What Ineos and the Glazers are doing at Old Trafford is a complete disgrace? and it deserves to be highlighted, scrutinised and investigated.
Manchester United Football Club is a global institution, adored by supporters across the world, it was once revered and respected for its values and traditions. The way the Club was rebuilt from the ashes of Munich to the pinnacle of European football, only 10 years later, was an inspiring tale of courage, resilience, strength, determination and above all, hope.
Manchester United represents something bigger than football. Our beloved Club is a lesson that despite unspeakable tragedy and untold grief, there remains hope, an iron will to carry on and never give up and an enduring obligation to honour those that lost their lives representing this once great Club. It’s a story that transcends football and provides inspiration to millions, even to this day.
Manchester United is a football club formed in the image of its working class roots by workers from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. For well over 100 years, it has formed an integral part of the local community, providing not just entertainment, but employment, education, charity, opportunity, identity and source of pride to the local community it represents.
These core values are now being eroded by billionaires that care nothing for the Club, its employees, the local community or the supporters. Efficacy savings, cost cutting, job cuts, refusing charitable donations and ticket price hikes now threaten the very fabric of the Club.
If British Aerospace or Vauxhall Motors suddenly cut hundreds of jobs, it would be on the National news. Local communities rely on big organisations for employment and opportunity. They help drive the local economy and mass redundancies often hit hard and can have devastating, long lasting effects.
SRJ famously said he wanted to “put the Manchester back into Manchester United? ” Nobody knew what this meant, but it was presumably concocted to embellish his local heritage and an attempt to gain popularity amongst the fan base. I’m one of you, so to speak. His gift to Manchester, make hundreds of loyal employees redundant, many of them on low income, cutting payments to charity and brutal cost cutting, efficiency savings and increasing ticket prices for supporters. A lot of the people made redundant, will be local people, who have worked at the Club for many years. This is not an act that serves Manchester or its community, but a savage attempt to slash costs with the poorest hardest hit. Is this what we have become?
In 2024 the Club forked out over £50m just to service interest on the debt saddled on the Club by the Glazers LBO. In well over 20 years the debt remains as huge as ever. Ineos have just paid the Glazers over £1.2b and not a penny has been invested back into the Club. As local people are made redundant in their hundreds, low paid, hard working individuals, probably with families and bills to pay, as donations are cut to charities and ticket prices are increased. Ineos and the Glazers want the poorest in our society and our loyal supporters to foot the bill.
In 12 months, Ineos have wasted well over £20m in compensation to EtH and the appointment, then sacking of Dan Ashworth. Incompetent decision making by owners that have no expertise or track record in football, all amidst the backdrop of savage cost cuts and ticket price hikes. Other people footing the bill for their incompetence, whilst they mercilessly claim poverty and proclaim the club’s finances are in disarray. Almost laughably, SJR even purports himself to be the saviour of the Club.
Ineos will proclaim such measures are necessary, but conveniently ignore the eye watering debt or the billion pounds they have gifted the Glazers, who still control the football club and who Ineos in their infinite wisdom have chosen to profligate and work in partnership with.
The truth is staring us in the face, yet we’d rather argue about Amorim’s formation or Bruno Fernandes giving the ball away. Some moronic supporters even support the cuts. Maybe you end up with what you deserve. For the enlightened the way back remains a distant dream fuelled only by hope rather than expectation and a deep sadness at the greed and unscrupulous billionaires that treat the Club as something to exploit for their own individual wealth and influence, rather than uphold its proud values and traditions.
Written by DLIB February 13 2025 15:31:12
