WHY SAY ANYTHING?

So, Sir Jim it is then. Not quite official just yet but he’s well on the way to becoming Mr. 25% at Manchester United. Reports state that he has coughed up around £1.3bn for the privilege of having the Glazers turn down any of his requests that may, in the slightest possible way, cost them any money or profit.

Initially there will be no investment in the facilities, the stadium or paying off any of the almost £1bn debt that the self-centred siblings have saddled the club with.

In fact, with the exception of the actual sporting side of things, it appears that it will be business as usual down in M16. So what’s really happened here is that Jim Ratcliffe has spent a heck of a lot of money to become United’s Director of Football. Still, it’s better than having to buy the club to attain this position which is what he did with OGC Nice for a paltry £89m. (Just ask the Nice fans how that one’s going).

On the plus side, if he takes full control of football matters, he may see the sense in relieving John Murtough of his duties. He may also see the sense in doing the same with Richard Arnold depending upon how much power 25% ownership actually carries with it.

Ratcliffe has yet to fully outline his plans to the general ticket-buying public as, on a need-to-know basis, the club’s supporters are way down the list. It is hoped, however, that this is the beginning of a bid to fully takeover the club in the near-ish future.

There remain a number of questions to which the supporters, amongst others, will require answers. Here’s a selection from The Guardian.

So what of Sheikh Jassim? Did he finally get fed up waiting or did he realise the two main Glazers are a pair of duplicitous, lying and extremely greedy men who never intended to sell the club in the first place? Remember, these were the ones who said, when inviting investment proposals for United, that everything would be considered but, whatever happened, it would be in the best interest of the club and it’s fans then, after drawing things out for an eternity, eventually secured investment which is in the best interest of the Glazers and, at present anyway, nobody else.

Whatever his reasons he has left the auction reportedly saying that he was eventually put off by the “fanciful and outlandish valuation” of the club. (The fact that Sir Jim is paying only about £1.3bn less for a 25% share than the actual valuation of the entire club tends to bear this out).

To add insult to injury, it is being reported that Sheikh Jassim will turn his attention to Tottenham Hotspur having missed out on the big one!

So again United supporters will feel let down by the club. Despite their best efforts at protests against the Glazers during which they managed to fill Old Trafford for every home game, spend millions on merchandise and wave the occasional scarf stating that they would prefer it if the Americans left, the Glazers are not leaving.

The Glazers are, probably, sat in their luxurious rat holes in Florida, laughing ecstatically whilst quaffing copious amounts of Jim Beam and discussing what an absolute breeze it is to make money out of those idiots in England!

Meanwhile, ‘those idiots in England’ will continue to renew season tickets, will continue to turn up in their thousands and will continue to spend millions on merchandise fully justifying the pitiful decision not to sell the club. Not yet anyway.