Manchester Utd v Debrecen: Rio Ferdinand's announcement that he has signed a £110,000-a-week contract will not prevent the Malcolm Glazer era at Manchester United kicking off tonight in front of thousands of empty seats and in the middle of one of the biggest security operations staged at Old Trafford.
A turbulent summer that has included a near-riot when the Glazers had their first look at the stadium will see Greater Manchester police make a public appeal for calm today and has left England's best-supported club anticipating their lowest gate for a European match for a decade. They face Debrecen in a Champions League third-round qualifier.
Ferdinand's decision to accept a four-year deal brings to an end another debilitating saga that was threatening to overshadow United's first competitive game under new ownership. Yet any sense of relief felt by Alex Ferguson was tempered by the knowledge that, when the ticket office closed last night, they had sold only 40,000 tickets and have taken the unprecedented step of closing the top tier of the North Stand - a major embarrassment to the club at a time when building work is going on to increase capacity from 67,800 to 75,000.
One problem may have been solved now that Ferdinand has signed until 2009, but the bigger worry for Ferguson will be the sense of fan disillusionment that continues to be so evident in the aftermath of the Glazers' takeover.
When United faced Dinamo Bucharest in last season's qualifier 61,014 turned up, even though they had won the first leg 2-1 in Romania. When they faced Zalaegerszeg of Hungary in 2002 there was a crowd of 66,814 at Old Trafford. Tonight United will take the rare step of opening turnstiles for cash, but the club are acutely aware that anti-Glazer groups such as Shareholders United and the Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association are urging fans to boycott the match.
Greater Manchester police are regarding the match as a high-risk fixture, moreover. Special arrangements have been made to smuggle Glazer's three sons, Joel, Bryan and Avi, into Old Trafford and there will be security guards around the directors' box. There were indications last night that the Americans might stay away but Chief Superintendent Andy Holt is working on the basis that the three will be there.
Around 5,000 fans are planning to stay outside for the first five minutes, at the end of a protest march along Sir Matt Busby Way, and want the tie to kick off with as many empty seats as possible. The aim is to leave the owners in no doubt about the hostility towards the takeover and the implications of fans refusing to go in future.
The Glazers have long since accepted their unpopularity but the fiscal element will undoubtedly trouble them, particularly when they have just sanctioned Ferdinand's salary of around £5.5 million a year. He had been offered a weekly wage of £100,000 but a compromise has been reached after he held out for a figure closer to £120,000.
The announcement should put an end to Ferdinand being barracked by sections of United's support. Indeed, the defender is understood to have asked his adviser Pini Zahavi to accelerate the talks as he was concerned about his growing unpopularity: the upshot is that he is now better paid than Ferguson or the captain Roy Keane.
United have rejected suggestions from Real Madrid that they have inquired about England striker Michael Owen. United have been linked with Owen throughout the summer, with speculation that Ferguson would make a move for the 25-year-old.
Owen's advisors last week claimed they had had "brief dialogue" with three or four Premiership clubs, with United believed to have been one of those involved. That feeling was reinforced yesterday by Real Madrid, who claim United have been in contact over the former Liverpool man. However, United communications director Phil Townsend said: "We have had no contact with Real Madrid over Michael Owen."
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-1-4-1): Van der Sar; Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Heinze; Keane; Ronaldo, Scholes, Rooney, Park; Van Nistelrooy.
DEBRECEN (4-4-2): Csernyanseky; Nikolov, Mate, Eger, Szathmari; Dombi, Sandor, Vukmir, Halmosi; Bogdanovic, Kerekes.
Guardian Service
