Manchester United F.C. - Glazer Ownership

From my seat in the North Stand of Old Trafford I watched Manchester United dismantle and destroy an A.C. Milan team in irreversible decline. It was by no means a great performance by Sir Alex Ferguson's team, but it was more than enough to see off the Italian mis-fits. The 4-0 scoreline not only showed the difference between the two sides in question, but also represents the enormous gap between the Premier League and Serie A.

To my left the A.C. Milan supporters had travelled in their numbers defying the inevitable result. They sang loudly and proudly before kick-off. They sang once again after Wayne Rooney had given United an early lead. Then when Rooney netted for a second time just after half-time there was barely a peep out of them. Like their team on the pitch, the stuffing had been knocked out of them. Manchester United showed no mercy and scored twice more before the end. Milan were in shock, the sort of which they have not experienced since that famous Istanbul evening when Liverpool came from three goals down to beat them in the final.

To my right, the Stretford End enjoyed the demolition. They enjoyed gaining revenge for the many humblings Milan had inflicted on them in the past. They enjoyed the attacking style of football and the clinical nature in which the players buried their chances. However, despite the importance of the result, the match was even more significant for off the field reasons as the fans turned up the heat in their fight to remove Malcolm Glazer as proprietor of the club.

The majority of fans hate Malcolm Glazer, of that there is no doubt. They want him to pack up his belongings and get as far away from Manchester as he can go. The American has riddled the club with debt and has even borrowed money from the club. He has ignored the fans who decided to give him a chance when others were strongly opposed to him from the start. Many fans were so incensed at his takeover that instead of supporting the club, they turned in their membership cards and season tickets and started a new club of their own. Many of those who gave him a chance are rueful that they did. Their message is very clear, 'Love United, Hate Glazer'. Not once since he acquired the club has he personally addressed the fans, told us his plans or given us any guarantees. His lack of courtesy has now backfired because the fans will not be messed around again. The current protest will not stop until he has sold the club. Indeed the protest will get more and more intense.

The Milan match saw the return to Old Trafford of former United player David Beckham. He received a wonderful welcome when he came on as a second half substitute, although the Milan fans stayed quiet. Then when Beckham was walking off the pitch at the end of the game, a passionate fan threw a scarf at him. The scarf was green and gold, representing the original colours of the club when founded as Newton Heath, and concurrently representing the official colours of the protest against Glazer. Beckham grabbed the scarf and wrapped it around his neck to which a large cheer was heard from the Stretford End.

The green and gold scarves were everywhere within Old Trafford. They were waved during anti-glazer chants and were more prominent than the traditional red of Manchester United. Some of the Glazer family were sitting in the South Stand and must have been very nervous indeed. The message to them was clear.

At the moment the likely alternative to Malcolm Glazer is a consortium group called the 'Red Knights'. They say they can guarantee pledges from around forty wealthy investors of 1.5 billion pounds. This sort of money should be enough to buy the club but as yet the Glazers say it is not for sale. Despite some support for the Red Knights, especially from fans, there are huge question marks over their real intentions. With at least forty investors it is hard to imagine even the smallest decisions being made quickly with unanimous agreement. Football clubs have always been run most successfully with one figure head in charge. Some of the Red Knights are rumoured to be involved simply for the publicity. Others have been involved in other takeovers of clubs but few have been successful.

There is no doubt that the fans who are protesting vigorously against the current owner must be careful about who they support to take the mantle. They must not choose hastily because they want Glazer out quickly. It makes them look unintelligent, as though they joined the protest without ever understanding the situation.

There are two important men stuck in the middle of this argument, Team Manager Sir Alex Ferguson and C.E. David Gill. Both men are publicly supporting the Glazers as you would expect, yet the Chief Executive David Gill is currently taking all the heat from the fans. If the protestors genuinely believe that Gill is acting against his own beliefs, then so is Sir Alex Ferguson. Why then is the manager not receiving similar treatment? I can only imagine that these so-called protestors are as cowardly as they believe David Gill is for not standing up to Malcolm Glazer.

I supported the team from the North Stand against Milan and I did not get involved in any protest, despite the fact that I am worried about the current ownership. I am worried that the Glazers borrowed 10 million pounds from the club for other enterprises. I feel insulted that the owner of the club I love has not told me once what he wants to do with it. However,my main concern is that the supporters who love the club equally, and maybe even more than I do, are going to deliver Manchester United into a fate even worse than the Glazers.

As far as I am concerned, one should not join a protest unless one is willing to initiate it in the first place. That is why I hate protesting, because most people who join in are not fully committed. The anti-Glazer protest is popular in my opinion because fans like the colour of the scarves. They want to be part of an occasion. They want to believe they are 'hardcore' supporters, when really they don't know what they are giving out about.

As someone who has followed the recent history of Manchester United, I trust only two men, Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill. Remember Sir Alex Ferguson is unsackable. He could say whatever he wished about the Glazers, yet he has backed them. The club has won three league titles consecutively and the Champions League in 2008. There will always be people interested in buying the club so as far as I am concerned the club is safe. It will never just disappear over night like some scare mongers have suggested. The protests will continue and Malcolm Glazer will continue to ignore them, despite David Beckham's apparent backing of the campaign, as seen on the video below.