Fit & Proper - The Glazers, Manchester United
20th July 2009
When Malcolm Glazer became the majority shareholder of Manchester United, the consensus was that the club was on a path to ruin. Fans protested, season tickets were cancelled and FC United of Manchester was founded as an alternative for those wishing to uphold the sacred essence of the beautiful game.
But after four years, three Premier League titles and two consecutive Champions League finals, the anger of 2005 has been largely forgotten, consigned to the past along with the doomsday predictions which had plagued Old Trafford during the early days of the Glazer dynasty.
So why did Malcolm Glazer face such vehement opposition during his takeover of the club? And more importantly, how did an American business tycoon, depicted as tolling the death knell for English football, establish a new era of sustained success and dominance in one of the world’s toughest and most fiercely competitive sports?
Like many prospective football club owners, Glazer was relatively unknown in England before his involvement with Manchester United. His successes with American football team Tampa Bay Buccaneers meant little to English fans, while his hitherto reclusive nature had ensured that he had never acquired the celebrity profile of a Roman Abramovich or Flavio Briatore.
Glazer was seen as an aftershock of the ill-fated takeover bid by Rupert Murdoch in 1998- another foreign businessman intent on squeezing every last penny out of the money-making machine that was Manchester United Football Club. At an ideological level it couldn’t get much worse for United fans; an American sports tycoon taking over the pride of English football.
It was, however, the Glazers’ finances that were causing the greatest concern amongst fans. Unlike the Sheikhs and oil barons who regularly jostle for ownership of the Europe’s most successful clubs, the Glazer family intended to finance their proposed takeover not with their own fortune, but by borrowing a staggering £550m against the brand name, thus burdening what was then the world’s richest club with worrying levels of debt.
Their popularity was hindered further by an apparent unwillingness to communicate with the fans. While Abramovich had arrived at Stamford Bridge two years earlier amidst a flurry of inspiring declarations foretelling an era of endless triumphs, the Glazer family broke their silence only to declare the purchase of further shares, thus increasing the perception amongst United fans that their club’s prospective owners had little interest in the non-financial side of club affairs.
As a result, it was of little surprise that Glazer’s stake in Manchester United increased against a backdrop of bitter resentment and growing concern. As their holdings within the club grew, resistance towards the Glazers became stronger and more organized. The increasingly militant Shareholders United, buoyed by a failed takeover bid the previous Autumn, organized demonstrations against the Glazer family before home ties, most notably against Arsenal in the Premier League and a Champions League encounter with AC Milan.
The game was up, however, on May 12 2005, when Glazer reached an agreement with Irish duo John Magnier and J.P McManus for the sale of their 28.7% stake in the club, taking his overall share of the club to above 70%. Scottish mining millionaire Harry Dobson followed suit with the sale of his 6.45% stake shortly after and finally, after a prolonged power struggle, Malcolm Glazer assumed full control of Manchester United.
Despite grim forecasts of financial ruin and a Leeds-style collapse, Glazer’s takeover signalled the start of a remarkable run of form for the team. Bolstered by a refinancing package in July 2006, which reduced the level of debt secured against the club, manager Sir Alex Ferguson was provided with the funds to re-build and strengthen his squad.
Edwin Van Der Sar and Park Ji Sung arrived in the summer of 2005, followed by Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra in the January transfer window. Michael Carrick joined from Tottenham the following year before the club spent over £50m bringing Owen Hargreaves, Nani, Anderson and Carlos Tevez to Old Trafford in the summer of 2007.
Of the 11 players who lined up against Chelsea for the victorious 2008 Champions League final in Moscow, six had arrived during the Glazer era. The notion that Manchester United would be ravaged by debts inflicted upon them by their reckless American owners was firmly put to rest the following year with the acquisition of Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham- the £30.75m fee for the Bulgarian setting a new transfer record for the club.
Manchester United went on to retain the Premier League title for a third successive year in the 2008/09 campaign, equalling Liverpool’s record of 18 league triumphs. A second Champions League final in as many seasons ended in heartbreak at the hands of a superb Barcelona side, but despite the defeat, United had completed a turnaround that had seen them regain their place as one of the most feared and respected teams in Europe.
While Manchester United grew in stature and returned to the forefront of world football, their somewhat estranged owner faded further into the distance. The American has yet to make a public appearance at Old Trafford, instead relying on the infrequent visits of his sons Joel, Avram and Bryan to the club. This, it should be noted, is key to the Glazers’ success.
Their vacancy from the club has not only dampened ill-feeling towards the family (how can fans dislike owners from whom they see and hear nothing save constant success?) but has also been integral to their long-standing relationships with both Sir Alex Ferguson and club chief executive David Gill.
For Sir Alex Ferguson, the Glazers are the perfect owners. Funding has been plentiful throughout their tenure, while non-interference is apparently as good as guaranteed. Indeed, as long as the two partners in this perfect marriage continue to intertwine harmoniously, with Ferguson seeing to on the pitch matters and the Glazers focusing on the Manchester United worldwide brand (tours of the Far-East are now a staple of the team’s pre-season schedule), continued progress seems assured.
Success, however, inevitably comes at a cost, and it should be noted that this cost has been borne by those who deserve it the least - the fans. Vast increases in season ticket tariffs (up to 40% in some sections) and the introduction of the Compulsory Automatic Cup Scheme, which forces season ticket holders to purchase tickets for all home cup fixtures, led to 19% of season ticket holders choosing not to renew their ticket before the 2008/09 campaign last summer.
Furthermore, it remains to be seen how the Glazers would react to a poor run of form on the pitch, as their current strategy of aggressive marketing driven by sporting achievement requires that both vital elements are functioning to their utmost. The real test of the Glazer reign will be when Sir Alex Ferguson hangs up the hairdryer and a new manager takes charge of the side. Would the Glazers adhere to their strict policy of non-interference after two, or even three seasons without a major trophy?
The true legacy of the Glazer era has yet to be written. Beyond the impressive haul of silverware there lurks an interminable fear in the heart of every Manchester United fan that financial collapse could strike at any moment, and that behind all the talk of refinancing and vastly inflated transfer budgets, their beloved club teeters on the brink of bankruptcy.
If there is one certainty though, it is that as long as there is success on the pitch, business will continue to thrive. In this modern era of Galacticos and big-money football, it is the Glazers task to ensure that the boardroom and the dressing room continue to complement one anothe
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