Although United enter the festive programme top of the Premiership and apparently in good health, supporters have seized on the massive debt figure - and the news ticket prices will rise by 36% over the next six seasons - as evidence all is not well under the surface.

In particular, the Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST), the group formerly known as Shareholders United, are pointing to the incredible £135m (€201.1m) which will be paid out in fees and interest payments by the end of the season and wondering what could have been achieved with such a mountain of cash.

In a statement, MUST, an organisation with more than 30,000 members, claimed: "If this £135m (€201.1m) had been used to benefit the club it could have:

i) Paid for every regular match-going supporter to watch every home game at Old Trafford this season for free

ii) Bought the equivalent of five Wayne Rooneys with change to spare, or

iii) Allowed a reduction in ticket prices to £15 (€22.35) for home games (just like the prices charged by our rivals in Germany, Italy & Spain) and still paid for two world class players."

Keen not to be seen as just attacking the club for the sake of it, MUST claim to be genuinely pleased by United's rise to the Premiership summit under Alex Ferguson.

However, the fears over United's future financial stability, which they voiced so often during the months leading up to the takeover, remain.

"As United supporters, we are revelling in our current form and are thrilled that we are playing 'United style football' and are top of the league," continued the statement.

"But we cannot turn a blind eye to this cloud that hangs over our future, as there may come a time when our performance on the pitch will not save us from the banks."