May 19
Ben Foster to Sign for Birmingham | Fergie Parsed
It’s certain now that Ben Foster will move on to Birmingham. The fee is mooted to be about £6m. The official site has also confirmed this.
Foster’s sale confirms what a lot of people thought: the manager had lost faith in the ‘keeper. I’d wish him the best, and I think he will emerge better all round at Brum.
I wish I could say he won’t be missed, but given Ferguson’s remarks, it’s worrying. He’s channelling the same mantra that took him through press conferences last summer and January. It seems he’ll be making “only one” signing at most because, apparently, the “market is very difficult.”
Granted we’ve signed Chris Smalling (who, I have high hopes for) and Javier Hernandez (who, I know absolutely nothing about), but they don’t really address our problem areas: A threadbare midfield, the lack of a world class ‘keeper, and adequate back up in the striking department. We could go on about lacking creativity on the wings, but I think that isn’t as much of a problem as the central midfield is.
Things might very well change come next May, but right now, Carrick has regressed, Scholes is hit and miss despite being one of our better midfielders. Anderson has shown little signs of improvement. Hargreaves was last reported to have walked 500 metres without discomfort.
But yes, Ferguson will tell you that he likes the balance of the squad. Gill will tell you that the debt is not a problem. Maybe your neighbour will tell you that Goldman Sachs is a company with a heart of gold.
But then you already knew this was going to happen didn’t you?
This isn’t my attempt to sound alarmist. Maybe Ferguson will buy big. Maybe Gill will start speaking the truth. Maybe your neighbour will convince you that Goldman Sachs is actually a wonderful company.
Wait, what’s this? A sideways timeline scene from LOST?
Anyway, right now, I do know this: “the market is difficult” translates to “we are broke” in common parlance.
Thank you, and good morning.
PS: I have no dealings on any personal level with Goldman Sachs. I had to pick a major firm at random, and this sprung to mind.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Dear Ben Foster
- So How Good Is Ben Foster? — A Watford Fan’s Perspective
- United related links
- Can Foster Capitalise On Lucky Break?
- Edwin Van der Sar and Ben Foster can happily coexist
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Stephen (454)
Craig Mc (344)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
@Grognard: Funny, I always took you for a straight “party-liner”, a company man and a brown nosing Ferguson backer.
It’s fucking shocking how wrong people can get it!!
Like?
0 
0
@Redrich: That was my duplicitous facade fooling all of you. I was actually an infiltrator sent by Rafa to shake the foundation at it’s roots.
Like?
0 
0
@Redrich: But are players like Carrick and Anderson actually worth something tangible? I have my doubts. Their form this past season was so bad I cannot actually see anyone wanting them. Then again, there’s a sucker born every minute. Just ask Alex McCleish. He went and bought Foster.
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: After all he looks up to Fergie, the biggest sucker! God, Levy must be rolling around laughing his ass off!
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: Maybe we can palm off Carrick and Gibson for Milner and Anderson for Di Maria?
Nah, we’ll stick to the three musketeers and a British backbone in the midfield with no creativity whatsoever!!
Like?
0 
0
@Shera: so you want all of us to look at fergy with red tinted shades. look mate, there are many sites that do that and being here the best rant site in the web is personal choice, you can either choose to stay or leave. we are here to debate,sometimes we agree to disagree other times we disagree to agree. my point everyone is entitled to their opinion here and this is not a comformist site. so stop getting personla with people.
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: redranter is back, sorry i did your job in my above post
Like?
0 
0
@CraigMc: uniteds world wide support is very fragile. people out here love to be associated with success, we have another trophyless season and fans who are not born mancunians will start falling out. look at teams like chelsea and man city, their world wide support is growing coz of that point i mentioned, being associated with success so i think what the glazers are planning will jus backfire on their faces as revenue especially from outside uk will gradually decrease ad man utd loses its appeal.
Like?
0 
0
@elvido: It’s called the world according to Fergie. I’m surprised he hasn’t called back Bruce and Pallister.
Just another day in Paradise.
Like?
0 
0
@rsg: @Redrich: i’d like us to keep berba and instead send carrick the other way. but if we are to send berba, why stop with milner, lets also get agbonlahor. i still feel that once berba clicks with the team, we’ll get to see his worth. one more season for him and if he fails to show up then we ship him off.
its our midfield that needs enforcement and if we upgraded from carrick to milner, then berba and rooney will get the supply line they have really been missing forcing them to play deep. rooney can play deep and surge forward but that berbaz weakness, he;s too slow to join the attack from mid. so if we get him someone who can supply him with the ball from midfield, he wont have to play deep thus giving us that edge we missed the whole of this season.
Like?
0 
0
@man utd jaluo: Success and Man City
– two words that just don’t go together so far mate – City have won NOTHING mate! What part of the world are you from jaluo?
Like?
0 
0
@rsg: Unless Milner does a Berba, and refuses to go to Man City
.
Like?
0 
0
@Shera – don’t be chased away mate, just come and continue to debate
. On football blogs we are not always going to agree with bloggers comments, but we can just let it go mate. I know it can appear sometimes on this particular rant site, that some bareknuckled comments can resemble an anti Man United war zone, instead of a Man United friendly site. Fans are just being fans mate, and some rather graphically so. I hope you don’t stop posting here, because we need the variance of vastly opposing viewpoints! Still I suggest you wear a TIN helmet mate 
.
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: Actually the carrick for milner swap was in the guardians rumour mill yesterday.
Like?
0 
0
@man utd jaluo: Got my mistake….
Like?
0 
0
@Johnsom33: milner will go for near £30m, the same as the figues been quoted for Fabregas, I know what player I would rather.
I would offer Carrick to Everton for Rodwell nd some money, and as we are there take Arteta that for for me would be some good business, but unlikely.
Like?
0 
0
@CraigMc: A mate of mine who is an Aston Villa fan says that Milner is definitely looking for a move away because of the £20m City bid. The thing with Berba was he wouldn’t of gone to City because he was not interested in the move only seeing it as a sidewards step and instead chose United as a step up. Milner though has already shown that he likes the idea of a city move.
If we do go in for Milner it will play out like this,
- Man City opening £20m bid rejected.
- We also shown an interest for Milner to Villa.
- City prepare another offer or multiple offers, could be 22m, 25m, 27m or anything above.
- Already it looks like we are priced out and will most likely bow out.
- But just say Villa accept £25m bid and we are still interested, we have to match that offer and also agree terms(his wages) with Milner (again we won’t be able to compete financially with City but hope that the player sees us as the more attractive option and Villa prefer to sell to us).
- Now expect City to put in a really crazy offer to both Villa and Milner to divert their attention.
- We could as many have pointed out arrange a player swap deal to Villa, (as we should have done during the Ronaldo deal) but they are a rarity at United and I cannot remember the last one, if there ever was one. Maybe David Gill is just too thick to make player swap deals work out.
Now repeat the situation for anyone else that we are after, that City, Madrid, Barcelona or Chelsea are also after, which is why we have to conduct transfer business quickly and in secrecy.
Like?
0 
0
off topic here.. m not a regular poster but a regular reader. Will be moving to sheffield in september so wanted to know abt the season tickets at Old Trafford nd how far is it from the University of Sheffield.. any good pubs arnd sheffield, or else hw is sheffield!?!
any suggestions welcomed !
Like?
0 
0
@CraigMc: I dont think ive aired my views correctly mate I do believe the Glazers are robbing us so I agree with you on that but we still have alot to be optimistic about I just get fed up when people post on here with really extremists views yes everyone has a right to express their view but not to the extent when they simply put every single thing they say into overdrive. Its sad that they actually believe that United is going into freefall big time.
Once again im not saying that people dont have a right to view their opinion that would be crazy im just saying stop trying to make people think that United is on the verge of destruction beacause we are simply not. Its funny I challenge someones opinion and all of a sudden im the one who cant see the truth
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard:
This might come as a surprise, but even though our points are on both ends of the spectrum, i understand exactly where you’re coming from and I dont
‘disregard’ anything you just said! I understand why you have the opinions that you do because i can honestly say, that a few years back i’d be on your side
of the fence too. I’ll come to that later, but as of now our opinions differ simply on the basis that while i see the glass half full, you see it half empty.
And when it comes to that, the two people in question could be arguing forever, so i’ll make my points keeping that in my mind.
To start off, you talked about offloading 3-4 players as a must and obviously berbatov, Anderson and Carrick are few who you would like to see leave. Fair enough, none of them performed this season, carrick had an awful end to the season, made mistakes that possibly cost us both the milan games while anderson simply dint turn up. But you could also argue that anderson has been injured for most part of the season and barely got a fair crack at proving his doubters wrong. Carrick on the other hand played in defence for a bunch of games before which as far as i remember, was doing fairly well. In fact i think it was around January i thought he was one of our better players, he even came on for England in a qualifier and did really well. Overall its been a poor season for him no doubt, and amongst all the players we have that are tipped to leave, he is the more likely to. But the ease of the total disregard for what he is capable of is astonishing. Anderson has disappointed for long too, but i still believe the guy who impressed so much in his first season cant be such a pile of waste! Surely theres talent somewhere within that boy waiting to go that extra notch or two. We also know while Berbatov hasn’t fit in, he can still be a class player.
Actually, forget about getting into each players performances for the season. I’ll ask you a simple question. Do you think United should sell Nani? I’m quite
sure the answer from most including you will be an emphatic no! But if i had asked you that question in december, what would you have answered? Even i’d join
you in saying ‘damn! we’d be lucky if we got a can of beans for him!’ Even if you were a staunch Nani supporter during those days, just look at the history
of players we’ve had in a similar position. How many of us could see the point of having the likes of Darren Fletcher in the squad, let alone the starting
line up 3-4 years back? There was a time we even castigated our then show pony ronaldo when his freekicks ended up in Row Z! Seems like a million years ago doesn’t it? But it wasn’t!
Look, my point isnt that some of the players you guys have labelled as excess baggage in the squad to suddenly do Nanis and Fletchers! No i’m not saying
that. But what i’m saying is that we the fans have been wrong in the past about our own players and theres no reason why we cant be proved wrong again! There
are facts that back that and you you’d see that even without red tinted glasses. You see, we fans are a fickle bunch. We take success for granted and thats a
lot down to todays media too. It only took an injury time winner from scholes to cover up our impotent performance against City. It took just that 1 header
for next days headlines to be ‘The Kings of manchester’ instead of ‘The end is near! United a crumbling empire’! Thats how we think these days unfortunately.
The fact that you can say the old guard is just ‘taking up slots’in our squad after everything they’ve done epitomises that. If you think we’ve had the
success that we’ve shared in the past simply because we had 11 great players, then i’m afraid you’ve not understood the culture that is Manchester United or
simply dont give it enough credit. We’ve been successful because we’ve had a bunch of players who’ve embraced manchester united football club and aspire to
achieve success with an insatiable appetite; and theres no better judge of players who are capable of such quality than Sir Alex!
Is Fergie Never wrong? NO! Are we healthy in the glazers arms? No! Do the statements that come out of OT always white as white? Hell NO! We all know that!
But on what basis are we so god damn sure that we are doomed or sure that fergies lost it or this is all down to not having MONEY? Because Fergies actions and intentions dont make sense to us? Hasn’t it always been that way? And hasn’t he almost always been proved right in the end? We’ve let big players go in the past, we used our own fan logic to think about how to replace them. Ruud left? We need a goalscorer now. Keane left? We need a DM now. Ronaldo left? Oh We need a goalscoring winger/worlclass player now. We never replaced any one of them like for like and yet barring this season in which we lost out only by a point, we’ve managed to win silverware and go on to be even more successful.
My point is not about trusting Fergie’s statements or believing that financially our club is doing brilliantly or anything of that sort. I’m not even saying we dont need new players. Of course i want big players coming in too, who doesn’t?! I just believe that in Ferguson we have a man who has delivered no matter how much it seemed impossible for the same. If fergie feels that our squad doesn’t need a major reshuffle, than i for one would trust him, if not for his past record, but atleast for the simple fact that he watches these lads in training day in and day out and definitely knows a thing or two that we dont! There may be many reasons to doubt him, but there are far more to back him. Fergie sure has lost many battles undoubtedly, but hes always won the war in the end. Lets just hope this is just another one of them that ends up a success.
Like?
0 
0
@CraigMc: Kenya dude. i know man city have no success but it wont take them long to start winning things, it only took chelsea 2 years and they won EPL 2 times in a row. Lets not talk about city, but hope you got what i meant.
Like?
0 
0
Apologies for the terrible formatting of my above comment. No idea how that happened! I assure you i did not mean to give anybody a headache! Peace!
Like?
0 
0
@man utd jaluo: Chelsea had Mourinho though, I am not so sure about Mancini!
Like?
0 
0
@ArnabDG: Mate ANYBODY who saw Nani’s performances in Man United end of season review DVD from his 1st season with us, could not unless completely biased, say he needed to be sold on the strength of last or this seaon, because his contribution in his 1st season was he impacted most games in fact almost every game he played. Anybody who doubts this have short memories – go watch that 1st season DVD and come back and tell me what you think. The great sin here, is that Fergie put the lad on the bench, in his leper colony for most of this season – big mistake in my opinion. Fergie has a short memory too! I see though now, after Nani rustiness thru lack of games in earlier season, Fergie yesterday publically spoke about how United had developed Nani’s game, and he has come good – PLEASE
. The lads game was regressing, until Fergie somehow got a bit of gumption to put his arm around him and give the lad words of support. But I will argue with all comers, that Nani ALWAYS had the talent, and SHOWED it in his 1st season – like I said, people have short memories. Not having a go at you though mate 
.
Like?
0 
0
glazers have been perfect owners for united, they have always assisted me whenever i asked for assistance. i think they get to much hate than there billing. whenever i wanted to get a player, they provided me with the money. hey! wait a min before crucifying me. this are fergies words, i could not believe them myself. i want whatever he is smoking.
How have glazers supported him really? real outbid us in benzema deal, chelsea di the same with mikel and essien, barca with villa. man pity got tevez, we only get scraps. the unheard offs to be superstars. wth?
Like?
0 
0
@despicable:
Like?
0 
0
@CraigMc: i think fergie was not happy with his professionalism and froze him out(the embarrassing tabloid stories), and he did the same with Anderson..and as a result Nani did a turn around and has been more consistent, hardworking and in tune with the team, also we just have two wingers with Tosic away on loan and Obertan not there yet we were forced to rotate a bit(which btw is no where near as bad as rafa benetiz’s rotation policy)
Like?
0 
0
@RMJ: My point RMJ was that Fergie gave the credit to the backroom staff for Nani development supposedly, but Nani had all he needed in his 1st season
. I would have to say that it was Fergie’s arm around the shoulder and supportive backing that encouraged Nani and gave him confidence to feel part of the set up again, which in turn led to his feeling free to express himself again. No way did our backroom staff develop Nani – it was already their in his 1st season mate! I understand about his professionalism, or seeming lack of it in talking naively to the paps, so I agree with you there RMJ 
.
Like?
0 
0
@man utd jaluo:
– you want whatever he is smoking, I think it’s silly devil smokes jaluo 
Like?
0 
0
@CraigMc: I’m another Nani fan mate, lol. I really believe he has a bright future and I hope he really delivers at the world cup for Portugal and comes back an even better match winner for us!!
Like?
0 
0
sir alex radio interview
http://fullofbull.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/ferguson-talks-to-toronto-radio/
Like?
0 
0
@Shera: i was just looking at some numbers and this season we made the most TV money because we played the most matches and earned around 50 million, the most in the premier league..compare that to RM or Barca’s tv deals which is a whopping 1.1 and 1 billion respectively and the difference in profit between us is a few 20-30 mills we are being dealt a very poor hand here…
does anyone know when the next tv money restructuring is being held?
Like?
0 
0
@man utd jaluo: “How have glazers supported him really? real outbid us in benzema deal, chelsea di the same with mikel and essien, barca with villa. man pity got tevez, we only get scraps. the unheard offs to be superstars. wth?”
Benzema- chose Madrid over us, we weren’t outbid
Mikel and Essien both had theirs heads illegally turned by Chelsea, not exactly our fault.
Villa- 29 and a top Spanish striker, he was only coming here if “The Only Two” didn’t make an offer. Plus only a idiot would pay 40m for a player that old.
Tevez- we weren’t outbid, we chose to not sign him(this is well documented, trust me you don’t want to get me started)
Berbatov- we were outbid but he chose us over City.
My point in all this, is I’m just trying to prove a point that everything has 2 sides too it. People look soley in the transfer market to prove we are indeed broke, when the transfer market is incredibly hard to go by.
Since the Glazers came to the club how much have they spent? Off the top of my head, Hargreaves, Anderson, nani, carrick, the twins, berba, tevez expensive loan deal, Valencia… So to suggest they haven’t put any money in is ridiculous.
I’m with all you guys in wanting the glazers out, because I want a rich benefactor who doesn’t care about making money. But I think people have fell for the medias efficient doom and gloom machine a little too hard.
Are the glazers good owners? Tough to say, we truly don’t know how much involvement they had in our earlier signings. Are they bad owners? Equally tough to say, they have drained money out of the club into their own personal coffers but we have also won 3 leagues titles a Champions league and a few carling cups(can’t remember if we won a fa cup or not.
So before everyone jumps down my throat, let me ask you a question. Aside from a Oil sheik or a Russian oligarch what club owners out there would you take? Because as far as I can see there are 2 types of owners, some who want to win at all cost, and the majority who have to balance the books to keep their clubs alive.
Think about it…
Like?
0 
0
@ArnabDG: Now folks, read this man’s post because this is how one should rant and this is how someone should argue or debate a point and disagree with the likes of me without getting personal or without getting rude.
Great points mate. Well thought out and very well presented. Please don’t think I am trying to patronize you. It’s just that your post is the example I’d like to use to show some of the morons who have come on here in the past and who felt frustrated or even angry at my comments and who felt they needed to cut me another asshole. Instead of organize and present thoughts like you did, they get personal and start questioning my very existence. I thank you for your comments for the way they were presented and now I will try to answer some of your concerns.
First let me say that surprisingly I actually agree and understand the point of view of many of your points. I am not so much on the other end of the spectrum as you may think and although my glass is half empty right now, there are times when it truly does feel half full. Let me start buy saying that you are a fairly new poster on this blog but I do not know if you have been reading this blog for much longer. If you were you would have noticed a few inconsistencies with some of your comments regarding myself.
First of all I am someone that does not dismiss or cast out players on a whim. It takes a long while before I actually give up on a player. But giving up is different from criticizing. The fact is I have always like Nani and deep down inside believed in his abilities. It was his head I was never sure about. At Christmas tie I was not asking Fergie to sell him because at no time had I completely given up on the lad. Oh might butcher him in a game review but i think I always made my case for giving the lad time. Around then I was bringing up the names Krasic, Di Maria and Silva up a lot. I really felt we needed that infusion of world class quality to our wings because Nani had not yet arrived and because Valencia although good for me was and still isn’t world class enough. I am happy to say I was proven wrong and i was very honest and quick to come out and say so. I still had and still have concerns about Nani. My initial concern was that he was better on the right but could he be that really improved player consistently on the left? Well based on his last few months I think it is relatively safe to say that he can. Valencia also came on much better in the second half. This forced me to come out and say when I was calling for new players that wingers were not essential.
But nobody and i mean nobody is ever going to change my mind on Anderson, especially Anderson himself. This lad is the least talented, fattest and most undisciplined lad Fergie has ever brought in who has been a staple on the first team. Truly, I see nothing to write home about this lad. No finesse, no finishing, plays with his head down a lot, no vision and has lazy and undisciplined work habits and runs out of gas far to soon in games. Just when you think he has had himself a good first half, he disappears completely in the second half because he is fat and out of shape. He has been with us for over three years and yet I have seen no improvement in him whatsoever. When he got injured I shouted “Thank the Lord for small mercies”. See, up to his injury he had shown nothing this season, so had he stayed healthy I doubt we would have seen from him what we saw from Nani. The lad just doesn’t get it, and most of all he just doesn’t seem to care. As far as players leaving are concerned, the only two that I truly wanted gone are Anderson and Foster. Two complete wastes of time and space. I pride myself on a being a good judge of talent and neither had any.
But let it be said that I was never an advocate of selling Michael Carrick or Berbatov. I like Carrick and I love Berba. But it’s clear to me that they are not fitting in well now and even if that was to change, my reason’s for agreeing to their sale now would be that we could get somebody better. Sure both may have a renaissance and make all of us regret some of the nasty things said about them but honestly mate, do you really see it happening? Carrick is a veteran player. The days of incredible improvement are over. Right now he is like Berba in that he is set in his ways and his character and attitude is what it is. Carrick for me was always a good player but not a great world class player and my only argument against him on the pitch is that this club based on it’s history and pedigree could have bought a much more enterprising and creative player for the money that was spent on him.
Berba is a different story entirely. I love the guy. I love nearly everything about the player. I actually like his languid and slow approach to the game because unlike so many Englishman out there, I get it. I grew up watching more continental football, especially German football and was very used to seeing players who reminded me more of him. I love his skill set and his vision and creativity. But it is slowly dawning on me that he truly looks to never fit in with the club. His style is like oil and water here. He is rarely if ever on the same page with his midfielders (ironically, the one midfielder that seems to have always partnered up well with him is Carrick) and he has virtually no understanding or ESP with Rooney. Above all his confidence and his nerves have been shattered by all the negative press and the booing of fans. The end to his season was truly sad and pathetic to watch because I so love this player and so wanted him to bring back the era of Cantona with him. That’s clearly not going to happen and lets also remember, he is closing in on 30. Certainly a player of 29 does not take 3 or 4 years to blend in well with his team.
I do not see it happening for my Berba that is why I am all for him being sold to Bayern Munich, my other favourite team. His style would meld much better with the way Bayern play, of that I am certain. It would be the best for United but it is also best for me because i still could cheer him on.
Now enough about players. Some of the other points i wanted to bring up in defence of my position is that I have and always will be true admirer of Sir Alex Ferguson in regards to his total tenure at Old Trafford and in terms of his ability to manage a football club. I have gone on record numerous times this season complaining about style, tactics and player selection but at the same time I have been quoted as saying that of all the great years and accomplishments Fergie has had as United manager, this past year may have been his greatest managerial job. He took a team I felt was going to struggle to hang on to third place and got more out of them and got more positive results than I would have expected. The style and content of their play was exactly what I expected. What I never expected was how many wins we got in games we should have lost or drawn and how many times Rooney or OwnGoalinho came out of the woodwork to snatch a point or two. With all our problems with injuries, players in poor form and just bad luck, we still found ways to have more good luck and we found ways to win ugly. Fergie was not concerned with style as he was with substance and for this I give him an A- for his coaching efforts.
But Fergie the game manager is not my biggest concern and has never been. Sure i want a return to fast flowing champagne football but winning is still the most important thing. No what I want is a reckoning for his other failures and crimes. Those are to do with the buying (or should i say the NOT buying of players) and the lies and deceit that have come from his mouth towards the fans and his unhealthy and very disturbing faith and loyalty he has in the owners of this team.
At a time when all has been unveiled and only uneducated people with little or no financial sense or acumen cannot see the skullduggery and criminal extortion being performed by the Glazer’s against our great club, is it not time to start asking our manager what the Hell he thinks he is doing? His actions in the transfer market make absolutely no sense since he has a lot to do with creating the buying conditions and he has no excuse for not recognizing the problems this team has. Above all, he is going against his own nature of twenty years of buying and selling players. Was he this patient with his young talent when he was buying players like crazy in the 90′s and even three or four years ago? He has been acting like a complete hypocrite with his views on player value at a time when a smart individual can easily put 1+1 together an get 2.
We are not idiots here mate. Most of us get it. The Glazer’s have been exposed this past year for the scoundrels that they are and the Ronaldo money has yet to be accounted for and yet both he and David Gill continue to lie through their teeth and report things as being different than they are. All my argument against the present regime and for a regime change are based on very cold and hard facts as well as some obvious guessing based on intellect and an understanding of the way corporations work and manipulate the system. United fans are being taken for a ride and all I am doing is expressing my dissatisfaction with the status quo as well as my sincere, profound disappointment in a man who I have admired, respected and loved for 25 years. Fergie has truly broken my heart, not with his management of the club on the pitch, but with his boardroom antics.
At a time when Green and yellow have made a noticeable comeback and when the Red Knights have been formed to eventually break our hearts, this is not the time to be naive and to be all trusting. We were all trusting for the first five years of the Glazer’s regime. But the cracks started to show last season and this season those cracks have spread and now severely threaten to compromise the future of this great club. And the fact that there are still so many who stick their heads in the sand and who blindly follow without ever questioning the why’s of the situation is for me intolerable. It reminds me of the “Lunatic Fringe” on the right in America who still don’t get that all the problem they are having is because of the Republicans LIKE , George W Bush and Dick Cheney and all the Neocons who they blindly follow who see the world with such a naive, selfish and evil perspective. Protectionists who do not want nor do they allow anyone rocking the boat or anyone challenging the status quo. Idiots who cannot see the Glazer’s for what they are and who also see that Fergie himself is acting like a man who has a vested interest in keeping the things as they are. Otherwise why would he tolerate things as they are.
Oh I’ve been called paranoid and disgusting and you name it mate, but the fact is I am just offering my feeling based on my intellect and my experiences in life as well as what i consider to be proof and evidence that is quite obviously against the perpetrators of this great crime against the team. In the last year I have yet to find someone with my passion and intellect come on here and rant this well or this long and give concrete proof and make a case for the owners and manager to oppose me. Where are they? No, all that comes out are scared little people who do not like their world being shattered or challenged. Thought Police who do not like it when others offer up their feelings on something unless it agrees with them. So they come on here and get rude and personal with me yet never ever offer a counterpoint against my argument. Why? Because they have none that would wash with the majority of people who are actually with me (whether they come out and say so or not) and who are clearly intelligent to know the differences.
I argue and debate against these forces because i care. If I didn’t care i’d go support City or Chelsea because they have the money to play with. But i come on here and debate and make my case because i am passionate fan and because I care. So to you I say thanks for your intelligent reply. I hope I have helped answer some of your concerns. You don’t have to agree with me but then again, I honeslty ask myself what is there not to agree with. Not everything I say is fact, but surely most of it must invoke some kind of agreement based on the obvious conditions and situations at hand. It’s all so frustrating and disconcerting because all I want is for this club to be where it needs to be. Challenging Barcelona and Real Madrid for world dominance, on the pitch as well as off it.
We make all this money from so many sources and yet, the debt continues to grow and the profits are not showing up on the pitch. And people have the gall to challenge and question me? Unbelievable mate, seriously. I sometimes ask myself do I need this crap and why do I stick around with a group that largely hates me or doesn’t respect or appreciate what I have to say. But then again, I know there are many who do like me and who do agree. Not many are vocal about it but still, I am n t looking for popularity as much as a forum to trade ideas and debate. And the world would be a boring place if we all agreed on everything. But it would also be a better place if they disagreed in a manner that was kinder and more gentlemanly. Sorry for the long post mate but this needed to be said.
Like?
0 
0
This guy thinks we don’t need to spend big http://manunitedrant.blogspot.com/2010/04/why-man-utd-does-not-need-to-spend-big.html
Like?
0 
0
@man utd jaluo: So then why do people get so bent out of shape when I challenge him over his quotes and apparent lies? Why then do they challenge me when I say that perhaps, just perhaps Fergie has other reasons for following his masters with such passion, allegiance and loyalty. Perhaps he is also financially benefitting by this clubs derailment. If I was an owner And i wanted my manager to tow the line and never ever question my decisions, I’d give him a piece of the pie with the promise that he never ever questions me in public and that he always stay loyal. Yet so many just refuse to believe because they look at a man who has done so many great things for so many years for this team. Well maybe he felt under appreciated until the Glazer’s showed up and since then he feels personally taken care of. I don’t really know but then again it’s no crime to offer suggestions or thoughts because it’s obvious he isn’t playing with a full deck of late. Only an idiot would think this team needs only one signing. A true idiot.
Like?
0 
0
@RMJ: The difference is that Nani always had the talent and we all had seen the talent. We have never seen more than an ounce of talent in Anderson. He can cuddle up to him and put his arm around him all he wants when he voices sweet nothings to the lad, the bottom line is Anderson is a slug.
Like?
0 
0
I forgot to add, all you who cast a jealous eye over to Madrid and Spain should keep this is mind. Both of those clubs have unsustainable models. Madrid are basically owned by the Spanish government so they dont play by the same rules as everyone else. They cam spend spend spend and are never held accountable.
Barca are up to their eyes in debt, which in my eyes is worse debt than us. Our debt is borrowed against the club, but our club is worth more than the debt so a sale of the club is going to wipe out the debt. Barca have simply spent money they don’t have. Read this…
http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2010/05/20/1934202/barcelona-presidential-candidate-sandro-rosell-warns
barca are over 420m in debt! They just spent 40m on Villa, and according to who you believe are poised to spend 30-80m on fabregas. This is also incredible considering they still haven’t paid for Ibrahimovic and that defender with an incredibly long and difficult last name krusgkcfhfghzsdgv or something like that:-)
I think it’s time we all woke up, the world is in economic shambles right now and so is football. We can’t let clubs blind us from reality with their “free spending” because we don’t have owners with limitless money to burn. We are currently just riding out the storm.
So what’s my stance on the glazers? I would be happy if they left, but it isn’t the end of the world the media portrays them as.
Losing Ronaldo was a giant step backward for the club, and all fingers point to the glazers. For that I am forever angry with them. But I honestly feel that if we can stay in touch with city and chelsea for the next 2-3 years without losing any more top players then we should be in a great position when the world economy is healthier. In the long run club that aren’t set up to make money are the ones in a scary position. Because they are at the mercy of their owners interest.
Like?
0 
0
@Johnsom33: For me it’s never been about buying players mate. Sure i like it when we can challenge for a great player and have the resources to beat out the Barca’s and Madrids, but it’s the lying to our faces that bothers me and it’s the handling or should I say the mishandling of the debt that can only offer us one answer as to why the buying has reduced itself to a slow trickle. The reason nobody was saying anything about the Glazer’s before last year was because the due date for the loans had not come and so until that date cam even the glazer’s were willing to offer Fergie 30 or 40 million to play with per season. But reality has hit them and us hard. They took a tremendous hit in the markets and other investments in 2008 and they have gone into panic mode trying to recoup most of their wealth which they lost, mostly to Ponzi schemes and Bernie Madoff. This a fact and if one wants they can dig and find the information that validates claim.
So the slow trickle of money leaving the club and going to the Glazer’s became a tidal wave when the reality of the situation necessitated that they treat United differently and take of the kid gloves. United was purchased for exactly this worst case scenario. A true money maker on foreign soil that could and would be exploited if things got out of hand back at home. In my life and business experience I have seen these tactics many many times and I speak from great experience yet, some come on here and question my offerings without having a nugget in their head to truly challenge what i am saying with their cold hard facts.
We all need to forget the past and look at the present because the future is n’t even worth spitting on unless buyers come out of nowhere to buy this club. Serious buyers, not pretenders and ass clowns like the Red Knights who just want fifteen minutes of fame at our expense. Show us the money and stop playing games. We need owners like those who run City who have no concern about money spent on the team and for the team. Who respect their supporters and who don’t continually disrespect them and snub their noses at them. Perhaps that’s too much to ask but i am more than willing to do so.
Like?
0 
0
@Johnsom33: Sorry mate you are very incorrect there. Real Madrid is owned by the “Socios” of the club (the membership of the club). There are something like 80,000 Socios. The Socios have various rights and responsibilities (e.g. you have to be a socio to buy season tickets, the Socios vote for the president of the club, and in theory the socios are ultimately responsible for any debts of the club (which of course is not a problem these days). There are no publicly traded shares, so a tycoon would not be able to walk in and attempt a hostile takeover as happened with Manchester United. And yes, Barcelona is another club which is owned by its Socios. The Government in no way or form has any ownership of the club although historically Kings and government officials have always been Real Madrid supporters and would choose them over Barcelona any day of the week.
These days Madrid borrows a lot of money from banks that might be owned and run by government but they are on line to have to pay it all back. But here is the thing, and why I am such a disgruntled United supporter, They pay it all off quickly. Why and how? Because they make so much money like United in ticket sales, merchandising and advertising around the world, that paying back a 200 million loan is no problem if your profits are much greater per season. The reason they can is there is no one person or tycoon that runs the club and looks to financially gain a dollar from the club’s success. The clubs sole responsibility is to succeed on the pitch and to put out the best and most glamorous team possible. This is the goal of the Socios and why I envy the whole setup and wished United were more like them. They spent 200 million buying players last year and are ready to spend again. Sure there is fiscal responsibility here as they also have to sell players so that they do not have wasted overhead. A lot of the players we are interested in right now, Silva, Di Maria and even Mourinho are looking more an more likely to be bought by Madrid. Boy they really have it bad don’t they? Why am I jealous? Because I am not a West Ham or pompey supporter. I chose United for a reason and this club still makes more money than both Barcelona and Madrid. But look at their operating model and then look at ours and ask yourself if you think we should be tolerating the status quo at Old Trafford? We may not be operated by Government but it seems like we are being run by a military junta.
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: Alot of us like your contributions and appreciate your passion, but you have got to stop complaining about this blog. If it’s so frustrating for you, and that no one takes the time to read all your novels, and that no one on here can challenge your intellect, then maybe it’s time you moved on and started another blog. Personally I can only speak for myself that I don’t want you to leave. This blog would be worse off if you left. I’m just tired of you playing the same sad tune on your violin about people not appreciating you.
I don’t know if you figured it out yet, but people only respond when they feel strongly about something one way or another. Just because someone doesn’t reply to you doesn’t mean they didn’t read it. Most of the time it means they don’t have anything to add. I wish this blog had stats, because you of all people shloud know this based on the number of responses you get. It has to dwarf everybody(except maybe Dan during the Foster Wars) yet your the only one who complains about not getting enough responses.
As for your long winded rants, I read them until I think I get the point or am bored. If you go on a 1500 word rant about German goalies in the 20′s most likely I’ll skip most of it. But when you did that breakdown on current goalies(this was during the foster wars) and how they rated against each other, I completely ate that up.
Anyways that’s my unsolicited advice on your ranting endeavours, take as little or as much as you want from it.
But let me be clear… I want you to stay and keep sharing your passion.
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: Sure we would like those kind of owners like city, but there isn’t much of a choice if the glazers are not selling? and lets face it why would they want to sell? it would require something special from us fans and on a lighter note did you guys see the new nike advert its awesomeeeee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqME-3dwoGs
Like?
0 
0
Oh my God Fergie is so full of shit.
In all these debates about having money to buy players I find it funny that all that is ever brought up is the 80 million we made from Ronaldo. Now add another 20 million or so for all the other players we have sold in the last two seasons and then lets not forget that every year Fergie is supposed to be allocated a transfer budget on top of and beyond the money he has made from sales. Nobody ever brings this up, especially not Fergie or Gill. Instead we harp on about how much of the 80 million do we have left?
According to Fergie we have 40 million left because we spent around 20 for Obertan and Valencia last season and he has us believing that we spent 20 million this season already for Smalling, Diouf and Hernandez.
Now please tell me why are we left to believe that all Fergie has to work with at the very most is the 40 million left over, provided the money was not scooped up by the Glazer’s or that it has not gone towards paying off the debt?
The reality is that every year the Glazer’s have been in charge they have allocated a transfer budget for Fergie to play with. How much it is a secret but based on the players he has bought since the glazer takeover, I think it would be fair to assume that it is between 30 and 40 million per annum. For the sake of argument, lets just say 35 million. If thats the case then he should in theory have 70 million creating a whole in his trousers on top of the 40 million left over from the Ronaldo business and another 20 from the sale of Saha, Foster and others as well as the players he receives money from other teams for having loaned them out. Fo rme that means we should have over 100 million to buy players with based on sales of past players and what was expected as yearly allocation that every manager would expect above and beyond the money that comes from player sales.
But to listen to Fergie he has no complaints with the owners as they have always given him the money he needs to buy players. Well if he has around 100 million in a fair and expected manner of thinking, then why is he not spending it? He either has become a super miser in his old age or the owners never coughed up the yearly allocation of funds and have told him that the Ronaldo money better serve you well for the next three or four years. The latter is what I am thinking and that is also why it seems he is spending it small amounts buying young players. Sorry Fergie, you can fool most of the sheep out there but consider my coat black. I’m not buying it and I wasn’t born yesterday.
Like?
0 
0
@Johnsom33: Sorry you feel that way about my rants. I for one realize that I write long rants but I do not consider them to be “novels” nor do I consider myself inarticulate or so poorly educated in the use of English that I am seen as “long winded” and boring. If that’s they way you feel about my rants yet you say you appreciate my presence and my passion, but also belittle my efforts by calling them long winded and novelesque, well how exactly am I suppose to take that? I don’t mind criticism per say but you are criticizing the part of my contributions that I take great pride in. My grammar and my intelligence in writing what I do is something that I take pride in and that kind of indignation to my efforts hurts, I have to be honest. That is the sole reason why I do get paranoid and feel a little hurt when i take the time and effort to add something greater to this blog than a sentence or a half paragraph of inane banter which for me does nothing for my soul nor does it peak my interest.
You have been on here for a long time and i have always enjoyed debating with you because like myself, you do bring something more to the table. And that’s my entire point. I bring a lot to the table and like anybody who works hard at a job, a sport or anything, they need to believe their efforts are valued and appreciated. I don’t honestly feel that a lot of what I bring gets fully appreciated. And the remarks of Shera the other day just confirmed that. It was not just what he said to me that was wrong, unfair and completely inaccurate, but the lack of responses afterwards by members on this blog who like you supposedly appreciate or respect my contributions. What am I suppose to think when a newbie comes on here and blasts me with half truths, falsehoods and general bitter hatred and venom and very few come to my defence and say hold on there fella, all these accusations and falsehoods directed to Grognard are not just unfair, but untrue? Where were these people. Instead I get someone actually telling him to stick around as yet another stab in my back. Hell, I want him to stick around but not at my expense. I want him to debate with all but to also respect other’ viewpoints even if they radically depart from his.
I don’t know mate, I just seem to feel that I am fighting a lost cause because you and others just don’t get it and above all don’t get me. You make me out to be something I’m not and you constantly put down the length and content of my efforts without understanding my intentions and why I bother to offer my opinions in the first place. I am alone here in Vancouver when it comes to finding football loving friends. So Red Rants has been a vital part of my day. I feel I am very friendly with all who are friendly to me and I try to avoid being rude and mean unless provoked. But how would you feel if you gave an effort with your friends and none of them cared? I know none of you personally but over a period of time, I’d like tosay I have gained a certain knowledge of most on here and many I’d like to call friends. But there are times like these where i feel my attempts are one sided and incredibly misunderstood and yes, under appreciated. I mean why do you and others seem to think I take great fun in coming on here, giving the effort I do and receiving very little other than venom and abuse? It is now 10:00am here and i have been on the blog for almost three hours. Christ, I need to get a life because all this experience is teaching me is that this blog is truly sucking the life right out of me. In a few months I will hopefully be departing on a business venture which will take up most of my time. Then perhaps all of you will get your long awaited wish, much less and a short winded version of the Grognard.
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: We can debate the details all you want but at the end if the day Madrid don’t have to play by the rules. When I said they were basically run by the government it was meant to be taken literally. I was refering to the goverment intervening on their behalf in the past, you know your history so I don’t have to list them. Put us in their shoes, do you see the City if Manchester or the English government to step in and clear our debts? Cause I don’t.
Like I said earlier regarding the tv deal. We have to play ball with the rest of the league and share the money. They don’t, which is why La Liga is in serious financial trouble at the moment.
So you can idolize, admire and be jealous of the Spanish 2 all you want. But there is absolutely no way for us to replicate their current situation.
Like?
0 
0
Berbatov is staying for i more year…Shit….
Like?
0 
0
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/fergie-glazers-are-great-owners-who-invest-in-youth/
Ferguson just doesnt get it does he. I cant speak for the rest of the fans and everyone involved in the protesting at OT and involved in the G&G campaign but for me it was never about money being spent that makes us question the glazers as owners. For me it was always looking long term and seeing that the debt is simply not manageable.
You could ask me would i like to see us given £200m this summer and go out and buy gerrard, torres, messi and casillas. Yes of course i would. It would improve our squad a hell of alot and we would probably be favourites to win the premiership, champions league, fa cup and every trophy on the planet, probably also return to the great football we used to see years ago. It would be nice.
But long term would the debts not still be there. Would going out and buying these players not add to the debt. Of course it would, and it would mean long term we would be even worse off. This is where ferguson simply does not get it, and takes the fans for idiots thinking we are protesting because of lack of funds for the team. Of course this is part of it. I personally think the team has fallen massively in 2 years from being the top team in the world to maybe top 5. The team is not as good as inter, barca, real if they get mourinho and even chelsea but if anyone honestly think we started this whole green and gold campaign, are spending hours and hours writing posts on here lambasting them, and protesting outside old trafford because of lack of transfer funds then they are off their head.
Its a concern yes, but the reason we are protesting and are so pissed off all the time is because we are concerned our great club which has been around for over a century, may very well in a few years fall so slow we cease to exist. Before anyone says its not possible think about the banks in the US and indeed here in the UK which went out of existence and we worth 10 times what our club was worth.
Here are fergusons quotes word for word:
They have been great owners,” said Ferguson. “They have supported me in every way I have asked them. Any time we have wanted a player, they have provided the money. What people forget is that we have spent £20 million on young players this season, including Chris Smalling, Mame Biram Diouf and Javier Hernandez. We have always seen our future as based on young players developing at the club. But because we are signing young players, not big showpiece signings, they think we are not moving. People do not recognise how we see our future.”
Who is he trying to kid. They have given us £20m for these young players yes it is true. But werent we promised a guarenteed £25m a season when they first took over. So surely those players come from that money dont they.
If we want any further additions that will come from the ronaldo money we have heard about for months though. Why then just days ago did the manager say he only wanted 1 player and may do with what he has no.
Simply he doesnt have the ronaldo money, its been used on the debt. The link below was in the paper today and gives you all the figures you need about the glazers to show long term they are a cancer for this club, if you didnt know this already.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/sunsport_columnists/2981211/Steven-Howard-United-fans-have-every-reason-to-worry-about-Glazer-ownership.html
What the hell has happened to the old ferguson we used to know and love becuase im sorry i have looked at ferguson almost like a second father over the years but this is not the same man anymore. I really think he has never fully understood what the fans concerns with the glazers have been. From the first minute they bought the club i remember him saying any fans who dont like it can go and support chelsea. He failed to see our concerns from day 1.
It was never about transfer cash, it was looking at the club long term. What is the point of having spending £100m on players and having 4 years of success if in 10 years time the club is paying for it. I would take 2 years in the wilderness if it meant the glazers would sell up, i honestly would. Because there is no future with them in charge, so its short term pain for long term gain.
Notice in fergusons quotes he never mentions the £700m debt, because that is where the fans concerns are right now not on the pitch. And yet here he is again alienating the fans like me, and making fan morale to decrease further becuase of his comments in the last week.
God the only good news ive heard out of the club this week was foster being sold.
Like?
0 
0
Some other bits of news straight from the horses mouth:
http://www.tribalfootball.com/man-utd-boss-ferguson-we-should-be-playing-mourinho%E2%80%99s-inter-milan-854951
Apparently we should be playing in the champions league final. Im sorry but this to me is disrespectful and arrogance beyond belief.
“We should have been in that final, we absolutely murdered them”. God is the guy blind. I dont want to produce a match report from months ago but i watched both games and i can say they definitely didnt murder bayern.
God the first leg was an embarrassment. We scored the first goal and then sat back the rest of the game. Fair enough bayern didnt have many clear cut chances that game but they controlled the game and got the 2 goals and more than deserved it in my opinion.
Second leg ill admit we played well the first 40 minutes before carrick pissed around and let them score but the second half was a joke. Ok we got rafael sent off which does require a bit changing around but to take off rooney and replace him with a defender and think your going to sit back and hold on for 40 minutes is a joke. He under estimated bayern in my opinion and he paid the price.
You cannot sit back against top european teams like bayern and think youre gonna hold on because your just not going to. Over the 2 legs i think bayern deserved to go through. First leg they dominated, second half of the second leg they dominated too so they were the better team. Might be unpopular but the better team won and went through. And for ferguson to then completely dismiss lyon and say had we beat bayern we would have been in the final is a joke.
Lyon were crap yes, but you should never under estimate teams. When the draw was made and we got bayern we were basically hearing everywhere we were in the final, or as good as. Judging by our performance against bayern and our dire defensive tactics i wouldnt have it set in stone we would be in the final anyway, and wont be again for a long time with this team.
http://www.tribalfootball.com/man-utd-willing-start-season-without-rooney-ferdinand-854531
This i just find stuipid. He thinks he can start the season without rooney and still pick up mazimum points. Didnt he pay any attention to what happened to us without rooney this season. We went from being favourites to win a few trophies to throwing it away in week, 3 defeats in a week as a matter of fact.
How many games do we play in august, 4? And he thinks we will get 12 points from 12 without rooney does he. Not unless our first 4 games are against shit opposition like wolves, and some of the promoted teams.
God it just seems everything that comes out of his mouth now is just either untrue or stupid and just makes the fans morale decrease with each passing day.
Like?
0 
0
Does Everone here wants to say but doesnot have the courage to speak simple worlds that :
Get Rid of Fergie also along with Glazers and Anderson..
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: From my own experience, let me tell you this in short: Blogging/commenting is a thankless job. Once you make your peace with it, and write solely for the love of writing it, you’ll enjoy it more.
Like?
0 
0