Newcastle can’t appoint another DoF until the GL period is over, so seems ultimately counter productive for both parties. I hope we wait. I’m sure INEOS have a plan though.
Anyone seen the SJR interview yet, and if so thoughts? Initially for me, firstly said more in 24 hours than the Glazers have in 19 years! Came across well, obviously looking at sorting the diabolical internal structure first and build form there. Spoke truthfully and direct, it’s welcome to know the ‘open heart surgery’ has begun. He does seem (at least in face value) that this is a passion project and not a commercial personal wealth venture. A breath of fresh air!
It's an odd situation. It appears that the majority stakeholders, the Tampa thieves, are going to allow Ratcliffe's people carte blanche regarding both the stadium and the team. His talk of 'National Stadiums in the North' doesn't interest me, this country's anal obsession with anything inside the M25 and nothing outside it will never change, as the HS2 fiasco proved. So bollocks to England FC and the London-centric 'levelling up' shite, let's just concentrate on creating a stadium and a squad to be proud of. We are after all Manchester United.
Agreed on the levelling up. Structure, team, performance and winning should be the main focus. Looking at the ownership as a whole, when the final £100m injection goes in towards the autumn/winter he’ll have just shy of 30%, which will make him the largest individual share holder - although appreciated the Tampa Thieves come as a unit. I expect he will look to pick them off one by one - Glazer loyalty starts and ends with cash and greed. He has enough personal wealth to buy the club outright without INEOS. I also view the passion play being the club structure and team development, leading hopefully to a turn around of the recent lack of success, but his ROI will sit with the levelling up play.
Unfortunately, that's almost a moot point. It sounds like it will cost less to build a new stadium than it would to continually have to update, repair, and renovate the glazers' neglect. It wouldn't be my ideal choice, but it's where we're at
Presumably a new stadium would be adjacent, so I wouldn't have an issue with it. I suspect however that given the years it will take to plan and build a new ground I'll have jacked it in as a match goer by then anyway.
I was always Maine Road but as I went my first City game in 1985 I've spent more years at Etihad now, you adapt sadly.
Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City & Man Utd boosted by UEFA changes to multi-club qualification rules UEFA have relaxed their rules regarding multi-club ownership, meaning two teams controlled by the same entity would be able to qualify for European competition at the same time. For 20 years, UEFA have decreed two sides under the same ownership group would not be allowed to compete in Europe simultaneously, with the lower-ranking team losing their spot for the next season to the next available club from their federation. But UEFA have quietly changed these rules, allowing two associated clubs to compete in Europe but in different competitions. Manchester United and OGC Nice are both under control of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS, while Manchester City are the flagship club for the City Football Group, which also includes La Liga high-flyers Girona. Meanwhile, Chelsea's BlueCo owners operate Ligue 1 side Strasbourg. These new rules, which fall under Article 5 of UEFA's competition regulations, come into effect on May 1. United and Nice stakeholder Ratcliffe insisted in February he was not worried about UEFA's previous rules regarding multi-club ownership anyway, revealing there would have been workarounds to circumnavigate the issue. "There are no circumstances upon which an ownership of Nice would prevent Manchester United from playing in the Champions League. I'll be crystal clear on that," Ratcliffe said. "It says you have to change the ownership structure. So it's all about influence and positions on the board and that sort of thing. A: the rules are changing, and B: there are shades of grey not black and white. Manchester City will probably have the problem before we have the problem because they’ve obviously got Girona."
Southampton say they have "reluctantly agreed" to let director of football Jason Wilcox join Manchester United. The two clubs came to an agreement on an "acceptable compensation fee" to allow him to complete the move. The former Blackburn Rovers and England winger, 53, joined the Championship club last summer. Wilcox joins United as technical director, where the club said he "will work with all technical areas of the football department". He had spent 11 years at Manchester City, where he was academy director before moving to the south-coast side. "Whilst the club is naturally disappointed that Jason's stay at Southampton has only lasted nine months, it wishes him well for the future," Southampton announced in a statement. "The club will continue to work closely with Russell Martin and his back-room team to ensure they have all the support they require moving forwards." Manchester United are also looking to hire Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth. He was placed on gardening leave after telling his club he wanted to join the Old Trafford outfit. A senior former Manchester City executive, Omar Berrada, is set to join Manchester United as chief executive in the summer. The changes follow Sir Jim Ratcliffe becoming a minority owner of the club earlier this year, a move which saw his Ineos Group take charge of football operations. Saints' Wilcox joins Man Utd as technical director
