We reported on Sunday that Andy Anson was concerned that Asia was 'close to saturation point'. Perhaps here's the proof?
The MEN:
That the Workers' Stadium was not even half full at kick-off must have been a worry to watching director Bryan Glazer, whose father has invested £790million in the club on the basis of their worldwide support.
The Chinese public are starting to get more discerning in their attitude to visiting teams and there is clearly plenty of work for the Glazers and chief executive David Gill to do if the Red Devils are to make the kind of money the new owner thinks they are capable of.'
The Times whose headline was 'fiery United miss chance to rekindle waning appeal':
That the Workers' Stadium was not even half full at kick-off must have been a worry to watching director Bryan Glazer, whose father has invested £790m in the club on the basis of their worldwide support.
While it is possible some supporters may have been deterred from attending by Real Madrid's apathetic attitude, ticket prices were much lower for the visit of United.
The Chinese public are starting to get more discerning in their attitude to visiting teams and there is clearly plenty of work for the Glazers and chief executive David Gill to do if the Red Devils are to make the kind of money the new owner thinks they are capable of.
The Independent:
Manchester United continued their 100 per cent pre-season record with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Beijing Hyundai at the Workers' Stadium here, but the frustration of the strikers Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney was always evident in a tempestuous match watched by just 24,224 fans.
Van Nistelrooy was substituted in the 70th minute after charging at defender Zhang Shuai following an aggressive tackle, but the Dutchman's disappointing tour had already seen him miss several scoring opportunities. Wayne's Rooney irritation was evident too, with both players involved in earlier altercations with Yang Pu, the Beijing midfielder voted China's player of the 2002 World Cup. Rooney lashed out, kicking Yang after a first-half challenge, but the United manager Sir Alex Ferguson played down the incidents.
"It was a competitive game and when professional players meet each other in that situation, it can become more physical," Ferguson said. "But I don't think it ever went out of control and the referee handled it well."
"Ruud played very well and I'm not worried," Ferguson said about his centre-forward who had a poor season by his own standards in the last campaign. "I thought he did very well. He will score goals this season, I have no worries about that. We were using the game as a bigger platform for the forthcoming European Cup game [in the second week of August] and we needed more players to play 90 minutes. We had five players who played for 90, whilst others played for 60 or 70. That built up far more to the level of fitness we need."
watching Bryan Glazer will have been concerned that the 70,000-capacity stadium was just over a third full. When United last played in China in 1999, 78,000 paid to see them in Shanghai. As further evidence that their star is dimming in Asia, last Saturday's visit to Hong Kong attracted 8,000 fewer than when United last visited.
More than 50,000 watched Real Madrid defeat Beijing 3-2 in the same stadium on Saturday, but their visit received negative publicity as they fielded a weakened side without David Beckham.