The infamous green & gold campaign had seemed to have vanished from recent memory with protests wearing thin. But, this Tuesday on the final game of the season against Hull it seems that the campaign is seeing somewhat of a resurgence with a proposed march before the match.
The green & gold campaign never went away, but with less media coverage and support seemingly dwindling; of course that is not to say that Man Utd fans are in favour of the Glazers and this Tuesday anti-Glazer campaigners will hope that they can get the campaign going once again. The American ownership has been fortuitous with the club managing to remain successful with minimal investment for one of the best teams in Europe. In fairness under the current ownership Man Utd have been successful, however some fans would claim with the right leadership and investment the club could have kicked on and won even more.
One fan (Karl a current season ticket holder at Man Utd) said of the Glazers “Well my opinion on them is that they took us for granted, used our money for themselves and I hope to see a Glazer-less United in the future”. The reason for this is well known an over exploitation of the club, taking almost all of the profits the club makes and reinvesting little which in modern business terms is poor management. What is also even more alarming is the amount of debt placed on Man Utd since their ownership.
Since 2005, it is estimated that the Glazer family has drained in excess of £550 million, and the club still remains in debt even though the last annual revenue of the club was 300 million plus. Under their stewardship it appears those who suffer the most are the fans with inflated ticket prices and seeing their team fall behind evermore. This has come to a fore after a poor season.
Some fans decided to leave the club they had supported all their lives and setup a new team F.C United, with propsed idea that the club will be run properly and that the fans will come first; something that is not a commodity in modern football.
In the winter of 2010, much was publicised of the campaign but the fans did not do enough to sustain it; they are up against a stern opposition. A summer of spending is what the ownership believes will appease the United faithful but they’ve had enough it seems. The Glazers will not let their cash cow go on a downward spiral and invest but it’s too late to win back the fans with a mass protest looming.
Supporters groups such as MUST are behind the protest, whether or not they will be successful is another question. But is this the begining of the end for the American ownership or will they like so many times in the past stand resiliant.
