Source: Daily Star (no online content)STAYING with fans for the moment, England supporters who followed their country to Macedonia this week were absolutely superb.
Three years ago, they weren’t even allowed to travel there after bust-ups whenTurkey visited Sunderland’s Stadium of Light.
Banning orders have helped clean things up but so have FA sponsors Nationwide, who have made life so much easier for England fans abroad.
They set up a Nationwide Fans Embassy in Skopje which helped give advice to any supporter who needed it.
His bitter and amazing attack on breakaway Manchester United fans who opposed Malcolm Glazer’s Old Trafford takeover shows he has finally lost touch with reality.
And he has fallen into the trap of believing he is Manchester United, rather than the supporters themselves.
In his diary of United’s season, Ferguson labelled the thousands of rebels ‘self-publicists’ for forming FC United – the club set up by fans who opposed Glazer’s Old Trafford takeover.
Bunch Football supporters are the very heart of a club and if some of those become disillusioned, then that is their right. But they should not be turned on by a man they have held in such great esteem over the years.
FC United followers aren’t a bunch of rag-tag yobs who cause problems for the sake of it. They are disillusioned old school supporters. Many supported United long before Fergie quit Scotland for the riches of the promised land. They do not want to be owned by an American multi-millionaire who has no interest in the game and has managed to get them into possible bankruptcy levels of debt. And who can blame them? In his rant, Fergie complains that he was urged to quit by FC United fans in protest when the Glazers came on board. He defends himself by asking what would have happened to his coaching staff if he had quit.
What about the 25 staff who did lose their jobs through redundancy at the same time? United argued that would have happened anyway, but where is the sympathy for them? But just as important was the focal point – the Nationwide England flag, which fans were encouraged to sign to prove they wereThree Lions followers.
Nationwide did the same thing at Euro 2004 and at the last World Cup, even getting some players to sign it.
This flag will hopefully follow England all the way to Euro 2008.
In an age when sponsors are sometimes criticised for their domination of sports, and the demands on those taking part, Nationwide are proving they are a company who care about the important people – the supporters.
Role
Fergie foolishly then turns on supporters again for their role in saving United from Rupert Murdoch and BSkyB.
He said they had nothing to do with stopping the takeover and it was all down to the inquiry by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. Actually, at the time, the MMCadmittedtheUnited supporters had played a role in pointing out the pitfalls of BSkyB control.
But why does Fergie want to denigrate the fans in this way?
The one point he did have was that the vital moment in the commercialisation of the club camewhentheybecamea plc. It was then that United supporters should really have protested.
But even now, the fans do not deserve to be mocked by a man who they helped make a millionaire – and you can’t blame them if they do complain again now.
Nobody can now compete with Chelsea in the transfer market but after allowing fans to believe there was a large kitty available, United did little in the summer transfer window.
Chief executive David Gill, obviously with the backing of Fergie, claimed United would buy two world-class midfielders, probably before the World Cup started.
As it was, they paid far too much for Michael Carrick, who is not even a first-choice for England – hardly world-class – and could not get Owen Hargreaves in the end.
Debts There seems to be an underlying theme of costcutting at Old Trafford, no doubt because something has to be done to help service the interest repayments on the Glazers’ debts.
A total of 28 players havebeensold,releasedor loaned out this summer, while only Carrick and keeper Tomasz Kuszczak have arrived (and he is on loan).
Maybe the fans, who remain the lifeblood of the club – whether they follow FC United or not – have a point.
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