I’ve monitored and read (& laughed) at this thread for days/weeks now, without getting involved, because it usually turns into a shit show of politics & close-minded opinions, but here goes anyway:
1) if we’re bought by Qatar, why do we suddenly turn into an oil/plastic club? If they allow the club to not be saddled with debt & allow us to spend what we can afford, without taking dividends out, how does that turn us into a plastic club? If they’re pumping £billions of their own money in transfers, above our spend limit, surely either FFP kicks in, and if it doesn’t, then sure, I’d understand the argument. But just having a simple case of “change of ownership” doesn’t miraculously mean we were relegation candidates artificially turned into challengers. We’ve also been one of the biggest names in football. Also, I’ve worked in corporate my entire career so it might be easier for me to separate ownership from operations (& on field operations). That’s just how business works. & football is business at the end of the day.
2) they’ll spend money on infrastructure and improving the facilities, which is great for the club, again, that doesn’t turn us into an oil club but rather having owners who are investing into the sporting project. Maybe they even finance it through the club, who knows. But it would be great having an owner/sponsor willing to invest into the club, versus seeing the club as a for-profit venture.
3) the world has been going this way since the dawn of time. The wealthy are extremely wealthy but there’s no real right answer in the equation as most of the wealthy generally got there by pillaging/abusing/using the poorest of the poor. Would any/most other owners really be head and shoulders above being owned by the emir of Qatar (or whatever they call him)? Or do you just consider them as such because they fit more into your personal belief system? Why can’t your personal belief system be separated from the ownership of a football club as long as they’re not trying to force their way of thinking down your throat (he’s supposedly been educated in the UK and loves football from that aspect anyway)? Unless you’d prefer another VC type ownership because it’s either sketchy billionaires or “VC type investors at these prices”….
4) maybe I’m too “lenient” or open minded coming from the third world and witnessing its horrors. Horrors most of you (a generalisation as I know it’s not all of you) are not accustomed to, but we experience it almost on the daily. It’s never right, nor should it be normalised, but the world extends, and is far greater than “just the west and your way of life”. There are other ways of life. You might not agree with it but there are, and it’s easy for most of you to sit there and criticise and judge but try being born into that, the family, the teachings, the values….its indoctrination in a form…& then try seeing how easy it is to simply severe ties with those you love because you deem it “wrong” - how would you even define wrong after living in that world your entire life? Seems a few of you look down on the Middle East and their way of life because it doesn’t fit into your own thinking about life and what it should be like. Maybe it works for them? Who knows. I certainly don’t but I find the entire “shutdown” a little condescending because you happened to be born into some sort of “privilege” (not even mentioning how all those privileges were obtained in the fist place).
Anyway, these are my thoughts. Maybe I’m detached because we have other problems to deal with here in our beautiful country, South Africa, where some tribes (and all across Africa I might add, also still struggle with gender equality). Maybe footy or United means less to me than you, who knows. And I’m not even condoning the “sportwashing” angle here, but maybe if everyone was a little more “accepting and forgiving” of some of the unknown, we could also show them the beauty of a different way of life and try and garner change to their regimes in that manner? It’s a weird world we’re living in, where a lot of the wests privilege today was borne out of the suffering of others, and whilst you feel like you might have progressed in lfiezc you might also have left others lagging behind even more, but yet some of you seem unable to “make amends” (why should you?) and give others a chance at change, by simply setting a better example, a more inclusive example.
But I guess these thoughts are too idealistic. Because it’s sports. You know, serious life threatening business in the grander scheme of life.
@golden_blunder sorry for posting “politics” in here as I know we’re trying to keep it only sale related. Was my one and only post of its ilk. I’m doing a lucky scout and saying “not open to replies from me” once I’ve aired my thoughts
