THE
STORY OF
MAn UTD“ SOME MANCHESTER
UNITED DIEHARDS ARE
AGAINST FC UNITED,
SEEING THEIR FANS AS
‘PREACHY’ AND
SUPERCILIOUS”
A team that started out as an act of defiant protest
has now become a success story in its own right
FC United of Manchester’s 10th anniversary looks
set to be a happy one, for a couple of very
important reasons.
Firstly, their new 5,000-capacity ground,
featuring a 26-step covered terrace that once
stood at Northwich Victoria’s Drill Field, should
finally be open in time for a friendly match against
a Benfica XI on 29 May.
Secondly, after seven years in the Evo-Stik
League, FC United hope to play Manchester
United’s opponents in the 1968 European Cup
Final as league champions, after winning
promotion to Conference North. Their rise has
come under the guidance of Karl Marginson, the
former Rotherham, Macclesfield and Stalybridge
Celtic midfielder who has managed FC United
since the club’s inception. He has now overseen
four promotions.
Their fully covered Broadhurst Park home in
Moston, a working-class area in north Manchester,
cost £6.3 million, with £3 million raised by
supporters (£2 million in community shares and
£1 million cash and loan stock) from their
2,000-average home crowds.
They haven’t got this far without the odd
setback, though. Even completing their new home
has been troublesome, with delays caused by one
of the builders going bust – just one of many
obstacles the club has faced.
General manager Andy Walsh has been there
from the start. The idea of a breakaway club was
raised in the now-defunct Red Issue fanzine,
gaining momentum as fans realised the Glazer
takeover was going to happen.
“I attended meetings about FC held by a
steering committee, and while I couldn’t believe
the progress they’d made, I remained sceptical,”
explains Walsh. “Having defeated a planned
Murdoch takeover in 1998, I thought we could do
the same with the Glazers. I’d already renewed my
season tickets for the 2005-06 season.”
Walsh had been in contact with Alex Ferguson
with the aim of getting the Scot to speak out
against the buyout in a bid to spook the Glazers’
banks, but he failed to persuade the United
manager to not back the takeover.
“Without his support, I think the takeover bid
would have failed,” said Walsh, but by 13 May
2005 the takeover became a formality as the
Glazers acquired the necessary shares.
Ferguson was subsequently dismissive of FC
United and their efforts as they climbed theleagues from level 10 to level seven, where they
missed out on promotion several times in the play-
offs. Protests continued throughout that summer,
with Walsh attending and chairing several
meetings of fans. He’d been active in United-fan
politics for a decade and was well respected.
He cancelled his season tickets, which he’d already
paid for.
“I stood outside the ticket office for 20 minutes
and contemplated,” he explains. “In the end it was
my family who wanted to be part of FC United.”
Although he lives close to Old Trafford, in Stretford,
he hasn’t been to a single United game since.
The formation of FC United was met with a
mixed reaction from Manchester United’s hardcore
match-going fans. Some were – and remain to this
day – against the club, dubbing their fans ‘Judases’
for deserting the team they once supported. These
same Red Devils supporters don’t respect what
they consider to be a ‘preachy’, ‘supercilious’100 The Story of Man Utd FourFourTwo.com
FC UNITED
THE FANS TAKE
BACK THEIR CLUB