Manchester United: Fanzine ‘Red Issue’ Offer Glimpse Of Complex Power Struggle Behind The Scenes At Old Trafford

Chris Wright

22nd, February 2016

3 Comments

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As you might expect, the inner machinations at a club the size of Manchester United are pretty convoluted.

With the managerial situation almost certain to be in flux again sooner rather than later, speculation has arose as to where exactly the power lies behind the scenes at Old Trafford.

Helpfully, United fanzine Red Issue have compiled their take on relentless struggle for leverage – an in-depth and fascinating exposé of the various wrangles that go on daily at one of the biggest, most bloated football clubs in the world.

Two hours in the making and first spotted over on Balls.ie, here’s the Red Issue tirade in full…

Stunning really – if accurate, of course.

On this evidence, it’s a wonder United even manage to function on a day-to-day basis with all the extra-curricular gubbins going on along the shady corridors of power.

Posted in Man Utd, Managers, Newsnow

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3 Comments

  1. John Kwamya says:

    United is a too big to fail football club and Rooney is a too big to fail player. Both have been crumbling edifices since about 2009 and the sale of Ronaldo. Now we have a possible narrative for our suspicions.

  2. P says:

    The team is the brand, but the brand is not the team.

    Glazers bought one of the Top 5 clubs in the world. They wanted to acquire this as any large company would want to acquire a strong brand to reap the profits esteemed brands are nearly always entitled to in this day and age of consumerism (why Qatar holds investments in VW, GAP, LVMH, etc., and why Glazers acquired NFLs Tampa Bay Bucs as well).

    The problem for Glazers is unlike a brand attached to a tangible product, or a team in a socialist league franchise system like the NFL (no relegation promotion/ no real table, just playoffs or not, team still has fans due to geography, etc.) one cannot create too much artificial brand equity as one could with a product, because the EPL has a table. If United continue to spend 66.7% of the post-Fergie era outside of Top 4, you can only continue to market them as one of the world’s best for so long. Results are necessary for brand equity. Furthermore, if shitty, boring football is the method needed to procure results, that will go over like freeze-dried burgers marketed as “gourmet”.

    Point is, you can’t expect to create a one of the world best football team on history, brand, and the back office alone. United – and Liverpool, City, and Chelsea with them – are collapsing under their own weight by assuming the history, brand, and back office can carry the club, when the history, brand, and back office only exist due to heroics on the pitch.

    As the TV money continues to level the playing field for teams that can actually scout, develop youth, and play a hard 90 mins (see Tottenham, Leicester, Southampton, Stoke), it is only a matter of time before the first set of teams I mentioned buckle under financial over extension, end up mid-table, and hopefully owned by the fans or more astute owners, rather than these corporate clowns who know nothing of football.

  3. maria says:

    ‘has arose’? Seriously? Past participles are hard…

    Anyway, sorry, but a lot of those tweets sound more like someone’s opinion rather than informed commentary. How does he know SAF wants to be a back seat driver, or how much is invested in the youth system?

    Given how much this person commented on the power of of ‘Co92’ and how we saw SAF bringing player after player through the youth system I find this very hard to believe.

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