01/09/2011
MEDIA RELEASE: MUST response to Manchester United financial results
MUST (the Manchester United Supporters' Trust - www.joinmust.org) response to Manchester United financial results
"The commercial team at United are clearly smart operators and we welcome continued growth in the business but to be fair we've seen growth consistently year after year long before the Glazers took over. There is only one man who is responsible for that consistent success - the same one responsible for success on the pitch - Sir Alex Ferguson. Without the incredible performance on the pitch and the fantastic loyal support of thousands of matchgoing fans, as well as millions more around the world, there would be no platform on which to build the growth of the business."
"So while the financial results are strong, they also show that the Glazers have taken another £51m out of the club in the last 12 months as well as using an even bigger chunk (£64m) of the club's money to pay down part of their bond debt. This is money that the club has generated and money that should stay in the club rather than go to Florida or to pay down the Glazers' debt and interest. We believe that the best long term model for Manchester United is supporter ownership where all of the shareholders want to see a strong underlying business but with the profits reinvested into the football club."
"That's why we're calling on the Glazers to use any share sale in Singapore to clear all of the club's debt - debt that they put on the club and they must take responsibility for. The only thing we want United to lose this season is the debt."
For independent analysis of the Financial Results see Andersred Blog item here: