Football News: SJR's Part Buyout of Manchester United

The reactions, particularly online, to the news regarding the potential sale of the club have been predictably loud, emotional and laced with hyperbole.

Sometimes it is better to stay quiet when you hear something that has elicited an emotional response in you, wait for the calmness to return and allow yourself time to process and reflect to form an opinion before expressing it.

Obviously, like most, I wanted a full sale and asap. However, apparently I was alone in doubting that would happen. Or at least people's reactions seem to suggest they genuinely thought all their dreams would come true.

When the club was put up for sale publicly, the statement at the time clearly stated that they were looking for either, a full sale or investment.

To anyone with an ounce of common sense, it was obvious that the Glazer siblings were split on what they wanted to do. Some wanting to wash their hands of the club and others who still wanted to hang on.

This whole drawn out process just further proving with every passing day that a full sale was never likely.

The offer from Jassim for a full sale at nearly double the current stock market price was on the table for months without it being taken seriously. While it was clear that they always seemed more keen to discuss a potential deal with Sir Jim Ratcliffe (SJR) who was open to buying part of the club, whereas Jassim would only deal for 100%.

It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of what Jassim was proposing, full ownership change and no more Glazers, debt free and a huge amount of money to invest in the club and facilities. It almost sounded too good to be true. In the end, it was. Whether everything he said he wanted to do would have transpired if he was able to buy the club is by the by now. Maybe he would have, maybe he wouldn't. It's just a promise that we will never know if it would have been kept.

On the plus side, anyone who can hand on heart say they would have been completely happy with the club being associated with a state that commits such heinous human rights violations are either naïve in the extreme or morally bankrupt. So that is one thing we won't have to deal with.

While the particulars of a deal with SJR are ironed out, we probably won't know all the particulars. Things are subject to change and I'm not sure of the logic of basing an opinion on hearsay and gossip is a sound idea. I'll wait and see what comes to light fully form my opinion.

On what I know so far, what I can say is that at the very least, the club boardroom won't be an echo chamber anymore. Someone whose surname isn't Glazer will have a say and a voice, and that can only be a good thing.

SJR is a boyhood Manchester United fan and at his age maybe looking at a legacy, his chance to return his club back to the pinnacle. Can he do it? Who knows, but the intent to try seems there. Nice to have someone who has a connection to the fans in the boardroom, there is a chance at the very least that someone who shares our voice might be heard.

As I see it right now, it can only be a positive that we have someone who has experience of running a club previously, and someone who is a boyhood fan of the club in the boardroom with a level of influence. That's a step forward from where we have been for nearly 18 years. It's not as big a step as we wanted or hoped for, but it's a step forward.

As for how this will all shake out, let's wait and see. I'm certainly not going to give my emotional well-being over to the media and allow myself to be overcome with emotion with every single tittle tattle article full of guesswork and laced with malice designed to elicit a reaction from Manchester United fans.

Let's just sit back and see what happens.

Written by Shappy October 16 2023 21:10:44