made an excellent investment, but they never had the capital to start making predictions about the future and putting things on a time table. Imagine what we would be roasting them in oil right now if in 2006 they had promised that the debt would be gone by 2012. WHO THE HECK COULD HAVE PREDICTED THE MARKET THEN? let alone included the GLOBAL economic catastrophy. Which by the way they have done ok with in my view. But only because they had United as an asset.
What about the Qataris, if we have to have a sugar daddy, I guess it is best to have the wealthiest of the lot. Still not my cuppa, but that ship sailed once we went public in the late 90s. The ownership is really out of our hands. Now, success is REQUIRED as we, the CLUB, IS THE prized stallion that will be sold or paraded as a sign of the owners wealth. We may live to regret the departure of the Glazers. But in my view, United should never look back. If there is anything to this club, it is figuring out how to win with attractive football, no matter what jerk is on the board.
@ MyCowIsTheBest says
While we all hope this is article is true(and ESPN soccernet is one of the more reputable football web sites) id rather we concentrate on our upcoming games and deal with any take over in the off season.
Joke lads. denton got it lol.
Matt – Both sides, have good POV. I tend to agree with you on this one. Surely we all want the debt cleared? The lesser of two evils, if you like.
Nothing wrong with the Qatari’s
I’ve been following their business strategy for over a year and as my other fellow reds have pointed out they have their hands in very reputable and world class institutions and they all are doing brilliantly.
No one can tell the future to coin a phrase but I think they know that football will have to be left to the football people.
Just look at who they own – all the people running the businesses they own are people that know the company inside out – they do not interfere period – take VW for the ultimate example.
Apparently Manchester United are going to get turned over by City, wouldn’t you just love it if United beat them 6 – 0 just to rub it in their blue bitter faces.
@ willierednut -Just seen the article. What a pack of cunts. Won’t stop will they and always try and take the moral high ground. I’m always in there match days thats pissed me right off. Doubt it will be gone before the game. Wankers
City vandals target Old Trafford pub, remember the previous derby?
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1407982_vandals_target_old_trafford_pub_and_manchester_uniteds_training_ground_with_munich_jibe_ahead_of_derby_clash_
NRD – Trying to stoke up tensions mate. Only one way to shut the cunts up, give them a tanking tomorrow.
Willierednut. Hit the nail on the head mate. Best possible is to have a new owner wealthy enough to simply trust the United way. Clear the debt and let the club run off it’s own profits, possibly coming in once every 4-5 years to assist with a “special” buy, but otherwise lay off.
One thing that is needed is to keep: Good business sense NEEDs to be an enduring legacy from the current owners. Possibly for nothing else, but for that I think we are all a bit impressed.
Who ever said “You can’t buy history”. Ur wrong mate. Anyone who buys United is buying a pile of it. Anyone want to bet that one of our European cups makes a trip for viewing to Qatar? Hope they don’t put flowers in it, but technically, it will be theirs! That might cause some to moderate their celebrations, but if all else goes well, we might not care.
Just a quick glance
They own about 60 billion dollars worth of assets
They own a stake in VW – they had a bigger one in Barclays but cashed in retaining a small one instead
They own Harrods bought from my Uncle – well I wish he was lol
They are the largest shareholder of Sainsbury’s who last christmas posted profits higher than their competitors – need checking that…
Purchased Miramax films from the Weinstein company
Not bad at all…
… sorry willierednut, missed your link to the same story.
Oh and their website is shit compared to their wealthy status
smartalex – Beat you to the punch mate lol.
Their whole justification behind it is what the United fans did to when of their boozers last year. While I don’t condone the whole Foe thing, those cunts have been bleating on about the Munich Air Disaster for over 40 years. We do one thing and its all square now apparently. Not even close! Two wrongs don’t make a right but can’t those deluded fuckers come up with anything original. Them lot must think Frank Swift was a cunt otherwise why would they keep doing it. I doubt there will be any pubs open now tomorrow as a result.
i would rather be happy rich than happy poor, come on United wipe the floor with them . blue twats
Punch? I was in hospital before the bell sounded for the beginning of the round!
February 11, 2011 at 17:20
MG says:
Oh and their website is shit compared to their wealthy status
And ours is good compared to indebted status, go figure.
I once saw an interview with Arnie where he said if he’s driving a Ferrari he sees no need to race agianst the guy in the next lane with a high powered BMW or whatever, as he just knows his car his faster, whereas the other guy is always trying to prove something.
Massive.
OFF TOPIC,
Spare a good wish for a speedy recovery to Luis Saha, out for a fortnight with a hammy. Hope he is healthy in a month or so and keeps banging them in for Everton. They play City and the Chelsky at home in the run in. For games like that, we can all root for our old boys!
Come on Saha! Up the stealth United.
mattbw7
I was only trying to light up the mood mate – mind then a further point that I would make is to actually have a site that befits their status – just a thought nothing more and nothing less – and no comparison to United – nothing has happened yet – all talk – though I’d be in favour of it as I’ve stated.
smartalex – Need some smelling salts?
wasnt having a go MG, just saying and wondering how much UTD spend on thier website when it really tells you fuck all
@matt
Spot on at 16:54
MASSIVE!
NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
willierednut – I do! The swweet smell of success will do nicely!
Spelling salts would also do nicely!
Adrain!
mattbw7
I would agree with that
Come on Rock! He ain’t no machine!
Talking of Stealth UTD will Webber be fit for the chavs on Monday
People in Manchester earlier today could hear Tevez shouting with joy from his house. Apparently he has just completed a picture puzzle after 10 months of hard work. The reason he was so happy is because it said 2 – 3 years on the side of the box.
As for the Qatari’s I agree with mattbw to an extent they can’t be any worse than the glazers. Its all well and good for all our supporters around the world to say success has been great on the pitch since they have arrived, however for the match going fan the glazers have been nothing but a ball ache. Need an example, how the fuck were the crowd not singing Berbatov’s name after his hat trick vs Birmingham. The atmosphere has dwindled as a lot of people are priced out even more so with this recession. Not going to go on, but its more than to do whats going on the pitch at times. I’ve changed my stance on anti-day tipping but we need a balance at the moment too many toffs not enough vocal support at home games. Away support I have no qualms about, shame the team can’t replicate the fans support on the pitch in away games this season.
CedarsDevil brings a smile, good evening!
willierednut has Rocky Balboa’s uppercut, I think he’s a swinger.
what will the TRAITORS over at FC united do once the fat yanks have actually fucked off? Come crawling back or stay away?
“i’m just a united fan, i’m no longer a customer” – errr you’ve got a fucking sky sports subscription you TWAT. – so so many hypocrites at that club.
COME ON YOU QATARI BEAUTIES!
2-1 tomorrow, little mo getting the winner again. kettleneck to do his ligaments in. fingers crossed.
Apparently Tevez was in Egypt tonight – finally he has negotiated the end of Mubarak to the glee of the Egyptian people
Now the master communicator and world renowned peace broker will finally end the Israel Palestine conflict
Tevez – what a man
And the most important thing? He’s doing all this for no money at all – what a role model lol!
Don’t go Ivan Drago on me smartalex.
All of you are talking about this group from Quatar owning this and that but how much of it is actually theres. Have any of you been reading financial reports. Look at all the companies that have fallen off the shelf the last 5-6 years. Many conglomerates have fallen because they borrowed money on companies they own and future investments only to go out and borrow again to buy a company with a better turnover to fund the take over of another and so on and so on. Do you reckon this group would/could be any more open about their finances. Dont think a company of this so called value cant fall. Enron did. Last I heard Quatar had financial problems, I cant delve into it as I know sod all and dont pretend i do but there was something on BBC world about half the hotels making loses and the like. Could United be the five star Regal Humpty Dumpty Sheik Wishiwashis cashcow. Will the revenue go from paying the Glazers interest to make sure that Jamie Fucking Oliver gets a warm bath whilst visiting the delicasies of the middle east. God I’d hate to clean that bath, thats worth the danger money alone.
If he dies, he dies.
@Notorious
Also well said at 17:42
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/markogden/100015283/how-the-glazers-and-qatar-are-playing-a-no-lose-battle-over-manchester-united/
Interesting take on Qatar, Glazers battle.
Sure because there isn’t much to be said about them
@NRD Spot on. Every club needs to nurture the local population as it’s truest fans. Knowing the songs…history….that is the rock of United support. I support a a subsidy for local postal codes and across the board access for youngsters.
“He is not human, he is a piece of iron.”
That would be Dubai, Goatinautdshirt, Dubai had to borrow money cos they dont have any gas or oil reserves, Abu Dhabi has the oil while Qatar has natural gas reserves and do not borrow money in the wat that Dubai did that got them in the shit. Also they are not a conglomerate they are the investment arm of the Qatari Royals.
Goat
Mattbw7 has answered it perfectly and btw I did respond to your query on the other thread, Dubai almost completely collapsed during the financial crisis because of the borrowing only to be bailed out by Abu Dhabi. Just like Matt said, Qatar do not and have never borrowed for their investments as they have the cash surplus and currently the construction boom in Qatar in second to non globally….
I find it surprising, that some would like the status quo to remain, and not have the chance to get the massive debt cleared. Whatever your personal opinion of the Qatar group, they’re not jokers IMO.
This whole ‘take-over bid’ is a fiendish plot to distract us from the matter at hand; city.
Just kidding, I realize it has far more importance than a game against city.
But it could be a fiendish plot, so lets also keep the city game in mind.
Willie
What surprises me more is that people can have a personal opinion about something they know almost nothing of.
My opinion on this matter is clear, as long as its a good move for our club I DO NOT care where potential new owners originate from.
smartalex
Shitty are not worth more of our time than we have given them already! lol
C’MON United
True CedarsDevil, true. Of course, beating the team in third brings us closer to no. 19.
And bragging rights for a while. And no bragging rights for filthy blue colons
smartalex – I’m trying not focus on the derby atm. I’m slightly nervous for this one.
Willie
Relax mate and do what I do in such a build up………..Have a chat with either a certain Grey Goose and staying with birds you may opt for a Famous Grouse!
Grey goose lol. More like my best bud. Add some vodka, you’ve got a partyyyyyyyyy
Oh Oh! CedarsDevil doing his birders impressions!
There’s a grouse, here’s a goose, there’s a turkey, have another… long night ahead!
Does help with the nerves though. I shall succumb.
bottle of RED for me, what else!
Succumb away smartalex………… Lets all party ahead of the party!
matt
Not RED label mate surely?
Christal?
Goat @ 17:52: “Last I heard Quatar had financial problems,”
Where did you hear that ? Check your sources.
Qatar has the world’s third-biggest oil reserves – the only “financial problems” for the ruling family would be an end to the internal combusion engine.
Pass me that bottle of J & B. Thanks. Right, here we go…
Once you’ve decided to drink, you might as well start.
denton davey
Being a fact freak I have to point out that Qatar do NOT actually have the 3rd biggest oil reserve in the world, in fact they are not even in the top ten as far as that category is concerned. They do however have one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world.
Either way, you are right in saying that by no means are they in debt, far from it nor are they in any sort of financial problems…..
Respect to Bobby!…
@rachreddevil
Actually there is a major loophole and thats shirt sponsorship. Blatter himself said that the only way owners could pump money in would be via becoming a clubs shirt sponsor. If they wanted to abuse it they could put the 10mill allowed each season in and then sponsor the shirt for a stupid amount
@GoatinaUnitedShirt
Thats the problem, they get no credit even when they do something good (And they have done alot of good)
And that really doesn’t help us as fans. Certain groups of fans are always banging on about how the Glazers aren’t fans and how they want owners who are BUT the Glazers could very easierly become alot more like fans if we gave them the chance.
Their first visit to Old Trafford the militant element of the Fan base put them in so much danger that they had to be smuggled out of the ground by the police. And anytime they talk about attending more matches MUST always seem to start something which makes it too hostile for them to attend. I never expect them to be die hard fans and wouldn’t want them to lose the business sense but I’m certain that they would end up feeling alot more part of United and maybe more of a connection to us the fans if they weren’t pretty much forced to stay away
@Zelh
I keep saying this to people who claim they are sucking money out of the club BUT where are they sucking money out of the club. They haven’t taken a single dividend since they took over. The only drawings they have took is 10mill in director loans (Common business practice, its cheaper usually when one business has a cash surplus to borrow money from them than from the bank) and Management/Consultancy fees (Again a usual business expense. The PLC also paid themselves simerlar fees). Combined these amounts are pretty small in the grans scheme of things.
What you will actually notice is that the way everything is structureded the club at the parent company level post a loss BUT most of the losses are non-cash losses which actually has seen our cash balance rise significantly (Cash Balance under plc was 18mill before the takeover, can’t recall the exact amount off the top of my head now buts its signifcantly over 100mill)
@KING ERIC BG & Zelh
The problem for the Glazers however is there is no point being more open as our supposed representative in MUST are a bunch of militant fools who are only concerned with being militant and building their own personal sense of self worth. Any snippet they can find or is announced they go out of their way to spin and take out of context. Coupled with the ABU media looking to use United to sell papers and get viewers. Any PR advisor is going to tell the Glazers to not say anything as it would giving MUST the rope needed to hang themselves.
Also the benefit of a private company is it allows certain business advantages by being secret. It was always a major problem for United as a PLC as pretty much every single piece of information about the club was in the open. If they were going to be open again they may as well float part of the club again to make themselves money
@MG
They don’t own that many companies though, they by fairly large shareholdings but rarely a controlling stake. They can’t interfere that much. Infact I believe Harrods is their only outright ownership outside of Qatar and they haven’t held it long enough to draw any conclusion.
The problem with groups like this buying prestige companies in Entertainment is its often just a status symbol . Its made worse with City being owned by their neighbors who there is a significant rivallry with as it encourages using United as a plaything.
Ofc they may be perfect owners but when it comes to Football clubs and super rich owners the history does’t fill me with hope.
Oh and they don’t own Miramax. They were one of a number of Investment groups who helped the Weinsteins buy Miramax back
@NotoriousRedDevil
Fans were going to get priced out whoever owns the club. Footballs gone crazy and the main source of income is tickets. Sitting there with a stupidly long waiting list partly because you are selling tickets below the going rate is just crazy so it was always going to be exploited. Every club in the league that could raise ticket prices has done so and even with the Fair Play rules the earnings made from ticket sales will be vital to all clubs to ensure they maximise the profit.
Wide a wake wakey. Thought you would turn up today. Like snow in the winter.
wakey – Whats your thoughts then, are the Qatar group serious about buying United?
Wakey, you should be a lawyer.
Where there’s a will there’s a wakey!
I’m sure people will counteract wakeys argument. To the the batmobile Robin!
Wakey; a man who talk with his brains, not just his heart.
Qatar has one of the top 4 largest oil and gas fields in the world. I’ve been recently as 3 weeks ago. It’s small, but it’s up and coming fast. They want recognition and will get it. Money isn’t an issue. The World cup in 2022 won’t be an issue.
@willierednut
Wasn’t planning to tbh, I have got sick of banging my head against the wall when the likes of RedScot can post mindless drivel in half baked sentences and be heralded as some kind of messiah but I started responding to 1 realised I may as well go the whole way
On your question. Do I think are Qatar serious about buying? I suspect they are just using United to raise the country’s profile and link to football like the times are suggesting to help with the World Cup. Its hard to tell though because the nations round there are so competitive so I could see them seriously wanting to one up the Abu Dhabi lot. I do think that it would only be because they want to get one over our noisy neighbours owners is the only reason they would consider a full takeover as their portfolio really only shows one complete takeover and Harrods is a relatively small scale operation.
They would be more likely to join with someone who has more of a background in football and bankroll them, infact you have to wonder if they were serious why didn’t they get into bed with the Red Knights and partially bankroll them like they did with Miramax
Oh wait it was the Telegraph not the times that the article was in
Alot said, but someone hit the nail. Does it matter how rich the new owners might be? With the new ruling of you can only spend what you earn, pending to be inforced, it makes no difference anymore. In fact, if anything, we should be thanking the Glaziers for increasing our profit margin so that we can actually be spending more in the future should the debt be wiped out.
One point I totally disagree, is people saying the new owners will be better.
Fact: Glaziers made no intervention to team matters even when results are not good
The new owners? Unknown
Maybe the debt will be cleared, under the Glazers and maybe it won’t. People said the Glazers would stick their noses into Fergie running the club, that didn’t happen. Don’t be scared of new owners, It’s gonna happen, sooner or later.
@Marq
As I mentioned it all depends on why the owners buy a club on if they can throw money at it. If its simply to get the one up over their Arab neighbours then the Qatar lot could buy the club and then exploit the loophole that allows the owners to officially sponsor the club. They could just pump in 100mill each season via that method just as they would without the rules
Wakey I have been reading rom for a while and never seen a more comprehensive post. Who cares who takes control we can’t control that all we can do is support the boys in red team for tomorrow
Vds
Raf
vid
Sma
Ev
Carr
Flet
Ando
Nani
Giggs
Ambition
We can’t ignore it either, fight the power!
Chuck D had It right!!!!!!!!!!
CedarsDevil @ 19:21 – I take your point and won’t mix up “gas” and “oil” again – but what’s the difference ?
What if the poor Qataris decide to do a Egypt and chase the royals. Then that will be more trouble cause United as an asset may get frozen. Don’t you think?
@socratestee : Dude , show me poor qatari if u can? they do not have a population size dude,they are so wealthy and small in numbers they actually sub contract even the most important services.
Got money ,get people to do it.
The threats to Qatar wud be the division between the sunnis and shia,Irans meddling, and the oil ,and I think its gas more so for them , the the actual levels avaliable.
There is ticking bomb that almost exploded but just fizzled out.
Wikileaks showed a prominent scientist saying that saudi arabia actual reserves are way off mark,that means oil supply for the world is actual going to dwindle faster than anticipated,unless of course u find some oil in Carrington.
The story seems to point to the truth but is being quietly pushed aside.
The other will always be the ascension to the throne and how that goes can affect everything they are involved in.Then there is unhappiness with perceived meddling in other arab states and some of those states want to do some kicking.
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So my question to all ROM readers, can u accept any owner ,wud u be happy?
the whole fight ,did it not involve stopping billionaire owners and corporations from taking over our club?
Look people…
I m financial advisor so I should know something about money…
If Glazers paying only interest, than maybe they dont want to pay a debt. My opinion is that they want to rise the worth of our club, and then sell it. They want to leave the most of debt to someone else, and get the worth more they can, and take a variation in hundred of millions.
@mara
If you are a finacial advisor I sure hope you are foreign with English as a second language.
Anyway if you are then you should be more than aware that early payment of debts can often come with penalties. For example anyone here who has a mortgage will probally find that in the small print it allows them to pay back a tiny amount each year on top of the agreed monthy payments but above this figure and you get hit with penalties which rarely make the intrest savings worthwhile.
And with the way it’s setup now with the bonds it’s even more complicated. The bond holders are guaranteed their stake plus the interest each year. Early repayment of any of the principle amount would need agreed with each bond holder and they would likely demand their stake plus the intrest due in the coming years.
It’s better for the glazers to simple pay the interest while planning for paying back the principle.
On paying back the principle, I have said all along that personally I expect the Glazers to still be here after it matures in 2017 as I expect them to pay off a small amount if the debt and refinance the rest as debt in a business isn’t as bad as many make out (United debt is at the top end of the acceptable range but still acceptable). The telegraph article seems to back me up as it talks about how the Qatar rumours will make refinacing in the future easy. By 2017 I believe they should be able to knock a couple of hundred mil off the debt and get a good refinancing deal based on the clubs value then 5 to 10 years after that it will repeat (unless the Glazers feel the growth is reaching it’s peak and they get an offer well over where the growth predictions predict the club is going)
the comment in the nextt thread is false