Gill bullish on United future
Chelsea's failure to land Sven-Goran Eriksson as a summer replacement for Claudio Ranieri has reopened speculation about who will fill the impending Stamford Bridge vacancy.
Alex Ferguson was already sounded out about the job earlier this season and there has been talk the Scot could be tempted to end his managerial career in London, despite only recently signing a rolling extension to his current contract which expires next summer.
However, the mere suggestion that Ferguson might quit brought a hearty chuckle from Gill, who said the most successful manager Britain has produced was going nowhere.
"I don't think that would happen," he said. "I would be absolutely amazed if he ever entertained that idea. He is very fit, motivated and committed and we are talking about the future. As long as the team are still performing, long may that continue."
Gill was talking on the back of a 32% rise in half-year pre-tax profits to £26.8m yesterday, confirming the club's status as the richest sporting organisation in the world.
Unfortunately for the Old Trafford outfit, the off-field performance has not been replicated on the pitch.
But while Chelsea's new money and Arsenal's impending move to a 60,000-capacity new stadium at Ashburton Grove appear to represent a twin threat to United's decade of domestic dominance, Gill is bullish about the Red Devils' future and confident the club's success will stand the test of time.
"You can't just buy fans," he said.
"If you take a step back, you would see Manchester United's appeal has been built over 50 years. It started with the Munich air disaster, went through the glory years of Best, Law and Charlton and gone on to the present day. During that time we have attracted fans from all around the world. Those supporters stick with you through thick and thin.
"Nike recognised that when they signed a deal to sponsor us for 13 years. They appreciate we will not win the Premier League or the Champions League every season during that time but they recognise what a strong following the club has."
Aside from another impressive set of figures, which yet again will produce an end of year turnover to wage ratio of less than 50% by far the lowest percentage of any English club and the almost non-announcement that Malcolm Glazer has no immediate plan to launch a takeover but has been given the freedom to do so should he wish, the biggest surprise was confirmation that Fabien Barthez's contract has been cancelled with two years still remaining.
United struck a deal with the French World Cup winner, who is currently on loan at Marseille, that will net him £2.4m as compensation for the rest of his contract, a figure one United insider described as 'less than half' of what Barthez would have been paid had he stayed at the club.
"A good deal for all parties," was how Gill described the deal, which will also see the Old Trafford outfit pay Monaco the £2.6m they still owe of the transfer fee.
Gill confirmed money would be available to Ferguson to bring in new players this summer, although he did point out United had already brought in Louis Saha for £12.8m and were committed to the signing of Celtic midfielder Liam Miller during the close season.
"We will sit down and assess the situation with Alex in the summer as usual," he said.
"But if you exclude Chelsea there were only 10 deals in excess of £10m throughout Europe last year, which is an indication of how the whole market is going."
Gill was forced to admit it may have been a mistake not to bring in a new defender as cover for Rio Ferdinand, who has now accepted his eight- month suspension for a missed drugs test.
The whole sorry Ferdinand saga was one of the major components of what Gill termed a 'difficult year' but he insisted there was no regret at the forceful way United defended the player, despite the negative publicity the club received.
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