The current debt situation is not sustainable

What started as an idea on Manchester United internet forum has become a full-fledged movement visible to millions of football fans around the world. Man Utd fans have been wearing the Green and Gold colours which were the official club colours of Newton Heath, the original name of a club.

The debate amongst United fans over the past few weeks has been whether such an open show of disapproval and unhappiness at the Glazers would be detrimental to the club. There are some who put forward that we should be backing our club and stand United especially in these troubled times.

My take on it is the following: prior to the issuing of bond notes – and with that the famous prospectus – we really didn’t know for certain to what extremes the Glazers would go to extract money from the club, but we do now. Before the prospectus, we could give them the benefit of the doubt, site a few things that are working better now and be content that the club had one of its most successful periods during their ownership.

This has all changed.

The Glazers would not have built all the various clauses and caveats into the bonds, if they had the best interest of the club at heart. Previously the Glazers owed about 500million pounds to banks, which had rules that restricted the “creative” ways in which the Glazers could move the money around. Now that they have issued bonds and paid off the banks, the Glazers are governed by the far less restrictive rules of the bonds and can help themselves to the cookie jar. They fully intend to pay off the 206mil pounds worth of payment in kind notes using the club’s money. They even went as far as having MU Finance loan the parent company money, so that it could pay out dividends that they previously could not do.

Thev eventual cost to Manchester United Football club for bring owned by Malcolm Glazer and his family? 1.1billion pounds. That’s right. Read it and weep.

What have we gained? A few trophies that will look useless if we are liquidated.

What have they added?

Sky Sports News reported this week that the net spend on transfers during the Glazer’s reign is £8m. The Glazer’s took control of the club in May 2005. That means we are currently in the 10th transfer window since they took over, so even if you dismiss the Ronaldo sale, we have a figure of £88m, that’s an average of £8.8m spent per window or £17.6m per season. We easily spent that while were a plc.

The Glazers business plan look very frail to me and not sustainable at all. A bad season or another economic downturn might push the club over the edge and none of us want to see it happen.

Several influential and rich business men are said to be mounting a bid to buy Manchester United from the Glazers including Fred Done, who has openly declared that he is one of the so-called Red Knights. A group of wealthy reds who would have the best interest of the club at heart and who believe that the Glazer’s didn’t do their sums correctly and that their business plan is fatally flawed.

For me, sticking by the Glazers is akin to a beautiful woman roughing it out with the biggest jerk on the planet just because he’s rich. He can give her all the luxuries in the world, but at the same time is extinguishing a little bit of her soul every day.

Whether we will be new ownership will not let us be as successful, but at least we will be happy knowing the owners really have the best interest of the club at heart so bring it on.

Man Utd fans can hurt the Glazers by not renewing their season tickets, ceasing to buy merchandise and thereby forcing them to sell. Hopefully to the red knights and not a bored billionaire.