http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25779671 It was the challenge Manchester United had long feared. How do a club replace the greatest British manager of all time after 26-and-a-half years in charge? Sir Alex Ferguson's departure in May was always going to usher in a period of transition. But few expected it would be this difficult. On Sunday, United take on Chelsea and their manager Jose Mourinho - the man many tipped to take over from Ferguson. Instead, it was David Moyes who got the job at Old Trafford. And Moyes is having a difficult first campaign. Going into the game at Stamford Bridge, his side are 11 points behind the Premier League leaders Arsenal. Just as significantly, they are five points adrift of the fourth place spot which would bring Champions League football next season. They have lost three of their last four games in all competitions, including two at Old Trafford. The slump on the pitch has led to a slump for the club on the stock market. United's share price has fallen by 16% since Moyes was confirmed as their manager on 9 May. That has wiped almost £300m off the club's market value. The most alarming drop has come in the last month as the team's form has dipped. please log in to view this image United's owners, the Glazer family, floated the club's shares in a highly-publicised market launch in August 2012. The money raised was used to pay down some of the considerable debts loaded on to the club following the Glazers' controversial £800m takeover in 2005. While that has helped to halve annual interest payments to just over £20m, opponents of the American businessmen say they have stripped too much out of the club. Some estimate that interest payments and debt financing costs amount to £400m. That money, so the argument goes, should have been spent on building a new squad to guarantee a seamless transition following Ferguson's retirement. United seemed under-prepared for the post-Ferguson era, failing to land a marquee signing in the summer. The departure of chief executive David Gill as Ferguson was leaving may have had a lot to do with that. Yet the club are making more money than ever. Their global sponsorship and commercial strategy continues to bring record-breaking increases in revenue - the forecast for this financial year is £400m. In addition, the value of the new Premier League domestic television rights deals went up 70% on the last three-year deal. In the next few weeks, the club are expected to announce a record-breaking shirt deal with Nike, which could be worth £300m over five years. With overall debts down to just over £300m and interest payments also down, there is plenty of spare cash in the business. And yet the share price in New York reflects concern from investors. Is this just a reaction to the form on the pitch? Or something deeper? The investment banker Keith Harris, a lifelong United supporter who has worked on many Premier League takeovers, says that "the chickens are coming home to roost after years of financial mismanagement". Speaking to senior figures at Old Trafford, there is no doubt there is frustration at the way the team has performed this season. But there is also a resolute determination to stick to the plan and not to be bounced by short-term results on the pitch and the latest view from the trading floor. A senior executive at the club told me today that while the ultimate aim of the business is to deliver value for shareholders, there is no alarm at the falling share price. It was pointed out that only 10% of the club was floated on the New York Stock Exchange - allowing the Glazers to retain full control and meaning there are very few shares to trade. Even the smallest of transactions therefore can lead to big fluctuations in the price. And while big figures in the markets like George Soros, the currency speculator, might be selling there are plenty of others ready to buy the stock. Nevertheless there is no doubting the long term downward trend this season. And that will probably only change once fortunes on the pitch improve and once the market sees evidence of the long term plan for rebuilding the team under Moyes this summer. A new deal for Wayne Rooney might also lead to a spike. The senior executive said that the club was totally focused on securing top players before the start of next season and that a significant budget would be made available to Moyes. Only after next season could people really begin to judge the new regime, he added. But if they fail to qualify for next season's Champions League, it will be harder to attract the best talent. At best, it will mean they will have to pay a premium. This year's budget is based on finishing third in the Premier League and reaching the quarter-finals of all cup competitions. That is already looking unlikely, although one season out of the top four will not cause any major problems. But two or three seasons out of Europe's top competition? Well that's a different matter altogether. A more sustained slump for the reigning League champions may force United's army of sponsors to think twice about whether they are really worth all the money. The anti-Glazer camp among United's support are hoping this is the start of a downward spiral that forces them to sell. At this stage, it would be wrong to overstate the extent of the crisis at United. It is early days. The example of Ferguson's rocky early years at Old Trafford is one often used by the club to try to calm jitters. But that was in a period before English football in general - and Manchester United in particular - were so closely bound with stock markets, bond holders and foreign owners who care as much about the bottom line as they do the league table. The Glazers say they are playing the long game. But just how long can they afford to go without winning trophies?
When you look at the amount of cash City and Chelsea in particular spend, it should be no surprise that we're falling behind abit. It's about time the Glazers put there hands in there pockets abit more. I don't buy the theory that players don't want to come here, it's more to do with the Glazers being to tight to pay over the top for a player. End of the day when you want the best players, your gonna have to make offers that clubs can't refuse, as there are plenty of other teams out there that will pay over the top
Was going to say one of the few clubs around that can comfortably put out profits every year doubt there would be a lack of interest! Glazers are ****s but they are clever ****s
Exactly. I just want us to be free of the debt, we are completely self sustaining otherwise. We don't need unlimited oil funds at all. It's so annoying what they've done to the club. I can understand and accept up being a plc and having to provide dividends to shareholders, that fair business. But to get harboured with a debt of that magnitude and then have us partially floated so we also have to answer to shareholders while being up to the neck in unsustainable debt is hard to get the head round.
Did the shady Russian or oil rich sheik use their clubs to become richer? No Did the f**king glazers use the club's own assets to grab it? Yes If it were not for Fergie we would be in mid table mediocrity ages ago because several clubs included the f**king ******ed have consistently spent more than United on players.
So now that Fergie has gone you reckon your destined for "mid table mediocrity" for the foreseeable future, that's good.
Well atleast it would give David Moyes the opportunity to win the 1 trophy that always eluded SAF, the Johnston's paint trophy
Utd are to big to befall to those depths, if the Glazers want their cash cow to keep them in the lifestyle they enjoy they'll dig deep in the summer or there'll be similar goings on to what we had when we fought to get Hicks and Gillette out of our club.
I think the money has been there, after all, they sanctioned the Fellaini transfer. I they were being tight with the purse strings what sense would it make to sanction a transfer which could have cost millions less a couple of weeks earlier? No business sense there. I think the blame should be placed more toward our new cheif exec. Fergie and Gill worked in unison, Woodward and Moyes were atrocious in the summer. Remember Herrera was due to be signed on deadline day only for the United delegate to mess up the paperwork. Not the Glazers to blame for that.
