There isn’t any one individual action that will force a sale. But concerted pressure over a period of time that has a degrading effect on the clubs image, will exert some influence. The fans have to keep doing their part even if their only role is to embolden a potential buyer to put forth a bid, and / or make the Glazers even a little bit more receptive to selling up.
The super league fiasco will have had a significantly deleterious effect on their exit strategy. It has always been the case that the Glazers are looking to sell. All investors look to sell eventually, but it’s about creating the right conditions for that sale.
The Glazers were looking at a few things from the get-go to make a sale at maximum value:
- The establishment of a super league to maximise media rights.
- The establishment of effective cost control mechanisms in the new competition through a salary cap and transfer cap. All the big clubs want this except state funded organisations.
- A greater share of media revenue.
- Individualised streaming rights in select territories via mobile platforms, such as in China.
Their ability to have greater control over competition rules and collective bargaining were always critical to achieving this aim. I believe the super league would’ve seen them sell in 2-3 years as value peaked. The collapse of the project for the foreseeable future is either going to have them dig in for the long term or it’s going to have them accept that value may well already be close to its peak, and consequently sell. Especially if their interpretation of the football environment in England is that any super league type prospect is effectively untenable.
The further absence and breakdown of any meaningful financial control mechanisms such as FFP, is likely to be viewed as a considerable risk factor in continuing to hold the asset. Fan unrest, damage with sponsors and social media following in the wake of the ESL farrago, can all accumulate to expedite a sale. This is especially acute given that the collapse of the ESL has seen a considerable weakening of the clubs position in being able to shape its current environment, with positions in the ECA, UEFA executive committees, and PL committees, all being relinquished.
Woodward has been sacrificed in an attempt to rebuild trust, but the depth of feeling and perception of the club is a profound distaste for ownership, and this extends to other clubs, governing bodies and the media. It will be an uphill climb for the Glazers to regain a position of influence for the club in the near future, as the climate remains politically charged with regards to sporting integrity. This is a demonstration of their naivety with regards to English and European perceptions of football, and an assumption that a transactional approach to fandom, and Inter-club relations are comparable to the US, whereas in reality there are deep ties with national and local culture which transcend any transactional interpretation of the relationship.
There is also a mischaracterisation of the overseas supporter, assuming that they are purely transactional in their support of the club; glory and glamour in exchange for consumption. What this interpretation misunderstands is that for United the key consumptive appeal isn’t focused around the glamour of the squad - this is a team that builds stars rather than buys them - it is a consumption of the history, ethics, and unique cultural pull of the institution. These values have been sorely tarnished by their actions over the ESL, and my suspicion is that this will ultimately be reflected in weakening support in overseas territories.