Glazers hit back at critics

The Glazer family have hit back at continued criticism of their ownership of Manchester United by some sections of the Red Devils support.

This week’s resignations of finance director Nick Humby and commercial counterpart Andy Anson have triggered another wave of attacks from the anti-Glazer brigade.

Although United chief executive David Gill has insisted there were no sinister motives behind the double departure, he did admit it was a ‘strange’ occurrence.

The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST), formerly Shareholders United, called on Humby and Anson to "come clean" about life at Old Trafford under the Glazers, who they believe have little hope of paying off the massive debt incurred while completing the takeover last spring.

However, family sources claim the debt is little more than a red herring and insist United remains a stable and attractive business.

“The debt issue is a red herring,” said a family spokesman.

“The club actually carried more debt as a PLC, it just did so in a different way because, effectively, shares are IOUs to shareholders.

“Manchester United is a stable asset, with a stable cash flow. The whole refinancing package was built around the optimism about the club going forward.

“Revenues are actually increasing because of the stadium expansion and new sponsorship deals, while there is also the windfall provided by the new TV contract to take into account.”