Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez, two players obsessed with their former club. Adebayor was shunned by his fan base, after likening his feelings of being courted by Milan to a fella being told Beyonce wanted a piece. He fancied himself for getting a move to a club like AC Milan and Barcelona, but neither came knocking. He was then desperate for a move to United or Chelsea, but again, neither team were interested. So he signed for City and has been talking about Arsenal ever since.
Tevez, by contrast, was adored by the fans for his hard working nature. Whilst his goal scoring wasn’t impressive enough for a club challenging for the title and Champions League, he was loved for putting effort in every single week. By the end of the season, some fans were getting weary of his complaining, in light of his lacking ability. Manchester United legends, like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, worked just as hard for the team and were understanding they couldn’t play every week. The problem for Tevez was he thought he was better than he actually was and the 45 minutes he played in the Champions League on the day his contract expired was not enough for him. So he signed City, earning double what he had been on at United, joining a team full of players who hadn’t even got close to a Champions League final. Since then, he also can’t stop talking about United.
Adebayor on Arsenal…
July 24th 2009: “Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger put me where I am today but he cannot stand up and say last summer I told him I wanted to leave. I told him I wanted to stay. I don’t think our relationship is broken. I know a lot of people will say ‘He’s gone for the money’. But I would like to see one Arsenal fan who worked somewhere for £10 and was offered work somewhere else for £30 to say they would refuse.”
August 16th 2009: “I think it’s possible they could lose Cesc if they don’t get into the Champions League. Since he was 16, he has enjoyed Arsenal, so for him it will be a blow if they are not in the Champions League. If that happens, there is a chance that Cesc and the other big players will leave.”
September 11th 2009: ”These sort of things stay with you in your heart and it will stay with me not just for the rest of my career but the rest of my life. It was strange because I was such a happy boy there. I always gave my best for the team. I even remember a game two years ago when the boss asked me to play even though I had a hamstring injury. So I played for the team, worked hard and scored, but afterwards people were only interested in me being linked with Barcelona.”
September 12th 2009: Adebayor runs the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of Arsenal fans and kicks a former team mate in the head.
September 14th 2009: ”It was silly to run up in front of the Arsenal fans. But these people have been insulting me all game. Even in the warm-up they were insulting me. They were saying things that are not nice to hear, personal things. I didn’t plan it, not at all. I didn’t even know that I would score. The way things were going from the warm-up, at the end it came into my head.”
September 24th 2009: ”When you are being abused for the whole game it affects you. People are saying 10 seconds like it is a long time but it isn’t. The whole of that 10 seconds I was running and I was running on pure emotion. I was not thinking like I would normally do. After you score a goal there is an instant high and that high can last a while.”
October 4th 2009: ”If I play in the Emirates and score I will celebrate of course, but I will do it with my fans. I don’t want to talk about Arsenal at the moment. I remind them that we beat them 4-2, that’s all.”
October 30th 2009: ”My final year at Arsenal was difficult, so it was an easy decision to move. Some of the fans would never forgive me after some clubs tried to sign me a year ago, but what could I do?I scored 30 goals for Arsenal two seasons ago and it was all forgotten because the fans decided I was not loyal any more when Barcelona and AC Milan showed interest in me. It was hard to take and there did not seem to be anything I could do to change their mind.”
November 17th 2009: ”People here have treated me well and that was not happening at Arsenal. If I had stayed there, I don’t think I would have even played. Arsene Wenger didn’t actually say that in so many words, but we did have a good discussion. Basically, I was told that I must leave, even though I didn’t want to. He said they had come to an agreement with Manchester City and that it would be best for me to go.”
January 12th 2010: Adebayor wears Arsenal t-shirt for an interview.
Carlos Tevez on United…
July 5th 2009: ”If I play for Manchester City I don’t think the United fans will feel I am a traitor. They have to remember that at least as far as I know I have been thrown out of the club and I have to study the best offers available. I gave everything for Manchester United and people know that. For that reason I don’t deserve the way things have ended up.”
July 14th 2009: “The fact that I am not staying at United is not because of the fans, it is because Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill did not do enough to keep me there. If it was down to the fans, I would still be there.”
July 16th 2009: “I am sad to leave United.”
July 25th 2009: “I respect United fans because they supported me from day one and I think they will understand my decision.”
July 30th 2009: ”My relationship with the United fans was always excellent. They were very supportive of me, and they will always be close to my heart. I hope I will get a good reception, because I am very fond of them and we had a good understanding.”
August 24th 2009: “Ferguson is history for me but I know that he is scared of playing against us.”
August 27th 2009: ”I think I deserved more respect than what was shown. It was very strange. In the first year everything went very well – I was part of the team and felt like I was important to the coach and the club. But in the second, there was a big change. There was no communication with the manager and I began to feel as if I was not wanted.”
September 18th 2009: ”I expect to have a good reception. While at United, I always gave my best and I had good relations with the fans. They know I did everything while at Old Trafford to try to score the goals that would help the team win matches, so I don’t know why I should have a bad reception.”
September 22nd 2009: ”I must admit I did believe I would get a different reception from the United supporters. Initially everything was positive and I was greeted by my former team-mates and United staff without any problems at all. But as soon as I entered the field the atmosphere was very different. It was hard to take because previously I was always wanted by those people.”
September 30th 2009: ”In the derby against United I had also decided not to celebrate our goals but, after the bad treatment I received from the supporters that day, I have changed my stance on that. If I score in the next derby then I am sure that I will celebrate.”
December 4th 2009: “Obviously I was disappointed because I don’t think I deserved to be treated that way. When I was there I was a hard-working and loyal player who gave my all. Obviously I’d be delighted to beat United and reach the final but I still have respect for the club. I won’t celebrate if I score. I don’t want to rub their noses in it.”
Some might argue that it is the norm for players to talk about their former clubs, particularly in the run up to when those teams face each other. But which other players have been so obsessive?
How many times did Antonio Valencia talk about Wigan? Does Michael Owen ever refer to his time at Newcastle? Do we ever hear what Lescott thinks about Everton? Is Barry constantly talking of his love and respect for Villa fans? Some of those transfers were not at all well received by the fans, but the players manage to cut down the column inches. They are focussed on their new club, not their old one.
Adebayor’s sprint to face the Arsenal fans and Tevez’s replication of the goal celebration he performed in front of Sir Alex Ferguson when desperate to get a new contract may have made the City fans giddy for a while, but what does it tell us about those players? They are more concerned about proving a point to their former club and old fans than they are with celebrating with their current fans. Beating Arsenal was of course a great day for City, beating United in the first leg of the League Cup semi was even greater, but the City players who got them there were too busy thinking about their old clubs.
When Valencia scored against Wigan at Old Trafford last month, he didn’t even glance in the direction of the away support. When Wayne Rooney scored a crucial goal at Goodison Park against his boyclub Everton on our way to winning the league in 2007, he ran to the United fans, arms outstretched. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of banter and it’s enjoyable to watch interaction between players and fans. Rooney has been guilty of trying to wind Everton fans up with kissing the badge, but they’re not his obsession, and he would never blab on and on about the club or fans in the press, month after month, despite his move being far more controversial (thanks to the ‘once a blue, always a blue’ t-shirt as a youth player).
There has been a lot of talk about the power shift in Manchester of late, and sadly, we can’t deny where the money is. But for as long as City are signing players more intent on proving a point against their former employees, trying to vindicate their reason for leaving and ‘prove’ what great players they are, it goes without saying who the more impressive club is. Manchester United players think about Manchester United. When looking at the priorities of Manchester City players, I wonder where the club features amidst the thoughts of their salary and bigger clubs they wish they played for.
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Man Utd News 24/7
A tale of two bitter twats.
love how the way the article is structured, showing clearly the contradiction and hypocrisy within the speeches.
The media is also at fault for this. They hype things up so much with their articles and eye catching headlines.
Also some other transfers you mention Scott were not as high profile as the Tevez and Adebayor one.So naturally Tevez and Adebayor have been questioned about their former club more just as Ronaldo is frequently asked questions about United.Also consider the bitter circumstances under which they left their former clubs and how they felt they were not treated well enough by the club
Of course saying that these 2 twats can keep their mouth shut as well rather than saying how they are targetting winning derby games rather than winning trophies. Small club,small mentality.
Tevez is a poor man’s Wayne Rooney. The latter cost us almost £30 million and lord was he worth the price tag. Tevez had the work rate of Rooney but the talent of an ugly pig.
MASSIVE celebrations from Tevez last night.
I saw this article through Newsnow Arsenal. This is an excellently piece. Well done fella. Very enjoyable.
@ Costas
Lol…tale of the two twats….
From Charles Dickens “Tale of the two cities” Manchester vs Stockport
Is it me or is the nation clueless to the fact that United DID make him an offer which he decided to walk away from? Listening to the ABU’s on the bbc1 commentary, it was like he was outcast by us and hes here justifyingly dishing out his “motm” performance, (what what? a pen they didn’t win and a tap in at a corner?)
I don’t ever comment on other peoples blogs but well done, so true and well written.
And about time someone said it!
Carlos is a bitter at heart and has found the right club for him. But we should forget him now and move on ourselves.
Defending was awful once again, hence the argentine cunt getting the opportunity to score twice, hopefully vida is back for the return.
Man city are lucky to have won last night, i dont think it was a penalty and they were lucky to have held on at the end but i gotta say that u have had plenty of decisions go yer way and seem to get ” fergi time at old trafford” so you win some and you lose some, neville shooda kept his trap shut and then mebbe tev would not have been so wound up. Gd luck in the 2nd leg but i hope we win the league lol.
GOOOOONERS
It’s cos both are big up and coming players coming from big clubs to other big clubs. The players you mentioned like Owen, Valencia aren’t big news. So the others get interviewed. They’re just emotional and honest, hence why they give an answer to the press.
Are you obsessed with City? I see loads of articles about City and City players on here.
What about Gary Neville.. is he obsessed with City? He’s mentioned City in at least 5 interviews and he’s got nothing to do with the club. Is Ferguson? He’s talked about City on many occasions this season.
Congratulations…. players respond to questions/comments about them… shock horror…
@rooneyworldsbest: Yeah me too. We couldn’t do much with the penalty, but the second goal was shocking. Even U-15s know that you don’t immediately empty the 6 yard box after a corner is taken first time, because the ball might come back.
Vidic should return soon. It’s been almost 3 weeks.
I don’t think either club will worry too much about those two come the end of the season.
Utd were well and truely f***ed over by a pretty poor ref last night, and I can see you putting 4 or 5 past them at OT.
When we’re both in the CL next season and they’re going to Romania and Cyprus in the Europa league, who gives a toss what they’re ego’s have to say!
i couldnt agree more. sooner or later citeh fans will see the real reason they no longer play for there previous clubs.
good luck in the second leg.
Man Utd offered him a contract the season he was dropped for Berbatov(and honestly, out of the two who made the better contribution to your team?)..so you can’t blame him for being pissed off by that and wanting to play regularly
@Bluenose
Sorry, it’s your boy Twatez who is obsessed with Manchester United. Yesterday was living proof. And don’t tell me that he reacted like that because he loves Man City, because he would act like this in every game then.
“who`s that twat from Argentina?
who`s that money grabbing whore?
Carlos Tevez is his name
and he wont win trophies anymore !”
fuck you Tevez !!
I think both players felt the need to justify leaving bigger clubs for a smaller club. The easiest way to deflect attention from themselves is to rattle on about how they were being mistreated whilst earning wages most people can only dream of. Despite their performances against their old teams I believe both United and Arsenal are better off for getting rid of Tevez/Adebayor. Look at the league table if you need anymore proof.
Tale of one bitter blog-writer.
We played alright, had lots of possession, didn’t create many chances until the last 15 mins. The penalty decision was ridiculous but a defender runs the risk of conceding a penalty if he reacts so rashly.
The defending was awful for the second-goal, absolutely awful. I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed the game and think we’ll beat them on the return-leg. But can we drop the bitter jibes at City and their players? it’s extremely hypocritical to react so bitterly to anything that comes our way from City, yet call them the bitters. Surely we’re above that nonsense at Utd.
I always enjoy the blog Scott, but I think these reactions bring-down the tone of the blog in general. Keep up the good work but maybe less of the tempered reactions
PS: I thoroughly agree that both players are complete Shitebags and I think Tevez’ reaction yesterday justified our decision to sell. Wait until things go a little awry at City and we’ll see the usual bitching & moaning from Tevez. He was like a 4 year-old last night.
This blog is becoming the tale of a man obsessed with a former player! Seriously bored to keep looking at stories about this twat!
Not sure if it’s a case of Tevez obsessed with United.
More a case of certain United fans being obsessed with Tevez.
City can keep their money grabbing argentinian whore, yeah he is scoring a few at the moment but he will go cold again! His goals record for us was not that of a 30m player! He had his chance with us and did not prove his worth that is why he is bitter!
Defending for their goal was shite and we are really missing rio and nemanja but apparently they are back maybe even this saturday!
Valencia is turning out to be a very good buy at the moment, although this does make us a little uneven! with the left wing relying on Patrice Evra (amazing season he is having).
With a little more consistency with the line up and I think we will be alright! Busy & tough time with fixtures over the next 2 weeks!
A good run will silence all those critics!
Waiting for some to have a go at Rooney and Neville for taunting Liverpool fans next.
good article, i think youll beat them in the 2nd leg – people getting carried away assuming city in the final already. the occasion looked to much for some city players until the got the dodgy pen
What a fucking twat, why isn’t Tevez being looked at by the FA, I was so fucking angry with his “all talk” hand movement celebration, yet had Neville done it he’d get his bank account robbed by the FA. The team played really well, it’s probably my preferred line up if you put Vidic and Rio at centreback and Wes at right, Anderson got stuck in, Valencia was bright (should’ve fucking scored though). I just want Carrick to find his form, he’s a top player but he looks so uncomfortable though. I wanna fucking see Tevez fucking bleeding next time we play. Such a cunt. I hope we fucking deny them the final, I didn’t really care about the final spot before this game but now I don’t want them to have it. When I had gloating fans claiming they’d be going to the final all I said was “feels like ’76 again eh?” the few moments of stunned silence are golden. Come on United!
Holy fuck i hate that little midget prick…!!!!!!!!!!!!!hate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Islandred1981
Tevez’s obsession was clear to see in the way he celebrated(despite stating that he wouldn’t). He scored the second in front of the City fans, yet he run across the pithc to gloat in front of Ferguson. How sad.
*pitch*
@ Bluenose
Maybe ur reading is not up to scratch the article is about players being obsessed with their old clubs.I don’t remember Gary Neville ever playing for Citeh.. u twat
tevez is a little fkin judas pr**k.. wheres keano when we need him? someone should snap his legs after that sh*t he pulled last night
Costas – hi buddy.
“He scored the second in front of the City fans, yet he run across the pithc to gloat in front of Ferguson.”
so what ? fuck him.
The sad thing is every fucking paper and pundit believes that Tevez was actually “thrown out the club”. They know fuck all.
Another thing. Not one paper today has hardly mentioned the decisions last night. We MUST do them at home.
JD – Exactly pal. Have just put that prior to reading your comment. BBC last night. 2 fucking dippers and a citeh fan, where is the balance for United.
im an arsenal fan and as i read the back pages of the sun i thought typical man city attitude. you can buy players, sometimes even titles like chelsea but you cant buy class and history which teams like liverpool, man united and arsenal have.
it seems when average teams get loads of money there fan base grows which is undertsandable ( i work with primary school children and they love the ‘richest team’ tag ! )
but at least teams like aston villa for example, act with a sense of decorum, and not go running there mouths like the tramp that just won the lottery i.e. man city, chelsea etc
and clearly the players/ whores, are just acting out like the petulant children their clubs are
rant over, i feel better now ; )
@ Costas
And the obsession with Tevez is here to see too. He’s gone. History.
So what he taunted United with his goals – like Sir Alex said – no big deal, it’s happened before.
We’ll get over it.
Concentrate on the important things, like how so inept and what a liability mike dean is – or some of the performances from the players in the team.
Ignorance is bliss.
I’m an Arsenal fan and fully back up this article – both players ARE obsessed with their old clubs and both know full well that they are now at a club of lesser stature. In Adebayors case, he went there because no other mug would have him despite being whored around the big clubs – he even went as far as to say that he stalled on signing because he was worried how he’d be percieved back home (possibly why he was wearing the Arsenal shirt in that interview). Fans got on his back for 2 reasons – for not putting the effort in in key matches, and for talking up moves abroad the summer before last before completely denying it when the evidence was there for all to see. Deluded prick who thinks fans are idiots.
Tevez on the other hand went to City to make a point to SAF – this was proved by the way he celebrated last night. Both men seen to come from the same despicable stock and frankly City are welcome to them. You’ll never hear a City player talking genuinely about their love for the club like Fabregas and Giggs do – they are simply a team of self-obsessed mercenaries who are there for the money.
Always an enjoyable read.
For those with a sense of humour, check out the Tevez report in today’s Dail Mash – very funny.
@Corea
I have fucked him since last May. Just stating why I thought he is obsessed with Mancester United.
@Islandred1981
It’s Sir Alex’s job not to answer to provocations. That’s what separates him from Arsene Wenger for example. Why should fans ignore the fact that an ex player provoked them last night?
That being said, the Tevez subject should not be more important like the subjects you mentioned in your last paragraph. I commented on them way before I spoke about Tevez’s antics. And I think it’s time we made a topic about how wasteful we are in attack instead of a Tevez one.
the referee last night was a disgrace. the penalty that never was and the assault by bellemy on rafael(spl) that didnt even get the booking it desereved.. disgraceful! city are a classless club and i hope with all my heart that you stuff them in the second leg.
Entertaining to read all those quotes, but enough of Tevez, already. He feels he didn’t get the status , respect and appearances on the pitch that he deserved at United, so even if there was an offer, he still feels rejected. That’s why he’s obsessed with proving something to United, including former team-mates. It’s not comparable to other players’ situation.We shouldn’t rise to it with Tevez , and nor should idiots like Gary Nev, it just adds to his motivation. Let it be, I’d much rather United concentrated on why were’re playing so patchily – apart from the obvious reason , that we have had major injuries. If Vidic & Rio are back for the second leg, and we play Owen or Berba up front with Rooney, we’ll win at a canter, but I’m still worried by the loss of form of good/ reliable players like Brown, Evans, Carrick, Anderson. Scholes has an excuse, he’s near the end of his career, but not the others. Apart from the injuries, which have been a major factor, I won’t deny, I think the endless changes in selection and the over-cautious use of strikers are the major problem to address. I couldn’t give a flying f**k for Tevez and the unearned wealth of PetroDollar City, it’s United I’m interested in.
Fantastic Blog, im an Arsenal Fan and completely agree with the analysis!
Adebaywhore is a hypocrite who completely (purposely) forgets to mention the fact that HE wanted the move to AC Beyonce and Barca and publicaly declared that! Then there was the fact that he demanded to be payed like T. Henry after 1 good/productive season! Audacity i do believe its known. Man City fans wont understand the annoyance of having former players constantly hating on their previous clubs because they are ONLY NOW becoming a club to be spoken about, i mean that without disrespect but its true…but given time Ade will show his true colours, as he did at Monaco and Arsenal before City.
As for Tevez i know he works his socks off but like another blogger said he is like Rooney without the end product…Fergie was dam right not to pay the same for him as he did Wayne.
They both forget that players come and go..true fans dont and players are replaced…some easier than others but Ade and Tevez are highly replaceable…
I agree the gestures of Adebayor and Tevez are pretty bad… But then both of them have been kicked out, at least in their perspective!!
Look at all the examples that the blogger has mentioned about…
1)Barry – wanted out of Villa for more than 2 years now and there’s every possibility that he might end in a better position than when he was with Villa meanwhile earning a LOT more
2)Rooney – definitely went to a FAR FAR better club compared to his Everton so obviously is not sad about his move and there’s no need, none at all, to still keep thinking about his old club
3)Lescott – this guy made a huge fuss to get out of Everton and now he wouldn’t obviously have any right to say he once belonged to Everton. He might have enjoyed his days there & the fans might have appreciated his work but he chose the money over Everton and hence he’s content with what he has now!!
4)Valencia – Do I have to mention it might have been his dream move!?
What kind of obsession was the blogger referring to when he chose these examples is beyond my reach!!
Now consider Adebayor & Tevez… Adeb didn’t choose to go there, he was asked to accept the City offer(again according to him, and since Wenger didn’t bother to deny that claim I’d believe Adeb with that). Now he’s with a squad where it’s fine if he keeps performing well, but then when you are into a bad patch even to dream about chances to get back your form is too much to ask for!! Tevez won huge love & following during his stay at Utd but then to be kicked out for a striker who cost the club more than him and is not giving you the desired fruits would definitely hurt you!! Berbatov is a CLASS striker but then you have to admit he hasn’t lived upto his price tag at Utd, he never fit the bill!!
Rooney, who still claims that Everton would forever remain in his heart, did react to the Everton fans’ insults even though he almost made his dream move to Utd… Now talk about controlling your emotions!! Not as simple as said IMHO
Now going into what Adebayor did… I can understand his celebrations after he scored that goal against Arsenal. But then he did NOT have to stomp on RVP. He might have some personal issues with him but one asks you to be professional when you are an idol for millions. CHEAP CHEAP way to behave in public. I have nothing to point out at Tevez though, it was just his reaction for the talking Neville did prior to the match!!
P.S. I might have hurt some one’s feelings but I just expressed my views and did not mean any kind of offense there… CHEERS
He played well and got two goals. The first should not have ever occurred but it was not an easy call for the ref to make. I think it was wrong decision but I understand how the mistake could be made watching it at full speed. HIs second goal was just poor marking. The two CB flew at Kompany leaving Evra and Da Silva to defend two forwards and a midfielder in behind. If it wasn’t Tevez it would have been someone else. Two mistakes cost us this game, one by the ref and one by some shading defensive work. I can not wait till Vida is back in the side. We miss him as we clearly missed VDS. He was quality and made some fantastic saves, good to see him back in between the posts. Hope Nani gets a run this weekend as I felt we missed a cutting edge threat on the left side with Giggs. Giggs could never get beyond Richards and I feel Nani would be able to get to the end line at least 3-4 times a half. Anyways those are my thoughts after a day of fuming. Not the end of the world and at Old Trafford I hope our possession will prove the difference.
one last point…why do we think Owen and Rooney can not play together? They looked fantastic with each other yesterday and read each others runs well. I say give them a go against Hull and see what comes of it.
Fun read. Ade lost the respect of Gooners when he started comparing himself to Henry (“if you want me to play like Henry, then pay me like Henry”) – after just one good season. Also briefing journos in private at the 2008 World cup that he couldn’t wait to leave for Italy, after having announced at an official press conference same day that he loved Arsenal and the fans, blah blah… didn’t help either. Good effing riddance. With egos like Bellamy, Tevez, and Ade in the dressing room, Mancini will have his work cut out keeping a lid on everything…
And yeah Valencia is turning out to be such a nice buy for Utd… Thought Fergi is fucking it up big time when came to know he was ready to part with 18million(is it!?) for Valencia, but then SAF seems to have cracked it this time.
Obertan, as much as I saw him, seemed like coup of the decade for me… of course just below the Pique’s transfer success
If there were even a tiny amount of truth in the rumors that Lisbon wanted a swap between Nani & Moutinho, I wonder why SAF didn’t take it!! I can understand to some extent that the time that Anderson is taking to convince his price might have made SAF to think twice about Moutinho… But then he’s at the same off-loading Nani of all!!
And moreover I felt SAF is misusing Anderson, you would know it better though. Loved the way he pocketed Essien, of all, at Stamford bridge!! I like his killer-passes as well 
So tevez and adebayor get asked questions regarding old clubs? So fucking what!
i’ve got no problem with tevez. he worked hard and deserved recognition from fergie while adebayor has been lazy and even tried to engineer a move to barca and milan.
I think we are more obssessed
Shouldn’t we be analysing our 8th defeat of the season
Shouldn’t we be asking why Fergie keeps on ignoring Owen
Shouldn’t we be asking when Hargreaves is going to bother playing for us again?
Shouldn’t we be asking, where is our Fabregas/Gerarrd/Lampard/Xavi/Pirlo/Kaka?
Instead we have sideways Carrick, headless chicken Ando, no end product Nani. Unfortunately Scholey cannot perform to his best week in week out, and we cannot keep on relying on GIggsy
Brain dead cunts. Adebyor loves living in the past, talking about the 30 goals he scored 2 and a half years ago – wanker. Kevin Phillips scored 30 goals in a season, but he never thought he had the devine right to whore himself to a bigger club. Tevez is a money grabbing greedy cunt. Shock the FA are looking to make an example of Neville again.
@Islandred1981 we agree there!
Breaking news:
FOOTBALL:Manchester United’s parent company’s overall debt has risen to £716.5m
This has to STOP
Glazers must be forced out this summer. Our success over the last 3 years has given them an easy ride
I think this matter is way way overrated… he scored his goals, celebrated, fair enough, am sure we’re big enough to move on – we got much much more important stuff to worry about..
regarding the glazer issue… i heard somewhere that while this bond issue is in the market they are NOT allowed to make any comment regarding the financial aspects – so I’l wait to hear what they say after this period is over…
@Tony
Glazer’s is worth $2.2bn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Glazer
He should pay up or leave. We really need to do something drastic, which should be spearheaded by a former player.
Man Utd should be run like Barcelona
I said it yesterday, Tevez’s celebration was extremely disrespectful to Fergie – the man who allowed him to win all of those trophies and, despite not performing adequately in his second season, did submit a bid for him.
He’s created this illusion in his head that all of United was against him, whilst the reality is that many fans infamously heaped adulation on him just months before the move.
His portrayal of a victim is sickening. Can he not understand what he’s done? What would happen if a Boca player crossed the divide to join River? Would the Boca fans thank him for his services, and then leave it be? Not a chance. Certainly not when his primary motivation for leaving was money.
Hes 5Ft 4″, He 5Ft 4″!!!!!…… Andre Ashavin, So Fcuk Adebayor.
Tevez’s statement contradict themselves.
After the derby back in September,he said that would celebrate.
And just before yesterday’s game,he said that he wouldn’t celebrate out of respect for the United fans.
Jig 3000 – “I thoroughly agree that both players are complete Shitebags and I think Tevez’ reaction yesterday justified our decision to sell. Wait until things go a little awry at City and we’ll see the usual bitching & moaning from Tevez. He was like a 4 year-old last night.”
Is what you said above being bitter? Can we not have an opinion on Tevez without being bitter? It’s not as if this article came out of nowhere, it’s because last night he showed how much he still thinks about United. Commenting on that doesn’t make you bitter.
Bitter Bitter Bitter
Debts have risen to 716million pounds.glazers have well and truely fucked us up.long way now trying to get rid of it.i can see them fucking us even more and the debt going on increasing every year.
Blimey have i fallen into the twighlight zone????
never seen so much love ( mebbe not love but not hate) from north london towards u lot. ha ha
can we get back to normal proceedings and fight tooth and nail?
I wonder what ill find up here after the arsenal man u game
Gooners
Breaking news on SSN: Manchester Uniteds parent company 716 million in debt.
Neither red nor blue- please stop talking, your making far too much sense right now. Your wasting your time if you think people are gonna be objective.
By the time they raise the bonds the debt might be larger. Who knows with these people.
I think it’s time someone bit the bullet and hired a hitman to put a fucking bullet in the brain stem of the Glazers.
You’ve hit the nail on the head Scott – most of the players that Mark Hughes signed are players who didn’t quite make the grade at other clubs and still have something to “prove” to the world. Tevez, Adebayor, Toure, Lescott, Barry, Given and Bellamy have all done well at other clubs but never quite hit the level of performance and prestige that they aspired to. It’s only natural that this inferiority complex should manifest itself with silly celebrations, etc..
Three points about Utd last night; 1.) We played well for half the game, 30 mins in 1st half, 15 mins in 2nd half. 2.) The team always raises it’s game when Owen comes on, Rooney in particular seems to relish Owen taking some of the responsibility off him. 3.) Mame Biram Diouf seems like the only Utd player who can head the ball from a corner – the coaches must address this problem of Utd wasting corner kicks.
I fancy Utd to win the return next week and put an end to all this silly posturing by City and their insecure players. When the medals are given out at the end of the season I’m willing to bet that Utd will top City by some considerable distance!
notice how all these trouble making players that other respectable clubs once had, have all ended up at the same club. Toure/adebayeor/tevez/bellemy/barry they all were at a bigger more respected club than they are now, and still seem obsessed with their former clubs or in bellemys case United. They do have a point to prove but that will wear away after the first season, they are all there clearly for the money (except Santa Cruz him moving there was understandable) and are still upset about there old clubs, im sure they can wipe away there tears with a ten pound note.
love how not only are citys small time supporters acting like they’ve won the champions league, but city as a club are also so excited over a 2-1 win at home, they do realise they havent even won the tie yet?
The red flares were class in the United end, infact the whole of our away support was class.
manchuchu,Owner dies,business dies
Not a good option.
The other thing that I want to point out about yesterday, is that wishful thinking won’t get us anywhere. We have been saying for a while now, that we will come good in the second half of the season. Last night wasn’t a bad performance, but we had exactly the same weakesses we had at Chelsea and at Birmingham.
At the moment, we have some players who have been stellar throughout the whole season(Rooney, Valencia and Fletch), some who have yet to get off the mark(Carrick, Anderson, Brown and Evans) and I think that only one player has improved as the season has gone on: Valencia.
The big is always a big.Poor people,poor mentality,SMALL CLUB,SMALL MENTALITY.UNITED FOR LIFE.
Off topic but how about bombarding these filthy rapist with messages about how you feel. http://www.glazerfamilyfoundation.com/TalktoUs.aspx
Every little helps.
Forget it. Doesn’t work. Get me a petition or somethin to sign.
In belfast we have a good riot when we’re upset about something. How’s about we all meet in manchester and start breaking things. I feel helpless over these cunts. How are we the fans gonna sort this out? I’ve been on forbes eyeing up potential buyers. But i do reckon a good riot or the kidnapping and ransom of a glazer spawn will do the trick. We need the support of god himself (saf). I reckon for him to say the glazers are fucking up our dynasty would be the first step to giving these fucking rapists the heeve hoe.
Arsenal 0-2 downnn.!1
Arsenal pulled one back, but this still won’t written in the script.
i dont care if Tevez runs naked around Old Trafford if he scores there.
He doesnt play for us anymore so he basically can do what he wants.Players leave some on good terms some in this case on bad but they leave and are no longer part of our club however much some wish they still were.
By winning the return leg that will a draw a line under it the press wont then have a story and city and tevez will remain trophyless.
Don’t fall into the media trap of letting the celebration last night bother you .The Gary Neville 1 finger gesture said more than any words can say anyway
Shit. 2-2. Arsenal will win this now.
3-2. Dropping to third tonight.
Nobody’s fault but us.
Fuck, Arsenal are winning. One more goal from them and they go top. The game at the Emirates just got a whole lot bigger.
@hurr
Damn right. And now we will have to play full strength against both City and Arsenal within 4 days.
One of the best articles I’ve read in a long time Scott. Really great piece.
No-one City signs could give a shit less about the club. You’ve rightly pointed out the hypocrisy around both of them ending up there because nobody else came in for them – hardly surprising since they valued themselves so highly. But let’s be honest, they’re in pretty good company there eh? Didn’t Barry publicly say he wanted a move to Liverpool before going to Citeh? And as for Robinho, he virtually had a foot inside Stamford Bridge before signing for Citeh at the last minute. These are the sort of players who are all exactly where they deserve to be – at a second rate outfit run by pimps.
Arsenal top. Great. As interesting as it is for the neutral, its fucking killing me as a United fan. We had so many chances to go top this season and blew them all. COME ON LADS!
@ChelseaD
Yeah, actually Barry said that he wanted to play Ch.League football. How is that going for him by the way?
Well said Scott. That’s what happens when clubs flash cash around and agents hawk their clients around like cheap whores. The slappers and the street crawlers end up in bed together, have a few hours of filthy sex without either of them really enjoying the experience, then once they’ve shot their load they fuck off and find some other filthy whore like club and repeat the process. Each time gettin filthier and more disrespected with every club they fawnicate with! Tevez and Adebayor….filthy footballing whores!!
Hey Scott,
That was a nice read and although you’ve grouped Tevez and Ade together I think the latter is more obsessed with his former club. Also I don’t think Man City signed them because they wanted to prove a point to their previous employers. End of the day both of them represented two of the finest footballers on the planet who City managed to acquire. I see no wrong in that.
Sid
I really wish we would create clear cut chances and score goals!
The referees were at it tonight again.
I do not know why Tottenham’s goal at Anfileld was ruled out? Ref made it so easy for Villa to reach Wembley with two dubious decisions. Sending off was too harsh.
two really sad players that are not top of the league……oh i’m on a manc site that loss to shitty and are third….i do apologise……hahahahahaha
This week is really a shit and it’s getting even worse. Yesterday’s lose and today’s results are really depressing. Haven’t watched the game to be honest, but I have that bad feeling untill the weekend and to make matters worse I might work on saturday and miss the game. Was hoping that either Spurs or Bolton will cheer me up, but no luch there either.
Lol, funny to read through those interviews. Nice one Scott, those two are truly hung up on their former teams – which are both much bigger than City by the way. That might be bugging them.
Anyway – little off topic. Just read that we’re interested in the young 18 year old Spanish midfielder Sergio Canales who plays for Racing de Santander. His contract expires in May so he can leave for free in the summer. Real Madrid have offered him a contract but he hasn’t signed anything yet. Chelsea, Bayern, Arsenal are also said to be interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxE9BUn7cQY
Perhaps not a bad idea given our financial problems. LUHG!!
WoW what a great article man I wish I can talk like this …..man scott you are great on this that little pig we need to forget about him if we ignore him he will be quit if we keep talking about him he will get double big head so lets ignore him from now on
I really do think we should stop going on about Twatez. It’s showing him too much respect (in a backhanded way) and does seem a little obsessive. We just need to concentrate on our own team and get behind them so much, that they dare not lose. Not just next week, but in every single home game, from now until the end of the season.
@Orez
It is a bit depressing. And next week’s games will be very crucial. We could be closer to 2 trophies or we could lose 2 trophies. Because if we lose at the Emirates, it will be very difficult to recover from that.
Arsenal really have come up on the outside. Like United at the minute they are vulnerable at the back. Just hoping they lose their bottle but not so sure. With Campbell brought in it may just help. Its up to United now to find some form. 4 unbeaten in league now and better make sure we beat Hull on Saturday. The game at the Emirates is huge now and am looking forward to that. Will be a tasty game. A win on Saturday and we go top albeit with the others having games in hand. Would rather have the points on the board though especially with Arsenal to play Chelsea and Liverpool and another side, I forget who, all in a fort night. Gonna get interesting now.
Thought Spurs were fucking woeful tonight. I have said for a while the dippers will still get top 4 and really believe they will. Teams like Spurs, Villa, City etc have a decent little run, perhaps beat a top 4 side along the way, maybe scoring nine goals then all of a sudden they just run out of steam and bottle it. The top 4 still takes some breaking in to.
Got to say, thus far this season the “Premier League” has been piss poor.
@Sayyid
If this was Spain then maybe your “Man Utd should be run like Barcelona” would make sense. However we don’t and “Fan Ownership” just don’t work without the whole countries ‘infrastructure’ being setup to allow it. Without this it actually limits the clubs growth, in the UK for example we will see the likes of AFC Wimbledon and FC United hit a brick wall at some point where their ‘attendences’ are not significantly higher than their rivals and thus doesn’t offset the ‘Fan Ownership’ethics
In Germany a certain percentage of clubs has to be Fan Owned but the clubs are trying to get this changed as its holding them back.
It works in Spain only because it a) Requires the preseident to put in alot of money to Run for the role b) Banks (Both Local and National) are encouraged to ‘invest’ in the form of Intrest Free loans, loans which are often written off by the Bank rather than have any repayment made (Ronaldo, Kaka and no doubt other Real signings for example were paid for by Santander in the form of an Intrest fee loan) c) The Local and National Govenment often helps them out in various ways. Be it laws that make it easier for them to sign players or by purchasing land/assets off them for over inflated prices
Oh and on Glazer being worth $2.2billion. Thats WORTH not HAS. Man Utd itself is worth a significant chunk of that (Between $1.6 to 1.8 billion USD). If they were to make the 400,000 to 600,000 liquid tommorrow they wouldn’t be able to clear the debts outright. They require the other investments as part of their business plan to ultimatly pay everything off (A business plan they will have). And its not a sellers market anyway, if they were to sell they would almost certainly get less than the value of the assets. You can’t expect them to cash in all their investments that are making them money and ultimatly servicing the PIK loans. As fans we may want them to think small scale and only worry about United but in reality they have to look at the bigger picture. Some of these things as Fans may seem bad and a slight against the club but the Club is a major factor in their Business success and no matter how bitter we get towards them we have to remember they need it to be successful which doesn’t mean running it into the ground
As for the actual debt figure, once again remember the figures themselves are misleading. Its for the holding company and that debt figure is no doubt either including the personal Money the Glazers did invest (Which is often forgotten that they did invest a couple hundred million of their own money into the buy out) OR includeds the intrest payments which if paid aren’t really ‘increasing’ the debt (Its just increasing the total amount that will have been paid when all the loans are wiped out)
Just as the Media wants to keep misreporting that United choose not to sign Tevez, the Finacial situation is not as bad as its being made out to be
Is this guy Tevez stupid or something, does he not realise that however good he is there was no club apart from City who would pay the ridiculous amount his owners wanted.. he will never be worth what they wanted, how big is ego? I’m glad we don’t have players like that at our club no matter how good they are..
.. besides has he not read the news about our owners and ‘value’?..
sorry the above was a response to this…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/20/carlos-tevez-gary-neville
Tony Starks he’s really showing his true colours. So many players are accused of not being worth their transfer fee all the time. I don’t see them acting so childish.
Besides, Ryan Giggs said the same thing that Neville did. Lets see if he goes and does that to him.
@Costas
Agree man, but first it’s Hull. We should not have trouble with them to be honest, but the 2 games after that are major. First the Shity. I don’t care about the cup that much to be honest, but it’s becoming a matter of a princip and confidence and then it’s Arsenal. Looser of that game will take a major blow to their title ambitions.
@King Eric well said. I think it’s really pathetic form Villa, Spurs and even Shity that Liverpool after being so bad the whole season are still back into contention for the 4th.
@Orez
Yeah, of course. One game at a time and at the moment we can’t afford to look past anybody. If we do win though, there are 2 decisions that could have an influence on the City and Arsenal games. The one is Vidic and when he will be fit to play. The second is Rio’s return. That one could be risky.
But we need at least Vidic for the games against City and Arsenal.
Oh and on Tevez. I suspect tbh most of the ‘issues’ come down to Kia filling his head with Rubbish for his own Financial gains. Its well known that Tevez has little grasp of English so Kia you would imagine had a major advantage in manoeuvring him. Tevez also seems to act like Kia has at some point saved his life and he owes him his and trusts him without question.
After all the ‘outbursts’ didn’t start until Kia wanted to get Tevez transfer to us locked down and when he started to realise there were others who may pay more to get him. David Gill stated a number of times throughout the season it would be sorted when the season ended, Kia himself suggested that the Loan Deal actually had no formal purchase figure attached to it just a ball park figure so had to be formalised and agreed at the end of the loan. I suspect Kia thought if Tevez used the crowd he and he used the other clubs that United would pay more, but United actually felt (and rightly imho) that he was worth a bit less than the ballpark figure.
Kia used Tevez and like a fool he fell for it
@Costas
To be honest man I don’t think we need to rush him for this 2 games. Don’t get me wrong, I think Vidic is the best, but we don’t need to take risk agains these teams. Both Shity and Arse like to keep the ball on the ground, so I would rather have a settled deffense then half fit Vidic, then again if he is fit, then brown should go RB.
Lately I have been disappointed with Rafael. I know he is young, but he tends to always be in the end of this “rush penalties”. I have not seen the incident to be honest, but it’s really annoying.
@Orez
Vidic does show the effects of his lay offs in his first game back, so maybe we should be careful. It’s just that the Brown-Evans partnership isn’t impressing me at the moment.
About Rafael. I think his problem is that he is naive. The penalty decision yesterday was harsh because he pulled Bellamy’s arm outside the box, but what let him down, was the fact that he made another swing for Bellamy’s hand inside the box(but made no contact). That’s what probably fooled the ref. It was unnecessary. Just like the penalty at Hull. They are 2 mistakes that you have to think that someone like O’Shea might have avoided.
At the same time, I have to admit that in both cases, he pucked himself up very well and carried on doing his best. Once he gets more games under his belt. hopefully he will be less naive. And he will probably learn to take better positions.
@Costas
That’s exactly my point man. I know Evans and Brown were not that impressive, but I doubt we can have an iron deffense with anyone right now. I am sure you are correct on Rafael too, but for the time being we just can’t afford that naivity. We got away in Hull, but it costed us against Shity.
I am all for attacking them all out and don’t giving them a space, but I doubt it’s gonna happen. Hope Nani playes at least one of those games. Not a huge fan of his, but he is better then anyone else out there on that flank. I am feeling a little better now that I could talk a little with a fellow fan.
Arsenal, won’t have a week off before they play us, they’re away to villa the night of our second leg.
Gooner who followed the link…both players clearly feel they have something to prove, Adebayor to the Arsenal Fans and Tevez to the Utd management. The truth is, when you leave a club like Utd or Arsenal , you can only go overseas or go to a lesser club (Maybe except cole depending what you think of the chavs).
The tevez situation was a little unfortunate, as he’s too similar to your best player and not as good, so was not worth as much to Utd as to City, and either way the deal couldn’t have gone ahead until Ronnie went to spain. In a different set of circumstances, he’d have been a v good signing for Utd. Not really a £30m player though. He obviously underestimated the importance of the Manchester Derby, and doing the publicity poster put him in an awkward position, burning bridges he might not have wanted to.
Adebayor was a much better fit for Arsenal, but his half-arsed performances after Xmas 08, his actively angling for moves and his resignation letter of an interview with Garth Crooks made his position with us untenable. Whether through paranoia or angling for a transfer, he vastly exaggerated the level of the fans antipathy towards him, and to his surprise wasn’t wanted by a top club.
Not bad business for city, as money is no object, and they complement each other pretty well, and while they both feel they have something to prove will probably do well. Tevez’s goal threat will wax and wane, but he’ll keep working his socks off, but adebayor’s effort levels will probably vary massively, I doubt either will be there in 3 or 4 years….
I know it’s totally off topic but here’s a letter I saw on Football365 for both the lovers and haters of Berbatov to digest. (Expect me to cut and paste it here regularly, especially when those that just get Berba start their rants!!)
Congrats to your stats section for looking beyond ‘goals scored’ to see the value of a forward. I’ll highlight one of the stats you have once more: “Manchester United’s record with Dimitar Berbatov in the starting XI is 34 points from 13 games. Their record without him is 13 points from nine games. That’s 2.6 points per game v 1.44 points per game.”
Here’s a few more:
Berbatov was second in the league for assists last season, tied with Stevie G, Lampard and Fabregas)
At Spurs his goal scoring record was roughly a goal every 2.5 games, at United his record is one in three. Hardly a huge drop.
Finally, as was discussed on Off The Ball, an Irish sports show last night, he has scored more league goals in less games than Arshavin, yet we rarely see Arshavin deemed a ‘flop’ in the press.
Anyone who watches United week in week out will see what he brings to United in his link play. He’s not a 20 goal a season player, but never was for Spurs either. To my mind he’s a Berkamp style player (in terms of the role they play, I’m not directly comparing the two). Bergkamps goalscoring ratio for Arsenal? A goal every 3.6 games.
Love United…Love Berbatov ….Love Rooney….. Love Evera ….Love …..
but berbatov cost more than both bergkamp and arshavin put together dave mack ,and arshavin not exactly a centre forward, berbatov is classy but dont compare him to bergkamp on current form or arshavin playin as a make shift striker and running about 6 miles a game more,i dont understand your comparison choice? bergkamp has been retired for 5 years and past his best for maybe 8 or 9 years, why dont you compare him to players of simular value or players who are playin in this seasons high scoring prem? rooney? torres? bent? bergkamp is a football legend berbatovs wont even be remembered in 5 years if he dont pull his finger out
its a good article too, i think both players are talented but adebayor is hard to like when he plays for you, tevez is the kind of player you love when he plays for you but he is a cunt when he dont play for you, theres a few players like that, stevie me? robin van persie? wayne rooney?
We are more preoccupied with tevez than he does. hey, let’s forget him and move on he is a city palyer now. what worry me is arsenal’s form right now. they are playing good fotball, picking up vital points and scoring goals. We have to get atleast a point at arsenal.
Now either I am paranoid or there is a witch hunt for United this season. Dodgy decisons, awful articles, blatant lies .What next? I hate the Glazer’s as much as the next but I really do think the media are causing huge fucking problems for United. Apart from the MUST lot no fucker has barely mentioned the debt, now after a dodgy start to the season it is all the rage. I am afraid this is really gonna disrupt United’ season and we simply HAVE TO win 4 in a row to shut every cunt up. I am well aware of ABUism but this season it has taken on new lows. No fucking mention of the pen award in any of the rags. If it had been the other way thats all we would here. Lieing that Tevez was pushed out the door, gloating all the fucking time. They fucking love to see United “in decline”. Come on lads shut them up one last time. I really am pissed off with it all. I actually almost felt for the dippers tonight. After all the shite they have got and rightly so, after tonight they must feel similar to us. Shoveing it to the pretenders. Come on United.
Wayne Rooney’s passion cannot mask signs of Manchester United decline
United remain a capable team but no one needs to tell Sir Alex Ferguson that his veterans look vulnerable
http://www.nzurisana.com/forum/showthread.php?310-Wayne-Rooney-s-passion-cannot-mask-signs-of-Manchester-United-decline&p=312#post312
So Arsenal are top of the table after last night’s win. They cannot be ignored now and must be taken seriously. They may mess it up but in no way we can say confidently that we will capitalize on it.
Firstly Arsenal deserve a lot of credit for the way they turned their season after that hammering by chelsea despite having Van Persie out(equivalent to rooney for them) and then Losing Fabregas(one of the players of the season so far) for a few weeks.
The difference at the moment is the young players Wenger puts in like Merida,Eastmond, Ramsey,gibbs,traore are doing the job for him. Whenever SAF plays Gibson, Anderson, Welbeck,nani,obertan more often than not they let him down with average or poor performances.
Also once we go behind now a days we seem resigned as if we will lose the game or at best , in a rare case get a draw.The fighting spirit,late goals we are used to seeing from the United players has completely gone missing of late.
Arsenal have surprisingly improved from last season but Chelsea are on the same level.The difference is we are some way behind the level we were at in the last 2 seasons which is making those 2 look good.
Incase someone may be wondering why i am talking about this the reason is things arent in our hands anymore. We have to rely on Chelsea and Arsenal slipping up to give ourselves a chance. In the last 3 years this is the first time we are out of the top 2 at this stage of the season. We should be back on top on Saturday(hope beating Hull at home is not asking too mcuh from the players).
I got the exact same feeling as well. But then Citeh have practically bought one person from every other team in the league.
But now I’m truly pissed with Tevez, I wasn’t this pissed even when he left. As I’ve made clear here – http://bigfourza.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/now-im-pissed/
Just’ve read Tevez interview in the Guardian. He talks childishly.
“I’m disappointed I received so much criticism at the start of the season. What people don’t realise is that I was playing with a very sore knee injury and needing injections every day.”
Berbatov didn’t say any of that.
My take on tevez’s latest round of cribs, justifications and ego inflation.
http://wazzasaidso.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/an-explanation-from-the-man-in-the-form-of-his-life/
Majorly off topic – Can anyone tell me why Gallas wasn’t sent off for trying to break Davis’s leg, and why play was allowed to go on in order for Arsenal to get their equalizer? Astonishing! I remember when United played Chelsea and were on the break when (I think it was Drogba) fell over with nothing more than an eyelash in his eye! and play was hauled back?! As it appears the incident wasn’t seen by the referee then surely the FA are allowed to look at the evidence and hand Gallas the 3 match ban he deserves…..however, I feel they’ll be too wrapped up in the more serious incident of Gary Neville flipping the bird to Tevez!! How did football ever get this messed up?! We do get a lot of gooners on here, who on the whole seem ok and well mannered, however, I found it dissapointing to read that the Arsenal fans cheered as Davis was stretchered off with a serious injury. On the plus side, Wenger has appologised for the scum like behaviour of his fans.
@aig alex is god
Mate..I agree we need to watch out for Arsenal. But its not in their hands! We dont need to rely on them slipping up! Remaining games against Arsenal and Chelsea in the league can turn it in our favour. We can take the title charge here and march on.
We need to rely on US not slipping up, rather than them slipping up.
Wazza
Well they are a point ahead of us at the moment so they have to slip up. Also i dont think i am wrong in saying that we will lose more games before the end of the season infact possibly more than one game so we must ensure we go ahead of them and then hold on. To be fair though we have an uphill task in winning the league and Arsenal adn CHelsea too will have to do really badly especially Chelsea will have to fuck it up big time for us to win the league.
johno out for the rest of the season
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_5874817,00.html sorry here is the link
If we don’t improve our performances we will do well to finish 3rd. I can’t see any last minute signings this month, which means we have to rely on our current squad. Normally I would be happy with this but some key players haven’t been performing, they need to step up. And if there really are issues with Vidic and Rio’s injury plagued season continues, I really do think 3rd place is a possibility.
@AIG – The reason he said it isn’t in Arsenals own hands is because we have to play them and if we win its the preverbial 6 pointer.
Sad blow for Sheasy but remember when we lost Gary Wes stepped up. When we lost Wes Sheasy stepped up. Not sure though about this season. I still think Brown’s position is RB and he will do a great job for us. Also we should continue giving chances to Rafael. Only then he will come good.
@mikekelly12
its at the Emirates mate and i am not confident at all. A draw will be as good as a win for me. The last 5 league meetings with Arsenal we have been well and truely outplayed
aig alex is god – hi mate.
2-2 at the Emirates and 2-1 at OT 07-08 season ?
It’s sad that O’Shea is not going to be able to play any more games this season. I have always felt that he was perhaps the most under rated player in the team and now his absence in the defense is being felt. Rafael will definitely improve but he is going to make a few mistakes from time to time as he learns.
I hope SAF gives a chance to Magnus Eikrem in the game against Hull. Looking forward to seeing him in the team for a long time.
Corea
Hi. Good morning
In that 2-2 draw both sides were a bit poor but Arsenal were probably better. In the 07-08 game we were poor for most part of the game until Arsenal chose to self destruct and give us the penalty. Hargo’s free kick was top class though.
aig alex is god – in 2-2 game we were better for my liking. in 2-1 yes, it was a strange game but i think you shoudn’t use term “outplay” because it wasn’t the case.
@corea
we werent better in my opinion but not that behind. We scored in the first half with that Gallas OG. That was the only chance we created in the first half. In the 2nd half too we scored from the only chance we got. Not exactly outplayed but Arsenal were fractionally better. The other 4 games we were 2nd best by some distance
So… just the £716 million in debt today. What a joke.
@ colbert – it would be a joke if only it werent so true =s the PIK loans are going to go up from 14% to 16% soon..that cant be good =s
i’m either startin to get caught up in the doom or gloom or i don’t know but i started off relativel comfortable about the debt(comfortable as in believing we’ll be able to mantain a reasonable level of operations)..now i’m startin to believe the club with implode !
good luck finding a new manager once SAF retires with things being as they are !!
@aig alex is god
The Difference between the Gunners and United situation with the Youngsters is when one of their youngsters have to step in they are often the only change to the midfield. For us this season it seems that we all too often change 3 of the 4 midfielder every game. As such they aren’t getting the chance to gel as a unit or for players to build up some confidence (I think Carrick is a perfect example here, he broke his foot against Barca and no-one noticed. He went on England Duty with it when it was discovered and according to media reports Capello decided to have a right go at him for being injured and since those reports he hasn’t played well (There were reports that Capello told him if he withdrew with the Injury he wouldn’t ever pick him again, although he has since). Its as if Capello has completely screwed his confidence and he is just finding it impossible to recover it
lukemallia
Your feelings mirror mine. We were probably all guilty of not paying attention to the debt because we’ve been so successful these last few years, but I am very worried now. How could the authorities let the Glazer deal go through? They are the ones to blame for this. Fucking finance people.
@wakey
Valid point actually because SAF has put Anderson and Gibson in the centre a few times and both have looked very poor. Playing them with Fletcher would be better.Carrick has been poor for most of this season. He has one good game in every 3-4 games which is not good enough given his form in the last 3 seasons.
Think Valencia, Fletcher,nani/giggs must be regulars. The other spot is up for grabs. At the moment neither carrick,anderson,gibson or scholes have been consistent enough to suggest they can claim it on a permanent basis and be regular partners for fletch
Wouldn’t it be great after we win through to the final on Wed if all the players formed a “guard of honour” for the blue shitters and, rather than clap (like the rugby guys do), did the “talk talk” hand instead as we wave bye-bye to yet another trophyless season for them!
@lukemallia
The PIK loans don’t actually impact the club directly though so it doesn’t matter. They are Glazer debts not United debts that are actually being serviced largely by their other assets. When they were taken out they stated that the profits they were making by not cashing in assets more than serviced the PIK loans interest payments AND left enough to put a nest egg away to pay them off and as such it made more sense to take them out than sell off assets. The economy has changed a fair bit so they obviously won’t be returning the same amounts AND any interest rate increase will obviously lower the difference further but across the Glazer Group there shouldn’t be any real issue with the PIKs. For it to really impact the club directly they would have to start being unable to meet the interest payments and at the end pay off the PIK’s but with the £70mill they will get from the bond issue (Which I believe I’m right in saying that despite media reports they can’t actually put back into the club as transfer fees) they will no doubt cut the PIK’s in half so not only should the profits from the group be able to handle it and even
@wakey
what 70 million from the bond issue? from what i gathered the 500 million bond issue is jus to pay off the bank debts (hopefully reducing the interest amount & being less restricted..apart from i think there was some condition in the bank loans that if a certain amount is not repaid they get a shareholding in the comapny..cud be wrong though)
& if i’m not mistaken the PIK loans were included in Red Football Joint Venture Ltd which is the parent company of the club & so even though they’re not club debts
a) our fortunes & that of the glazers are intertwined so if they’re short on cash we’re short on cash
b)if they decide to sell the club they will no doubt factor in the PIK loans they took out to buy the club even though they’re not Man Utd debts
& who the fuck borrows at 14% ?!?!?!?
@aig alex is god
I would personally play Nani, Anderson, Fletcher and Valencia as a Midfield for a run of games. Nani and Anderson need a run of games to find their feet and build their confidence (Nani especially). Although maybe against Arsenal you would go for Park or Giggs over Nani for their workrate.
Gibson I would try and find him a loan in the Prem where he will play regularly as he hasn’t impressed me at all when he plays (Great shot although he makes Rooney shot shy at times because of this HOWEVER he looks lighweight, his passing both short and long range seems a little lacking and the game often passes him by)
Mind you as Fergie seems to have lost faith in Nani, it may be an idea for him to go out and buy a top winger to replace him (Silva, Ribery or the likes). Would be quite happy with that as well as perhaps we will see the end of these ABU media lies about our Finances which are causing so much disharmony between the Club and Fans atm
i mean with all due respect to SAF who prob has no other choice but since when have we been concerned about ‘value in the market’?!?! for as far back as i can remember we always paid more than we should have for players bar a few exceptions like evra, vidic, van der saar
@Wakey
Totally agree with you. That should be the midfield. Nani must be given one last chance and if we are going for someone i want it to be Krasic. I also agree that Gibson has to improve a lot to make it at United. Against Arsenal Park should start
@lukemallia
The Bond issue will pay off all but £50million of the Bank Loans and will reduce the Interest rate from 10% to atleast 8.5% (although it looks like the issue will be over subscribed so it may even get lower). Every percentage improvement saves us just over £7mill a year in interest payments so you are looking at nearly 18mill at 8.5%
It unlocks a ‘Dividend’ payment to the Glazers of £70mill initially which will be used to pay off half the PIK’s. They are also entitled to take another dividend of £23million at any point during the bonds period which again will be used to reduce the PIK’s further.
Again when they bought the club with loans they stated it made better business sense as they were making good returns from their other investments which would allow them to pay the loans off so what will probably happen is when the bonds are due to be paid they will a)repay their loans they took out of the club and b) They will use the returns to pay off the Bond, probably in the form of some kind of Director Loan at a very low interest rate making the club ‘virtually’ debt free again.
As for the PIK’s being on the Parent Companies accounts, I don’t believe they are. The debt figure being reported are the Bank Loans and the losses due to to the Interest being paid. In reality though our debts still just £550million. Mind you the whole thing is confusing due to all the ‘entities’ involved despite them being all the Glazers. Their accountants clearly have them moving money around to maximise overall profits (Moving the money around the way they are could be making them millions more across the board and also be saving them millions in taxes and the likes)
wakey
thanks for clearin that up
hope it translates in more transfer spending cos it seems like the ronaldo transfer fee has just been swallowed up in the restructuring process
@lukemallia
There is one thing paying ‘United Tax’ and another paying well over the odds for mediocre players. And even as a PLC there was always a ‘value for money’ issue as you couldn’t just blow money without any thought as you have to act in the Shareholders best interest. If you did you would be effectively defrauding the Shareholders.
And in this day and age where you have the Chelsea, City and Reals of this world where they have as much money to spend as they want (although even Chelsea are trying to get value for money now) any club who doesn’t have a billionaire using the club as a play thing OR in the case of Real have Local/National banks giving them Interest Free loans with no repayment date (Which will often end up being written off by the bank) you can’t go and blow too much on players otherwise all your money goes on one player. Some of the prices being quoted in the summer were just OTT (I mean look at Villa, a good striker but Real and Barca both bid over £40mill and it wasn’t accepted and then Ribery you were looking at 60-70mill which if Ronaldo is worth 80mill is too much).
Its like going to an auction to buy something, you have your valuation of an item and how much more you are willing to pay over that due to certain factors but you don’t go over this combined fee. The £35mill offer for Benzema that we had accepted does show we are still willing to pay over the odds because of who we are but we aren’t going to get into a bidding war that takes us over what was deemed the top amount
wakey no i agree with u wakey..i’m not for spenidin ridicolous amounts of money for mediocre players
but i find it hard to believe that in all of world football there isn’t value
@Wakey Said
Thanks for helping to clear some of this debt nonesense up. I never believe what’s in the papers as they always tend to stretch the truth. If you hear enough negative comments, you start to believe them, and we’re hearing this shit on a daily basis. No wonder it al seems doom and gloom at the minute. I do feel things will turn around for us, both on and off the pitch.
@lukemallia
I still think the Ronaldo Money is there to spend despite what the accounts make it look like OR what the media makes out (Media which change their mind, one minute we are Skint and the next day have us buying multiple players often valued over 15mill+). After all when you factor in 17mill for Valencia and the £35mill for Benzema and the 7mill (rising to £13) we bid for Douglas Costa then thats a good chunk of the money.
I’m confident that if Fergie identifies a player he wants and the a deal can be done at price that we are happy to pay and the selling club is happy with then we will use the Ronaldo money
@wakey
no arguments here
Just shows how games change people’s ideas. A few weeks ago a number of people were wanting Modric at United. Having watched his last few games he has been poor. Not United quality. May be his confidence after the injury but I really do think form of players warps peoples perceptions.
@lukemallia
There aren’t that many players in the world though who would add something to the squad. And many of the players who would are players in positions that other teams are also looking to fill that position too and the selling clubs are just using the City and Reals to add many millions to every price tag.
Hopefully Reals spending is pretty much done and Chelsea find their embargo ratified and then we will only have City inflating prices
@King Eric
Its not helped by the fact that Spurs seem to be imploding. They were playing so well but now none of their players seem to be stepping upto the plate. Even the greatest player will struggle to look good if the team isn’t playing well
Wakey – Yeah true mate. From the pundits saying they will win the league after their 9-1 demolition of Wigan what the fuck has happened? They have been piss poor.
United’s luck this season HAS TO change soon.
Wakey … Thank God to finally see a post on the clubs financial position from from someone who knows what he’s taking about! As King Eric said, this whole issue is just being used by the ABU’s and ill informed media to pile it on United.
It’s not about “The Glazers”. It’s about international finance and the global economy and the tabloid rags love to fuel the fire with mis-fact (saw an article that said “United 713m in the red” yesterday!) and emotive personal attacks on the Glaziers re “only wanting to rape the club” etc.
Let’s get a grip and don’t let the ABU’s succeed. Best way to do that’s on the pitch and that’s were our attention should be.
Want to talk about someone not getting over it? Have a look at this blog!!!
All I ever see is Tevex this Tevez that he doesn’t score (13 in 11 now) he’s a twat and still wants to be with us at United.
Give it up already! The guy was good for us. Why the hell do you think he won’t go away in the media? Because places like this won’t forget about him.
Get over Tevez already