Keith Wyness reveals Glazers ‘joke’ that bombed in Man United boardroom
Manchester United could face negative publicity from their TV series if they do not correctly portray the club’s history.
That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, after Man United agreed a deal for a new TV series.
Man United have been told they could net up to £20million if the new series is deemed a success, with the club needing the revenue to aid their financial position.
The concept of the series is believed to be similar to Netflix’s The Crown, in what will be a dramatised retelling of the history of the club.
Man United face ‘massive problem’ with new TV series
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes the series could “rebound negatively” on Man United.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks the series needs to be as truthful as possible to be a success.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Now, the problem will be is how truthful the story will get. You know, this is the problem because we’ve seen with things like The Crown, when there are mistakes about the historical facts, people pile into it and it gets some bad publicity.
“Now with Man United. There isn’t really a great sense of humour, I think, with the Glazers. I remember when I first met them, they’d just taken over at Man United. Everton were playing over at Old Trafford and I went into the boardroom and there were the three Glazer brothers standing in the corner. And I went up to them to introduce myself and say, hello, triple glazing. And they didn’t seem to think that was very funny. Maybe it wasn’t, but I thought it was quite funny.
“And I could see then that they had no sense of humour. So I wonder if their sense of humour would extend to how they’d be portrayed in The Crown and actually the money they’ve taken out of the club. Will that be portrayed seriously? And then how would the whole Ratcliffe debacle be portrayed within The Crown? Will that be smoothed over?
“You know, there are so many things here about reality and truth and how things have gone wrong since Fergie left. How are they actually going to handle that? And if they don’t do it properly and actually factually make it correct, then I think it opens itself to a massive, massive problem. And it could rebound negatively on United.
“So there’s a risk to that. It’s all very well, you looking through the glory years and the history and all that sort of stuff. I get all that. But the reality today is very different. And how they handle that will be important in terms of making this either a success or critically slammed and, you know, panned.”
Man United look to agree Kobbie Mainoo deal
Off the pitch, Man United could agree a new deal for Kobbie Mainoo, with the 20-year-old having returned to the starting line-up under interim boss Michael Carrick.
Mainoo’s contract at Old Trafford does not expire until 2027, with the club able to trigger an option to extend it by another year.
The midfielder could be set for a salary increase if he signs a new deal, with the club keen to keep hold of the star for the long-term.