Glazier launches take-over bid for Man Utd

[pete]

Didn't realize that at 90% he can just take the shares off you for the takeover price.

Its the same as happened with Eircom. When 90%+ of shareholders vote for takeover then the rest have to sell their shares too.

[Superhoops]

They might be business men, they're also tax dodgers....

Tax avoidance is legal in Ireland as it is in most countries. If you or I got the chance to avoid paying tax we would do it.

They were never MU fans, they used MU as an investment opportunity and have turned a tidy profit. Good luck to them. Business is business and to the likes of McManus and Magnier, football is business. I would rather see JPM and JM make money out of MU than the likes of Rio Ferdinand who takes money under false pretences by posing as a world class player and turns in sh*te performances, yet still comes back for more.

[tetsujin1979]

According to Sky Sports, he's just bought another ton of shares and is getting closer to the 75% needed to take it off the stock exchange

[4tothefloor]

It's all doom and gloom from the United fans, but I don't really see why. Glazer is taking over Man U to make money. Fair enough, it rips the soul out of the club (not that it ever had one) and it is Glazer now who will call the shots regarding players and contracts etc. Seeing that he knows jack sh1t about 'soccer', this is fantastic news for Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea fans everywhere. On the other hand, the only way Man U will yield profits for Glazer is by success on the pitch. As much as Utd is a business, it's a dead donkey unless they are winning trophies, as trophies = success = more sponsership, fans and profits.

So i'd say Utd fans are blowing things out of all proportion, it might not be as bad as the doom mongers are saying. Fingers crossed though that it will be, and then some

BTW, which one of Magnier and McManus is a Liverpool fan? I know one of them is, They even had a horse called 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. Anyone know which one? Well whichever one it is, I'll be raising a very big glass to them tonight.....Well in boys, the Irish will be absolutely loved in Manchester now

[GavinZac]

i dont see why theres been such a big bloody reaction, its not like they're anything but a business anyway. selling their souls? what souls do they have to sell?

[tiktok]

i dont see why theres been such a big bloody reaction, its not like they're anything but a business anyway. selling their souls? what souls do they have to sell?

I'm not surprised so many people are delighted by the news, the line between MUFC and MUPLC is blurry to most, even some of the fans themselves. There is a soul there though, and the club means a lot to many, maybe more who can remember when we won fcuk all.

Why is Glazer bad news?

1. He can't actually afford the club. He's borrowing a huge chunk of money to finance the deal. When he achieves 75% control he can pass his debts (i.e. the bankloan he bought us with) onto the club itself. The most likely option is that he'll use Old Trafford as collateral.

2. The debt's interest is likely to be about £20m per annum. He doesn't have the money to throw into the team (i.e. he's not Abrahmovich). I wouldn't even call him a businessman, he's a speculator, a gambler. He'll service the debt and try and return a profit by cutting costs (proband raising prices on revenue streams, tickets, jerseys, TV revenues everything will have it's price jacked up.

there's more reasons but I don't have the time, maybe tomorrow..

[pineapple stu]

Saw a great cartoon in When Saturday Comes magazine there last month - two United fans walking down the road, and one says "We've got to stop United turning into a cynical, corporate, money-grabbing machine". Thought it was very apt...!

[onenilgameover]

Manchester United R.I.P.......'Bah da bap ba bah I'm Lovin it'

[thecorner]

dunno should it be all doom and gloom... only time will tell....we are always on about it ourselves with cork city about backers are needed....seems to be the only way a team can compete with chelski

[GavinZac]

He doesn't have the money to throw into the team (i.e. he's not Abrahmovich). I wouldn't even call him a businessman, he's a speculator, a gambler.

a gamble is what united need imho. (not joe). they're stuck in mediocrity at the moment, with the money coming in nicely and the team floundering. the effect has been that they've lost profits (could be something to do with senor beckham too) and cant afford to keep up with the rest of the big european teams.

the old regime is taking a very sensible approach. they;ve not let fergie spent a lot, because they want to maximise profits the management way: reduce costs.

on a scale like the big 8 european clubs though, sensible approaches dont work. its grand for cork city to restrain itself from splashing out, to keep itself in existence. but for a business of the stature of united, they need glory, at all costs. without it, they'll go down in history as a poor man's liverpool: an era of dominance, followed by anonymity. its like a formula one team: the history doesnt matter. if you dont plough money into keeping up, you lose. if you lose, it starts a viscious circle.

they need someone to take risks.

im not 100% educated on glazier, but there arent very many people like abramovich. if glazier has the money to be owning sports teams, he's not going to waste it by throwing €28million at didier drogba, but he will see the need to sign the best calibre of players. liam miller, kleberson, mikael silvestre, tim howard: how likely is it that any other "big" european team would sign these players when its existing staff (eg scholes, giggs, keane) that the team is built upon have a couple of years left in them? if glazier has any business sense he'll know the one golden rule (no pun intended): you have to spend money to make money.

meanwhile, united's "hardcore support" are as much play acting as their gloryhunter companions. they have to act like they bought the first addidas newton heath jersey to attain any credability to other fans, and part of that acting is xenophobia. part of their complaints are that he is american and knows nothing about sawker. i know nothing about american football, but if i took over the business side of a once-great team (the giants perhaps?) i'd know to let someone who DOES know the game go out and buy good calibre players. and the game voer here is even more cut throat: theres no big organisation controlling every club, and fans are less likely to just turn up for a bit of entertainment.

[Rebal Boy]

I'm gutted this has happend. I'm a mad Man U fan when it comes to the Premiership. I think this man is going to ruin the club and send them into bankrupesy. I really hope it falls through, but it doesn't look like as if its going to happen.

[Superhoops]

I think this man is going to ruin the club and send them into bankrupesy.

Why would this man or indeed anyone borrow shedloads of money to buy a football club that he would then ruin and send into bankruptcy? What do you know that he, his advisors and the banks that have lent him the money don't know?

[4tothefloor]

without it, they'll go down in history as a poor man's liverpool

I like that, I like that a lot

Hopefully Glazer passes on the debt and then goes tits up himself. Old Trafford then sold to property developers by the banks. I would be seriously worried about his age if I were a fan - isn't he 76 or something? Very old to be taking on something of this magnitude. I know his two sons are also involved with Tampa Bay, does anyone know if they are involved in this venture? I doubt it somehow, considering the level of debt.

[Thunderblaster]

Hopefully, M*******er United will be a homeless, impoverished and destitute club in two years after Malcolm Glazer. Anything bad for the enemy is great for all human mankind.

[Closed Account 2]

Well it was always a risk once they floated on the stock market in the early 1990s. Once they issued shares, they were always risking and outcome like the current one.

[tiktok]

I know his two sons are also involved with Tampa Bay, does anyone know if they are involved in this venture? I doubt it somehow, considering the level of debt.

One of his sons will be taking an 'active' role in the club.
I'd imagine David Gill will be under pressure.

[tiktok]

if glazier has the money to be owning sports teams.....

He's already borrowed $100m just to buy the shares he had up to yesterday ffs. As I've said above, Glazer won't be putting his own money at risk, he'll be passing on debts incurred in the purchase to the club itself.

....but he will see the need to sign the best calibre of players....

That's not what he did at Tampa Bay. He did hire a very good coach, but to get the coach, he handed over first and second round draft picks to one of the Strongest teams in the NFL.

....if glazier has any business sense he'll know the one golden rule (no pun intended): you have to spend money to make money....

At Tampa, he made money by dramatically increasing ticket pricing, gettign very agressive with their merchandising streams, holding Tampa under the threat of moving the team so that the City would fork out extra cash.

part of their complaints are that he is american and knows nothing about sawker.

His lack of knowledge of the game and how it works is a valid argument.

i know nothing about american football, but if i took over the business side of a once-great team (the giants perhaps?) i'd know to let someone who DOES know the game go out and buy good calibre players.

I wish it was you buying in so Gav, because Glazer is going to let his son ruin things. His son was general manager of Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but I don't think that qualifies him to run MUFC.

[stickyjoe]

you reap what you sow....this was always likely to happen once the club became a PLC...the surprising thing is that it has taken so long to happen.

When is the SKY Contract up for renewal? That is when it is going to get interesting, as United, Arsenal etc. will now be negotiating their own TV deals, leaving the smaller clubs with a pittance. the rich will get richer and the poor get poorer....

[Terry]

both of glaziers sons will be joining the board of directors. He has offered ferguson a 5 year contract and £100m spending money(for the next five years) to run the football side of things as he has admitted he "doesn't know the good player from the bad". Gill will be offered a new extended contract also, as one of the sons (don't know which one) has stated Gill to be one of the best in the business, infact none of the board of directors will be let go as Glazier rates them as the best in the business if they could control the accounts so well when the other top clubs were running up big debts.

I'm a big Man Utd supporter and I have shares in the club but I don't see any way of stopping him now. He will continue to buy shares until he gets complete control. All we can do now is hope he is not as big of a bullsh*tter as his president George W and keeps these promises....as some one said the only way for a club to turn profits is to win competitions.

[Stuttgart88]

It's all down to Liam Miller. Desmond was so ****ed off that MUFC nicked Miller that he told his mates to sell to Glazer