Man Utd fans will protest against the ownership of the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe ahead of the game against Fulham and Michael Carrick has had his say on the issue.
Manchester United fans protest
Manchester United fans will protest against the club's ownership on Sunday
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Michael Carrick insists Manchester United can be successful with the Glazer family in charge despite thousands of fans preparing to protest against the American family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe this weekend. The 1958 group have organised a protest against the current ownership structure ahead of Sunday's game against Fulham, with faith in Ratcliffe's ability to effect change having ebbed away.
Around 6,000 supporters are expected to attend the pre-match protest, which is still going ahead despite Carrick guiding United to back-to-back wins against Manchester City and Arsenal in his first two games in charge. The 44-year-old said he had no problem with the planned protests and thanked the fans for the support they had shown him and the team since he arrived at the club.
"I don't think it connects with the two wins," he said of the protest. "It doesn't affect the team. I fully respect the supporters. They're incredible. They have been for so long and had a lot of ups and some downs as well.
"I'm not offended by it or anything, and the players certainly aren't, I think. Within the stadium, the support we've felt, and that's been there for all the games that I've watched for quite some time, has been of the highest level and I'm sure it will continue to be like that.
"The connection that we've had over the last couple of weeks has been pretty special and we've both fed off that. I think the supporters have fed off it. We have as a group, the players certainly have, and that's something we need to keep building on moving forward, because that's exactly how we wanted it to be."
Discontent with the ownership of United has been a long-running theme for supporters ever since the Glazers first arrived on the scene in the summer of 2005.
Protests have again become more widespread in recent years, and a catalogue of missteps since Ineos became a minority investor in February 2024 have damaged their standing with fans.
Carrick described the Glazers as "great owners" in his book in 2018, but he has played for United during their ownership and has been on the coaching staff and he believes the club can still be a success with the American family involved.
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"Yeah, I think we've had a good couple of weeks and we're moving in the right direction," he said. "We want to keep building on that. I think that's part of the focus here is it's never get satisfied with what we've just done and keep moving forward.
"Off the pitch, whatever goes on in around the club, it's not really for us as a playing group to worry about and let that affect performances. I think it's what we feel, what we can grasp at the minute, we feel the utmost support from the supporters as much as ever, and that's where we want to keep moving towards."