It just doesn't stack up ...what's really gone on ?

Originally Posted by Sparky***

United always have my support regardless. I may dish out a few choice names here and there but ultimately all I want is for the team to win.

I know that mate. We all do. Hence why I lash out etc...

Originally Posted by Part 36 Offer

I know that mate. We all do. Hence why I lash out etc...

Dyed in the wool red.

Get behind the red cardigans.

One love.

Originally Posted by Bunker Buster

Dyed in the wool red.

Get behind the red cardigans.

One love.

moyes' cardehs

Originally Posted by Part 36 Offer

moyes' cardehs

Alison moyseh

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

It isn't. Unless I've miss-typed on the phone that's what I said

okay, let's put it another way - what story are you rebutting when you say "doesn't mean it's anything dodgy"?

it seems clear you work in the media by the way you write these days. if and when Ferguson brings a decent memoir out it's going to be the warren report, watergate, the scott enquiry, oj's trial, lady di, Croydon away, WMD's & the complexities of Uruguayuan racism all rolled into one ffs - there'll be more fishy @#%&! stories in the media claiming validation by what's in the book than a hundred blackpool hen parties

I'm responding to the thread, entitled 'It just doesn't stack up ...what's really gone on ?' and begins with 'this whole business stinks'

It came to him in a dream.

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

at what point would it be logical to speculate that Ferguson retiring at aged 71 having just won the league back from City is potentially down to "something dodgy"?

how is that a natural extension of what's actually happened?

Death, taxes and conspiracy theories.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

I'm responding to the thread, entitled 'It just doesn't stack up ...what's really gone on ?' and begins with 'this whole business stinks'

I see


for a while there I could have sworn you were Fountz

i forgot about the thread title

Ah, well I'm glad we got that cleared up.

Been a long 48 hourse, tbf

Apologies if this has already been posted in another thread,

Succession at Manchester United brings its own set of challenges

David Gill thought it would just be another normal Friday meeting in Sir Alex Ferguson’s office at Carrington. The Manchester United chief executive had pulled into the club’s training base shortly after 7am expecting to discuss the usual business — transfers, contracts, other matters — when the 71-year-old delivered the news he knew would one day come but privately hoped never would.

“He just came out with it and said I’m quitting at the end of the season,” Gill recalled. “You certainly felt it was a major decision you were being told in confidence but then it’s strange, you have to talk about some of the practicalities.

“Clearly, you need to keep it quiet, not least for team reasons, we had yet to secure a trophy then. We all know the end of season is crucial so we couldn’t let there be an inkling that he was thinking of doing this since you never know what impact that can have around the club, the dressing room.”

In truth, it had not come as a complete shock to the man who became Ferguson’s closest friend and confidant during their ten years working in tandem at Old Trafford.

Gill had been round to Ferguson’s house a few weeks earlier to inform him that he would be stepping down as chief executive at the end of the season and sensed the manager might be contemplating his own departure at a club that has been his life for more than 26 years.

“It was clear to me based on that conversation that he was thinking about retiring,” Gill said. “He wasn’t specific as to what he was doing but it was clear to me that he didn’t rule out that this was going to be his last season and so I wasn’t totally surprised when I heard.

“You don’t work with a person for so long without getting some inkling and sense of what he is thinking. First and foremost, as a fan, you’re disappointed. In terms of what he has achieved you think he can go on for ever, delivering year in year out, always bouncing back from any knockbacks.

“But on the other hand I thought, ‘good on him’, because if one person deserves to go out after a successful season and choose his date for retirement then it’s certainly Sir Alex.”

Gill said a combination of factors had persuaded Ferguson that the time had come to bow out, although he dismissed the notion that health concerns had been a factor, even if the manager will undergo a hip replacement this summer. His family were a consideration as were changes in the sport. The energy he had to summon to lead United back from the manner in which they lost the Barclays Premier League title on goal difference to Manchester City last season should not be underestimated either.

“That was probably the lowest I have seen him in ten years,” Gill said. “It was tough. It took him a long time after last season’s loss to pick himself up and get motivated and it probably only started when the actual competitive season kicked off.”

Gill has wrestled with the idea of “The Succession” for many years. As it happens, his role in the handover will be shortlived, with Ed Woodward replacing him from July 1 just as David Moyes will Ferguson at the end of the present campaign. Gill would not be drawn on the identity of Ferguson’s successor — even though The Times understands the Everton manager will be announced as Ferguson’s replacement today — but he was honest enough to admit that the idea of United being without their guiding light has required a sharp intake of breath.

“Did I have butterflies in my stomach? Yes, like any fan, you do,” he said. But whereas many have come to regard the prospect of succeeding Ferguson as the “Impossible Job”, Gill does not see it that way. Sure, he is not under any illusions about the size of the task facing the new man but he believes the infrastructure in place, on and off the field, will ensure that he is starting from a position of considerable strength.

“I don’t know if it’s the great unknown but change always increases the element of risk,” Gill said. “Lots of jobs are deemed to be impossible. I don’t think it’s an impossible job, you’re coming in with a very impressive support structure on and off the pitch in terms of the players, the facilities.

“It’s tricky because we always knew anyone coming after Alex and all those trophies he has won is not going to be easy. But it’s a great job. The best people in my experience, both in business and football, want to get to the top, they want to manage the best, be involved in the best company or club and what better way to do it than here with a chance as Manchester United manager. The opportunity has got to be the pinnacle of a person’s career, hence why I think it’s very attractive.

“It’s a very difficult job but the rewards reflect that. It’s not a walk in the park, you have got to be damn good so we want a person at the top who is willing to take on that mantel and the pressure that comes with it and deliver. It takes a certain character to do that and there are not many around.”

With Ferguson becoming a club director, there have been fears expressed that his continuing presence could cast a shadow over his successor, but just as Gill has no plans to get under Woodward’s feet, so the chief executive is reassured that Ferguson will give his replacement breathing space.

“Alex will give the new manager space,” Gill said. “He certainly won’t go on the pre-season tour [in July]. It’s like me, I won’t go on the tour, it’s totally wrong. You need to give — in my case Ed and Richard Arnold — some breathing space to do it and Alex will do the same thing. So I’d be very surprised if he was at Carrington in the early days. Alex totally understands that and respects that.”

Originally Posted by Der Kaiser

Apologies if this has already been posted in another thread,

The last bit of that is so true, he should just relax now he's done his time ffs.

He's looked a bit unwell the last couple of years if we're being honest, best thing for him definitely this. As for the club, i think it is best but we'll see.

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

I see


for a while there I could have sworn you were Fountz

i forgot about the thread title

..the sworn enemy of.. [SIZE="3"] "Throb-Man" The upholder of line toeing and avenger of all Doomlordery !!

Originally Posted by Der Kaiser

Apologies if this has already been posted in another thread,

good article.

Originally Posted by Ethers

What a shit thread.

At least it's not about sheds, lawn mowers or some god awful band he's trying to justify a love of. Fountzzzzzzzzzzzzz innit.

Originally Posted by Crumps

At least it's not about sheds, lawn mowers or some god awful band he's trying to justify a love of. Fountzzzzzzzzzzzzz innit.

just for you Crumpers...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv0VtzvfKkg