Caoimhin O’Muraile ⚽ Once upon a time there was a game called football or, to be technically correct Association Football, which was played on Saturday afternoon K.O. at 3pm or Tuesday or Wednesday evenings at 7.30-7.45.
The football supporter of the 1960s, 70s and 80s would usually start life following their team with one or both parents. The early fan would attend games with their parents usually frequenting one of the seated areas of the ground. These were family days out – just as much if not more than the ‘family occasions’ the government and modern Premier League like to boast of today’s expensive fiascos. These days out were affordable for working-class supporters of a team who usually, though not exclusively, came from the immediate area or hinterland of the team they supported. In those days about eighty five percent of Man Utd fans came from the Manchester area with others travelling from neighbouring counties and abroad. Ireland always had a regular travelling support of ‘loyal reds’ in those days and occasionally Norway would bring a small contingent. Liverpool too had a small support from outside Merseyside and Arsenal, often termed the ‘North London Glamour Boys’ even though they originally hailed from South London, would attract some fans from outside the London orbit. So, for the big clubs travelling support for home games has always been a regular feature, feature being the word, not the majority!
Today, however, this feature has become an overriding factor with many of the non-indigenous fans only attending one game or two per season. The reason for this, in many cases, is the sharing among these ‘tourist’ attendees of one season ticket resulting in different people sitting in the same seat every home game. An example of this ‘sharing’ would be based on what I was told; a medical Consultant in Ireland at a leading hospital had ‘”two season tickets for Man United”. My informant went on; “he seldom uses them” but allows “friends to borrow the tickets”. This kind of example which, I understand, is quite common, dilutes the ability of fans to fight back against the Glazers and now another of the business elite, Jim Ratcliffe, and their schemes to exploit even further the supporters at Old Trafford. It is true back in 2021 a joint effort by United fans groups from the greater Manchester area forced the postponement of the home game against Liverpool, the first and only time such fan power has forced such a postponement. This was a one-off spectacular against the owner’s ambitions to enter a so-called ‘European Super League’, and supporters of other clubs also protested against such a move by their clubs but it was the United fans who really spearheaded the campaign with their forced entry into Old Trafford. The tourist crowd dilute the ability to launch such campaigns. Unfortunately, and with the best will in the world, fans cannot invade the stadium every Saturday against the owners. If this were to be attempted the art of surprise, so vital to winning, would be lost as behaviour would be predictable and the Police would have the upper hand. Plus the reliability of the increasing numbers of tourists engaging in such traditional protest, certainly at Old Trafford dating back to the days of Louis Edwards and his Chairmanship, cannot be relied on. In fact these once a season cowboys would probably oppose such behaviour because they do not understand what it is to be a genuine ‘Red’, juveniles of a young age exempted.
Manchester United recently have informed their fans – redesignated ‘customers by the Glazers – “Club to put up remaining Members match tickets to £66 per game for remainder of season”. According to Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) “this means that for an adult member to take their kid to a game in the remainder of this season will cost £132. Well over double the minimum price they could pay to do it today. And this change is happening overnight, immediately” (sic). I received this email on 26th November 2024. The MUST statement goes on; “Suffice to say, that the idea that the fans must pay their fair share for the Clubs excesses and/or mismanagement – and above all, the Glazers lack of investment over two decades – is offensive.” I must stress here this doubling of expenditure for a parent and child is based on that parent taking one child to a game, not two or three, and does not include a visit to the club souvenir shop, or ‘Mega Store’ as todays shop is called. The ‘Mega Store’ is usually for those travelling in to see a game, not all are tourists I must add, from say Yorkshire, Scotland, Wales, Ireland or even further afield where some are the aforementioned tourists while others are relative regulars who might attend six or seven games per season who are usually members of a supporter’s club or association. The figure of £132 does not include food and refreshments and public transport. If two children and an adult attend a game the figure, again match entry only, would rise to £198 rising by £66 with every child. The concessions which under sixteens and over sixty-fives once enjoyed making the expenditure far less have now gone for the rest of this season. The fans are expected, yet again, to pay for the complete fuck up and mismanagement by the Glazers since 2005 at Old Trafford. This is another kick in the teeth for the Old Trafford faithful.
In November 2022 the hated Glazers were reportedly putting United up for sale. This fiasco was well documented at the time so no need to re-examine the farce, as it turned out to be, and in the end, they sold 27.7% to Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS Petrochemical company. First question; what the fuck has petrochemicals got to do with football? Answer, nothing it is all about profit and profit on profit at that. Those who hailed the arrival of ‘Big Jim’ and his Brigands don’t get too carried away because he and the Glazers come from the same egg. Ratcliffe has taken over the football side of things which may be a slight improvement on the Glazers mismanagement of that side of the ‘business’ but at the end of the day he will put profit above the interests of the fans. Early signs most recently this ticket scam proves that this man’s primary concern like all these money grabbing bastards is profit. The former Football Club, now a conglomerate of the Glazers and INEOS, comes secondary to these Bandits overall interests. Recently Ratcliffe and his team sacked manager Erik Ten Hag. This may prove to be a progressive move or may not, time will tell. Ten Hag won two trophies in as many seasons, the League Cup and FA Cup something most clubs would kill for. That said, the standard of football was not improving and, if anything, was getting worse. So, the new man at the wheel, Ruben Amorim has a job to do. The question is; will Ratcliffe give him the time needed, about two to three seasons to bring about a serious contender for the league?
Irrespective of who is manager at Old Trafford it is the treatment of the supporters which to me is the paramount concern! It is clear the gentrification of Man United’s support making attendance at Old Trafford only for those who can afford to attend continues as more and more working-class people will be financially expelled. This ticket hike is for the rest of the season so we are told. I think it will be permanent and was introduced with no consultation with bodies like MUST. It is a disgrace and should be legislated against by government. The average monthly wage in the UK is, supposedly, £2,492 Gross (an exaggerated figure I suspect), so take home pay will be nearer £2,100 per month. In today’s world many people have a mortgage to pay and are living in many cases on HP (Hire Purchase). By the time the family of two adults and two children have been fed and watered going to Old Trafford may be a luxury they cannot afford. Take the £198 figure for one adult and two kids. Add to that £60 for three meals, £20 on travelling fares and then, the nightmare, the kids want to visit the ‘Mega Store’. Kids replica shirts cost £65 each and assuming both children would want one that is another £130 on top of everything else. Then both want a scarf, an up to date version, ranging from between £10-£18 so, let us say a scarf for £15 x 2 = £30. That adds up to around £438 for an afternoon at Old Trafford. For regular fans this expense after the first trip is reduced because not every week will the Mega Store be visited. All the same the twice monthly visits to see United by one adult and two children will cost around £250, expense which most families of working-class people can ill afford. This hike only applies to Members tickets as most tickets are sold before the season starts. This is the modern way and it means even if people do not turn up, as was the case at an Arsenal game a few seasons ago (30,000 fans there maximum but it was recorded as 60,000), a full house is still recorded. No, this hike will hit those who can only afford to attend a few times per season and are club members, societies lower paid workers.
These tricks to feather the pockets of club owners does not only apply to Man Utd. Liverpool fans are disgruntled with their owners, that is those from Liverpool who attend regularly and are not tourists, and on more than one occasion the one time unthinkable has happened. Liverpool independent supporter’s group; the ‘Spirit of Shankly’ (SOS) have approached MUST about their concerns regarding pricing at Anfield by their owner, John W. Henry, owner of the Fenway Sports Group. Henry is a multi-billionaire, like the Bandits at Old Trafford, and his interests are profits first, second and third. Admittedly the Glazers have proved the most despised but that does not mean fans at other clubs are in love with their owners. Another group of Liverpool fans approached a couple of seasons back now, FC United of Manchester about how to form their own alternative to the Anfield exploiters. These disgruntled United fans who formed their own clubs (I am a member of MUST and FC United) did so because they love their team but feel alienated from the club. In todays supposed game, at the top level, the team and the club can be differentiated between. Once upon a time back in the day the club and team were one of the same, this is no longer the case.
In today’s feral world fans who once, back in the late sixties, seventies and eighties, kicked the shit out of each other must today, as has been the case with SOS and MUST, forget their differences, while maintaining their football rivalries. Today we have a far bigger enemy than each other and that enemy is multiple starting with the crooked club owners. A common enemy and therefore a common cause, fighting the exploitation of all of us. Unity is strength, the old days of street battles, fond as these memories are, have gone and must remain in the past.
To MUST members who feel powerless because they are United fans and can go nowhere else, they can. Why not lend your support for a few games in protest at these new price hikes to FC United. Already some fans attend both MUFC and FCUM games and some, like me, are MUST members. This is not like attending, watching, another team which is culturally foreign, because it is not. FC United of Manchester was formed in 2005 to maintain the cultural and historical soul of Manchester United Football Club. Worth a thought, remember “two United’s just one soul,” ‘MUFCUM’. ‘Love United Hate Glazer’.
Today, however, this feature has become an overriding factor with many of the non-indigenous fans only attending one game or two per season. The reason for this, in many cases, is the sharing among these ‘tourist’ attendees of one season ticket resulting in different people sitting in the same seat every home game. An example of this ‘sharing’ would be based on what I was told; a medical Consultant in Ireland at a leading hospital had ‘”two season tickets for Man United”. My informant went on; “he seldom uses them” but allows “friends to borrow the tickets”. This kind of example which, I understand, is quite common, dilutes the ability of fans to fight back against the Glazers and now another of the business elite, Jim Ratcliffe, and their schemes to exploit even further the supporters at Old Trafford. It is true back in 2021 a joint effort by United fans groups from the greater Manchester area forced the postponement of the home game against Liverpool, the first and only time such fan power has forced such a postponement. This was a one-off spectacular against the owner’s ambitions to enter a so-called ‘European Super League’, and supporters of other clubs also protested against such a move by their clubs but it was the United fans who really spearheaded the campaign with their forced entry into Old Trafford. The tourist crowd dilute the ability to launch such campaigns. Unfortunately, and with the best will in the world, fans cannot invade the stadium every Saturday against the owners. If this were to be attempted the art of surprise, so vital to winning, would be lost as behaviour would be predictable and the Police would have the upper hand. Plus the reliability of the increasing numbers of tourists engaging in such traditional protest, certainly at Old Trafford dating back to the days of Louis Edwards and his Chairmanship, cannot be relied on. In fact these once a season cowboys would probably oppose such behaviour because they do not understand what it is to be a genuine ‘Red’, juveniles of a young age exempted.
Manchester United recently have informed their fans – redesignated ‘customers by the Glazers – “Club to put up remaining Members match tickets to £66 per game for remainder of season”. According to Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) “this means that for an adult member to take their kid to a game in the remainder of this season will cost £132. Well over double the minimum price they could pay to do it today. And this change is happening overnight, immediately” (sic). I received this email on 26th November 2024. The MUST statement goes on; “Suffice to say, that the idea that the fans must pay their fair share for the Clubs excesses and/or mismanagement – and above all, the Glazers lack of investment over two decades – is offensive.” I must stress here this doubling of expenditure for a parent and child is based on that parent taking one child to a game, not two or three, and does not include a visit to the club souvenir shop, or ‘Mega Store’ as todays shop is called. The ‘Mega Store’ is usually for those travelling in to see a game, not all are tourists I must add, from say Yorkshire, Scotland, Wales, Ireland or even further afield where some are the aforementioned tourists while others are relative regulars who might attend six or seven games per season who are usually members of a supporter’s club or association. The figure of £132 does not include food and refreshments and public transport. If two children and an adult attend a game the figure, again match entry only, would rise to £198 rising by £66 with every child. The concessions which under sixteens and over sixty-fives once enjoyed making the expenditure far less have now gone for the rest of this season. The fans are expected, yet again, to pay for the complete fuck up and mismanagement by the Glazers since 2005 at Old Trafford. This is another kick in the teeth for the Old Trafford faithful.
In November 2022 the hated Glazers were reportedly putting United up for sale. This fiasco was well documented at the time so no need to re-examine the farce, as it turned out to be, and in the end, they sold 27.7% to Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS Petrochemical company. First question; what the fuck has petrochemicals got to do with football? Answer, nothing it is all about profit and profit on profit at that. Those who hailed the arrival of ‘Big Jim’ and his Brigands don’t get too carried away because he and the Glazers come from the same egg. Ratcliffe has taken over the football side of things which may be a slight improvement on the Glazers mismanagement of that side of the ‘business’ but at the end of the day he will put profit above the interests of the fans. Early signs most recently this ticket scam proves that this man’s primary concern like all these money grabbing bastards is profit. The former Football Club, now a conglomerate of the Glazers and INEOS, comes secondary to these Bandits overall interests. Recently Ratcliffe and his team sacked manager Erik Ten Hag. This may prove to be a progressive move or may not, time will tell. Ten Hag won two trophies in as many seasons, the League Cup and FA Cup something most clubs would kill for. That said, the standard of football was not improving and, if anything, was getting worse. So, the new man at the wheel, Ruben Amorim has a job to do. The question is; will Ratcliffe give him the time needed, about two to three seasons to bring about a serious contender for the league?
Irrespective of who is manager at Old Trafford it is the treatment of the supporters which to me is the paramount concern! It is clear the gentrification of Man United’s support making attendance at Old Trafford only for those who can afford to attend continues as more and more working-class people will be financially expelled. This ticket hike is for the rest of the season so we are told. I think it will be permanent and was introduced with no consultation with bodies like MUST. It is a disgrace and should be legislated against by government. The average monthly wage in the UK is, supposedly, £2,492 Gross (an exaggerated figure I suspect), so take home pay will be nearer £2,100 per month. In today’s world many people have a mortgage to pay and are living in many cases on HP (Hire Purchase). By the time the family of two adults and two children have been fed and watered going to Old Trafford may be a luxury they cannot afford. Take the £198 figure for one adult and two kids. Add to that £60 for three meals, £20 on travelling fares and then, the nightmare, the kids want to visit the ‘Mega Store’. Kids replica shirts cost £65 each and assuming both children would want one that is another £130 on top of everything else. Then both want a scarf, an up to date version, ranging from between £10-£18 so, let us say a scarf for £15 x 2 = £30. That adds up to around £438 for an afternoon at Old Trafford. For regular fans this expense after the first trip is reduced because not every week will the Mega Store be visited. All the same the twice monthly visits to see United by one adult and two children will cost around £250, expense which most families of working-class people can ill afford. This hike only applies to Members tickets as most tickets are sold before the season starts. This is the modern way and it means even if people do not turn up, as was the case at an Arsenal game a few seasons ago (30,000 fans there maximum but it was recorded as 60,000), a full house is still recorded. No, this hike will hit those who can only afford to attend a few times per season and are club members, societies lower paid workers.
These tricks to feather the pockets of club owners does not only apply to Man Utd. Liverpool fans are disgruntled with their owners, that is those from Liverpool who attend regularly and are not tourists, and on more than one occasion the one time unthinkable has happened. Liverpool independent supporter’s group; the ‘Spirit of Shankly’ (SOS) have approached MUST about their concerns regarding pricing at Anfield by their owner, John W. Henry, owner of the Fenway Sports Group. Henry is a multi-billionaire, like the Bandits at Old Trafford, and his interests are profits first, second and third. Admittedly the Glazers have proved the most despised but that does not mean fans at other clubs are in love with their owners. Another group of Liverpool fans approached a couple of seasons back now, FC United of Manchester about how to form their own alternative to the Anfield exploiters. These disgruntled United fans who formed their own clubs (I am a member of MUST and FC United) did so because they love their team but feel alienated from the club. In todays supposed game, at the top level, the team and the club can be differentiated between. Once upon a time back in the day the club and team were one of the same, this is no longer the case.
In today’s feral world fans who once, back in the late sixties, seventies and eighties, kicked the shit out of each other must today, as has been the case with SOS and MUST, forget their differences, while maintaining their football rivalries. Today we have a far bigger enemy than each other and that enemy is multiple starting with the crooked club owners. A common enemy and therefore a common cause, fighting the exploitation of all of us. Unity is strength, the old days of street battles, fond as these memories are, have gone and must remain in the past.
To MUST members who feel powerless because they are United fans and can go nowhere else, they can. Why not lend your support for a few games in protest at these new price hikes to FC United. Already some fans attend both MUFC and FCUM games and some, like me, are MUST members. This is not like attending, watching, another team which is culturally foreign, because it is not. FC United of Manchester was formed in 2005 to maintain the cultural and historical soul of Manchester United Football Club. Worth a thought, remember “two United’s just one soul,” ‘MUFCUM’. ‘Love United Hate Glazer’.
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| Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist. |
The Reds 9 point lead last Sunday will be halved if they don't win their second sticky away game in 3 days @ the Toffees . The Barcodes were worth their point , Salah was one of the few travelling players who turned up . He's scoring a goal a game & tight fisted F S G won't give him a well deserved new contract .
ReplyDeleteDiaz , Trent , Ali have to start @ 12 : 30 Saturday ; without Konate the defence always looks porous , there should of been a defender on the line for the third Newcastle goal .
Unless they buy a quality defender & midfielder in Jan , there won't be a P L or C L trophy residing @ Anfield next Summer . Mickey Mouse domestic cups are a waste of breath .
With the Mersey derby cancelled the 9 point lead will look a lot slimmer by tea time Sunday . Still due to play 7 games over days the next 22 days .
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