They are though, handily positioned to go there as a player and if you do well, perhaps step up to City without having to buy a new house and move all your stuff again.
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Ndombele
- Thread starter Bedfordspurs
- Start date
Bedfordspurs
Chris Waddle
It’s not up to modern standards
It’s actually a running joke in the press fraternity about the lack of investment by United in the club
Although they have brought some new cleaning machines I found out the other week
When you consider what we have, arse have, City have, the upgrade work pool have done (which I’m yet to see in person) and the area Chelsea is in, United are way behind IMO
JerusalemMan
Chris Perry
Mmm, the type of player who wouldn't be a little upset at that situation is probably not the type of player we'd find to be a great fit at Spurs - or the personality type that Pochettino would endure in his team.
braineclipse
Steve Sedgley
More pressing for them right now is that they're in need of a solid restructuring of the squad. With a manger they probably don't fully trust who has exactly zero experience with this at this level. And higher ups with what can kindly be described as a hit and miss record in the transfer market, more accurately mostly miss.
They have to spend, if they target players we also target they will probably offer much higher wages. If that's enough or not is strangely enough not a given.
If Ndombele, or someone else, choose us over them despite somewhat lower wages it would be a solid sign that he's exactly the kind of player we'd want to sign.
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
I think the point is, that world following will always mean they can buy their way out of it - when they get their brick together.
Look at them and Arsenal at the minute, basically in the same place (Arsenal losing the EUROPA final permitting...)
Arsenal look skint, they are struggling to balance the books and it is showing in their business and threadbare squad.
While Utd are sitting in exactly the same place, out of the top 4, stuck in EUROPA, on a downward beat...
... They can still go an spend hundreds of millions to buy the best players they can to push themselves up.
Thats where that world following pays off.
And I don't begrudge that.
They have a world following because they have a history (albeit slightly damaged in recent seasons) of playing exciting football in a successful manner, having used youth development to jump the queue. It's precisely the same model we are using, they've just been really successful and are way ahead of us.
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
Same here, its not something I hold against them, rather an "it is what it is" thing.
There are plenty of reasons to dislike Utd, but they did make themselves what they are which deserves respect, they arent lottery winners.
The interesting bit will be, for me, when they go to sign players who demand CL football.
They will of course offer to compensate them handsomely, but IMO they will only end up buying the most mercenary of the bunch. Which is most likely a bad thing...
parklane1
Tony Galvin
Without a doubt and its one they have built up since the Munich tragedy, anyone who thinks Utd will not be a force again is wishful thinking. I do not like to admit that ( i dislike Utd more then any team) but it the reality.
Finney Is Back
Andy Thompson
Old Trafford is a better stadium than both Stamford Bridge and Anfield IMO. The one new and two newish stadiums you mentioned are of course much more modern as would be expected.
I know that Man Utd want to further expand by rebuilding their South stand but are seriously constrained due to the railway line, not just in terms of how much bigger they could make the stand due to the railway line but even more so by the fact that it would be nigh on impossible for them to get the machinery in to do it via any means other than using their pitch - ergo they would also have to move out for at least a season if they were to rebuild. I think this means they are now pretty much capped at their existing capacity, which is hardly a constraint for them seeing as they have the biggest ground in the country anyway.
The fact that Man Utd cannot easily expand should mean they can concentrate their efforts on tarting up their existing facilities at Old Trafford on a piecemeal basis. Typically corporate offerings can be revamped over the close season and I would be surprised if Man Utd don't start to do this over the coming years. There is a saying that you can't put lipstick on a pig and they are unlikely to be able to create a corporate offering that matches ours. Now you may not be able to put lipstick on a pig but you can dress it in suspenders.... and doing that would probably put their corporate offering on a par with or ahead of Liverpool's. Remember also that even with their lack of recent investment in their infrastructure they still bring in more match day revenue than any other team in the league (we may be able to surpass this, the accounts for our first full year in out stadium will be telling). Not only do Man Utd have the biggest match day revenue but that revenue also makes up less than 20% of their entire revenues.
Also you mentioned Man Utd's training ground in your previous post. Have you been there? It is very good indeed. Probably third best in the league behind Emirates Marketing Project's ridiculous campus and our (smaller but newer) one.
All Man Utd are suffering from currently is some poor planning at the top in terms of the football management of the club. It would only take a decent medium term manager appointment to turn them round quite quickly as they still have a number of talented players there already, coupled with a huge pull through their famous name along with a bigger budget than any other club in English football.
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Finney Is Back
Andy Thompson
Unfortunately it pretty much is a given. It is incredibly rare for a player to choose the club offering a lower financial package if given the option of signing for one of two clubs in the same league. The only way that would tend to happen is if the player is joining his boyhood club (such a Shearer choosing Saudi Sportswashing Machine over Man Utd) or if the club paying the lower wages are offering the agent a much bigger sweetener (and the agent is acting in his/her own interests as opposed to those of their client).
If we sign N'Dombele (as I hope we do). It will either be because Man Utd didn't go in for the player, weren't prepared to pay Lyon's asking price for him, didn't offer as big a financial package as us for him, or haven't agreed to the agent's facilitation terms.
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
You dont think CL makes a difference?
We have been on the other side of that equation enough times that I feel it really does.
Players we have been doing a deal with, get gazzumped by a CL team...
Yes I know the money will likely be more but I cant help feeling the football makes the difference.
Players seem more aware than ever its a short career and dont seem to want to spend time working their way up if they dont have too
Finney Is Back
Andy Thompson
They (along with Arsenal) were also lucky that their best periods of success in history happened to coincide with Champions League revenue's that were worth more than 50% of the revenues on offer in the Premier League. This gave those two clubs a huge advantage over us that only now are we catching up and perhaps overtaking (on Arsenal at least).
Gazza Dazzla
Chris Perry
Wouldn’t Champions League football play a part?
Just putting myself in a players situation, if I was offered 200k per week and EL or 150k per week with CL, then I’d go for the latter. Having said that, these numbers are pretty unfathomable to me and is passing up on £2.6m when you’re earning £7.8m already, realistic? I don’t know? I’d like to think I’d choose the higher standard of football personally.
Finney Is Back
Andy Thompson
Not really. When players say "I want to play in the Champions League". What they really mean is that they want to join one of the clubs paying the highest wages. We have been on the other side of the equation because we pay the 6th highest wages in the country. If we paid the highest wages in the country you could bet your house that it wouldn't have been an issue and that is before you consider that typically the clubs that have the highest wage bills are the ones who have the most success. We have massively upset the apple cart in recent years due to having an incredible manager. We need to capitalise on that to grow our revenues so that we are competing on a level playing field with (at least) the 3rd and 4th richest clubs so that we are well positioned to continue doing well when our magic manager eventually leaves.
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
I really cant say I agree with that, it cant all be about money - otherwise its not even sport anymore.
Are you saying a player would choose Arsenal over us this summer for an extra few quid a week, knowing full well they could be years from competing for anything?
Alaric
Erik Edman
It may not apply in this case, but isn't there a third option? The player realizes (as I think Eriksen did when he passed on chels or city) that he is better off going someplace where he'll get regular playing time. Granted this isn't something all players take into account (e.g. all the players Chelsea have bought an dfarmed out) but some do realize it is better long term to go where they'll get a game.
Finney Is Back
Andy Thompson
The first question every single player my Dad represented asked was "How much are they offering?". This would always be asked before the player would ask who the club was.
Of course If the numbers are reasonably comparable then other factors will come into play but if we offered a player £100,000 a week and Arsenal offered £150,000 a week then I cannot think of a single instance where the player would choose us over Arsenal (the situation in reverse would apply as well).
nayimfromthehalfwayline
Andy Thompson
While Im sure money is a major factor, I just cant accept that players wont see bigger picture stuff.
We see it all the time, players taking more strategic moves, rather than the simple and obvious big money failure...
And yes we see the opposite too, but I cant believe its as blanket a thing as money rules 99% of the time.
Finney Is Back
Andy Thompson
Believe me, they very rarely do (of course I am generalising here, but believe me, they generally look for the biggest pay cheque). Players may favour a certain location over another (London typically has appeal for European players for example). Young players may also choose a move to a club where they feel they have more chance of playing, but the biggest motivator remains money and if we're talking about signing players at the top end (as we now should be) those players are also going to be getting into the first team/squad at our competitors anyway so the deciding factor would be pay cheque in 95% of cases.
braineclipse
Steve Sedgley
I agree. For a younger player the likelihood of development and success should also be a factor, one that will impact their long term income significantly.
I think it will vary based on the situation and the player. Wages right now will always be a massive factor, but not the only one.