Chapter 197 Debt Crisis
Manchester United beat the promoted Mar Burnley 3-0 at home, one game, one point behind Chelsea at the top of the table. In the game, Li Yu took the lead in breaking the deadlock for Manchester United, and then Rooney and Diouf broke the goal, which helped Manchester United achieve a big victory and also reported the 0-1 away defeat to the opponent in the first half of the season.
20 years ago, when Manchester United defeated Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, Ferguson was able to keep his job and create a dynasty. A life-saving ball came from the forest defender Rouse mistakenly sent the gift. So far, he has been "grined" about it: "The Lord owes me a favor." In coaching the top league for the first time, the first opponent was Manchester United. Rouse's team gave 3 points when Manchester United was in urgent need of victory, relieving the pressure of 1 loss and 1 draw at the beginning of the new year. Not long ago, Rouse was not the ideal leader for Burnley fans to finish class on Wednesday. One of the reasons was that he was unlucky at the critical moment. He suffered four consecutive defeats before class and did not score a goal.
Burnley is no exception. They have three excellent opportunities. They appear twice before Manchester United's goal. Once after Manchester United leads by a goal, Manchester United will have a lot of trouble. Burnley may set a new record that he has never won in Old Trafford since 1962. Even if Manchester United leads two goals, Burnley still has a chance. But Steve Fletcher missed, Newzint missed, Eagles' shot was saved by Van der Sar, and Thompson's header hit the post! At the last moment, Burnley still had the hope of breaking the egg, but Black's high-quality free kick was saved by Van der Sar. There is an old saying in the Premier League: Manchester United will not fail to give a chance, but you have to grasp it.
Ferguson admitted his luck: "Maybe the score is not fair to them, the game is funny, and we are too casual. Burnley wasted a good counterattack opportunity, and we would be embarrassed if we entered. Today, Rooney's foot wind is not very smooth. He is either off or high. I think he has wasted at least 10 opportunities. We were very nervous at the beginning, and everyone was anxious if we didn't score goals. Generally speaking, it's not too much to win. As soon as Rooney scored, the camera caught the scene of Ferguson's violent cough, which was not modest. It is said that winning is not too much because Burnley performed the worst away from home in the Premier League. He only got back one point in the middle of the season. The last time this kind of embellied happened was in 1900.
There was no accident, and there were other records. Van der Sar made a comeback in the New Year and became the oldest player in Manchester United's history after the war. He was 39 years old and 79 days old. Thanks to his timely appearance, Manchester United once again sealed their opponents. Since his absence, Manchester United has conceded 8 goals in the following 12 games and only won 2 games after 9 times behind. If Manchester United takes the lead in scoring, it will maintain a complete victory. It is not difficult to understand Manchester United's eagerness to score a goal. More than an hour before the goal, Manchester United is busy but rarely has a real threat. The routine has long been known: if there is a ball, find Valencia on the right wing. He sends the ball into the penalty area, and whoever catches up with the goal in the middle is lucky. Count Schiffen's strategic plan to contain France was nothing more than this: strengthen the right wing and let the right wing cross the strait! When the fight really started, the Germans had a right but not a left, and finally fell into a fierce trench war.
Manchester United's offensive on the right side is very strong, but the left side is almost hemiplegic. If most of the cross does not form a shot, if you fly to the left, you basically need to go back to the right and come back. Even if someone shoots in the middle, it may not be reliable. Nani flew a kick at the top of the arc and made a very amateur fool of it. Manchester United's left wing was depressed, which was completely blamed on Nani's lack of form and confidence. Later, he became more and more inclined to take a shot with the ball. Watching Nani carry the ball is a big thing for Manchester United fans.
Eagles, who was abandoned by Manchester United, was extremely active on the left side of Burnley, which made people feel that Ferguson left the wrong person. The two single knives of the visiting team came from their wonderful pass. Only 7 minutes after the opening, they passed a direct pass to New Zinth to break through the Manchester United defense. Unfortunately, Steve Fletcher did not resolutely deflect. In the 60th minute, just after Li Yu hit the goalpost, Eagles sent a wonderful pass again. Newzint, who cut into the air, passed the fallen Neville with inertia, but unfortunately missed again under interference. Hiller was surprised: "Why did he hit the door with his outer instep? You can hit the target with your foot bow, right?
Winning did not solve Manchester United's problem, especially the defense. Burnley's three direct passes through Manchester United's defense is a serious warning. The unfavorable midfield interception is the root cause of the opponent's counterattack to face Manchester United. The near worry is the semi-final derby of the League Cup, and the foresight is Milan, which has recently improved against Milan in the Champions League.
One wave after another, and the recent speech of UEFA President Platini has pushed Manchester United to the forefront of the storm.
Platini's spearheaded businessmen who operate in financing loans. He believed that these people's loans were too high and the balance was disrupted. Therefore, UEFA decided to implement a "financial fair competition" policy aimed at cracking down on bosses who rely on loans for a living. There are several key points in this policy. First of all, the club can only buy players with its own income, not the support of the rich background. Secondly, UEFA also requires the club to avoid high loans. The presidents of Chelsea and Manchester City have successively converted assets through liabilities to eliminate the personal debt owed by the two clubs to the boss in disguise. This "financial fair competition" policy has hit Liverpool and Manchester United more than any Premier League team.
Grazel is the first wave of the Premier League acquisition trend in the 21st century. Financing 790 million yuan, relying on very meager principal to win the gold signboard of Manchester United, and then transferring two-thirds of the debt to the club. The annual game day income, broadcast income, etc. are used to repay the loan interest first. Subsequently, Hicks and Gillette also entered Liverpool in the same way, with a current debt of 350 million pounds, and the construction of the new stadium has not yet been completed.
After the acquisition of the Grezelle family, Manchester United's business performance on the court was outstanding. The team has won three consecutive championships in the league and one championship in the Champions League. In business, the team has become the most valuable sports brand in the world. Every summer tour causes an unmatched upsurge in Asia. Liverpool also found a sense of rise after Hicks and Gillette came in, and the lineup last season had the momentum to win the championship. Therefore, such an acquisition, as long as the right leverage balance is found, will not bring too much harm to the team due to debt.
Similar to Liverpool, the success of these two teams relies too much on two things: refinancing and stadium performance. Liverpool has many difficulties in refinancing, so not only is the stadium unable to start construction, but also the team's operation is in a very unstable state; and the performance requirements are even worse. Take Liverpool as an example. If you can't enter the Champions League next season, it means a reduction of more than 20 million pounds of Champions League broadcast revenue. In addition, the league ranks the most It will eventually determine the income of the Premier League broadcast. No wonder the defense of the first four battles now is a matter of life and death for Liverpool. If not, it is inevitable for the coach to blame the class, and it is not impossible to sell the players - who makes the team have no money to pay off the interest! This is the same situation at Manchester United. Ferguson has reached his old age. How long can he work? His body has the final say. When Ferguson left, how should the heavily indebted Manchester United deal with it? The risk of leveraged acquisition is mainly linked to the team's performance.
Inside, there is a strong pursuit of Manchester City and Chelsea; outside, there is a tight spell of Platini and UEFA. Grezel, Hicks and Gillette, two American speculators, have indeed reached a very critical turning point.
As soon as we talked about Manchester United's financial problems, Manchester United's gold-plated journey came from there.
Following the giants such as Real Madrid, Milan and Barcelona, the Red Devils Manchester United also came to Qatar on the rich side to search for gold and set up a training camp here to escape the cold winter in England. Manchester United's base camp was set up at the famous Qatari Football Association base "Aspire", for which Qataris also paid millions of euros for the invitation fee to the Manchester United club. After the training class on the 12th, Ferguson did not forget to compliment the Qatari media, "Everything here is perfect. Qatar has the ability to host the World Cup."
Old Sir Alex Ferguson said with a smile, "I think there are three factors that are the most important for hosting the World Cup. The first is the venue, the second is the distance between the stadiums, and the third is safety. For example, Qatar has these three conditions, and Qatar's conditions are better, which gives him a favorable position in the competition, especially the close distance between the venues, which will bring a lot of convenience to the team and the staff. The Qatari reporter asked the old knight, "But some people think it's not good to be too close to the venue?" Ferguson replied without thinking, "This statement is wrong. In a particularly safe country like Qatar, it is certainly a good thing that the venues are concentrated."
The warm-up match between England and Brazil was held in Doha at the end of last year, when Ferguson criticized it. But now in Doha, Ferguson did not admit that he said these words. "I was just wondering why the game was not held in the two participating teams, England and Brazil. This idea is also natural, hehe. However, in the end, Doha hosted it successfully.
The old Jazz, who has worked for Manchester United for 24 years, has reached the age of enjoying his old age. "I am now enjoying my life, my life, my work, and every morning. I hope to continue to work for Manchester United without choosing other clubs. I don't think it's right for European giants like Real Madrid and Barcelona to change their coaches often. On the contrary, a club and a team should remain stable.
When asked about the large-scale invasion of the Premier League by Arab capital, Ferguson said objectively: "I think this is normal. In the Premier League, there is not only Arab investment, but also American capital, Russian capital. The Premier League has become the most eye-catching football league in the world."
It is worth noting that Manchester City, the next semi-final opponent of the League Cup, lost in this round of the Premier League, and also terminated the new coach Mancini's four-game winning streak since he took office. It was Everton's that ended all this.
In the championship group, Chelsea ushered in another big victory, defeating Sunderland 7:2. After this game, Chelsea, which played one less game, was 2 points behind Manchester United, ranking second in the table.
Li Yu is unique in the scorer list, leading other scorers with a huge advantage of 23 goals in 22 rounds, firmly occupying the first place in the scorer list.
In the midweek League Cup semi-final, a Manchester derby is about to be staged. Facing Mancini's sworn enemy of four victories in the same city after taking office, Ferguson is about to welcome back his defensive leader Ferdinand, who has been in a truce for nearly three months, who is expected to reorganize the Red Devils' preferred central defender partner with Vitic.
Since the away draw with Liverpool on October 25 last year, Ferdinand has never played for Manchester United again because of a back injury. During this period, Manchester United lost four games, which shows the impact of Ferdinand's absence on the Red Devils' defense. Before Manchester United was eliminated by Leeds United at home at the beginning of this month, Vidic withdrew due to injury. Ferguson needs two central defenders to regain their robes as soon as possible if he wants to realize his dream of winning four consecutive Premier League titles.
Before that, the Lord had welcomed back another key figure in Manchester United's defense, Van der Sar, in last weekend's league. After missing 12 consecutive Manchester United games, the 39-year-old Dutch goalkeeper was excited about his comeback: "It feels good to play again. I feel great on the court, although in the game I even felt a little nervous before. We are still 1 point away from Chelsea, so winning is important to narrow the gap with the top of the table.
Despite the return of the chief goalkeeper, Ferguson is still not ready to sell England goalkeeper Ben Foster, who ranks third in the goalkeeper position. Previously, the media said that both Sunderland and Stoke City offered 4 million pounds to buy Foster, and in order to be selected into Capello's England list, it was logical for Foster to join a team that could get a stable chance to play, but Ferguson denied this possibility with a tough tone, "let Foster on loan. It's absolutely impossible, absolutely not. The World Cup is only four months away, and I hope he can get enough time to win the chance to be selected for England. Capello will make the decision, but Foster has the strength to go to South Africa, and he will be Capello's key choice. And England didn't have many excellent goalkeepers.
Van der Sar's return will also mean that Manchester United's second goalkeeper Kuzzzak, who performed well during the Dutch's absence, returned to the bench. The Lord comforted, "I know Kuzzzak will be disappointed because he really did a good job. But he should also know that the return of Van der Sar will also help him, because watching Van der Sar's game and training at close range is also an improvement for Kuzzzzak. Of course, Van der Sar will also have a retirement day, so Kuzzzak should cherish the opportunity to learn from him.
Another eye-catching player of Manchester United last weekend was Senegalese 22-year-old striker Diouf, who made his debut and scored a goal. He came on as a substitute for Rooney in the 73rd minute. In injury time, he hit the ball with a header to add to the Red Devils. It felt great to be able to score in my first game. I was a little nervous in the first two or three minutes after the bench, but then I forgot everyone in the stands, because you have to focus on your work. It has benefited me a lot from playing football with strikers like Rooney, Owen and Berbatov.
After winning Burnley 3-0, Manchester United still leads the pursuer Chelsea by a narrow margin of 2 points. French defender Evra believes that with the efforts of the whole team, the Red Devils will be able to win the unprecedented Premier League four consecutive championships.
"I'm sure that Manchester United will win the championship this year. Everyone knows that we have a chance this season. The goal of winning four consecutive championships makes us more united, because no team has been able to do it before. It's not that I'm arrogant, but we have to make the championship situation more open in the league. I don't want to make excuses, but which team in the world can still be at the top of the table after losing nine defenders like Manchester United? Only Manchester United. Although Chelsea and Arsenal play one less game, no one will perform as well as Manchester United. If it hadn't been for these injuries, we would have taken the lead in the table long ago.
"Now I'm not afraid of anyone. I'm only afraid of Manchester United. We need to maintain a winning posture and self-confidence. Some people say that we can't win the championship this season because the team has lost too many points, but I am proud of Manchester United's current position in the table. If we don't succeed in the end, people can criticize us, but the most important thing is what we win at the end of the season.
Although Americans have acquired the two greatest teams in England, Manchester United and Liverpool, they have almost become the most unpopular people in their respective cities. According to the British Guardian, after the release of Manchester United's annual financial report, the conflict between the Glazer family and Manchester United fans escalated again, and even extreme fans asked Ferguson to use the class as an "ultimatum" to kick Americans out of the club.
The idea was put forward at a special meeting held by the Manchester United fan group before Manchester United beat Burnley 3-0 last weekend. The topic was to drive away the Yankees. They even studied the possibility of asking Cantona to come out as a fan leader and prepared to protest before the Champions League match against Milan on March 10. More than 300 fans attended the meeting, and former "Manchester United Independent Fans Federation" president Flex proposed a "joint letter" to ask Ferguson to resign to put pressure on Americans.
Flex said: "This is not against the Lord himself, but he once said that he was a sociologist and a representative of the interests of workers and the people, so he must be uneasy about the current situation of Manchester United. If thousands of fans send this letter to Ferguson to let him know our concerns, it may work. If Glazer continues to be in power, his successor will also be dragged down. We don't want to see this, and Ferguson certainly doesn't want to.
Although Ferguson has been talking for him since Glazer joined Manchester United, before the Americans came to power, the Lord once expressed his concerns, and now Manchester United's harsh financial policies have also made Ferguson's hands and feet tied in the transfer market. Now Glazer has even proposed to sell Old Trafford and Carrington training bases and issue 500 million bonds to ease the financial pressure of the club's £700 million debt.
During Glazer's acquisition of the club in 2005, Manchester United fans fiercely opposed it and hoped to get Ferguson's support, but failed. This time, they hope that the Lord will be forced to do the following, which inevitably leads to widespread opposition, because Ferguson is after all the most successful coach in the history of the club.
Frex, who has known Ferguson for many years, said: "Maybe some people think this idea is ridiculous. After all, Ferguson has won countless honors for Manchester United and built the Manchester United empire. But we have to look at the long-term. At present, we are facing a ridiculous situation. The club with 70,000 fans (Old Trafford capacity) is losing money financially? This is an opportunity for Ferguson to express his position. He should plan for the long-term interests of the club. If he says that he is going to resign, it may make potential buyers speed up the acquisition process, so that Glazer may get out of here early. Glazer even wants to sell the Carrington training base and then rent it back. In that case, what's the difference between Manchester United and those small amateur teams? They don't even have their own training ground.
In addition, Manchester United fans are also preparing to take a unified action against the American boss in the UEFA Champions League match against Milan on March 10. They plan to enter again 5 or 10 minutes after the start of the game, so that TV viewers around the world will see the empty stands in Old Trafford at the beginning of the game. They also hope that the owners of Manchester United season tickets will not renew their subscriptions to hit the Glazer family. ON THE POPULAR FACEBOOK, A DOMAIN NAME "WE WANT GRAYZER TO GET R OUT" HAS ALSO BEEN OPENED TO PROMOTE THE PROTESTS OF MANNING FANS. In the Premier League last weekend, a Manchester United fan played a large slogan "Love Manchester United, hate Glazer!" in the Old Trafford stands, and was kicked out of the stadium and fined 500 pounds.
In private, a loyalist of Ferguson said that he supported the fans' plan, but Manchester United captain Gary Neville said: "Manchester United players never get involved in these things. Rumors are always flying. As players, our job is to win on the court. Let others do other things."
Although they are unwilling to "wrap the muddy water", Manchester United players were asked to become the "creditors" of the club after returning to Old Trafford from the Qatar training camp last week. Glazer asked everyone in the club, from players to low-income staff, to "invest" in the 500 million bonds issued by the club. According to Manchester United insiders, "The players are at a loss. The boss who pays the players' salaries actually wants employees to pay for the club's bonds. Although some people think this is a valuable investment, more people are not prepared to respond to Glazer's 'call'. Many low-income workers who work in Old Trafford all year round are worried about their future. Now they are offered a 'opportunity' to make themselves more impoverish by the club, which is a joke. . " It is revealed that the bonds issued by Manchester United are 50,000 pounds per share, with an annual return of 7%.