Manchester United fans will be hoping Sir Jim Ratcliffe stake is beginning of the end for the Glazers
The calls grew louder from Manchester United fans: “Full sale now.”
It was more than an aspiration.
The Glazers fed the belief their ownership could be ending when announcing in November last year that “strategic alternatives” were being explored.
Instead, control is only being diminished.
Just 25% of the New York Stock Exchange-listed club is being sold to INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the petrochemicals entrepreneur.
Just another reminder of how little the say of supporters – or at least the most vocal ones – counts at Old Trafford.
Human rights activists – and those against state involvement in clubs – would argue for the better.
Not even a bid of around £5bn for a full buyout from Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani – with funding linked to the Qatari state – could tempt the Glazers to sell up.
Manchester United fans have long protested against the Glazer family’s ownership. File pic
The American family valued their footballing asset – bought for £790m with a leveraged takeover in 2005 – at £6bn and counting.
The Sheikh Jassim offer seemed a handsome return on the initial investment, especially when servicing the debt the Glazers loaded on to the club has cost United more than £1bn.
It is cash that has gone to banks rather than building work so desperately needed at Old Trafford and the Carrington training complex.
The women’s team – disbanded in 2005 and only re-formed in 2018 – lacks a dedicated stadium or regular access to Old Trafford.
Ageing infrastructure symbolises the decay of the club.
The hope among fans will be that Sir Jim’s promised investment starts the regeneration of facilities that have fallen behind rivals.
Avram Glazer and his family retain majority ownership under the Ratcliffe deal
The Glazers would see growing the commercial operations at United as a great success.
Revenue at the club has trebled during their 18-year ownership.
But that funded transfer fees and salaries in the struggle to keep up with rivals.
And how they spent – so often wastefully on the wrong players – reflects the shortcomings of the Glazers to identify the smartest sporting minds in the game to run football operations.
A new chief executive is being sought with the departure of Richard Arnold.
Sir Jim’s arrival offers the prospect of fresh ideas, sporting expertise and improved public engagement.
He can tap into the mind of Sir Dave Brailsford, the mastermind behind Team GB’s golden Olympic cycling dominance who serves as INEOS director of sport with roles across cycling, football, sailing and rugby.
Sir Dave Brailsford
But Sir Dave’s legacy has been tainted by investigations into the cycling successes with Team Sky, the forerunner to INEOS Grenadiers when owned by the parent company of Sky News.
Sir Dave previously acknowledged “mistakes were made” by Team Sky in relation to anti-doping and testing practices but denied wrongdoing.
And there are questions about how supremacy has been achieved at Manchester City, the football club that now sets the benchmark for glory.
Contrasting the fortunes of City and United are muddied until a Premier League case into vast alleged financial wrongdoing concludes.
With Abu Dhabi wealth, Manchester City now dominate not just locally in men’s football but across England – and Europe.
It is why the prospect of Qatari investment proved so enticing to some United fans, although not those with the anti-sportswashing banners at matches.
Protests have replaced parades.
In the decade since United last won the Premier League as Sir Alex Ferguson retired, City have won the title six times.
And their maiden Champions League success last season was part of a Treble that emulated United’s greatest achievement in 1999 – four years before the Glazers bought their first shares in the club.
They steadily built up control before gaining complete ownership amid fan protests.
The hope for many supporters will be that the Glazers selling off 25% to Sir Jim is the start of their route out of Old Trafford.
And that the strategic review does indeed produce a better strategy.
But rejecting a complete sale could only deepen the discord in the stands at Old Trafford with the Glazers still owning the most shares.
It has been fewer than two years since Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told Tory MP Natalie Elphicke to “f*** off” for criticising Marcus Rashford at the Euros. Now they are colleagues.
Ms Elphicke crossed the floor of the House of Commons to join Labour ahead of Prime Minister’s Questions, causing a stir on both sides of the House.
The Dover MP has long been critical of the Labour Party – especially on immigration – but she now says the party has “changed out of all recognition” and is trying to create “a Britain everyone can be a part of”.
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Ms Elphicke added that the Conservatives “ousted” Boris Johnson in a “coup led by the unelected Rishi Sunak” – with the party now a “byword for incompetence and division”.
So who is Natalie Elphicke, what are her policies, and why did she defect?
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Defecting Tory MP crosses floor to Labour
Who is Natalie Elphicke?
Professionally a solicitor, Ms Elphicke was long involved in Conservative Party politics, working with thinktanks and on policy goals.
She was not selected to contest a parliamentary seat until 2019 – despite trying before – although the opportunity emerged from scandal.
Her now ex-husband, Charlie Elphicke, had been the Conservative MP for Dover, but he was arrested, charged and eventually convicted of three counts of sexual assault in 2020.
Rishi Sunak and Natalie Elphicke in June 2023, as the prime minister claimed his plan to stop the boats was working
The court heard he had chased one woman around his house while chanting “I’m a naughty Tory”.
Ms Elphicke contested the Dover seat in 2019 for the Conservatives after her husband’s arrest, and almost doubled the majority to 12,278.
She will not be standing at the next general election, and campaigned for Liz Truss to become prime minister in 2022.
Former Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke with Natalie. Pic: PA
What are her policies?
Ms Elphicke has been outspoken on migration, especially as the MP for Dover.
It was alongside Ms Elphicke that Rishi Sunak announced his plan to stop small boats crossing the English Channel was working in Dover last year.
In the minutes after her defection, Conservative MPs began sharing previous statements from Ms Elphicke.
For example, in April 2023, Ms Elphicke wrote in the Daily Express that Labour’s attempts to stop the Rwanda deportation scheme was “dangerous” – and that Sir Keir Starmer wanted to create “loopholes” in the system.
And Tory MPs also shared a social media post from late 2022 in which Ms Elphicke claimed: “A reminder that Labour back fewer and weaker border controls when it comes to illegal arrivals on our shores.”
In the wake of England’s loss in the Euro 2020 final – held in 2021 due to COVID – Ms Elphicke sent a private message which said: “They lost – would it be ungenerous to suggest Rashford should have spent more time perfecting his game and less time playing politics.”
She later apologised, although when asked about the comments, Ms Reeves said in late 2022 that Ms Elphicke should “f*** off”.
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Why did she defect?
In a statement shared by the Labour Party, Ms Elphicke mentioned Mr Sunak “failing” on keeping “our borders safe and secure”.
She added: “Meanwhile Labour plan to build the homes we need, help young people onto the housing ladder and care about the vulnerable and homeless. That’s why I’m honoured to have been asked to work with Keir and the team to help deliver the homes we need.
“We need to move on from the broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government. Britain needs a government that will build a future of hope, optimism, opportunity and fairness.
“A Britain everyone can be part of, that will make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead. That’s why it’s time for change. Time for a Labour government led by Keir Starmer.
“The general election cannot come soon enough.”
Every match from the opening round of the three English Football League (EFL) divisions will be streamed live in a broadcasting first.
The airing of all 36 fixtures on the weekend of 10 and 11 August will be on a new Sky Sports + service from the parent company of Sky News.
It marks the start of a new five-year broadcasting rights deal between Sky and the EFL, covering the professional leagues below the Premier League.
Sky Sports managing director Jonathan Licht said: “For the first time, we will broadcast every game live from across the EFL on the opening weekend.
“It’s going to be a huge moment for football fans up and down the country and is a fitting way to kick off our ground-breaking new partnership with the EFL.”
Matches that kick-off at 3pm on Saturdays cannot usually be broadcast live to UK audiences due to a long-running blackout rule.
Also known as Article 48, it is a blacked-out period between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturday afternoons when live football can’t be shown, meaning on most weekends the main broadcast fixtures are done around this time period.
But for the opening weekend, the blackout would not be in place, with the Premier League starting a week later.
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Sky Sports + is a new TV channel launching in August along with live streams.
It will bring four times as many matches from the EFL with all 72 teams featured more than 20 times in a season.
Alongside football, it will bring increased coverage from golf and tennis as well.
The ATP and WTA Tours, US Open tennis as well as PGA Tour golf will all be more readily available to viewers.
The service will also offer more sports documentaries and can concurrently stream more than 100 sporting events.
High street bank TSB has announced 250 job losses and the closure of 36 branches.
The job cuts will be in the fraud operations department of the bank, central operations and staff who work at the branches earmarked for closure.
Trade union Unite said the decision was a “grave mistake” and customers would “undoubtedly suffer a downgrade in service from these job cuts”.
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The latest round of branch closures will start in September, and continue through to May next year.
TSB will have 175 branches across the UK after the latest round of closures. Ten branches have already been closed over the last year.
The branches to be closed in September are in:
Alloa
Bedworth
Birmingham, Pype Hayes
Bridlington
Buxton
Carmarthen
Cwmbran
Dovercourt
Edinburgh, Leith
Felixstowe
Frome
Glasgow, Cardonald
Glasgow, Castlemilk
Haddington
Hounslow
Lerwick
Leven
London, Bethnal Green
London, Clapham
Longton
Manchester, Middleton
Newcastle upon Tyne
Peterhead
Sheerness
Stornoway
Torquay
Whitehaven
The branches due to be closed in May 2025 are in:
Amble
Aylsham
Banff
Bedlington
Bude
Crook
Flint
Tenbury Wells
Whitchurch
The closures come as the lender said most account holders do their banking online and there is a need to “better balance” staff in face-to-face and digital roles.
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A TSB spokesperson said it is making the changes “to remain competitive” and “to simplify the way we operate”.
“Our priority is to consult with impacted colleagues to ensure they’re fully supported, maximising redeployment opportunities where we can,” the spokesperson added.
“We remain committed to a national branch network and through innovation and integration with video, telephone, digital, branch and other face-to-face services TSB customers have more ways to bank with us than ever before.”
The workers who are due to lose their jobs “perform essential work in the fraud departments and across the branch network”, Unite regional officer Andy Case said.
“Through extensive negotiations Unite has been able to substantially reduce the number of jobs at risk. However, that isn’t sufficient, the union is pressing TSB to urgently reconsider its damaging bank branch closures plan.
“At a time when customers are increasingly concerned about financial fraud and often need support from a local bank branch this is the wrong course of action.”
The union said it is holding fresh talks with TSB in an attempt to prevent further job cuts.
Cuts were anticipated after the boss of TSB’s Spanish parent firm Sabadell told reporters in February that cost-saving plans would result in job losses and branch closures.
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