It's now ten years since the Glazer family completed their universally popular takeover of Manchester United.
In that time the scion of the family has died and the business has been passed on to his progeny. They have faced allegations that they were stripping the club of finance to shore up shakier parts of their business empire. They have also won over Alex Ferguson and the club has managed to win five Premier League titles and a Champions League.
It is the last detail which has quietened the protests. But how has spending evolved under the Glazers compared with the situation that prevailed before their arrival when the club was a public limited company.
One has to adjust for the inflation in the football transfer market in these figures. Between 1992 and 2005, United's net spend on transfers totalled £124.71 million. This is compared with Liverpool's net spend of £117.28 million in the same time-frame.
It should be noted however that between 1992 and 1997, the early years of Man United's dominance, Liverpool's spending far exceeded that of Manchester United. Any allegation that United bought their dominance in the 1990s is very wide of the mark.
Spending at Old Trafford was ramped up from 1998 onwards.
In the early years of the Glazer era, spending on transfer dipped somewhat. Between 2005 and 2009, a period during which Manchester United collected three Premier Leagues out of four and won the Champions League, United's net spend was a remarkably frugal £900,000.
The principal reason for this low tally was the sale of Ronaldo in the summer of 2009. But there was also a drop off in spending in the early years of the Glazer reign. For instance, they spent just £5.1 million on players between 2005 and 2007. To the outrage of fans, this went in tandem with a 30% increase in ticket prices.
However, the last five years have seen an explosion, peaking in the 2014-15 season, when net spending hit an astonishing £104,200 million.
Overall, between 2005 and 2015, net spending on players has totalled £274.6 million, of which £273.7 million has been forked out since 2010. Since Alex Ferguson's retirement, spending has gone through the roof as United have frantically tried to resurrect their former glory.
However, they have a long way to go to match Manchester City's spending. Between 2008 and 2011, City net spend was a staggering £327,900.
The Premier League record for biggest net spend in a single season was Chelsea back in Roman Abramovich's first season in 2003. They spent £153,000 million.
