Write On Sports LLC - "Manchester United’s red devil" by Gareth Sleger

Manchester United’s red devil

2007-06-15 16:58:56 | By: Gareth Sleger

Two years ago, all hell broke loose in Manchester, England. A foreigner—no, worse, an American—took full ownership over the city’s beloved Manchester United.

To say Malcolm Glazer’s $1.47 billion takeover was unpopular by Red Devils fans is an understatement. It wasn’t just the idea of a Yank with no appreciation of the club’s history in full control; it was the fact that his company, Red Football Ltd., turned Man U into a private corporation and submerged it into $1.3 billion debt.

Outrage followed. Critics violently protested that Glazer’s debt would fall squarely on fans’ wallets with likely hikes in ticket prices.

Even more of a concern was the club—founded in 1878—hadn’t been in debt for over 12 years and there was fear it was headed towards notorious Leeds United territory.

Leeds went from English Premier League powerhouse and Europe contender to being demoted when insurmountable debt turned poor form. In fact, the circumstances are so embarrassing, that links to its club history on the club’s official website have “expired”.

After reaching the UEFA Champions League semifinals in 2001, Leeds officials eagerly took out huge loans with assumptions of returned revenue through lucrative Champions League perks. However, Leeds failed to qualify for any European competitions the next season, and in turn failed to pay back its debt, setting the stage for financial crisis. Leeds’ top players were sold (two of which to Man U: Rio Ferdinand and Alan Smith) and on-field performance quickly hit a tailspin. Longer story short, the club will open its 2007-08 season in English League One, two divisions below the EPL.

The very thought of that sort of downfall would unnerve any Man U fan. Especially with what was at stake for the Red Devils: decades of consistent domestic and European success, not to mention its status as the one of the world’s richest and well supported clubs.

Yet, two years later, that aforementioned hell has frozen over.

On May 6, Man U won its first EPL title since 2003, making Glazer the first American owner to finish first place in England’s top division. It also ended Chelsea’s two-year reign as champion, proving Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich can’t buy ‘Chelski’ a title every season—even with the high profile additions of Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack—or happiness—manager Jose Mourhino has repeatedly threatened to leave the London club.

Instead of spending Abramovich-type money—although the debt might have something to do with that—Glazer is spending wisely. The American business tycoon is allowing manager Sir Alex Ferguson to spend on necessity over excess, helping maintain a solid core of players with just enough depth.

With the exception of Ruud Van Nistlerooy’s fallout with Ferguson and subsequent transfer to Real Madrid last season, the remainder of Man U’s squad and staff has displayed confidence with Glazer amidst all the controversy.

Surprisingly, in late May, there were rumors that Glazer had intentions of selling the Manchester club based on falling short of profit expectations. A spokesman for Glazer said that the claim was rubbish and Glazer “is committed to the long-term ownership of the club.”

Selling now would be downright out of character for the headstrong business man, who turned the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from league joke to Super Bowl champions and a one of the sport’s top-10 profitable organizations.

So, not surprisingly, along with reclaiming the EPL crown, the club has also once again topped Forbes’ World’s Richest Soccer Teams list with a value of $1.45 billion—although it’s second in the debt/value category with 84-percent.

Man U’s value and Glazer’s commitment was reflected in March when the club locked up its—maybe the world’s—best player, Cristiano Ronaldo for five more years. The $61.3 million contract made the 22-year-old Portuguese the highest paid Red Devil in club history.

What makes the signing even more impressive is that Glazer was able to fend off the always-tempting Real Madrid at a time when Ronaldo’s stock couldn’t have been higher. The colorful, flashy attacking midfielder—the type of player that Spain, not England, tends to charm—piled up nine prestigious individual awards this year (PFA Players’ Player of the Year and PFA Fans’ Player of the Year).

And the spending has continued into the early off-season. More importantly, proper resources are being aimed at giving fresh legs to an aging midfield.

Although they haven’t shown signs of slowing down, Ryan Giggs (33) and Paul Scholes (32) are the last of a midfield—which also included David Beckham, Roy Keane and Nicky Butt—that dominated the EPL and Europe in the late 90’s and early millennium.

But Glazer’s Man U is certainly a club that’s looking towards the future with last year’s $34.3 million signing of 25-year-old midfielder Michael Carrick and the impending summer arrival of Owen Hargreaves.

A Hargreaves homecoming is one that the entire country of England has been anticipating for since 2000. And his outstanding performance in last summer’s world cup only spurred pursuit.

The $33.5 million Englishman has spent his entire career with German giant Bayern Munich, and at just 26 years of age, has an achievement list that rivals veteran Europeans: 4-time winner of the Bundesliga, 2001 winner of the Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup, four titles in Germany’s domestic tournaments and the U-21 European Player of the Year.

Also, the recent agreement to add a pair of promising 20-year-old attacking midfielders, Brazil’s Anderson and Portugal’s Nani only strengthen the middle line.

Even with the EPL title still fresh—not to mention a Champions League semi-final finish and a run to the FA Cup final—and the early off season signings, Man U fans of course haven’t forgotten about the rising ticket prices.

When Glazer announced in 2005 that ticket prices would increase 54-percent over a five-year span, fans reacted as if Man U was the only club being affected with expensive ticket hikes.

Well, it’s been two years and tickets indeed do cost more, but—just like in 2005—Old Trafford admission still remains more reasonable compared to England’s other big three: Arsenal $25-$185, Chelsea $29-$118, Liverpool $59-$67, Manchester United $30-$82.

The fact that ticket price inflation has hit Old Trafford—just like everywhere else in Europe—shouldn’t be shocking to fans that support the world’s most popular club in the world’s most popular sport.

Despite any uproar Red Devils supporters have about Glazer, the English have interestingly been a lot easier on his American compatriots that have made the Atlantic hop.

Liverpool’s fan base—which is considered even more diehard than Man U’s—almost seemed unfazed when two Yanks, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, took control in the middle of this season. And when Randy Lerner became owner of Aston Villa in August 2006, fans were ready to kiss his feet.

The reception has been so welcoming, in fact, that Stan Kroenke, American owner of the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche, has been flirting with an Arsenal takeover and rumors are spreading that American investors are interested in Blackburn.

Much like Glazer, the three multi-millionaires also own North American-based sports franchises. But it’s not as if Hicks, Gillett and Lerner were any more successful than Glazer in building consistent championship teams.

Hicks’ Texas Rangers have never won a Major League Baseball World Series and this Dallas Stars of the NHL have only one Stanley Cup title in 12 years under his tenure. Gillett’s NHL team, the Montreal Canadians, have seen far less success since his 2000 buyout. Lerner’s hand-me-down of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns in 2002 was hardly an award of a winning franchise with five consecutive losing seasons.

Then why was there such acceptance from English fans of two time-honored clubs like Liverpool and Aston Villa?

Credit lessons learned and luck.

Hicks and Gillett have been very personable with Reds fans and comforting about preserving Liverpool’s rich tradition, even with a new $428.8 million stadium in the works. The co-owners also ended a dreaded takeover bid from Dubai International Capital, a United Arab Emirates investment company that Reds supporters were extremely wary about.

Lerner’s situation was just a simple matter of him not being Doug Ellis. As former owner, Ellis was called out numerous times by Villa fans to step down. Years of near-demotions left the rest of the organization looking for the highest buyout bid that came first. Lerner also has stuck to his spending promise of improved on-field talent.

So, where did Glazer go wrong with Man U fans? Was it that he’s never attempted to bond with club supporters or was it that the supporters never even gave him a chance to prove his commitment?

Either way, Glazer has yet to make a public appearance at Old Trafford, but even if he did, critics would be waiting to crucify him. It’s hard to be an in-attendance-boss like Lerner when your safety is on the line.

Critics can vilify Glazer all they want about his lack of identity to Manchester United’s history, but you can’t blame a guy for being more concerned with what lies ahead.

Seems the best way to preserve the past is to prepare for a brighter future.