It is now six years since the Glazer family waltzed into Manchester United, encumbering the club with hundreds of millions in debt and incurring the wrath of a legion fans. In the intervening period the family has priced thousands of supporters out of the club, while many more have walked away in disgust. Yet, with [...]
Thursday, April 21, 2011
It is now almost 18 months since Old Trafford was first bathed in the green and gold of protest. The Glazer family’s decision to borrow more than £500 million on the international bond market sparked a new wave of supporter protest, and a level of anger not seen in Manchester since the reclusive Americans first [...]
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Today’s Daily Telegraph claims that Sir Alex Ferguson has been handed “substantial funds” to improve Manchester United’s squad this summer. The article is one of several in recent weeks suggesting that the club will spend heavily after more than five years of parsimonious ownership under the Glazer regime. History suggests that Ferguson will be handed [...]
Friday, March 25, 2011
The relationship between club and supporters is a nuanced one. In recent years many clubs, save for those actually owned by the fans, have sought to change that relationship. No longer one of homogeneity – fans turned up, paid at the gate and the team performed – to one that emphasises commercialism. In short, from [...]
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Manchester United has £165 million in the bank and is bent on spending all of it strengthening Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad this summer. At least that’s the conclusion reached by the Manchester Evening News and 1,000 blogs today after director Joel Glazer broke a five-year silence to claim that the club has “sufficient cash reserves…for [...]
Thursday, March 10, 2011
There is a school of thought that believes, in summary, football fans are little more than sheep, blindly following the club’s will ‘support’ of their team. Fans pay a huge price premium over similar sources of entertainment: films, music, plays and so on. Meanwhile, supporters willingly spend £50 or more a season on ‘official’ shirts that [...]
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Sir Alex Ferguson’s club-wide media blackout, imposed after Manchester United’s defeat to Liverpool at the weekend and the Scot’s recent FA charge for improper conduct, will prove counter-productive both to the man and the organisation he represents. In this de facto certainty lies. After all, failure to communicate not only robs supporters of an essential [...]
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes, Ben Franklin once famously wrote. To that add the sale of Manchester United by the Glazer family, which was sealed the moment the Tampa-based clan rode into Old Trafford on a debt-fueled wave. It is, after all, how investors with high leverage normally make [...]
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The Sunday Mirror today reports that Qatar Holdings “an investment vehicle for the Qatari Royal Family” is prepared to make a £1.5 billion bid for Manchester United. The story, not far removed from the realms of speculation, suggests that the family will add United to its portfolio of investments, including Harrods and Chelsea Barracks. However, [...]
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
The Glazer family is to pay off £243.7 million Payment in Kind (PIK) debt, which is owed by Manchester United’s parent company Red Football Joint Venture (RFJV). The move, which will reportedly involved “money from outside the club”, will eliminate the PIK debt that carries a punitive interest rate of 16.25 per cent annually. However, [...]
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Saturday, May 14, 2011
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