Manchester Football: “Green and gold ‘til the club is sold…”

Premiership
Manchester United 4-0 Hull City

League One
Carlisle 0-0 Stockport; Oldham 0-1 Millwall

League Two
Bury 1-0 Hereford; Cheltenham 1-4 Rochdale

Unibond Premier
Stocksbridge Park Steels 1-1 FC United

Unibond First
Salford City 1-2 Radcliffe

FA Cup Fourth Round
Accrington Stanley 1-3 Fulham; Bolton Wanderers 2-0 Sheffield United; Notts County 2-2 Wigan Athletic; Scunthorpe 2-4 Manchester City

So…the league cup semi final rumpus so far. On the eve of the first leg Gary Neville wrote in his ‘Times of Malta column’ that Carlos Tevez “wasn’t worth £25 million”. During the game Tevez converted a penalty, ran over to Neville on the touchline and made a ‘yap yap’ gesture in his face. Neville showed him the finger (not the priapic ‘twin uzi’s version, incidentally, but the ‘little bird in the nest’ version that you do at the police behind your hand when you’re eight).

“I’m not getting involved, me.” said Sir Alex Ferguson after the game. “Neville’s a sock sucker and a moron,” continued Tevez on Argentinian radio (and in doing so at least introduced the term ‘sock sucker’ to the language) “Calm down,” Mancini told his striker. “Actually, Tevez should have been sent off,” said Ferguson, getting involved. “Gary Neville hit me with a microphone at the Christmas party and there was blood everywhere,” piped up Juan Sebastien Veron in the News Of The World, as if from nowhere.

Both sides claim that the other has “no class”.

Meanwhile, Rome burns. At Old Trafford on Saturday, on the forecourt and in the stands, the fans were just about the only party showing any “class”. The Hull City game, which might otherwise have been remembered for a four goal haul from Rooney, saw the beginnings of a ‘green and gold’ campaign, by which United stalwarts propose to mark their opposition to the Glazer family’s debt leveraged ownership of the club by bringing out their old ‘93/’94 Newton Heath colours - a move originated at the online fans’ forum Red Issue. “Green and gold ‘til they die or fold” is the official mantra, though it’s been ubiquitously morphed into “..’til the club is sold” – which may be wise if the message is to be filtered through the media.

Over the weekend, Duncan Drasdo of the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) reported that “MUST membership has grown by thousands in the last week and that growth is accelerating as supporters realise the damage the Glazers are doing to the club. Bringing Manchester United supporters together is crucial and the green and gold symbol of opposition is a truly inspirational idea.”

Meanwhile IMUSA (the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association) complains of ejections and the confiscation of season tickets. Its claimed there was a ‘collective punishment’ of those seated in the vicinity of the ‘Love United, Hate Glazer’ banner unfurled at the previous week’s Burnley game. “It’s time that a club that calls its fans ‘customers’ started treating them with the dignity and respect that status deserves."

Chairman Mark Longden reckons the green and gold campaign can provide a strong visual representation of feelings in the stands. “I think it is a way for people to quite clearly show what has been done to United due to the dire financial situation without having to boycott the games. It sends a powerful message out.”

There have been initial steps to approach potential consortium members with respect to a buy-out. Among those being sounded out include former board member Jim O’Neill and former sponsor Fred Done.

“We’ve been pointing out the problems with the owners for five years,” says Drasdo. “But now it is there for all to see, and already there is some momentum for change. We’re exploring whether there are people out there who might want to participate, and we have people who move in that world making contacts. It could lead to a consortium buyout, perhaps with supporter involvement, or a stake in any public flotation of the company, which the Glazers do say is an option in their bond issue.”

All of which might seem far-fetched, though the Glazer model is by no means hardwired into football’s corporate future. Last May, remember, United were comprehensively outclassed in the Champions League final by Barcelona – an underachieving supporter-owned club with the UNICEF logo on their shirts.

This week…

Tuesday
(Premiership) 8pm Bolton Wanderers v Burnley; (League One) 7.45pm Stockport County v Brighton & Hove Albion; (League Two) Rochdale v Port Vale; (Manchester Premier Cup 1st Round) Salford City v Radcliffe Borough

Wednesday
(Carling Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg) 8pm Manchester United v Manchester City; (Premiership) Blackburn Rovers v Wigan Athletic; (Unibond Premier) 7.45pm FC United v Frickley Athletic

Saturday
(Premiership) 3pm Liverpool v Bolton Wanderers; West Ham United v Blackburn Rovers; Wigan Athletic v Everton; 5.30pm Burnley v Chelsea; (League One) 3pm Oldham Athletic v Brentford; Southampton v Stockport County; (Unibond Premier) Durham City v FC United; (Unibond First) Radcliffe Borough v Mossley

Sunday
(Premiership) 1.30pm Manchester City v Portsmouth; 4pm Arsenal v Manchester United