I disse dage gør man sig sine tanker om det at være United-fan. Og det er desværre ting udenfor banen der sætter disse tanker i gang.
Normalt siger vi United-fans jo, at der er masser af ABU’er derude, folk som vil gøre hvad de kan for at få United ned med nakken og som glæder sig over hver enkelt nederlag United lider.
Det er skam fair nok, og helt i orden.
Selv om Rio bliver tiltalt for at bringe spillet i miskredit, grundet sin twitter-kommentar om “choc-ice” Ashley Cole, selv om Liverpools Daniel Pacheco skrev “Good luck negrito” til Glen Johnson forud for EM.
Jeg må indrømme, at jeg ikke kan se forskellen i disse kommentarer, men FA har jo gentagne gange vist at der ikke er noget som helst ensrettighed i deres afgørelser og beslutninger. Det har vi set mange gange før, og det har Rio også oplevet tidligere på egen krop.
Det er episoder man sagtens kan overskue og til dels acceptere som United-fan. Det har man lært at gøre med tiden.
Det samme kan siges om transfervinduet. Her skiftevis glædes og græmmes vi over at læse de tonsvis af rygter der er alle steder.
Den ene dag er vi lykkelige over udsigten til en ny klassespiller, næste dag rygtes det at vi er færdige med at købe, hvilket kan irritere en noget så alvorligt, da holdet trænger forstærkninger.
Præcis som når vi skuffes helt ekstremt over en tidlig exit fra Champions League, eller når den larmende nabo scorer og vinder mesterskabet i sidste sekund. Den gør ondt, men ikke så ondt som når irritationen og øv-følelsen kommer inde fra. Fra klubben selv. Den klub man føler er ens egen.
Jeg hentyder naturligvis til familien Glazer og deres ejerskab af United. En familie vis handlinger ligger så fjernt fra mig og de fleste andre fans. De kan virkelig gøre livet hårdt for os United-fans.
Siden de overtog United i 2005 har de hevet ekstreme summer ud af klubben. Penge der vel kunne være anvendt bedre hvis de var blevet i klubben.
Stadion kunne forbedres, træningsanlægget ligeså, der kunne hentes bedre spillere, betales højere lønninger, vi kunne have satset mere på ungdomsudviklingen, og mange flere ting.
Men i stedet er de penge gået til afbetaling af renter på Glazers pålagte lån, og gået ned i familiens lommer. Ganske enkelt forkasteligt.
Der er fans der siger, at de ikke har været så dårlige for klubben. De har jo skaffet adskillige store sponsorer og penge i kassen. En påstand der er svær at forholde sig til. For var United ikke allerede i forvejen, inden Glazer kom, en fantastisk velfungerende klub, der ikke havde svært ved at skaffe sponsorkroner i kassen.
En mand som Ferguson kan virkelig splitte mig i disse dage. Jeg har den største respekt for manden, uden ham ville vi aldrig have oplevet de fantastiske 20 år vi har. Men hans konstante opbakning og hyldest til Glazer-familien er for meget.
Er det fordi han har en god økonomisk bonus i vente nu her i forbindelse med det kommende aktiesalg? Der er naturligvis svært at sige, men det kunne da tyde på det. Men mon vi får svaret lige foreløbig. Jeg tvivler.
Som fan kunne man ønske sig, at Ferguson ville åbne øjnene og sige sandheden. Gå ud og kritisere Glazer og deres drift af United. Jeg ved godt at de ikke ville have anden mulighed end at fyre ham. En beslutning der dog ville give enorme protester blandt fansene.
Men jeg kan på den anden side jo godt se, at Fergie ikke vil smides på porten. Han vil naturligvis ikke slutte sin eminente karriere på den måde. Men for pokker, han ville kunne nå endnu højere op i legende-status hvis han gjorde det.
Al den spin der kommer fra klubben i øjeblikket er forfærdeligt at høre på. Det minder om nogle desperate politikere. Desværre er det jo bare som i politik, der er altid nogen som køber budskabet.
Hvor stiller det os så nu? Puha, jeg må indrømme klubben driver længere væk fra en som fan. Holdet, de 11 på banen, har stadig min absolutte støtte, men klubben generelt har efterhånden ikke. Ja, det er lidt af et dilemma. Og alligevel ikke, for det bliver sværere og sværere at støtte en virksomhed, der drives på den måde. Desværre.
English version:
Being a United-fan these days really makes you wonder. Unfortunately it is things outside the pitch that makes you wonder, and gives you a headache.
As a United-fan we know that there is a lot of ABU’s out there. People who hate United, and really enjoy when United lose.
That is okay. It is part of the game.
Even though Rio is being charged with improper conduct because of his Ashley Cole “Choc ice” comment on twitter, when David Pacheco from Liverpool didn’t get charged by the FA when saying “Good luck negrito” to his teammate Glen Johnson before the Euros.
I have to admit, that I can’t see the difference between those two tweets. But the FA has shown several times, that they have context in their decisions. We have seen that in the past, and Rio has felt it on his own body too.
This is episodes you more or less can accept and live with as a United-fan. You have learnt to live with it.
It is the same when it comes to the current transfer-window. One day we are excited about rumors about a new signing, the next day we read that United won’t buy more in the summer. As fans we get annoyed, because the team needs new quality signings
And when we get knocked out way too early in the Champions League, lose a Cup-final or when we see the noisy neighbor win the title in the last second. It really hurts. But not as much, as when the pain, the irritation and the problems come from within the club.
Yes, I’m talking about the Glazer family and their ownership of United. A family whose actions are very difficult for me as a person and as a fan to understand. They really know how to make life hard for me as a United-fan. It makes me furious.
Since they bought United in 2005, they have taken massive amounts of money out of the club. Money the club could have spent.
The stadium could be improved, the training ground could be improved, we could invest more in the youth system, buy better players, pay bigger wages and so on.
But instead, the money has gone straight out of the club and into Mr. Glazer’s pocket. It is an outrage. And he keeps doing it, milking the club and the fans for his own benefit.
Some fans say that the Glazer family hasn’t been that bad to the club, as they have signed some big sponsorship deals. Well, that is difficult to say really. Before the take-over United was a wealthy club, and the club had some big sponsorship deals back then too.
A man like Sir Alex Ferguson has really split my heart lately. On one side, I really adore and admire the man. Without him United probably would not have won all these trophies for the last 20 years. But him constantly celebrating the Glazer’s are just too much.
Is it because he will benefit economically from the upcoming IPO? It is hard to say, but it looks like that. Will we get an answer? Probably not.
As a fan you might want Fergie to come out and tell you what he really thinks about the Glazer’s. That he would open his eyes. Criticize the ownership and the way they run the club. I know, that if he did that, the Glazer’s would only have one option, sack Sir Alex. A decision that would cause huge protests among the fans.
One the other hand, I know that Fergie wouldn’t do that. He wants to end his reign with United with a title or two, and when he decides to call it a day. He doesn’t want to get sacked.
All the spin coming from the club the last months is absolutely terrible to read and listen to. It reminds me of some desperate politicians. Unfortunately it is like in politics, there will always be someone who listens and accepts the shit they say.
So where are we now? I have to admit that the club is drifting further and further away for me as a fan. The team, those 11 players on the pitch, they still have me full support, but the club has not my support. Yes it is a huge dilemma. But maybe not, because it gets more and more difficult to support a company that is being run like this. Unfortunately…
