{"id":100,"date":"2017-10-12T15:58:16","date_gmt":"2017-10-12T15:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/?p=100"},"modified":"2017-11-22T11:44:18","modified_gmt":"2017-11-22T11:44:18","slug":"special-report-neville-have-i-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2017\/10\/12\/special-report-neville-have-i-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"SPECIAL REPORT: NEVILLE HAVE I EVER"},"content":{"rendered":"

FLOOD ALERT<\/span><\/p>\n

The announcement that the Football University is to go ahead means that the issue can finally be discussed openly. The new institution will be a separate entity and not a part of Lancaster University in any way. It will be controlled by two companies – UA92 Ltd (the holding company) and UA92 Manchester Ltd (operations) \u2013 in which Lancaster will have a substantial stake. How substantial a stake is still unknown, though the sum of \u00a34M for a 40% share was suggested at an early stage in the discussions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u2018Managing Director\u2019 of both companies has been named as Brendan Flood, a Manchester lettings magnate and a director of Burnley football club. The choice of Mr. Flood appears to be an odd one. He is founder and a director of UCFB, an education company with campuses at Wembley, Burnley FC and, recently, at Manchester City\u2019s Etihad Stadium, offering degree courses in sports-related media, marketing, finance, psychology, coaching and event-management. Very like, in fact, the proposed curriculum for UA92, and aimed at the same student market. It\u2019s as if Pep Guardiola was to pop up in the dugout alongside Jos\u00e9 Mourinho at the next game at Old Trafford. Is an early merger with UA92 on the cards?<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

IN LIM-BO?<\/span><\/p>\n

It is uncertain how much the Singapore-based billionaire Peter Lim \u2013 the main financial backer of the Class of 92 – will be involved in UA92. His name certainly figured in the early negotiations with Lancaster. However, there are signs his business relationship with Neville & Co may have come under strain. Earlier this year Lim\u2019s Singapore company Rowsley had to issue a profits warning to investors, partly due to the poor performance of the Class of 92 businesses in Manchester, 75% of which is owned by Peter Lim. This was followed by Ryan Giggs\u2019 and Gary Neville\u2019s failed central Manchester development scheme (see subtext 158), a setback for Lim\u2019s Manchester property development ambitions. Intriguingly, the same Brendan Flood is also a partner in Giggs\u2019 and Neville\u2019s Jacksons Row Development Partnership. It\u2019s a small world, is Manchester property development.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

SUBSTITUTE BENCH<\/span><\/p>\n

For Lancaster staff, the immediate impact of the venture will be on those working in IT support, HR, marketing, compliance and quality assurance. subtext understands that individuals from these areas will be seconded to begin the daunting task of setting up a new university from scratch. What is not known is whether this will be voluntary or be deemed to be part of the individual\u2019s employment contract. There is also the question of the impact of withdrawing experienced staff from areas that are already under-resourced and where work stress is worryingly high. Will there be like-for-like replacement of the seconded? Past practice in the University would suggest not. No doubt the campus unions will have prepared a long list of searching questions to present to management.<\/span><\/p>\n

While academic colleagues may have thought they could get away with having nothing to do with UA92, it seems the academic leadership of FASS has been playing Simon swaps. Simon Guy, erstwhile FASS Dean, has been seconded as Academic Director of UA92, while Simon Bainbridge, previously Deputy Dean, is now Acting Dean of FASS for the next year.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

MINT CONDITIONS<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the arguments used in favour of Lancaster\u2019s involvement in the Football University was that the Manchester United connection would enhance the attraction of the University to potential international students, particularly in the Far East. Admittedly, the potential is somewhat lessened now that David Beckham is no longer involved in the Class of 92 but it was still an opportunity too good to miss (so it was said).<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, cashing in on footballing fame may not be as straightforward as it sounds. Celebrity endorsement is big business these days, and it doesn\u2019t come cheap, thanks to the ruthless marketing of companies who own the \u2018image rights\u2019 of the celebs. In the case of the Class of 92, endorsement is handled by an outfit called Mint Media, which also owns the image rights of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo (now that would be an endorsement worth getting!). And who owns Hong Kong-based Mint Media? Why none other than Mr. Peter Lim, financial backer of the Class of 92 (see above). We can but hope that when the University seeks to use Paul Scholes\u2019 sunny features to promote the benefits of a Lancaster MBA, Mr. Lim will be amenable to providing us with mates\u2019 rates for the job.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FLOOD ALERT The announcement that the Football University is to go ahead means that the issue can finally be discussed openly. The new institution will be a separate entity and not a part of Lancaster University in any way. It … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":568,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[45,53,56,121,58,55,57,54],"class_list":["post-100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-special-feature","tag-fass","tag-football-university","tag-gary-neville","tag-issue-166","tag-marketing","tag-peter-lim","tag-ryan-giggs","tag-ua92"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p99sHo-1C","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":409,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/03\/01\/spawt-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":0},"title":"SPAWT!","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"March 1 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"APPLICATIONS WELCOME FROM AXE-WIELDING MANIACS The search for a permanent full-time Principal for UA92 has begun. As our own HR department was clearly not up to the job, the task of finding the right person has fallen to posh recruitment consultants Anderson Quigley. Prospective candidates logging into their website will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":301,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/01\/18\/ua92-updates\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":1},"title":"UA92 UPDATES","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"January 18 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"UA\u2019INT SEEN NUTHIN\u2019 YET Local opposition in Manchester to plans for UA92 continues to grow. Stretford residents are increasingly sceptical of the claims from Trafford Council that the scheme will be the major driver for the regeneration of their area. Detailed information from the Council on exactly how the local\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":566,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/05\/10\/ua92-updates-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":2},"title":"UA92 UPDATES","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"May 10 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"TRAFFORD ELECTION TREAT As predicted in subtext 176, opposition to Gary Neville's plans to colonise Turn Moss, the Stretford open green area, proved to be crucial in overturning the Conservative majority on Trafford Council, with Labour gaining four seats and the Greens (unexpectedly) gaining two seats. One of Labour's first\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":478,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/03\/15\/spawt-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":3},"title":"SPAWT!","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"March 15 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"TRAINING GROUND MOVES News from Manchester of continuing local opposition to the onward march of Gary Neville\u2019s Barmy Army (subtexts passim ad nauseam). The campaign this time is to protect Turn Moss, a stretch of open green space on the outskirts of Trafford. The Council is backing Gary\u2019s plan to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":351,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/02\/15\/spawt\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":4},"title":"SPAWT!","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"February 15 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"MARKET RESEARCH? WHO NEEDS IT! In subtext 171 we reported an attempt by a Stretford resident to obtain more information on UA92 via a Freedom of Information request to the University. Despite being given the old 'commercial in confidence' brush off, the resident persisted, with follow-up questions seeking more detail\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "lu text lost and found"","block_context":{"text":"lu text lost and found","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/lu-text-lost-and-found\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":524,"url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/04\/26\/spawt-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":5},"title":"SPAWT!","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"April 26 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"SALFORD QUEASE When asked if Gary Neville had 'shopped around' other universities before settling on Lancaster as his business partner, the Vice-Chancellor didn't 'believe' this to be the case. It turns out that this actually was the case, and that Gary had had extensive talks with Salford University about a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/568"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions\/101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}