The relationship between Manchester United and its fan base has reached one of its most tense stages, amid a growing feeling among long-time fans that the rising commercialism within the club is threatening their position at Old Trafford, and that the administration is gradually favoring fans and tourists who are able to spend larger sums at the expense of season ticket holders and fans who have accompanied the team for decades.
According to a report by the British newspaper “The Telegraph”, the crisis of confidence worsened after Luca Black, the representative of the under-21 category in the “Manchester United Fans Forum”, resigned more than 5 weeks ago, after concluding that the forum was losing its real influence within the club.
Black said that the lack of trust between the fans and the club “has multiplied many times over,” considering that the commercial aspect has now completely dominated the relationship between the two parties. These developments come despite the hopes that accompanied the entry of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who was born in the Manchester area, as an influential partner and his company “Ineos” took over the management of the club’s football and daily operations.
United fans' opposition to the Glazers dates back to before their takeover of the club in 2005, but Ratcliffe's arrival was initially seen as an opportunity to improve the relationship. However, actions taken by the administration over the past two and a half years, from reducing jobs and expenses to changing ticket policies, have led to the opposite result.
The decision to impose a flat price of 66 pounds sterling (about 90 dollars) for some member tickets during the 2024 season, without prior consultation, was one of the reasons for the anger. The discount granted to older fans was also reduced from 50 to 25 percent, while fans who had been sitting for years in the lower south stand were moved to make room for luxury VVIP hospitality seats.
But the issue that pushed the relationship to the brink of explosion was the campaign launched by the club to combat the resale of tickets on the black market. While Manchester United asserts that its goal is to eliminate organized resale networks and ensure that tickets reach real fans, a large number of its supporters believe that the way the measures were implemented was harsh, and that loyal fans were placed in the same box as ticket dealers.
According to the numbers contained in the report, the club withdrew season tickets from 685 fans, while 464 others received warnings or penalties, which included preventing some of them from transferring tickets for home matches to others or applying for tickets for away matches.
On the other hand, 468 fans were completely acquitted after they provided convincing explanations regarding their account activity, which increased criticism directed at the investigation mechanism from the beginning.
Anger was embodied before the last Manchester derby, when thousands of fans went out in a protest march against the Glazer and Ratcliffe family, amidst red, green and gold smoke. The irony is, according to the Telegraph, that ticket sellers were close to the protests, offering tickets to fans coming from abroad for 250 euros, or about 220 pounds sterling.
Steve Crompton, of the 1958 group behind the protests, said the problem was that loyal fans felt the club treated them as if they were part of organized resale networks. He went further when he considered that Ratcliffe's only achievement was “unifying the fan base against him.”
As for Barney Chilton, editor of the fan magazine “Red News,” he said that everyone wants to eliminate the black market, but the administration has used exaggerated measures, adding that what is happening to the club’s historic fans “seems to be the beginning of the end.”
The crisis does not stop at tickets; The last meeting of the “Fans Forum”, in the presence of CEO Omar Berrada, witnessed a tense discussion that lasted more than an hour regarding the issue, and at one point the matter reached an exchange of shouting between a club official and one of the fans’ representatives. Some fans also feel that real influence has shifted from the “Fan Forum” to the Fan Advisory Council, where meetings are subject to confidential agreements and the minutes are not published.
The crisis puts Manchester United in front of a dilemma that goes beyond revenues. In an era in which Premier League clubs spent a record £3.49bn on players during the summer transfer market, clubs are constantly searching for additional sources of income, but fans fear the price will be that the historic clubs are gradually uprooted from their social roots and working-class identity.
One of the veteran fans, Stephen Merry, who has followed United inside and outside its stadium since 1968, summed up the crisis by saying that the fans are “the heart and soul of the club,” but he now feels that the administration no longer wants them as before. The biggest fear is that replacing more paying visitors with regular fans will weaken the atmosphere of Old Trafford itself, and thus affect even the team inside the stadium.
Signs of this have already appeared; During the derby, Stretford End fans raised a banner that carried a clear message to the owners: “The way you treat us is shameful.” For fans who see themselves as part of Manchester United’s identity and not just customers, the battle is no longer just about the price of a ticket, but rather the question of who will have a place at Old Trafford in the future.
Norwegian Erling Haaland, the Manchester City star, confirmed that his arrival to become the all-time top scorer in Manchester derby matches in the English Premier League era is a moment of which he feels particularly proud.
Haaland's decisive goal in the 60th minute, during the 199th Manchester derby the day before yesterday, Sunday, not only ensured a valuable 1-0 victory for Italian coach Enzo Maresca's team, which played with only 10 players, but also made the 26-year-old player the all-time leading scorer for the Manchester derby in the era of the English Premier League.
Haaland's last goal at Old Trafford raised his score in the Manchester derby in the "League" to 9 goals, in 8 matches, surpassing the Argentine Sergio Aguero and the Englishman Wayne Rooney, who each scored 8 goals during their wonderful careers.
For the City star, it was a very special moment after he secured a unique place for himself in the history of one of the most famous confrontations in world football.
Haaland said, in statements reported by Manchester City’s official website: “I knew this record before, I read about it, so it remained in my mind.”
The Norwegian international star added: “I am very proud of that, and this is something that makes me very happy. Because we all know how special this match is.”
He explained: “Since I came to Manchester, they have been joking with me a little, and I have been joking with them a little, but in the end, it is about having some fun and enjoying the love of football and fighting for your team.”
He continued: “I think this match has always been special for me, since I scored my first appearance in the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester United.”
The goal that put him at the top of the derby's top scorers was another classic example of Haaland's natural scoring instinct and exceptional awareness in front of goal.
In a split second, from a position that was not easy at first, Haaland fired a wonderful shot with his scoring instinct, which secured another famous victory in the derby, even if this came after a lengthy review by the video assistant referee (VAR) technology that lasted three minutes.
Haaland continued: “It's just pure instinct, and what I feel is the right thing to do, and in the end, there is no specific answer to this or that, how to end the opportunity, and how to do this or that.”
He continued: “It's just a matter of trying to put the ball in the net, and shooting it well enough so that the goalkeeper can't block it. "And that's just what I'm trying to think about."
With this victory, Manchester City continued its perfect start in the “English Premier League” this season, as it raised its score to 12 points, achieving the full score so far, after winning its first four matches, to sit at the top, on goal difference, in front of its closest rivals, Arsenal (the defending champion), who are equal with them on the score.
The great news for City is that despite all the records that Haaland has achieved during his four years at Etihad Stadium so far, he believes that he is still capable of developing further.
When Haaland was asked about his personal goals for the season, he said: “Of course I have goals, but for me, it is still about improvement.”
Haaland stressed: “I am still 26 years old, and I can still develop aspects of my level. “I have to be the decisive player, so it's about giving what I can to Manchester City, and that's my main goal, and I deal with each match individually.”
The Manchester City star concluded his statements by saying: “It is a long season, so I am just trying to enjoy it.”
