Manchester United could be facing a fresh backlash from their supporters as it was revealed that two thirds of fans are considering not renewing their season tickets next season.
The figures, which have been published in a study conducted by Virgin Money, suggest that supporters are stepping up their revolt against Malcolm Glazer's ownership, which has gained fresh momentum over the past few weeks following interest from a group calling themselves the Red Knights.
There has been widespread discontent among the supporters ever since the American and his sons bought the club in a highly-leveraged takeover in the summer of 2005.
Many United supporters have already been driven away by huge ticket price increases, with the average season ticket price going up from £487 pre-takeover to £722 this year. The effect has been that while there has traditionally been a long waiting list for season tickets as demand far outstripped supply, for the first time in living memory a limited number of season tickets were available on general sale last summerThe survey suggests that 15 per cent of season-ticket holders will give up their tickets completely, while another 44 per cent will only buy tickets for matches occasionally. Wolverhampton Wanderers also rate highly in the survey, with 54 per cent of supporters considering giving up their season tickets.
“The drop in costs is welcome but season tickets are still priced astronomically compared with other major European leagues such as Spain, Italy and Germany," Malcolm Clarke, Chairman of the Football Supporters’ Federation, said. "Shamefully, Manchester United was the only Premier League club that put up their prices for the current season. Every other club froze or reduced them.
"They also sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Huge numbers of United fans are in open revolt against the Glazer family’s huge cash drain on the club. They’re paying the price for the leveraged buy-out in 2005 that has loaded a massive £700 million debt on to United’s books. The Glazer regime has put up ticket prices by half in less than five years. No wonder almost six out of ten Old Trafford season-ticket holders are thinking of not renewing.”
According to reports yesterday, thousands of fans are preparing to boycott the opening ten minutes of tonight's Champions League match against AC Milan, leaving the television cameras to pan empty seats in a visual demonstration of anti-Glazer feeling. The prime mover behind the green and gold movement, the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) sought yesterday to play down talk of a mass boycott tonight - although the ploy may be used at other matches.
The backlash against season tickets comes despite figures showing that the cost of attending games has fallen by 6 per cent in the past year. According to the study, fans of Liverpool and Stoke City are the least likely to give up season tickets next year with just 9 per cent of supporters considering cut backs.
Percentage of fans considering cancelling season tickets
Manchester United 59
Wolves 54
Burnley 31
Fulham 29
Everton 28
Blackburn 28
Portsmouth 28
West Ham 27
Aston Villa 24
Sunderland 23
Wigan 21
Tottenham 19
Manchester City 18
Birmingham 17
Chelsea 17
Hull 17
Arsenal 14
Bolton 13
Liverpool 9
Stoke City 9
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