The 200% Pre-Season Previews: Manchester United
Here we go again, then. This has been a summer of discontent at Old Trafford, with any activities in the transfer market comfortably overshadowed by the issuance of and reaction to a highly controversial IPO which has further divided supporters of a club which has seldom seemed ‘United’ in any sense other than in the continuing and relentless pursuit of success. Some have argued that this rancour is a prelude to the collapse of the Manchester United empire, but what we have seen since the end of last season has been little new, rather the reheating of arguments that have plagued – but only really partially actually affected – the club since the Glazers first rolled into town more than eight years ago. And perhaps the most noticeable symptom of this ongoing non-battle for power this summer has been that pre-season previews of Manchester Uniteds prospects for the coming nine months have been as much about the inner workings of the New York Stock Exchange as they have been about football. Perhaps the question regarding the ownership of the club is not one of whether the current owners are good for the club. Perhaps even the question of what can be done about them is one that seems unlikely to yield a positive answer for those who regard the Glazers as no more than parasites leaching on the back...
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