Since the Glazers arrived at Old Trafford, much has been made of the Americans, and very little of it being positive. In fact, such was the outrage at their purchase of United, fans created FC United and have worn green and gold coloured scarves to protest ever since. Yet with United posting profits of £29.7 million pre-tax, and for the first time seeing their revenue pass £300 million for the first time, have the Glazer’s been such a bad influence at Old Trafford?
One fact that you cannot get away with when debating the effect of the Glazer’s on Manchester United is the amount of debt they amassed against the club when they first bought it. Since 2005, it is estimated that £478 million has been spent on servicing debt, with £373 million of that spent on interest fees (the guardian) with the year just gone having seen close to £52 million alone on intrest payments.
Fans are obviously unhappy about this, and have the right to be concerned, and when the Glazers’ first arrived it was more than reasonable for them to hold concern for the club they love so much. The fear of United being lost to debt or face up to being less competitive in the transfer market due to lack of available funds, not to mention the worry over keeping hold of key players were very real issues.
However, the Glazers have been at United for enough time now to make a more complete judgement about them, and take into account other factors than profits and debt – which whilst important are not the be all and end all of running a football club.
One thing that the Glazer’s cannot be faulted on is letting Fergie run United the way he sees fit. Granted it would take a brave man to tell the legend that is Sir Alex Ferguson how to do his job, but when you compare the level of interference from the Glazers to that of Abramovich and his managerial merry-go round at Chelsea, or the Sheik at City, Fergie has a remarkable amount of control over all things at Old Trafford – both on and off the field.