After the game, Gao Shen invited Ferguson to an office at the Etihad Stadium and opened a bottle of Chilean red wine for him. Looking at the bustling crowd leaving the stadium outside, the Manchester United coach said with emotion.
"We only have more than 50,000 people, so we are far behind you." Gao Shen smiled modestly.
Manchester United's Old Trafford has more than 70,000 people. Apart from Wembley Stadium, their stadium is the largest in England.
But having said that, Old Trafford has also changed.
Roy Keane once criticized the commercial management of Manchester United's home stadium.
"The audience has changed now. They sit in the stands and just chew shrimp sandwiches. They don't care at all whether they can win the game."
These words caused great repercussions at the time.
Later, as the Glazer family acquired Manchester United, the heavy debt burden forced the Glazer family to start thinking about the price of football tickets. Therefore, in just a few years, Manchester United experienced three consecutive surges in ticket prices, and five consecutive increases.
It rose by 50% during the year, causing outrage among Manchester United fans.
But there is no way. Watching football is a necessity, and you can’t do it if you don’t want to.
The Glazer family's methods are not just as simple as raising ticket prices.
As we all know, the price of season tickets is slightly cheaper than individual tickets. The lower price is used to attract fans to send the ticket purchase amount for the next season to the club in advance. Even Arsenal, which has the highest ticket price, is no exception.
Many people know that Arsenal is the club with the most expensive season tickets in the Premier League, but few people pay attention to the fact that the season tickets of other Premier League teams are tickets for the league's 19 home games, but Arsenal's season tickets are not only
There are only 19 home games in the Premier League, as well as seven home games in European competitions and the FA Cup.
If the team fails to play all 26 home games, a refund will be made in the name of [Cup Credit].
Others are playing 19 games, Arsenal is playing 26 games, so the ticket price is naturally the most expensive.
What about Manchester United?
The Glazer family is very calculating and eager to drain all the savings of Manchester United fans.
In addition to the price increase by half in five years, Manchester United also has a unique secret to making money, that is, the Red Devils' season tickets do not have any discount compared to individual tickets.
For example, in the high-priced stands, Manchester United's loose tickets are 39 pounds, and for 19 home games, that is 741 pounds.
Manchester United's high-priced stand season ticket price is 741 pounds, without discounts.
The low-cost stand's season ticket price of £532 is also in line with a per-game ticket price of £28.
This means that there is no discount for Manchester United season tickets.
As one of the most profitable clubs in the world, Manchester United is very prudent in its operations.
Starting from this season, the British value-added tax will increase from 17.5% to 20%, so Manchester United announced that the ticket price for each game will increase by 1 pound, which is really stingy.
Some people may ask, don't Manchester United fans have any objections to this?
The answer is definitely yes, but what if you have opinions?
Manchester United has a large fan base. Even if you don’t watch it, there are many people who do.
But the result of continuous price increases is that Manchester United's home atmosphere is much worse than before.
More and more fans who are enthusiastic but cannot afford the ticket price are being turned away.
This is why Ferguson lamented that Manchester City has a good atmosphere.
A very important point is that the ticket price of Manchester City is much lower than that of Manchester United. This is mainly because Manchester City's fan base is not as good as Manchester United in terms of income.
When they were still at Maine Road, Manchester City itself represented the ordinary working class.
…
"We are going to go up too!" Gao Shen said with a wry smile.
"Really?" Ferguson was a little surprised.
Are Manchester City ticket prices going to rise too?
"Just a little bit. I heard that we are communicating with fans. The lowest ticket price has not increased for many years. The low price is said to be increased to 325 pounds, and the high price will be increased to 465 pounds."
It's still much lower than Manchester United.
In fact, Manchester City's ticket prices are not high. Especially in the past three years, after the performance has improved greatly, the club's financial problems have caused problems. As a result, Manchester City fans now agree with the team's ticket price increase.
This is why Manchester City fans welcome the increase in season ticket prices.
This is really not because the fans are stupid or blind, but because they all know that the team needs to alleviate financial pressure in order to be able to operate in a healthier and longer term.
If the team is willing to let fans watch the game for free, that is of course the best, but if the team is financially unsustainable, it will not last long.
Therefore, they are willing to support a virtuous cycle.
Of course, from the perspective of Manchester City, which is backed by the Abu Dhabi consortium, this is still somewhat strange.
…
"I've seen the documentary you guys shot. It was so well shot!"
Ferguson suddenly changed the topic and praised.
"To be honest, when I watched that movie, I was really touched. Many things seemed to have happened just yesterday, but when I think about it carefully, it turns out that several years or even decades have passed."
Gao Shen nodded silently, thinking that Ferguson seemed really old.
When people get old, they always like to remember the past.
Just like Ferguson at this moment, is he in the documentary about Liz United?
Rather than saying that, it is better to say that he is nostalgic for the glorious years he once experienced.
"By the way, when will the second episode be released?" Ferguson asked with concern.
Gao Shen laughed, "I just finished filming the first three episodes. The second episode is already on the way, and the crew is still continuing to film."
Looking at Ferguson like that proves that this documentary was indeed well shot.
Leeds United and Channel 4 each invested one million pounds in this documentary, and many scenes were filmed at Leeds United, but I have to admire the ability of Osmond's team. The reputation is really good.
Of course, it is basically impossible for documentaries to ferment as quickly as movies. After all, documentaries are still niche.
But this thing requires a steady stream of water.
Leeds United has launched this documentary on major video platforms, hoping that more and more viewers will see it, understand it, and even like Leeds United. This will be a long-term process.
"You always have a lot of weird ideas, but to be honest, your team, whether it is Manchester City or Leeds United, is very energetic and passionate." Ferguson rarely praised Gao Shen.
"Why do I feel like you have some other motive for this compliment?" Gao Shen smiled with a villainous heart.
Ferguson is angry. I finally want to praise you, but you actually doubt me?
"Two days ago, I saw the news that you were going to hold a New Year's Eve event in China. I forgot the details. The newspaper reported a little bit about it, saying that Chinese fans who participated in the event were invited to come to the UK to watch the game.
, I think this is a good idea.”
Only then did Gao Shen understand.
In fact, this is an idea proposed by Leeds United's office in China.
At present, Leeds United has just started in China, and the official website and forum have just been launched. They are still being promoted, so they want to do some activities to drive a wave of traffic and increase their popularity.
Especially on video platforms and social networking platforms.
This event is to give the ten lucky winners the opportunity to go to Leeds to watch the game live, and Leeds United will bear all the food, accommodation and air tickets.
The event has caused a lot of commotion in China, especially in conjunction with the release of the documentary, and as the Chinese New Year is coming soon, it has caused quite a stir, and the response from fans has also been very enthusiastic and positive.
This response was also noticed by the British media and reported on it.
Gao Shen saw Ferguson's expression and suddenly wanted to ask him a question.
At that time, he had a falling out with the two major shareholders of Manchester United because of the Gibraltar Stallion. Later, he did not object when the Glazer family acquired Manchester United. So does he regret his original choice now?
But after thinking about it, Gao Shen finally didn't ask this question.
He felt that even if he asked, Ferguson would not give an answer.
Ferguson was obviously tired.
There are many things that people outside the club may never know.
Only when you are in it can you know what exactly happened.
Maybe it's right, maybe it's wrong, but at Ferguson's age now, it doesn't matter.
The most important thing is that even if he retires, he is still the godfather of Manchester United!
…
While Gao Shen and Ferguson were talking at the Etihad Stadium, far away at Elland Road in Leeds, the final whistle for Leeds United's game against Arsenal had just blown.
One to zero!
Leeds United upset Arsenal at home.
Wenger did his best in this game. Although many main players were still absent, Arteta, Alexander Song, Koscielny and Squillac all started.
This also allowed the Gunners to easily gain an advantage in the away game and suppress Leeds United.
However, the White Rose played very hard in this game. They did a good job of pressing and pressing, and the defense was also very well organized. This made the Gunners' offense unable to find a breakthrough.
Wenger's starting lineup included the combination of Arshavin, Chamakh and Chamberlain. As a result, he had the advantage and was unable to score until the 68th minute of the second half, when Leeds United counterattacked. Paolini
Austria sent a direct pass, and Icardi seized the opportunity at the critical moment and gave Arsenal a fatal blow in front of the goal.
One to zero!
After the Gunners woke up, they made decisive substitutions, replacing Walcott and veteran Henry.
This also sounded the clarion call for Arsenal to counterattack, but Leeds United began to retreat across the board.
In the end, both sides went back and forth, but no one was able to score again.
Leeds United defeated the Gunners 1-0.
…
When Gao Shen received the news, he had just sent Ferguson off and everyone was beaming with joy.
What a big upset!
It's also Wenger's fault that the starting lineup turned out to be too big.
If Henry and Walcott are allowed to start, Leeds United will probably be doomed.
Not far outside the door, Ferguson also received news from Leeds United.
Because of his skill, he asked Manchester United's scouts to pay close attention to this team.
When he learned that Leeds United had defeated Arsenal unexpectedly, Ferguson couldn't help but frown.
He had a strong sense of foreboding.
Leeds United's promotion to the Premier League may send Gao Shen away, but it is also likely to disrupt the current order of the Premier League again.
Turning around, Ferguson took a deep look at the door that had just been closed, as if he could penetrate the door and see the depth inside.
This is the first opponent that he can't see clearly or guess!
