On the football pitch, mighty Manchester United may be heading the Premier League but on the balance sheet the money making machine is looking decidedly injury prone as the half-time whistle sounds. Lashing out millions to buy the best footballing talent available has eaten into profitability at the publicly-quoted club, half-yearly results this week showing pre-tax profits eroded 24 per cent to £14.9 million. On the credit side, Old Trafford gate receipts rose 3 per cent to £19 million and income from television improved £2 million to £8 million due to an improved deal with BskyB and payments for playing in the European Champions league.

Loyal supporters collect a 9 per cent higher interim dividend of 0.52p per share.