COMMENT: Could they handle it? The backlash. The PR. Could the Glazers actually choose to stare all that down and hold onto Manchester United...?
From an expectation of a sale. With two multi-billion pound bids now tabled. There's been little movement since the teams of both Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos and Sheikh Jassim confirmed their offers had been lodged.
Indeed, from initial claims of a 'quick sale', with a March target set, everything has suddenly ground to a halt. Stories now emerging of the Glazers rethinking the whole entire thing. For the moment, it's still speculation. And it must be said, those offers would not be tabled. Nor would the Raine Group be hired to drum up interest and handle the process, unless this was a serious, concrete move from the Glazer family.
But the doubt is there. And the vacuum since those two offers of €4bn and €4.5bn from Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim has been filled by all sorts of stories - and some real despair from sections of the United support.
For this column, there's little room for the Glazers now. They need to sell. Though we will also say, in the extremes the Premier League, the family, as United owners, have not been anything like the villains they've been portrayed.
Wayne Rooney, now in charge of DC United in the 'States, echoed the long-held opinion of Sir Alex Ferguson when discussing the Glazers on Saturday: “Firstly, I think the Glazers have done a fantastic job, they've been at the club for, well they signed me in 2004, so they've been at the club for 20 years now and I think they've always allowed managers to bring the players in they want."
Of course, cue the online backlash. But Rooney, like Fergie, has a point. In terms of the prime investment, the first team, United managers have never been short of funds. That's never been a failing of these owners. When you talk the pure football side of this club, it's very difficult to bring into question any unwillingness to invest in the squad.
Where they did fall short, at least in the past, was the hiring of their go-between. What we're witnessing now under Erik ten Hag is similar to the nine years the Glazers enjoyed with Ferguson. But the manager is just one cog in the wheel. Between 2004 and 2013, that aforementioned 'go-between' between the football side and the board was David Gill. Fast-forward to today and it's a similar set-up with Richard Arnold. Like Gill, Arnold knows his limitations. And where Sir Alex would effectively combine the roles of manager and technical director, Arnold - upon his appointment as chief exec - promoted John Murtough into the technical position. United are now working with football men in set positions where the lines aren't blurred. The task of Arnold, like Gill, is to keep an eye on the transfer budget - but never to block a player the manager and the technical director want.
Of course, between Gill and Arnold, we had Ed Woodward. And he was a bad hire by the Glazers. The rants of Louis van Gaal would never have been such a thing if Gill or Arnold had been in charge. Woodward just didn't fit and his actions created a perception around the Glazers and the running of the club that they're unlikely to shake.
During those years United, as an institution, was no longer a football club. It was a cash cow. Saddled with debt. Floated on the New York Stock Exchange. It became something to be bought and sold. It was no longer about history, trophies and entertainment. Instead, it was all about merchandise, marketing and garish endorsed commercial partnerships. To which point, as we've highlighted in past columns, the brand of Manchester United has become so weak and watered down that Team Viewer, the club's shirt sponsor, has invited United to buy back their contract. And this in a season where Ten Hag has the team still alive on four fronts...
And this is where the Glazers failed. United, like all European football clubs, isn't a business. They're not even an American sports franchise. But the Glazers didn't understand that. Though we will say, Avram Glazer does now. Brother Joel too. Indeed, as managers the pair have grown into their roles. They genuinely love the club. They enjoy being involved. But the problem is, the 90 per cent stake the family holds is shared equally by six siblings. United would be a very different club if Avram and Joel held control.
But that's not the case. So while investment was made into the playing staff, much-needed renovations of Old Trafford and Carrington were ignored in favour of £20m-a-year dividend payouts. And while shareholders were addressed quarterly via the Glazer's mouthpiece, the fan never heard from them. At least, not until the aftermath of the Super League fiasco. Again, Avram and Joel now understand this, but for too long the United fan was seen as a means to an end. Part of the revenue model. But from their perspective, the investment in a season ticket, or an official club shirt, isn't about passive entertainment or consumption. It's a commitment to the club and an investment in the team. Again, watching that money spent on debt and dividends was never going to be accepted by the United support.
Avram and Joel haven't been as bad as portrayed. But the damage is done. The reputation set. Simply put, the Glazers need to sell. And the last best act Avram and Joel can do is making sure the club, regardless of price, changes to the best hands possible.
