Man Utd Thread:

[Maroon Manc]

Financially United are in a good place but there's no doubt the debt and its interest has caused plenty of problems.

Of course it has, but what has changed to the point that United are spending money (they always did - don't bring up that net spend wankery) and ardent anti-Glazer United fans like our own Seanie here have moved to an attitude of, and I'm paraphrasing here, "I guess it's not that bad"?

Off the top of my head United were spending about 30% of the clubs turnover on interest payments during the 2008/09 season as opposed to about 4% of last seasons turnover Thats a huge difference.

United didn't sign a big name player during the summers of 2009,2010 and 2011. We went from having the best first 11 in Europe to the most average United team of the last 20 years. Top players in Ronaldo & Tevez left whilst the likes of VDS retired and the likes of Giggs, Scholes, Rio, Gary Neville, Vidic & Evra were coming towards the end of their career whilst Hargreaves & Fletcher & Hargreaves had health and injury problems that  they would never recover from. United needed big money to replace those players and it wasn't available.

[gallsman]

Gallsman - the G&G protests must have upset you a lot!

Not in the slightest, I just thought it was daft and delusional how many people (including on here) maintained that it was something that would have any sort of impact on the running of the club. I can't remember who it was but a couple of years ago someone posted a photo here on the photo of Beckham picking up the g&g scarf whilst playing for PSG and describing it like it was some sort of watershed moment.

[magpie seanie]

Gallsman - the G&G protests must have upset you a lot!

Not in the slightest, I just thought it was daft and delusional how many people (including on here) maintained that it was something that would have any sort of impact on the running of the club. I can't remember who it was but a couple of years ago someone posted a photo here on the photo of Beckham picking up the g&g scarf whilst playing for PSG and describing it like it was some sort of watershed moment.

Most likely me, I've been one of the most vocal on this issue here. It was a huge moment. The people involved in the Red Knights weren't just timewasters. There were several very well connected people involved including Jim O'Neill who were genuinely trying to pull together a deal together with M.U.S.T. and they weren't a million miles away. They probably could have raised the funds for a takeover at one point but with a private company the owner has to want to sell. Making the Glazers feel uncomfortable or that the grief wasn't worth it was part of the plan but in hindsight, those guys don't give a crap. With all the business failures they've been through and going through life looking like they do they aren't thin skinned.

Regardless though - if something is clearly wrong you have to do something about it. That's what's wrong with the world and why we end up with the Trumps/Kenny's etc of the world.....people just say "ah, sure that's the way it is" and do nothing. We get what we deserve. At least if you don't lie down you're keeping a bit of hope alive. And keeping the right way on the agenda. Supporters of all clubs should have joined in. You hear every conversation now about how money is ruining the game....what is anyone doing about it? Nothing.

Beckham was playing for AC Milan that night by the way.

[gallsman]

Sorry, you're right, it was Beckham at Milan and the poster here was marking the 5th anniversary I think.

In what way was it huge?! Corporate coat hanger (who I quite like by the way) who has more than most to be grateful for how much money rules the game shows his support for the little man? It was meaningless tokenism.

Of course people should protest at what they feel is injustice - what is utterly daft is deluding oneself into believing it actually achieved anything. United fans never boycotted OT, never put the Glazers under any serious pressure. Everything just sort of faded away and more you're on here effectively saying (again paraphrasing) "ah, I guess it's not that bad".

[AZOffaly]

But gallsman, were they not protesting BECAUSE the Glazers were using United to leverage their debt, instead of investing big time in the club. Now that they have changed tack a little bit (or quite a lot if Maroon Manc's figures are correct) then the protests have tapered off. That's fairly predictable I'd have thought.

The question, I suppose, is did the Glazers loosen up because they got tired of the fans being on their backs, or did they loosen up because somebody finally told them that you have to spend massive money to quickly compete with the other big spenders?

It may be a moot point, because the end result is the same, but perhaps the fans protests did at least bring the Glazers attention to the fact they were unhappy.

[Maroon Manc]

But gallsman, were they not protesting BECAUSE the Glazers were using United to leverage their debt, instead of investing big time in the club. Now that they have changed tack a little bit (or quite a lot if Maroon Manc's figures are correct) then the protests have tapered off. That's fairly predictable I'd have thought.

The question, I suppose, is did the Glazers loosen up because they got tired of the fans being on their backs, or did they loosen up because somebody finally told them that you have to spend massive money to quickly compete with the other big spenders?

It may be a moot point, because the end result is the same, but perhaps the fans protests did at least bring the Glazers attention to the fact they were unhappy.

More money has been spent because there was actually money to spend, interest payments had been reduced and the turnover was increasing and secondly it needed to be spent given the state of the team.

[StGallsGAA]

But gallsman, were they not protesting BECAUSE the Glazers were using United to leverage their debt, instead of investing big time in the club. Now that they have changed tack a little bit (or quite a lot if Maroon Manc's figures are correct) then the protests have tapered off. That's fairly predictable I'd have thought.

The question, I suppose, is did the Glazers loosen up because they got tired of the fans being on their backs, or did they loosen up because somebody finally told them that you have to spend massive money to quickly compete with the other big spenders?

It may be a moot point, because the end result is the same, but perhaps the fans protests did at least bring the Glazers attention to the fact they were unhappy.

More money has been spent because there was actually money to spend, interest payments had been reduced and the turnover was increasing and secondly it needed to be spent given the state of the team.

Also worth mentioning that the Old Man Miser popped his clogs and the 2 f**k-wits who now run the show are vying for popularity with the masses and spending money like nobody's business to achieve that. 

[Boycey]

The Glazers couldn't give a rats ass about popularity..

[stiffler]

Utd knocking my bet !

Need to up their game 2nd half.

[Milltown Row2]

Terrible performance so many shots on target not worth the draw to be honest

[GJL]

Decent point in the end. Well done to Rooney on the record and a superb goal but I thought he was poor otherwise.

[Captain Obvious]

Terrible performance so many shots on target not worth the draw to be honest

Don't think so. Well worth the draw it was one traffic that match, hard to believe Manchester United almost lost that game and the Stoke goal was a OG.

Some strike by Rooney to break the scoring record.

[gallsman]

Some equaliser. Mata had some terrible misses. Otherwise a decent performance, just an off day up front.

[Milltown Row2]

Terrible performance so many shots on target not worth the draw to be honest

Don't think so. Well worth the draw it was one traffic that match, hard to believe Manchester United almost lost that game and the Stoke goal was a OG.

Some strike by Rooney to break the scoring record.

The misses were criminal to be fair!! And some wrong options. Two points dropped??

[ONeill]

If you're reading Wayne, well done.