BYE BYE RONALDO!

[BWFC_Insane]

United will be better without him

Disagree completely.

All depends who they buy doesn't it?

Not all of that money will go back into team investment, no way. He was probably their highest earner and even if they bring someone else in on big bucks they won't match the deal that Ronaldo would've had, so that'll free up a little more cash for them. Glazer will be wanting his hands on some of that for his interest payments, but it's fair to say United will have a decent amount of that Ronaldo cash to spend. Let's not forget that United are in even bigger financial shit than Liverpool are, and have had over £300m of interest payments since the Glazers took over, there's no way that's all getting spunked on a new squad.

A big chunk of that Ronaldo fee will now likely go on Tevez (or his replacement), and it's expected that another, even bigger chunk will go on Ribery. You're talking in excess of £50m spent there, with signing on fees and contracts and shit it'll probably be closer to £55m-£60m, if not more, which is pretty much their whole budget for the summer, including outgoings. Which means that United will be looking at a straight swap of Ronaldo for Ribery, and will be keeping Tevez (probably), which I think makes them a weaker side than last year. Particularly when you bear in mind they really need to replace Giggs and Scholes, Hargreaves is crocked until well into the season, and several of their big-money players last year looked average to poor (Nani, Anderson, I'm looking at you two for starters), there's a lot of work to be done at Old Trafford.

Ribery's a class player, true enough, but Ronaldo is irreplaceable in the true sense of the word. He was a monster player for them over the past 3/4 years, and they'll not find someone to actually replace him. Barcelona could get £100m for Messi, but do you think that they'd actually be able to find someone who gives them what he does?

You are joking mate Manure is a cash cow more than capable of repaying its debts unlike most other teams any where in the world of football.
The only other clubs I can think of over here with no worries are City and Chelski.

Hmm not quite Hoboh. Their debts are massive. Yes they can service them all and yes they won't be going into administration but that could come at the cost of team investment. If Glazer chooses to take that path!

[blurred]

All any of this actually proves is that money is power. 80 million is a totally ridiculous figure to pay for a footballer and just shows that, if money appears on the scene, footballers will follow the yellow brick road regardless of all else. This comes across more-so reading how agents claim so-and-so has always wanted to play in the Premiership because of how good a player he is blah,blah.

Real Madrid are the biggest club in the world, bar none. Following the money perhaps, but anyone who passes up a chance to play for them must need their head testing. Jermaine Pennant is a prime example.

City, at best a top ten side, are suddenly attracting top players purely because the place is a gold mine.

Top players? Really? They picked up a mercenary disaffected Brazilian international, true enough, but he's not on anyone's list of absolutely top players in the game, is he? They failed in a pursuit for Kaka, who is a genuine belter of a player, and ended up with Craig Bellamy. Gareth Barry (a good pro, solid Premiership player, England international) has gone there, but he's hardly a Gerrard or a Xavi or an Iniesta, is he? City are picking up decent enough players, but they're hardly snapping up Galacticos left, right and centre.

The same people who have always wanted etc, would leave at the drop of a hat if a better deal came along. Nobody can blame anyone else for the opportunity to become an overnight millionaire, but it's a sad reflection on what was once a sport of loyalty, pride and identity with your home area.

One day, maybe, somebody will redress the whole situation re sport.....maybe.

I think those days went out long, long ago Tango, and certainly nothing to do with the Premiership or the 'modern' era. Charlie Mitten was booted out of United for going and playing a summer's football in South America back in the 1950s, and once the maximum wage was abolished with it went most semblance of 'loyalty' for a lot of players. Some remained loyal and local, true, but then some still do - Terry, Carragher, Neville...

Perhaps we as fans need to adjust our ideas of loyalty, pride and identity? How many different companies have people on here worked for? How many times have you moved because you wanted more money, better conditions, better prestige, a better role or simply because you'd got bored where you were? Why should it be any different for footballers, in a distinctly shortened career?

Anyway, just a few questions from the resident devil's advocate

[H. Pedersen]

Madrid 2009-2010:

------------------ Casillas ---------------------
---------- Ramos --------- Pepe --------------
------------------ Diarra -----------------------
------------ Sneijder ---- Kaka --------------
Ronaldo - Villa - Huntelaar - Raul - Ribery

What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

[blurred]

You are joking mate Manure is a cash cow more than capable of repaying its debts unlike most other teams any where in the world of football. The only other clubs I can think of over here with no worries are City and Chelski.

Hmm not quite Hoboh. Their debts are massive. Yes they can service them all and yes they won't be going into administration but that could come at the cost of team investment. If Glazer chooses to take that path!

More than capable of repaying its debts? Hmmm.

United's record turnover after winning the Premier League and European Cup was turned into a £42.7m loss because they paid £69m interest, on the loans the Glazers took out to buy the club in the first place. Three years after that takeover the £559m they borrowed had grown, with costs and rolled-up interest owed to hedge funds, to £700m.

Their debts are being sold at a massive loss in the city - banks, hedge funds and private equity speculators, all wrestling with the economy's general collapse, are, according to the financial data company Markit, flogging off United's steepling loans at 70% of their value. The public, including United fans, cannot know who holds the debt in United. When the Glazers bought the club for £831m, the family itself paid £272m cash, £284m was loaned by their bank, JP Morgan, and "syndicated" to other banks, and the other £275m, which the family could not borrow at standard rates, was advanced at very high interest by three hedge funds, Citadel, Och-Ziff and Perry Capital.

In 2006 the Glazers managed to refinance those original loans, but there has been no public disclosure of who holds the £425m, the other £90m, or the high-interest £152m "payment in kind" loans.

This is incredibly worrying for United fans, and I'd be spitting feathers if I were one of them, not least because tickets have gone up 60% in 5 years since the Glazers took over. There's only so much they can screw from their fans, and they are preciously close to the whole edifice coming crashing down upon their heads if they're not careful...

[Hoboh]

Hmm not quite Hoboh. Their debts are massive. Yes they can service them all and yes they won't be going into administration but that could come at the cost of team investment. If Glazer chooses to take that path!

I was merely contridicting Blurred's assertion MUFC were in the same dire finacial position that LFC find themselves in (well the parent vessel anyway).
If anything I think LFC will find themselves under new ownership sooner rather than later and hopefully with cash to compete with the ohters, 1 or 2 horse races are boring, I wouldn't like to sit through many games like England's last night it just did nowt for excitement levels, ok as a one off I suppose.

[blurred]

If anything I think LFC will find themselves under new ownership sooner rather than later and hopefully with cash to compete with the ohters, 1 or 2 horse races are boring, I wouldn't like to sit through many games like England's last night it just did nowt for excitement levels, ok as a one off I suppose.

Much as I'd like to see the yanks gone and a decent owner come in in their place, I can't see them shifting any time soon unless someone coughs up a daft amount of cash for us (unlikely). They've got us on the cheap, for them, and there's a huge potential profit there. The club can generate the income to cover the loans, so I can't see RBS or Wachovia forcing them to pay up, they'll keep renegotiating and earning the banks double digit millions in income each year. Banks want all the cash they can get at the moment, so in their eyes the Americans are good business to them; certainly better than owning LFC and trying to find a new owner, anyway.

[boltonboris]

Blurred, you've mentioned Anderson twice now in a negative way. I take it you have only seen United play twice this year, noth time against your team.... He's a fantastic little player and the United fans absolutely rave about him

[Verbal]

didnt think the new president wanted any dutch in his side?

[Prufrock]

United will be better without him

Disagree completely.

All depends who they buy doesn't it?

*Head explodes* That's a pretty big about turn innit? Davo.....16million.....noooo.

[Prufrock]

Mr Wayne Rooney, the floor is yours.

[blurred]

Blurred, you've mentioned Anderson twice now in a negative way. I take it you have only seen United play twice this year, noth time against your team.... He's a fantastic little player and the United fans absolutely rave about him

I've seen him a fair few times and he's largely been garbage. He's nowhere near the class of the likes of Lampard or Essien, Gerrard, Alonso or Mascherano, Fabregas, or even Hargreaves and Carrick. Any team who comes up against United with him in the centre of the park would be thanking their lucky stars.

There's a reason why he started something like only 11 times in the league this season and only completed the 90 minutes twice, and that's in a year when United are missing their main central midfielder. That reason is because he's not very good, actually.

[Hoboh]

Here Blurred found this circulating on the net;

1. This is it folks, the BIG Liverpool news (I'll only say the big stuff, there will be loads of littler transfers loans etc as well and one surprise back room sacking). First off,

2. Transfers Out:–
Mascherano, Barcelona, 40M Euros
Alonso, Real Madrid, 28M Euros
Babel, Arsenal, 10M Pounds
Plus lesser 'usual suspect' players sold or loaned. Big clear out in the reserves. Brouwer likely to go back to Holland, possibly Amsterdam. Some players already on loan loaned to bigger teams in higher leagues (including Scottish Prem and europe) to get them 'battle–hardened'

3. Transfers In:–
Aguerro, 50M Euros
Mata or Silva, 26M Euros
Martinez 15M Euros
Plus fringe players
Plus players promoted to sqaud or lifted in squad to first choice. Again usual suspects – Darby, Insua, Spearing, Nemeth, Pacheco.

4. Other News:–
Liverpool was sold last week. Not sure whether totally or partially but it's being kept under wraps until the transfers are done so that the prices don't 'inflate'.

5. Not asking you to believe me, just keep this bit and tick it off as it happens.

[BWFC_Insane]

United will be better without him

Disagree completely.

All depends who they buy doesn't it?

*Head explodes* That's a pretty big about turn innit? Davo.....16million.....noooo.

Aye because the similarities between Man Utd selling Ronaldo for 80M and us potentially selling Davies for a bid we haven't received and never will are striking?

[Prufrock]

Here Blurred found this circulating on the net;

1. This is it folks, the BIG Liverpool news (I'll only say the big stuff, there will be loads of littler transfers loans etc as well and one surprise back room sacking). First off,

2. Transfers Out:–
Mascherano, Barcelona, 40M Euros
Alonso, Real Madrid, 28M Euros
Babel, Arsenal, 10M Pounds
Plus lesser 'usual suspect' players sold or loaned. Big clear out in the reserves. Brouwer likely to go back to Holland, possibly Amsterdam. Some players already on loan loaned to bigger teams in higher leagues (including Scottish Prem and europe) to get them 'battle–hardened'

3. Transfers In:–
Aguerro, 50M Euros
Mata or Silva, 26M Euros
Martinez 15M Euros
Plus fringe players
Plus players promoted to sqaud or lifted in squad to first choice. Again usual suspects – Darby, Insua, Spearing, Nemeth, Pacheco.

4. Other News:–
Liverpool was sold last week. Not sure whether totally or partially but it's being kept under wraps until the transfers are done so that the prices don't 'inflate'.

5. Not asking you to believe me, just keep this bit and tick it off as it happens.

[blurred]

Here Blurred found this circulating on the net;

What, and thought I could do with a bit of a laugh? fecking hilarious some of that stuff in there.

[Hoboh]

Here Blurred found this circulating on the net;

1. This is it folks, the BIG Liverpool news (I'll only say the big stuff, there will be loads of littler transfers loans etc as well and one surprise back room sacking). First off,

2. Transfers Out:–
Mascherano, Barcelona, 40M Euros
Alonso, Real Madrid, 28M Euros
Babel, Arsenal, 10M Pounds
Plus lesser 'usual suspect' players sold or loaned. Big clear out in the reserves. Brouwer likely to go back to Holland, possibly Amsterdam. Some players already on loan loaned to bigger teams in higher leagues (including Scottish Prem and europe) to get them 'battle–hardened'

3. Transfers In:–
Aguerro, 50M Euros
Mata or Silva, 26M Euros
Martinez 15M Euros
Plus fringe players
Plus players promoted to sqaud or lifted in squad to first choice. Again usual suspects – Darby, Insua, Spearing, Nemeth, Pacheco.

4. Other News:–
Liverpool was sold last week. Not sure whether totally or partially but it's being kept under wraps until the transfers are done so that the prices don't 'inflate'.

5. Not asking you to believe me, just keep this bit and tick it off as it happens.

Oi!!! I'm only trying to be helpful to our resident Liverpool lodger I didn't write it!!!!

[BWFC_Insane]

Here Blurred found this circulating on the net;

What, and thought I could do with a bit of a laugh? fecking hilarious some of that stuff in there.

Its great how people share these thoughts isn't it?

Anyone ever looked on the Orange transfer rumours bit? People texting in with just ridiculous made up rumours. This is as good as that.

As if anyone would know all the details that are "going to happen". Wonder if he's sent the "news" to Benitez yet? Must be worth informing the manager of these trifling little matters?

[Prufrock]

United will be better without him

Disagree completely.

All depends who they buy doesn't it?

*Head explodes* That's a pretty big about turn innit? Davo.....16million.....noooo.

Aye because the similarities between Man Utd selling Ronaldo for 80M and us potentially selling Davies for a bid we haven't received and never will are striking?

I didn't realise hypothetical situations had to become actuality before we discussed them. This place is gonna get quiet this summer!

Hmmmm but you're right, no similarities. Club sells best and irreplaceable player in the hope they can strengthen overall with the cash.

[Prufrock]

Here Blurred found this circulating on the net;

What, and thought I could do with a bit of a laugh? fecking hilarious some of that stuff in there.

Its great how people share these thoughts isn't it?

Anyone ever looked on the Orange transfer rumours bit? People texting in with just ridiculous made up rumours. This is as good as that.

As if anyone would know all the details that are "going to happen". Wonder if he's sent the "news" to Benitez yet? Must be worth informing the manager of these trifling little matters?

Well, quite, I my favourite is the way it's Silva or Mata for 26million. Exactly the same fee you understand, coz that's how it works. You decide you will spend 26million, and then then pick the player based on that. Oh and then the club just sells.

[Prufrock]

Oi!!! I'm only trying to be helpful to our resident Liverpool lodger I didn't write it!!!!

Don't worry Trampjuice, I don't blame you.