10 Oct 2023 20:38:09
Hello Ed, progress with the sale?

{Ed002's Note - When someone makes an acceptable offer there will be.}

1.) 11 Oct 2023
11 Oct 2023 09:53:20
Thanks for taking the time to reply Ed002, must get repetitive for you!

Thus, and really sorry if either you don’t know, are fed up with questions about it, or you’re not allowed to say, but any further information on how close interested parties might be regarding an acceptable offer, whether that be an acceptable monetary value, an acceptable structure - or a bit of both?

Thanks again for your time and patience!

{Ed002's Note - It is as I have explained.}

2.) 11 Oct 2023
11 Oct 2023 14:08:02
Thanks again Ed002. Fingers crossed there’s some movement soon.

{Ed002's Note - That would be a need to change your diet.}

3.) 11 Oct 2023
11 Oct 2023 15:02:31
Nice one, Ed, this whole takeover drama is such a strain!

4.) 11 Oct 2023
11 Oct 2023 18:22:12
I was really bothered at first but after about 8 months I gave up and don’t even read anything about the takeover now. It was all far too frustrating and depressing.

If it happens and is an Improvement then that’s great, but we have zero control over any of it so it’s not worth the stress.

5.) 12 Oct 2023
11 Oct 2023 18:34:40
Ed002, in your opinion do you think the the price the Glazers are asking for/ willing to accept is reasonable?

From the outside looking in it just seems like they want to have their cake and eat it. Surely they are aware that the club needs significant investment in facilities such as the training ground and stadium. While clearly time and money also need to be spent on getting the football side up to scratch, in the academy and the women's team as well as the first team.

They seem to ignore the fact that any buyer would need to either invest or find financial solutions to what will probably amount to the best part of 2bn or more to have any chance of getting the club close to the value the Glazers seemingly want right now.

{Ed002's Note - They will not be simply setting the price themselves - the banks will be heavily involved. Future investment was critical in the sale of Chelsea, but that is very unusual and typically the seller will not want to make such caveats.}

6.) 12 Oct 2023
11 Oct 2023 18:39:05
Thanks Ed - who do you think will end up owning the club?

{Ed002's Note - Whoever makes an acceptable bid.}

7.) 12 Oct 2023
12 Oct 2023 22:44:42
SJR bid values the club higher with the structure of the bid by all accounts, so I guess if Qatar want it they’ll have to match/ beat the SJR valuation is. Of course it could be that SJR bid is in the press so that Qatar will up their offer. As an above poster said tho it’s boring reading about it now, I don’t want the Glazers to remain in any capacity so I’m firmly behind Qatar.

8.) 13 Oct 2023
13 Oct 2023 01:31:36
I don't have a preference, I don't for one minute thing Sir Jim will be mugged off nor do I think the Al Thani family are inevitably better, and I use the experience of Málaga who were bought by an Al Thani as an example by the same token it doesn'tean the annoyed bid will end up the same.

I guess what I am saying is if either wins I will judge them on what they do when in charge nothing else.

9.) 13 Oct 2023
13 Oct 2023 07:54:36
Oakbark

Totally agree. As they say don't judge a book by its cover and read the content. I doubt SJR will just hand over a check to them even as a minority investor if that's the only route to dilute the glazers control and grip on the club and allow things to stay as they are. It makes zero sense for any investor to do that unless they operators were doing an incredible job which they are not.

10.) 14 Oct 2023
14 Oct 2023 09:12:11
Oakbark

The difference is that Ratcliffe leave the Glazers involved and that is totally unacceptable. Ratcliffe claims to be a United fan, if he was he would want them 100% out. I do not want Ratcliffe at all on that basis. Also does he have to borrow to invest through his company? Qatar for me unless Elon Musk wakes up and jumps in.

11.) 14 Oct 2023
14 Oct 2023 10:57:19
Totally unacceptable ?? to who?
I'm sure if you tell them you won't accept it redman and that it's simply not on that they will abandon the idea.
Totally unacceptable you make me laugh ???
It's the glazers club they will decide what is acceptable to them what you think is totally irrelevant your just a customer and a moaning one at that.
I hope they sell up and leave but it's in their hands to decide what's acceptable. Know your place. Your not in any sort of position to determine what is acceptable. If you want to discontinue your custom and support that's up to you if you don't like the owners decisions. You'll never be happy either way.

12.) 14 Oct 2023
14 Oct 2023 11:35:18
Red Man, While my preference is for the Glazers to be 100% gone ASAP we have to accept that it might not be entirely possible.

Like it or not the Glazers are in control of this process, they will only sell if someone pays a price they are willing to accept. If that is more than anyone is willing to pay (because its well above the actual value of the club) then there isn't anything anyone other than the Glazers can do. Unless they are prepared to bring their demands down or come up with some sort of compromise then we are at a stalemate and stuck with the Glazers in sole charge of the club. And we know what that means.

It's not fair or realistic to expect someone to pay a massively inflated price out of their own pocket to buy the Glazers out of the club for us fans to be happy the Glazers have gone.

There is also a "better the devil you know" angle that we should at the very least be mindful of. There are no guarantees that any potential new owner will either have the clubs best interests at heart or actually run the club any better regardless of intentions. The club could be run just as poorly or even worse than it has been under the Glazer ownership regardless of the new owners intentions. Many a bad thing has been done with good intentions.

Whoever decides to spend 6-8bn of their own hard earned money on buying our club will have their own agenda and reasons for doing so and those may not align with the agenda of us supporters. Maybe they will build a new state of the art stadium, and maybe the price of your season ticket will double to help pay for it. Maybe they will rejuvenate the academy at the club, or maybe they will do a Brentford and disband the academy for a B team type set up. Losing a key part of the clubs identity in the process. Who knows. I think we have become so frustrated by the Glazer ownership that we have forgotten that previous owners made decisions we didn't agree with and future owners will as well.

That said I do feel like the club needs to move away from the Glazers and cut those ties as the whole situation has become too toxic between the fans and the owners and the club needs a fresh start. While fans need at least some hope that things will start to get better regardless of whether that becomes a reality.

Personally I'd prefer a clean break, for someone to come in and buy the club outright from the Glazers. For them to have a vision for the club to return to the pinnacle of world football once again. For them to hire the best people to put plans into place to create a footballing powerhouse, to sort the academy and the men and women's teams out. To revolutionise the scouting and recruitment and to put in place a solid structure of command and roles that can bridge managers without having to rip everything up and start again when inevitable manager changes happen. To find ways to invest in the club and build or renovate Old Trafford to make it the best stadium in the country once again, to bring Carrington into the 21st century with state of the art training facilities.

However, that is a dream, and probably not a realistic one. The realistic one is removing the Glazers stranglehold on the club is as likely to be as difficult as living with their ownership over the past 17 years. It'll be a drawn out and uncomfortable process. Maybe Ratcliffe is working on the only realistic way of wresting control away from them. Taking it bit by bit until they are gone, and gradually fading their influence on the club. If he can come in and just sort out the management structure and start getting the club to be run as a football club with more of a focus on developing and modernising our approach that would be a positive thing and start to move us forward. If then over time he can remove the Glazers and find ways for investment in the facilities then even better.

We all want a swift resolution, but that isn't going to happen, the clubs been up for sale for a year and we still aren't close to an agreement. What we want, will not be what we get. My advice is make peace with that now to avoid bitter disappointment further down the line.

13.) 14 Oct 2023
14 Oct 2023 22:06:24
And so the nightmare continues if the reports are true and the Qataris have withdrawn. The Glazers will remain and probably pocket the SJR money for themselves.

Will SJR be taken for a ride by the Glazers like the rest of the United supporters, time will tell?

14.) 14 Oct 2023
14 Oct 2023 22:34:34
If stories are true and it is Sir Jim then hopefully the club gives some clarity as to what this means in the short and long term. With all the silence the fans deserve to be informed.
Will he have any control immediately, will he look to bring in his own sporting people. Will funds be made available, what is the plan for the stadium, clearing of the debt. Most importantly what is the commitment for the Glazers full departure, 2/ 3/ 4 years etc.

15.) 14 Oct 2023
14 Oct 2023 23:33:51
If this is the end of the Qatar interest, and if, remains the question, this is a disaster. I hope the club get relegated, take the glazers and Ratcliffe to the second division. Let their asset be worth half what they were trying to extract. Let Ratcliffe realise that keeping the leeches involved is unpalatable for a United fan. Ratcliffe out.

16.) 15 Oct 2023
15 Oct 2023 00:13:45
Let the club get relegated - wow. Pick up your rattle Redman you seem to have dropped it. And who says relegation means the Glazers sell? If anything, it will mean we are stuck with them longer because they’ll want to get promoted to increase the value.

Talk of relegation is entitled. You want to speak to fans of Sheff Wednesday, Wigan, Bury, Macc and the growing list of football league clubs who have bad owners, but also have no trophies and no CL to show for it.

Yeah we all want the Glazers out but be careful what you wish for. SJR might be the only answer and spitting your dummy out because the Qataris pull out is a waste of time.

17.) 15 Oct 2023
15 Oct 2023 00:32:43
Oh Red Man,

Stop spouting rubbish. Already reported that Ratcliffe will have control over the sporting side and will seek to invest in the club on top of his purchase.

You wanted Qatar based off a PR statement at the outset. Now they’ve failed to even entice the glazers and wasted everyone’s time, you’re throwing your toys out the pram. Pathetic.

18.) 15 Oct 2023
15 Oct 2023 08:02:51
How does SJR having sporting control help Caolan. It probably means Brailsford being brought in and let's be honest, unless its cycling, the other sports, sailing and football he has been involved in haven't really been successful.

If you remember, SJR bought Nice saying he wanted to learn how to run a football club, he still has a lot to learn.

19.) 15 Oct 2023
15 Oct 2023 09:56:37
The club will be a toxic mess. Most fans Caolan, want the club sold fully. I expect plenty of self serving announcements from Ratcliffe on how he will rescue the club. Like how he will have control over the sporting side. If his proposal goes through just expect to see more and growing protests in a very divided club. The same amateurs and the same leeches will remain. Would I take relegation to get rid of these leeches, yes I would.

If this is confirmed, it is a dark day for the club.

20.) 15 Oct 2023
15 Oct 2023 10:42:51
Just another con from the Glazers, more money for them, and SJR walking away in a few years because he finally realised the Glazers never intended to sell and just wanted someone else to pay the bills for a while.

Let's remember that the Glazers have no interest in United, to them it is just a brand which they keep rinsing until there is nothing left.

21.) 15 Oct 2023
15 Oct 2023 16:06:30
Grim,

There will be clauses and options legally drawn up about future acquisition of shares.

22.) 15 Oct 2023
15 Oct 2023 16:32:43
Will they Caolan? We don't know that, and the Glazers aren't going to agree to future share prices now.
If the wanted the reported £6-£7bn now, how much will they want in a few years time and will SJR be willing to pay it.

Then you have the added issue of two owners trying to run the club, can only see issues and arguments going forward, and ultimately us supporters having to suffer.

23.) 15 Oct 2023
15 Oct 2023 21:28:00
Grim

Inoes supposedly is big in Data Analytics and recruitment, sports science, structuring of our recruitment and a host of things we do very poorly. Read his interview from a few months ago and he talk about how poor our transfer business has been and a lot of what he says is not show boating and straight talk.

Can't buy into the evil glazers and evil SJR have teamed up to ruin and destroy the club. Its like a children story you tell kids to scare them.


personally, I don't care if they are in the background and can take their dividends as long as it is not to the detriment of investing in the facilities and the squad, eventual clearing of the debt, significantly improvement of how the club is ran and winning major trophies.

24.) 16 Oct 2023
16 Oct 2023 10:55:41
Grim,

That is what is to be agreed now between the parties via different put and call options.

It’s very common in M&A.

25.) 16 Oct 2023
16 Oct 2023 15:07:37
Caolan you're going to explain that simply for the financially ignorant like myself.

26.) 16 Oct 2023
16 Oct 2023 19:08:11
Grim,

Basically trying to simplify it for myself (wasn’t my strongest subject in law school) . It’ll mean there are predetermined options which can be triggered on the stock- so he can buy more at certain times. There will likely be obligations placed on him if say the stock reaches a certain price, he has to buy more.

The could even be something as simple that each year he agrees to buy a set amount of shares at a premium price already agreed.

There’s a lot more complexities too it, but that’s as simple as I can break it down. If there’s anyone else who can offer a better explanation please feel free to add!