Interview requests to speak to Joel Glazer have been submitted to Manchester United and have come to nought. Glazer went 16 years without communicating with United supporters and his silence was only broken by the treacherous support for the Super League in April.
In Florida, where Glazer and his five siblings own Super Bowl champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Glazer has been more forthcoming. He dialled into a Zoom call with reporters last year after the Super Bowl triumph whereas in Manchester the United media department is often fighting as many fires as 10 Downing Street and access is restricted to obligatory Zooms with interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
Back in April 2019, Glazer gave a short interview to Rick Stroud, the Bucs reporter for the Tampa Bay Times . Association football and American football are sports that bear little resemblance but the preparation is comparable.
Including caretaker and interim choices, the Glazers have sanctioned six managerial appointments at United in the last nine years and the seventh could be installed before the end of the season. The Bucs have appointed three in that time.
When asked about managerial turnover in 2019, Glazer told the Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast: "In (American) football, ideally, you don't want so much turnover, that we recognise. And can we pinpoint one thing or the other, I would say the answer is no, we can't pinpoint one thing.
"Ultimately, it's results on the field. And results on the field were unfortunate. It's what led us to where we are."
Perhaps the most intriguing detail in Stroud's chat is the Glazers had used a 'consulting firm' to identify coaches in the past. Rangnick, the interim United manager, will start a two-year consultancy role on July 1 and is believed to be advising on the next permanent appointment as manager.
"That's something we look back at what we have done in the past with the different type of coaches we've brought in," Glazer said of the consulting strategy. "And that's why this time we did bring in somebody (coach Bruce Arians), who's been involved with many other teams with success, and I think it was beneficial, it gives a different perspective on things. We thought it was helpful."
Arians ended the Bucs' 18-year Super Bowl drought last year. Arians, 69, came out of retirement and Glazer touted his 'experience, proven track record' and "the way he interacts with players, too. So the whole package and, again, through an interview process and getting to know everything you heard about him we saw when we met him."
Glazer is due to speak at the inaugural United fans' advisory board meeting this month, albeit virtually. He has not attended a game since the Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat to Barcelona at Old Trafford in April 2019.
On the Bucs website, one story from 2016 is headlined, 'Glazer: Taking Stadium To Another Level'. The Raymond James Stadium hosted the Super Bowl last year but Old Trafford has not been expanded since the quadrants were installed in March 2006. Planning permission was finalised in early 2004 - long before the Glazers completed their toxic takeover in May 2005.
Glazer, pressured by the outcry over the Super League, has promised renovation of United's decaying stadium and their dated training complex at Carrington.
When asked about listening to the Bucs fans, Glazer said: "Every year, we take a look at what we're offering to make sure we're offering something for everybody, so there's a point for everybody to come and enjoy our games.
"We took a look and thought there were some areas of adjustment that could be helpful. We listen to our fans, hear what they have to say and try to meet their needs.
"In the last couple of years, our customer service throughout the NFL has been number one, we take great pride in that, our season-ticket holders and members are most important for us and we want to treat them that way."
At the time of the interview, it had been 11 years since the Bucs had reached the Play-offs, which Glazer described as "absolutely painful. There's nothing worse. If you'd asked me 10 years ago, would this have happened? I'd have said I don't think so.
"We're absolutely determined, it's been extremely painful, we're doing everything we can to turn it around, we have no doubt the fans will embrace the Tampa Bay Buccaneers along with any success that comes with us."
