Manchester United - News, Developments & Season

[danfo driver]

Just hope he performs well enough to open up opportunities for other Nigerian players, bang in at least 10-15 goals, Ed Woodward certainly looking at the Nigerian demographics, huge football loving nation of over 150 million people, merchandise and what not, never misses a commercial opportunity

Odiegwu! 10-15 goals in 3 months. Marko don release another album o!

The Iggy Chop! The Iggy Chop!

Who is scoring 15 goallllss!!

Choppy! Choppy! Choppy!!!

I said, who is scoring 15 goallllssss???!!

Choppy! Choppy! Choppy!!l! Yes he is!

Iggy! Iggy!! Yes you are!

And who is at our wheel with Iggy!!! Ole is at the Wheel! Yes he is!

Rashy! Rashy! Rashy!

[wiseone]

United are an utter enigma. They are the only team to take points off Liverpool this season, have beaten Man City away - twice, beaten Chelsea twice (including 4-0), and beat Leicester. AKA they have lost only 2 of their 8 games against the top 4 teams. Yet they have also lost to West Ham and Watford who are in the bottom three. Weird team.

I am treating Fernandes as a replacement for Pogba rather than a signing to play alongside him. Who knows whether the two of them will play in the same Manchester United team after this season.

[marko]

Ighalo already in the UK

[joplass]

Very bad omen for United. This is the best we can find now.

[kajifu]

Sad Ighalo turn down Real Madrid to sign for Manu,shocking decision.
Any well when Sir Alex make a call begging you have to understand.

[marko]

Very bad omen for United. This is the best we can find now.

what united needed was someone short term, 6 months with an option to buy if performing above expectation, someone who can clearly sit on the bench, the other players mentioned, there was a transfer fee involved, Josh King was 40 million pounds, Cavani did not want to come to united, so Ighalo fitted the profile of the player united needed right now, though still shocking, never would have thought, united had to pay a 4 million pound fee to his Shanghai club and pay 100K a week towards his 300K weekly wages, yes it is an indictment of how low united have become, still no director of football, the coaching is atrocious, Ighalo will need to dig deep and score at least 10-15 goals for any deal to be made permanent and also he will have to drop his 300K a week wages to perhaps 150K, perhaps a signing on fee between 1-2 million pounds and a transfer fee to his parent club in the region of 5-10 million pounds

right now united are not creating enough chances for strikers! i wish him all the luck as he will certainly need it

[oloye]

Very bad omen for United. This is the best we can find now.

what united needed was someone short term, 6 months with an option to buy if performing above expectation, someone who can clearly sit on the bench, the other players mentioned, there was a transfer fee involved, Josh King was 40 million pounds, Cavani did not want to come to united, so Ighalo fitted the profile of the player united needed right now, though still shocking, never would have thought, united had to pay a 4 million pound fee to his Shanghai club and pay 100K a week towards his 300K weekly wages, yes it is an indictment of how low united have become, still no director of football, the coaching is atrocious, Ighalo will need to dig deep and score at least 10-15 goals for any deal to be made permanent and also he will have to drop his 300K a week wages to perhaps 150K, perhaps a signing on fee between 1-2 million pounds and a transfer fee to his parent club in the region of 5-10 million pounds

right now united are not creating enough chances for strikers! i wish him all the luck as he will certainly need it

I hope he score 5 - 6 goals, that would do. Else we should be prepared to watch as these heartless pundits would vent their frustration on him. They need a scape goat, pundits always do.

[marko]

Very bad omen for United. This is the best we can find now.

what united needed was someone short term, 6 months with an option to buy if performing above expectation, someone who can clearly sit on the bench, the other players mentioned, there was a transfer fee involved, Josh King was 40 million pounds, Cavani did not want to come to united, so Ighalo fitted the profile of the player united needed right now, though still shocking, never would have thought, united had to pay a 4 million pound fee to his Shanghai club and pay 100K a week towards his 300K weekly wages, yes it is an indictment of how low united have become, still no director of football, the coaching is atrocious, Ighalo will need to dig deep and score at least 10-15 goals for any deal to be made permanent and also he will have to drop his 300K a week wages to perhaps 150K, perhaps a signing on fee between 1-2 million pounds and a transfer fee to his parent club in the region of 5-10 million pounds

right now united are not creating enough chances for strikers! i wish him all the luck as he will certainly need it

I hope he score 5 - 6 goals, that would do. Else we should be prepared to watch as these heartless pundits would vent their frustration on him. They need a scape goat, pundits always do.

All the scape goats at united are foreign, Pogba / martial, never the English players, soon it will be Fernandes, see how he was moved from attacking midfield to CDM when Perreira could not perform that role

Reason why i hope Ighalo can put in between 10-15, even 10 will do, they will certainly pick on him and the fact he is playing in China even though he does have a good goal scoring pedigree, he performs, he open doors for other Nigerian players who might be cheaper than their European counterparts, we all know united do not spend!

[wiseone]

Mark Red has rejoined his former club Estudiantes on loan. I will miss the mad bas***d. Always committed and up for a ruck. Sadly a victim of his inability to keep injury free. Hard to keep him employed when he missed about 50% of games during his time at Old Trafford due to injury. He was also a victim of the tactical revolving doors at OT. LVG signed him because he wanted a left footed CD to play in his 3-5-2 formation (which of course was abandoned after a few games).

[marko]

Mark Red has rejoined his former club Estudiantes on loan. I will miss the mad bas***d. Always committed and up for a ruck. Sadly a victim of his inability to keep injury free. Hard to keep him employed when he missed about 50% of games during his time at Old Trafford due to injury. He was also a victim of the tactical revolving doors at OT. LVG signed him because he wanted a left footed CD to play in his 3-5-2 formation (which of course was abandoned after a few games).

Thanks, now i know who mark Red is

[marko]

Man Utd facing financial trouble if Solskjaer misses out on Champions League football again


Years of chronic underperformance have so far not taken too much of a financial toll at Old Trafford, but that could change if more failure follows

Manchester United could face an uncertain financial future if they fail to qualify for the Champions League at the end of this season. The current state of the club's accounts means that a crisis could quickly follow if they can't satisfy sponsors’ contractual demands and performance expectations.

Some sponsors are finding out that, in the absence of silverware, there is little to be gained from a mid-table slog and participation in the Europa League. The club generates huge revenues, but due to the nature of the business it squeezes out little profit. Most of the income services wages, debt and transfers. There is only a small safety net.

For the Glazer ownership, the inherent worth of the club is that it is a trophy asset. In the coming months it could become an atrophy asset. United languish outside the Champions League places and, while Chelsea cling on to the top four, Solskjaer has been unable to mount a serious spell of pressure upon them

Missing out on qualification would see the club take an immediate £20 million ($26 million) hit from clauses in their Adidas deal. However, there are other contracts worth hundreds of millions that will come up for renewal in the coming years and there are other more glamorous, more successful teams who would gladly take them from United.

Three weeks ago, accountancy firm Deloitte published its yearly Football Money League , and made a point that should concern United's fans, owners and players. As a result of losing Champions League football for a second consecutive season, there will be a decline in forecasted revenue to around £560-580m ($731-758m), which is down from last year's £627m ($819m).

Ultimately, it may be finances that spur United into some corrective course of action. The club has a £200m ($261m) overdraft due in 2025, a bond of around half a billion dollars due in 2027 and a couple of hundred million dollars due in 2029. For now, that can be easily serviced and refinanced if revenues simply remain static. But even that outlook is no longer a certainty. Lenders might press United for higher interest rates, or ask for a lower level of wages in proportion to revenue. Either of these would theoretically worsen United’s performance on the pitch.

Ed Woodward’s financial success came from making sponsorship deals around the world, to maximise local and global exposure in return for millions. Without it, there would have been no way to pay out dividends to the Glazer family, pay back the interest and principal on the takeover debt, and to finance the great transfer splurges that have got United nowhere. The sponsors handed over the cash, and until Jose Mourinho’s final season they probably got their money’s worth.

Unless high salaries for players and transfer spending is significantly reduced, profit will be wiped out and the ability to service debt will be made far harder. If United cannot offer new players higher salaries, they will then have to rely on their currently non-existent transfer expertise. That could lead to a rapid decline in performance on and off the pitch.

Bruno Fernandes may not be exactly the right player for United, but he shows industry, passion and attacking threat. However, his arrival might simply pave the way for the exit of Paul Pogba, again linked with a move to Real Madrid and Juventus. The dreadful return on investment from a mismanaged player, and the desperate pursuit to haggle over his potential replacement, embodies the disorganised recruitment strategy at United - the very thing they spend most of their free cash on.

Profligate at one turn and parsimonious the next - the crucial thing for the Glazers’ ownership of United is they have never embraced the concept of value. The less they spend, the more expensive it will cost if they ever deign to fix it. The alternative does not bear thinking about for United fans - if revenue does plummet, then the only options for the Glazers will be to strip back even further.

Due to executive vice-chairman Woodward’s approach to transfers since the appointment of Louis van Gaal, problems with the cost of the playing staff have been rolled over until now when they threaten any manager who takes over from Solskjaer.

When Daley Blind was bought from Ajax for a reasonable £20m ($26m) in 2014, he was given a rumoured £140,000-a-week salary ($183,000) - not bad for a utility player. Marcos Rojo is on more than that now, yet he is playing on loan for Estudiantes . United are shelling out yet more than that - £200,000 ($260,000) a week - to enjoy watching Alexis Sanchez bulk out the squad for Inter.

Add to that players whose performances have not warranted their huge contracts, like Phil Jones, Jesse Lingard and Luke Shaw, and it becomes obvious that United have been wasting money hand over fist on salaries. Their wage bill is the most expensive in league history at £232m ($303m) a year.

Statistically, the highest paid squad tends to be the best performing. It is a testament to player, manager and executive that they are demonstrating the most pronounced era of underperformance in the history of the Premier League, and the true cost and impact of this is still to be felt.

https://www.goal.com/en/news/financial- ... 6njdgwtiwz

[marko]

There has been rumours that united simply do not have the money for big transfers, i think we are beginning to see some truth with this! Rumoured high debts, highest wages in the premiership without any end product on the pitch, inept structure, incompetent management, no director of football, it is a huge mess, united are more than likely not to qualify for champions league this season, sponsors will start demanding answers and as this article said, clauses in the contract means they will earn less, the likes of Adidas needs to see united playing in champions league rather than Europa, big players want to leave, buying Fernandes and Ighalo was done out of desperation and wanting to pacify warring fans who have started to make the wrong noise Ed Woodward and the Glazers certainly do not need now, at the end of the season, Pogba will have to leave along with some other top earners, they have to reduce the wage bill, meaning it will take a couple of years for united to get back to the top, think it is time to accept the new reality, there is a new sheriff in town and they are called Liverpool! The board have mis-managed united up to the point i fear for the club! soon we will hear of a huge financial scandal, cooking the books for investors, heads will roll, of course, they have a scape goat waiting! hos name is Ole Gunnar Solksjaer!

[Cristao II]

Sad Ighalo turn down Real Madrid to sign for Manu,shocking decision.
Any well when Sir Alex make a call begging you have to understand.

Now it is Real. Earlier it was Tottenham.. the saga continues.

[danfo driver]

Sad Ighalo turn down Real Madrid to sign for Manu,shocking decision.
Any well when Sir Alex make a call begging you have to understand.

Now it is Real. Earlier it was Tottenham.. the saga continues.

[wiseone]

LOL. Johnny Kills and Andrew Smith nko?

Thanks, now i know who mark Red is

[danfo driver]

LOL. Johnny Kills and Andrew Smith nko?

Thanks, now i know who mark Red is

The sweetest part of these guys leaving is that we never have to read this deeply racist and ignorant anglicization of foreign names by the unintelligent Marko, ever again.

Ignorantly, he may have thought it was "cool," but he doesnt realize that anglicization is a form of racism.

[benteke]

There has been rumours that united simply do not have the money for big transfers, i think we are beginning to see some truth with this! Rumoured high debts, highest wages in the premiership without any end product on the pitch, inept structure, incompetent management, no director of football, it is a huge mess, united are more than likely not to qualify for champions league this season, sponsors will start demanding answers and as this article said, clauses in the contract means they will earn less, the likes of Adidas needs to see united playing in champions league rather than Europa, big players want to leave, buying Fernandes and Ighalo was done out of desperation and wanting to pacify warring fans who have started to make the wrong noise Ed Woodward and the Glazers certainly do not need now, at the end of the season, Pogba will have to leave along with some other top earners, they have to reduce the wage bill, meaning it will take a couple of years for united to get back to the top, think it is time to accept the new reality, there is a new sheriff in town and they are called Liverpool! The board have mis-managed united up to the point i fear for the club! soon we will hear of a huge financial scandal, cooking the books for investors, heads will roll, of course, they have a scape goat waiting! hos name is Ole Gunnar Solksjaer!

It was only a matter of time before things came to this.
That statement issued by Woodward saying United can do things that no other club can do may turn out to be one of the worst gaffes in history.
These guys seemed to have lied to themselves that the money will keep flowing in despite poor performances on he pitch.

[marko]

There has been rumours that united simply do not have the money for big transfers, i think we are beginning to see some truth with this! Rumoured high debts, highest wages in the premiership without any end product on the pitch, inept structure, incompetent management, no director of football, it is a huge mess, united are more than likely not to qualify for champions league this season, sponsors will start demanding answers and as this article said, clauses in the contract means they will earn less, the likes of Adidas needs to see united playing in champions league rather than Europa, big players want to leave, buying Fernandes and Ighalo was done out of desperation and wanting to pacify warring fans who have started to make the wrong noise Ed Woodward and the Glazers certainly do not need now, at the end of the season, Pogba will have to leave along with some other top earners, they have to reduce the wage bill, meaning it will take a couple of years for united to get back to the top, think it is time to accept the new reality, there is a new sheriff in town and they are called Liverpool! The board have mis-managed united up to the point i fear for the club! soon we will hear of a huge financial scandal, cooking the books for investors, heads will roll, of course, they have a scape goat waiting! hos name is Ole Gunnar Solksjaer!

It was only a matter of time before things came to this.
That statement issued by Woodward saying United can do things that no other club can do may turn out to be one of the worst gaffes in history.
These guys seemed to have lied to themselves that the money will keep flowing in despite poor performances on he pitch.

That statement by Woodward amounts to arrogance! They think things will always stay the same, they do not qualify for champions league this season, they will have to cook the books, Pogba will have to be sold to add more revenue to its balance sheet, they will look for a cheaper option and possibly buy cheap with ridiculous add-ons, as for OGS, they will have to keep him as other competent managers will demand major funds for rebuilding, money the club simply does not have

[benteke]

There has been rumours that united simply do not have the money for big transfers, i think we are beginning to see some truth with this! Rumoured high debts, highest wages in the premiership without any end product on the pitch, inept structure, incompetent management, no director of football, it is a huge mess, united are more than likely not to qualify for champions league this season, sponsors will start demanding answers and as this article said, clauses in the contract means they will earn less, the likes of Adidas needs to see united playing in champions league rather than Europa, big players want to leave, buying Fernandes and Ighalo was done out of desperation and wanting to pacify warring fans who have started to make the wrong noise Ed Woodward and the Glazers certainly do not need now, at the end of the season, Pogba will have to leave along with some other top earners, they have to reduce the wage bill, meaning it will take a couple of years for united to get back to the top, think it is time to accept the new reality, there is a new sheriff in town and they are called Liverpool! The board have mis-managed united up to the point i fear for the club! soon we will hear of a huge financial scandal, cooking the books for investors, heads will roll, of course, they have a scape goat waiting! hos name is Ole Gunnar Solksjaer!

It was only a matter of time before things came to this.
That statement issued by Woodward saying United can do things that no other club can do may turn out to be one of the worst gaffes in history.
These guys seemed to have lied to themselves that the money will keep flowing in despite poor performances on he pitch.

That statement by Woodward amounts to arrogance! They think things will always stay the same, they do not qualify for champions league this season, they will have to cook the books, Pogba will have to be sold to add more revenue to its balance sheet, they will look for a cheaper option and possibly buy cheap with ridiculous add-ons, as for OGS, they will have to keep him as other competent managers will demand major funds for rebuilding, money the club simply does not have

British pundits and journos keep saying, " ... but the Glazers have spent almost a billion ever since Ferguson retired, they can't be to blame"

The fact is that the damage was done long before Ferguson retired, when the club was forced to repay debt imposed on it by the Glazers, for example C.Ronaldo sold for 80M and replaced by Valencia and Young because most of the money in those years was repaying the debt, that was the foundation and beginning of United falling behind, what we see now is just the results

What happened when after Ferguson retired is that the Glazers panicked and tried to throw all sorts of money at the problem, but long term decline cannot be fixed overnight by throwing money around foolishly.

So the ride may get even bumpier if indeed it is true that the coffers are no longer as full.

[wiseone]

1) The Glazers have spent more money in the 6 years since Fergie retired than the club did throughout the 27 years Fergie was in charge.

2) Cannot really blame the Glazers for not replacing Ronaldo with a player of similar quality. When Ronaldo left in 2009, Man U's only options were: (a) buy Messi; or (b) manufacture a Ronaldo clone in a lab. Neither option was feasible.

Plus the club (with Tony V on the flank) reached 2 champions league finals and 3 successive Champions League semis in the 3 seasons immediately following Ronaldo's departure. So perhaps they did not miss him that much after all...

British pundits and journos keep saying, " ... but the Glazers have spent almost a billion ever since Ferguson retired, they can't be to blame"

The fact is that the damage was done long before Ferguson retired, when the club was forced to repay debt imposed on it by the Glazers, for example C.Ronaldo sold for 80M and replaced by Valencia and Young because most of the money in those years was repaying the debt, that was the foundation and beginning of United falling behind, what we see now is just the results

What happened when after Ferguson retired is that the Glazers panicked and tried to throw all sorts of money at the problem, but long term decline cannot be fixed overnight by throwing money around foolishly.

So the ride may get even bumpier if indeed it is true that the coffers are no longer as full.

[benteke]

1) The Glazers have spent more money in the 6 years since Fergie retired than the club did throughout the 27 years Fergie was in charge.

2) Cannot really blame the Glazers for not replacing Ronaldo with a player of similar quality. When Ronaldo left in 2009, Man U's only options were: (a) buy Messi; or (b) manufacture a Ronaldo clone in a lab. Neither option was feasible.

Plus the club (with Tony V on the flank) reached 2 champions league finals and 3 successive Champions League semis in the 3 seasons immediately following Ronaldo's departure. So perhaps they did not miss him that much after all...

I think you have missed my point completely.
As such you have answered me by repeating my first sentence and expanding on it.

What i am saying is that the Glazers started throwing money at transfers like crazy because they realised the man who was able to do wonders with a squad that had fallen behind the best in Europe, had left.
They realised that most of the good players were old and major rebuild that was long overdue was needed and they panicked into spending like crazy and chopping and changing managers.


The last really good squad at United was the one that won CL in 2008.
To point out CL final appearances only is to hide from the cracks that had already started appearing, do not forget around those years after 2009 United ended up in Europa and was embarrassed there, it was only the genius of Ferguson and the fact that clubs like City had not yet got their act together, that saw United still able to comfortably stay inside top 4 and win titles.
But one can argue about he points tally that United was able to win titles with and also if the midtable teams were as strong as now.

The decline didn't start soon as Ferguson retired, the earlier signs where ignored, that journey into Europa under Ferguson said a lot to me, all that time United still had Scholes and Carrick as its preferred midfield, and most times Carrick was the only and best midfielder in the last years of Ferguson.

[marko]

United will suffer for Glazer debts! The club is in decline, the fact we have OGS says it all, an incompetent coach with no experience at this level whatsoever backed with an equally inept coaching crew

[marko]

sat down to watch the Milan derby yesterday, just wanted to see Lukaku in action, complete transformation from his united days! I wanted him out of united, thought he had a poor first touch, yesterday was forced to eat humble pie! what i can now see is lack of confidence at united, our club is so toxic that our ex players are now performing, Smalling, Lukaku and even Ashley young, he might even win a Serie A title! Lukaku goal was well taken, At the same time, when we look at his goal scoring record, we cannot really fault him, Belgium all time highest scorer, banged in 20 goals this season at Inter Milan, definitely owe him an apology!! and must add that his turn of form is a serious indictment to the current mess at United, Pogba is going through the same issues, Fernandes will probably, Martial as well