Manchester United legend

Chapter 239

No one knows that Van Gaal will really coach Manchester United-today, 14 years later, after Ferguson has retired for more than a year and Manchester United tried unsuccessfully to let Moyes coach, the Red Devils will reconnect with the Dutchman.

Of course, there were other candidates for Ferguson's successor that summer.

Old people in the Manchester United club are also on the investigation list: Ferguson's own assistant coach McLaren, former Manchester United captain and meritorious player Middlesbrough coach Robson, Kidd who has left Manchester United but has always been loved... The media kept digging out different candidates to satisfy the discussion interests of the fans.

The most shocking news was a bit of lace, and Cantona also joined in the fun and said, "If Ferguson really retires, I plan to come back to coach Manchester United!"

Ferguson's retirement has not yet become a reality, but the club's management has indeed undergone tremendous changes.

Compared with the team's signings and replacements, changes in the coach and club chairman are more likely to affect the development and stability of a team.

Just this summer on July 7, Martin Edwards, who had served as CEO of the Manchester United Club for 18 years, finally announced his resignation as the club's CEO.

No one would have thought that this would be a historic moment for Manchester United.His resignation and the appointment of new executive Kenyon put Manchester United on a path of rapid development.

The resignation of Edwards marks the end of Manchester United's 40 years of actual control by the Edwards family. It also marks the beginning of Manchester United Club further breaking away from the control of the old family and fixed shareholder groups and becoming an international club.

No one imagined that just a few years after Edwards left office, the original shareholders headed by him and the Irish tycoon sold all their stocks to the American Glazer, and finally turned Manchester United from a traditional British football club into a club owned by a wealthy American family.

For the Edwards family, the feelings of Red Devils fans are very complicated.

On the one hand, it is precisely because of Edwards' support and long-term efforts that Manchester United can survive the most difficult time, continue to develop to this day, and be able to win today's success.

It is precisely because of Martin Edwards' father's money and hard work, and it is precisely because of Martin Edwards' sweat, hard work and wisdom, as well as his support and trust in Ferguson, that Manchester United has today's glory.

However, the complexity of history is that while Martin Edwards helped Manchester United continue to develop and improve, he also repeatedly caused hatred and resistance from Manchester United fans because of personal problems.

In the course of Manchester United's rapid development for more than 20 years, Martin Edwards regarded the club more as a cash cow, a hen that lays golden eggs, grabbed more profits from the club, and calculated more personal interests. He did not pay enough love and selfless support for the club.

Edwards supported Ferguson's long-term coaching, but he lacked key support when building the club, especially when he was reluctant to spend money on signings, which often created obstacles for Ferguson.

In addition, Edwards regards money as his life. He not only receives a super high salary in the club, but also greatly increases his wealth by reducing his holdings of Manchester United stocks in the stock market.

After Martin Edwards resigned as CEO, he still maintains the club chairman and other positions, and hopes to run for the real power position of chairman of the board of directors of Manchester United's listed company.

And when he resigned this summer, he still held 15% of the shares of Manchester United's listed company, worth more than 1.5 million pounds.

Manchester United fans who are familiar with the history of Martin Edwards will know more of his stories, while the media often dig out scandals in his personal life: gambling, romantic debts, etc... All in all, although Edwards has made Manchester United the richest club in the world and the largest club in the world, Manchester United fans are not too grateful to him.

In the year he is about to leave office, more Manchester United fans have begun to resent and oppose him.

Some fans even boycotted Manchester United's home games for this reason-"Edwards turned Manchester United into a vampire-like company, not a pure football club, not a team that we Manchester United fans will unswervingly support and follow."

The story of Edwards and Manchester United does not end here.In the following years, Edwards continued to sell his Manchester United shares and sold them to the Glazer family, which eventually led to American predators swallowing Manchester United, the richest club in the world, with amazing financial skills.

In November 2002, Edwards was forced to resign as a non-executive director of Manchester United Limited due to the scandal, and his chairmanship and directorship of the Manchester United Club were also handed over at the end of that year.

Edwards has since officially left the Manchester United board of directors, and his 20-year reign at Manchester United has officially come to an end.

In the summer of 2000, Edwards was replaced by business wizard Kenyon, Edwards' former assistant and Manchester United's commercial director.

Kenyon joined Manchester United in 1997. Before that, he was in charge of Umbro Sporting Goods. He is a well-known CEO in the business field with strong operational capabilities.

From the perspective of Manchester United's business operations, Kenyon's appointment is a very correct choice.

The first thing Kenyon did after taking office was to meet and talk with the diehard Manchester United fans to eliminate misunderstandings and gain support.

In addition, he quickly completed the contract renewal of Manchester United's key players, and for this reason he did not hesitate to continuously break the salary cap previously implemented by Manchester United.

Kenyon said, "The increase in player salaries is not based on the inflation rate. They are scarce resources, so they deserve a high price. And these efforts will be rewarded in the broader business field."

Not only that, Kenyon also announced that it will actively support Ferguson's plan to improve the team, enhance the team's combat effectiveness, and seek high-level foreign aid.

He once aggressively proposed on the Manchester United board of directors to continue to invest heavily, aiming at the most popular and famous superstars in Europe, and inviting them to Old Trafford.

It is a pity that the board of directors finally rejected his crazy proposal, believing that it was not in line with the long-term interests of Manchester United.

Of course, in the summer of 2000, Ferguson was still very satisfied with his team. He didn’t feel the need to introduce too many big-name stars. Manchester United was still at its peak, and the glory and dreams of the league, the Champions League, and the FA Cup could still be realized by this golden generation team.

(End of this chapter)