Glazer Statement

[bdecuc]

In addition, I want to reassure you that my family and I care deeply about Manchester United and feel a profound sense of responsibility to protect and enhance its strength for the long-term, while respecting its values and traditions.

Care deeply enough to latch on and start sucking up that lovely, lovely money. Protect and enhance its strength for the long-term by saddling it with millions upon millions of debt and extracting around €30m in dividends each year. Respect its values and traditions by attempting to rip it out of the league.

 

[VP89]

Oh Shutup Joel Glazer, go suck off a horse.

 

[Nytram Shakes]

Really surprised by this. After basically silence from the Glazers since the bought the club to statements to the fans in 2 weeks is just shocking.

 

[Rightnr]

Whatever they say, I don't believe them. feck off.

 

[diarm]

Debt is corporate tax avoidance at the company level and income tax avoidance at shareholder level. Glazers reduce debt by £100m but United pay £100m more tax ( i know this is simplistic) who gains?
Some of the comments on here are pretty disgusting. Is it because they are Jewish? or American? or both? They are legally United's owners, as soon as United became a public quoted company they were sitting ducks for a debt takeover given their brand and income potential. If you want to blame somebody blame the people who cashed in taking United public.
I support the team, players and manager. I am old enough to remember the 'glory days' under ownership of the butcher. Do you think he had anything to do with finding the Best footballer of all time, or his sad demise? If it wasn't for govt money because of the '66 WC, OT would have stayed a pig sty in thr 60s.
Give it a rest, let us see if they honour some of their promises, they have had a shock to the system with the ESL ( not a few yobs at OT). Their vision of recreating the NFL has gone, so now they need a new model. The trick is working with them to satisfy all parties, not against them. The sooner they are satisfied, the sooner they will go on to new pastures.

Heaven forbid a British football club might contribute tax to benefit Britain instead of further enriching American money lenders.

As for the rest of that post. Yuck.

 

[The Firestarter]

Oh Shutup Joel Glazer, go suck off a horse.

Preferably the Rock of Gibraltar.

 

[sewey89]

For those of us who (with good reason) don’t believe a word of this, or that anything will change, what is the best realistic outcome?

Thus is of course assuming they don’t sell, as there is no way to MAKE them sell

 

[caid]

Its a start, wont mean much without following through.

 

[TheReligion]

Well we have some engagement and something to hold them against. We are much better positioned as a fanbase than we were last week.

As much as I'd like the Glazers to go this won't be an overnight process and I do feel MUST are getting this right. If they break their promises they know what to expect but in the meantime it is important to keep the lines of communication open and hold them to account.

 

[largelyworried]

Well if they follow through it’ll be credit in the bank.

Now lets just offset that against the billion taken out…

 

[Flying high]

Not a single solid proposal there. Not even a mention of selling their premium shares. Vague promises to spend more, but without saying from where that money will come.

Nope, not even close to good enough. Time to phuck off Joel.

 

[Sting]

They take about as much dividends per year as Paul Pogba. Them stoping taking dividends will probably allow us to have one more player in his caliber, nothing more.
They’re not generous with their money like oil rich sugar daddy owners but they’re not any worse than other owners like them tbh

 

[Denis79]

16 years of neglect and suddenly they care? Don't buy it sorry.

 

[hobbers]

For those of us who (with good reason) don’t believe a word of this, or that anything will change, what is the best realistic outcome?

Thus is of course assuming they don’t sell, as there is no way to MAKE them sell

The absolute best outcome that doesn't involve the Glazers leaving -

Renovation work at Old Trafford and some level of investment in the surrounding area, and improving the training complex.
Hiring the right sort of Woodward replacement, obviously someone who is a football man first and foremost.
Investing in the team according to the manager's wishes.
Actual engagement and dialogue between the Glazers and fan groups.
A firm commitment to never engage in any further superleague / breakaway league proposals.


They're not going to relinquish any control and they're not going to give fans a vote, and they're not going to stop taking dividends indefinitely. But let's face it, if they did all the above and the team won some trophies fan discontent would melt away.,

 

[Scarlett Dracarys]

You just know there's a fat, spoilt, bald little14 year old with a rattail and an attitude problem waiting in the wings.

It's never gonna end

 

[Chairman Steve]

It’s annoying because they’ve never engaged fans in this 15 year period. They‘re not media virgins and they can carry themselves media-wise when the Bucs do stuff. YouTube has a handful of videos with Joel Glazer talking about the Bucs and NFL. Malcolm Glazer carried himself like a professional whilst being passionate about the Bucs in YouTube videos. There is a video of Avram Glazer at a global forum briefly talking about Utd and he gives a fairly good understanding of the Utd ethos.

I remember reading somewhere that Avram is the member of the Glazer family who is the most interested in us, and it seems possible since Avram seems to be seen at a lot of the games more than Joel does, so it’s a bit of gut punch when the Glazer who’s supposedly most interested in us is dodging questions about us.

Objectively speaking, they’ve got a long way back on top of the Super League stuff. At the moment, the only thing that can increase their approval rating so to speak is spending money on the squad. They do seem to have learned their lesson on not picking experienced winners and giving them free reign to do whatever, and have made it more inclusive to what it used to be under SAF, with OGS and having a footballing hierarchy operating next to the business hierarchy.

 

[sewey89]

The absolute best outcome that doesn't involve the Glazers leaving -

Renovation work at Old Trafford and some level of investment in the surrounding area, and improving the training complex.
Hiring the right sort of Woodward replacement, obviously someone who is a football man first and foremost.
Investing in the team according to the manager's wishes.
Actual engagement and dialogue between the Glazers and fan groups.
A firm commitment to never engage in any further superleague / breakaway league proposals.


They're not going to relinquish any control and they're not going to give fans a vote, and they're not going to stop taking dividends indefinitely. But let's face it, if they did all the above and the team won some trophies fan discontent would melt away.,

Yeah, agreed.

I just think that this statement, he’s saying all the right things. I don’t believe that they’ll change, but it’s a strange position, because a lot of things that people were protesting for is what Glazer has said they’ll do. Are the fans expected to now give them time to try and implement these ideas? Probably.

I’m not sure it’ll work.

 

[Oddboy]

I hope no fan is deluded enough to buy this. Joel Glazer probably has no clue who even wrote this.

100% this. My Mrs works in comms - they literally write all of the press releases and speeches for the directors etc. Will be some poor press assistant on barely minimum wage being briefed by higher ups.

 

[Red_toad]

Yeah, agreed.

I just think that this statement, he’s saying all the right things. I don’t believe that they’ll change, but it’s a strange position, because a lot of things that people were protesting for is what Glazer has said they’ll do. Are the fans expected to now give them time to try and implement these ideas? Probably.

I’m not sure it’ll work.

There's still planned protests with the aim of disrupting the fixtures. Fans want actions now, not vague promises of what amounts to feck all. Feckin hate seeing this happen to my club

 

[Skills]

The absolute best outcome that doesn't involve the Glazers leaving -

Renovation work at Old Trafford and some level of investment in the surrounding area, and improving the training complex.
Hiring the right sort of Woodward replacement, obviously someone who is a football man first and foremost.
Investing in the team according to the manager's wishes.
Actual engagement and dialogue between the Glazers and fan groups.
A firm commitment to never engage in any further superleague / breakaway league proposals.


They're not going to relinquish any control and they're not going to give fans a vote, and they're not going to stop taking dividends indefinitely. But let's face it, if they did all the above and the team won some trophies fan discontent would melt away.,

So repeating exactly what's fecked us up on the pitch for the last 7 years? Nice

 

[ivaldo]

Most United fans aren't even hard to please. Clear the debt you've burdened the club with, by all means take out a reasonable dividend every so often, and reinvest everything else into the club. Then when the time comes sell the club for an enormous profit to a responsible owner. Done.

 

[Ali Dia]

This was mentioned in the previous statement, its clearly a big concern for them

if they actually involve the fans, hire VDS, give the facilities a major makeover and sign some better players then that will take the major sting out of this situation.. Most fans just want to see us run well and the debt getting reduced. They pay themselves handsomely for running us so just do the job you’re paying yourself so well for and talk to the fans. It’s not rocket science.

 

[Scarlett Dracarys]

Most United fans aren't even hard to please. Clear the debt you've burdened the club with, by all means take out a reasonable dividend every so often, and reinvest everything else into the club. Then when the time comes sell the club for an enormous profit to a responsible owner. Done.

I'm guessing you don't frequent the match day threads ? They're usually out for blood.

 

[Jeppers7]

They’ve done well to get a response....like others have said it’s not very specific in terms of how and where the money will come from.

what makes it even more difficult is that we don’t know who could possibly buy us and whether it would be any better.

 

[sewey89]

There's still planned protests with the aim of disrupting the fixtures. Fans want actions now, not vague promises of what amounts to feck all. Feckin hate seeing this happen to my club

I agree. I’m trying to carefully choose my words to ensure I’m not coming across as somebody who doesn’t want the club sold. I just think immediate actions are unrealistic. I almost think you have to give the glazers the time to prove whether or not they intend on coming good on their promises

 

[Revan]

• No more dividends taken out until the debt is cleared.
• A written promise never to engage in talks about another breakaway league.
• A 5 year plan for development and renovation of the stadium and facilities.
• A CEO with a football first background to replace Woodward.
• A written promise never to sell the club to the Saudis (or another such prehistoric and murderous regime).

Anything less than all of the above is not enough for me.

That would be just to appeal the fans, but cannot enforce anything. The moment they would sell the club, they would be out of it, so a written promise would do nothing of sort.

The other points would be nice to have.

 

[bosnian_red]

It's nice they recognized they've done feck all with the facilities and that they need investment.

Best case scenario is that they just become better owners tbf. Nobody is going to buy us because of our valuation, they won't want to sell anyway but they would sooner do things to improve the relationship, even if they have to invest imo. The only people who could actually afford to buy us, we probably don't want anyway. But regardless, actions are needed, not just words.

 

[Revan]

Yes they can, even if they can not do so from their own liquid assets then they can easily either transfer it to a holding company in their name or secure a bond or bonds in that amount based without using Man Utd as collateral. They could do this in less than a fortnight if they were so inclined.

The easiest way (if they want to) would be to put 20% of shares in the stock exchange, and from that money to clear the debt. 20% of shares would be around 500m, which is the value of the debt. It would also leave them with more than 60% of the shares and still in total control (especially with Glazers shares having 10 votes while those in stock exchange having 1).

Of course, they won't do it. The interest payments are around 25m, which the club can handle. In fact, with all-time low interest payments, now is the time to get another debt to properly fix Old Trafford. Would be nice if they stop taking dividends though, but I do not see it happening either.

 

[Tapori]

51 percent on the market of full shares on the stock exchange on Monday and then I'll believe it

 

[mazhar13]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

This better be a start and not the end. Context: this is on the reintegration measures from UEFA on 9 of the 12 clubs that broke out of the ESL.

 

[Eternitiy]

Has anybody else received this email from United? It's just shown up in my inbox:

Client Ref #xxxxxx

Dear xxxxx,

You will probably be aware that a number of fan representatives wrote to the club last Friday as part of our Fans’ Forum discussions. They raised a number of points in relation to fan engagement, consultation and governance. Joel Glazer, the club’s Executive Co-Chairman, has today sent the response below to those representatives which we want to share with you. This will also shortly be published on manutd.com.

Kind regards
Manchester United Football Club

...

Dear fan representatives

Thank you for your letter dated April 30, sent in your capacity as representatives of Manchester United fans. I read the contents closely and your love and passion for the club came across very clearly.

I want to salute your service to the Fans’ Forum, which I know is a vital channel for consultation between the club and our fans. As I recently stated publicly, I am personally committed to ensuring that we strengthen this relationship in future.

Your heartfelt letter captured the unique spirit of Manchester United, forged through decades of triumph, adversity and tragedy, and still powerfully present in today’s exciting team under Ole and the vibrant fanbase which you represent.

I was personally humbled by parts of your letter, as you explained so clearly why our initial support for the European Super League left you feeling angry and let down. I would like to reiterate my sincere apology for the mistakes that were made.

In particular, I want to acknowledge the need for change, with deeper consultation with you as our main fan representative body across a range of important issues, including the competitions we play in. We also recognise the importance of fan and football interests being embedded in key decision-making processes at every level of the club, and we are open to constructive discussions on how to reinforce that principle.

We remain committed to working with the wider football community to make the game stronger and more sustainable over the long-term, and we will now refocus our efforts on doing this within the existing structures of UEFA and the Premier League.

In addition, I want to reassure you that my family and I care deeply about Manchester United and feel a profound sense of responsibility to protect and enhance its strength for the long-term, while respecting its values and traditions.

Our top priority is, and will always be, competing for the most important trophies, playing entertaining football with a team comprised of top-quality recruits and some of the world’s best homegrown talent. Under Ole, we feel we are absolutely on the right track.

Success on the field must be underpinned by solid foundations off it. We have supported sustained investment in the team over many years, and that will continue this summer.

We recognise that we will need to significantly increase investment in Old Trafford and our training complex to ensure that the club’s facilities remain among the best in Europe. As part of this, we will consult with fans on investments related to the stadium and the matchday experience.

Indeed, one of the clearest lessons of the past few weeks is the need for us to become better listeners. To this end, I can commit the club will engage across all of the issues raised in your letter.

To highlight some specific points, as one of the few European football clubs listed on the public markets, we believe in the principle of fans owning shares in the club. We have previously engaged with the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust on fan share ownership and we want to continue and accelerate those discussions, together with provisions to enhance associated fan consultation.

We recognise that the Government-initiated, fan-led review of football is a positive opportunity to explore new structures for fan engagement and influence. I can assure you that we will willingly and openly engage in the review, with the aim of putting fans at the heart of the game and ensuring their interests are advanced and protected.

These commitments are a starting point for further dialogue, including all the specific points you raised, rather than final proposals.

We want to work together to come up with an ambitious package of measures which will transform our relationship with fans and strengthen the club for the long-term. In this spirit, we will reach out to members of the forum to schedule a meeting in which I shall participate as soon as possible after the final game of the season.

Thank you again for your work for the forum and your passion for the club. I look forward to meeting you and in the meantime let’s look forward to a successful end to the season.

With best regards
Joel Glazer
Executive Co-Chairman and Director

This email was sent by: Manchester United Football Club Limited, Sir Matt Busby Way Manchester, Greater Manchester, M16 0RA, GB.
Please DO NOT reply to this email.​

Great response from Mr. Glazer. Very satisfied with this.

 

[El Presidente]

They take about as much dividends per year as Paul Pogba. Them stoping taking dividends will probably allow us to have one more player in his caliber, nothing more.
They’re not generous with their money like oil rich sugar daddy owners but they’re not any worse than other owners like them tbh

I’m sorry wtf did I just read?!?
Edit: sorry, didn’t see the “not” in the beginning.

 

[rio's upper lip]

He'll get Sancho, Rice and Varane in the summer and all will be forgotten.

 

[Red_toad]

I agree. I’m trying to carefully choose my words to ensure I’m not coming across as somebody who doesn’t want the club sold. I just think immediate actions are unrealistic. I almost think you have to give the glazers the time to prove whether or not they intend on coming good on their promises

We've been waiting 16 years for the communication we were promised 16 years ago. To quote Joel 2005 'fans are the lifeblood of the club, we will be communicating'. So the fans are obviously going to be skeptical, as it just looks we'll make some promises and it'll lose momentum, that's what the did after the leveraged buy out the fans didn't want, they used Sir Alex to quieten the storm and hid away in the US. Same stuff is happening now by the looks of it.

 

[sewey89]

We've been waiting 16 years for the communication we were promised 16 years ago. To quote Joel 2005 'fans are the lifeblood of the club, we will be communicating'. So the fans are obviously going to be skeptical, as it just looks we'll make some promises and it'll lose momentum, that's what the did after the leveraged buy out the fans didn't want, they used Sir Alex to quieten the storm and hid away in the US. Same stuff is happening now by the looks of it.

Very fair point

 

[AbusementPark]

You have to allow people the chance to change. Hes made a move to engage, see how it progresses over the next few months. If nothing changes then this show of endearment to the fans will fade very quickly and backfire massively and the ensuing revolt against the board will result in a lot more postponed games.

 

[hobbers]

So repeating exactly what's fecked us up on the pitch for the last 7 years? Nice

Well, no. Not really.

The non-football-man CEO made shit managerial appointments for starters, and then went after mega-money moves for players those managers didn't even particularly want in the first place.

How else would you do it? Club scouting and just give the manager and money people a veto? That approach brought us Shaw but it also brought us VdB, quite a mixed bag.

 

[VP89]

Great response from Mr. Glazer. Very satisfied with this.

Doesn't take much to please you, does it

 

[The Red Thinker]

Okay here’s the thing. Glazers have taken a lot of money out of the club. But if they are willing to engage then we must too. These guys are master managers of money. They run banks. They know money deeply. If they actually now want to give a feck, let’s hear it out and let’s see how far they’re willing to go.

 

[#07]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

This better be a start and not the end. Context: this is on the reintegration measures from UEFA on 9 of the 12 clubs that broke out of the ESL.

If I say I'll buy you something with money I took off you last year its basically you buying it for yourself.

Claiming he will personally pay for it when he has been living off the proceeds of Man Utd is a bit circular.