Another example of fan power on Sunday afternoon causing Manchester United and Liverpool to be postponed, presumably to save the entire footballing community from watching the dire 0-0 that would have almost certainly have been served up.
With that very easy and predictable joke out of the way, I do want to congratulate the Manchester United fans that have protested against their clubs owners.
Their actions will no doubt make the Glazers sit up from their cryogenic chambers and take note, firstly going to the training ground and gaining access and then on Sunday getting inside the ground and onto the pitch. Well done lads. It’s probably the only way to enact real change at a club these days, by mobilising and being as disruptive as possible. Obviously I cannot condone any criminal damage that may have occurred to gain entry to the ground or training ground, but fuck it, I’m sure it’ll all get patched up in no time.
My real question is why is this action being so widely acclaimed, by media personalities and football fans alike when other clubs fans have tried to do the same and been told, better the devil they know, or why should he be forced to sell?
For over ten years I’ve been told that the man in charge of my football club, Mike Ashley shouldn’t be forced into selling my club, it is after all my club, and not his club if you believe the narrative being pushed forward by Sky Sports and the like after the Manchester United protests.
Now let me just contextualise things for you who are uneducated about what Mr Ashley has done since he took over the reigns at Newcastle United.
In no particular order, has lost a constructive dismissal case to Keven Keenan, who was awarded £2m plus interest. He brought in Dennis Wise as director of football, who signed a player based off of his YouTube highlights (I’m over 20 stone and haven’t played football for 10 years but even I’d look good on YouTube highlights)
He renamed St James Park. Sports Direct @ St James Park was the official name of the ground for a while, before those nice people at Wonga decided to try and win over the fans by asking it to be changed back. I use nice people in the loosest sense of the word, at the time Wonga were charging and still probably are charging enormous interest on loans, and the North East of England being the place where they generated most of their business. Cunts.
The club shop at the ground is a Sports direct store in all but name, the profits go to them and the official website is NUFCdirect, which is why I’ve not bought anything from there for 10 years, the profits don’t go into club coffers, they go into Ashley’s.
He informed Jonas Gutierrez and Ryan Taylor they were being released by the club in the same phone call, Jonas having fallen foul of testicular cancer, beat it, then scored the goal they kept us up in the last game of the season at home to West Ham.
He’s given financial backing to two managers in his time at the club, Steve McClaren and Steve Bruce, not Pardew after his took us to a fifth place finish, we signed one senior outfield player that summer. Not after the best manager we’ve had since Bobby Robson pleaded for a little more backing from Ashley and was told to stick it in Rafa Benitez.
Put the clubs staff on furlough during the first Covid lockdown, I’m not sure they’re off it even now, if I missed that memo then I apologise. He hired Joe Kinnear for fuck sake, that in itself should be enough to get anybody out of a club!
I’m sure I’ve missed a few instances Ashley has demonstrated his poor ownership, but according to certain pundits “it’s his club, why should he be forced to sell” or the crooked mouthed cunt Rio Ferdinand “if you don’t like it round your money up and buy the club yourself” the fucking hideous bellend.
So why is that any different to what’s going on at Manchester United, the narrative is they have to sell, they’ve taken money out of the club, if Newcastle is Mike Ashley’s club, then why isn’t Manchester United The Glazers club? Because they’re taking money out of the club? Well if it is in fact their club it’s their money and they can do whatever the fuck they want with it.
Let’s not be too hasty to forget. Manchester was bought for £790m, the Glazers have taken dividends of £1b. But have spent £1.2b on transfers in their tenure. With the club valued at £3b. Must be awful that, signing £90m players and not selling your best players at every possible turn. Not having a narrative of buying low to sell high, and on the verge of a European final this season and being second in the league.
Now don’t get me wrong, what their fans have done to show they want change is brilliant, but one clubs fans doing that can’t be great if another clubs fans can be wrong. That narrative has to change, and it’s lazy to report it as one being ok and the other not.
I wonder when fans return and the vocal dissent from the fans starts inside the ground, will the volume be turned down as it is when the Geordies sing “get out of our club” and why should we be so lucky to want change but Manchester United fans deserve it?
One rule for one and one rule for another.
Cheers, The Fat Man.
Fat Lad Sports 