FERGIE FIRES FC UNITED BLAST

Source: sportinglife.com

Same article used here: itv-football.co.uk, FOXSports.com, Team talk, Football365.com


Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has criticised the fans who formed breakaway club FC United.

FC came into existence in the summer of 2005 in protest at the Glazer family's purchase of the Old Trafford giants.

Since then they've attracted crowds of up to 6,000 and taken non-league football by storm.

But according to The Manchester Evening News, Fergie has labelled the founding fans self-publicists in a new book.

He said of the formation of the new club in `The Official Manchester United Diary of the Season': "I'm sorry about that. It is a bit sad that part, but I wonder just how big a United supporter they are.

"They seem to me to be promoting or projecting themselves a wee bit rather than saying `at the end of the day the club have made a decision, we'll stick by them.' It's more about them than us."

And he also appears to dismiss the notion of supporters having a say in the running of a football club.

An FC United spokesperson told the paper: "It's sad that Ferguson has chosen to make these comments because a war of words does no-one any good.

"When David Gill made similar comments it was easier to dismiss, but it hard to swallow when it comes from Sir Alex, who as a previous champion of supporters' rights should have a better understanding of the situation.

"The situation is that whether fans stopped going to Old Trafford on a point of principle or because they could no longer afford the prices, they did so with a heavy heart and remain Manchester United supporters. Those supporters deserve better than this."