Connect with us

Premier League

WHY MANCHESTER UNITED FANS DISLIKE THE GLAZERS FAMILY

blank

Published

on

blank

It has certainly been a year of sporting contrasts for American businessman Joel Glazer.

In February, he was in celebratory mood, raising the Vince Lombardi trophy as his National Football League team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, won the Super Bowl, led by veteran quarterback Tom Brady.

Three months later, his English Premier League soccer team, Manchester United,had to call off their match against rivals Liverpool following violent protests against the American’s ownership of the club.

The Florida-based Glazer family have owned United since 2005 and have faced fan opposition from the moment they completed their takeover but the leading role they played in the failed attempt to launch the European Super League last month has reignited the protests.

United were due to play traditional rivals Liverpool on Sunday (May 2) but the game was called off by authorities due to safety concerns after protesters clashed with police and some invaded the field.

Advertisement
blank
Fans protest against Manchester United’s owners outside the stadium, on May 2, 2021.PHOTO: REUTERS

One group of supporters broke through security and into the stadium, which was closed to fans due to Covid-19 restrictions, protesting on the field and damaging some property inside the ground.

The late Malcolm Glazer, the family patriarch who made his fortune in real estate and stocks, bought United in May 2005 for £790 million (S$1.45 billion), after entering the sports business in 1995 with a takeover of the Buccaneers.

Since his death in 2014, his two sons Joel and Avram have been co-chairmen of United, with the former playing a prominent part in the recent Super League controversy – he was named the short-lived breakaway’s founding vice-chairman.

That affair has relit the always smouldering protest movement amongst United fans and had now thrown the club into crisis. 

Glazer has apologised for the club’s involvement in the project, which would have seen 12 of the top clubs in Europe breakaway from the established structures to create a privately owned championship.

But United fans have not accepted the apology.

Advertisement

“Actions speak louder than words and he and his family have shown time and again that their sole motivation is personal profit at the expense of our football club,” The Manchester United Supporters Trust said in a statement on Friday.

Former United captain Gary Neville, now a prominent television analyst, said on Sunday that that Glazer’s hope of “rebuilding trust” was a forlorn one.

General distrust

“The Glazers say they want to rebuild the trust but they never had the trust of the supporters. I think (the protests are) a warning to the owners of the football club that ultimately they’re not going to accept what they’ve done in the last couple of weeks,” he said.

“This is a consequence of the Manchester United owners’ actions two weeks ago. There is a general distrust and dislike of the owners, but they weren’t protesting two or three weeks ago.”

The initial hostility to the Glazers was focused on the nature of their takeover – a leveraged deal in which United took on loans of £525 million to finance the acquisition.

Advertisement

An effigy of Malcolm Glazer was burnt in the street during mass protests and there was even a new club, FC United of Manchester, created by fans in 2005.

But the retirement of the club’s hugely successful manager Alex Ferguson, who won a record 13 Premier League championships and two European Champions League titles, led to another wave of opposition to the Glazers.

United have not won a Premier League title since Ferguson’s departure in 2013, struggling to compete with local rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.

Many protests have focused on the Glazer-appointed executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward who, while widely praised for the club’s commercial success in striking global sponsorship deals, was blamed for a succession of poor player signings and coaching appointments.

Woodward tendered his resignation in the midst of the Super League fall-out but his departure has done nothing to calm the anger of hard-core United fans.

Advertisement

Neville agrees with the protesting fans that the Americans should now sell the club.

“My view is quite simply that they’re going to make a fortune if they sell the club and if they were to put it up for sale now, I think the time would be right, and it would be the honourable thing to do,” he said.

But the Glazers have lasted 16 years in the face of hostility and there has been no indication they plan a quick sale.

United issued a statement on the protests on Sunday but did not address the question of their owners’ future or provide any comment from Glazer.

“Our fans are passionate about Manchester United, and we completely acknowledge the right to free expression and peaceful protest,” the club said. “However, we regret the disruption to the team and actions which put other fans, staff, and the police in danger.”

Advertisement

-Reuters

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Premier League

Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win

blank

Published

on

blank
Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, centre left, Ryan Gravenberch, centre, and Diogo Jota celebrate after the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at Selhurst Park in London, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. AP

Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 1-0 to remain top of the Premier League as Arsenal and Manchester City came from behind to win on Saturday.

City were 3-2 victors over Fulham to stay one point behind Liverpool, alongside Arsenal who saw off Southampton 3-1.

Arne Slot has now won nine of his first 10 games since succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, but was frustrated that the visitors invited a late onslaught from the winless Eagles.

Jota prodded the Reds into the lead from Cody Gakpo’s cross on nine minutes.

The Portuguese international was then guilty of missing two big chances to extend Liverpool’s advantage.

Advertisement

Palace failed to make them pay, but victory came at a cost for Slot as goalkeeper Alisson Becker limped off with a hamstring injury.

“If you score the second you break them mentally,” said Slot. “All the fans kept believing in a result because it was only 1-0, even though in my opinion we were the dominant team.”

Fresh from a dominant win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Arsenal were expected to sweep aside winless Southampton.

But the Saints shocked the Emirates 10 minutes into the second half when Cameron Archer fired in his first Premier League goal since a summer move from Aston Villa.

The lead only lasted three minutes before Kai Havertz scored for the seventh consecutive home game.

Advertisement

Gabriel Martinelli was introduced after an hour and took just eight minutes to make his mark with a finish on the volley from Bukayo Saka’s cross.

Having set up Arsenal’s first two goals, Saka pounced on a loose ball to score the third himself.

Fulham’s outrageous opener
 

Rodri’s season-long absence due to a serious knee injury is expected to be a major blow to City’s chances of retaining the title for a fifth consecutive season.

But it was the Spaniard’s deputy Mateo Kovacic who scored twice to turn the game around for the champions at the Etihad.

The visitors had not lost since the opening night of the season at Manchester United and led thanks to Andreas Pereira’s finish from an outrageous backheel assist by Raul Jimenez.

Advertisement

Kovacic’s deflected effort quickly brought City level before a cleaner strike less than two minutes into the second half made it 2-1.

Jeremy Doku then smashed into the top corner from outside the box to give City a two-goal cushion, which they needed.

Rodrigo Muniz gave Fulham hope on 88 minutes, but City held out for a 17th consecutive win against the Cottagers.

West Ham eased the pressure on new boss Julen Lopetegui by ending a run of three home defeats to start the new season.

Michail Antonio, Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta struck for the Hammers in a 4-1 win over Ipswich, who are still waiting for their first Premier League win 22 years.

Advertisement

There were six goals before half-time as Brentford beat Wolves 5-3 to leave the visitors still rooted to the foot of the table.

Leicester secured their first league win of the season as Facundo Buonanotte’s strike beat Bournemouth 1-0.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag faces a huge match if he is to remain in charge when the Red Devils visit Aston Villa in the pick of Sunday’s action.

-AFP

Advertisement

 

Continue Reading

Premier League

Premier League rejects City request to delay next season’s games after Club World Cup

blank

Published

on

blank
 Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - September 28, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts REUTERS/Scott Heppell/File photo

The Premier League has rejected Manchester City’s request to postpone the first two games of the 2025-26 season to help the players recover after their FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the U.S., the club’s manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday.

City and Chelsea are the two English clubs who have qualified for the expanded month-long Club World Cup set to start on June 15. The Premier League’s season will begin in August.

An increasingly packed soccer calendar has been a concern among a growing number of players and managers. A report by global players’ union FIFPRO said some players get only 12% of the year to rest.

The Premier League did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

City midfielder Rodri said in September that players could be close to strike action over the time they are required to play. A knee ligament injury has since put him out for the season.

Advertisement

“I don’t know if we will play more games than the treble year (2022-23)… maybe we’ll play less games,” Guardiola told reporters.

“The Premier League has not allowed us to postpone the first two games for our recovery. Thank you so much. They don’t postpone these games so that will be the moment of, oh, what do we have to do?”

He said the Club World Cup will make it even more difficult for clubs to manage player workload.

-Reuters

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Premier League

Ten Hag’s Man United future not my call, Ratcliffe says

blank

Published

on

blank
FA Cup - Final - Manchester City v Manchester United - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - May 25, 2024 Manchester United co owner Jim Ratcliffe is pictured in the stands before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo

Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said a decision about under-fire manager Erik ten Hag is not his call, and was reticent about whether he still has faith in the team’s boss amid their worst start to the Premier League season since 1986-87.

“I don’t want to answer that question,” Ratcliffe told the BBC. “I like Erik. I think he’s a very good coach but at the end of the day it’s not my call, it’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.

“That team that’s running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren’t there in January, February, March or April — Omar (Berrada, CEO), (Sporting Director) Dan Ashworth — they only arrived in July.

“They’ve only been there . . . you can count it in weeks almost — they’ve not been there a long time so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.”

Ten Hag’s job was the subject of speculation for much of last season en route to the team’s lowest Premier League finish of eighth. After an FA Cup final victory over Manchester City and an end-of-season review, however, Ten Hag signed a new contract to extend his stay at Old Trafford until 2026.

Advertisement

“Our objective is very clear, we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it’s not there yet, obviously, that’s very clear,” Ratcliffe said.

Ten Hag continues to plead for patience from fans with the team languishing 13th in the Premier League table, having lost three of their six opening games. They were headed towards defeat by Porto in the Europa League on Thursday before Harry Maguire scored a last-gasp goal to salvage a 3-3 draw.

-Reuters

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Most Viewed