The Manchester United Club Thread **Sponsored by Comedy Central**

[Mark1989]

Man fans protested at training ground for glazers out, I'm curious as to what most here think of them.

As an outsider looking in, club is totally miss managed in multiple ways and there to blame for that, that being said as much as they pull funds out they have spent 1.2 billion on par with city so they still buy your managers players regardless of how well it works out.

Let's say owners changed do you actually think it would improve?

 

[fez]

Man fans protested at training ground for glazers out, I'm curious as to what most here think of them.

As an outsider looking in, club is totally miss managed in multiple ways and there to blame for that, that being said as much as they pull funds out they have spent 1.2 billion on par with city so they still buy your managers players regardless of how well it works out.

Let's say owners changed do you actually think it would improve?

They are a parasite on the club that have added almost nothing and saddled us with fantastic amounts of debt. The fact that they take out of the club, service a staggering amount of debt and spend money on the team shows just how much we would have to spend without them.

Personally the thing that galls me most is the fact that they seemingly do give managers funds to spend but have had almost zero interest in running the club like a top tier football organisation at any point. Its baffling. They are very very wealthy and you usually don't become that wealthy without running businesses well. I have no idea why they never put the necessary structures in place at United.

Considering how they have allowed the biggest club in England and one of the top ones in the world to spend a decade in decline like this the fans have been very quiet. Won't take much to shut them up again either based on recent history.

Unfortunately the Glazers have a cash cow in United and they would be silly to sell it for anything other than a crazy amount of money.

 

[adam cool dude]

Man fans protested at training ground for glazers out, I'm curious as to what most here think of them.

As an outsider looking in, club is totally miss managed in multiple ways and there to blame for that, that being said as much as they pull funds out they have spent 1.2 billion on par with city so they still buy your managers players regardless of how well it works out.

Let's say owners changed do you actually think it would improve?

That money they have pulled out could have gone on a new updated training ground or a new stand and refurb. We would have been in a completely different position.

 

[BaZ87]

The cost of the Glazer's ownership is pretty irrelevant these days. What Utd pay in interest and the Glazers takeout in dividends is broadly the same as what they're paying Ronaldo in wages per season. It has next to no difference on Utd being genuine title challengers or where they are now.

Utd's issue isn't debt or a lack of finances (they've spent far more than Liverpool and as much as City), it's a lack of planning and structure. When they first took over they took over a side that historically had a huge financial advantage over the rest of the League and that coupled with less competition than we have today meant Utd were always shoe ins for top 4. Utd got complacent. There was no planning or structure in place for when Taggart retired* and at the same time the level of competition for the top spots became greater than ever with City's emergence and even Spurs going from midtable to genuine top 4 challengers. Those issues have been compounded by an impatience for short term results. I'm not sure if Utd had any real plan with the LVG, Mourinho or Ole appointments but if they did, they didn't have the bottle to see it through.

I can't see the situation at Utd changing until there's a huge change of mentality at the top of the club. Are Utd appointing Ten Hag because they have a clear idea of what they're doing and he's the man to carry out the job or is it because he's the man the supporters want and they're just trying to appease him? If he arrives and decides he doesn't fancy x, y and z, will the club back him or, like they did with Mourinho & Martial, will they look at what they spent on those players and not want to lose a fortune on them?

*I have a small amount of sympathy for the Glazers/board re this because they couldn't put a big structure around Ferguson and wouldn't have had a huge amount of notice and time to prepare for his departure.

 

[fez]

The cost of the Glazer's ownership is pretty irrelevant these days. What Utd pay in interest and the Glazers takeout in dividends is broadly the same as what they're paying Ronaldo in wages per season. It has next to no difference on Utd being genuine title challengers or where they are now.

Thats just not true. Most figures suggest that United have paid roughly £54m/year servicing the debt. Since 2016 they have also paid an average of £20m in dividends to the Glazers and not serviced any of the actual debt apparently.

We are not paying Ronaldo nearly £1.5m/week.

Utd's issue isn't debt or a lack of finances (they've spent far more than Liverpool and as much as City), it's a lack of planning and structure. When they first took over they took over a side that historically had a huge financial advantage over the rest of the League and that coupled with less competition than we have today meant Utd were always shoe ins for top 4. Utd got complacent. There was no planning or structure in place for when Taggart retired* and at the same time the level of competition for the top spots became greater than ever with City's emergence and even Spurs going from midtable to genuine top 4 challengers. Those issues have been compounded by an impatience for short term results. I'm not sure if Utd had any real plan with the LVG, Mourinho or Ole appointments but if they did, they didn't have the bottle to see it through.

The debt and method by which they run the club is very much an issue when it reflects in every aspect of the club. The lack of investment in modernisation, the lack of investment in the stadium etc. I agree that our biggest weakness is the structure at the club but if you had another £50m/year to spend it probably would have helped somewhere.

I can't see the situation at Utd changing until there's a huge change of mentality at the top of the club. Are Utd appointing Ten Hag because they have a clear idea of what they're doing and he's the man to carry out the job or is it because he's the man the supporters want and they're just trying to appease him? If he arrives and decides he doesn't fancy x, y and z, will the club back him or, like they did with Mourinho & Martial, will they look at what they spent on those players and not want to lose a fortune on them?

Well this is the million (billion) dollar question isn't it. Is there real change happening at United or just the guise of change.

*I have a small amount of sympathy for the Glazers/board re this because they couldn't put a big structure around Ferguson and wouldn't have had a huge amount of notice and time to prepare for his departure.

Really? I doubt that it came out of the blue for them and United had been penny pinching for years under Fergie based on the amount we could have spent. There was no excuse not to modernise the structure when he left and the fact they haven't done it in 10 years shows that they should get the square root of zero sympathy. They haven't even tried.

 

[BaZ87]

Thats just not true. Most figures suggest that United have paid roughly £54m/year servicing the debt. Since 2016 they have also paid an average of £20m in dividends to the Glazers and not serviced any of the actual debt apparently.

We are not paying Ronaldo nearly £1.5m/week.

Yes it is true, broadly speaking. Utd paid £36m in interest and circa £20m in dividends last year. Once you add back the tax savings as a result of those interest payments the net cost will be somewhere in the region of £45-50m. Utd confirmed to shareholders at the start of the season that wages as a result of this summers transfer dealings will rise by around 20% and the first quarter results actually showed a rise of 23%. A 23% rise works out at just over £74m. Once you add back in outgoing transfers wages (Dan James basically) you're not going to be far off £80m or just over £1.5m per week for the 3 summer signings. Now we can't say for certain the exact split of that £80m but it's safe to assume that Ronaldo was the biggest expense. What Utd are paying him won't be a million miles away from £40m per season.

The debt and method by which they run the club is very much an issue when it reflects in every aspect of the club. The lack of investment in modernisation, the lack of investment in the stadium etc. I agree that our biggest weakness is the structure at the club but if you had another £50m/year to spend it probably would have helped somewhere.

Spurs have built a £1bn stadium and top of the range training ground & Liverpool have spent circa £250m on expanding Anfield and a top of the range training ground both with less resources than Utd have had available to them, even accounting for the £50m(ish) being taken out of the club. I'm not saying the debt and costs associated are a good thing or that extra money wouldn't have helped but it's not a reason for Utd being in the state they are. The funds have been there for Utd to do all these things, they've chose to spend it all on marquee signings to appease supporters though.

Really? I doubt that it came out of the blue for them and United had been penny pinching for years under Fergie based on the amount we could have spent. There was no excuse not to modernise the structure when he left and the fact they haven't done it in 10 years shows that they should get the square root of zero sympathy. They haven't even tried.

Really. Utd's problem is they had nobody at the top of the club with a plan (football wise) post Ferguson because the person that made all the footballing decisions at Utd was Ferguson. It would have been impossible for Utd to bring anybody in to work above or alongside Ferguson and put in place a long term plan for when he's gone. As for it not coming out of the blue, I'm not convinced. Had Utd not won the League in his last season I don't think Ferguson was retiring - he wanted to go out on top and as soon as the title was in the bag he made his decision.

 

[fez]

Really. Utd's problem is they had nobody at the top of the club with a plan (football wise) post Ferguson because the person that made all the footballing decisions at Utd was Ferguson. It would have been impossible for Utd to bring anybody in to work above or alongside Ferguson and put in place a long term plan for when he's gone. As for it not coming out of the blue, I'm not convinced. Had Utd not won the League in his last season I don't think Ferguson was retiring - he wanted to go out on top and as soon as the title was in the bag he made his decision.

I'm not convinced Fergie would have just dropped that on them. He would have known he was close to retirement and so would other people. I think that the Glazers were just massively spoilt with Ferguson and thought that the next guy would just take over a well oiled machine that required very little external maintenance up until that point.

The complete lack of change to the structure in the 10 years since he left makes it hard for me to think that even given 3 years notice the Glazers would have done much. They have run the club appallingly since they "bought" it and still made bank. I just can't quite figure out why they didn't take the steps required to make twice as much. Imagine if United were competently run for the last 10 years. We would probably have won trophies, have a better stadium and in all likelihood zero debt.

 

[Calpol]

Matic has announced he's leaving despite having 1 year left. I say fair play to him. Everyone knows where they stand and we can plan without him. I've never been his biggest fan. He's an intelligent player but woefully one footed and with huge mobility concerns. He makes Maguire look like a dancer. I always felt he was a strange signing but he's clearly a pro. It also makes a complete midfield rebuild more possible.

 

[The Running Man]

Matic has announced he's leaving despite having 1 year left. I say fair play to him. Everyone knows where they stand and we can plan without him. I've never been his biggest fan. He's an intelligent player but woefully one footed and with huge mobility concerns. He makes Maguire look like a dancer. I always felt he was a strange signing but he's clearly a pro. It also makes a complete midfield rebuild more possible.

40m wasted.

It e.is exactly what you shouldn't throw big money at a player of that age as with a few years they will be worth nothing and he has added nothing of note for the last 2 or 3 years anyway.

 

[father-ted]

Matic is way past his best, very slow and like somebody else has said, very one-footed.
We need a massive clearout, numerous players should be pushed out of the door, this squad will take years to turn around

 

[Vandle]

Saw this on another forum I read. Journalism at its best - broken clock and all that.

‘It is the beginning of the end for Paul Pogba at Manchester United after latest collision with Jose Mourinho’ – Neil Custis, The Sun, September 25, 2018.

‘Paul Pogba’s Man Utd career is OVER with player and club both desperate to move him on from Old Trafford’ – Neil Custis, The Sun, January 3, 2020.

‘Paul Pogba’s Manchester United career is over. Despite suggestions that a peace deal is being made, both sides want a splitting of the ways’ – Neil Custis, The Sun, March 19, 2020.

‘Man Utd chiefs want Paul Pogba OUT of the club in January transfer after Mino Raiola’s latest outburst’ – Neil Custis, The Sun, December 10, 2020.

‘That could be the end for Paul Pogba at Man Utd after Liverpool, he was a big name, on big money and big disappointment’ – Neil Custis, The Sun, April 20, 2022.

From ‘the beginning of the end’ to ‘could be the end’ in 1,303 incredibly short days. What a journey. See you on November 13, 2025 for what presumably ‘might be the end for Paul Pogba at Manchester United’.

 

[ChrisD.]

It’s The Sun, what do you expect? Most papers and online variants just post click bait titles in order to gain advert revenue.

 

[fez]

It’s The Sun, what do you expect? Most papers and online variants just post click bait titles in order to gain advert revenue.

Yeah, the bigger surprise is that those articles are over a few years instead of a few months. Man Utd are a massive draw and United in strife is even better. You can then wind up both sides of the argument.

 

[The_One]

Pogbas been confirmed out injured for a month

Probably wont see him play in red again?

 

[Converge]

Pogbas been confirmed out injured for a month

Probably wont see him play in red again?

We can but hope. Good riddance.

 

[fez]

Pogbas been confirmed out injured for a month

Probably wont see him play in red again?

Not a chance. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if he isn't actually injured. He won't want to get injured just before his contract runs out and hes a free agent.

 

[father-ted]

Pogbas been confirmed out injured for a month

Probably wont see him play in red again?

I hope not, he is one of the biggest negatives regarding player attitude - good riddance.
Him getting booed off versus Norwich says it all.

 

[father-ted]

Just seen a clip on YouTube of Pogba coming off versus Norwich.
He was openly laughing at the booing....no embarrassment, no anger, nothing but laughs and smiles....he didn't look injured either.
Says everything we need to know about him right there for me, hope he never plays for us again.

 

[Sui]

Reports suggesting Maguire is out for the rest of the season, a true injury or just something to try and remove the focus off of him for a bit?

Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s been awful but he is still a human and I wouldn’t be surprised if everything was getting to him.

 

[JamesH85]

Seems to be rumours circulating about him losing captaincy now as well, no smoke without fire?