Manchester United: A case study on the dangers of 'public' sports teams

[Lawrence of Arabia]

real is the team of superstars who have always underperformed. they got railroaded by bayer leverkusen 3- 0. juve will put them out of their misery in march. they lost to them in 2003 champions league, and they'll do it again.

with a team as loaded as they are, they should be winning everything every year (pull a manu, win their league, win the UEFA and win the champions cup)

[:) Smiley]

Did I get this right?

The man's buying the team by borrowing against the very team that he's buying?

[Agathon]

Hey, if this bankrupts Man U then I'm all for it.

[yaroslav]

Originally posted by Smiley
Did I get this right?

The man's buying the team by borrowing against the very team that he's buying?

Yep, I think so. IIRC Olivetti in Italy tried to take over the biggest phone company there via a very similar tactic...

[Agathon]

I hope it all ends in misery. ManUre and their fake fans are a blight on the league and the sport.

Justice will only be served when they are playing in the 3rd division of the North West Isthmian League before a crowd of six people and two dogs.

[Agathon]

Man U and their ilk are wrecking football.

Look at Chelsea this season - the amount of money they have spent has reduced the season to a joke.

The Champions League is just a cash cow for the big teams and the future looks like the same teams getting automatic entry (or virtual automatic entry as it is now with the UEFA Cup scam), and the football tends to suck too compared to the domestic leagues. I wish they'd bring back the old European Cup - that was actually a decent competition.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Smiley
The man's buying the team by borrowing against the very team that he's buying?

Yes. That's messed up but it can happen. It's called a "leveraged buyout" and this is the biggest one.

[Imran Siddiqui]

UR, I do think Rooney could be an investment for the future. His value may indeed rise, even though his price for ManU was so high.

Agathon, that is what eventually happens in leagues without salary caps, the big money teams will dominate by creating pseudo-all star team.

[Agathon]

Agathon, that is what eventually happens in leagues without salary caps, the big money teams will dominate by creating pseudo-all star team.

It has always been that way. The difference is that now it is almost impossible for smaller clubs to make the big time and stay. And at least before, the big clubs weren't gerrymandering the competitions to make sure they played in Europe every season.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Agathon

Agathon, that is what eventually happens in leagues without salary caps, the big money teams will dominate by creating pseudo-all star team.

It has always been that way. The difference is that now it is almost impossible for smaller clubs to make the big time and stay. And at least before, the big clubs weren't gerrymandering the competitions to make sure they played in Europe every season.

The point is that as leagues become more and more profitable, the teams with the money will simply make GOBS of more money while the rest stay where they are. It happens in every league that doesn't have constraints on it.

[Agathon]

The Bosman ruling didn't help.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

Not necessarily - he just thinks the move will benefit himself.

Indeed... what benefits Glazer doesn't have to benefit the club . After all, I'm sure ManU could make more money by spending less on transfers and raising ticket prices.

You come back to my original point then. If ManU make more money then surely that would be considered a benefit to shareholders, whilst not necessarily the stakeholders (i.e fans) whom I said this is more an issue for.

[Imran Siddiqui]

If ManU make more money then surely that would be considered a benefit to shareholders

Depends on if you look long term or short term. I was talking short term with spending less on transfers and raising prices. In the long term it may hurt the team (especially with the less on transfers). It's not an easy decision to make.

The Bosman ruling didn't help.

Blame EU workers rules .

[baygator IV]

as a united fan, i do not want to see glazer in control of our club. He may well not ruin us, but as a profit/risk exercise, i don't really think the sums add up.

ps agarthorn, ssh. Giggs may be a better player than me but i dont wish him ill. And Man U have been the best supported club in the country (world?) since the Munich disaster, a long time to be a 'fake' fan...

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Soccer sucks.

Now that was out of character. A correct post would have been:

"Capitalism sucks."

Thank you

(This is just a spectacular example of a capitalist leeching off and provoking serious immediate losses to a viable company he just bought. Unlike the average industrial company, however, Man U. has fans, and is big enough to survive in the long run. But that's for a cap/com debate)