Soccer thread 09/10 (contains spoilers)

[10spro]

Tough break for Germany as Ballack will miss the WC with an ankle injury.

[davet010]

They're better off without him, unfortunately. Well over the hill and a complete shithouse to boot.

He could spend every summer building orphanages in Africa with his bare hands and he'd still be a contemptible arsehole.

In other news, FIFA apparently has an 'Ethics Committee'. Well, I guess they have plenty of experts in fraud, bribery, corruption, ticket touting and general hypocrisy.

And that's just on their 24-man Executive.

[fsquid]

I disagree, the team is so young right now that we needed Ballack as a presence, even if he is an asshole. I just can't see Schweistiger as a captain.

[davet010]

Schweinsteiger is in the squad ??

Blimey, they must be hard up. That's a guy with a promising career behind him.

[fsquid]

Schweinsteiger is in the squad ??

Blimey, they must be hard up. That's a guy with a promising career behind him.

Not really. When he first came up 6 years ago, people thought he was a scoring midfielder. Now that he's been moved to a central mid role the last few seasons, he's been a rock. You can watch him on Saturday if you'd like.

He also has the most caps of any MF left. like I said, this is a young, young squad.

[davet010]

Schweinsteiger is in the squad ??

Blimey, they must be hard up. That's a guy with a promising career behind him.

Not really. When he first came up 6 years ago, people thought he was a scoring midfielder. Now that he's been moved to a central mid role the last few seasons, he's been a rock. You can watch him on Saturday if you'd like.

He also has the most caps of any MF left. like I said, this is a young, young squad.

I see him most weeks on the box. Let's put it this way - but for Arjen Robben, Bayern wouldn't be playing on Saturday or have won the Bundesliga.

[fsquid]

Schweinsteiger is in the squad ??

Blimey, they must be hard up. That's a guy with a promising career behind him.

Not really. When he first came up 6 years ago, people thought he was a scoring midfielder. Now that he's been moved to a central mid role the last few seasons, he's been a rock. You can watch him on Saturday if you'd like.

He also has the most caps of any MF left. like I said, this is a young, young squad.

I see him most weeks on the box. Let's put it this way - but for Arjen Robben, Bayern wouldn't be playing on Saturday or have won the Bundesliga.

You are forgetting about Olic.

[davet010]

Oh yeah. Silly me.

Too old for City, that's why he's in my blind spot.

[wco81]

Are there any footballers or coaches who are decent human beings?

[fsquid]

Are there any footballers or coaches who are decent human beings?

I liked Zola last week and Tim Howard bought a high school in Memphis (where he now lives in the offseason) new shoes, jerseys, etc.

[wco81]

Actually was more of a question for Dave.

But right now, any decent people in American team sports are being overshadowed too, by the Rothlisbergers and Kobes.

[Feanor]

Hey, Kobe hasn't sexually assaulted anyone in years. Cut him some slack.

[davet010]

Actually was more of a question for Dave.

But right now, any decent people in American team sports are being overshadowed too, by the Rothlisbergers and Kobes.

To be honest, most of them are as decent as someone earning that sort of ding can be, and as with most things the media prefers to linger over the failings of one rather than the general decency of many. Even someone as ostensibly dislikeable as Craig Bellamy actually has a significant development project in West Africa, it's just never publicised because that's not what tabloids are interested in.

Below the top two tiers in England at any rate, footballers are pretty much average Joes.

The managers are slightly different given the pressure they are under all the time. I guess the counter-question is whether there are any CEOs of major businesses who are decent people, because that's what yer top football managers are.

[davet010]

In other news, the Glazers glorious mission to destroy Manchester United continues apace.

=================================================

Manchester United are facing a hefty interest rate of 16.25 per cent as of August after breaking financial rules governing their loan.

The 2 per cent rise will strengthen fears that the Glazer family, United’s unpopular owners, will try to pay off the high-interest loans rather than spend money on the team, a move that would infuriate supporters.

With the season over, it is almost certain that United will breach the financial rules set out in the Payment in Kind (PIK) loan taken on by the Glazers to fund their investment in the club. The rate hike means that United will owe an extra £75 million in interest on an already ruinous £138 million loan taken out in 2006. That total will have ballooned to £662.6 million by the maturity date of 2017.

If, as the club hope, they can move back within their financial covenants quickly, the PIK debt will still rise to more than £590 million.
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* Reds in the red: United’s debts explained

United were placed under a veil of financial secrecy when the Glazers completed their takeover in 2005, but the club have been forced into an era of openness by the £504 million bond issue that the Americans launched in February as a means of raising money.

Bond-holders will be provided with their first formal financial update before the end of this month and they are expecting to be told that the Glazers have taken a £70 million dividend out of the club to pay off the PIKs.

Jonathan Moore, an Evolution Securities analyst who covers United’s bond, said: “People knew this [interest rate hike] could happen, but it increases pressure on the Glazers to get money to pay down this PIK debt. And the obvious place for them to find that money is in the club itself.

“The Glazers said in the bond prospectus they could take out a dividend of £70 million. We expected them to do that sooner rather than later and for them to have done it already, although they haven’t told us that yet.”

Manchester United Supporters Trust said yesterday that the club have racked up £437 million in advisory fees and interest under five years of Glazer rule, while debts have soared to more than £700 million. The fees are before any dividend taken out by the Glazers this year.

Under the terms of the PIK notes, United must keep the debts of their operating company at less than five times the level of their profits before interest — which will be tested on August 14. Company debt stands at £539 million but the club’s profits will result in a shortfall of several million.

It is understood that United’s commercial management team believe they can increase profits through a series of new deals, allowing the club to get their interest rate back to 14.25 per cent next year.

Commercial revenues were £66.9 million last year — 25 per cent of total turnover — and United’s commercial team, led by Ed Woodward, have signed a series of niche deals including, recently, a partnership with Concha y Toro, a South American wine exporter.

A spokesman for the Glazer family said that the owners are entirely comfortable with the level of the club’s debt and the interest bill. Some supporters, who are alarmed by United’s enormous debt, are supportive of the Red Knights, the group that are trying to put together a bid for the club.

Red Knights, who are led by Jim O’Neill, the chief economist of Goldman Sachs, the world’s most successful investment bank, are working on an offer, but the chances of a successful bid appear to be fading.

==============================================

The Drunk was on the telly this morning telling everyone he was 'satisfied with his squad' and there were unlikely that there would be any new signings.

Yeah, much in the same way that I'm happy going to work on the train while watching people drive past in a Ferrari.



The Glazers, these stupid sods in their green and yellow scarves, the Red Knights....it's like watching a slow motion car crash involving people you despise. It's bleedin' great, so it is

All of this information, of course, doesn't prevent the tabloids 'linking' United with about £120m of inward transfers this summer. Mmm, wouldn't have anything to do with season ticket renewal deadlines, would it ?

So, my final question is - if United sold Ladyboy last season and have only managed to reinvest about £12m in the team this summer.....who's going this summer ?

[wco81]

Probably harder to find, as CEO pay outpaces worker pay. You have founders like Hewlett and Packard, who were famous for being open to their employees. Then HP hires a techocrat like Carly Fiorina (who's running for US Senate from CA) who alienates both employees and shareholders alike, replaced by another technocrat Mark Hurd, who keeps a low profile but is probably just as ruthless as Fiorina was, just that he delivers good numbers.

Among the books written about Wall Street in the wake of the crash, one talks about a survivor's mentality. These titans compare themselves to Holocaust or cancer survivors and have no qualms about taking bailouts or demanding huge pay packages despite their failures.

The Glazers' purchase sounds like a private equity deal -- highly-leveraged buyouts (in fact, before private equity, there were LBOs) which put the asset in deep financial straits, even as the team generates huge revenues.

[davet010]

The Glazers' purchase sounds like a private equity deal -- highly-leveraged buyouts (in fact, before private equity, there were LBOs) which put the asset in deep financial straits, even as the team generates huge revenues.

I know - bloody great, isn't it

As for 'huge revenues', their turnover is about £270m or so. There are at least 30 universities in the UK off the top of my head with a higher turnover than that....I think people often overestimate the amount of money these places turn over.

[wco81]

In the football world though, only Real and Barcelona probably generate similar revenues.

Their stadium is big even by EPL standards, double the capacity of some smaller EPL clubs.

Hmm, how do UK universities generate revenues? I thought there wasn't big tuition revenues like in the US? Big endowments (from alumni fundraising) and investment returns? IP licensing to industry?

Do UK universities offer legacy admissions (in return for big contributions) like private US universities? I kind of thought it was strictly based on exam placement.

[fsquid]

Villa signs with Barca.

[davet010]

In the football world though, only Real and Barcelona probably generate similar revenues.

Their stadium is big even by EPL standards, double the capacity of some smaller EPL clubs.

Hmm, how do UK universities generate revenues? I thought there wasn't big tuition revenues like in the US? Big endowments (from alumni fundraising) and investment returns? IP licensing to industry?

Do UK universities offer legacy admissions (in return for big contributions) like private US universities? I kind of thought it was strictly based on exam placement.

UK universities generate income in a number of ways, Home/EU students pay fees which are initially lent to them by the Government and then repaid when they earn a certain amount. The Government also funds institututions on a per capita student basis (grant per student is approx £4k per annum, top up fees are currently £3.2k).

Entry is primarily based on A-level grades, although I work at a music conservatoire, so admissions criteria are slightly different.

The real cash cow is overseas students. This is a completely free market based on interview and equivalen qualifications, but you are looking at fees approx 3 times that for home students.

Not sure what a legacy admission is, unless you mean endowments and scholarships. This does happen in the UK, but relatively few institutions here have overall endowment funds anything like the larger US universities - by and large it doesn't seem to be the culture here.

[10spro]

Villa signs with Barca.

Good bye Ibrahimovic, it's been nice to meet you.

[RobVarak]

Not sure what a legacy admission is, unless you mean endowments and scholarships. This does happen in the UK, but relatively few institutions here have overall endowment funds anything like the larger US universities - by and large it doesn't seem to be the culture here.

Legacy admissions are when a student is admitted because a relative has already attended the institution, with little or even no regard for the applicant's qualifications.

[davet010]

Not sure what a legacy admission is, unless you mean endowments and scholarships. This does happen in the UK, but relatively few institutions here have overall endowment funds anything like the larger US universities - by and large it doesn't seem to be the culture here.

Legacy admissions are when a student is admitted because a relative has already attended the institution, with little or even no regard for the applicant's qualifications.

If it does, it's strictly under the table. Given the entry grades required to get into most of the major HEI's, I'd very much doubt that there was much of it.

[wco81]

Not only is a relative, usually a parent or a grandparent, an alumnus, the family has given a lot of money to the institution.

Maybe it happens at the prep school level over there and good prep schools increase the odds of getting into Cambridge or Oxford?

From the UK elections, it's clear the candidates had the advantage of family and going to the best schools.

[davet010]

Not only is a relative, usually a parent or a grandparent, an alumnus, the family has given a lot of money to the institution.

Maybe it happens at the prep school level over there and good prep schools increase the odds of getting into Cambridge or Oxford?

From the UK elections, it's clear the candidates had the advantage of family and going to the best schools.

No, donations don't work like that over here. Any whiff of that sort of thing and you'd have the academic staff bleating about taking students who weren't the best.

Prep schools over here tend to be autoselective as they charge fees, whereas your standard schools don't. Hence only rich kids (in the main) go to them.

When I went to university, there were no fees, so I left with debts of about £500. Students nowadays will leave with debts of about £20k. Once HEIs started charging fees, however, government regulations mean that 25% of fee income has to be recycled into bursaries and awards for students from disadvantaged backgrounds (measured by postcodes), and we have to submit detailed reports each year on how these figures are changing.

Having said that, I didn't go to a prep school, but did go to Cambridge

[wco81]

Now to bring it back to football, when promising youngsters go to football academies, what percentage of them reach the top leagues?

Any indication that a number of them could have gone to a good university but chose to sign with a big club's academy?

Or are those with any kind of potential channeled from a very early age away from higher education?