May 12
Old Trafford expansion just the ticket? Not a chance!
When the suits at the FA decided to build the new Wembley they probably envisaged, or at least hoped, that they would possess a stadium capable of eclipsing that of any other in the country. I imagine the conversation ran something like this: ‘Well Old Trafford stands at around 60,000, let’s make Wembley 90,000, just to be on the safe side.’
Nine years on from that time and Wembley Stadium will soon rather inevitably have to relinquish the mantle of highest capacity football venue in England, or so we are led to believe. Although it’s not gospel and is yet to be comprehensively confirmed, recent news suggests that Old Trafford will soon be extended to 95,000 seats.
Obviously this is fantastic news for supporters in terms of creating more opportunities to see United up close although is it fair to say that ticket prices will fall as a result? I beg to differ.
It is believed that Sir Alex has long lobbied the Glazer family for expansion, urging our American owners to improve the affordability of watching United in hope of attracting a new generation of supporters. Although with ticket prices set to go up even further once again next season, it’s easy to see why fans have voiced their frustrations.
So when the likely developments to the South Stand and presumably the South and East quadrants do take place, can you really foresee a drastic change in club policy?
In all honesty I can’t see why the Glazers wouldn’t want to squeeze every last penny out of us. They aren’t stupid and they know that Manchester United is a club, nay a brand, that has the potential to attract supporters from around the globe and will have little trouble filling even 95,000 seats on a regular basis. So why drop ticket prices when the market will, however begrudgingly, continue to fork out £40 odd a ticket to see the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney et al.
In 2004 the most expensive ticket at Old Trafford was £29. Four years on and that amount has risen to £49. Who knows what the price may be come 2014. A scary thought for the regular match-goer no doubt.
As much as our success on the field has provided an ideal smokescreen for the Glazers, there is no hiding the fact that the club is experiencing elevated levels of debt and that £700 million figure is rising every day.
The cost of stadium expansion will likely surpass the £100 million mark and with the need to maintain consistency on the pitch too, costs could quite worryingly spiral out of control in the future.
Who’s to say that when Sir Alex does eventually decide to call it a day we may initially struggle in a new era and spend a couple of seasons out of the Champions League? Imagine how damaging that could be for the Glazers in generating profit. Imagine the cost of a ticket then…
Related items from Red Rants:
- “We are the Scoreboard, the Scoreboard Paddock”
- Club choose to ignore (ex) loyal season ticket holder
- The demise of the United Season Ticket holder
- Want to watch United beat City at Old Trafford?
- MUFC finally acknowledge ‘Official Complaint’
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (479)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
@Craig Mc: Yes I forgot to mention that gorgeous well endowed beautiful female celebrities also get a free pass for me in the tolerance department. The world needs beautiful female celebrities.
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@Beachryan: Owen is doing fine. I have read several reports where he has been working very hard on his rehab to strengthen the tendons and muscles around both knees. He is training with a private trainer and they are not yet ready to place him on the pitch with players kicking a ball around. He needs to build back the strength he lost in those knees before and because of the surgery. From what i have read the timetable for his return to the pitch is the same for everyone else once they come back from summer holidays. Expect him in the opening day lineup
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@Grognard: I am not lecturing you mate far from it and I am sorry if you thought I was
But I agree in all other aspects of your post.
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@Beachryan: Rather pessimistic aren’t you mate? We are playing a team who have conceded 3 or more goals in each of their last three games against other members of the Big4. I reckon we’re nailed on to get a draw at least – a loss is completely out of the question. Don’t forget that we will also be fired up to beat them and win the title in front of them after the Arse won the league at our ground in 2002.
About Hargo, I believe that he has been gagged and told to stay schtum by kidnappers holding him hostage somewhere in South America (Colombia would be my educated guess) and focus on making a full recovery, whereupon he will be released from captivity after a king’s ransom has been met.
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@Beachryan: A couple of weeks ago I predicted that we would be Arsenal in the Champions League but lose the game at OT in the EPL. Now I am thinking differently. Yes they will have Arshavin back and that player is truly excellent and really helps their offense, but I also see and Arsenal team that has recently hit rock bottom in form. They are demoralized and their home losses to both us and Chelsea exposed them for the quitters and the kids they truly are.
They have nothing more to play for except pride and that unfortunately for Gooners fans is not going to be enough. We are playing at home which is generally a fortress and we are playing for the EPL title. One thing Fergie will instill in the group is the absolute necessity to win on Saturday in order to rest a lot of player against Hull so that they are fully rested for the Champions League final as well, Hull may be playing for their Premier League survival on the last day at home. Thats the last kind of team I would want to face in order to win the League. They will have everything to play for and their desire and hearts could be up for the task. Nope, we will have to be super up for Arsenal and kick their asses yet one more time so that we can coast in the final week. We must not under any condition be forced to have to win at Hull in order to win the title.
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@Stephen: Jeez mate, when it comes to Anderson you are sounding an awful lot like me. Well done mate.
I’ve also noticed something about the lad. When you sit him down for a prolonged period, he comes back full of energy and trying to prove something. Once he has done that he kind of shifts it down a gear or two and then offers nothing until he is once again benched.
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@Grognard: I have heard rumours that Tosic was bought merely to entice Ljajic to OT and is simply the support act to Ljajic and that Ljajic is seen as the greater of the two talents, though younger.
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@Craig Mc: Those Geordies don’t seem to realise that Ronaldo is one of the most kicked/fouled player in the league. If going into tackles is brave, then I don’t know what getting kicked/fouled throughout your playing career, but still not giving up, is.
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@Stephen: That’s fine mate if you weren’t lecturing but then why were you making the point to me as if I needed to be convinced that we were not getting Ribery? I got a little confused because I have always said the only chance of getting him is if Ronny truly does go to Real, otherwise, we are nowhere near the money needed to also buy Ribery. Especially since we need to tie up Carlito or find his replacement s as well as the need for perhaps a central midfielder.
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@Grognard: If we win at home tomorrow, we equal our home record of last season with just five points dropped out of a possible 57. A few years ago our home form was a real problem so kudos to Fergie for sorting that out and making OT a fortress again.
And also we’ll almost certainly beat our points total of 87 from last season once we have played Hull, despite playing far shitter this year. What’s that all about??!
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@Nino: I never heard that but based on what I have read and even heard form Craig’s personal expose’s having seen him train, I believe it. What I have seen of LLajic tells me he has tremendous skill but I honestly feel he lacks pace, which could be a problem in England. Lack of pace is what has made Scholes a liability at time this year and has always been the number one weakness of Michael Carrick. It would be nice to have a central midfielder like Hargo who has the pace to mark a player out of a game and to make a run forward without worrying about somebody coming from behind and dispossessing them. But like I said, Llajic is so young and i have seen very very little of him that I am hoping my judgment is wrong about his lack of pace.
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@Grognard: Spot on mate on that point, when he comes back he plays like a man on a mission then he just falls back to at best mediocity.
I honestly did not mean that you needed convining mate bad typing probably by me pal
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@Nino: If we beat Arsenal, trust me we may really lose at Hull despite the fact they have been in a half season long tailspin. If their collective lives in the Prem is on the line and we have nothing to play for, Fergie will rest all the stars and we will see the Nani’s and even maybe Tosic , Gibson, Welbeck, Macheda, Fabio and others. This will make other relegation type teams cry bloody murder but that won’t bother Fergie. Nope, he will want the Ronaldo’s Rooney’s Carricks etc fully rested for Rome. So tomorrow is vital.
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@Grognard: We will not be in a position where we are forced to WIN at Hull because we only need ONE point from the last two games to secure the title, whatever the Dippers do!
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@Stephen: Not a problem mate. Seriously, don’t worry about it. I just wanted to clear up any misconception that I might have given.
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Fabianski and Silly (or Sylvester as the Gooners refer to him, although I think he bears more resemblance to the Tweety Bird) are in the XI for Arsenal tomorrow! I think Ronaldo & Co may just be licking their lips! And as for their sole threat Arshavin, we’ll more than take care of him!
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@Grognard: True. It’s too early to judge, but according to a programme run by Sky Sports — which is sending scouts to judge up and coming talent, and this is what they had to say on the boy: Click.
I’ll quote a part of it that is interesting:
He will join United next year, but is he ready for the Premier League? Simple answer is yes, very much so. As a 15 and 16 year-old his talent was there to behold, but in the last 18-months his body has filled out so that he is now more than capable of playing at the senior level.
But as he has grown he has not lost any of his natural skill or pace.
Which probably means, close control/pace is among his better attributes — which is good to hear. Let’s see how he makes it here though. I can’t see him make a major impact until well in to the 2010-11 season.
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@Red Ranter: I also read that Ljajic scout report on Sky Sports last week and he had one of the highest ratings I had seen for a young talent ‘cos most players who feature in that section aren’t usually more than good prospects (rated between 51-60) but Ljajic is “well on the way to the top” and thats a good sign at only 17! Let’s hope he turns out to be the real deal!
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@Red Ranter: From that pic on the Sky Sports site, he looks like Vidic’s teenage son or young kid brother! There’s certainly some facial resemblance there IMO, excluding Vida’s crooked nose obviously. (I hope he doesn’t read that last bit I said if he surfs this website!)
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@ Grognard – Thanks for info on Hargo, I’ve not managed to find any bits at all. Let’s hope it prolongs his career, can’t wait to have his energy and class back.
As for Saturday I just really think our boys aren’t up for it like they should be. We knew a win against Wigan would all but secure it, but lordy you wouldn’t have guessed from the first half! I’m worried that they think they’ve done it already, and that Arsenal will just show up, and we’ll go behind early, and just not be able to get back into it. I’m thinking a 2-1 to l’arse.
But hey, I’m happy to be proved wrong
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@Beachryan: Do you really think that, really? I hope you are joking.
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@Beachryan: Stop being a pessimist Beachy Bro – TRUE score is the other way around, United 2 – Le Arse 1. But we need to stick someone on Arshavins Arse! My main concern is that Rio isn’t fit to play, and Le Arse have tall players who can cause us a lot of jip in the box, with inswinging crosses. Our Center halfs need to cut out the giving of unnecessary corners and free kicks. But I think Fergie better pick the right MF too. We need battlers. Also don’t put Rafael in on Arshavin etc because it will truly be man against boy
.
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@Grognard: hes(tosic) been better then ronaldo on my FM09 season
hes got me 6 goals, and 5 assist in 17 appearances, not to bad for a left winger in his first season.
I swear, that game has some type of drug in it, it just sucks you in, i would imagine that the only time im off it tomorrow is when im watching the match!
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@Grognard: All I gotta say Grog, is Rooney and Ronnie better not miss the absolute number of chances they blazed over the crossbar in the Wigan game. I mean come on, I know Rooney does many a sky higher that Rugby league players would die for, but Ronnie is not usually that bad
. They missed absolute sitters 
.
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@Babyface: Aaaaaagh Babyface – shame on you Bro
.
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@Craig Mc: Mate Rooney has been superb this season, player of the season with Vida and Carrick running him close bro!!!
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@Craig Mc: Im not so sure, you put robinho in that arsenal team and arshavin in the city team, nothing would change, robinho would have the same type of form as arshavin at arsenal, arshavin would only play well in the cold, at home for city.
Rafael crapped all over robinho in the derby while rob was in his back pocket, and i think he could also handle arshavin.
I think rafael is a real big game player.
im waiting for it grognard, how i should never compare the russian maradona to the brazilian bentley
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@Dan: Dude regardless of what Robinho is an has done by the way has anyone seen his Mrs ooooooooooh horror show, but he has scored 15 goals this season and fair play to the money grabbing, bus riding little twat he has done better than I thought he would.
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@Stephen: Exactly, and rafael was able to keep him on his arsh crack…
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@Dan: Rafa is the new Cafu mate end of
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@Stephen: please, cafu was the first rafael!!!!!
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@Dan: Roberto Carlos the first Fabio then
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@Dan: I loved Fooball Manager (or another derivative) in my teens, but as a young adult, I swear that I’ll not touch it until I reach retirement time.
About Rafael: I can’t believe you rate him that much. His man – marking is truly terrible! I hope that he’ll progress in the department, but somehow (no offense) I don’t trust latin players to be the most cerebral…
And sorry but Cafu was the definition of the perfect full-back. He was reckless going forward, but he had bags of defensive skill, which I’m not sure Rafael has..
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@Stephen: No, roberto carlos was the first Dan!!! who in turn was the next fabio!
does that even make sense lol!
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@NicoQB: Rafa is a kid??? What are rating him on a World Cup winning Cafu, sorry mate his ability is there just give him chance, where was Beckham at his age?
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http://www.goal.com/en/news/1689/comedy/2009/05/14/1264643/goalcom-special-top-30-most-annoying-english-football
some of those will make you piss your self!
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@Stephen: struggling to make the bench at preston…
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I’m starting to think we’re actually going to sign Tevez on a free and we don;t want to mention it before the season’s out because of the huge disruption the announcement would cause. Fingers crossed, anyway.
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@Stephen: I agree with you, but my point is that if as a defender his marking just left a bit to be desired, I’d say ok, he can improve with time… But my impression is that his marking is, at times, shocking! And not many people underline this. I’ve grown on O’shea to tell you the truth and first and foremost just want my defenders to be able to defend!
We’ll just see in time…
About Tosic though, ok by most accounts he’s not impressed till now, but let us remember that many people were touting Vidic as a flop after his first season with us, and a few reserve games too… Look where he is now.
I think those 5 – 7 million pounds players we are buyoing will have their career decided by the injuries that our starting eleven will sustain. If Park, Ronaldo, Nani or Giggs get injured (just look at how crocked our RB position was) Tosic is definitely going to get a toss. If not, well I can see him loaned out…
Ljajic on the othe rhand will have all his time due to his age..
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@Red Ranter: I’m glad to see that they see pace in the boy because that was what I was uncertain about. Hopefully he will work out but at that age, we all know it’s like tossing a coin. 2 or 3 year under Fergie should help but then again, it has done nothing for Nani and will he even have 2 or 3 more year to benefit from Fergie or will he retire before he can really make something out of the lad?
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@Red Ranter: I found it interesting to read some of the other talent that have scouting reports done about them. Very interesting was their views on my two favorites Toni Kroos and Marko Marin. Man what I would give for those players on United? At least Bayern have Kroos, which makes me happen. I’m hoping Llajic is everything those guys are and can be. If so, we have someone special. As for Tosic, it looks like he was a toss in to the deal, and nothing more.
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@Nino: Anytime the potential ranking is 9/10 or 10/10, you have somebody who is very special.
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@Dan: Dan it’s just a game and it’s programmed by kids of which two of them I placed in the job when I was working as an IT Consultant. They know fuck all about the game and have idiots for project managers. Trust me when I tell you that if I was the Project Manager of the FIFA franchise with my IT background and with my knowledge of the game, you would have a game that would be truly legend. Some of the improvements in the game over the past few years is because of me telling some of the programmers I know about what really sucks.
They know a fair amount about the EPL, Spain and Italy but after that, their knowledge is just based on the readout charts they get from FIFA and magazines. In other words, players like Tosic are graded on guessing and potential based on a small one paragraph writeup. That is why quite often many players don’t look anything like they are supposed to look like. Christ I still get incensed over the poor art renditions for players like Huntelaar, Macheda, Tosic and others. Never take that game seriously. It’s a lot of fun but if you want accuracy based on hours and hours of meticulous research into teams, player, parks, coaches etc, nothing comes close to Football Manager. Those guys know their stuff.
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@Craig Mc: That last game was a wake up call from them. I seriously doubt that both will repeat their terrible performances.
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@NicoQB: Rafael is young mate and he has been fabulous when you take into account his age and very little experience. He has more than impressed me and as for his weaknesses, he will improve. My God, he’s not even 20. Evra is much older than him and makes far more errors and gets skinned a lot more. At least Rafael has an uncanny ability to recover when he gets skinned. Patience.
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@Grognard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=949o1XDtt1k
Tosic’s goal in the Senior Cup final. I have no idea about his technique or intelligence but he can certainly strike a ball.
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I’m bored…
@All Answer this:
At their peak, who was the best player: Owen, Fowler or Gerrard?
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@michael: Big deal mate. It took a deflection. It means nothing and says nothing about the player’s ability. I personally think he is a stiff but I am hopeful that I am dead wrong.
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@NicoQB: Gerrard is a monster of a player. He’s massive like him or hate him.
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@Grognard: You should have watched some of the other videos linked from that one. I put that up because it’s in a United shirt. This kid can take a free kick if nothing else.
@NicoQB: Gerrard, easily. Owen has never scored 20 league goals in a season, and Fowler only did it (once) when there were 42 games. For strikers whose sole contribution to a match is finishing that’s poor.
In the same vein, a question: Ronaldo 07/08 or Best 67/68?
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