Cronky

My own theory is that it was a piece of crude thinking. He thought that Wise would look after the long-term development and the financial aspects, and Keegan would produce exciting football for the fans in the meantime. He ended up with two people working against each other, rather predictably.

I guess if he'd wanted to get involved with a smaller club, he'd have done that before. He wanted the excitement of owning a big one, but of course with that kind of ownership comes pressure. It's not going to be fun, like he wanted. Keegan was a strange choice, and the very last person that you could imagine working to a DOF. Ashley isn't the only person that's brought the club to its current position, but that decision was a 24 carat bad one.

Sounds like more rubbish from the Profitable Group. If they were serious bidders, they'd keep quiet because there's nothing to be gained by going public at this stage. I know it gets said that these organisations get free publicity from this sort of thing, but surely exposing yourselves as wallies isn't the sort of publicity you need.

He buys the club for £134 million, wipes £90 million off the debt, then puts the club up for sale for £100 million, and he still gets accused of being in it for the money. He's admitted himself that he's made some costly mistakes, but he seems to be doing the decent thing in getting out and taking a huge financial loss on the chin. Give the guy a break, lads. There's others who have been far more selfish.

I think all there is to go on is a group of oriental-looking businessmen being spotted at the club twice. Even the 'Malaysian' bit is supposition, isn't it?

That's a good point. He was fast but not exactly nimble. A bit like a charging Rhino.

Utter speculation. Is he really suggesting this has dragged on for weeks and weeks simply because they're 'combing through the books'? The papers know nowt, and anything Llambias and Harris say has to be taken with a pinch of salt because right now it's salesman talk. He was stating two important points though which are probably his own opinion but, in mine, very valid. 1) That whoever buys the club must understand what they are getting themselves into and be fully prepared for what needs to be done. 2) Llambias has behaved like a prick all the way through this saga giving soundbites to the press that do nothing to hlep the situation, in fact have the exact opposite effect!! A completely nothing article I thought. He clearly doesn't know any more about what's going on than we do. He starts off saying that speed is of the essence, and then ends up saying it's good that the buyers are being cautious. He finishes with a few crowd-pleasing cliches about how crap Ashley and Llambias are.

Yes

I don't agree with everything there, but you do have a point. This is a vanity signing by Ferguson. He can't resist the idea of being right where everyone else is wrong in their assessment of Owen being finished. Owen still thinks he's a great player but he'll be found out. Both will pay next season.

It could be that Shepherd's is the only definite offer on the table, and Ashley is keen to find an alternative buyer. Shepherd would therefore be anxious to use all his connections to crank up the pressure on Ashley. We shouldn't be so desperate to end the impasse that we'd be happy with Freddie. It was difficult to get rid of him before, and if he has sole control of the club, it'd be virtually impossible. The consequences of a hasty decision now could last for a long, long time.

There's an element of paranoia in the .com article. The term 'parting shot' implies that Ashley would string things out, out of spite. I've no idea how long a sale might take, but I do believe that he's sick to the back teeth of all the aggravation and wants to get out as soon as possible. £100 million is a price that reflects his desire for a quick sale, and he's not going to go all arsey over the odd million.

In fairness though, this was the kind of view that was shared by many fans as well. The problem was always 'the service', or the fact that we were a shit side, as though what was going on in the rest of the team was nothing to do with the way Owen was playing. Even Shearer got caught up in that way of thinking for the first few games. It will not work out at Man U for the same reason that it didn't work out with us. Your last sentence there sums up the trouble with the way Owen plays.

Well it does appear that there definitely was a Malaysian delegation. The only question is who. It's unlikely that this journo knows that they're not serious contenders, but at the same time doesn't know who they are. Ultimately, it would be a shame if Freddie takes over, because it would only be because he's the one who wants it the most. It's down to fools going in where angels fear to tread, and there's no bigger fool than Freddie.

I find the level of anger a bit misplaced. Firstly, I don't think it's true to say that he didn't try. He simply isn't that good any more. That's why there hasn't been a stampede of big clubs wanting to sign him, and he got dropped from the England squad. I also think that Owen himself found the captaincy a bit of an embarrassment. He's a quiet character and he plays very much as an individual rather than at the heart of the team. He was also clearly uncommitted to the club in the long term, and was simply seeing out his contract. He failed to live up to the captaincy role on or off the field, but he shouldn't have been given it in the first place.

I can only think that Fergie reckons that even if Owen does not recover his old form, he'll have a useful squad player and impact sub. I can't see him recovering his old form because his physique has changed through adjusting to so many injuries. What Fergie will end up with is a discontented and frustrated player who will attract a lot of unwanted media attention. I do wonder if, when Capello decided that he didn't see Owen in his first choice strikeforce, he thought it would be better to miss him from the squad altogether. If he's not playing, he becomes a distraction for himself and his players.

If Fergie rated him that highly, he could have brought him in a couple of years ago, with the buy-out clause in Owen's contract. If this story is true, he'll be seeing him as a squad player and impact sub. We also don't know on what terms Owen would be joining. He'll be desperate to join a club like Man U, in order to restore his reputation and get back in the England squad. If the alternatives are the likes of Hull, that's a public statement that he's past it. Man U will be able to dictate whatever terms they like, including a large element of pay as you play. All the same, I think Man U would be making a mistake. The issue of whether he gets picked and how well he's playing would attract far more media attention than his ability deserves, and that's not good for team morale. It'll turn out to be a problem they don't need.

This one looks like it could have substance. I hereby drop my guard of scepticism. Incidentally, David Craig said that Llambias couldn't say anything because his hands were literally tied. Hopefully someone else is flying the helicopter arf arf.

That all sounds like a lame excuse. At some stage they're going to take a pay cut, because they can't carry on playing forever and they won't get that money elsewhere.

Which may be a blessing in disguise. They seem to be going down with the Owen syndrome ie paying over the odds in order to tempt a reluctant player. 'twill end in tears.

I'd assume that Ashley has imposed a deadline of the end of June for the various parties to come in with bids. Freddie's may not be the only one. It may just be the one most likely to be leaked.

Ridsdale wasn't lucky enough to get a fuckwit like Ashley to dig him out of the shite. That bout of pneumonia could be the best thing that ever happened to Fat Freddie. There be truth in this. Sadly.

If this is true, it means he's getting the job only because he's the one that wants it the most. Same as when he took over from SJH. He has the passion, but not the brains. Please, someone put in a counter offer.

We were pretty much doomed when we had to play Walcott as a lone striker. He just couldn't hold the ball up at all. The Germans were also a lot more confident on the ball. Too many of our players suffered from the usual British disease of passing the ball slightly behind their team-mate, through a lack of confidence in their technique. It makes such a difference to the momentum of an attack. If I were a coach, I would ban that kind of pass in training. Not sure you could blame Walcott too much, yes he had a quiet game but th 5 man midfield Muamba, Noble, Cattermole, Milner and Johnson is pretty poor, none of them exactly creative and can pick a pass in the way Uzil did for the Germans. Well, I'd agree. Like I said, our passing wasn't that great. I picked out Walcott because I'm beginning to think he's a speed merchant and not much else. Tonight really exposed his limitations.

We were pretty much doomed when we had to play Walcott as a lone striker. He just couldn't hold the ball up at all. The Germans were also a lot more confident on the ball. Too many of our players suffered from the usual British disease of passing the ball slightly behind their team-mate, through a lack of confidence in their technique. It makes such a difference to the momentum of an attack. If I were a coach, I would ban that kind of pass in training.

Things went downhill after Fletcher left. A real professional who knows what he's doing.