TheDrowningMan

Hicks' statement is excellent news. He HAS to deny a sale, he HAS to look reluctant or he'd be shooting himself in the foot with the deal he'd likely get. Note that there is no mention of Gillett in there, that there is no mention of the joint attempt to sell some of the club to DIC in November, and a denial of ANY interest or bid from DIC at this stage, which we know to be incorrect. The statement is a perfect get out clause. None of it issues a concrete 'will never sell' style message, it's all about intentions and expectations, which we know mean not a fucking thing. He's a proven liar and deniar, and this is about the best news could expect from the man short of 100% confirmation of a sale.

Would it be so lucrative if that new stadium is completed while we're plying our trade as a mid-table club, which is what we'll be if they don't give us sufficient transfer funds? The stadium doesn't automatically make us more lucrative.

Groves has been slating Rafa? What a pathetic player he was, what a pathetic man he must be. :lol:

We WILL go the same way as Leeds if they remain in control - that's obvious to anyone with a brain. Thus, it facilitates the necessity to verbally cajoule and show our general hatred of these people at every game from now until their departure. As always, it must be done peacefully, without sinking into violence but sometimes a bit of vitriol, a bit more passion than normal is what is needed. We need to make these people feel very, very uncomfortable by making our voices heard consistently. If it only occurs at the Villa match it will be a pathetic, pointless effort.

Well, Man Utd are saddled with debt. But they are run competently and without interference. Hicks & Gillett are relative paupers who've nary a clue as to how they should run a football club. At least we *know* that DIC is sitting on an enormous pile of cash and essentially has the reputation of the UAE as a serious worldwide player at stake.

I expect it is something he will ultimately accept....It will have no real impact on his future at the club, missing a friendly or two. I mean, we will be run by DIC and as far as I'm aware you're not banned from working for a Tussaud's Group company or at Travelodge if you're Jewish.

""Our job is not to turn back the inevitable, but to build Corinthians and Cruzeiro up from the junior ranks," referring to the teams' 16- to 20-year-old players." Echoes what Hicks said following the takeover. WE MUST - peacefully but forcefully - let it be known that these jokers MUST leave our club or we will end up 'doing a Leeds'. That is undeniable.

Or it's considered a bit too close to home and they've asked for that to be removed for now, rather than risk messing any potential deal up.

It's possible, but it's not likely - Particularly not when two of the clubs you're competed with have been crafted and sculpted over 11 and 21 years respectively and the other doesn't just have a lot, but has infinite money. Wenger has a rare gift with young players but even he hasn't won the league post-Abramovich and if he fails again this year (while also not winning the CL) it's incredible that he won't be under any pressure, despite being substantially less successful than Rafa since 2004.

To be honest, if the Yanks won't sign him I wouldn't blame him if he did go there. This club will have snubbed him and will deserve all it gets - Anything which helps force them out is fine by me, and if missing out on Mascherano to Man Utd helps set the wheels in motion towards making their position(s) untenable, then it might not be the worst thing in the world.

It's interesting though, if they have been planning to get rid of him at the end of the season no matter what, they'd almost certainly be looking to disrupt the squad and ensure we fail to win the title or CL this year. There's no other way they could get around it. If last week's protest made something of a splash, imagine one after Rafa had been dismissed despite winning one of the big two trophies this season.

I love the way Mourinho is mentioned. Assuming this is true....Planning to give him £100m to spend in the summer, eh? It's the only way he'll guarantee you success (and even that will be a bit ho-hum relative to the resources at his disposal, unless his underperformance at Chelsea wasn't his fault in the slightest for some mystical reason).