£4 Million 'Down The Drain' at Dundee United - 20/04/2006

Grocery millionaire Eddie Thompson has said that his personal spending on players for Dundee United was 'money down the drain'. He has spent £1 million a year during his tenure as owner of the club but has not seen results improve. "I have put in a lot of money - roughly £4 million - and I have had little or no return for that investment either on or off the park," said Thompson. Since the end of 2005 the salary bill has been reduced and the highest earning members of the squad have been asked to leave. The latest manager at Tannadice, Craig Brewster, has since been told to operate with a vastly reduced budget compared to his predecessors. "In the long-term we have to get the club running itself and so it doesn't need Eddie Thompson," said Mr Thompson. "The current situation is just silly. I don't mind spending money because I'm a United fanatic but the club cannot rely on me forever." The club has posted a pre-tax loss of over £1 million every year since 1999/2000, at its most severe a loss of £2.87 million in 2002/03, on turnover of between £4 million to £5 million a year. (see Dundee United financial statistics for more details.)