Anyone that has ever run a business, or had the responsibility of managing large sums of money, will tell you that at many points of these roles you will be deemed as unpopular. This is because you have to make horrible decisions that effect many people, and generally these people will not like them.
Buying the keys to the door of Old Trafford was always going to be a tricky affair for the Glazer family. Despite having extensive knowledge of sports franchise ownership and the marketing behind that which makes a company rich, they didn't take into account the fickle attitude of the English football fan. A foreigner owning United? Mancs would rather have a Scouser as chairman. And the fact that they originate from a country that we perceive to not be of the 'global football family' we straight away condemn them to hell...or Tampa Bay...or Disney World.
Malcolm Glazer was never gonna be able to charm his way into the United Faithful's hearts. An old decrepit weird looking gentleman, who openly has no interest in supporting the football club in the way we expect a man to support a football club (note: Geordies loved Mike Ashley when he first donned a black and white shirt and rehired their Godhead Keegan...look what happened there)
Personally i have and still do not care who owns the club. Having been born into the Martin Edwards era of club ownership, i had seen that they first and foremost cared about money and secondly about the fans. This is the commercial and corporate world that football sits in today. But back to the point of this article...
The Glazers should prepare to sell the club now. One thing that people do not recognise that at the end of the day Manchester United is an asset in the global business of the Glazer family. And the truth is that it is them that pay the bills...not the fans. Yes we contribute with our shirt sales, season tickets, etc etc but they control the purse..for example i am wearing a Nike shirt - does it mean i should have a say in their financing? Its of no interest to them to make a loss at the football club. Currently with their several hundred million pounds of debt, they could still make a massive profit on what they purchased the club for. No doubt in my mind that there will be an Arab or a Russian or maybe an Indian or Chinese-man who has a couple of spare billion that they would lose in order to have the worlds most expensive seat at The Theatre of Dreams.
The Glazers are fighting a losing battle. Business is not about popularity, but its long term popularity which fills the coffers. In a new world, where cash has become king once again, a cash bid of £1.5 billion would see them make a very handsome profit..and they could escape this stupid world where eleven blokes on a football pitch generates so much fuss.
It will always be beyond me why supporters take so much interest on what goes on behind the scenes in the politics of a football club. Fans wish to be part of some sort of 'family' and therefore think they have some emotional connection to absolutely everything. So when United sign a new player, its actually them who signs the player. Not the people who actually control the finances. But ACTUALLY THEM. Its incredibly short sighted beyond belief. I am 100% passionate about my team. But i can understand that someone has to balance the books, pay the team, buy the biscuits. And id rather have little knowledge about all that. I want the men on the pitch to perform and that is final. If the owner cant buy players then i will rise up against them, because that is the only responsibility that they have on the sporting side. The rest of the profit, well they can stuff it. If it ain't an American getting rich it will be someone else. Does that matter if they are from Salford or San Diego?
It wont be long before the Yanks have gone. In a World Cup year the planet goes football crazy. With many markets now coming out of recession, many playboy billionaires may think its time for them and their pals to gather together, in that magic word we always hear in football ownership..'consortium'..and get their grubby mits on our team. It is at that point i will judge Malcolm Glazer. And i will judge him on how many trophies he has or hasn't won, and what players he bought and sold. Because at the end of the day, Alex Ferguson doesn't have a magic wand. The man picks the team, but without the right owner backing him he is totally prostrate. The boss says the Glazers have done him good so far and that is good enough for me....for now.
Just think we could have ended up with Hicks and Gillett. Now that would have been worth crying about.
Nice post, well done: This is an excellent blog.
ReplyDeletewhat about the debt united are in, you not bothered? Their using uniteds profits (of which should stay in the club, transfers etc) & using it to pay of their DEBT. The club is basically buying the club for the Glazers. why do you think we're in Qatar. its not for a sun tan. they need to go now. makes my blood boil.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is... Whilst I think there are people out there with an abundance of pocket change to invest in a team, they will be extremely unlikely to pay billions for that honour.... Look at Carson Young he could have purchased the dippers yet didn't see the value and pulled out later to purchase Birmingham for significantly less and with more scope to improve. The only buyer for Manchester United will be a money bags Man United fan. So hopefully there is one out there....Cos quite simply no-one else is gonna be interested, too much money.
ReplyDeleteAre you from Manchester?
ReplyDeleteYes. I was later raised in London but all my family are from Manchester and still live there, and are either United or City supporters.
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteI'm just curious as to why you're chracterising "Mancs" (Mancunians, no?) as being against Glazer because of his nationality, and his physical appearence.
You might not give a toss about what is happening, but I think you owe a great many people a lot more credit than what you've expressed in this article
Absolute nonsense!
ReplyDeleteI think the lack of oxygen at high altitude in Tier 3 has addled your brain. Don't you care that the price of your season ticket has increased by almost 50% since the Glazers took over? And don't you care that the reason for that increase is solely to pay off the debt incurred by their unnecessary and unwanted takeover? The deal to buy the club wasn't done on the pitch - it was done behind the scenes. THAT's why people should care what goes on, because ultimately it's your money that the Glazers are gambling with, and they don't give a toss about you - just as long as you keep handing over the cash.
ReplyDelete"Its of no interest to them to make a loss at the football club. Currently with their several hundred million pounds of debt"
ReplyDeleteIt's not the Glazers debt though is it. It's the clubs debt. They can walk away tomorrow and hand the keys over.
THEY'RE not making or going to make a loss. All the debt they had has been transferred to MUFC (red football etc) and that is at a loss. They're even taking money out for themselves instead of paying the debt!
Get your head out of the sand pal.
LUHG.
You need to wake up and smell the coffee. If you are a football supporter why don'y you understand the true nature of what a Club is? It isn't a workplace, it isn't the cinema, it isn't a supermarket, it's a community!! Players, owners, managers will come and go but the one constant is the supporters and the local/football community. That is where the escence of the Club lies. Think about it a little harder and it may finally dawn on you why supporters feel so reponsible for all those things you mention.
ReplyDeleteNow when a person or group of people come along to exploit that community for their own personal greed then surely you shouldn't be surprised when that community rises up against them. Sadly it takes some in the community a little longer to understand the situation than others.
And even more sadly some never understand it at all........
Are you happy with the hike in ticket prices they've imposed just to tickle the interest on the debt and line their pockets in the past 4 seasons? Not really inflatory increases are they?
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the comments
ReplyDeleteIn response..i do not characterise 'Mancs'..not in the sense implied. Ive lost count of the amount of people over the past few years that put up the argument that they are 'yanks' and know nothing of our game therefore they should F off. I think thats a bit short sighted.
Without wanting to sound patronising, there are many United fans who are scared of the size of the debt. Having worked in business i personally do not see alot wrong with the figures. the Glazers are playing the finance game, but as MUFC is now one of their assets of course they bothered about its overall success! The point is that could someone else do a better job? I am yet to hear a convincing case..cmon! i want suggestions please!! You do the maths. I want the Glazers out because they are dragging the club name through the dirt and are not addressing it..its an embarrasment. They need to be upfront as to what is available for transfers, etc..and do i care about my ticket price?? off course...last year it went up £28...or about £1.50 a game..so to balance it i dont buy a programme..or a burger..or something else. It went up less than my train ticket to get there so im more bothered about that. A mate of mine supports Arsenal and his equivelent ticket is 50% higher than mine..now that is shit.
Ultimately i do want this crap sorted, but im not gonna agree with everything every militant United 'diehard' says. I pay my money and have my opinion. As a club i identify with my fellow fans who i sit with..not the players..or the manager..or the board...are we all the same?? They are all multi millionaires and we are not. Even Fergie epitomises this, as much of a legend as he is. You need to get real because if you want that 'club atmosphere' theres always FC United down the road..and ive given my comments on all that in this blog previously
But even by your business oriented standards don't you think you're missing a glaringly obvious point? That if the Glazers hadn't taken over United then United would have been profitable, debt free and more than able to compete in the transfer market! In other words there would have been no crap to sort!
ReplyDeleteJust why are the Glazers an issue to you now?
To most of us it's precisely because the Glazers DID take over and saddle the Club with so much debt. I think that you're not really bothered about the Glazers creaming off the top - that doesn't seem to be an issue with you which is very puzzling. If a burgler successfully breaks into your house do you then applaud him for his skill and audacity, then invite him to take what he wants?
My advise is start being a little more 'short sighted' and begin to take notice of what's going on behind the scenes.
I see where u are coming from. For me, as a PLC before the buy out we were in an incredibly weak position. The PLC forced decisions upon the club which restricted our chances of being competitive. Being privately owned, things could be changed and 3 league titles in a row and a European cup have proved that
ReplyDelete(heres an example..when we signed rio, sir alex had to jump through a million hoops to force the plc board to sanction it..when we signed nani/anderson the deal was done in a day as there was only the owners to sanction it)
..you may not like the Glazers but they are not akin to burgulars..they have robbed no one and broke no rules by buying the United shares up..that is the truth and that is the world of business. The club never benefitted from the profits it made as a plc because that is how the stock market works..a bunch of figures that tricks the untrained eye. Those figures do not turn in to cash equity..go read a book about it.
As i said, the debt 'level' is concerning, but it is not the most concerning point for me. I see everything behind the scenes and am objective in the decisions i make about the club i love..oh and you are fully entitled to your opinion btw.