Glazers can still do one thing for fans
IT was 19 months ago that Joel Glazer took his penitence on United’s official website, apologising for his desperate dalliance with the European Super League and assuring supporters things would change from here on.
The Reds planned to introduce a range of measures in response to the protests against their attempts to enter the ESL, but at the heart of it all was better communication.
In truth, any communication was an improvement.
“We also realise we need to better communicate with you, our fans, because you will always be at the heart of the club,” said Glazer.
United’s co-owner has been on the fans’ forum since then but attempts to introduce a share scheme for supporters have still yet to cone to fruition.
It’s been slow progress and the mood among Old Trafford regulars hasn’t changed. ‘We want Glazers out’ is now heard after every goal United score.
Now, those supporters look like they will get their wish. The statement from the American family on Tuesday confirmed they were looking for fresh investment or a sale and it would be a surprise if this process doesn’t end with them ceding control of the club.
But United’s fans have been burned by their experience under the Glazers. They protested against the takeover in 2005 and the mutiny has only occasionally ceased since then, but they were fundamentally powerless to stop the handover of control 17 years ago.
They don’t have much more power now, but we can expect those match-going fans and those invested in the club and the city beyond the idea of being the richest club in the world to take a diligent view of whoever comes next as owners, a point made by Gary Neville this weekend.
“I think what Manchester United fans need to see is a manifesto from the new owners,” the former Reds skipper said. “Manchester United can’t be handing over to an owner that basically screams against what the club stands for or what the club wants.
“So there are manifesto pledges that I think are really important – like the fan voice, the fan experience and maybe even positions for fans on the board.”
Given their experience with the Glazers, United fans will expect them to take the best offer for them rather than the club, but they could change the habit of an era and begin to communicate a little more in their final months in charge. There will be confidentiality clauses and plenty of reasons for not disclosing offers as the takeover progresses, with The Raine Group overseeing the process, but United supporters deserve the club to be sold to owners who have a clear plan, on the pitch, financially and in terms of supporter engagement, a point made by the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) in an open letter to the Glazers last week. “Fans will want to carefully scrutinise any new prospective owner – most of all we implore them not to repeat the mistakes you did – of alienating the fans that represent the greatest asset of
Our club needs the right ownership and that should be the priority rather than the highest bid MUST
Manchester United,” it said. “You have made huge amounts of money from Manchester United. Hundreds of millions of pounds out, without a single penny of investment in.
“Whatever commercial objective you had in 2005, we suspect you have met it.
“So now you can do two things for your legacy - the first is to prioritise the best interests of Manchester United Football Club over the financial interests of the selling shareholders. Our club, at this moment in time more than ever, needs the right ownership and that should be the priority rather than simply the highest bidders and highest return for you.”
That is a point MUST felt they had to make, given the lack of regulation and oversight in the game.
The reality is the Glazers can sell to whoever they want and the only measure supporters have to stop that happening is protests.
The sale of Chelsea to the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium required government approval and was a complex issue, but it did give supporters a little more power.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust spoke out against the Ricketts family’s attempts to buy the club following Islamophobic comments by Joe Ricketts.
That shows the power of fans and of supporters’ trusts.
It would be best for the Glazers if they chose an owner with the best interests of United at heart, rather than any bid that will just line their own pockets.