As INEOS make "necessary" cuts, it should never be forgotten that 20 years ago United were a self-sustainable debt-free club. This, in many senses, was needless People losing jobs should provoke as many Qs about football's direction as the ESL and Bury www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba... - ThreadSky

migueldelaney.bsky.social • 8 hours ago

As INEOS make "necessary" cuts, it should never be forgotten that 20 years ago United were a self-sustainable debt-free club. This, in many senses, was needless

People losing jobs should provoke as many Qs about football's direction as the ESL and Bury

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/manchester-united-jim-ratcliffe-ineos-jobs-b2704074.html

Comments

sevener.bsky.social•2 hours ago

One point I feel the article misses: the PSR requirement of <110m losses over 3 years puts an artificial floor on what United can lose. Are cuts made for profit, or are they to keep us from getting points deducted in the league? If it's the latter, aren't the PSR rules complicit in the firings?

sevener.bsky.social•2 hours ago

Definitely not trying to excuse the Glazers, and not trying to say SJR is a hero, but I do wonder how much of a role PSR plays in the decisions being made by the involved parties, that would not need to have been made if PSR didn't exist.

mancversusfood.bsky.social•1 hour ago

Also worth remembering that Glazers have also loaded costs onto the company balance sheet to inflate its value, and it's in Ratcliffes interest to reduce the balance sheet so he pays less for additional equity. Not exactly why I support United but there's loads of extra context we don't know

migueldelaney.bsky.social•1 hour ago

I take these points but, as cited in the piece, there is the issue of comparable approaches at other companies - like Grangemouth. The key theme is something wider

mancversusfood.bsky.social•33 minutes ago

The wider key theme or question is how corporate do we want football to be, because all he's doing (and tbf all the Glazers did) was exploit the rules of capitalism at United's expense. There's nothing unique or special about Ratcliffe or United in that regard.

johnmaccarthy.bsky.social•1 hour ago

Good point. The infuriating thing is that the rules that are constricting United now could actually have saved the club, if they'd been implemented in time to stop the Glazers in 2005.

adamlevitt.bsky.social•2 hours ago

United are also forecasting not being in the Champions League for the next 4 seasons which decreases revenue around £50-55 million per year which also affects PSR.

adamlevitt.bsky.social•2 hours ago

It would seems the cuts would be for sustainability around the PSR rules. We’re in danger of breach because of two main factors: ridiculous contracts still on the books and the debt. Hopefully we’re able to move players on this summer but the debt will remain.

alangrace84.bsky.social•5 hours ago

The club is actually very sustainable if it weren't for the debt and this wasn't Utd's but the Glazers who loaded it onto the club. This shouldn't be allowed in any shape or form in the future.

mitty54.bsky.social•8 hours ago

They put a Brexiter in charge, hey can’t have expected it to be a success

fagboo.bsky.social•8 hours ago

Alex Ferguson, I'm looking at you.

johnmaccarthy.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Excellent piece Miguel, tying together so many important points that are mostly lost in the noise around what's happening at United.

migueldelaney.bsky.social•6 hours ago

thank you, appreciated

thesportsaudit.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Good piece, Miguel 👍

migueldelaney.bsky.social•6 hours ago

thank you!

speedloafer.bsky.social•8 hours ago

It all started when United fans threatened the business's of Magnier and McManus when they were the majority shareholders. Its hilarious what they did do their own club defending Ferguson's greed. Ferguson also welcomed the Glazier's with open arms took shares never criticised them, still hasn't.

thistimesurely.bsky.social•8 hours ago

And yet the authorities let it happen. And 20 years later, are happy to sit by and let it continue.

Weirdly, if this was a ‘small’ club being destroyed, there’d be demands that is it protected. But that United hate runs deep in the game so the silence is deafening.

williamvalkeaoja.bsky.social•8 hours ago

You should write a book on this topic

migueldelaney.bsky.social•8 hours ago

haha

reubenarmstrong.bsky.social•1 hour ago

This is so well written. 🙏 Punches in to the core of so many key ideas that are often missed in the general football discourse. Clubs like United are cultural institutions which shouldn’t be left open to such abuses.

andythewardog.bsky.social•7 hours ago

Great piece. Sadly a reflection of how things seem to be done these days.

migueldelaney.bsky.social•6 hours ago

thank you

seomge.bsky.social•4 hours ago

this feels disingenuous. sure he won’t be a popular figure due to his role, but he’s far from being “the culprit”. the club’s spirit has been gone for ages. pretending this is anyone else’s fault than Glazers looks more like a way to drive engagement than constructive criticism.

migueldelaney.bsky.social•4 hours ago

with respect, you don't seem to have read the article

dearglfc.bsky.social•8 hours ago

Even under a leveraged structure they have had ample resources available to build a successful team and club. The fact they largely wasted this money is a huge factor in their current situation. Sometimes this is ignored in the whole ownership debate

danpolski.bsky.social•7 hours ago

The ownership were the people who employed the likes of Arnold and Ed Woodward, both of whom were accountants, with no experience in football who's main focus was with commercial partners.

You only have to look at Woodwards "Playing performance doesn't really have an impact" line for proof of that.

dearglfc.bsky.social•4 hours ago

That’s fair- they recruited terribly on and off pitch. However thats pot decision making and not down to the LBO structure/interest payments etc

danpolski.bsky.social•3 hours ago

The two go hand in hand. With football people in charge, they wouldn't have blown money on shirt sellers like Ronaldo and ignored pleas to sign Rice, Haaland, Caicedo and so on.

Nor would they have let Carrington go to ruin or allow our analysis to become decades out of date. The sole focus 1/2

danpolski.bsky.social•3 hours ago

2/2 was commercial, but they made a rod for their own back because the well has run dry, in contrast to Eds nonsense, on pitch success was key, as a number of deals have penalties based on our league position. Add that to crippling interest payments and overpaid players, its a recipe for disaster.

dearglfc.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Poor decision making

morrisnormal.bsky.social•7 hours ago

The shocking thing to me is how many United fans are on board with these cuts. "Ratcliffe is right, we need to cut jobs" I keep hearing. No one seems to care that the cuts won't actually save any money, I think they're just Tories on board with the cruelty and stupidity

migueldelaney.bsky.social•6 hours ago

I have to say, I have found that very striking

chadisoldasfuck.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Leopards ate my face...

timbobagginses.bsky.social•7 hours ago

Very true, can we seriously be living in a world where we truly believe that wealthy people using debt to extract money from a football club to enrich themselves at the cost of both that club's performance and it's people's livelihoods, is preferable to the alternatives.

timbobagginses.bsky.social•7 hours ago

Frequently we assume the direction of travel, whether it's ownership or something like the scale of transfer fees & wages is irreversible. That's patently untrue. It's time to legislate appropriately so that sport is carved out & has a different set of laws than that which governs other businesses.

butroswba.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Great piece this. I’m no lover of United but if it can happen to them, it can happen to any club.

migueldelaney.bsky.social•4 hours ago

thank you

dwmarkham.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Marginal grains only now 😥

deanbarnesox.bsky.social•8 hours ago

Glazers are the culprit

morrisnormal.bsky.social•8 hours ago

Nah, capitalism is. The Glazers and Ratcliffe are just NPCs, replace one billionaire with any other and the same shit would happen

deanbarnesox.bsky.social•8 hours ago

Course it wouldn’t the whole reason we’re in this situation is the Glazers greed and failure to invest properly with the right leadership team , SJR said he doesn’t want to take any money out and has already invested 300 million out of his own pocket somthing that the Glazers have never done

migueldelaney.bsky.social•8 hours ago

This is one of English football's great institutions and its identity of youth/defiance was literally traded off, so it now makes decisions going against its community role - this matters

And for what? Financial decisions with negligible football effect?
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/manchester-united-jim-ratcliffe-ineos-jobs-b2704074.html

clownsbootz.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Can Rio Ferdinand not do a go fund me and buy them out?

forzabahab.bsky.social•3 minutes ago

That's what I don't get. How is shutting the canteens going to get Luke Shaw off the wage bill? He's acting like it's just another business, and that will be fatal on the pitch and off.

cheqraise.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Isn't he just trying to tackle a model that isn't profitable? The club have squandered so much before on bad transfers and contracts that sadly other measures have had to be taken? Such a shame it's impacted working people but the club is churning losses.

codeblackdirective.bsky.social•4 hours ago

They're also still paying compensation for a number of ex managers. Bleeding out of the club. Unbelievably poorly run club. If not for their intial size, they'd be going under.

mick1674.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Their point being at what point do one of these clubs go bust. This is just the start, will clubs be sustainable as cost and wages etc keep on rising. How long before a premier league club, goes the way of Bury, etc.

mick1674.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Also people on minimum wage are the ones losing jobs. Whilst millionaire players and Billionaire owners are raking in exorbitant wages and dividends. Surely reducing player wages and spreading the wealth more evenly rather than relying heavily on debts and banks to fund yer club....!

cheqraise.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Quite right but maybe challenging to get players to agree to change their contracts. So many should pay the whole lot back based on performances.

migueldelaney.bsky.social•8 hours ago

It should also be galling that, when the Glazers came to a point where they needed investment, the choice was essentially between another arch-capitalist and sportswashing

This all matters as we discuss the independent football regulator

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/manchester-united-jim-ratcliffe-ineos-jobs-b2704074.html

leetaylorbythesea.bsky.social•3 hours ago

At least Everton got a new stadium out of its former terrible owner

treble99united.bsky.social•7 hours ago

Plenty of fans tried to encourage the media to report on the Glazers and their dreadful mismanagement yet for some reason, it's only now that this is happening, with most of the blame attached to Ratcliffe. If only Fergie & Gill had been questioned as much as Ratcliffe is. "Great owners". Shameful

migueldelaney.bsky.social•6 hours ago

with respect, the Glazers have been written about for years. I've been writing about them for years. Very few people have called them "great owners". And this piece is fundamentally about that takeover.

treble99united.bsky.social•5 hours ago

not you specifically but the lack of criticism for what the Glazers were doing was astonishing. Only when United struggled did the media wake up. One particular person famously said "great owners". Happy to denigrate the hardcore fans to ingratiate himself with the Glazers.

treble99united.bsky.social•5 hours ago

And the lack of attention on Fergie in general is also a big thing. How little is said on his fallout with the Coolmore lot which encouraged Glazer and his spawn to take control.

mattbw7.bsky.social•35 minutes ago

The few (one) that mattered to the bankers did.

pudsey68.bsky.social•7 hours ago

Surely the real issue for United is the debt the Glazers foisted upon them and servicing of that debt. It's cost them hundreds of millions of pounds so far.
Making Doris from accounts redundant isn't going to make that issue go away!

migueldelaney.bsky.social•6 hours ago

all in the article

conniption.bsky.social•7 hours ago

I think it was a choice between a Tory and an American private equity fund.

conniption.bsky.social•7 hours ago

Words and phrases like "streamline" and "survival plan" and "journey" have become a sort of trigger for me these days... I'm not sure why he hasn't done some more debt/equity deals yet.

stephen-curran.bsky.social•7 hours ago

Thanks for all your work highlighting this. Almost finished your book which is a pretty depressing but really necessary read.

migueldelaney.bsky.social•6 hours ago

thank you, Stephen, appreciated. Reviews on Amazon or GoodReads welcome, haha

(But thanks!)

owenhb17.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Top level football hasn't been a sport for many a year now. Sadly, all the "glory" is a means to an end and that end is money

baldockboro.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Sacking 13 people from accounts, 14 from the ticket office, 9 from the shop and 27 cleaners on minimum wage means Bruno Fernandes can get a bigger goal bonus and afford an extra Range Rover, so swings and roundabouts.

spockydog.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Sir Jim Ratweazle.

rewerbyor.bsky.social•8 hours ago

This is fabulous PR for the Glazers isn’t it?

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