Malcolm Glazer's commitment to financial cutbacks at Manchester United has extended to the club's squad, after it emerged last night that some of Alex Ferguson's fringe players had to pay £72 each for tickets to watch the League Cup final. Several directors, scouts, coaches and senior staff also had to dip into their own pockets after a Glazer-inspired decision that has provoked condemnation throughout Old Trafford, particularly in the dressingroom.

Glazer's edict meant that any player or coach not directly involved with Ferguson's first-team squad had the choice of buying the most expensive ticket available in the Millennium Stadium or missing the match. As one example, Richie Jones is understood to have been charged despite playing in earlier rounds against Barnet, West Bromwich and Birmingham.

The players were unimpressed when they subsequently discovered United had allocated as many as 70 complimentary tickets to sponsors and other guests.

Questions have been asked about whether the club's hierarchy have their priorities right, with senior players such as Gary Neville understood to be sympathetic to the grievances of their younger colleagues. The Football League said last night that it had given United and Wigan 100 free tickets each for the final on February 26th.

Ferguson's stance is not entirely clear but before the Glazers' takeover last summer he had always striven to take his entire staff and squad to cup finals, taking the traditional view held by nearly every major club that it should be a perk.

This included a free flight, accommodation and ticket for the Champions League final in Barcelona in 1999, with everyone from the chef Jesper Jesperson and the nutritionist Trevor Lea flown in.

This time, it is thought the chief executive David Gill told Ferguson the orders came from the Glazers and the manager decided there was nothing he could do about it.

The details have emerged, indirectly, from one of Ferguson's players, with a club spokesman admitting last night the edict applied to "players, coaching staff and directors who were not involved with the first team". The club went on to state that those people who missed out on freebies "were given the opportunity to buy tickets".

By this ruling Ferguson's reserve-team coach Rene Meulensteen would theoretically have had to buy his own admission, as would the manager's own brother Martin, a prominent member of United's scouting network.

Two of the club's longest-standing members of staff - the secretary Ken Merrett and his assistant Ken Ramsden - are believed to be among those who found out via an internal memo from Gill. High-ranking officials from the commercial department, currently working on a multi-million sponsorship deal, were also affected.

Combined with the 25 job losses early in the Glazers' reign, it is said to have affected morale among the workforce.

Last night there were reports that LG Electronics had withdrawn from talks about replacing Vodafone as the club's shirt sponsor. "It seems they (United) are playing with media in order to raise the price in the bidding," an LG official was quoted in the Korean Times.

None of this will improve the Glazers' standing among fans at a time when the new regime's opponents have daubed graffiti over Old Trafford. Supporters may have another shock when next season's ticket prices are announced shortly. An increase is expected, though the club will argue they are entitled to raise prices in line with some Premiership rivals and tickets will still be far cheaper than, say, at Stamford Bridge.

With the new quadrants taking capacity to just under 76,000, United calculate they will earn about £3 million from every sell-out next term.

LG Electronics were the latest company to be linked with United, who are looking for a successor to Vodafone, whose own contract will be terminated in the summer, two years earlier than planned.

Burnley manager Steve Cotterill yesterday snapped up United defender Phil Bardsley on loan until the end of the season.

The 20-year-old United youth product has made eight Premiership appearances for the club this season and two Champions League appearances, mainly as a stand-in during Gary Neville's spell on the sidelines.