NO CUSTOMERS NO PROFIT

Last updated : 12 June 2005 By Editor

SU's Oliver Houston:

"This is just a business plan, it doesn't mean it will work. We will now see more people refusing to renew season tickets, more refusing to buy merchandise.

"If we prise away a million or a few million it could spell disaster. His attempts can be taken down one brick by one brick. One slip-up and it will be in the hands of the banks, not Glazer's decision. Other people will just be out-priced for a ticket, while not a penny spent will improve the club. It will all go to Glazer, who is treading water."

"Proposing a 61 per cent increase in match day sales, a 13 per cent rise in media sales, and 76 per cent increase in sales of merchandise and other commercial activities - there's more chance of flying on a space shuttle to the moon.

"[Chief executive] David Gill said the takeover would be damaging, and that is why [chairman] Sir Roy Gardner stood down from the board."

But Gill is still there?

Nick Towle:

"The transfer budget has been very subtly expressed as a cap.

"It could be £25m; it could be a pound. If and when [Glazer] refinances these preferred securities and puts that debt into the club, and if he doesn't do a sale and leaseback on the ground, the budget in years two, three and four is £7.7m, minus £12.1m and minus £24.8m.

"That's factoring in 10% yearly ticket price rises, naming rights and so on. You're talking about player sales unless he puts more money of his own in there. There is no player transfer budget in years three and four."

"The younger generations are just not going to be able to afford to go. I'm sure Glazer's business plan has to be that aggressive and that he has to think that way. But we spoke to the previous board and they said the excess of demand over supply of tickets has been shrinking year on year for quite a while. I think the figure last year for a normal game was 6,000; the year before it was around 12,000.

"There is this myth that there are people in every corner of Manchester waiting to queue up for tickets. When they expand the stadium, combined with inexorable ticket price rises, plus fans boycotting their season tick ets, there will be increasing numbers not going to the ground. What you'll end up with is season ticket holders dropping in numbers and they will just be selling tickets to Japanese tourists. What is that going to do to the atmosphere at the ground? It will rip out the soul of the club."