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Isakly what we need

Utd will sell Fernandes to Saudi, right?
I think United will need to push him out. Rumour had it the Saudis approached him and he turned them down - they didn't agree a fee with United. They'd need to give him the tap on the shoulder and tell him they needed him to go, and then play it out in public so as to blame PSR or something, and save face for the player and try to save face for themselves - the big baddies at the Premier League and UEFA made us do it...
But if I were them, I'd give serious consideration any offers I got for any of the players.
 
I think my observation, high level, would be that Big Jim still doesn't have it under control. They're keeping afloat with the funding available to them, but without c £240m of equity injections over the last 3 years they'd be struggling. I'm not seeing signs that they won't need more shareholder cash pumping in (and don't hold your breath waiting for the Glazers to stump up).
The reality is that a lot of their debt doesn't need to be repaid (the Glazers will sit on theirs until they leave and the bank debt will just keep rolling) but they are still spending beyond their means and have a huge millstone around their neck in the shape of their stadium project.
When the Glazers took over, they were the dominant force in English football, and up there on a European level, but the Glazers have presided over a period of decline - their squad is shite, overpaid and not capable of winning stuff, their ground is falling down and their commercial brand has stagnated. They want to replace that ground with a soul-less modern bowl that's going to cost billions they don't have.
Over the same period, FSG has added 15,000 seats to our stadium (admittedly a good chunk of them out of the average punter's price range), upgraded our training facilities, built a league-winning squad and grown commercial revenue to a level where we are neck and neck with United. They've not taken a penny out of (they were really scrupulous about that, by the way) and will make a huge profit as and when they sell - fair fucks to them.
United are still on the way down, we are riding the crest of the wave. They are lower now than we were when FSG took over, and I'm not seeing signs they're going to turn it around. Their fans are right, they need the Glazers out, but it's still a hell of a job for anyone to do to turn it all around.

I think it'll come to a head soon as Radcliffe doesn't want to service more debt and will want to / have to put more cash in.

That means the Glazers will either have to match it (which they won't / can't), or give up equity, which they won't - it's watering down their investment simply to pay for running costs and eventually they'd end up with nothing.

They'll also fall out about taking money out of the club. The Glazers insist on taking dividends out of a club already haemorrhaging money. Which gives them every reason to stick around.

No idea why Radcliffe bought into it. He's lost a quarter of his personal wealth this year btw.

 
I think it'll come to a head soon as Radcliffe doesn't want to service more debt and will want to / have to put more cash in.

That means the Glazers will either have to match it (which they won't / can't), or give up equity, which they won't - it's watering down their investment simply to pay for running costs and eventually they'd end up with nothing.

They'll also fall out about taking money out of the club. The Glazers insist on taking dividends out of a club already haemorrhaging money. Which gives them every reason to stick around.

No idea why Radcliffe bought into it. He's lost a quarter of his personal wealth this year btw.

Yep, agree with that.
The one other option, which I think might fly, is for the Glazers to convert some of their debt into shares - it could be done so as to keep the equity split between them and Jimbo the same, but without requiring them to put in any new money.
They've also not taken any dividends since 2022, by the way, but it looks like they are still taking payment of interest on their debt.
 
Got a question about South American football for Tim Vickery? Email him at vickerycolumn@hotmail.com

Who is Lucas Leiva? What is his true position? And based on a previous article about South American youngsters leaving too early, eg. Gabriel Paletta, is Lucas ready to come to the Premiership just yet?

Mark Williams, Leamington Spa (and many others)

These moves are always a gamble, but I think this is a good one.

He's an exciting player of a type that Brazilian football hasn't produced too many of recently. Of late their central midfielders have tended to be 'holders' who sit and allow the full-backs to push forward.

Lucas is different. He's a big, blonde figure whose power and physical strength comes with attacking ability.

He can pass well and loves to rumble forward. He gets on the scoresheet both with blistering shots from range and from bursting beyond the strikers.


(I post this every 12 months to ensure it's always backed somewhere on the Internet)
 
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