What is really revealing about that is not the business side of it, but the lack of awareness of how important something like that is to preserve the idea of club rather than franchise. Neville clearly understands that if a cut like that was absolutely necessary, finding an alternative was not a priority. Ratcliffe just didn’t.
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The people who would suggest that probably were shown the doors before.
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I thought he had a little pop at the Glazer’s in there too. He offered the carrot - they’ve been abused, they put up with a lot, and if it gets like that for me I will be off.
But he also said, ‘we bought in, and I’ve not seen them since.’
I read that as a criticism, not just an expression of sympathy with the supposed hard done by Glazer’s who don’t feel as though they can attend a game.
Oh, and the main thing in all this?
For the Glazers, Leveraged buy-outs are toxic and should be outlawed.
Edit
Or regulated more strictly, to stop unscrupulous owners from taking too much out and jeopardizing the existence of the club. We had our own history with that.
The club is paying for the loans for the Glazer’s to reap dividends and grow their asset by billions. They have done it to such an extent that even a financial juggernaut like Man Utd is handcuffed and potentially vulnerable in what it can do moving forward. That’s the Glazers. They deserve all the stick they get, and more besides.
As for Sir Jim, stop sacking the lowly workers! It is damaging the lives of many people who have been the backbone of the wider club. The values in doing it just seem misplaced. Yes, efficiency is fine. Let’s do that, but wisely, and to a point. So how about the stupid in-out debacle with Ashworth, on Sir Jim’s watch? How many millions were wasted there? And that’s before we even touch the fees paid for crap players, and wages offered for crap players.
But let’s sack the lowly worker, or take their lunch away, and stop funding for much needed club-related charity work…
All against the backdrop of a terrible team, languishing near the bottom, and showing no signs of improving to the degree where they will be relevant any time soon.
Sir Jim rightly gets no sympathy. Not only that, he’s an idiot - a useful idiot for the Glazers - because he parted with his cash, straight into their pockets, and they control the asset which is worth billions, and they don’t have the hassle of having to actually touch the thing any more.
Nasty idiot, Sir Jim. No sympathy from me!
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Nothing on what I’ve read about Ratcliffe leads me to suggest he has any business acumen whatsoever.
He’s just a senile old prick with ideas of grandeur far beyond his actual worth.
Thats not really the fault of the LBO though, its the money wasted on poor transfers and wages over the last 5 to 10 years.
I don’t think the LBO would have been a question had the club continued to rake in the revenues. At that point , you would have argued that the club was doing well even with the debt hanging in over them.
But , they have spent billions on substandard players and are increasingly finding out that their sponsorships etc aren’t going to get them nearly enough money to sustain themselves.
That’s where the topic of the debt and the dividends taken out by Glazers comes into play.
That’s fair. LBO can work if you do it wisely. In their instance they have over extended and taken things to the max, and at the same time, they have squandered millions. They’ve had the worst of both sides of it. Too much money has been taken out, and the money they have spent - lots of it to be fair, although now the coffers are drying up - has been squandered.
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This whole new stadium / area redevelopment pitch is nothing more than a pitch to get a new buyer in. Someone who will be happy to pay what Glazers demand as well as clear off the debt.
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Glazers have more than made whatever money they kept into buying the club with their dividends alone.
And that doesn’t even include the 1.1 billion that they got from Ratcliffe.
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Don’t really have sympathy for the manures though. Fuck them.
I think this is spot on. Sheikh Jassim, or similar, to the rescue. In the meantime they are probably watching what happens to the Man City case before riding in to rescue Man Utd.
That’s another reason why we desperately need the right outcome for Man City, or all bets are off.
In a money no object world, someone will sort it all out for Man Utd for 10 Billion - 5 billion for Glazer shares, 2 billion for Sir Jim, 1 billion for debt, 2 billion for stadium.
I will puke when it happens.
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All the more reason for Liverpool to further maximise their commerical viability w.r.t sponsorships.
We aren’t a smaller club than United. And I do realise that we’ve been doing a good job , we need to do better.
This Ratcliffe guy really does take the biscuit for being one arrogant prick… Read his comments here about our friend ‘Moysey’… Then take the time to discover the management appointments Ratcliffe has made which makes him such an expert… Oh yeah, beyond Amorim there haven’t been any…
What a twat he is… Sounds well suited to Old Toilet
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has suggested Manchester United only have themselves to blame for the position they are in, blaming a string of poor decisions behind the scenes historically and having named and shamed the manager that should never have been allowed to take charge.
The Red Devils enjoyed unparalleled success during the Sir Alex Ferguson era, winning an incredible 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League crowns and numerous other cups during his glorious 26 years at the helm. However, while it could be expected that his retirement in 2013 would mark a downturn in fortunes, the fact that Manchester United are, some 12 years later, yet to win the Premier League title again illustrates just how tough they have since found it.
Indeed, this season, United are well on course for comfortably their worst season of the Premier League era. Currently 14th, they are already eight points adrift of Fulham in 10th, meaning their first-ever bottom-half finish since 1990 now looks a near-certainty.
Co-owner Ratcliffe is now the man trusted with helping revive their fortunes and while some questionable decisions have been made during his first year at the helm, he argues that historical failures have put them in the position they are now in, claiming they got it wrong right from the off in naming David Moyes as Ferguson’s successor.
“Look, I like David Moyes, and I think he’s a really good manager, but to go from Sir Alex Ferguson to Moyes is not where I would have gone,” said Ratcliffe.
“Moyes stepped into the shoes of Ferguson, who’s won the Premier League 13 times, who won the Champions League twice and then you’re handing over to a guy that has never managed big players and had never won anything.
“He’s not necessarily got the personality to stand in front of them all. And I don’t think Real Madrid would have made that choice as coach.
“If you look at coaches, a club can’t always get it right, but they should have found the best chief executive in the world, and the best coach in the world, because Manchester United is the best club in the world. Instead, they got both of those decisions wrong.”
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Then they sacked him 8 months in.
The fact they are still shit and have they the best manager and the best CEO now?
No
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Fuck!! I think the Utd fans have finally got their shit together and have moved past the messiah complex.
Oh. Hang on…
Never mind.
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Amorim is The Man with the Great Plan to gratify The Fans.
Look, they’ve just thrashed mighty Leicester who is second (bottom) in the league table. 
I’m not saying Radcliff is incompetent, but INEOS took a 1/3 stake in AMG Mercedes F1 in Dec 2020. Hamilton’s last championship was in 2020…
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I didn’t see the game and looked at the match stats and Leicester had more possession and a higher XG although less shots.
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Keep the foot on the throat of these pricks while they are down.
I hope the Glazers hang around forever, take the cream and annoy the entitled fan base. They are not stupid.
My worst nightmare is if in a few years they have a wonderful new stadium and a deep pocket new owner like Newcastle and City.
In the interim you ain’t knocking us off our perch.
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The Arsenal result was decent but considering what West Ham and Forest did not that impressive.
They beat Sociedad but they are 12th in La Liga plus they only really got over the line on a penalty and after the red card.
And they beat Leicester who really aren’t in the greatest of places.
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