2021-22-23-24 News Thread
- Thread starter jeffbear
- Start date
Good news for Everton fans. That's a solid, well financed group that have done a credible job stabilizing Roma.
Manchester United are considering selling naming rights to either a refurbished Old Trafford or its replacement. They’ve also reportedly engaged Bank of America to discuss funding options. Their balance sheet is already landed with Glazer related debt, more than £650 million excluding transfer fees. What is also includes is whether the club or INEOS, the company controlled by part owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, would carry any new debt. The club’s March financial report showed that half of Ratcliffe’s cash infusion, £120 million, paid down the club’s revolving credit line, which would open up another avenue for borrowing. The issues at Old Trafford were exposed during a May match against Arsenal which was played in a downpour. sections of the roof were leaking and water cascaded off the roof like a waterfall.
The club also increased ticket prices by 5%, their 2nd consecutive price increase. They had been frozen for the previous 11 years.
The club also increased ticket prices by 5%, their 2nd consecutive price increase. They had been frozen for the previous 11 years.
VinatieriDefinesClutch
Active member
I hate to sound like the broken socialist record that I am, but if everything that the Glazer's have done is legal, capitalism is clearly broken and the laws and safeguards are bad and insufficient.
All it would take to stop them is for a couple of responsible lending institutions to say no, but ... no. They are apparently catnip to banks. The total amount of debt that family carries is absolutely insane.
The USWNT named their Olympic roster today. Everybody's freaking out that Alex Morgan was left out, but that's an obvious move. With an 18 player roster you can't afford to be sentimental and Morgan just isn't at that level anymore. Otherwise, Hayes valued versatility and current form and good on her for that. You can't bring two full lineups so you have to build in flexibility with players like Dunn, Sonnett, Krueger and Shaw. Sam Coffey may not be fully healthy, so there's a decent chance that Hershfelt ends up deputizing on the bench while Alberts moves into the first 11. Not too much ground lost there, honestly. With Macario, Swanson and a mostly healthy Levelle this is a VASTLY different, more connected US team.
Also, can we talk about how stupid it is to have an 18 player roster for this tournament? I understand that the men have trouble getting releases for their players, but for the women it's just dumb. You're begging for over-use injuries.
The US have two warm up friendlies against Mexico and Costa Rica before departing for Paris. Their first group match will be against Zambia, presuming their federation can get its crap together long enough to manage to avoid suspension AND pay to get their team to France. Next would be Germany and then Australia. Sam Kerr is still out for the Matildas.
Also, can we talk about how stupid it is to have an 18 player roster for this tournament? I understand that the men have trouble getting releases for their players, but for the women it's just dumb. You're begging for over-use injuries.
The US have two warm up friendlies against Mexico and Costa Rica before departing for Paris. Their first group match will be against Zambia, presuming their federation can get its crap together long enough to manage to avoid suspension AND pay to get their team to France. Next would be Germany and then Australia. Sam Kerr is still out for the Matildas.
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I like that Hayes is open to using Dunn that way. I never did understand the determination of multiple prior coaches that she was a left back or nothing ... especially during that period when she was the best central attacking midfielder in NWSL. Now that she's a bit slower, she's a wonderful tactical winger as well as a Swiss Army knife in the midfield. Short roster tournaments are made for that kind of player. Same for Sonnett, who I don't really rate at any one position. She's still capable of competently playing 3 positions in a pinch. The forwards are all fluid as well, although the lack of a pure No. 9 could bite them at some point ... especially with Germany in the group. It's VERY hard to break them down on the ground.
A couple of things from Man U. First, they’ve exercised their option and extended Erik ten Hag’s contract to 2026. Second, staff have been notified that approximately 25% of the club’s workforce will be laid off in the coming months. That’s about 250 people. The bulk of the savings will be used to improve the squad and their facilities. They’ve already started work on the facilities improvements with the women’s team moved to temporary facilities with the men’s squad taking over the women‘s facilities while the renovations are made.
Ed H in Pasadena
Well-known member
It's a shame that Man U are treating their women's team like that. They clearly don't rate having a women's team. Something like this suggests FSG's behavior back in the mid-10s, when the two-time league champions began to break up. Ultimately, they found themselves demoted in 2020 and it took two years to get back. Happy recently to see the commitment to getting them back among the better sides. That Olivia Smith signing has me (to borrow a phrase) buzzing.
Yeah, Man United are really bucking the trend in England by backing off their commitment to their women's side at a time when most of their EPL competitors are doubling down and the popularity of the WSL is spiking. I'm sure they have their reasons, but for me this is just the Glazers being the Glazers. "Oh, you think it's cool and fun that the women in England finally get to play on TV and are selling out increasingly bigger venues? Yeah, we're not feeling it."
Except it’s not the Glazers. The layoffs and moving the women is coming from Ratcliffe.
Names may change ... the sentiment remains.
Nottingham Forest look set to stay at the City Ground. The Nottingham City Council owns the land the stadium sits on and the club pays £250k per year in rent. The Council wanted to raise it to £850k to start, after a councillor referred to ithe existing rent as “mates rates”, rising to £1 million. Forest responded by exploring a site about 6 miles outside of the city center. But their supporters were overwhelmingly opposed to that. Now the City Council has proposed selling the land to the club for £10 million.
Fenway Sports Group are in negotiations to buy a majority stake in French club Bordeaux. They play in Ligue 2 but have been provisionally relegated to the 3rd tier due to fk anical problems and not being able to guarantee funding for the season. Bordeaux entered administration in 2021 and were relegated from Ligue 1 the next season. They need about €40 million to get through the season, although total debt is estimated at twice that amount. They don’t own their stadium, it’s owned by the Bordeaux city council. They also rent their training ground.
French soccer has other issues too. Ligue 2 has a TV contract with beIN Sport but Ligue 1 doesn’t have a TV contract yet.
French soccer has other issues too. Ligue 2 has a TV contract with beIN Sport but Ligue 1 doesn’t have a TV contract yet.
Ed H in Pasadena
Well-known member
FSG, for an ownership group that doesn't have the massive funds of the Saudis or Qataris or even the Chelsea group, sure has a lot of teams they own: MLB, NHL, NASCAR, LFC and now maybe Bordeaux? 
My company has a factory just outside of Bordeaux. I’ll have to tell my manager that I can’t root for her team anymore.FSG, for an ownership group that doesn't have the massive funds of the Saudis or Qataris or even the Chelsea group, sure has a lot of teams they own: MLB, NHL, NASCAR, LFC and now maybe Bordeaux?
VinatieriDefinesClutch
Active member
I somehow missed that they bought the Penguins a few years ago. It somehow makes me hate them even more. I'm a bit conflicted, they did bring the Red Sox their first title in over 80 years back when I still cared about baseball and early on they did some great things with the team, but that team was so poorly mismanaged by a racist piece of shit for so long, so considering the fanbase and finances, just being competent should put you in contention each year. Now they just extract cash from the team and aren't even pretending to care about putting a competitive team on the field. It's frankly embarrassing considering the revenue they bring in, how little they're willing to spend. Trading away Mookie was inexcusable. This is the Boston Red Sox. They have the third highest revenue of any team in baseball, they can't pretend to be poor. Hell, even mid market teams make sure they lock up their generational talents.