'Remove the Glazers' - Manchester United fans send clear message amid ticket price hike
The majority of Manchester United fans are unhappy with ticket prices at Old Trafford, according to a survey organised by Fan Coalition 58.
United made a controversial mid-season decision to raise matchday ticket prices to £66 per game in the Premier League, which meant no concessions for children or pensioners.
Fans protested against the ticket price hike before United's game against Everton at the beginning of December, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe was recently confronted by supporters at Craven Cottage, which led to the British billionaire being told he was "taking the p***" and was "worse than the Glazers".
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Speaking in an interview with the United We Stand magazine, Ratcliffe said that "it doesn't make sense" for a United ticket to cost less than a ticket to watch London club Fulham.
Ratcliffe's comment didn't go down well with supporters and FC58, the fan representation division of The 1958 protest group, recently conducted a survey to gauge opinion on ticket prices.
The survey was answered by almost 25,000 people and 92 per cent of fans said they were unhappy with current ticket prices.
A similar number indicated they are not impressed with the stadium atmosphere and 98 per cent said they were unhappy with how clubs and the Premier League treat supporters.
Steve Crompton spoke on behalf of FC58 and said: “We received nearly 25,000 responses plus thousands of comments and the results speak for themselves, demonstrating clear fan sentiment.
"We have had enough! In our opinion the club is trying to price out the current match-going fan to replace them with tourists and day trippers. Legacy fans (as the club like to calls us) do not spend enough money!
“We feel the club is haemorrhaging money left right and centre. The minimum £66 for member tickets is a testing ground for the club and ticket pricing in the future. We believe dynamic pricing is being discussed and on the way. Cutting adrift our club from the community, it’s working class roots and generational fans, represents the ringing of the death knell for fan culture.”
Crompton added: “The simple answer to all this is to remove the Glazers and their debt mountain. Revenue will increase once this happens. But it looks like the new investors are ignoring the millions paid in interest on the Glazers' bad debt per year.
“They prefer to squeeze as much money out of the match-going fanbase than confront the real financial issue with the club. The debt, the mismanagement of the club and the crippling interest payments.
“The current atmosphere around the club and fanbase is in the gutter. Nothing has changed. In fact, it is worse than it has ever been.”
In November, United said the hike would only affect a small number of fans as 97 per cent of tickets had already been sold but the remainder and resold tickets will be subject to the increase.
The reality is that some have been forced to walk away from attending games. One fan told the Manchester Evening News the changes were "gutting" and another slammed it as a "disgusting policy", questioning how it has been deemed fair to charge children £66 to watch a game.
