Mindhunter
Full Member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2013
- Messages
- 3,633
Thanks for responding sensibly to a concern that some fans have instead of posting jingoistic nonsense like the others. I understand the point you are trying to make and agree that if we were to force them to leave then this is the only way.Odds are that barring a few extremist purists, virtually no one wants that. More importantly, no one thinks that. They're thinking quite the opposite, in fact. TL;DR at the end.
The vast majority of the 'people thinking this is good' are approaching this akin to chemotherapy.
They're 'calculating' - to varying degrees of ability, of course - that the Glazers are among the two or three very worst possible owners in existence, hence the odds are pretty good we'll be able to attract better owners, and with a lot of effort and dialogue and external help such as government intervention, maybe even good or great owners who really know what they're doing, will implement a plan to substantially decrease the debt over two or even one-ish sponsorship cycle and get to where every financial-minded poster is pointing out: this club can compete with the petro-clubs without substantial owner investment.
Almost more importantly than that, they're also calculating that the show of force will discourage, or pre-emptively 'filter out' any Glazer-type prospective owners via various means that most fans won't even know about let alone consider. People in the 0.01% world aren't all chums and pals generally united in the common pursuit of exploiting those below. They have allies and enemies and agendas far away from football but that can be 'thrown into the package' so to speak during any machinations. Fan movements like this can aid like-minded prospective owners and hinder Glazer-types via political - and in this case potentially quite literally political - maneuverings. Fan protests and action like this can help a 'good/great' buyer manipulate themselves into the picture.
The people 'thinking this is good' are thinking (in broad strokes):
A. if you buy the club and do things right, you'll have this kind of fan support at your back (AKA once the dust settles, you'll be picking up the club 'on a song' but you-and-I-and-banks-and-sponsors all know that that any 'depreciated' numbers aren't the real numbers, they're the numbers generated while the fanbase drove out the Glazers using 'chemotherapy'
B. if you're someone like the Glazers, kindly on't even bother applying for the job.
C. if you're someone of means, you know how to calculate and utilize these things; we'll try and keep doing our part until someone like you can finally take action
Among the fanbase, there are certain more knowledgeable people thinking very very strategic and tactical things in the midst of all this. But the above A through C is the core of it.
TL;DR Everyone very much realizes there can be short-term pain. These people are banking on able buyers recognizing and utilizing that leverage. On average, it's actually the 'don't you realize you're hurting the club derp derp' people who don't realize they aren't seeing nearly as far as the vast majority of protesters.
Like the below:
My worry is that there isn't an owner out there who would put up 2-3 billion dollars of his own money to buy in and then work selflessly for the club instead of the club working for them. The only exceptions to this are the petro-states and the shady individuals who we want to steer clear of.
My worry is that upsetting the status quo can have severe unintended consequences like getting an owner like Kroenke who just doesn't care or even worse like MBS. The club would either languish in obscurity or be a prop in the hands of a despot.
We are far better off trying to force the Glazers on to the negotiating table and get concessions from them and a promise to improve OT, reduce debt, and invest in the squad. No body knows the endgame of a militant policy and who would replace the Glazers, how long it will take, and what will be the collateral damage while this plays out over the next 2-3 years.