If it's a hobby for some multi-billionaire and they are willing to put money in like Abramovic and Sheikh Mansour have done at Chelsea and Man City then great, sell up ASAP Mr Ashley. On the other hand, if it's a business consortium who are looking at making a return then I'd rather stick with Ashley who for all his sins over the years doesn't take money out of the club, seems to have learned a few lessons and is backing Rafa.
For once, outside of a miraculous cup run I would be quite happy for the next 12 months to go off without any drama. Few decent signings. Good progress from Rafa and the team. No relegation scrap would suit me fine. I say best off with Ashley for now.
The timing is kind of ironic given the rumours of Short selling the mackems Maybe we can beat them in this race too...
China's wealthiest man rides into town and some of our fans are muttering about keeping the devil we know ... I'm sorry, but I have to chuckle.
I think it is natural to have reservations about new foreign owners. For every Man City and Chelsea there is a Blackburn and a Leeds. We cannot be certain what it would mean for the club. Like Albert said, we could roll a six or we could roll a one. We don't know what the impact would be. What we do know is that AShley has made promises to Rafa that were enough to keep him at the club and feel confident that he could build something. While we have no idea what 'every penny the club generates' means, I am sure that Rafa was not so naive as to not ask that question and be happy with the answer.
It can't be much worse so let's hope it's goodbye to Ashley Ashley's ownership has been a nightmare This is positive
Apparently the Chinese gov't are putting 500bn into developing football over there to rival the European leagues. There's no doubt that China's businessmen are looking for opportunities globally to invest in the sport. I think both Milan clubs have recently been acquired by Chinese investors as well. Rooney is available by the way
I don't think Rooney is as bad as everyone makes out. Not what we need however. I think the issue is one of desire. He says the right things but I don't think he truly pushes himself to the limit any longer. He looks destined for China or the MLS to me. It may even see him rediscover a bit of zest. It's not like when Beckham was ageing, he still had that 100% mentality. I think Rooney struggles to drag it out of himself. You don't suddenly lose all of that ability he has.
Konichiwa to our new supreme overlords! In all seriousness it depends on the personality of the owner, I don't think it can get much worse than Ashley, as long as Rafa is kept, backed financially and allowed the get on with the job under his terms I'm happy But one thing I must say, if anything is going to or not going to happen, then confirm it quickly, no uncertainty, lets get moving in the transfer window!
I think if Ashley is interested in selling up then the sooner it happens the better. Last thing we want is the uncertainty associated with being up for sale with an owner not willing to make investments while the sale is ongoing. Get it done and hope for the best. Maybe explains the new sponsors.
He's just a fat div, if he matched his natural ability with fitness then he'd be an incredible footballer who could go for years, like Zlatan. The fact that Zlatan is here leading by example, and still the fat chod can't see how to prolong his career, is just evidence of how much he has given up on the sport. His last contract was a huge mistake.
Back to the topic, it'd be cool if you got a new owner that was prepared to invest the mega money, the further down that Liverpool are pushed the better.
Rooney off to Everton surely if he's going anywhere in the Prem? Otherwise off to China or USA to grab a fat pile of cash. I'm wary of any take over, back in summer 2009 there was a different consortium every week wanting to buy us and it was a ridiculous circus. There's no guarantee it'll be a Man City style bankrolling, could just as easily be a Blackburn style implosion. Do I want Ashley out - yes, do I have faith in any takeover - no.
It will depend for me on who they offer to bring in to head up the operation in the UK. It's obviously not going to be Wang Jialin, he'll have more important things to be bothered with. What's the dude from Southampton doing with himself these days? Cortese?
I think if you'd compared Messi, Ronaldo and Rooney at 18/19 years of age you wouldn't have been able to separate them really, maybe 1.messi 2. Rooney 3 Ronaldo in terms of talent, but what happened was Messi and Ronaldo concentrated on working hard, not drinking or partying but remained focused on becoming the best they could be and they've achieved great things, Rooney was happy to just be at man u, win a few things and rake in the cash without pushing himself. because of his diet and failure to take care of himself, he will end up retiring a lot earlier than the other two
Hard to argue with most of that, aside from him just being happy at Man U, I don't get the impression he's ever been truly happy here. He used to put the graft in, and he has been pivotal to our success whilst he's been here, aside from after Fergie retired. He might perk up with a new challenge, or just continue to dine out on his history for the next few years.
I just think its sad that his love of the game has dissipated like it has, to the point he can't be arsed to get himself fit. With the resources and knowledge out there now, age is but a number and you can be as fit as you want to be. He has slipped into a comfortable coma. Like I say Beckham led the way a few years back. People were slating his move to the MLS, but he launched the thing. And when he signed for the likes of AC Milan, PSG he was still effective and fit. The lad was 37/38. Then you have the likes of Zlatan, Ronaldo taking it to the next level. Players are fitter than ever. Rooney just doesn't seem to have that drive and motivation to say to himself "right I'm gonna put it all in". He could get a personal trainer/conditioning coach (the best in the world would be happy to work with him) and come back in August looking like a machine. He's not even bloody 32 until October!
You honestly think Koeman would entertain his lethargy in some sentimental love fest? I can't see it.
Bit leftfield, but I wonder if England and the FA have been as much of a contribution in Rooney's downfall as anything? Think of Messi or Ronaldo, all the poor games they had for their country, but their fans worship them, to a man. There's no Portuguese Barca fan booing him when he gets on the pitch; the continentals seem far more comfortable disassociating club and country, whereas we're utterly - and typically - backwards in our approach. Fans and maybe moreso the media, there's a really baseline ethos of blame that seeps into every pore of Britain. Every problem is always someone's fault. Never our own, of course...