Source: Daily_Mail
Man United fans to boycott season tickets as anti-Glazer campaign grows
Manchester United fans are planning a boycott of season tickets in the summer to try to force the Glazer family out of Old Trafford.[LNB]Thousands of supporters hope hitting the owners in the pocket will persuade them to leave after putting the club more than £700million in debt.[LNB]The anti-Glazer campaign has already attracted wide publicity, with fans wearing the original green-and-gold worn when the club was founded as Newton Heath in 1878.[LNB]It was stepped up yesterday when the Manchester United Supporters Trust distributed 70,000 cards to fans in a recruiting drive on the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, and five years to the day the Glazers first tabled a bid to buy the club. [LNB] Sign language: Manchester United fans make their feelings known[LNB] A protest that denied the Glazers much-needed revenue could have a serious impact on the financial running of the club and the future of Sir Alex Ferguson. [LNB]United have already seen season-ticket sales fall from 65,000 to 58,000 this season due to the economic climate and they can ill-afford any further downturn.[LNB]Last month, the Glazers had to raise £500m in a bond issue to help repay hedge fund loans they took to buy the club. Fans were alarmed that the bond prospectus allowed the Glazers to transfer £127m into their parent company in the first year.[LNB]And there is concern only a small part of the worldrecord £80m transfer received for Cristiano Ronaldo last summer has been invested in new players.[LNB]Having previously been staunchly supportive of the Americans, Ferguson has expressed sympathy with protestors in his recent programme notes.[LNB] Under fire: The Glazers at the Emirates Stadium for United's game against Arsenal[LNB] FC United general manager Andy Walsh, who was vilified by many Old Trafford fans when the breakaway club was formed in 2005 as a protest against the Glazer takeover, has said he is aware of major protests being planned by United supporters' groups.[LNB]He said: 'It is only now, after the true state was laid bare in the prospectus to raise the £500m bond, that the fans have taken the veil from their eyes.[LNB]'We've had many people apologising to us. There is a plan to step up the campaign and hitting the Glazers in the pocket as the next phase.[LNB]'The green and gold campaign has focused people's attention but there is an understanding it won't work on its own. A boycott will hit the Glazers because their business plan relied on them cranking up ticket prices and extracting more cash from supporters.'[LNB] MANCHESTER UNITED
