The Real Football Thread

[Rob5091]

Further update on the woes of Manchester United soccer team and Ineos/Sir JIm
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67117430
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos group wants to assume control of the football operations side of Manchester United's business from the Glazer family if a 25% offer worth an estimated £1.3bn is approved.

The British billionaire is thought to be increasingly confident of securing what he hopes will be the first stage of an eventual buyout.
...
Ineos are thought to hope if they were to be in charge of the football side of the club's business, it would help to defuse the anger of those supporters, and avoid a repeat of the anti-Glazer demonstrations seen in recent seasons if they remain as majority owners.

Ratcliffe visited Old Trafford in March alongside Ineos officials Sir Dave Brailsford, Rob Nevin and Jean Claude Blanc.

Ineos already own French Ligue 1 club Nice and Swiss club Lausanne.

 

[Mayomaniac]

With the recent betting scandal that involved him, AC Milan Looks great for selling Tonali for big bucks...

 

[Rob5091]

Will doc Freeman scupper Sir Dave's plans at Old Trafford?

https://cyclinguptodate.com/other/s...figure-within-football-team-manchester-united
(quote) He's the man behind the golden age of British cycling - but with a tainted legacy. Sir Dave Brailsford, knighted in 2013 following Great Britain National team's remarkable feats at the London Olympic Games, is expected to soon become a leading figure at the biggest football club in England - if not the world - Manchester United.
As director of sports for INEOS - the petrochemical conglomerate owned by Britain's second-richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe - Brailsford has been keenly involved in the £1.4billion bid which is set to result in the company owning 25 percent of United by the end of this week.
The 59-year-old was part of INEOS' delegation who made a visit to Manchester for in-depth discussions with club chiefs back in March. "We'd very much like to do it," Brailsford told ITV when aked about the company's pursuit. "To be custodians of one of one of the biggest sporting teams, brands, in the world and trying to really support the team and go back to the success they deserve. And also the fanbase."

However the governing body is not very pleased by this deal, considering Brailsford's sporting past which wasn't always all sunshine and rainbows, especially when it comes to multiple doping cases against him and his team(s), even if Brailsford came cleared of all accusations in the end. (end quote)

 

[ice&fire]

FC Barcelona had prepared a special shirt for El Clásico where Spotify's logo (their sponsor) was replaced by the Rolling Stones logo, to celebrate the recent release of their last album. Mick Jagger and Ron Wood were attending the game.
The result? They lost 1-2, with two goals scored by a guy whose name is Jude. Hey Jude. They can't get no satisfaction.

 

[Rob5091]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/live/football/66599788
... Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS group is hoping to secure a 25% stake in Manchester United.

United released their annual financial results on Thursday.

Including the debt that was taken on at the time of the Glazer takeover, a credit facility taken on to deal with the shock created by the coronavirus pandemic and outstanding transfer fee payments, United now owe in excess of £1bn.

Now wonder they want Sir Jim's money - £1 billion is a lot of money.

 

[Rob5091]

Looks like the Saudis are getting the soccer World Cup in 2034. I suppose it'll be another of those Christmas time tournaments unless they plan to play soccer when it's 50C.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67271423

Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 men's World Cup after Australia decided against bidding to stage the tournament.

Football Australia confirmed its decision only hours before Fifa's deadline for declarations of interest on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia is the only other nation to bid.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, Saudi Arabia's sports minister, said the World Cup bid "constitutes an important and natural step in our journey as a country passionate about football".

The Gulf kingdom has been accused of investing in sport and using high-profile events to improve its international reputation - a process known as sportswashing.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Goooooooooooooolllllllllllllllllll Fluminense!!!!!!!

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Gooooooooolllll boca!!! Goooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllll Boca!!!!! This is Aguante!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Goooooooooooooooolllllllll golgolgolgolgolgolgolgolgolgolgol JOHN KENNEDY . JOHN KENNEDY!!!!!!!!!! Fluminense!!!

 

[Rob5091]

Meanwhile back in the UK ...
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67377248
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's deal to become a minority shareholder in Manchester United is expected to be agreed during this month's international break, possibly as early as next week.

It is expected Ratcliffe's Ineos Group will pay around £1.25bn to buy 25%.
...
It is expected Sir Dave Brailsford, the former performance director at British Cycling, will be heavily involved.

(can we expect more marginal gains? space age shin pads? rounder balls? )

 

[Rob5091]

Seems like things are moving along in Manchester -
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67455767

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is likely to appoint former Juventus and Paris St-Germain executive Jean-Claude Blanc as Richard Arnold's replacement once he completes the deal to buy a minority stake at Manchester United.

Current chief executive Arnold is set to leave after 16 years at the club.
The Frenchman joined Ineos group in 2022 as chief executive of Ineos Sport to oversee all of the company's sports portfolio having spent 11 years at PSG.

 

[Rob5091]

Things are not all hunky dory in Manchester, which will make Sir Dave's job, let us say interesting - mutiny, Mr Christian, mutiny!
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/202...united-ban-journalists-from-press-conference/

Manchester United have banned journalists from a number of media outlets from Tuesday's press conference with boss Erik ten Hag ahead of Wednesday's Premier League clash against Chelsea.

Journalists from ESPN, Sky, Manchester Evening News and the Mirror were refused entry to the media briefing at Carrington at the behest of the club, with reports circulating of player unrest under Ten Hag.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Ten Hag is giving off real fraud vibes with that flat cap, next he will be seen smoking a pack of John Player's Superkings on the touchline like Jim Smith or something.

 

[Rob5091]

You can not make this stuff up! Sirs Dave and Jim problems abound as former Nice football boss gets the law after him. The ongoing Christophe Galtier scandal -
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ns-for-brailsford-ineos-and-manchester-united
On 15 December he will stand trial in a French court on criminal charges of race and religious discrimination – offences committed, it is alleged, while he was manager of Nice between June 2021 and July 2022, charges Galtier denies.

This is real-world criminal justice, not football’s soft-soap version. If found guilty Galtier could face up to three years in prison. The stakes are vertiginously high in other ways too, at a trial that promises a dark night of the soul for French football and France itself, at a time of deeply fractured domestic politics.

An investigation published this week in L’Équipe points to the startling nature of what will be alleged in court. Galtier is accused of actively excluding black and Muslim footballers, and of pressuring his players not to fast during Ramadan or risk being dropped.
...
Nice are of course an Ineos-owned club. Galtier was appointed manager in June 2021 after a meeting with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and installed to work under Brailsford’s arm’s-length direction.

In May 2022 Nice’s sporting director, Julien Fournier, sent an email to Brailsford describing in detail the extent of Galtier’s alleged racist and discriminatory behaviour. Fournier has since stated he did this to avoid being accused of covering up criminal behaviour later on.

Nothing changed on the surface. In July 2022 Galtier left Nice of his own accord to join PSG. The affair only became public in April 2023 when the email sent to Brailsford was leaked to the media.

 

[Rob5091]

Looks like the Saudis are getting the soccer World Cup in 2034. I suppose it'll be another of those Christmas time tournaments unless they plan to play soccer when it's 50C.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67271423

Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 men's World Cup after Australia decided against bidding to stage the tournament.

Football Australia confirmed its decision only hours before Fifa's deadline for declarations of interest on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia is the only other nation to bid.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, Saudi Arabia's sports minister, said the World Cup bid "constitutes an important and natural step in our journey as a country passionate about football".

The Gulf kingdom has been accused of investing in sport and using high-profile events to improve its international reputation - a process known as sportswashing.

More on the Saudi World Cup and sportswashing - interview with Saudi Sports Minister -
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67650721

Saudi Arabia's sports minister says claims of 'sportswashing' against the country are "very shallow", as he defended its right to host the men's football World Cup.

Speaking to the BBC in Jeddah, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said: "A lot of the people that accuse us of that haven't been to Saudi, or seen what we are doing."

• Said Saudi Arabia was "studying the possibility" of hosting the tournament in the summer, despite the kingdom's extreme heat
• Backed the Fifa process that led to Saudi's World Cup bid emerging unchallenged, denying "any lack of transparency"
• Saudi Arabia has invested around £5bn in sports since 2021, when the country's Crown Prince made it a key part of his strategy to diversify the economy, with a host of major sporting events brought to the kingdom, including high-profile boxing and Formula 1.
  The country's Public Investment Fund has also launched the breakaway LIV golf series, taken control of four Saudi Pro League clubs and purchased Newcastle United.
  
  But campaigners claim this vast state investment into sport is being used to distract from long-standing reputation issues such as Saudi Arabia's human rights record, the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the war in Yemen - a process known as 'sportswashing'.

 

[yaco]

Biggest issue is having the World Cup in the summer. I suspect it will be moved to later in that year.

 

[Rob5091]

Biggest issue is having the World Cup in the summer. I suspect it will be moved to later in that year.

When Qatar staged the World Cup in November and December they still installed air conditioning in all of the stadiums as it was still 24 C (good for drink and ice cream sales!). The only way that the Saudis can have the World Cup in the Summer months is to have enormous air conditioning in covered stadiums.

https://www.sportbible.com/football...p-stadiums-are-fully-air-conditioned-20220402

The Saudis do love their air conditioning, so much so that 70 % of all electricity use is for air conditioning. The only problem is all of the electricity is produced by oil or gas - not very eco-friendly.
https://qz.com/1284239/70-of-saudi-arabias-electricity-is-used-for-air-conditioning

Family fun in the snow in a mall in Saudi Arabia!

 

[ice&fire]

This is going to be interesting:

Super League verdict LIVE: Court rules Fifa and Uefa acted ‘illegally’

The European Court of Justice has dealt a hammer blow to Uefa and Fifa in their efforts to kill off the European Super League

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Rob5091]

Lots of reaction to the Super League verdict, mostly from an English supporters point of view - I wonder though how the big Continental clubs will react. Will the likes of Bayern, PSG, Barcelona etc still be interested?

https://www.bbc.com/sport/live/football/67783796

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Barcelona most likely. They and Real Madrid have been prime movers behind most of these plans - predominantly because they've spent their way into an unsustainable position and fear that facing consequences of their actions might mean giving up the historic oligopoly at the top of the Spanish game and other teams arriving at the top of the pyramid on a more permanent basis. We've seen teams periodically join the top of the Spanish game for a few years and then fade, like Deportivo in the 90s, but Barcelona and Real are always in the mix and they fear having to share more of the pie.

They might just spend a bit more time figuring out which way the wind's blowing before doubling down this time.

 

[Rob5091]

An expensive team performs half-heartedly, can not score goals, but might get finally some new management -
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67797594
Manchester United's drawn-out ownership saga could be resolved before Christmas Day.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is eager to get a deal signed off before 25 December which would see his Ineos Group pay around £1.25bn to buy 25% of the club.

 

[Rob5091]

Well it seems like Santa brought Sir Jim what he wanted - although the Glazers will keep overall control (which will not go down well in some quarters). So how will it work and most importantly, will it work?

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67815642

Ratcliffe has agreed to buy 25% of the club's class B shares, largely held by the Glazer family, who own 69% of the club, and contain almost all the voting rights, and up to 25% of its class A shares, which are listed on the New York Stock Market. The shares are worth $33 per share.

It means the Glazer family will retain a majority stake in the club.

Taking on sporting control at the club means Ineos will oversee the men's and women's football operations and academies.

They will also get two seats on the Manchester United PLC and Manchester United Football Club boards.

Subject to necessary approvals, Ratcliffe will delegate his seats on the PLC board to John Reece, a shareholder of Ineos, and Rob Nevin, chairman of Ineos Sport.

On the UK club board he will delegate his seats to former British Cycling chief Sir Dave Brailsford and former Juventus and Paris St-Germain executive Jean-Claude Blanc.

How all of this will reflect on the pitch, will be the proof the pudding.

more on Sir Jim's raise to glory -
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44101223

 

[Rob5091]

Sir Dave clearing out the dead wood at Old Trafford -
https://w67898509 ww.bbc.com/sport/football/
Manchester United are trying to finalise the terms of Jadon Sancho's loan move back to Borussia Dortmund.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67755600
Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek has completed his loan move to Eintracht Frankfurt.

If Man Utd lose to Wigan on Monday, it could all be over for Ten Hag.

 

[RedheadDane]

We don't have a "Coolest Names on the Football Field" thread, but the discussion about names in the Vingegaard thread sort of reminded me of this - through marriage - amazingly named guy:

Kristian Bach Bak - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And of course he also played back...

 

[Rob5091]

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...chester-united-culture-not-set-up-for-success

Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he needs to embark on a culture transformation at Manchester United because the club is not geared for success. The British billionaire’s 27.7% minority shareholding purchase was completed on Tuesday and he has set about making key appointments as part of a restructure.

Omar Berrada will join as chief executive in the summer from Manchester City and talks continue to bring the Newcastle sporting director, Dan Ashworth, and Southampton’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, into senior roles. A deputy chief executive is also wanted as Ratcliffe aims to make “world-class” appointments to help facilitate change on the pitch.
...
Every person in management must be world-class.

There you go! Forget the team on the pitch, the management must be world class!