Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has labeled Manchester United Chief Richard Arnold as naive,’’ stupid’’, and ‘‘gormless’’ after a leaked meeting with disgruntled Manchester United fans in a pub.
There was a leaked tape circulating on social media where Manchester United Chief Richard Arnold has met a group of disgruntled Manchester United fans in a pub explaining things that had transpired at the club.
In the said meeting Richard Arnold criticized Manchester United’s transfer policy over the years claiming Manchester United has spent €1 billion on player transfers with nothing to show.
However, The former Crystal Palace owner claims the Manchester United chief was stupid not to think the meeting will not be leaked to the public after telling them not to record the meeting.
What did Simon Jordan say?
Speaking on the White and Jordan show on talkSPORTS, Simon Jordan said: “Fans don’t want to hear from you, they want to hear you say what they want to hear, there is a difference.
“I wouldn’t say what he said, I wouldn’t say I worry how we’re going to get this sorted for the future.
“There’s nothing that you should be saying to these people that you shouldn’t be willing to say in the public domain.
“You’re the chief executive of Manchester United, you shouldn’t be saying, ‘I worry how we’re going to get this sorted for the future, you should know how you’re going to get it sorted for the future.
“The challenge you have is that if you’re going to tell these Man United fans that you need an investor to fund the stadium and you’re going to use Tottenham as an example…
“If I’m a Manchester United fan I’m going to go straight back over the fence and say, ‘The Glazers took £1.5billion in interest payments over the last 15 years and dividends, why didn’t they stop taking that, and then they wouldn’t need to go to funders to build a stadium’.
“Roman Abramovich was absolutely going to fund a stadium at Chelsea through borrowing money, everybody thinks he was going to build that stadium with his own money, no he wasn’t, he was out in the marketplace trying to raise funding.
“There’s nothing wrong with borrowing money but, in the space Manchester United are, the United fans are going to go straight back and say, ‘You’ve taken £1.5bn in interest over the 17 years you’ve been there, servicing a debt that you should have never placed on this club in the first place, so I do understand their premise.”
Simon Jordan added: “Richard Arnold sat in that meeting if you are that stupid, that gormless, that naive, that wet behind the ears that you’re going to sit in that meeting and think that what you’re saying isn’t going to find its way into the public domain, either verbally or someone recording it – then what’s the matter with you?
“What’s the problem? Be a grown-up. You go into a room, you’re in a public environment, it’s about being realistic. Why would Manchester United be unhappy about one iota of this content? It’s what their chief executive thinks isn’t it? In the real world you price it in, get over it.
“They [United fans] don’t want communication, they want the answers they want. They want to be told what they want to be told, they want to be told that the Glazers are going to bugger off, they want to be told that the Glazers are going to buy a new stadium with no cost implications, they want to be told United are going to win the league. “I think his answers are fine, so stand by it. What are you whining about, why are you crying? Why is Man United unhappy?”
Some Manchester United fans praised Richard Arnold for meeting the supporters.
