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.
Oleksandr Usyk has become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world after defeating Tyson Fury in boxing’s biggest fight of the century.
The Ukrainian won on a split decision following the match in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk had 115-112 and 114-113 on two cards, while Fury took the other 114-113.
Oleksandr Usyk lands a punch on Tyson Fury. Pic: PA
Fury disputed his loss after the match, saying: “I believe I won that fight. I believe he won a few rounds but I won more of them.
“Make no mistake I won that fight and I’ll be back.”
In response Usyk said he was “ready for a rematch”.
Pic: Action Images via Reuters
Fury came under early pressure, with Usyk taking the centre of the ring with an aggressive offensive from the start.
At one point Fury was pushed against the ropes and started laughing as Usyk applied pressure.
The “Gypsy King” looked relaxed as he moved around the ring in the early rounds and picked his shots.
Pic: PA
Fury lunges at Usyk. Pic: PA
But after Usyk landed a right hook in the ninth round it looked as if Fury was in serious trouble. The Ukrainian followed up by unloading freely but somehow the bookmakers’ favourite stayed on his feet and was saved by the bell.
Last night, Fury weighed in at 262lbs (18st 10lbs) – nearly three stone heavier than Usyk, who clocked in at a career heaviest of 223lbs (15st 13lbs).
Fury refused to look at his opponent during a news conference on Thursday, but did not back down at the weigh-in last night, where the pair almost came to blows before being separated by their entourages.
Usyk arrived into the ring first, dressed as a Cossack warrior.
Fury entered to songs by Barry White and Bonnie Tyler, with the “Gypsy King” spending several minutes dancing on stage before the song changed to Holding Out For A Hero.
Anthony Joshua watched from the ringside, knowing he could meet the winner early next year.
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UK
Brixham: Warning ‘heads are going to roll’ after water parasite outbreak – as ‘nearly every house in one close has someone ill’
Thousands of homes have had their boiling water restrictions lifted after a water tank infected with cryptosporidium was drained and cleaned, South West Water has said.
About 16,000 households in the Brixham area of Devon were told to boil their drinking water following 46 confirmed cases of the disease.
On Saturday afternoon South West Water lifted the boiling restrictions for 14,500 homes after water quality monitoring results found no traces of cryptosporidium in the Alston supply area.
Cryptosporidiosis is caused by a tiny parasite and can lead to vomiting, stomach cramps and watery diarrhoea lasting about two weeks.
More cases are expected to be confirmed due to a delay in developing symptoms – and about 100 more people around Brixham were reporting signs of it on Friday.
South West Water believes the parasite probably entered supplies through a damaged pipe in a field containing animal faeces.
A contaminated water tank at Hillhead reservoir, where cryptosporidium was detected, was drained overnight and “thoroughly cleaned” on Saturday, South West Water said.
One local resident said she knew of only four houses out of 21 in Raddicombe Close, on the outskirts of Brixham, which have not had at least one person fall ill with cryptosporidiosis.
The local MP has warned “heads are going to roll” over the incident.
Tory MP Anthony Mangnall, whose constituency includes Brixham, told LBC: “This is such a serious matter that yes, I think heads are going to roll over this.”
He claimed the supplier had been too slow to issue its safety alert.
16,000 businesses and residents are affected by the boil water notice. Pic: South West Water
Mr Mangnall said: “From starting this week with a denial from South West Water that it was anything to do with them, delaying the fact that the boil water notice came in – meaning thousands of people used the water network – to then issuing it on Wednesday, and there are a lot of people who are very ill.”
He called it an “absolutely disastrous week” and said locals were furious.
South West Water has said it’s “deeply sorry” and that it’s been “working tirelessly” to identify the source of the problem and fix it.
Bottled water stations have been set up in the area.
Read more:
What we know about parasite found in drinking water
Parasite outbreak has ‘destroyed’ business
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused the government of not doing enough to hold water companies to account.
He told Sky News the firms were “putting profit over the environment, over public health” after multiple cases of sewage being released into rivers and seas.
“We [Liberal Democrats] wouldn’t wait for fines for pollution,” Sir Ed said.
“There should be a sewage tax on the profits of these water companies so we can get the money now.
“There needs to be much tougher regulation… and we may need to look at restructuring the whole water industry.”
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Kelly Holmes joins anti-sewage protest
It comes as dozens of protests over sewage releases were planned for Saturday.
Surfers Against Sewage is promoting “paddle-out” demonstrations at 30 locations, with Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes among those at the event in Brighton.
The confirmed cases of a waterborne disease caused by a parasite have more than doubled.
There are now 46 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, a diarrhoeal illness, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said – with more than 100 further people reporting similar symptoms in the Brixham area.
Other reported cases of diarrhoea and vomiting in residents and visitors to the south Devon town are also under investigation. Hundreds of locals have also reported feeling unwell over the last two weeks on social media.
MPs and South West Water officials have confirmed the parasite most likely entered water supplies through animal faeces, but an investigation is still ongoing.
What is cryptosporidiosis disease?
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‘Cow faeces’ infected Devon water
The UKHSA first confirmed cases of the disease at around midday on Wednesday, while locals were initially told by South West Water that their tap water was uncontaminated and safe to drink.
But after testing supplies in the Hillhead reservoir, the water company found “small traces” of the parasite cryptosporidium – which causes cryptosporidiosis – and told residents in parts of Brixham and Alston to boil their drinking water on Wednesday.
A total of 16,000 households and businesses in Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and North West Paignton were impacted and offered £15 compensation at first.
Over the next two days, South West Water apologised to those affected and increased the offer to £115. Amid the chaos, one primary school closed its doors on Thursday due to not having safe running drinking water.
16,000 businesses and residents are affected by the boil water notice. Pic: South West Water
‘Very hard questions for water company’
Speaking to Sky News yesterday, South West Water’s chief customer officer Laura Flowerdew confirmed it was likely a broken air valve contaminated by animal faeces that had caused the outbreak.
However, she refused to give a timeframe on how long the incident would be ongoing – leaving thousands of residents facing an uncertain future.
Speaking on Friday at the University of Exeter, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said there will be “very, very hard questions” for South West Water over the outbreak.
“At the moment I think we probably need to give them the space to conduct their investigation; we know that they have identified the source,” she said.
“The public will want to know how on earth that source happened, what was the chain of events that led to this, because of course we all understand the expectation that we all have when we turn our taps on is that [we get] clean drinking water and we want to be able to trust it.”
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Most cases of cryptosporidiosis pass in two weeks. Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. File pic: Dr_Microbe/iStock
‘Expect to see more cases’
Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall also warned the boil notice could last “at least a further six or seven days” and called for more transparency.
Professor Paul Hunter, a specialist in medical microbiology at the University of East Anglia, told Sky News if the parasite was “a continuous thing” present in water supplies for a prolonged period, then “you’d expect to see more cases” for another two weeks.
It comes as hotel owners in the area told Sky News the outbreak has led to people cancelling their stay, while a head chef said “I can’t wash salad in the sink”.
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‘Destroyed our business’
Stephen Colemansfield, owner of Redlands Guest House in Brixham, told Sky News the outbreak has “destroyed our business at the moment”.
“Our guests have cancelled because of the mixed messages that are being sent out by South West Water.”
Rob, head chef at the Steam Packet Inn in Kingswear near Dartmouth, also said his brother-in-law is one of the 46 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis and has been sick for two weeks.
The UKHSA is working with Torbay Council, South West Water, NHS Devon and the Environment Agency on the incident.
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