Quote Originally Posted by IainR View Post
We have our success based on legendry status, thats why we have huge fan bases and that comes from Busby and his babes, then Fergie yes he spent but he also had the class of 92... there was no spending beyond our means. Look at our annual profits...
But is it not all a bit of an artificial award that Man Utd fans award themselves, "we earned our money".

I mean, you rightly concede that Man Utd gained massive popularity on the back of a desperate tragedy. They previously had form in the murky stuff like the 1915 bribery case, subsequently they were owned by a host of characters, from gamblers to guys who peered in under toilet doors , I remember the Busby family itself were treated rather poorly surrounding the merchandise superstore, owners fell out with a manager over horse semen, a company like Nike with form in the sweatshop world supply gear, they batted eyelids at some guy who spoke with aliens and so on and so forth.

So it's not like the copybook is free of any blots. Not that I would say they are worse than others either, mind you..and certainly the allegations involving Shinawatra are appalling. But specifically on the issue that "we earned our money"...is the obvious answer in these days "so?". It sounds like something an Arsenal fan might boast about "yeah but we are the best run club and look at our new stadium". Once an owner meets the fit and proper guff and the club meets the fair play rules, that's kinda it really.