In the 2010-2011, 164,000 applications were made by fans for Manchester United’s away fixtures, which works out, on average, at around 8,630 applications per game. However, there were just 55,000 tickets available, an average of 2,890 per game.
Roughly a third of our tickets go to fans in in the loyalty pot, who have applied for every away game since December 2002. Two years ago the club planned to do away with the loyalty pot but thanks to protests from the fans they decided to keep it. Another third of our tickets go to executive members and the rest go to everyone else. To even apply for away tickets through the club you have to be a season ticket holder and pay for every cup game and the chances of you being successful are slim to none these days. For example, I’ve applied for every away game this season and not had any luck, and this story is becoming more and more common. You can talk to some people who have applied for every game for the past few seasons with very little, if any, successful ballots to speak of.
Last season RoM looked at a travel company who somehow got their hands on United’s away tickets, and were selling them on at extortionate prices. You could buy as many as eight at once and didn’t even have to hold United membership to buy them. Where are they getting our tickets from, which we have to pay a fortune for to even be in a chance of getting one?
Now, as we can see from the e-mail above, even the club are getting in on the action for ripping the fans off. Why on earth are away tickets for one of the biggest games of the season being given away to businesses who pay for match day suites? It’s absolutely scandalous. When looking at what fans have paid already this season, looking at average prices, it works out at £700 (season ticket) + £40 (League Cup vs Newcastle) + £120 (three CL group stage games) = £860. The FA Cup and knock-out stages of the Champions League are still to come.
For the derby last season, there were 16,000 applications for the 2,600 tickets available, meaning just one in six reds who applied got a ticket. And this is the game the club choose to give away to random businesses this season, who probably couldn’t give a fuck less about City away anyway. What a joke.
Man Utd News 24/7
joke…
Option A: Complain about there not being enough money to fund transfers (which we’ve all seen to be bollocks).
Option B: Complain when MUFC tries to raise revenue.
Option C: Shut up, enjoy the football, and realize that being born in Manchester does not give you the right to attend every match.
Yes, it is a shame to be priced out of matches. But you must realize, this is no pub club anymore. It will never be. I have never been to one Manchester United match, and even if I lived in Manchester, I could probably only afford to go to one game a season. It’s not the club’s fault. It’s called supply and demand. You want trophies? They win them. You want exciting football? They provide that. You want glory? They’re cover themselves in it. You want to attend every damn match you please? You are gonna have to pay for it.
I understand the point, but feel there is far too much negativity on this blog over the past two years. Far, far too much.
@mansuy united
Borussia Dortmund.
Mansuy – Don’t talk about things you obviously don’t understand.
Oh, right. I was not brought up going to Manchester United matches so I can’t possibly understand the cultural aspect of it. I’ll sit silently and let the meatheads hop on your bandwagon so that, together, we can all despise United! Yes yes, that’s the way forward!
This particular post is like a kid in the nursery being petulant when being forced to share his favorite toys. Instead of accepting that they do not belong to him, but to the nursery and the children who attend it are free to play with them as they please, he rallies all the kids to boycott the nursery. No wait, let’s boycott the store from where the toys were purchased. That will show them.
And the green and gold campaign that was all but endorsed on this site, where folks were encouraged to give up their tickets and not buy MUFC jerseys, what an alarming success. No wonder the club doesn’t feel the need to bend over backwards for “true supporters.”
If you want to support a club with empty seats that you can fill each and every weekend, City is right down the road.
mansuy – You don’t pay £1k+ every year to watch United play. When it’s your £1k+, then you can be in a position to say we should all just suck it up and get on with it. Your comments just illustrate how far removed you are from the club and its fans. Are you really just a City fan on a WUM or what? Have you ever been to a game before?
I repeat, don’t talk about things you clearly don’t understand.
I would hide the sender’s name and at least her phone number from that image. But I agree with your point on the poor direction the club is taking.
God forbid I refuse to attack the club’s policies. I MUST be a City fan. Solid argument. I don’t pay so I couldn’t possibly understand. I don’t even have 1K to spend. If I did, I would accept the product I was purchasing or simply not purchase it.
I’ve bought things before. I’ve been a season ticket holder before, just not for MUFC. No I’ve never been to a match, as I said in my last post (solid question). Does that mean I don’t watch every single game? Does that mean I don’t dream about Old Trafford at night? Does that mean I don’t love the club?
Oh right, it’s YOUR club, not OUR club. I’ll shut my mouth now, because being a United supporter from anywhere other than Manchester is something you clearly do not understand. And given that we outnumber you by incredible margins, I would argue that you, Scott, are out of touch.
jesus christ, Mansuy; it’s not about where you live, it’s about the amount of shit people who pay for tickets get. fuck sake, with an inferiority complex like (“Oh, right. I was not brought up going to Manchester United matches so I can’t possibly understand the cultural aspect of it”) you’re not going to get anywhere and it’s clear for just how irrational you are that you would retort with it.
mansuy – It’s nothing to do with being from Manchester. Do you have a chip on your shoulder about being a glory supporter or what? If you haven’t even spent a penny on a United ticket before, it’s incredible you think you’re in a position to criticise people who are forking out shit loads of money every year. I’m glad you’re going to shut your mouth though, as funny as you are, before you embarrass yourself any further.
Mansuy United, Scott the Red- As a non-English United fan, I think your attack on this thread is bizzare. Supported United all my life, been to two United games. I fully agree with the criticism of the way the club are looking at it. Why should some businesses going to the biggest game of the season, instead of United fans who have supported the club their whole life, and payed their bollocks off each year to watch the team they love play? Hardly fair. I would be pretty pissed off if I was paying over 1k a year to watch United, and get denied the biggest game of the season due to some businesses getting to the game. Bad approach from the club, to be expected though
Also on your point of Scott being out of touch because we outnumber mancunian United fans… What a stupid statement. No one will ever truly understand the meaning of this club unless we’re from Manchester and gone to basically every single home game for our whole life. But even so, it is our club. It is a club to all those that support United, watch United and mostly love United for what it is. The greatest football club on earth. However, we cannot claim to fully ‘understand’, as you put it, simply because of the ruthless fact that we aren’t Manc. (Still hate scousers though!)
Sheesh, Hard times at Money United eeeerm, I mean……
Give my eye tooth for a City ticket!
Obviously not very good for season ticket holders and the atmosphere at OT, but they are doing their best to make as much money as possible. It’s sad that tickets meant for fans are being sold to corporate cretins who will eat the proverbial prawn sandwiches as opposed to sing, but as we all know, the club is out to make money from wherever they can.
And I don’t think you need to have gone to a game to be considered a fan and have an opinion.
Just my piece of cake…
Hardly think having concerns about ticketing pricing and ticket allocation, especially amongst corporate/hospitality recipients, is being out of touch. If you truly understood the concept of having a genuine scramble to get your hands on a very limited number of tickets, which you have said you don’t, then you would better understand the point Scott is making.
If there was only a limited number of live feeds/streams/broadcasts and your supply of United was threatened, you’d probably get it.
@ mansuy united
You are out of touch, there is NO excuse to rip off fans with these prices and especially not go behind our backs like this.
Its gonna sound very harsh because I know a few decent lads from other countries that follow United, but people like yourself that unfortunately make up 90% of Uniteds foreign support are to blame for high ticket prices and daft deals to give tickets to everyone but the local fans. tourists turn up, pay whatever price they are asked to pay, buy some stuff from the megastore, sit down take a few pictures then fly off to where ever they came from and tell all their friends to do the same and go and see the famous ‘man u’
You dont understand the culture of our real supporters and the culture that used to surround our club, and yes it is OUR club.
Sick to death of plastic fans at our club.
AGAINST MODERN FOOTBALL!
MUFC v #AVFC u21s: Sutherland, Veseli, James, Hendrie, McCullough, Fornasier, Bebe, Lawrence, Henriquez, Januzaj, Ekangamene live on MUTV via MarkSulliTV
Funny comment: “No Love on the Bench”
He’s a funny one innit!
My apologies if I have overstepped my bounds. I am on this site to support United and am simply fed up with the club, its owners, and SAF being slammed at every opportunity.
I understand that the post above has merit and does not mention many of the points I brought up. I do have somewhat of a chip on my shoulder, I will admit, after reading this blog for about 3 years. This blog is at times utterly fantastic.
My problem, however, is that often it is used as an instrument to divide supporters and question leadership rather than support the great club. That is simply my two cents. Again, my apologies to Scott or any one else who feels I may have gone too far.
At the end of the day, I love this club and want nothing more than for us all to focus on the many, many positives. I do believe dissent is appropriate, and would not want Scott or anyone else to hold their tongue. So Scott, my apologies. Keep up the good work. I do hope you see where I’m coming from though.
Erm… not trying to doubt anything here, but isn’t there a chance those tickets are also in executive boxes/seating?
If your conducting a B2B style offer like this, and are trying to offer an insentive, I don’t imagine that insentive will be to plonk them in with the normal lot of away fans…
I will say, as one last afterthought, that I have put my money into the club in the only way I have been able to. And I’ve been proud to do so. When I went to London on a summer study abroad session, I made the pilgrimage to Old Trafford just to see the brown, unsodded pitch. Just to be there and browse the museum. Just to buy some socks, a shirt, and a keychain in the teamstore. That trip cost me the last of my travel money and I ate Ramen for a week just to get by, but it was worth it.
Please do not question my loyalty because I have not been to a match or don’t have thousands of pounds to throw at the club. To go to a game is a great privilege, one I hope to enjoy someday.
Until then…
Scott and any other fan contributing to the club through theirown pocket. I don’t see it as a self entitlement thing, supporters can pose questions rather than sit and accept shit like a muted toy. Mansuy, you’re blabbering on, relax and see from fans’ point of views regarding how much they’re paying e.t.c. It has nothing to do with who’s a better fan.
On a serious note, great work Scott. This is what football blogs should be all about.
On a lighter note, missing out on Etihad might not be the worst thing … What is it, 88 points they’ve got from the last 90 available there? Insane.
( I jest – they are of course beatable)
Read the comments about me being a “plastic fan” simply because I was not born in Manchester. That is the source of much of my frustration.
The TV rights funds are being paid by people like Mansuy who pay cable companies exorbitant sums of money in order to watch United play.So he pays indirectly too.
Captain Bebe!!!!! LOVE IT !!!!
MUFC U21 v Villa!
http://nutjob.eu/njtvx1.html
i Agrre with mansuy united completely. I have been in same situation and understand what he is trying to explain to fools…..
You people shut your canhole. GLORY GLORY MU!
@MancunianRedM15
I support my local club: DC United. I do so for the tradition and for the football. I did not simply fly across the Atlantic to see the famous “Man U” as so you presumptuously claim. You judge my character and credibility as a fan after three posts. I am Plastic because I was not born in Manchester. I am Plastic because you assume I don’t sit up late at night and read about the club’s history. You assume I don’t watch old footage of the Babes in action; that I don’t tear up when I watch a Munich documentary.
You assume that I am not a real supporter; that I am not what you consider to be one of the “few decent lads.” I share your frustration about bandwagon supporters. But think about it, why do we support United? Because they play great football. Learning about the history and culture comes with time. But folks like yourself draw a line in the sand and rather than instruct and cultivate fans, you blast anyone who doesn’t support “YOUR” club.
That is the mentality that drives me off the walls. You do not own this club. I respect the time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears you’ve poured into the cause, but don’t degrade mine simply because I’m not Mancunian.
Misunderstanding, lack of communication e.t.can all be seen within the blog. No one is questioning credibility as a supporter, no one is claiming to be better or degrading your knowledge or commitment to the united cause but the fact remains, fans are entitled to pose questions about a situation. See from their own point of view, this argument is leading into no man’s land.
@ Glory Glory Holy Trin
Thank you. I was perhaps out of line with my comments but made them after taking stock of the posts Scott and others have made over the course of 3 years. I should stick to the thread, but underlying problems continue to show themselves.
It is not about who is a “better supporter.” It is about accepting the changing dynamic of modern football. That said, I would be upset if it was my 1K. Perhaps writing a letter to the club and getting fans to sign on would be a better approach? I would surely sign the letter. I just don’t see how highlighting only the negatives and not even acknowledging positives does the cause any good.
@ samuel
I agree and appreciate the effort to communicate. I will drop the cause, but continue to think that the second half of the club’s name, the United part, merits some attention. This is not the right thread perhaps, but then, when will there be a thread to address the issues international fans feel?
Anyway, I again submit that I understand Scott’s frustration and would hope that he would acknowledge my points in a respectful manner. Perhaps, Scott, you don’t feel it worth your time, but you are in a position of great privilege. You have created that position for yourself and I respect it immensely. But you have the power to bring us together, or divide us. I hope you see that.
…..ah the fear of being called ‘plastic’ makes me want to curl in a ball and roll into the opposition net when we’re trailing.
bebe is a winger right?
Thats Captain Bebe to you son
Villa up 1-0 at the moment after a penalty.
Link to the game is above.
Manchester United squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone, Anders Lindegaard.
Defenders: Rafael, Alexander Buttner, Phil Jones, Tom Thorpe, Marnick Vermijl, Scott Wootton.
Midfielders: Michael Carrick, Davide Petrucci, Larnell Cole, Tom Cleverley, Darren Fletcher, Anderson, Nick Powell, Ashley Young, Ryan Tunnicliffe.
Strikers: Javier Hernandez, Joshua King, Danny Welbeck, Federico Macheda.
THE SQUAD tomorrow
pretty young, you say? haha.
Rafael Jones Wootton Buttner
Fletcher
Cleverley Ando
Welbz Chicha Young
I bet this is the tomorrows line-up, unless, SAF decides to put King and Macheda for Young and Chicha, Then Vermijl for Rafael.
The midfield for me will be 100% this one!
We have to remember that those players needs gametime, and since Chicha will nto start on the coming PL game, he will start tomorrow.
Mansuy – it’s all forgotten, well by me anyway. At least you are humble enough to see where you went wrong but i feel this is all a misunderstanding and the issue should be buried. We’re all equal as fans and for me, i don’t see any hierachy and this certainly doesn’t warrant all the drama. Let’s all move on.
This has been brought up about 2 weeks ago and it was put to United to explain. They said it was an error on their part, abandoned the promotion, apologised and explained it only had a very small number of tickets for this promotion.
Water under the bridge now, but still out of order.
Disgrace look at those 2 tossers whos never been to United game slamming us proper local lads, FOOOOOOOK OFF, wankers like those makes me want to smash every foreign fan who comes to OT
I get the fuss of the local supporters that in a way or another owns the club of ManUtd, they have been there.
But us as foreigners also feel and know the history and support the team by buying stuff of ManUtd or in the best case come to see the match live at the OldTrafford.
Nobody said your plastic or foreigners are plastic supporters Mansuy, but one I agree, that football is developing and supporters now can be from all around the world.
http://www.manutd.com/en/Fanzone/News-And-Blogs/2012/Nov/lebanon-supporters-club-interview-galatasaray.aspx
one GREAT example. Lebanese ManUtd supporters attending the match. That tells you, that no more, you have to be a mancunian, (great respect for you lads, that have kept the team up and live there), to be a “real” supporter.
Just don’t call us plastic, cause like we don’t know what you have gone through for the club, you don’t know about us.
Let’s be UNITED, and support the team.
And if they rip you off, fellow mancunians, business will always do this. It’s a shame really, though I didn’t get everything in this case.
Moving on to matters on the pitch, i’m glad to see the influx of younger players in the team for the galatasaray trip, the next big step is for fergie to actually play them. Petrucci coming back into the first team is great, real classy central midfielder and at 20 he should be staking for a first team role, we need to give younger players like him opportunity to play as they’ll only gain belief with that, it would be an absolute piss take if we lose him to one of those big italian teams. For me, he has the talent and quality to be a creative midfield force at united. Very good passer, has vision to pick off defences, he makes assists and a goal threat. Physically, he’s got stronger and we need the enthusiasm plus drive of younger players like him. Powell also should be handed opportunities. He shown glimpses of hus talent and with more game time, i feel his potential can take him very far.
Anderson, cleverley, powell, petrucci, larnell cole, tunnicliffe, lingard (on loan) and many more are our next midfield stars, give them a regular chance and let them blossom.
Expecting Fletcher to Captain the side tomorrow. Only other contenders would be Carrick and maybe Anderson.
Captain Ando, the heart skips a beat.
Comeon U Reds.
Here the early arriving fans are already getting stick from the Gala idiots.
Hope everyone can stay safe out there!
Gala fans laying in wait for Arriving United fans.
https://twitter.com/ilcapitanova/status/270629548528381952/photo/1
Mansuy, i live in kent (south of london) and i went to old trafford to see united v stoke and it cost me £35, and i was pitchside! its not as much as you’d expect. As for if you got called a plastic fan then ignore it, im not from manchester but iv supported united my whole life, buying new strips each season and even owned shares before the glazers bought them off me. Also if theres genuinely a united fan out there that dosnt appreciate our hugeee fanbase and see the benefits of it then they are not even worth replying to. I didnt actually read through the comments incase you did get called a plastic fan cause after every shit result this blog gets filled with annoying deluded wankers calling for SAF,carricks,giggs’,scholes’, youngs, valencias heads! As for this article, i agree with scott. I hate people criticising our players and manager cause of 1 bad result but when it comes to the owners not appreciating our most die hard fans hard earned money, but would rather take the money of an unpassionate businessman cause his pockets are deeper….. Then i think they deserve whstever criticism gets thrown at them.
Theres no doubt the glazers have worked wonders on our commercial and overall income, but they are so out of touch woth us fans its a fucking joke!
Awful stuff. Same happened last season, of all the games we needed our amazing away heads in loud numbers, city away was it. As it turned out you could hardly hear a peep out of our lot as there were so many execs and tourists with the tickets diluting things. And the team suffered for it big time, and the bizarre team selection of course. It was embarrassing.
0161 Jon, agree mate. I was at that game and do 90% of domestic and Euro aways and City was by far the worst away of the season.
I’ve got a ticket for this one but through an exec box I use to apply. My 2 season tickets drew a blank but they did have around 18000 applications for 3000 tickets.
Back to the point – earmarking so many seats as an inducement for corporate hospitality sales, for one of our biggest away matches is pretty low (and probably quite unnecessary).
In some respects it’s a little short sighted by the club, because on the day you want your most vocal and enthusiastic supporters in the away section, as it can really lift the team.
The nearest I get to fine dining in the South stand is a hot dog in a plastic wrapper, with a warm plastic bottle of Singha – and that’s on top of the £800 + cup matches (x2) a year! Yum.
The Glazers own United and they can do what they want.
As long as fans are willing to pay these prices the longer the situation will remain this way.
True fans have missed out on big games for years,the bigger the event the less tickets allocated.Even worse now because it’s become more corporate
When i was going every week it filled me with anger knowing some cunt who didn’t deserve to be there had my ticket
Not only is it a disgrace to all the loyal fans who buy and apply for tickets, but a big negative I see coming from this is that we have the best away fans in the country bar none. Our support is outstanding, but if tickets are given away to businesses and people with a vague interest in football, then our away atmosphere will die, along with our home one.
@mansuy united says:
Don’t appologise. You are making some good points. If we want the club to be abel to buy all of those great players then we should accept that the marketing will be ready to sell their own mother for the cause. That’s waht I got from your post and that is fact. People should open their eyes.
The biggest club on earth. There will never be enough tickets for every one.
Will we all now put aside the rhetoric and be behind the United we all know in our own way? Yes! Let’s look forward to our 2nd team play in hell and this weekend, we shall beat the hell out of QPR and have our ex-player sacked as manager.
I don’t think I would want to be at the City-Utd game next month.. scarry.
I don’t see what is wrong with what mansuy is saying. It is a cold cruel world out there. We have to run the club like a corporate if we are going to compete with the best, especially as we don’t have a sugar daddy like some of them. Giving away tickets to businesses is a way of attracting sponsors, which is currently our primary way of getting more income. Its a balancing act, one that will upset people on both sides. Passion alone will not be able to sustain the club, just look at Rangers. They never really spend absurb amount of money, half their country support them, and they still went down.
Although on the flip side, you could go back to the argument that the Glazers have bleed so much money out of the club to banks especially. All that money could have been used to sustain the club so that fans can benefit. This is where STR is coming from I believe.
There is good debts and there is bad debts. To the Glazers, this is a heavenly good debt, buying something they couldn’t afford, like how we buy our houses. But to us, it is a horrible debt, paying for something that was “technically” ours in the first place. Like the bank suddenly comes knocking on your door one day and ask you to pay for your house that you have been staying in for as long as you remembered.
I can understand why fans who need tickets are angry that they are not getting them and the tickets are being wasted on offers that very few people claim anyways but expecting the club to return to the old days when the relationship between the hierarchy and the club was much more intimate is a pipe dream. The club is far too big and powerful for that nowadays. This is the opportunity cost of being a powerful and big club. More people want to see you and there are people who will slit their wrist to see the club and those are the people the club are sucking out cash from.
As for atmosphere, the atmosphere at Old Trafford is always electric for big games REGARDLESS of who is in the stadium and how they got in. this is the same thing with EVERY OTHER big club out there. There is always gonna be a difference in atmosphere when we play Wigan than when we play Barcelona. that doesn’t have anything to do with the fans in the stadium.
If u went to school and was put through the laws of demand and supply and still can’t understandd that those tickets will even get costlier and rare then you can’t be helped. United games are on auction to the highest bidder worldwide. sorry if u can’t compete. Hate the game, not the player.
@MancunianRedM15
If you cant stand the Manchester United being best supported club in the world?Then go fill up that shiity neighbors stadium? It fits perfectly for you as the club is supported by locals only Who gives u a shit about u living there? U stand living beside a stadium means you are better supporter than anyone? Our club wont be here today without the 90% of the foreign “plastic fans” u spoke of. Show some respect to those who dont have chance to go to the stadium every matches.
David Beckham will leave LA Galaxy after MLS cup.
Confirmed by MLS.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2012/11/19/beckham-bids-farewell-galaxy
Bet Glazers would love having him working for “The brand”. Brand MU Bling
I don’t think mansuy united realises how economically illiterate his comment is. The laws of supply and demand are not flawless, nor should they always be left to their own devices. The purpose of football shouldn’t be profit maximisation, it should be to maximise the welfare of the fans, and the only way we can ensure this is to place controls upon all clubs with regards to ticket prices so that if there is a club out there with a shred of decency or sense of a conscience that decides to have a more egalitarian approach to ticket pricing that they aren’t competed “out of the market” straight away by clubs who, by charging more, can attract the best players etc etc etc.
Team for today
Lindegaard
Rafael jones wooton buttener
Fletcher
Cleverly anderson
Welbeck
Chicho king
Im going to be miles off on this prediction..
However hopefully we’ll get cameos from petrucci tunni cole
@Tom
Nicely put but in Manchester United and football in general, the days of supporters satisfaction went away a long time ago. Now it all about profit and staying competitive.
@Tom Addison
Since The Glazers purchased Manchester United their goal has been profit maximisation.
Manchester United has never belonged to any of us (unless it was through being a shareholder) regardless of how many games we have or have not been to it. It has been the property of the owners. It is no longer just a club from Manchester, but a global marketing machine making deals with any brand willing to stump up the premium.
On one hand it is the profit maximisation that fund transfer fees and player salaries which under SAF leads to continued and sustained sucess over the long run. On the other hand football is a working mans game, and the ordinary working class man is not likely able to afford to watch Manchester United anymore because the money men found out they could make extortionate amounts of money from the game.
Whether season tickets are given up or not their will always be somebody to fill that seat willing to pay that little bit more than before. Until that stops prices will keep rising and rising and rising until seats are replaced by leather recliners, and prawn sandwiches and wine are served all over the stadium, because if things keep going the way they are it will only be the middle and upper classes that will be able to afford to watch United.
Their are people on this blog who back The Glazers and their business model but fail to see it from the fans point of view. But The Glazers own United and their is nothing we can do about it. or their policies.
@edhardy and AlphaRS – I agree wit everything you say. The question we need to ask is, “What can we do the stop the hyper commercialisation of football that’s pushing out working class fans?”
For me, controls need to be implemented to constrain clubs’ ability and/or incentive to squeeze the fans dry. For example, you make the correct point that it’s the prawn sandwic brigade who ultimately pay for the transfer fees and wages that bring in the best players and the trophies; so how about a salary cap? If there’s only so much you can pay a player, there’s only such much you need to squeeze from the fans.
Now I’m not 100% advocating a salary cap here, they’re not without their flaws, but it’s one idea amongst many that could help this situation, otherwise it’s nothing but a self-sustaining upward spiral that people with an A level in economics try to justify.
off topic, but beckham to quit on december 1st. united seem to be in need of a winger that delivers? on a free and short term basis why not?. fergie sign him up!
Because we already have enough players on the wrong side of 35. Plus there’s the self-obsessed media circus that Mr Beckham revels in. No thanks.
dasilvatwins says:
off topic, but beckham to quit on december 1st. united seem to be in need of a winger that delivers? on a free and short term basis why not?. fergie sign him up!”
Wake up and search for your mind, you have lost it. This is real top level football, you can’t just bring in players that are unlikely to be better than what united have, you can’t just stick any man and his dog in the team.
mansuy united’
2nd post of the day. I have to agree in principle I agree with what you say. Sorry StR. If we look back to the day Sir Alex took over we were in a possition not much better than Liverpool see themselves in now. Under achieving, seriously silly transfers, ground too small, next to zero global reach. The busby babes long forgotten apart from the real fan. Then the ticket price should have been comparable to other clubs of the day, the Tottenhams, Evertons etc.
Now we are getting that plus a whole lot more, things have moved on. I personally would love to pay near a £1000 to watch United, would jump at the bloody chance but alas I live too far away. But guaranteed if I lived in and around Manchester I would certainly pay that, I would watch every reserve match. £1000 for a whole year, thats £83 a month. To put that in perspective my petrol has gone up by £80 odd pounds in the last 5 years alone per month. £80 is fuck all. Back in the days of Thatcher £80 was a fucking disaster, nowadays its peanuts. Its less than a days wages after tax.
@Tom Addison
If a salary cap was implemented I don’t think their is any way of confirming that The Glazers will not continue to do the things we have discussed above. After all they are money men looking to maximise profits from all revenue streams not just to fund the running of the club and the servicing of debt, but also to fun their other businesses in America.
If a wage cap was implemented in The Premiership then it would have to be implemented world wide because otherwise the best players would just move to a league where their is no salary cap. This would probably lead to a decline of the Premiership.
@dasilvatwins
Can’t see it happening myself. The media circus that follows him around is something that SAF does not like. The Glazers might like it though as it would certainly sell shirts and further increase the profile of the club through the media if Beckham was at United.
But I think the level of football in the Premiership far exceeds the level of football in The MLS. If anything I think it might be an idea for him to go to China where he can increase his own profile in China and earn large sums of money too.
Scott The Red
i dont get the chance to talk to you personally fella and no doubt you couldnt give a rats arse either way. Id like to have the oppertunity to thank you what you do here for us despite some of the stick you get.
Talking of stick, lol.
What happened to the fantasy football league by ProSportex. It hasnt been updated for two weeks and its as if only I have cared about it. Have they lost interest. Have you heard anything. Nobody on there talks so I dont get any feedback from anyone on the matter. Its just stopped. Would like to know if I should stop wasting my time on it.
Thanks again.
while i agree the MLS is no where near the premiership, certain players have qualities that they just do not lose,henrik larson was playing for helsingborg before he joined united on loan. i was simply putting it out as a maybe on a short term 2 month basis considering our wingers are struggling . BTW do not take this the wrong way, i am not supporting a national campaign on ” bring beckham back”, it was just a thought , more wishful thinking. even i know he is not going to come back to united
Da silva – simply put it, united him as much as they need round bubble bellied pair of stavros flatly as goal-keepers.
Da silva – simply put it, united need him as much as they would need the round bubble bellied pair of stavros flatly as goal-keepers.
And as for “players not losing their qualities” of course they don’t but their waning and weary physic meana they become pale shadows of the players they were. Larsson coming to unied was as much to do with fergie’s living a fantasy of coaching one of the best players in world in his prime and to share his experience. If he stayed beyond the 3 months, we’ll see a slight drop in quality. It’s the same with giggs and scholes, both are marveled at by me as do many, they are world class players but are getting dominated by more energetic/hungry players. It’s a pity but as giggs would have done it to several veterans/any defenders in his prime, the tables have turned and that is what life is all about as much as it is the game.
@AlphaRS – Agreed, obviously the Glazer’s are a special case (a special case of leaching c*nts), and so squeezing the fans dry is always in their interest. However, if you have a football club run by people with a conscience (or by the fans), then the only other incentives for squeezing fans dry are to fund success or cover debts. Whilst football clubs should try to make a profit (so they don’t do a Pompey), it shouldn’t be their raison d’etre.
This is why FFP was intoduced. Let’s say every club is run by fans or a decent owner; you may get some clubs advocating spending too much on transfers in order to fund success, and eventually they’ll do a Leeds. Clubs need to be forced to be run responsibly, but the balance that needs to be struck is between making a profit and not ripping off the fans.
With regards to a salary cap, again I agree, hence why I said “I’m not 100% advocating a salary cap”. And even if it were implemented worldwide, another problem would be clubs and agents finding other ways of paying the players.
Let’s bring back Beckham and have a midfield of giggs, scholes with beckham on the right. Why don’t we give Mickey Thomas a call too and I’m sure Paddy Crerand would relish a return if only it was for the chance of taking a swing at Suarez.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/carlos-tevez-pay-slip-leaked-internet-103902149.html
How about that. You get told these players get this sort of money but actually seeing it in black and white makes me feel a little sick. Love the £24 FA fine, lol.
I hardly ever get an away ticket. I apply for pretty much every away ticket and usualy get fuck all. I managed to get a Chelsea away ticket in the cup but got nothing for the league game. I opt in for the League cup which they say you have to in order to be able to just apply and now this comes out. Your a bunch of cheeky fucking cunts United but alas i still love you and will continue to pay for my season ticket every year and they know we all will. Manchester United, supported by real fans, Played for and managed by Geniuses and run by utter cunts.
Mansuy what are you banging on about?
We do pay for it. £700 for my season ticket and then every home cup game? You want to give it a try sometime pal.
@ mansuy – Do not apologise! You make some very valid points.
While one can understand that fans who are used to attending matches since childhood feel shortchanged by this, the fact is that any club has to be run like a business.
Also, paying a travel agent an obscene amount of money to watch a game is a once in a lifetime and very emotional experience for us international fans, so posters here saying that we are not real fans understand little about what Manchester United is today and how it got here!
This particular instance of marketing strategy though, highlights a lack of commercial vision at the club (a poster above mentioned that having the best support there would be beneficial) – a point at the Etihad could deliver the title and much more revenues through increased support worldwide.
Telegraph: Galatasaray v Manchester United: Turkish police forced to use pepper spray on disruptive fans a… http://t.co/fXdZpuJO
Good luck to the traveling united fans
They gonna need it, that hostile shit hole is dreaded by many
Fucking glad we’re already through, now its only fun and games, they gonna have to stomach it now, hopefully the kids gonna put up a great match winning performance there
I actually thought Tevez was making more
anyone thinking something can be done to make Football more cost effective for the working class fan is in dreamland,that ship sailed years ago
Football has just caught up with North American sports prices,there’s been caps or form of cap implemented in NFL,NHL,NBA and MLB for years ticket prices have still risen in most cases beyond the means of the ave fan to attend all the gamee.
I know lots of lads who have either given up Calgary Flame season tickets or a few chip in and split the tickets
Once a ticket reaches a certain level it’ll never reduced unless fans stop watching the product.Thing is a lot of the Flames season tickets are owned by businesses 50 percent is a tax right off and it makes good perks to give to the businesses customers.
Football is just heading the same way
Fergie completely avoiding them scums haha
I think ‘hell’ is a lot less intimidating if you have already qualified
Feels good to qualify early and utilise the youngsters in the remaining games.As much as we all want to win today,personally i feel gettting used to such hostile atmospheres will do the lads the world of good
this is pathetic..cant believe the club is doing this to its most loyal fans..LUHG
Will look in to it.
Proverb says:
I think ‘hell’ is a lot less intimidating if you have already qualified
Haha, spot on. Hilarious that the supporters are trying to ratchet up all this psychological pressure when the game is literally meaningless to us. Probably too dense to even realise that.
Thing is, whatever team we put out will be playing under no pressure anyway, and in fact in front of their own mental supporters, Gala will be under huge pressure. Would be funny if we won anyway, just to shut those twats up.
“No way out!” What, no way out of the group? Too late, dickheads!
Anyone else seen this?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2012/nov/20/manchester-uniteds-ashley-young-welcomed-to-hell-with-prank-call-from-galatasary-fan-video
Wow. If that’s “hell”, I’ll happily be a bad person for the rest of my life.
Seriously, how small-time can you get? A 2am prank call. What is this? The Evo-Stik league? What the fuck was the woman at the hotel doing putting him through anyway? Like Ash’s brother would have a Turkish accent.
Best case scenario now? Late winner from Young. Celebration to camera mimicking a telephone conversation.
On a comparison of seats/location, we will pay more to watch TFC in the MLS than people in Manchester to see the world’s greatest team.
Let me say that again – we will pay MORE to watch TFC in the MLS than people in Manchester to see the world’s greatest team.
In Toronto the football sucks, the team sucks, the management sucks and the owners suck. Yet we still paid it. This year the fans finally had enough and massive ticket renewal decline occurred. This is leading to some price/approach changes by our front office.
With the biggest club in the world, that kind of fan action is next to impossible.
Sadly, no matter who owns United will run a business first and a club second from here on out. It’s the reality of the world we live in.
@Tom Addison
I like the idea of FFP. The game had to become regulated somehow and it is good that UEFA have shown the initiative. I agree clubs need to spend within their means and it is unfair for a billionaire owner to come in and spend ridiculous amounts of money on transfers and salaries pricing clubs who are run wihin their means out of the market. At the same time though FFP doesn’t cover owners coming in and buying a football club on credit as The Glazers have done or owners coming in and taking large quantities of money out of the game to subsidise their other businesses.
I would be in favour of some sort of regulation brought in where at least 50% of the club must be owned by the fans, or even 100% as per The Barcelona or Real Madrid model. At least fans would have some sort of say as to how the club is run and where money is allocated.
I mean I would love it if United had a system in place where schools in the local area were allocated tickets so the next generation of United fans could come and watch United for nothing. I think a football club should have close ties to the local community and not just be there to maximise profits.
OOO look an argument on the internet, that’l sort everything out.
I get over to 8 to 9 games a season. I honestly couldnt afford anymore. The argument the season ticket holders have is a valid 1 tho. Id be fuckin raging if i had a season ticket and couldn’t get to 1 of the biggest away games of season. The away support has always been the hardcore of fans no matter if theyare frm manchester or not. It should stay that way. I find it ridiculous that any united supporter has an issue with that.
Oh and btw thats hme games i get over to. United is my first love. Love manchester aswel. As the irish connection is their, so wen i go to manchester i always feel at home and always made to feel welcome except by the bitterz lol.
Another point that tends to be ignored is the massive effect that this is having on the atmosphere at games. I’m not lucky enough to go to OT regularly any more, only making it to around 5/6 games a season, but more and more I’m noticing how utterly terrible the atmosphere is at times. This is in no small part down to the growing army of corpos who are at the games. They don’t sing, they don’t cheer, they just sit there with virtually no concern about what’s happening on the pitch. When our seventy thousand strong support get out sung by five thousand cocks from Wigan, who don’t even know what shape a football’s supposed to be, I’m utterly dismayed. If this happened with the away lads and ladies too it’d be a(nother) travesty.
The way some “proper” Mancs are talking makes me sick. Where the fuck would this great club be without all us “plastics”huh? Go learn some fucking economics or support Stockport if u hate us so much u pathetic twats. We do whatever we can to earn enough money to buy the jerseys and even to go to a coulpe of games every year. If I had been fortunate enough to live in the Manchester area I would happily pay the silly price of 700 quids to get a season ticket…it is fucking nothing. It isalmost the same price we pay to get season tickets in Sweden….and that is so fucking poor football that I cant really see if it is the same sport.
I also think it is sad that there arent enough season ticket holders on the home games so they can be heard properly, but it all comes down to economics. WE “the plastics” pay about 700 quids to attend one (1) game, including flight, hotel, beer and hospital bills….and we are prepared to pay that amount to see OUR team as well.
So sod of MancunianRedM15 and Manc, u are a disgrace to my club if u cant understand the meaning of true love.
To everyone else.