The ongoing anti-Glazer protests by a vocal minority of Manchester United fans seems to be having an effect as Manchester United have announced that they have failed to reach their target of season ticket sales this summer,
On not reaching their goal, Man United’s chief executive David Gill tried to spin it like this:
“I’ll be clear on that. Last year our target was 54,000 season tickets, we’ve sold 51,800, which is pretty good in the current climate. We’ve sold more season tickets than the capacity of most Premier League grounds. Our executive seat sales are on track as compared with last year in a different market. I think the bare facts are that the club is in good financial shape. The ticket sales have held up. We sold out for Newcastle and West Ham but we are not complacent and we’ve got to keep working to make sure that we fill the ground for every game and we’ll do that by playing great football, attractive football, exciting football that brings fans in.”
What Gill does not mention was that as recently as two years ago Manchester United had over 24,000 people on a waiting list for season tickets. That list has now vanished.
I am sure the economy has had an impact on some Man Utd fans not renewing, or buying, season tickets, but there is no doubt that the anti-Glazer sentiment is playing a major role in fans not buying tickets.