02 May 2013 11:33:45
Bayern Club President Uli Hoeness speaking last year on the issue of season tickets. A third of Bayern's ST's were £104.


"We could charge more than £104. let's say we charged £300. We'd get £2m more in income, but what's £2m to us? In a tranfer discussion you argue about that sum for five minutes. But the difference between £104 and £300 is huge for the fan. We do not think the fans are like cows, who you milk. Football has got to be for everybody. that's the biggest difference between us and England".

And that is the difference between me and a lot of the people on this site who have forgotten what football is all about and what having a club in your community means. As Sydney says "You Can't afford it tough luck".

Still let's forget all that and keep lining the Glazers pockets. As long as we win trophies who cares about the long term damage to the club or its core supporters. As long as someone in Tokyo or Melbourne or New York is buying merchandise and subscribing to a sports chanel everyone is happy.

1.) 02 May 2013
Clearly you are forgetting all of that and continuing to line the Glazer's pockets.

Sydney!

2.) 02 May 2013
I think we should all be a bit envious of Bayern because they're the type of club united could have been under different ownership. I'm not stupid enough to think that the PLC would have kept ticket prices low, but Bayern are a club whose number one priority is on pitch success, not off field profits. No sugar daddy, no faffing around in the transfer market, no whining about players being too expensive and agents too greedy. Instead they've just got on with the task of building the best team in the world, for the last few years Bayern have identified key players and just signed them.

3 years ago when they knocked us out of the CL it was close and evenly matched. Look at the difference now. That's the difference between a club that wants to be the best and a club that wants to earn the most.

Danny Pughnited

3.) 02 May 2013
I'm not backing the glazers or anything and I come in peace. But he is involved in a tax evasion case and his loyalty to German football has been questioned and in the German newspapers they think that he has filled his personal pockets very well and he could be fired. So clearly he is not a saint and probably did it to fill his pockets.

4.) 02 May 2013
You seem to miss the most pertinent point every time this comes up KLOOT! But hey don't let the truth get in the way of slating the Glazer's.

High ticket prices are a problem throughout the EPL, whilst in Germany all clubs tickets are reasonable. You keep dragging the Glazer's into this when it's irrelevant mate - there aren't Glazer's at Arsenal yet they pay more to watch a team that haven't won anything in years than United fans do.

Tickets in the Premier League are extortionate but unless all clubs are forced to drop them then no one club is going to make the 1st move - it just wouldn't be in their interest.

For some reason you keep comparing us as a club to a club in a totally different country and league just to ustify your bitter point, pathetic really! Why not compare with ticket prices at Arsenal or Chelsea or Spurs or Liverpool?

Come back to me with a list of top EPL clubs where the tickets are reasonable and I'll believe you that our owner's are evil. If you can't do that then I'll be happy in the knowledge that your just being bitter and twisted, without any basis as usual.

HBadger

p. s.

I love the way the German game is run - low ticket prices, big stadia, good players, hard workers - but to use that as a stick to bash the Glazer's when it's an irrelevant comparision goes to show what your motive is.

5.) 02 May 2013
Hi Klooty
Good to see you supporting Herr Uli Hoeness, Nothing like our despicable owners is he?

Just a little matter of dragging the great Bavarian clubs name through the dirt with a tax evasion scandal - now why didn't the Glazers think of that?

All clubs have their burdens - you could be a supporter of a club that buys the league with oil money or money "acquired" of the backs of the Russian people- or even worse you could be a "fan" of a club form a city build on the slave trade instead of honest industry, that thinks "You'll never walk alone" is a moral philosophy (to quote somebody).

So stop being holier than thou - with your ". that is the Difference between me. " pretentious b*******, and count yourself lucky that you are a supporter of the Greatest club in the known universe.

The sun is shining, so have a nice day.

6.) 02 May 2013
The German model just goes to show how much the Premier League is a rip off.

I won't go to Old Trafford anymore, mainly because the ticket prices are so high.

Maybe I'll get a Bayern season ticket as flying to Munich every weekend will work out cheaper than going to OT even though I only live 10 miles away!

Andrew B

7.) 02 May 2013
Danny, the PLC already had the increase of tickets prices in place well before the Glazer takeover.

Can anyone name a single club in the EPL or the Championship for that matter whose tickets prices haven't shot up in 20 years?

This isn't a 'Glazer thing', this has happened all over England and other countries in Europe. It's an example of the times.

A season tickets to watch Barnet FC (just relegated to conference) range between £323 and £418, shocking agreed?

Sydney! {Ed007's Note - That's ridiculous prices Syd. Celtic released their prices the other day (it makes adult STs average about £300) :

• Adults receiving £100 reward to their 2013/14 season ticket

• Kids under 13 Season Ticket for £50 are back - £2.38 per game

• 13-16 year olds Season Ticket for £105 - £5 per game

• 17-18 year olds Season Ticket for £186 - £8.86 per game.

I know it is 'only the SPL' etc but not many clubs anywhere are cutting prices and trying to get younger people going to games. My friend gets his two boys every weekend (they are 7 & 9) and he is delighted with the offer, he says if you break it down to cost per match it is less than a visit to McDonalds for them. Oh and the first CL qualifier is included in those prices.}

8.) 02 May 2013
HBadger,

Spot on mate, it's not Glazers and United that have created this, it is English Football, starting with Blackburn when Jack Walker invested heavily and got success. We have accepted a Sugar Daddy culture and now because of prices we are trying to get away from it but we have come to far and it will be a while before we are in a better position. These Sugar Daddy's are billionaire's for a reason, they are selfish, ruthless and obsessed with money.

9.) 02 May 2013
Mike I am impressed with your post it has a little bite but done with a sense of humour as for Andrew B you are just a little worm don't even bother to read anything else I post you wouldn't understand it, stick to finger painting.

10.) 02 May 2013
You can not pay taxes and be an absolutely detestable person, but that is all perfectly fine as long as you charge reasonable prices for season tickets.

11.) 02 May 2013
Crikey Kloot, this again. I'm not going to rehash my points about Bayern being the massively dominant club in an economy 50% bigger than England's (a country in which Utd compete with a number of other clubs for success both on and off the pitch) and just ask would you want to be a supporter of a midtable United that was community oriented? if so good on you but do not promote the fallacy that United could be run along your preferred lines and compete for the PL and Champions League.

12.) 02 May 2013
007, it's great what Celtic are doing for the kiddies, but in terms of adult season tickets I feel they had no choice but to lower the prices. Without Rangers in the SPL the fans have little to motivate them. Great offers for the kids though. If you can get the kids turning up religiously then they will keep going as adults, so it makes sense to have these sort of deals. What do pensioners pay?

Sydney!

13.) 02 May 2013
Syd

"I'm not stupid enough to think that the PLC would have kept ticket prices low. "

Maybe read what I have said before going off on one. Ticket prices in the EPL are a disgrace and this isn't the Galzer's fault but it is a symptom of the shameless profiteering that the Glazers have latched onto.

My main point is that Bayern are club will lesser financial capabilities than we have but they invest more money in their team than we do. They are a team that sign world class players without a sugar daddy, and in the last few years their dedication to bringing the best into the club has transformed them from a good team into a great team.

The only reason that I can see as to why we haven't been able to bring in the standard of players Bayern have is that we have owners who have lumped us with debt and care more about off pitch profits than on pitch results. 3 years ago we were comparable to Bayern, now they are leagues ahead.

Danny Pughnited

14.) 02 May 2013
Danny, that post wasn't solely for you even though I wrote Danny.

Can I ask what "better standard of players" Bayern have brought in as opposed to us?

Sydney!

15.) 02 May 2013
Danny

Bayern's revenue was only approx. 27mil euros less than ours.

As to no "sugar daddys" in fact they have lots of them - the money comes in the from of "commercial" revenue mainly from local German businesses - their commercial revenue was 56 mil euros more than ours.

16.) 02 May 2013
I don't know Syd, I think players like Robben, Neuer, Martinez, Gotze, and Gomez would all be considered as top class when Bayern bought them.

But what I was getting at is that if Bayern identify a player they really want, they do whatever it takes to sign them. We saw it last year with Martinez, one of the best young midfield players in the world. And despite having a very good midfield already Bayern made sure that they got him. Again this year with Gotze, a team that has Ribery, Robben, Muller, Shaqiri, and Kroos, they still break the bank to sign a world class prospect.

The only players we have really splashed the cash for in recent years are Berbatov and RVP. We chase players like Lucas, Hazard, and Sneijder and end up with nothing. When Bayern chase players they tend to get them. And that's why they just walked the league and battered Barcelona, because they were and are still prepared to buy the key players they need.

Danny Pughnited

17.) 02 May 2013
Since 2007 they have bought Ribery, Robben, Neuer, Martinez & Gomez. Is Gomez top class? Was he ever top class? Neuer and Gomez, and now Goetze are German so they would always have the edge there. Robben and Ribery being top class is debatable. Both have very poor attitudes and are injury prone.

I would say Neuer & Martinez were top class signings. The others good signings at the most. In 2007 we had bought Hargreaves, Nani & Anderson when BM bought Ribery. Okay in hindsight they never turned out good, but there was a lot of money invested in them. We bought Berbatov, Jones, Kagawa, RvP & DDG.

There will be a long list of player who BM have wanted, but missed out on. A list almost as big as ours i'd imagine. We have missed out on Nasri, Sneijder, Moura, Hazard etc and we will miss out on others too. It's the way it goes. Chelsea have missed out on sh1t loads of players, but they aren't short on cash.

Are we sitting still when we have Rooney, RvP, Hernandez & Welbeck and we are trying to sign Lewandowski? What about having Nani, Young, Valencia and going out and trying to sign Moura. I may be wrong but did BM have any competition when they bought those five players mentioned above?

Sydney!

18.) 02 May 2013
Danny Pughnited

In terms of what you're saying about not getting the 'top players' - is that not what it's always been like at United? even pre Glazers?

I've been a fan for over 20 years and I think there have only been 1, maybe 2 summer transfer windows I was really satisfied with. There were rumours of Batistuta, Ronaldinho and other top stars for years but we rarely picked them up.

To me it's just the same now i. e. sensibe spending, lots of young promising players (Jones, Powell, Henriquez etc. ) and the odd quality player on top (Kagawa, RvP). Swap Ronaldinho and Batistuta for Falcao and Bale/Ronaldo and it feels very similar.

Is this not how it's always been?

19.) 02 May 2013
Funnily enough I was just over on the Lfc site and they're discussing the same issue.

There are many posts along these lines:

"Lfc have never cared about the fans they know that we go because we love the club /team and they use that against us. "

- sorry for the cut and paste but I hope this shows that the problem is far wider than just United and the Glazer's. The prices across the whole league are extortionate, even at a club where getting into the top 4 would be a special achievement!

20.) 03 May 2013
Sydney

The difference between us and Bayern is they buy established players that everyone knows are top drawer. Martinez was Mancini's number one target last year, but Bayern went out and spend 40 million to get him.

We buys at the next tier with the hope they become good. i. e. Zaha,

The only time we divert from that policy is when Fergie forks out big sums for strikers just to get goals out of them for 1 or 2 seasons.

He has always been striker biased and credit to him has always bought us good/great strikers.

If you believe the papers supposedly Bayern have had a 40 million bid turned down for Vidal. I think they will buy 2 Top quality strikers and a top winger in the summer.

Shahram