City head in right direction - financially

Manchester City have reported a £3.5m (€5.1m) operating profit to May 2005.

The results, which take into account Kevin Keegan’s pay-off, but not the £21m (€30.8m) sale of Shaun Wright-Phillips to Chelsea, are £500,000 (€733,000) down on 12 months ago but have helped slash City’s overall debt to £57.7m (€84.6m).

For the second successive year, the Blues have recorded a turnover in excess of £60m (€88m), with a slight fall in income being put down to a reduction in revenue from cup games.

The announcement is good news for chief executive Alistair Mackintosh, who had worked tirelessly to increase revenues but has so far failed to attract the kind of big investment chairman John Wardle would welcome.

Mackintosh has succeeded in keeping the wage bill under control, with the overall figure remaining static at £37.7m (€55.3m).

And, with 93% of the current debt not due to be repaid for five years at least and their club riding high under new manager Stuart Pearce, the Blues fans can look forward to the future with increasing confidence.