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Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward failed to mention under-fire manager Louis van Gaal as he discussed record quarterly revenues with the clubs investors on Friday.United are on course to become the first British club to earn more than £500m in a single year, after announcing record revenues of £123.4m - up 29.9 per cent from last year - for the third quarter of 2016.But that success off the pitch has not been matched by the teams fortunes on it, with United trailing rivals Manchester City by two points in the race for fourth place heading into their final Premier League game of the season at home to Bournemouth on Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 2.30pm. The clubs damaging 3-2 defeat at West Ham on Tuesday has piled pressure on the Dutchman as United face up to the prospect of missing out on Champions League football for the second time in three seasons. Woodward touched on a variety of topics in his nine-minute conference call with investors as he outlined Uniteds willingness to spend this summer, while also praising the clubs youth academy, but did not refer to Van Gaal at any point.There has been a continued inflation in player transfers, given the increase in money flowing around the industry, Woodward explained. It is the heart of the club. It is in our DNA. That will help in terms of net transfer spend. Ed Woodward on Man Utds academy You know as a club, we will always invest in the squad to the extent that we feel we need to so that were challenging for titles.But I think this sustained level is probably relatively high compared to what is needed.The academy is helping us in terms of net transfer spend. The market has become more competitive.It is the heart of the club. It is in our DNA. That will help in terms of net transfer spend. Louis van Gaal watches United lose to West Ham on Tuesday Uniteds transfer spending since Van Gaal succeeded David Moyes has been mammoth, with the Dutchman allowed to spend more than a quarter of a billion pounds on 12 new players as he has completely overhauled the squad.But that outlay has not translated into improved performances on the pitch with Van Gaals side, who are on course to shatter the clubs record total for fewest goals scored in a Premier League season, trailing champions Leicester by 17 points heading into the final weekend.Woodward admits it has become far more difficult for teams to simply spend their way out of trouble.I have to say it has become more competitive, Woodward conceded. It became more competitive when Chelsea had a change of ownership 13 years ago, it obviously got more competitive when Manchester City changed ownership about five years ago. Record revenue for United Manchester United announce record quarterly revenue The last round increase [of TV rights money] was 70 per cent domestically. Obviously were in the last year of that cycle, and visibility into the next years cycle - from domestic money going up by a similar percentage - obviously makes all the other clubs more competitive in the Premier League.But I think the way we view it is that we know we have strengths and we have to focus on giving ourselves the best chance in every single area of the club that we can.Yes, thats the academy, but it also means in recruitment, it means the coaching staff, it means having the best medical department, sports science facilities, etc. Its trying to get the extra one per cent from all of those areas that influences and impacts the first-team. WBA lightweight champion and Manchester United season ticket holder Anthony Crolla gives his thoughts on a tough season for the clubAlso See:Record revenue for UnitedMerse: United must get MourinhoChelsea beat United on shirt salesCrolla: Time for LVG to gocheap china jerseys . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. china jerseys . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. https://www.chinajerseysreplica.us/ . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. replica jerseys china . PAUL, Minn. wholesale jerseys china .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup.Lewis Hamilton has slipped 43 points behind championship leader - and Mercedes team-mate - Nico Rosberg after being dogged by misfortune so far in 2016.Whether its reliability problems, first-lap collisions or slow starts, his title defence is already severely under threat.But how many points has bad luck really cost Hamilton? Australian GPGrid: 1st; Race: 2nd (18 points)After dominating all three practice sessions and beating Rosberg to pole by 0.3 seconds, the stage looked set for Hamilton to ease to victory at the season-opening race.But after a poor getaway, both Hamilton and Rosberg were passed by the fast-starting Ferraris and the world champion even fell as low as seventh on the opening lap. Toto Wolff has strongly denied claims from some fans that the team are sabotaging Lewis Hamilton Hamilton blamed his struggle off the line on wheelspin but it was contact with Rosberg - who nudged the Englishman wide at Turn One - which had the biggest effect on his race. Hamiltons front wing had to be replaced following the red flags and, despite having difficulty passing Toro Rossos Max Verstappen, was able to recover to finish second. He was never able to worry Rosberg, though, who profited from Ferraris tyre strategy blunder to win. Points lost through bad luck: 0Rosbergs move was forceful, but certainly not against the rules, and with a better start and entry into the corner Hamilton wouldnt have found himself in that position. Unlucky? It was in his hands - and he couldnt point to Mercedes mechanical failures on this occasion. Bahrain GPGrid: 1st; Race: 3rd (15 points)Hamilton produced the fastest lap ever recorded at Bahrain to secure pole but, once again, he came undone at the start. Whereas wheelspin was the culprit in Australia, Hamilton admitted his own reactions couldve been sharper under the lights in the desert - although he was still on Rosbergs tail into Turn One before an over-eager Valtteri Bottas - handed a drive-through penalty for his error - rammed into the side of his Mercedes. Hamilton defends Merc issues Brit has defended Mercedes despite more reliability issues Lewis left the door open but Valtteri shouldnt have walked through it. He was a day late and a dollar short, said Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle.Mercedes calculated the damage done to Hamiltons W07 was worth a second of track time per lap but he still battled back to third, pushing Kimi Raikkonen before the Ferrari pulled away with the final stint. Rosberg, meanwhile, was celebrating five in a row. Hamilton collides with Valtteri Bottas at the first corner of the Bahrain GP Points lost through bad luck: 10Bottas was handed a penalty and completely at fault for the incident but with a good getaway Hamilton shouldnt have even been close to a Williams at that early stage.But after his exploits in qualifying, Hamilton would have been confident he could have caught Rosberg. His team-mate finished 30 seconds up the road in the end, though the Brits car was severely damaged. Chinese GPGrid: 22nd; Race: 7th (six points)Already in the knowledge that he would start no higher than sixth due to a pre-race gearbox change, Hamiltons weekend quickly went from bad to worse when Q1 started in Shanghai. The world champion was unable to set a qualifying time due to an engine failure, and would start the race at the back of the grid.On this occasion, Hamilton claimed he had the fastest start of the whole field and was quickly making early ground. However, as if playing catch-up wasnt a big enough challenge, he made contact with Felipe Nasr following the first corner, with the Sauber trying to avoid Raikkonen following the Fiinns collision with team-mate Vettel.dddddddddddd Russian GP driver ratings Hamilton, Alonso and Magnussen rush to impress in Russia, There was nothing Hamilton could do. Again, it was to be an afternoon of damage limitation as the race played into Rosbergs hands.Not only was Hamiltons front wing badly damaged, but the floor of his W07 then suffered damage when the wing became lodged beneath the car, severely affecting the aerodynamics.Felipe Massas sixth place proved too big an ask for Hamilton, though he didnt cover himself in glory when locked in a battle with the Williams and Daniel Ricciardo. That is quite possibly the worst lap I have seen Lewis Hamilton drive in an F1 car, noted Brundle. Natalie Pinkham joined Hamilton at Mercedes’ Brackley base for a live Facebook chat But was this just because the W07 drove like a four-poster bed? As for the problems with the MGU-H, Mercedes claimed they understood the issues and would bring the failed power unit to the next race as a spare.Points lost through bad luck: 12A Chinese GP to forget for Lewis. Mechanical issues plagued his whole weekend while he was incredibly unfortunate to hit Nasr after his flying getaway.Rosbergs performance in qualifying, especially on the soft tyre, was impressive and his race was peerless, but, without the mitigating circumstances, Hamilton would have fancied a run at Sebastian Vettel for second place - at least. Russian GPGrid: 10th; Race: 2nd (18 points)The stage was set for a qualifying shootout between Rosberg and Hamilton before more unreliability problems blighted Lewis Saturday. Again, a power unit had failed - though at least hed made it into Q3 this time.Starting from 10th, Hamilton finally managed to avoid heavy contact on lap one and the Vettel-Kvyat collision played into his hands, rising up to fifth when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed.His overtaking skills were impeccable as he rounded Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas and at one stage an unlikely race victory was in his sights. Hamilton quells rumours that the Mercedes team changes are to blame for poor fortune Hamilton had cut Rosbergs gap out in front to seven seconds before being warned of a water pressure issue which cooled off his charge to such an extent that Hamilton eased off down the straights. There wasnt a doubt in my mind that I couldnt win it, I had the pace, said Hamilton. Toto Wolff Q&A Toto Wolff discusses Lewis Hamiltons recent car troubles Points lost through bad luck: 0Wolff was quick to brand fans peddling conspiracy theories as lunatics but the problems just keep adding up for Lewis, who may already have to take his third engine of the season. Faster than Rosberg on Friday and in Saturday morning practice, he couldnt really have done any more in Sochi and his qualities were evident in the race when cutting the leaders gap. But was pole, let alone ending Rosbergs winning streak, on offer? Hamiltons team-mate held an advantage over him in Q2 and set a lap record, completing a grand slam in the process, during the race in Sochi. Rosberg was faultless and he may not have been caught.On the whole, however, Hamilton has been very, very unfortunate at the start of 2016 - with his woes costing him at least 20 points and maybe many more. Every race live in 2016 Sky Sports F1 brings you every race live in 2016. Fast and easy online upgrade - click here.Also See:Rosberg: No ecstasy without Lewis fightHamilton defends Mercedes team ' ' '