FCUM fans considering an official boycott on 27th

[cattlin'srockshop]

While our situations are different and we fought from within to save our club and have just about won, though it was shaky for a good while, I am saddened that we with our experiences are getting into a spat with FCUM.

We should give them 15% and welcome them.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

you are still going to get the shite atmosphere, told to sit down by littlehittler stewards,and sky high prices etc

Welcome to Withdean then mate! Apart for the price for once that is.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

You will love the Withdean experience then

Oops, fi......Serves me right for not reading through the thread!

 

[Mr deez]

We should give them 15% and welcome them.

And we probably would have, had the police told us not to.

 

[les dynam]

Read the article below ive posted this because reading some of your comments most of you seem too be very ill informed about Fc United we represent in my opinion a new way forward in football as fans of Brighton you yourselves have been shafted by greed think Goldstone ground we only want to come and support OUR club a club formed because we will not be forced into paying debt loaded on to Manchester United we are the true United the club that carrys the hopes and dreams of all Mancunians we look forward too our historic game next week and don't underestimate us Rochdale found too their cost that passion and pride goes a long long way were on a mission for all football fans as we are the ones who have the club in our hearts not greedy corporate businessmen


By John Darwin
Lifelong Manchester United fan and long-term Old Trafford season ticket holder until 2005, when he became a founder member of FC United of Manchester




I am 48 and have followed Manchester United all my life but the last game of theirs I went to was the 2005 FA Cup final against Arsenal, when fans wore black to protest against the Glazer takeover.

The arrival of the Glazers left United with more than £500m of debt and helped trigger the formation of FC United of Manchester by fans like me who were angry about what was happening to our club, but also disillusioned by Premier League football.

The years since then have taken us on an incredible journey, which started in Division Two of the North West Counties League. The latest landmark has come in the FA Cup and, although it is only the first round proper of a competition I regularly saw 'big' United win at Wembley, watching FC United play Rochdale on Friday night will be something really special.

The biggest game in this club's history was probably our first, against Leigh RMI in July 2005, but what I used to consider our best day came the week after that when we played a friendly against AFC Wimbledon, who are virtually our sister club because of their history and all the help they gave us in setting up.


A lot of FC fans in the crowd had tears in their eyes afterwards, and I must admit I got a bit emotional myself




That was a great moment, and was probably my favourite right up until the fourth-qualifying round win over Barrow last month that set up the tie with Rochdale. That one will take a lot of beating.

A lot of FC fans in the crowd had tears in their eyes afterwards, and I must admit I got a bit emotional myself. That is definitely part of football and I'm not ashamed to say it.

Reaching the first round of the Cup is a great achievement but everything we have done in the five years since we were set up is definitely something to be proud of. AFC Wimbledon had already shown that fan ownership can work, and we are another example of that.

There was a lot of hand-wringing by some fans about whether forming a new club was the best way to protest against the Glazers but, for me, it wasn't a difficult decision to get involved with FC from the start

What do you think of FC United's achievements in the last five years... and their plans for the future?

I began going to Old Trafford in 1976 as a young teenager, and watched United regularly for 30 seasons home and away - but the Glazers' arrival was definitely the right time to stop.

With the other things that were going on, like the way supporters were being treated over issues like standing and pricing, plus the general over-commercialisation of the game, I'd really just had enough.

I still follow United on TV, when the games don't clash with FC's fixtures. In fact, it's very rare I miss them. It's just I am trying to divorce the football from everything that goes on around it.

I was also in favour of the 'Green and Gold' anti-Glazer protests by United fans who still attend matches, because anything that raises the profile of the issue is a good thing.

But I believe that, ultimately, the only way to get the message across to the Glazers is by hitting them in the wallet - by not giving them my money.

I know other people, no matter what they think about the Glazers, cannot give United up. Most of the friends I went to United with are still going to Old Trafford but, to be honest, I don't miss anything about watching United there. I didn't like the attitude of the stewards, or the atmosphere.

To some extent I do miss going to away games, but I get the same feeling from following FC anyway.

Obviously, as a United fan, I had the mindset of expecting success most of the time. Winning sort of became the be-all-and-end-all and I used to wonder how and why supporters of lowly teams carried on. But I sort of understand that now.

It's not really about winning at all. Yes, FC have won promotion three times and are now one level down from Blue Square Bet North - but the main thing about this club is its sense of community - the rapport among the supporters and making a contribution to the local area.


To me, fans are as important to a club as the players, the manager or the stadium. I don't see FC and United as being different clubs now, we are part of the same thing - and we are all in this together




We have crowds of about 2,000, which is League Two level, but I actually don't want us to climb further up the pyramid yet because we cannot afford to do it until we have got our own ground built. That is our main priority at the moment.

We are currently tenants at Bury's Gigg Lane ground, but there are plans in place for a £3.5m community stadium in Newton Heath, the area where United started. We have got a grant for £650,000 from Manchester City Council but have to find the rest ourselves, which is where the Cup run comes in handy.

There has been a community share issue to raise some of the money we need for the ground but, no matter how much any individual contributes, they only get one vote over the club's future - the same as anyone who pays £12 a year to be a member. That is to preserve democracy, which is one of the core principles of FC.

It's great to see our club doing well, and in the spotlight again with what will be worldwide exposure. And I'm pleased for our players too because some of them could undoubtedly play at a higher level, or get paid more elsewhere, and this is some reward for their loyalty.

But the best thing about our game being televised is that it means the club will get £67,500 to boost our club funds. We need to improve our finances if we are going to progress. We are in this for the long haul and, if and when the Glazers do leave United, the foundations we are putting in place will hopefully sustain us.

To me, fans are as important to a club as the players, the manager or the stadium. I don't see FC and United as being different clubs now, we are part of the same thing - and we are all in this together.

seriously delusional. you seem to think you have invented both non league football and fan protests! get a grip on yourselves.

i can assure you that we would much rather be playing a proper league outfit in the cup rather than some tinpot part-time joke club.

what perhaps you fail to understand, is that you're talking to a set of fans who stayed and fought for their club, tooth and nail. and won.

 

[Springal]

Maybe the club didn't want the full 15% to start with as it meant handing over the cash up front ? Do they have £15k~ lying around ?

 

[CHAPPERS]

I totally agree, especially when you consider all the arse-kissing of AFC Wimbledon that goes on on here. I also think they should have had the 15%.

BUT if the reduction is on police advice (which is shit advice but never mind) I don't see what we can do and I think the FCUM fans should be more understanding of our problems at Withdean.

I hope they don't boycott it. I'm already a bit pissed off with AFC Wimbledon and their attitude to a potential match with MK Dons, I don't want to add FCUM to that list.

Yes, agree with all of that.

I can't believe we would have turned down guaranteed cash and can only think that this was on police advice. I would be interested to find ouy exactly why we have not given them a full allocation, then we can argue the toss over whether we ahve done the 'right' thing or not.

 

[Mr deez]

Yes, agree with all of that.

I can't believe we would have turned down guaranteed cash and can only think that this was on police advice. I would be interested to find ouy exactly why we have not given them a full allocation, then we can argue the toss over whether we ahve done the 'right' thing or not.

The ticket office said yesterday that the allocation has been restricted on police instruction as there was trouble at rochdale.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

I totally agree, especially when you consider all the arse-kissing of AFC Wimbledon that goes on on here.

Indeed, and the AFC fans are NOT all the saints they are made out to be.

 

[n1 gull]

seriously delusional. you seem to think you have invented both non league football and fan protests! get a grip on yourselves.

i can assure you that we would much rather be playing a proper league outfit in the cup rather than some tinpot part-time joke club.

what perhaps you fail to understand, is that you're talking to a set of fans who stayed and fought for their club, tooth and nail. and won.

If they were that interested in non-league Altrinham is just up the road.

Their egos are beyond belief - typical Man U

 

[CHAPPERS]

The ticket office said yesterday that the allocation has been restricted on police instruction as there was trouble at rochdale.

Thanks for clearing that up. Discussion over, boycotting would be ridiculous.

 

[Giraffe]

The ticket office said yesterday that the allocation has been restricted on police instruction as there was trouble at rochdale.

Which is quite ironic given that PC Balkham is a Man Utd fan.

 

[CHAPPERS]

seriously delusional. you seem to think you have invented both non league football and fan protests! get a grip on yourselves.

i can assure you that we would much rather be playing a proper league outfit in the cup rather than some tinpot part-time joke club.

what perhaps you fail to understand, is that you're talking to a set of fans who stayed and fought for their club, tooth and nail. and won.

Yeah, but we stayed and fought for a club that was being destroyed and were unsuccessful, this lot walked away from a club that hasn't finished outside of the top four in the top flight since god knows when. A much different situation.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

I just want to say that Im sure these fans were the ones who cheered when Whiteside raped Ramsey in the cup final.

Plust Im sure these same fans loved it when Utd were winning all before them when Martin Edwards was in charge.

So to them I say f*** YOU.

That is all.

 

[Arthur]

Not really. I remember speaking to a member of the Manchester United marketing team who boasted that 99% of Man Utd fans had never set foot in Old Trafford. So, if the club is admitting they only have a small number of local fans I don't see why the rest of us can't say it.

That's because United have f***ing millions of fans all over the globe.

We've got United season tickets at work and I can assure you that the vast majority of people who go to Old Trafford are from the local area.

It'll probably also disappoint you to find out that the most supported club in englandfans (the England supporters club) is Manchester United.

 

[sirbrian]

but most people just dont like top flight modern football and all the crap that comes with it.

I agree with some of the FCUM comments clubs should be about communities and supporters .. top flight modern football - FIFA how dodgy is all that looking, EPL has no interest in English national team, the money funnelled into the top four and the rest of the EPL with very little elsewhere.

 

[Superphil]

Thanks for clearing that up. Discussion over, boycotting would be ridiculous.

Exactly that.

 

[bhaexpress]

The ticket office said yesterday that the allocation has been restricted on police instruction as there was trouble at rochdale.

There's the reason so it looks like it's down to their own fans so the sympathy stops here. If they boycott the game, given the circumstances it'll be rather pointless and they stand to lose both money and face.

 

[seven stands]

So the best bit about your last game being on tv was the money to help boost club coffers

is that not you hate about the prem and sky tv ( which you still watch utd on )

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Bollocks, we were all delighted to get a much better view for the same price!

Can you just speak for yourself, please?

My kids detest the South Stand, where in three games, they've missed every single Albion goal scored, due to everyone standing up the second the ball gets near the area. In the FS people are more respectful of the little ones' views, and even if everyone does jump up, there's generally another kid in front, so no probs.

And its not the same price either. £1 for U-10s normally. £5 each for FA Cup...