The Glazers
Another tester by The Stretford End, who’s waking up to news that the Red Knights are ready to bid on Manchester United. Enjoy!
When I tell people I’m a die-hard Manchester United supporter, I usually follow up with three pat answers:
- “Yes, I liked them before Beckham.”
- “No, they’re really not like the Yankees. That’s Chelsea or Manchester City. F**k the Yankees. And the Red Sox, too.”
- lately, a new one: “Yes, the Man United supporters in England really are being spoiled little d-bags.”
The furor over the Glazer regime at Old Trafford has been well documented here and elsewhere. The numbers have been crunched, and the economic punditry has been heavy. I have my own opinion, but I will keep it to myself for now. No matter what the state of the club really is, the supporters who seem so desperate to oust the Americans are so short-sighted it’s amazing.
I watched the Carling Cup final on Sunday and noticed more green and gold scarves than ever. Do these people not see the irony in damning the owners of a club that is the first team to retain the League Cup in more than 15 years? No, they don’t, because they are like kindergartners who get a candy treat yet throw a fit because they don’t get the whole bag.
From The Guardian’s story today:
“Even the success United have had under the Glazers, and the formidable run into which Sir Alex Ferguson has whipped his team since they lost 1-0 at home to Leeds United in the FA Cup, has not appeased fans who see simply how much better the club would be without pouring fortunes out to a debt mountain.”
So according to these supporters, if there was no debt, the team would be incredibly better than it is now? How did buying a team work for Chelsea for the first three years? How is it working out for Manchester City? How did the whole Galacticos philosophy work out at Real Madrid from 2003-07?
Meanwhile, the Red Devils let the petulant star go, but in C-Ron’s place, Wayne Rooney has blossomed into arguably the best player in the world. Darren Fletcher has become a solid prick of a performer, Antonio Valencia is growing into a role, Nani is showing some actual promise and young players like Rafael and Gabriel Obertan are slowly becoming solid professionals. And Patrice Evra is just a beast.
Yes, Rio Ferdinand is probably done. Vidic looks like he’s falling apart. Michael Owen pulls a hamstring every time he takes a crap. Dimitar Berbatov is still lazy. And the anti-Glazer crew will point to the holes in the lineup and scream that money would have made it all better during the January transfer window.
That would be the January transfer window in which the market dried up. Did you see any top-line starters out there? I didn’t either.
The 2009-2010 Premier League season is one of the closest in years. The top teams are not perfect. The second tier are all bunched. The entire bottom half of the table is still at risk of relegation. And through all of the disgrace of the Glazer era, there is Manchester United, one point off the league lead, holding the Carling Cup and in the driver’s seat to reach the final eight of the Champions League again.
The fans at Portsmouth are watching their football club implode, yet most cling to their support for the club. The scousers have every right to rip the bumbling leadership of Gillett and Hicks (and Rafa), but they still will never walk alone. When the spoiled fans at Old Trafford complain about the horrible state of the club based on numbers they admittedly don’t understand, they remind me less of Red Knights and more of the Black Knight.
“Oh, oh, I see! Running away, eh? You yellow bastards! Come back here and take what’s coming to you!”
You’re all loonies. Come, Patsy.
I think the question you have to ask yourself is whether you want glory now that may sacrifice the future (the debt) or would you rather have a team that doesn’t appear to be teetering on the precipice because of all the debt. Granted whether the latter is true depends on who you ask and is sensationialized by the media, but I think that’s the question being asked and the Moonies are siding for the latter, for better or for worse. I’m pretty sure there is a middle road, but that’s no fun for the pundits and writers.
@TFA: To me, these are two separate questions. Yes, I worry about the long-term future and sustainability. But this weekend, when my team hits the field, I will support it with all my heart no matter what.
That’s not what I’m getting from the MUST people anymore. They chant hateful things at men in suits while their team hoists yet another trophy. They have blurred the lines in their minds. They choose to not listen to Sir Alex when he says things seem OK, yet they trust him unconditionally when it comes to the lineup selections.
In the end, they might be right. But their methods just make them look like spoiled brats. A scouser can whine. That lot haven’t won much in the past, oh, 20 years (Istanbul notwithstanding). The Red Devils are actually more successful on the pitch in the four years of Glazer-land than they were in the four years previous.
Either way, I’m tired of the crazy. I’ll not go to Camelot. Tis a silly place.
First off, you retained the League Cup? Wow. Congrats on that.
As to your major point, it’s well made. United supporters in the silly scarves are being childish. The Red Knight thing is hilarious – you’re going to buy out the Glazers by embarrassing them? Of course not. So it’s the same as the silly scarves…nothing but well-fed (on trophies to be sure) Mancs holding their breaths and stamping their feet like the spoiled children they are. Well said, TSE.
That said, the real question about United is how the Glazers unwind. United is a massive asset and the debt is only a problem if the Glazers dig in and try to work their way through themselves OR if they sell to Pompey-type owners. I see neither happening.
But I, for one, will be rooting for one of those outcomes nonetheless. F**k United.
My understanding is that the protest and hoopla is not because Man U have not spent big this summer, or over troophies its because of the debt and the risk it could all go pear shaped–leading to a Portsmouth-esque situation. The opposistion group was started for this purpose only. A club that had little debt to the most in the world–some dodgy iniatives that fans don’t understand have also not helped.
United made an operating loss recently, barring the sale of Ronaldo. That, despite winning the EPL, League Cup and making the UCL final. Imagine a few years of not winning anything, and without 80m pound players to sell?
@Ned: The movement was started with good intentions. But like many of these things, it’s just turned angry and silly.