Glazer wins control of Manchester United

[Guest]

To all the arrogant Manchester United fans I have met over the years who are so wrapped up in their own self-importance to acknowledge that there is life in the world of football outside of Old Trafford I say........ <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[GarySTFC]

Newcastle next then?

[Barry Scott]

well it looks like Guildford & Godalming will have an extra 20,000 supporters...

[Woody SUFC]

Pro-football makes me sick. The sooner it falls apart the better.

 

I'm just happy i've got into non-league football

[Martin]

Personally I think we should congratulate the United fans for a hard fought if slightly tedious and nonsensical campaign which is best summed up by the oft repeated slogan "United not for sale." Clearly Mr Glazer has taken that as his mantra and he is now close to the 75% plus one share that allows him to delist the company. It will no longer be "for sale" on the open market. If he reaches 90% plus one share which he surely will the company will become private. Bravo.

 

Look out Unibond here comes AFC United.

[Matt]

They were happy to be floated on the stock market and sell lots of merchandise in the first place. This is what happens when you become a big business rather than a football club.

 

If a new club 'AFC United' is formed though, it does set a dangerous precedent. We could have 'AFC's popping up everywhere as fans get disgruntled with their clubs in various ways, getting crowds of 10,000 and storming their way back into the professional game. What implications would this have for the traditional, non-league game and traditional non-league clubs? Whilst I believe AFC Wimbledon were 100% right to do what they've done, I really don't like the possibility of giants like Man United doing it too.

[Guest]

Man U fans are glory hunters, they are not going to travel up from London, or down from Scotland, to watch AFC,U play in the Unibond Div 1.

[Barry Scott]

so what if 20,000 people have burnt their season tickets, I'm sure that there are 20,000 more who will take their place and will pay more for the privilege

[brighton_rebel]

Matt, how can it be bad if supporters set up the own clubs? Have you seen their manifesto? I wish more fans would take control than get treated like cattle/cash cows.

Roger, not all Man Utd fans are glory hunters - some do actually live in the city...

I personally think its really bad news for the whole of football that Glazier has taken control. I'm sure he wants to make his money by getting together with someone like Murdoch and break the Premiership TV deal and push for a European League, which will make smaller premiership clubs even poorer relations.

Which will hopefully push more people into watching non league footie...

[A Rebel and a Saint]

personally i couldnt give a f**k

[brighton_rebel]

I think you should....if the premiership created an unequal footballing world, think what Glazier will do.

The Premiership to Championship is a massive drop in finances, and for clubs like Southampton, you could find yourself in financial free fall,possibly looking relegation again next season.

This is not the way i think football should be run.

[Guest]

In this instance, United's strength is acting as their weakness. In the past they've managed to get into the position where less than one third of their revenue is derived from gate receipts which is a fantastic position to be in. The rest is from other commercial activities such as sponsorship, advertising, corporate funding and merchandising and this has all been possible through having a global fanbase of an estimated 75 million. This though is exactly why they're now suffering.

 

They've grown so big and successful that they are a quoted PLC which leaves them open to takeover the same as any corporate who is listed. As for fans boycotting games and refusing to buy merchandise etc it isn't going to work as there's always another few thousand fans who probably don't feel quite as strongly as the hardcore support, who will still be willing to buy kits and attend the games. And after that, there's a few thousand more and another few thousand more and so on.

 

It's ironic that both the mighty Manchester United and little old Wrexham (no offence intended) find themselves in a similar position of having their future in the hands of an individual. The only way to stop it is for the fans to own the clubs and that's why people should do everything possible to support our own Supporters Trust.

[A Rebel and a Saint]

all the players at soton apparently have clauses in their contracts which cuts their wages by half in the event of relegation

[Don Juan DeMarcus]

Could be worse...... Man U kit for next season..

[A Rebel and a Saint]

very nice!

[Barry Scott]

finally, a rational reason why Man United fans are going batsh1t. I mean, siding a club with a $500 million debt? That's insane, but an unfortunate risk with floating the club on the Stock Exchange so let's all blame the architect behind that scheme - Martin Edwards!