TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Levein ties up loose ends and is unveiled as Scotland manager • 45-year-old signs two-and-a-half-year deal• 'This was an opportunity I couldn't pass up'Craig Levein's appointment as Scotland manager has finally been confirmed by the Scottish Football Association. The wintery weather threatened further to delay the signing of a two-and-a-half-year contract but the loose ends were tied up shortly before 6pm.Levein, who stepped down as manager of Dundee United, where he spent just over three years in charge, has been one of the favourites for the role from the outset and was first given permission to speak to the SFA on Thursday.After meeting with officials on Monday, confirmation of the 45-year-old's appointment had been expected yesterday, but negotiations proved protracted and their conclusion was not helped by the weather. A delighted Levein, who cost the SFA a reported £250,000 in compensation, said: "As a proud Scotland fan, it is a dream come true to take charge of the national team."I very much enjoyed my time at Dundee United and would like to thank the players, backroom staff, supporters, directors, the chairman Stephen Thompson, and everyone associated with the club for their support, but I felt that this was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up."I was delighted to put pen to paper today, and now I can't wait to get started as we prepare for the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign."The SFA chief executive Gordon Smith said: "Craig was the unanimous choice of the board and brings a wealth of experience as a player – including 16 international caps for Scotland – and as a coach."He has established a firm reputation as one of the most respected managers in the country and has already expressed his excitement at leading Scotland into the qualification campaign for Euro 2012 and beyond."I am sure the players, the Scotland supporters and media will share his ambitions and I urge the whole country to get behind the new manager in the collective aim to return to a major championship finals."The SFA president George Peat added: "Craig has already demonstrated his ambition to succeed with Scotland by leaving a coveted position as both manager and director of football at Dundee United."I am delighted we have managed to conclude the recruitment process successfully and ahead of schedule."Scotlandguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Dmitry Verkhovtsov hopes to make good impression with Celtic • Belarus defender says 'this is the chance of my life'• I want to sign as quickly as possible, says 23-year-oldDmitry Verkhovtsov is eager to secure a contract with Celtic after arriving in Glasgow for talks.The centre-back from Belarus flew into Glasgow last night ahead of his proposed move from his own country's Premier League side Naftan Novopolotsk. The 23-year-old has 12 cap for his country and is reported to be available for £500,000."I want to play for Celtic and I believe I can make a difference," Verkhovtsov told the Scottish Sun."I'm strong in the air and two-footed. This is the chance of my life - and I want to sign for Celtic as quickly as possible."CelticBelarusTransfer windowScottish Premier Leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Coventry City 3 Barnsley 1: match report Freddy Eastwood and Sammy Clingan's first-half strikes helped Coventry to a hard-fought victory over rivals Barnsley. telegraph.co.uk |
United's sales pitch isn't a premium bond The Glazer family's attempt to raise money to pay off massive debts paints a bleak picture of Manchester United's futureWhen navigating the thunderously depressing proposal by the Glazer family to load Manchester United with £500m of debt for the third time since their takeover in May 2005, it helps to imagine where United might be had the Glazers never turned up in the first place, to buy the glory, glory club with all their borrowed millions.Before engaging with Sir Alex Ferguson's remarkable contention that United's finances, laden with borrowings over £700m and £67m interest payable last year, are "of no concern at all", recall what the United board itself said at the time. When Malcolm Glazer and his six children – who, we now know, have borrowed £10m from United – launched their takeover bid, the board, which included the current chief executive David Gill, expressed vehement opposition to it.Echoing the concerns of the well-informed United fans' campaign, the board warned that the Glazers' business plan was "aggressive", and that the proposed structure for the club "still contains more leverage [debt] than the board would consider prudent and that as a consequence there is likely to be significant financial strain on the business."Despite that, the Glazers bought the club for £810m, a fortune pocketed greedily by enough shareholders in what was then Manchester United plc. The Glazers paid £270m themselves, borrowing the other £540m from banks and hedge funds. In the four years up to the latest accounts to 30 June 2009, United became liable to pay more than £325m in interest alone, yet the interest they have not paid, plus fees, has increased the debt the Glazers loaded on to United to £700m.United, and Ferguson, now argue it is all fine, the club are not constrained by that debt mountain and the board was therefore wrong in its warning back then. Ferguson said last week that the windfall from the £81m sale of Cristiano Ronaldo is there for him to spend, but he does not want to because the market is overpriced. That assertion has been rather undone by the prospectus, which sets out the plan to transfer £70m cash from United to one of the Glazers' holding companies, partly to pay off the hedge funds which charge swingeing 14.25% interest.Now imagine how United might look without the Glazer debt. True, as a plc – the Stock Market listing which football executives now agree was a failed experiment, despite defending it zealously at the time – United paid dividends to shareholders. Yet even allowing for the increase in turnover, from £171m to the most recent £278m, the 2004 dividend was £7m, nothing like the mountain of interest, £42m to banks, £25m to hedge funds, with which the Glazers have burdened United.Had the takeover never happened, how fearsomely United could now be swaggering. Three times Premier League champions and European champions in 2008, with a record income of £278m (although it would probably be lower, because without the Glazers, ticket prices would not be so high), with a £91m operating profit, not plundered to meet the interest. On top of that, £81m from selling Ronaldo.Would the manager, in those debt-free circumstances, really spend the autumn years of his brilliant career grumbling about the price of players? Can he be pictured allowing Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez to depart, leaving him to admit that United's thinner strike force is seriously reliant on one player, Wayne Rooney?For those who still believe that United are untouched by the financial chicanery the Glazers have visited on them, the fullest answer so far is contained in an unlikely place – United's bond prospectus itself. That piece of work, arguably the most dispiriting document ever produced containing the word football, seeks to persuade investors to buy a piece of the Glazers' latest debt restructuring.The prospectus boasts, quite justifiably, about the success of Ferguson's team, the Old Trafford full houses, the "significant revenues" from television, the sponsorship earnings and global following – although the tracing of "our club" back to its 1878 formation by workers on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway will grate further with fans who see the Glazers as carpetbaggers, not custodians of that tradition.In a 322-page document, the section headed "Strategy" is noticeably short; a single page which states United must just carry on as they are, make money – including a commitment to "maximise ticket revenue" – from exploiting the team's success. The prospectus, though, devotes 15 pages to detailing the "high degree of risk" associated with this loan. Legally, the document must carry such warnings, but it is fascinating to see the risks so conscientiously itemised, by those responsible for this financial engineering.First and pre-eminent, the document repeatedly stresses that all the financial success, and United's ability to meet the interest and debt repayments, depends upon the first team's performances. United acknowledge that strong showings in the Premier League, Champions League and – topically – the FA Cup, cannot be guaranteed. The club also addresses the looming issue which dare not speak its threat: the retirement of Ferguson, surely sometime soon."We are highly dependent on members of our management, including our manager, Sir Alex Ferguson," the prospectus states. "Any successor to our manager may not be as successful as he has been." Were that to happen, United's ability to attract the best players may be "adversely affected", the document says.For all the emphasis on United as a global "brand", the prospectus recognises: "We depend on our matchday supporters, who are concentrated in the United Kingdom." It acknowledges uncertainty over whether the full houses will continue, and says "rising unemployment and lower corporate profits" in the recession "may have a negative impact on our business". Already, during this season, around 16% of the corporate box seats have remained unsold.Most interesting given Ferguson's efforts to rubbish Manchester City's nouveaux oil riches is a paragraph devoted to "strong competition" from other clubs enjoying "recent investment from wealthy team owners". Unlike the Glazers, who are leaking money out of United in such prodigious quantities, both in interest to banks and personally in fees and loans, these other clubs have "strong financial backing"."The increase in competition," the prospectus notes, "could result in our first team finishing lower in the Premier League than we have in the past and jeopardising our qualification for or results in the Champions League."As for pure financial risk, the prospectus itself provides a corrective to Ferguson's complacency. "Our significant indebtedness could adversely affect our financial health," it admits. One page later is a summary of the state United are in."Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our indebtedness will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations, or that future borrowings will be available to us, in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness."There speaks a cash-rich club, brimming with confidence, unaffected by its £700m debt, with £81m in the bank, money which its manager is absolutely free to spend, if only he wanted to.Premier LeagueBusinessManchester UnitedDavid Connguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Leeds United on the march with the wily Simon Grayson Leeds United's revival under Simon Grayson continues as they earn a fourth-round replay against Tottenham in the FA Cup. telegraph.co.uk |