attitude and are quick to rubbish claims that
United’s fan culture has been ruined.
Extreme views continue to exist on both sides,
but the majority of United fans wish their non-
league counterparts well and respect their
achievements, even if they remain Manchester
United supporters themselves.
“I’m still a Manchester United fan,” counters
Walsh. “I just don’t support the Glazer business
model. So we decided to do something new.”
Walsh is popular among FC United fans and
respected by many within football, but he has had
a hard ride at times.
“I’ve had threats,” he admits. “I’ve had people
who have come up to me in the street in
Manchester and been very aggressive, but after a
little talk we’ve either agreed to disagree or they’ve
seen what we’re doing.”
FC United’s members have voted collectively
against shirt sponsorship, stadium naming
rights and even showing Sky television in the
clubhouse of their new home.
“As football fans, we were always told: ‘take it or
leave it’,” Walsh explains. “We’re showing there is
an alternative way of doing things – an enjoyable
way that makes football accessible to all.”
The Glazers’ leveraged buyout was a tipping
point for many FC United fans, but it wasn’t the only
issue. Ticket prices were a big gripe for the newer
club’s followers (who now pay just £8 for home
games), as were the changing demographics at Old
Trafford and television’s grip on kick-off times.
However, though largely successful, FC United’s first
decade did hit some rough spots.
“There was a time when I thought the club
wouldn’t pull through, after a site for our ground in
Newton Heath was pulled,” admits Walsh. “But
we’ve come through every setback stronger.”
With opposition to a new football ground from a
minority of neighbours, the recession cutting deepand local authorities making cutbacks, FC United
had significant assistance from a Manchester City
Council enthused by the idea of a community-
minded football club.
They also got a £500,000 grant from the Football
Foundation, a third of which comes from the
Premier League football that so many FC United
fans have turned their backs on.
Asked whether the priority is for FC United to rise
up the leagues or focus on community work, Walsh
says both. “We’re a football club first – if we’re not,
then everything else fails. But a club should be part
of the community.”
Adjacent to FC United’s home is a 3G pitch,
which provides training facilities for the club’s other
sides, including a strong women’s team, and it also
gives local sides such as Moston Juniors
somewhere to play.
With that in mind, leaving politics aside, you can
see how and why FC United is a valuable venture.TEN YEARS OF
THE GLAZERSFourFourTwo.com The Story of Man Utd 101