Thousands of Manchester United fans did not show up for the match against Chelsea on Thursday, voting with their feet. As the Premier League match at Old Trafford began, there were many empty seats.
Outside the stadium, a large number of supporters demonstrated against the Glazers, the club’s owners. This isn’t the first time supporters have taken such a position in recent weeks. Many fans chose to wait until the 17th minute to enter the stadium before the 3-2 triumph over Norwich earlier this month. Each minute represented a year of ownership by the Glazers.
Gary Neville, a United legend, served as a co-commentator for the match against Chelsea. And he noticed that the minute they promised again, crowds began to enter Old Trafford.”A little bit, it’s filled up a little bit.” “I must admit, it’s a strange environment again.” He explained.
Popular Football commentator Martin Tyler added: “The 17th minute was on the agenda for the protesters for every year of Glazer’s control.” Tyler then remarked in the 21st minute, “We’re almost full now,” as the camera moved across the stadium. United fans have frequently criticized the Glazer family’s ownership of their team. The Americans’ decision to join the European Super League last year, which they later dropped, was the final straw for several fans.
Neville has been vociferous in his opposition to the Glazers, and earlier this month urged that they quit. On the Gary Neville podcast, he stated, “They (the Glazers) are taking advantage of us.”
“It is not a decent business when the fundamental activity of that business is failing badly when the cash has been depleted over the last three years to the point that money is still being taken out.” Maybe when the team is rich, winning, has hundreds of millions in the bank, sponsorship contracts are flowing in, there is no COVID, and the stadium is just incredible, you can say, “OK, the owners can take a dividend.” No, not today.
Respectfully, do not take money out of a business when the core activity of the business is failing, when the stadium requires hundreds of millions of dollars to be spent on it, Don’t pull money out of that club when they need a manager who can compete with [Jürgen] Klopp, [Pep] Guardiola, and [Thomas] Tuchel. These do, which is why they must be removed.
Hundreds of fans battled with police outside Old Trafford on that day, with some fans smashing their way inside the stadium, forcing the match against rivals Liverpool to be postponed. However, a disappointing season has reignited the protest movement, with some supporters even protesting at United’s Carrington training base earlier this month.
Manchester United is a publicly-traded company and its fans can buy shares if they might be interested in doing so. Manchester United per unit share was valued at 13.44 USD at the close of the last trading day, April 28th
Anti-Glazer sentiment has risen during a season of disappointment for the team, which has gone five years without winning a trophy despite a slew of high-priced acquisitions. Fans believe the Glazer family is more concerned with increasing commercial and sponsorship revenue than producing a winning squad on the field.
