http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/brace-yourselves-manchester-united-fans-3442110 Brace yourselves Manchester United fans, things could get much worse before they get better - and here's why Apr 22, 2014 12:27 OPINION BY ANDYDAWSON "The fact is that the rot started to set in at Old Trafford before he even turned up â and there are no signs of it being dealt with" David Moyes: Was he even the biggest problem? Leeds United played Nottingham Forest yesterday with an advert for nearby theme park Flamingo Land prominently positioned on the pitchside hoardings. No offence to that fine citadel of family fun (and Iâm a big fan of its Cliff Hanger vertical drop ride) but Iâm guessing Flamingo Landâs ad wasnât there when Leeds faced Valencia in the Champions League semi-final in 2001. Back then, David OâLearyâs slick, bright young side looked ready to be a major force in English football as it entered the 21st Century. A few years later and they were in footballâs third tier, dazed and confused and wondering if the Champions League years had all been a weird dream. Today, at Old Trafford, David Moyes has been shown the door. In truth, heâs been a dead man walking since before Christmas. Poor results will be given as the reason for his dismissal but Moyes never appeared to be comfortable in the role as Sir Alex Fergusonâs heir. Looking permanently haunted almost from the very start, Moyes seemed to know he was on to a hiding to nothing as he tried to follow the abnormally successful Scotsman. The side he inherited might have won the Premier League at a canter last year but it was with a team that was at best creaking and at worst hurtling towards breaking point. Since lifting that trophy, Paul Scholes has retired again while Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic have all been operating on borrowed time. Are players like Phil Jones, Alex Buttner, Tom Cleverley and Marouane Fellaini really equipped to replace those legendary names? Of course not. Whether Moyes was given more time is irrelevant. The fact is that the rot started to set in at Old Trafford before he even turned up â and there are no signs of it being dealt with. The club is in a mess in almost every significant area and fans should be bracing themselves for more chaos rather than the stability and further success that some of them seem to think is their divine right. All the signs of imminent freefall are there. CEO Ed Woodward might know what heâs doing when it comes to tying up sponsorship deals around the world, but if your playing staff is sub-standard, your brand becomes damaged and your prestigious commercial partners will look elsewhere. It's all well and good having an Official Logistics Partner (DHL), an Official Timekeeping Partner (Bulova) and an Official Savoury Snack Partner (Mister Potato) but when you canât refresh an ailing team, youâre in quicksand. United fans will be looking at the comparison with Leeds United and saying, âIt couldnât happen to usâ, but the truth is that it could â all it takes is a few wrong decisions made on the bounce. And the higher you are, the harder you fall. Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal are where they are this season thanks to either a huge transfer outlay or managerial stability. The Scousers are top of the heap because theyâve combined both of those things. United have neither of those things right now. Liverpool have also been through two decades of bad decisions and false dawns before getting back to the top, and unless the Old Trafford hierarchy gets the next few months EXACTLY right, the same fate could await them. United is a strong club right now, but with the way the Glazers are draining its resources in order to service their debt, the whole thing could easily crumble in a few years. If Louis van Gaal or whoever is next in the Old Trafford hot seat next canât turn around the on-field slump or attract the right players to take the club back into the Champions League, thereâs no reason why United fans wonât be looking at two decades of trying to put it all right again. Worse still, history could carry on repeating itself and the post-Fergie era might continue to mirror the post-Busby era and end in a relegation. Just ask Leeds fans how bad things can get when those weak foundations give way. Maybe United fans should treat themselves to a day out at Flamingo Land and try out the Cliff Hanger ride â it could be a taste of things to come.
Man Utd revenue £450M Their share price rose by 7% after Moyes got the tin-tac and the value of the club on the NYSE is now over $3billion Leeds is valued at $33M and that is exactly what Cellino is supposed to have agreed to buy at. So to put it in simple terms for you thick foreigners, Leeds is worth 1% of what Man Utd is
and from a cockney newspaper ... after Busby it took Scum 25 years to win the title again, and now with Liverpool and Everton pushing on again there is trouble in paradise, and when you look at the money they have to spend to rebuild they have a genuine problem, and they have zero coming through their juniors ... Theatre of Nightmares Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Much as i'd like to see them go into freefall and much as i think they'll still struggle for at least another season or so, especially getting some of the players they want, they won't.
No champions league will put a lot of players going there. The fact they had a masterstrke and put granny's haggler on £300k a week for fiver years means no new high quality players are coming in on low wages. Giving him that contract was the biggest fook up they have made this year for every reason.
glory ... that and giving Moyes a six year contract, fcuking laughable Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I can't see any other scenario than a full scale financial meltdown. Arrogant twats obviously budgeted for Champions League football as though it was theirs by right. And every time Sky or BBC or whoever refer to them simply as 'United' I feel like smashing my TV up
They will now struggle to get into the CL for the foresable future because they won't be able to attract the best players from the forthcoming W/C. Whilst they will stay in the top half of the PL and contend themselves with Europa league places, they won't slip as far as we did because their basic income is so much more than ours ever was. Agent Moyes took one for the team by accepting the poison chalice from old red nose and I feel for him. But the Filingdales rehab centre at Bletchley Park for retired Yorkshire secret agents will see him right and he'll be back soon enough. In the meantime, we can have some fun watching the sc&m suffer a bit.
Unfortunately however, I personally am now in the unenviable position (along with many of us I would think) of cheering on Hull Tigers in the cup final, as a win for Arsenal would see the scum qualify for the Europa League. If Hull win, no european football for the scum at all (as long as they finish seventh).
Not true Wicks. If the Arse win the FA cup, Hull will qualify instead if Arsenal then come 4th or better in the League and get a CL spot
What happens if they finish 5th? Wasn't it so much better when the champions went in the european cup, and all the also rans went in the uefa? Money ruined football!
If Arsenal finish 5th and win the FA Cup...... Do Arsenal qualify for the Europa League as FA Cup winners or 5th in the league ? I'd have thought it would have to be as cup winners. Which means the 6th placed team then get the Europa League place based on final league position and Man City's place in the Europa League as League Cup winners will revert to the 7th placed team in the league - the scum !!!!!!!!!!!! Oh ****, I might have to cheer on Hull Tigers after all !!!! Unless I've still got it wrong of course. Has anyone got John Motson's phone number ?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...s-Manchester-United-boost-qualify-Europe.html looks like they will be in it either way but... It will hinder them, their season will have to start early, they will have to play on a Thursday and it would surely affect league form next season. FA Cup - Arsenal win then Hull will qualify anyway http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/fans/faqs/who-qualifies-to-play-in-europe/
