It has been 10 years since the Glazer family completed their protracted and highly controversial takeover of Manchester United. Looking back on their decade at the helm, have the Glazer’s been good for United? Or have they held the club back?
The takeover of the club in 2005 caused such fierce and deep animosity towards the American tycoon Malcolm Glazer and his family, which still lasts to this day, because of the heavy burden of debt placed upon Manchester United’s shoulders.
Pre-2005 United were completely debt-free. The purchase of the club placed it in £580 million of debt and the protests and anger towards the Glazer’s intensified. Even the club directors were said to be ‘dismayed’ by the proposed takeover. Effectively the club was bought by the Americans with its own cash. And we are still paying for it now.
10 years of the Glazers has meant 10 years of living in debt for Manchester United. Although the numbers have dropped considerably over that period, it peaked at an eye-watering £778 million in 2010, with the debt standing currently at £395.4 million which is a 12.4% increase on the last figures released in December 2014. On Thursday, the club posted a £2.9 million loss for the previous three months owing to a decline in broadcasting and matchday revenue. Compared to an £11 million profit posted at the same time last year, the poor performance on the pitch last season has highlighted how perilous the situation really is.
The struggles of the team hadn’t been a position the Glazers had had to deal with since they arrived at Old Trafford. They had been able to leave the footballing side of things to Sir Alex Ferguson. Under Ferguson’s guidance, United won 15 trophies in last the decade, the most successful English side in that time. One of the positives that the owners have been credited with is that they left Ferguson to run the footballing side as he wished whilst they focussed on the business side.
Both one and off the pitch, the period of their ownership has been remarkably successful. But are the Glazers being given undue credit for their part in that success? Was it the genius of Ferguson that maintained United’s place at the top? Although the man himself has denied the claims, was his spending restricted in the transfer market?
Since 2005, net spending under Ferguson only once exceeded £50 million and the great man only broke the club’s transfer record once, with the signing of Dimitar Berbatov in 2008. Was Ferguson ever given the funds to replace Cristiano Ronaldo? Other than the capture of Robin van Persie in 2012 did Ferguson bring in an established world class player since the Portuguese left for Real Madrid in 2009?
Fortunately for United, and the Glazers, Ferguson was an absolute managerial genius. He got the best out of players, who since he left haven’t proven good enough to sustain the club at the top of the Premier League or even remain a Champions League club. Perhaps the owners grew complacent during the Ferguson years, and they certainly panicked last season when things went wrong.
David Moyes was supposedly chosen by Sir Alex to continue the most successful era in domestic football. As the season unravelled, and with Champions League qualification for 2013/14 out of reach, Moyes was given the sack. The unprecedented spending spree in the summer of 2014 showed a real lack of organisation. If the club missed out on a Champions League spot again, what then? The guarantee of reaching football’s richest competition under Ferguson was now gone and it left the financial state of the club on uneven footing. Could the debt be maintained without being in Europe’s top club competition?
Supporters have every right to be anxious about the ownership. In 2010, the £500 million bond issue created insecurity about the club’s financial stability, the same time as the peaking of the debt. The green and gold protest came into full force, even apparently supported by David Beckham who wore a scarf leaving the pitch after his AC Milan side were beaten in the Champions League.
The Glazers have put Manchester United in a position of being a global financial superpower. They have revolutionised the club’s commercial operations and the incredible growth of sponsorship money, which has now surpassed matchday revenue, is unmatched by any other in world football.
The money being generated at Old Trafford perhaps explains why the Glazers have persisted with their ownership of the club despite such ferocious opposition from supporters. Being businessmen, they can see the financial potential of a club like Manchester United. The steady increase of shirt sponsorship has underlined the commercial success under their ownership. When they arrived Vodafone were paying £9 million a year to be on the shirts. In 2014, US car giants Chevrolet began a seven year £361 million kit deal. And of course Adidas will begin an incredible £750 million manufacturing contract in August of this year. With Financial Fair Play now enforced, United are one of the chief beneficiaries because of the vast wealth they now generate in comparison to their rivals.
There appears to be no sign of the Glazer family wishing to yield control of Manchester United. It has been a turbulent 10 years in charge. They have alienated supporters, FC United of Manchester were formed in 2005 as a breakaway club in protest, by increasing ticket prices and causing a great deal of anxiety with the burden of debt still on the club’s shoulders. Many feel that the values of the club, built out of the Busby era, have been used to increase profit and that the spirit and soul of Manchester United has been taken advantage of. But unless someone has £2 billion going spare, the Glazer’s won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
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