Patrick Collins 400 million reasons

Patrick Collins tells Fergie that he should have spoken out against the takeover in 2005 when he had the chance. There's no arguing with that, it's felt by many that if he had done so, the Glazer's would never have been lent the money to buy the club. Another reason why so many wonder why Fergie didn't do so, did the Glazer's hold out a pot of gold or was there dirt on him from the Coolmore affair. Will we ever find out, i hope so even if it tarnishes his reputation, it's not as if it hasn't been tranished by it anyway. I don't expect to hear him speak out against over marvellous owners any time soon, i'm not sure how he could without suffering a huge loss of face.

The Swiss ramble blog unpicks the Glazer's hoped for IPO and comes to similar conclusions to Andersred, in so far as attempting to start to reduce the debt is a positive to the club and an acknowledgement that it is hampering our ability to compete. He also makes the point that this is a risky strategy, in that the timing could have been better for them if they are to realise the hoped for valuation. Over the last few days it's also garnered the kind of press they would probably liked to have avoided, as their dodgier business practices have increasingly seen the light of day.

The MEN report that United have scrapped plans fo a singing section at United after a less than favourable police report on last season's experiment. The group behind the move went onto twitter to claim that MEN have go it wrong and it could still go ahead the season after next. But if any of the claims quoted, were in that report, i can't see the proposed move seeing the light of day. I'd love to see more atmosphere on match days, but i can't say i was mad about moving opposition fans up there. Like it or not a big away support is usually what helps to give a the home fans an incentive to get behind the home team. I know it didn't matter as much during the mid seventies and docs red army, but those days will never come back.

Iain Martin described last week as calamitous for George Osborne, which will have done huge and possibly irrevocoverable, reputational damage.I think we can say that this week Cameron has decided to join him on board ship half way under the water, Richard Morris describes the prime minister as the new John Major, a weak and defeated leader. As for Clegg, he is surely just living on borrowed time, unless the Lib dems have a collective death wish. Of course that's entirely conceivable, maybe the left will let the orange book right lead them to electoral carnage and rebuild the party from the centre left, post election. What will be left of the party to rebuild, must be the question. Iain Martin asks whether Clegg is a bit stupid ?
I saw David Laws on Newsnight last night and wonder how i voted for a party with him in it, he may have been right in accusing the Labour party of playing politics, but at least they did it reasonably successfully, i hate to say it but the Lib dems in government under Clegg and Laws have been politically inept.

 The stupid party in action, living up to that nickname

Equity 1-0 debt, IPO unattractive

The economist looks at the proposed Glazer's planned IPO for Manchester United and the result is equity 1 debt 0, this is an offereing for fools and fans only, less of the fans, thank you. There has been a welter of negative notices in the financial press as well as a general wondering how it has come to this for one of the biggest clubs in the world. to which the obvious answer is the day the gimps took control. All of this has been predicted from the beginning, by the likes of IMUSA, MUST and the great unwashed. As usual the gullible were the media, politicians and the clowns that run the sport.
Andersred sees some hope if they manage to get the IPO away, due to the fact that at last the Glazer's have admitted that the debt is impacting on our ability to compete, and if successful the debt mountain will at last start to be tackled.

As pre-season gets under way speculation starts to mount, where United's youngsters and reserves carry on the learning process next season. Sky reports that Hull City, fast becoming United's feeder club, would like to take our third choice goalie, Ben Amos on loan next season. That sounds like a decent move for him, a decent level and regular football for a promising youngster.
Michael Keane along with Sam Jonhstone and Tom Thorpe are with England's under 19 squad for the European championship in Estonia this week. I have seen no footage of their first game, a 1-1 draw against Croatia but from the text commentary of the FA's site it read like Johnstone had a decent game. We seem to have some cracking young goalie's on the books at the moment, i really like the look of Johnstone. I don't know whether he'll make it at United, but he will definitely have a future at a decent level.
It sounds like Michael Keane will be going on United's pre-season tour, Fergie has said he will take a few of the clubs emerging youngsters and name checked Keane, Larnell Cole, Lingard and Tyler Blackett. I would have thought he would have mentioned Petrucci amongst that lot, is something afoot there we haven't read yet.
Sky are reporting that Larnell Cole is to be rewarded with a new deal and could be sent out on loan next season. I like Cole, he has got great feet and a good football brain, his size would be a worry if he went out to a championship side as they may well be reluctant to give him a game. He has to play in the middle as well, he is in no way a right sided winger, he just isn't fast enough. I suppose the player he would remind you of most at old trafford would have to be Scholes, though he doesn't have the ginger prince's range of passing or goalscoring nous. That ball stays glued to him against bigger opponents where it matters and he can find a killer pass, that's his big strength.
His mate Jesse Lingard has told the official site that he is also up for a loan, he wants the experience. Now he is a player i really admire, he is only small, and doesn't always catch the eye, but at the end of a 90 minutes, he always seems to be one of the players who has got stronger and more influential the longer the games go on. He makes goals and does his fair share of taking goals as well, a nice habit for any midfielder. Saying midfielder, that would be the worry, what will be his best position, he could play wide right, but he isn't a winger, but he's not quite commanding enough for the middle of the park, yet anyway. I don't think he'll make it at United, but i would love to be proved wrong.

Zeki Fryers has been linked with a move away for a while now, reports today suggest that Tottenham will be his destination and that United are infuriated at the move which wil go to a tribunal. I honestly don't know why, i have never seen anything to suggest he was going to make it at United. Blackett a year younger looks a better prospect, and to be honest that he will be good enough. Fryers certainly isn't worth £20 grand a week, if that's really what he is going to be earning.

Fergie has been talking to MUTV this week and intimated that United were still trying to acquire a couple of players, but so far there was nothing to report. I'm presuming that one of those will be Leighton Baines, but we'll see.
He was less than thrilled at Paul Pogba's decision to leave the club, he claimed Pogba had shown the club a lack of respect. He went on to say that we were probably well rid of the young Frenchmen, which i would totally go along with.

It's been a week where we have the British political and financial establishment in a state of panic according to Paul Mason. After banks taking billions in bailouts from the countries taxpayers, Aditya Chakroborty asks how we can change banking culture how do we stop them ripping us off and how do we get them to work for us instead.
James Saft argues that Bob Diamond's parting gift to the country is that he has managed his bank badly enough to provoke real reform, but not so badly as to blow up the whole economy. I wouldn't count his chickens on the reform front. The most obvious and least controversial reform should be a Glass-Steagal act as Nick Dunbar makes clear, but the tories don't want to know. We will not get real reform under George Osborne and chums, that much is clear.

I dont generally agree with much of what Seamus Milne writes, but it's hard to argue with this, where's our Keynes or Minsky even to show us the way though. Nick Cohen looks at the defenders of crony capitalism and believes it can't last, the voters won't where it and the city of London's reputaion can't survive the status quo.
As everbody followed the commons debate between the chancellor and his shadow in the commons today, it was worth remembering Matthew Norman asking how often does Vince Cable have to be right before they make him chancellor. To be fair though i have more time for Cable than i do for Osborne and Balls, he's not the modern Lloyd George this country needs at the helm.
As the Shard leads news bulletins, editorials and columns, George Eaton looks at how Qatar bought London and warns one day we wake up and find this gulf state has us at his mercy. I would loathe the idea of that lot ever buying Manchester United, i'd honestly prefer our current leaches in control.

A touch of Brazil via the USA

United's IPO to go ahead

It's interesting to read the 51 risk factors listed in the filing, the one that makes me puke most, comes first under the heading, risk relating to our indebtedness and reads our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial health and competitive position. Replace could with is and you will find the reason for the IPO in the first place.
The rest just spells out all we already know and loathe. And in the very week when we found out the financial system is as rotten to the core as some of us have suspected all along the have decided to move us from the dodgy tax state of Delaware to the off shore tax haven, the Cayman islands. Are we going down the Leeds United road.
Andersred tweeted last night that in his opinion this is good news, in that the debt that they have loaded onto the club and that we all knew was weighing down the club's ability to compete will start to be payed off. MUST went down that road in their intial response last night whilst noting the non voting rights of the new shares. It's hard to see why anybody would entertain buying that class of share, it seems the only way they would see a return on their investment is if the Glazer's sell the club, unless i have read it wrong. The banks will have their work cut out, of course Morgan Stanley did pull out of this after accusing the gimps of being greedy.

Apparently there has been talk of our Italian youngster Macheda being linked with a move to Turkey, he needs to go somewhere if he is to resurrect his career. I can't say i have ever really rated him, but it has to be said he hasn't had the best of luck with his loan moves. It doesn't say if the move would be permanent or if United are looking to loan him out again, but he probably needs to leave the club altogether and start again.

Rafael officially put pen to paper on a new four year contract with the club, as his brother Fabio officially announced a season's loan at premier league rivals QPR. I'm glad they picked another premier league club after the rumours linking him with Benfica, he needs to toughen up and play regular football, for that matter they both do.