Man U shows faith in Howard

[Deuce]

Soccer notebook: Man U shows faith in Howard

Goalkeeper Tim Howard, who was benched for stretches this season after failing to match the sensational form he displayed a year ago in his rookie season, signed a two-year contract extension, as did winger Ryan Giggs.

Howard's extension, added to the two years remaining on his contract, locks him up through the 2009 season.

[BroncsBomber]

This is just the start of Malcolm Glazer turning Man. U. into an American All-Star team... Well it could. Maybe? if not, then what are the Brit's so mad about?

[SoccerPrime]

According to Mcmahon in Fox Sports today, Glazer needs to make some needed changes to ManU ASAP, especially in the goal.

Hows that for encouragement?

[AreliusII]

Originally Posted by BroncsBomber

This is just the start of Malcolm Glazer turning Man. U. into an American All-Star team... Well it could. Maybe? if not, then what are the Brit's so mad about?

from the May 18, 2005 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0518/p01s01-woeu.html

Britain's fever pitch
By Mark Rice-Oxley | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
LONDON - It's the biggest soccer club in the world, richer than Real Madrid, more successful than Barcelona, a name comparable to the New York Yankees or the Chicago Bulls in global sporting brands.

And on the field, few teams have bested Manchester United in recent years.

But after the injury of losing freekick prodigy and metrosexual icon David Beckham, the 127-year-old soccer club has been dealt the insult of losing ownership to an American billionaire, Malcolm Glazer.

Mr. Glazer - owner of the 2003 Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers - last week went public with a $1.5 billion buyout, and mopped up the last few shares needed to control the club on Monday.

The response has been hysterical. Britons are lamenting the wanton commercialization of their national treasure that they say the Glazer era promises.

Fans are vowing a mass boycott to undermine the new owner. Some have burned effigies of Glazer outside the club's Old Trafford ground. Others are convening a meeting Thursday to discuss splitting off to form the club anew.

"This guy is a parasite and the only way to ensure that a parasite detaches itself from you is to starve yourself," says Oliver Houston, a vice chairman of Shareholders United, a stockholder group that helped ward off another hostile bid by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch seven years ago.

He says fans are already shunning the replica shirts, merchandising, and products from sponsors that Glazer will need to make a success of his ownership.

"I've been a United fan all my life, but I will not be setting foot inside Old Trafford as long as Malcolm Glazer is in charge," he adds.

Such strong reactions may seem at first glance hard to understand. After all, big money has dominated soccer for decades, and billionaire benefactors are hardly new. United itself has used commercial ventures astutely to assure robust profitability ever since it became a public company in 1991.

Wealthy owners often bankroll success, most notably in the case of Chelsea, another English giant. Two years after it was snapped up by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, the London club has cruised to its first Premiership title, fortified by the new owner's checkbook and an expensive array of international talent.

But the fear in Manchester is that Glazer will prove to be a very different sort of boss. The principal objection is that he has financed his acquisition through a cool billion dollars of debt that can now be transferred to United's books, effectively mortgaging its future. "He's using Manchester United money to buy Manchester United!" one fan remarked.

Financial observers warn that to pay back this debt, Glazer will have to hike profits exponentially.

"Abramovich has shown if you come with deep pockets and spend heavily then you can do good things," says Hilary Cook, a financial commentator from Barclays Stockbrokers. "But it's felt that perhaps Glazer doesn't have as big a checkbook.

Apart from declaring himself an "avid" United fan, and a report indicating his interest in getting Beckham back, the US tycoon has shunned the limelight and shed little light on his business motives. But he is no doubt attracted by the enormous popularity of soccer around the world (an estimated 1.1 billion people watched the last World Cup final in 2002) and the fact that a club like Manchester United, with legends like Bobby Charlton and George Best, is as big as they come.

Many of its millions of adherents worldwide are in China, promising formidable commercial opportunities.

"He must be looking at overseas markets," says Bill Gerrard, professor of sport management and finance at Leeds University Business School. Glazer might also consider trying to drive better television deals to increase income, particularly when it comes to rights from broadcasts overseas. That could mean a big shake up of British soccer, which is funded primarily with TV money.

Professor Gerrard adds that the new boss is unlikely to fail to invest in the best players. "He needs to win the fans over and for that he needs a successful team," he says.

Fans are not so sanguine. They fear Glazer will rein in the payroll, weakening United's once-mighty roster, and sell the Old Trafford stadium to a sponsor. They worry that he'll hike ticket prices - which still average a modest $50 - as he did at Tampa Bay. And some express concern that United could become a US-style franchise, with US-style portability.

Andy Mitten, editor of club fanzine United We Stand, says it is estimated that Glazer will need to find $90 million a year just to service the debt. The club currently averages $50 million in profit each year.

"It's a working class city and people are worried they'll be priced out of supporting the club," he says. "[Soccer] is not a traditional business - if you're not happy with the product you can't just go down the road and watch [bitter rival] Manchester City."

[AreliusII]

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Tuesday, 17th May 2005
Comment: Reds must keep fight going

WAIT and see, wait and see, wait and see.

If I hear one more so-called Red on the telly or the radio telling me I should "wait and see" what Malcolm Glazer has to offer, the blood vessels will start to burst.

How long do we have to "wait and see" what this man is planning to do with our football club?

So far, he and his family have said NOTHING about their intentions. It is a display of arrogant contempt for United supporters that bodes ill for the future.

And yet the "wait and see" brigade continue to urge appeasement.

And too often these people, when asked about Glazer, begin by saying: "I don't really understand all this financial stuff, but ..."

If you don't understand it, don't comment on it.

Policy

We can see what Glazer brings to the club. First and foremost, he brings £540million of debt, to a club that had built its own fortune on the backs of a loyal and committed support.

He brings the gutter tactics of American business, and he brings ZERO knowledge of what English football and its traditions are about.

And he brings a son, widely tipped to take on the responsibility for running the club, who insults our intelligence by claiming he and his family are "avid" United fans.

Oh, really, Joel? The contempt that statement contains knows no bounds.

Too many United supporters are shrugging their shoulders and giving in to the soothing words of the "wait and see" brigade.

Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson stuck his oar in, condemning supporters for burning effigies of Glazer and saying the opposition is "hysterical".

But far more worrying have been the words of people who claim to have United at heart - people such as Denis Law, Steve Bruce and Frank Stapleton, who all want to give Glazer a "chance".

The weak words they have been spouting stand no scrutiny.

Can any one of them tell us what Glazer brings to the table?

There is a myth that he has transformed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from a long-running joke to "Super Bowl winners".

But that tedious sport is such a level playing field, that law of averages dictate that every club will have its day sooner or later. You will find that the dog that had its day in the 2003 Superbowl is now back cowering in the kennel, among the other NFL also-rans.

Obscurity

And it may have escaped the apologists' notice, but United don't need rescuing from obscurity.

He brings "business acumen", we are then told. Didn't United already have that in bundles? They weren't the world's wealthiest football club by accident, but because they had strategies for making money from their brand.

Even Alan Sugar, a man who knows a thing or two about business, football, and the business of football, is at a loss to see how Glazer can further exploit the United "brand".

Turning Old Trafford into the Nike Arena, or a merciless ongoing hike of ticket prices - as has happened at the Buccaneers - seems to be high on the list of possibilities.

Of course, that matters not a jot to the "wait and seers" who tend to be people who get free tickets, or can easily afford them.

The longer the Glazers stay silent on their intentions, the greater the worry.

If we "wait and see", there may be nothing left to see.

Luckily, there are still United supporters out there who care enough about the club to keep the fight going.

That might damage the club in the short term, but it is for the long-term future. Think of it as lancing a boil with a blunt instrument.

The real supporters know that Glazer will only stay as long as there is money to be made, or until United collapse around his ears. And when he does go, it is to be hoped that there will be enough real United fans left to pick up the pieces.

[AreliusII]

TOM BOWYER – GLAZER WILL LOSE

Story by editor 17 May 2005


The author of Broken Dreams looks at the takeover, the role of the FA and the future of football. What he finds does not make for happy reading.


From the Guardian:




‘Despite its seedy, stupid and selfish reputation, English football still attracts vain tycoons seeking glory and fame. Malcolm Glazer, the tough American businessman, is just the latest lusting for immortality after a grubby but profitable commercial career, by investing in a sport that will guarantee him worldwide fame and massage his ego.




‘But like so many other tycoons attracted to football, Glazer and his son Joel - who is said to be the genuine football fan - will also discover the downside to his successful coup. Aspiring owners of England's football clubs are the victims of self-delusion about the game's real financial costs and profits. In recent years English football has accumulated serious problems and there is only a remote chance that solutions can be implemented before successive crises of finance and morale devastate the game, as has happened in Italy.

‘The rot within English football is epitomised by Manchester United's recent history. After the club, beloved by generations of fans, was floated on the stock exchange in 1991 to enrich some greedy directors, the shareholders gradually lost control of its destiny. Unlike the major Spanish clubs, which remain as cooperatives under the loving management of their fans and local authorities, Manchester United was allowed to become a speculators' toy. Accordingly, the only victors of the recent sale are the Irish investors JP McManus and John Magnier, who are estimated to have earned between £80m and £90m, and in return have contributed nothing to football. Everyone else - especially the fans and the club itself - is a loser, and that will eventually be true for the Glazers themselves, who have insufficient funds and knowledge to plan the club's survival in the global market.

‘The real villains of football's rot are the short-sighted and intellectually limited executives at the Football Association. Notorious for their blazers, passion for freebies and parochial outlook, the executives and members of the FA are amateurs, stubbornly loath to reform themselves. Unwilling to prevent corruption among agents, remove conflicts of interest among club owners and cure indiscipline among players, they have exposed themselves as worse than impotent.

‘Faced with such an indictment, one might imagine that the FA's executives would be shamed into reform or resignation. Instead they remain defiant and risk allowing the professional game to disintegrate by failing to respond to the most critical challenge: limiting the dominance of the mighty Premiership.

‘The insatiable demands of Sky TV are only tolerated to satisfy the financial demands of shareholders, which are certain to be inflamed by the foreign investors who have risked huge sums. Again the FA should intervene, but pleads impotence.

‘No other country allows the crown jewels of its major sport to become the uncontrolled playthings of men whose probity is not questioned. Glazer's commercial past is unknown to the FA and that ignorance will continue. That wilful refusal to judge whether major clubs' owners are "fit and proper" and whether their management decisions enhance or damage the sport is surely unacceptable - not least because more foreign ownership of major clubs will inevitably condemn football to wither as the national sport.

‘Glazer's success in buying United, concluded amid the deafening silence of the Football Association, confirms the so-called regulator's infirmity. But another event this week confirms the reason for English football's vulnerability.

‘Among Glazer's new assets is Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United's famous £30m defender. Despite receiving successive penalties for driving offences, Ferdinand, also notorious for his excessive visits to nightclubs, was recently stopped on the M6 motorway after he overtook - while driving at an impressive 106mph - a marked police car.

‘With the help of Pini Zahavi, his cigar-puffing multimillionaire agent, Ferdinand has now demanded a weekly pay increase of £50,000. Apparently, £70,000 per week is insufficient and Ferdinand wants £120,000, despite his contribution to Manchester United standing an unprecedented 20 points behind Chelsea in the Premiership. If Glazer chooses to ignore Ferdinand's demand, he might reflect that Ferguson has actually offered his defender £100,000 to prevent Chelsea snapping him up.

‘Ever since Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch, was allowed by the Football Association to buy Chelsea despite the dubious origins of his fortune, English football has become more fractured than ever. By spending well over £200m on players, Abramovich threatens the tattered fabric of the Premiership. The arrival of the Glazers compounds the problem. Unfortunately, there is no happy ending in sight. On the contrary, the greedy, dim-witted natives involved in football seem destined to steer their cash cow towards an ugly cataclysm.’