The 1958 Group staged a protest outside Old Trafford ahead of the Fulham clash
Manchester United fans protest on Sir Matt Busby Way. (Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
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There was a cocktail of emotions in the air outside Old Trafford today (February 1) as Manchester United supporters once again gathered in their hundreds to protest against the management of their club.
The principal and most obvious of these was anger. Beginning to gather on Sir Matt Busby Way at 1pm, an hour before the club’s match against Fulham, it was plain to see: on the faces of those protesting, their banners, and their clown wigs, comparing owners the Glazers to a circus.
It was also plain to hear, in their strident voices, ringing out in unison to chants, most of whose lyrics are unfit for publication.
Some of the protestors(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
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United fans have been through a lot in recent years. Endless column inches have been devoted to it: embarrassing cup exit after embarrassing cup exit, a revolving door of managers, the creeping dread last season that those glory days with Sir Alex were in the past and a mid table position was now the best they might hope for.
It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that protests by the 1958 supporters club have been an increasingly regular fixture outside Old Trafford since 2022, railing against the ownership and tactics of the Glazer family and also Sir Jim Ratcliffe, both of whom have seen some staggeringly unpopular decisions in their tenure, not least the raising of member’s matchday ticket prices to a flat rate of £66.
Crowds outside Old Trafford on Sunday February 1(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
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But watching on, you couldn’t help but sense a second emotion among the crowd, that spanned all ages and races, but was almost exclusively male: that of a sheer and enduring passion for their club.
For as well as the bitingly critical and often macabre words directed at the owners, there were also the usual chants you’d hear ringing round Old Trafford on any given matchday.
There were renditions of ‘Red Army’, the United Calypso, ‘We’ll Never Die’, ‘We’ve Seen It All’...not just an expression of bullish anger, this was also a defiant statement of love and passion for their team, despite the perceived missteps in its management.
Smoke bombs were let off (Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
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Smoke bombs in red, green, yellow and white filled the air with choking smoke as the group made their way down Sir Matt Busby Way towards the stadium, looking and sounding at times like a Viking horde on the march.
The crowd watching on was dotted with scores of tense-looking police officers, clad in neon and keeping a close eye on the crowd’s every move.
But police appeared to have little to trouble them, apart from a few police horses shifting nervously as the group made its way towards the stadium, where it joined with another bunch who had walked from Hotel Football, meeting in front of the megastore like the confluence of two furious, red-and-black rivers.
The statue of Sir Matt Busby smiled down on the roiling crowd as it let off even more smoke bombs and yelled more eyebrow-raising chants directed at the United C-Suite, presumably seated somewhere in a plush suite of their own.
You couldn’t fail to note the contrast between the bemused tourists emerging from the megastore with bags full of merch - the club’s new Stone Roses collection starts at £38 for a scarf, and home shirts start at £80 - and the home fans outside, protesting about hikes in member’s matchday ticket prices.
The protest outside the Old Trafford megastore.(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
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“66 quid, you’re taking the p**s,” protestors sang towards the shop doors, whose metal shutters had been lowered and were surrounded by another neon ring of police and security.
Then all at once, there were 20 minutes to go before kick-off. As if by magic, the mood lifted, and like bubbles on the breeze the crowd suddenly dissolved, happily singing ‘United are the team for me’ as they made their way to their seats.
Suspending their ire to become fans again, the concourse quickly emptied, leaving visitors to take their pictures outside the Trinity statue, and last-minute stragglers to skulk around for tickets.
Surely no-one who took part will have any complaints after the afternoon’s performance: a thrilling 3-2 victory over Fulham and interim manager Michael Carrick’s third consecutive win that puts United in fourth position in the table.
But while the mood among the fans is buoyant, you get the feeling it will take more than a few wins to appease this passionate group of protestors, who are baying for change that goes far beyond just what happens on the pitch.