Manchester United: A legacy in shackles?
Manchester United’s under the heat owners, the Glazer family, are under the hammer once again from the loyal fans as the club fights back to retail season tickets for the first time in English Premier League history.
Manchester United has put 4,000 tickets for the 2010/2011 season on sale even after the closing date for renewals in spite of a massive marketing campaign. The club administration previously claimed that they had a long waiting list but the announcement failed to hold any credibility after the club declared on keeping the ticket prices for this season unchanged.
Subsequent to last season’s vastly evident green and gold drive, anti-Glazer groups pushed fans to wear United’s former colours in disapproval. The fans considered on boycotting the official club merchandising and season tickets in order to hit the club financially and to increase pressure on the already unpopular Americans.
Some two seasons back, United sold sixty-four thousand season tickets in whole. However, now they claim of reaching the fifty thousand mark for the upcoming season.
The statement about tickets going on sale has encouraged the Red Knights - the faction of wealthy loyal fans who are aiming to buy Manchester United from the Glazer family.
Keith Harris, a Manchester United fan and the leading man in structuring the Red Knights, claimed that their interest may perhaps have been inactive but it is certainly not dead. Encouraged by a reduction in ticket sales and its definite impact on the owners and their business plans, Harris alleged that his association still desires to see the Glazers leave the club, which they acquired in 2005.
The green and gold campaign run by Manchester United Supporters’ Trust has been a massive success even though they stopped short of telling their 150,000 plus affiliates not to renew tickets. On the other hand, another body known as the Independent United Supporters’ Association insisted to shun ticket sales and it seems that it may be having a positive outcome. As much as forty percent profit of a match day comes from the sale of premium seats and the club will be highly dependent on the amount of the 8500 of those seats sold.
The Red Knights declared to the Glazers to have access to £1.2 billion, but the Americans remained adamant that there would be no deal. However, privately, Glazers are believed to be willing to ink deal at £1.5bn, almost double to what they paid five years ago.
The Knights may postpone any move until early August, when the club publishes its annual monetary results. Even numerous supporters deem Sir Alex Ferguson’s unwillingness to participate in the transfer market before the season starts, which is due to the financial shackles being placed on the club.
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