Iron have the better balance sheet

Last updated : 23 September 2010 By Luke Thornhill

That is in the respective bank balances - the visitors may be challenging for the biggest club trophies in the world, but they do not have as much money as Scunthorpe.

At first glance that seems ridiculous - Manchester United can hold almost 76,000 people in their stadium, and most players in their squad heading to North Lincolnshire earn more than the entire Iron playing staff.

As of the end of June 2009, the last date accounts are available, Scunthorpe had £842,687 in the bank. Manchester United do not release accounts, but it is fair to say they probably had more.

The difference is when you look at the debt the clubs have. Manchester United owe around £750million, from the takeover of the club by the Glazer family. Around £500m of this is secured against the club - meaning the banks would take control if the club failed to make repayments.

Scunthorpe, according to the 2008/09 accounts, had a bank overdraft of £191,240 as the only secured debt. The accounts showed around £2.5m due to be repaid to various sources (including an interest-free director's loan) within two years.

With increased revenue from a season in the Championship - plus at least one more to come - and selling Gary Hooper to Celtic this summer for around £2.4m, these figures are nothing for Iron fans to be concerned about.

That cannot be said for supporters of Wednesday's opponents. Disenchantment with their ownership led to the breakaway of some fans to launch their own club - FC United of Manchester - as well as high-profile protests against the Glazer ownership, most notable by the green and gold campaign.

"We are in a precarious position. There are no guarantees about the continuous growth of revenue streams from things like mobile phones they are pinning their hopes on," said Duncan Drasdo, chief executive of the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST).

"There are a lot of pressures growing on the Glazers. Their business interests in America are not going well - their malls are virtually worthless."

The debt has led to suggestions the Glazer family could sell Manchester United.

There appears to be only one option for them should they decide on that route: selling to the Red Knights, a group of wealthy supporters who have the backing of MUST.

"In the long-term it is the supporter-ownership model that we are looking at. But we would be wiling to work with partners," added Drasdo.

"It would be a great story for anyone. It is a great idea to be part of that, but we don't need an investor to put money in - we just need to be allowed to use our own resources."