Edited from: Wall Street Journal
By GABRIELE MARCOTTI
...
Newton Heath Resurrected in Manchester
Visitors to Old Trafford who witnessed Manchester United's 3-1 victory over Manchester City on Wednesday night in the return leg of the semifinal of the English League Cup noticed a number of the home supporters clad in green and gold, rather than the club's traditional red. The colors refer to Newton Heath, as the club was known from its founding in 1878, until 1902, when it attracted new investors and was renamed Manchester United.
The green and gold is the fans' way of protesting against club owner, Malcolm Glazer, who acquired United in 2005 in a leveraged takeover. Mr. Glazer, who also owns the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is highly unpopular among United supporters (chants of "Love United! Hate Glazer!" regularly echo across the stadium whenever the team plays). They blame him for saddling the previously debt-free club with some $1.1 billion worth of debt. United's decision to refinance the borrowing with a bond issue worth nearly $800 million, has once again stoked up antipathy towards the American owner.
It's not the first time local fans have come up with novel ways of expressing their displeasure at Mr. Glazer. When he acquired United, there were mass protests at matches and a group of fans decided to break away entirely, forming their own club: FC United of Manchester. FC United features the traditional red shirts (albeit without any kind of sponsors' logo) and is a public trust, owned by the fans. After several promotions, it now plays in the seventh tier of the English soccer pyramid and their not-so-secret dream is to one day square off against the "other" United in a league match.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Durham 1 FC United 2
Source: Manchester Evening News
January 30, 2010
Second half goals from Joe Yoffe and Phil Marsh spared FC United’s blushes in an unconvincing 2-1 victory at rock-bottom Durham on Saturday.
A woeful first half display from FC saw them fail to create a single chance against a young Durham side who have lost every league game this season, conceding more than 100 goals in the process.
However, the Rebels upped the ante after the interval and were immediately rewarded when Joe Yoffe broke the deadlock five minutes in to the second period.
The visitors’ play improved after taking the lead, but they had to wait until the 76th minute to seal the win through a superb 25-yard effort from Phil Marsh.
Durham grabbed a late consolation goal from a free kick, but FC held on for their first win in six games.
Karl Marginson’s side are back in action at home to Ashton on Wednesday (7.45pm).
January 30, 2010
Second half goals from Joe Yoffe and Phil Marsh spared FC United’s blushes in an unconvincing 2-1 victory at rock-bottom Durham on Saturday.
A woeful first half display from FC saw them fail to create a single chance against a young Durham side who have lost every league game this season, conceding more than 100 goals in the process.
However, the Rebels upped the ante after the interval and were immediately rewarded when Joe Yoffe broke the deadlock five minutes in to the second period.
The visitors’ play improved after taking the lead, but they had to wait until the 76th minute to seal the win through a superb 25-yard effort from Phil Marsh.
Durham grabbed a late consolation goal from a free kick, but FC held on for their first win in six games.
Karl Marginson’s side are back in action at home to Ashton on Wednesday (7.45pm).
Friday, January 29, 2010
City hoping for record gate against FC United
Source: Newcastle Evening Chronicle
Jan 29 2010 Evening Chronicle
DURHAM City hope to record their biggest gate of the season when they host fans’ club FC United of Manchester at the Esh Stadium tomorrow.
FC United are the best supported side in the UniBond Premier Division, averaging crowds of almost 2,000 at their Gigg Lane base.
However, the current campaign sees the club, which was formed in 2005 by disillusioned Manchester United fans, languishing in the bottom six.
Travelling support has dwindled but should still be enough for Durham City to beat their previous best home crowd this season, 209 against Retford United in August.
FC United were held to a goalless draw at home to fellow strugglers Frickley Athletic in midweek and are looking for their first win in seven games.
Meanwhile, Durham City manager Lee Collings is expecting a reaction from his side after the 10-0 hammering at Boston United last Saturday.
Collings said: “FC United gives us the chance to regain some credibility, and it is a pity we hadn’t played them earlier in the season as they would have brought several hundred fans.
“Like us, they are struggling, but they have signed a couple of players on loan from Football League clubs this week and will expect to get back on track at our expense.
“I was very disappointed with our display at Boston. Some of the young lads froze in front of a big crowd, but they are determined to put on a show tomorrow.
“I will have the rare luxury of selecting from a full squad and strikers Josh Home-Jackson and Elliot Cutts will both return.”
Home-Jackson has shrugged off a back injury, while Cutts has served a one-match ban to face an FC United of Manchester side that had debutant Adriano Rigoglioso sent off against Frickley on Tuesday.
Jan 29 2010 Evening Chronicle
DURHAM City hope to record their biggest gate of the season when they host fans’ club FC United of Manchester at the Esh Stadium tomorrow.
FC United are the best supported side in the UniBond Premier Division, averaging crowds of almost 2,000 at their Gigg Lane base.
However, the current campaign sees the club, which was formed in 2005 by disillusioned Manchester United fans, languishing in the bottom six.
Travelling support has dwindled but should still be enough for Durham City to beat their previous best home crowd this season, 209 against Retford United in August.
FC United were held to a goalless draw at home to fellow strugglers Frickley Athletic in midweek and are looking for their first win in seven games.
Meanwhile, Durham City manager Lee Collings is expecting a reaction from his side after the 10-0 hammering at Boston United last Saturday.
Collings said: “FC United gives us the chance to regain some credibility, and it is a pity we hadn’t played them earlier in the season as they would have brought several hundred fans.
“Like us, they are struggling, but they have signed a couple of players on loan from Football League clubs this week and will expect to get back on track at our expense.
“I was very disappointed with our display at Boston. Some of the young lads froze in front of a big crowd, but they are determined to put on a show tomorrow.
“I will have the rare luxury of selecting from a full squad and strikers Josh Home-Jackson and Elliot Cutts will both return.”
Home-Jackson has shrugged off a back injury, while Cutts has served a one-match ban to face an FC United of Manchester side that had debutant Adriano Rigoglioso sent off against Frickley on Tuesday.
Local football: City look for response
Source: Sunderland Echo
Published Date: 29 January 2010
Durham City manager Lee Collings is looking for a massive reaction from his players in tomorrow's UniBond League Premier Division game against FC United of Manchester at the Esh Group Stadium.
He said: "It goes without saying that I was very disappointed with the performance at Boston (which City lost 10-0).
"I've spoken to most of the lads and they are determined to put on a show tomorrow."
Elliott Cutts is available again and Collings' only doubt is former Chester-le-Street striker Josh Home-Jackson.
He made the long journey to Boston last weekend only to be injured in the warm-up and was unable to play.
Published Date: 29 January 2010
Durham City manager Lee Collings is looking for a massive reaction from his players in tomorrow's UniBond League Premier Division game against FC United of Manchester at the Esh Group Stadium.
He said: "It goes without saying that I was very disappointed with the performance at Boston (which City lost 10-0).
"I've spoken to most of the lads and they are determined to put on a show tomorrow."
Elliott Cutts is available again and Collings' only doubt is former Chester-le-Street striker Josh Home-Jackson.
He made the long journey to Boston last weekend only to be injured in the warm-up and was unable to play.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Blues come through FC United of Manchester test
Source: Hemsworth and Southelmsall Express
Published Date:
28 January 2010
By Nick Rigg
FC United 0
Frickley Athletic 0
FRICKLEY Athletic bounced back from their weekend thrashing at North Ferriby with a share of the spoils at relegation rivals FC United of Manchester last night.
It could have been more for the Blues after the hosts, backed by a support of almost 1,500 inside Gigg Lane, were reduced to ten men in the first half.
But Frickley boss Billy Heath will have been pleased that his men collected their first point of the new year in what he described as a "tough test" before the game.
It also moved the Blues up to 17th and above Matlock Town in the UniBond Premier Division.
Heath introduced 19-year-old defender Charlie Fisher into the Blues defence after signing the youngster on a one-month loan deal from Doncaster Rovers.
Skipper Steve Heath also returned after serving a one-match suspension.
And the visiting defence had to be on their toes in the early exchanges as United looked for an early goal.
Duane Grace was well positioned to divert a Jerome Wright effort over the bar.
Frickley, too, looked dangerous and Danny Walsh came close with a 25-yard drive that was cleared to safety.
The main talking point came on 20 minutes when Adriano Rigogliosio was sent off for the hosts for a crunching tackle on Jonathan Groome.
Groome was forced off through injury and Matty Bloor came on to replace him.
Frickley looked to take advantage of their extra man and came close through Neil Towler and Phil Lindley as chances came at both ends before half-time.
And the goal opportunities continued in the second half, this time Danny Clarke and Chris White coming close for the visitors.
But the hosts could have snatched all the points late on when Wright's deflected effort forced Blues stopper Adam Nicklin into a fine save.
FC United: Ashton, Jacobs (Chadwick 90min), Quistin, Cotterill, Tong, Nugent, Rigogliosis, Carden, Wilson (Yoffe 81min), Wright, Marsh ( Deegan 70min). Subs not used: Holden, Roca.
Frickley: Nicklin, Fisher, Grace, Walsh, Heath, Lindley (Jones 59min), Clarke, Groome (Bloor 22min), Morris (Palmer 83min), Towler, White. Subs not used: Pierrepont, Moody.
See today's Hemsworth and South Elmsall Express for all the latest news, match reports and previews from Frickley Athletic.
Published Date:
28 January 2010
By Nick Rigg
FC United 0
Frickley Athletic 0
FRICKLEY Athletic bounced back from their weekend thrashing at North Ferriby with a share of the spoils at relegation rivals FC United of Manchester last night.
It could have been more for the Blues after the hosts, backed by a support of almost 1,500 inside Gigg Lane, were reduced to ten men in the first half.
But Frickley boss Billy Heath will have been pleased that his men collected their first point of the new year in what he described as a "tough test" before the game.
It also moved the Blues up to 17th and above Matlock Town in the UniBond Premier Division.
Heath introduced 19-year-old defender Charlie Fisher into the Blues defence after signing the youngster on a one-month loan deal from Doncaster Rovers.
Skipper Steve Heath also returned after serving a one-match suspension.
And the visiting defence had to be on their toes in the early exchanges as United looked for an early goal.
Duane Grace was well positioned to divert a Jerome Wright effort over the bar.
Frickley, too, looked dangerous and Danny Walsh came close with a 25-yard drive that was cleared to safety.
The main talking point came on 20 minutes when Adriano Rigogliosio was sent off for the hosts for a crunching tackle on Jonathan Groome.
Groome was forced off through injury and Matty Bloor came on to replace him.
Frickley looked to take advantage of their extra man and came close through Neil Towler and Phil Lindley as chances came at both ends before half-time.
And the goal opportunities continued in the second half, this time Danny Clarke and Chris White coming close for the visitors.
But the hosts could have snatched all the points late on when Wright's deflected effort forced Blues stopper Adam Nicklin into a fine save.
FC United: Ashton, Jacobs (Chadwick 90min), Quistin, Cotterill, Tong, Nugent, Rigogliosis, Carden, Wilson (Yoffe 81min), Wright, Marsh ( Deegan 70min). Subs not used: Holden, Roca.
Frickley: Nicklin, Fisher, Grace, Walsh, Heath, Lindley (Jones 59min), Clarke, Groome (Bloor 22min), Morris (Palmer 83min), Towler, White. Subs not used: Pierrepont, Moody.
See today's Hemsworth and South Elmsall Express for all the latest news, match reports and previews from Frickley Athletic.
Love football, hate debt: The FC United story
Source: ESPN
By Robin Hackett
January 28, 2010
Back in 1998, a substantial number of Manchester United supporters launched a protest movement against media magnate Rupert Murdoch's proposed takeover of their club. In 2005, many of those same supporters protested against US businessman Malcolm Glazer as he tried to do the same.
In contrast to the success of the anti-Murdoch campaign in getting the Monopolies and Mergers Commission to overturn the takeover, the protests five years ago were, of course, in vain. Malcolm Glazer bought the club and brought in family members as non-executive directors on the board.
Despite the initial indignation, the widespread anger around Old Trafford became significantly less pronounced as United delivered success on the pitch and gave those who stayed loyal to the club little to complain about. As predicted, ticket prices increased, but so did demand for seats as Sir Alex Ferguson established a team that won three Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FIFA World Club Cup and the League Cup.
In recent months, though, supporters' animosity has been growing again. While the Glazers publicly backed Ferguson when he refused to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid in 2008, many believe the manager has not been given enough backing following the departures of Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez last summer. Ferguson suggested the relative lack of investment that followed was down to a lack of value in the market, but the news that the debt created by the takeover has ballooned to over £700 million and the publicity surrounding a £500 million bond scheme have sown doubts and provoked substantial anger in those fans who "Love United, Hate Glazer".
The current situation comes as little surprise to Andy Walsh. A lifelong Manchester United fan - "I always have been and always will be" - Walsh was the figurehead of the anti-Murdoch campaign that achieved its aim during the 1998-99 season which brought the team's famous 'treble'. In 2005, Walsh was also part of the original steering committee that founded a new club, FC United of Manchester, following the Glazer takeover, an event that proved to be the final straw after years of feeling that football was being taken away from local communities.
"I think the current situation at United is a scandal," he said. "We did everything we could as supporters at the time to stop the Glazers. We said the only way that the Glazer business plan could operate would be to increase prices but that, even then, there was a danger it could take the club under.
"We contacted The FA, Premier League etc and asked them to step in, and they all said, 'No, no, we're quite happy - everything the Glazers are saying is sustainable'. To actually see it go this way, there's no satisfaction. It's really just a scandal that the authorities, including the government, have allowed this situation to transpire.
"I think it's not just a Manchester United problem now - this is something that has afflicted the game. There's over 40 clubs have gone into liquidation or administration since the advent of the Premier League. There's going to be more - Crystal Palace this week, possibly Portsmouth, possibly Liverpool.
"Right the way from the top to the bottom, there seems to be a very loose regulatory framework."
Walsh, who works full-time as FC United's general manager, has revealed that the malaise surrounding the current state of the English game has led to supporters of a number of other sides getting in touch to ask about the process of founding a new club.
"At the time of the original takeover, we put a campaign together and we wanted to demonstrate that fans could run a successful club and create an alternative. If the Glazers' business plan was to increase ticket prices, that would mean more and more fans would be disenfranchised, so we wanted to have an affordable alternative. We wanted to refocus football's purpose towards being part of its community and not just a place for rich investors.
"We've already had enquiries from [fans of] other clubs, including Portsmouth, about our experiences and asking for advice on what to do to go about setting up similar enterprises."
FC United have followed in the footsteps of AFC Wimbledon - established in 2002 in reaction to Wimbledon FC's relocation and transformation into MK Dons - and both clubs have enjoyed a huge amount of success in climbing the football ladder.
FC United
Michael Dean/Other
FC United have enjoyed plenty of success in their first few years
AFC Wimbledon are now in the Blue Square Premier, looking to make it into the play-offs and reach the Football League, while FC United were promoted in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and are now in the Unibond League Premier Division, six divisions below the Glazer-run United. Walsh, though, stresses that they have no intention of living beyond their means to ensure further progress.
"Three successive promotions took us into the Unibond. We won a couple of trophies along the way and we play at Gigg Lane with crowds in excess of 2,000 in a league where the average is 250, 300. We've over 1,000 season ticket holders and 2,000 members.
"If we get enough supporters to sustain a higher level of football, we'll go for it, but we won't bankrupt the club with high wages. At the moment, we've probably got the lowest wage structure within our league but the added bonus for the players is that they're playing in front of 2,000 passionate fans every week.
"We're currently not doing so well in the table but that's because we're so many games behind everybody else - but we've still got 2,000 members and we've still got 1,000 season ticket holders, and that's the strength of supporter ownership. My belief going into this - and which has been strengthened because of this - is that the future for football is supporter ownership and supporter involvement."
Few clubs in the global game could offer a better advertisement for supporter ownership than Barcelona, who won every trophy available to them in 2009 including a Champions League triumph over United, and Walsh believes that football will increasingly become the game of the people.
"There needs to be a system in place that gives those people who care most about their club a stake in their club. That may require legislation; it certainly requires stricter regulation from the football authorities.
"There are lots of different models for setting up supporter-owned football clubs. It's not just ourselves and AFC Wimbledon - you look at Exeter and the success that they've got. It needs the support of organisations such as Supporters Direct to get off the ground and so people can share their experiences, but I certainly think it is the way football is going to go so that we have a sustainable future, free from the boom-and-bust system that we've got at the moment.
"There's no better example than the current European champions to show that the idea of supporter-owned football clubs is serious and can mean success at the highest level. All you need is the will to get there."
By Robin Hackett
January 28, 2010
Back in 1998, a substantial number of Manchester United supporters launched a protest movement against media magnate Rupert Murdoch's proposed takeover of their club. In 2005, many of those same supporters protested against US businessman Malcolm Glazer as he tried to do the same.
In contrast to the success of the anti-Murdoch campaign in getting the Monopolies and Mergers Commission to overturn the takeover, the protests five years ago were, of course, in vain. Malcolm Glazer bought the club and brought in family members as non-executive directors on the board.
Despite the initial indignation, the widespread anger around Old Trafford became significantly less pronounced as United delivered success on the pitch and gave those who stayed loyal to the club little to complain about. As predicted, ticket prices increased, but so did demand for seats as Sir Alex Ferguson established a team that won three Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FIFA World Club Cup and the League Cup.
In recent months, though, supporters' animosity has been growing again. While the Glazers publicly backed Ferguson when he refused to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid in 2008, many believe the manager has not been given enough backing following the departures of Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez last summer. Ferguson suggested the relative lack of investment that followed was down to a lack of value in the market, but the news that the debt created by the takeover has ballooned to over £700 million and the publicity surrounding a £500 million bond scheme have sown doubts and provoked substantial anger in those fans who "Love United, Hate Glazer".
The current situation comes as little surprise to Andy Walsh. A lifelong Manchester United fan - "I always have been and always will be" - Walsh was the figurehead of the anti-Murdoch campaign that achieved its aim during the 1998-99 season which brought the team's famous 'treble'. In 2005, Walsh was also part of the original steering committee that founded a new club, FC United of Manchester, following the Glazer takeover, an event that proved to be the final straw after years of feeling that football was being taken away from local communities.
"I think the current situation at United is a scandal," he said. "We did everything we could as supporters at the time to stop the Glazers. We said the only way that the Glazer business plan could operate would be to increase prices but that, even then, there was a danger it could take the club under.
"We contacted The FA, Premier League etc and asked them to step in, and they all said, 'No, no, we're quite happy - everything the Glazers are saying is sustainable'. To actually see it go this way, there's no satisfaction. It's really just a scandal that the authorities, including the government, have allowed this situation to transpire.
"I think it's not just a Manchester United problem now - this is something that has afflicted the game. There's over 40 clubs have gone into liquidation or administration since the advent of the Premier League. There's going to be more - Crystal Palace this week, possibly Portsmouth, possibly Liverpool.
"Right the way from the top to the bottom, there seems to be a very loose regulatory framework."
Walsh, who works full-time as FC United's general manager, has revealed that the malaise surrounding the current state of the English game has led to supporters of a number of other sides getting in touch to ask about the process of founding a new club.
"At the time of the original takeover, we put a campaign together and we wanted to demonstrate that fans could run a successful club and create an alternative. If the Glazers' business plan was to increase ticket prices, that would mean more and more fans would be disenfranchised, so we wanted to have an affordable alternative. We wanted to refocus football's purpose towards being part of its community and not just a place for rich investors.
"We've already had enquiries from [fans of] other clubs, including Portsmouth, about our experiences and asking for advice on what to do to go about setting up similar enterprises."
FC United have followed in the footsteps of AFC Wimbledon - established in 2002 in reaction to Wimbledon FC's relocation and transformation into MK Dons - and both clubs have enjoyed a huge amount of success in climbing the football ladder.
FC United
Michael Dean/Other
FC United have enjoyed plenty of success in their first few years
AFC Wimbledon are now in the Blue Square Premier, looking to make it into the play-offs and reach the Football League, while FC United were promoted in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and are now in the Unibond League Premier Division, six divisions below the Glazer-run United. Walsh, though, stresses that they have no intention of living beyond their means to ensure further progress.
"Three successive promotions took us into the Unibond. We won a couple of trophies along the way and we play at Gigg Lane with crowds in excess of 2,000 in a league where the average is 250, 300. We've over 1,000 season ticket holders and 2,000 members.
"If we get enough supporters to sustain a higher level of football, we'll go for it, but we won't bankrupt the club with high wages. At the moment, we've probably got the lowest wage structure within our league but the added bonus for the players is that they're playing in front of 2,000 passionate fans every week.
"We're currently not doing so well in the table but that's because we're so many games behind everybody else - but we've still got 2,000 members and we've still got 1,000 season ticket holders, and that's the strength of supporter ownership. My belief going into this - and which has been strengthened because of this - is that the future for football is supporter ownership and supporter involvement."
Few clubs in the global game could offer a better advertisement for supporter ownership than Barcelona, who won every trophy available to them in 2009 including a Champions League triumph over United, and Walsh believes that football will increasingly become the game of the people.
"There needs to be a system in place that gives those people who care most about their club a stake in their club. That may require legislation; it certainly requires stricter regulation from the football authorities.
"There are lots of different models for setting up supporter-owned football clubs. It's not just ourselves and AFC Wimbledon - you look at Exeter and the success that they've got. It needs the support of organisations such as Supporters Direct to get off the ground and so people can share their experiences, but I certainly think it is the way football is going to go so that we have a sustainable future, free from the boom-and-bust system that we've got at the moment.
"There's no better example than the current European champions to show that the idea of supporter-owned football clubs is serious and can mean success at the highest level. All you need is the will to get there."
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Rebels return for Wilson
Source: Manchester Evening News
Sam Williams
January 26, 2010
PROLIFIC striker Kyle Wilson has rejoined FC United on an initial one-month loan deal.
Wilson scored 24 goals in 32 appearances for the Rebels last season before moving back in to league football with Macclesfield over the summer.
But the 24-year-old has had limited first-team opportunities Moss Rose, and FC boss Karl Marginson was only too happy to bring him back to Gigg Lane.
“I’m delighted because Kyle is a quality player,” said Marginson.
“It’s selfish of me to say that because he’s got the talent to play in the league and I wish it had worked out for him at Macclesfield.
“But hopefully he can do well for us here and then move up again.”
The deal, which could be extended until the end of the season, was struck quickly and Wilson could be in line to make his second debut for the club against Frickley on Wednesday night.
“I’ve been monitoring the situation since day one and Kyle’s not been featuring as much as he’d like there,” said Marginson.
“I rang Keith Alexander up yesterday to ask about him, and he told me they’d be willing to let him go out on loan.
“It’s a boost for us, and Kyle is fully fit and looked sharp in training last night so he’s definitely in contention for the Frickley game.”
Meanwhile, full-back Simon Garner has left the club, and midfielder Tunji Moses has decided to take a break from football due to personal reasons.
Sam Williams
January 26, 2010
PROLIFIC striker Kyle Wilson has rejoined FC United on an initial one-month loan deal.
Wilson scored 24 goals in 32 appearances for the Rebels last season before moving back in to league football with Macclesfield over the summer.
But the 24-year-old has had limited first-team opportunities Moss Rose, and FC boss Karl Marginson was only too happy to bring him back to Gigg Lane.
“I’m delighted because Kyle is a quality player,” said Marginson.
“It’s selfish of me to say that because he’s got the talent to play in the league and I wish it had worked out for him at Macclesfield.
“But hopefully he can do well for us here and then move up again.”
The deal, which could be extended until the end of the season, was struck quickly and Wilson could be in line to make his second debut for the club against Frickley on Wednesday night.
“I’ve been monitoring the situation since day one and Kyle’s not been featuring as much as he’d like there,” said Marginson.
“I rang Keith Alexander up yesterday to ask about him, and he told me they’d be willing to let him go out on loan.
“It’s a boost for us, and Kyle is fully fit and looked sharp in training last night so he’s definitely in contention for the Frickley game.”
Meanwhile, full-back Simon Garner has left the club, and midfielder Tunji Moses has decided to take a break from football due to personal reasons.
Blues to take winning mentality to FC United of Manchester
Source: Hemsworth and Southelmsall Express
Published Date:
26 January 2010
By Nick Rigg
FRICKLEY Athletic boss Billy Heath insists his men will be looking for all three points when they travel to relegation rivals FC United of Manchester tomorrow (kick-off 7.45pm).
The Blues travel to Gigg Lane level on points with United, with both clubs sitting just three points above the UniBond Premier Division relegation spots.
But Frickley won't be taking a defensive mentality with them across the Pennines as Heath looks for a big response from his men following their 5-1 defeat at North Ferriby United on Saturday - their biggest loss of the campaign so far.
"We'll be going there trying to win the game," he said.
"Our plan to go away and play a 4-5-1 formation and look for a draw hasn't really been effective before so we won't be going there to be defensive minded."
Defender Steve Heath returns for Frickley after sitting out a one-match ban, but Lee Booth will be unavailable for selection.
Karl Marginson's men haven't won since Saturday, November 14, a 3-2 win at Hucknall Town.
But Heath thinks the game could well provide a tougher test than their forgettable visit to North Ferriby at the weekend.
He said: "It will be a tough test for us on Wednesday, no doubt about it.
"I think it'll be a tougher test than on Saturday because of the crowd and because of the importance of the game for us."
He continued: "By all accounts they did a number on Stocksbridge at the weekend and were unlucky not to come away with a win."
See Thursday's Hemsworth and South Elmsall Express for all the latest Frickley Athletic news, match previews and reports.
Published Date:
26 January 2010
By Nick Rigg
FRICKLEY Athletic boss Billy Heath insists his men will be looking for all three points when they travel to relegation rivals FC United of Manchester tomorrow (kick-off 7.45pm).
The Blues travel to Gigg Lane level on points with United, with both clubs sitting just three points above the UniBond Premier Division relegation spots.
But Frickley won't be taking a defensive mentality with them across the Pennines as Heath looks for a big response from his men following their 5-1 defeat at North Ferriby United on Saturday - their biggest loss of the campaign so far.
"We'll be going there trying to win the game," he said.
"Our plan to go away and play a 4-5-1 formation and look for a draw hasn't really been effective before so we won't be going there to be defensive minded."
Defender Steve Heath returns for Frickley after sitting out a one-match ban, but Lee Booth will be unavailable for selection.
Karl Marginson's men haven't won since Saturday, November 14, a 3-2 win at Hucknall Town.
But Heath thinks the game could well provide a tougher test than their forgettable visit to North Ferriby at the weekend.
He said: "It will be a tough test for us on Wednesday, no doubt about it.
"I think it'll be a tougher test than on Saturday because of the crowd and because of the importance of the game for us."
He continued: "By all accounts they did a number on Stocksbridge at the weekend and were unlucky not to come away with a win."
See Thursday's Hemsworth and South Elmsall Express for all the latest Frickley Athletic news, match previews and reports.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The romance of United is dying – for the Glazers it's all about cash
Source: The Observer
The Premier League champions have secured a £500m lifeline – but that should not be enough to head off an Old Trafford revolt, says Julian Coman, a lifelong supporter
* Julian Coman
* The Observer, Sunday 24 January 2010
Deep into the second half of Manchester United's match against Burnley last week, there was a moment to lift the heart and revive the spirit. It didn't involve Wayne Rooney and it didn't take place on the pitch, but it could have repercussions far beyond the significance of United's flattering 3-0 victory over their lowly neighbours.
The Burnley supporters were goading the locals, and their choice of topic was incendiary – a gleeful chant of "we've got more money than you". This was an ironic reference to the huge debt inflicted on the English champions by their American owners, the Florida-based Glazer family, who also own the American football team Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The response came from behind the goal where the old Stretford End has traditionally housed the most fanatical section of the crowd. A group of young men unfurled a banner that read simply: "Love United, Hate Glazer". Orange-jacketed stewards scrambled to confiscate this brazen example of thought crime at the "Theatre of Dreams" and frogmarch the dissidents out of the ground. But the piece of agit-prop achieved its purpose. For the next 10 minutes, furious chanting against United's American owners swept around a stadium that suddenly seemed to regain its passion and sense of identity.
I wasn't there to experience it because in May 2005 – when Malcolm Glazer bought Manchester United and passed on to the club the £540m worth of debt that he incurred in the process (it now stands at more than £700m) – I stopped going to Old Trafford after regularly attending games for 32 years.
Like 4,000 other dissidents, I became a founder member of a club formed in protest at the takeover, FC United of Manchester, who currently play in the upper reaches of non-league football and try to give a glimpse of how a football club could be differently run – by fans.
It was not necessarily a popular choice at the time: some United fans accused the FC crowd of "splitting" and betrayal. There was tension and, on occasion, violence in and around Manchester. Other long-standing supporters also made different and often heartbreakingly difficult decisions. Some threw their season tickets away and stopped going to a football ground where they no longer felt at home.
A substantial proportion of the hard core continued the passion of a lifetime, but committed themselves to a Fight From Within (FFW) against the enemy regime. Some went only to away games, where they were not giving the Glazers their money. Thousands and thousands of fans simply buried the memory of ever having sung "United: Not for Sale" and got on with watching the football.
And for five years nothing happened. FC did gain three promotions in a row, but the FFW never materialised. After a shaky start to the Glazer era, United were inspired once again by the club's long-serving manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. The Glazers kept a sensibly low profile and enough supporters swallowed the savage annual hikes in ticket prices to keep Old Trafford at its 76,000 capacity and the debt serviced. The place was changing; it was more nakedly about parting people from their money, but resentment was passive and muted.
This month all hell broke loose. And battle, possibly, is about to be rejoined. The club's 2008-09 accounts reveal that, two years after Northern Rock crumbled, Wall Street trembled and Sir Fred Goodwin marched RBS into the abyss, it may be United's turn to suffer the consequences of the economics of "irrational exuberance". The figures demonstrate that, even after the most successful spell in the club's history (three successive league titles, one Champions League, one losing European final and the highest average attendances in world football), a huge loss was only avoided last year through the sale of perhaps the world's best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, for the world's biggest ever fee, £81m.
Like a footballing Lehman Brothers, England's best-supported club has maintained its outward swagger while being devoured from within by a toxic combination of excessive debt and wildly irresponsible assumptions of future success. Too big to fail? Probably. Too big to go into wholly unnecessary decline? Certainly not. And if United's results turn sub-prime, who will finance the debt, currently standing at £711m?
The level of indebtedness forced on to the club to pay for the unwanted Glazer takeover, and the punitive interest payments (£68m last year; £325m since 2005), require that United somehow sustain a level of success never before achieved in English football, simply to keep the debt under control. Within Old Trafford, those who might speak out are choosing not to.
Ferguson, to the frustration of many, has remained silent on the state of the club's finances. Gary Neville, the veteran full-back and club captain, said last week that the debt and its implications were not an appropriate subject for players to discuss. David Gill, the chief executive, originally opposed the Glazer takeover on the grounds that the debt loaded on to the club would cause "significant strain on the business".
Last week he was pitching a £500m bond to potential investors, secured (of course) on United, but designed to ease pressure on super-high interest accruing on loans now amounting to £201m, for which the Glazers are personally liable. News that he had succeeded came on Friday, and the merry-go-round of deferred, repackaged debt goes on, predicated on an asset that cannot guarantee its future returns. Doesn't it sound at all familiar?
What hope there is for rebellion lies with the likes of the ejected rebels. MUST (Manchester United Supporters Trust) is attempting to organise a protest march outside Old Trafford before the home leg of the Champions League tie against Milan in March. Hopefully the "don't go any mores" – the FC fans, the only-aways and the FFW lobby – will all be there, fighting to wrest the soul of United back from a form of corporate extortion.
Resistance has to come from those who either remember or are capable of imagining a different ground and a different club, one that exists to promote its own sporting glory as a community, rather than to pay off the debts of a businessman based in Florida or provide a dividend for uninterested shareholders. For not all the blame lies with the Glazer family. For 30 years, those in charge of Manchester United have attempted to monetise the charisma of an institution that gained a special status after the Munich air disaster in 1958 that wiped out a successful side. The club was in the first wave of football plcs and pioneered the development of merchandising revenue.
It aggressively positioned executive seating sections in the heart of the old Stretford End and renamed it the West Stand, a gesture of intent towards the plc's less profitable "customers" if ever there was one. The words "football club" were dropped from the badge on players' shirts – the future lay with Manchester United, the brand. In the process the business laid itself open to the ruthless exploitation of Glazer, who would analyse the drive for profit and, recklessly, believe that he could do better, at the expense of those who created the value in the first place.
Since 2005 the cost of match tickets has almost doubled. In the 1970s, as an overawed boy from a gentle market town, I used to gaze in intimidated admiration at the working-class lads in flares who divided the Stretford End up between themselves and infused the ground with a rawness, noise and intensity almost absent today. If you want to find the 21st-century successors to that generation, you'll find them watching the game at the pub. They're not part of the United family any more.
It's not only the young. In recent years, if United are on Sky, a sizeable crowd gather at the Bishop Blaize pub, a stone's throw from Old Trafford. They've "gone to the match" but they can't afford to leave the pub. Some of them don't want to. Inside the stadium, as the current edition of the respected fanzine United We Stand puts it, "the 'Theatre of Dreams for the working class' has turned into 'the Disney of football stadiums'". It is a place where all too often a monied demographic passively consumes a product and is quick to complain if it doesn't come in the form of a win.
There is a famous story involving George Best during the early 1970s when drink and womanising were taking their toll. Best was found in bed with Miss World and a pile of banknotes from a casino win. "Where did it all go wrong, George?" a waiter asked in mock despair. United are currently champions of England, lie third in a tight race in the Premier League and play Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League. And via the £500m bond, the Glazer family have succeeded in refinancing their debt and escaping the immediate clutches of the vulture funds. "Where did it all go wrong, Malcolm?"
But it has gone seriously wrong, and if the fans don't push for it to be put right and for the Glazers to be forced out, all United fans will live to regret it.
The Premier League champions have secured a £500m lifeline – but that should not be enough to head off an Old Trafford revolt, says Julian Coman, a lifelong supporter
* Julian Coman
* The Observer, Sunday 24 January 2010
Deep into the second half of Manchester United's match against Burnley last week, there was a moment to lift the heart and revive the spirit. It didn't involve Wayne Rooney and it didn't take place on the pitch, but it could have repercussions far beyond the significance of United's flattering 3-0 victory over their lowly neighbours.
The Burnley supporters were goading the locals, and their choice of topic was incendiary – a gleeful chant of "we've got more money than you". This was an ironic reference to the huge debt inflicted on the English champions by their American owners, the Florida-based Glazer family, who also own the American football team Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The response came from behind the goal where the old Stretford End has traditionally housed the most fanatical section of the crowd. A group of young men unfurled a banner that read simply: "Love United, Hate Glazer". Orange-jacketed stewards scrambled to confiscate this brazen example of thought crime at the "Theatre of Dreams" and frogmarch the dissidents out of the ground. But the piece of agit-prop achieved its purpose. For the next 10 minutes, furious chanting against United's American owners swept around a stadium that suddenly seemed to regain its passion and sense of identity.
I wasn't there to experience it because in May 2005 – when Malcolm Glazer bought Manchester United and passed on to the club the £540m worth of debt that he incurred in the process (it now stands at more than £700m) – I stopped going to Old Trafford after regularly attending games for 32 years.
Like 4,000 other dissidents, I became a founder member of a club formed in protest at the takeover, FC United of Manchester, who currently play in the upper reaches of non-league football and try to give a glimpse of how a football club could be differently run – by fans.
It was not necessarily a popular choice at the time: some United fans accused the FC crowd of "splitting" and betrayal. There was tension and, on occasion, violence in and around Manchester. Other long-standing supporters also made different and often heartbreakingly difficult decisions. Some threw their season tickets away and stopped going to a football ground where they no longer felt at home.
A substantial proportion of the hard core continued the passion of a lifetime, but committed themselves to a Fight From Within (FFW) against the enemy regime. Some went only to away games, where they were not giving the Glazers their money. Thousands and thousands of fans simply buried the memory of ever having sung "United: Not for Sale" and got on with watching the football.
And for five years nothing happened. FC did gain three promotions in a row, but the FFW never materialised. After a shaky start to the Glazer era, United were inspired once again by the club's long-serving manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. The Glazers kept a sensibly low profile and enough supporters swallowed the savage annual hikes in ticket prices to keep Old Trafford at its 76,000 capacity and the debt serviced. The place was changing; it was more nakedly about parting people from their money, but resentment was passive and muted.
This month all hell broke loose. And battle, possibly, is about to be rejoined. The club's 2008-09 accounts reveal that, two years after Northern Rock crumbled, Wall Street trembled and Sir Fred Goodwin marched RBS into the abyss, it may be United's turn to suffer the consequences of the economics of "irrational exuberance". The figures demonstrate that, even after the most successful spell in the club's history (three successive league titles, one Champions League, one losing European final and the highest average attendances in world football), a huge loss was only avoided last year through the sale of perhaps the world's best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, for the world's biggest ever fee, £81m.
Like a footballing Lehman Brothers, England's best-supported club has maintained its outward swagger while being devoured from within by a toxic combination of excessive debt and wildly irresponsible assumptions of future success. Too big to fail? Probably. Too big to go into wholly unnecessary decline? Certainly not. And if United's results turn sub-prime, who will finance the debt, currently standing at £711m?
The level of indebtedness forced on to the club to pay for the unwanted Glazer takeover, and the punitive interest payments (£68m last year; £325m since 2005), require that United somehow sustain a level of success never before achieved in English football, simply to keep the debt under control. Within Old Trafford, those who might speak out are choosing not to.
Ferguson, to the frustration of many, has remained silent on the state of the club's finances. Gary Neville, the veteran full-back and club captain, said last week that the debt and its implications were not an appropriate subject for players to discuss. David Gill, the chief executive, originally opposed the Glazer takeover on the grounds that the debt loaded on to the club would cause "significant strain on the business".
Last week he was pitching a £500m bond to potential investors, secured (of course) on United, but designed to ease pressure on super-high interest accruing on loans now amounting to £201m, for which the Glazers are personally liable. News that he had succeeded came on Friday, and the merry-go-round of deferred, repackaged debt goes on, predicated on an asset that cannot guarantee its future returns. Doesn't it sound at all familiar?
What hope there is for rebellion lies with the likes of the ejected rebels. MUST (Manchester United Supporters Trust) is attempting to organise a protest march outside Old Trafford before the home leg of the Champions League tie against Milan in March. Hopefully the "don't go any mores" – the FC fans, the only-aways and the FFW lobby – will all be there, fighting to wrest the soul of United back from a form of corporate extortion.
Resistance has to come from those who either remember or are capable of imagining a different ground and a different club, one that exists to promote its own sporting glory as a community, rather than to pay off the debts of a businessman based in Florida or provide a dividend for uninterested shareholders. For not all the blame lies with the Glazer family. For 30 years, those in charge of Manchester United have attempted to monetise the charisma of an institution that gained a special status after the Munich air disaster in 1958 that wiped out a successful side. The club was in the first wave of football plcs and pioneered the development of merchandising revenue.
It aggressively positioned executive seating sections in the heart of the old Stretford End and renamed it the West Stand, a gesture of intent towards the plc's less profitable "customers" if ever there was one. The words "football club" were dropped from the badge on players' shirts – the future lay with Manchester United, the brand. In the process the business laid itself open to the ruthless exploitation of Glazer, who would analyse the drive for profit and, recklessly, believe that he could do better, at the expense of those who created the value in the first place.
Since 2005 the cost of match tickets has almost doubled. In the 1970s, as an overawed boy from a gentle market town, I used to gaze in intimidated admiration at the working-class lads in flares who divided the Stretford End up between themselves and infused the ground with a rawness, noise and intensity almost absent today. If you want to find the 21st-century successors to that generation, you'll find them watching the game at the pub. They're not part of the United family any more.
It's not only the young. In recent years, if United are on Sky, a sizeable crowd gather at the Bishop Blaize pub, a stone's throw from Old Trafford. They've "gone to the match" but they can't afford to leave the pub. Some of them don't want to. Inside the stadium, as the current edition of the respected fanzine United We Stand puts it, "the 'Theatre of Dreams for the working class' has turned into 'the Disney of football stadiums'". It is a place where all too often a monied demographic passively consumes a product and is quick to complain if it doesn't come in the form of a win.
There is a famous story involving George Best during the early 1970s when drink and womanising were taking their toll. Best was found in bed with Miss World and a pile of banknotes from a casino win. "Where did it all go wrong, George?" a waiter asked in mock despair. United are currently champions of England, lie third in a tight race in the Premier League and play Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League. And via the £500m bond, the Glazer family have succeeded in refinancing their debt and escaping the immediate clutches of the vulture funds. "Where did it all go wrong, Malcolm?"
But it has gone seriously wrong, and if the fans don't push for it to be put right and for the Glazers to be forced out, all United fans will live to regret it.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Stocksbridge 1 FC United 1
Source: Manchester Evening News
Sam Williams
January 23, 2010
FC United missed the opportunity to return to action with three points by conceding a late equaliser at Stocksbridge Park Steels.
The Rebels, who had not played since early December due to the big freeze, looked to have claimed a vital win through Carlos Roca’s second half strike but had to settle for a point in a game they controlled throughout.
Karl Marginson’s side started on the front foot and carved out the best chances of the first half.
Centre-back pairing Rob Nugent and Adam Tong both spurned golden opportunities within minutes of each other around the half-hour mark, before the outstanding Phil Marsh had a free kick cleared off the line with 35 minutes on the clock.
The sides went in all-square at the break, but FC picked up where they had left off in the second half and took a deserved lead on the hour, when a sweeping team move involving Jake Cottrell and Ludovic Quistin was finished off superbly by Roca.
The home side were reduced to ten men shortly after, and it appeared certain that the Rebels would increase their lead further. However, with just two minutes remaining, Stocksbridge snatched an unlikely leveller to the delight of the home fans.
FC’s next game is at home to Frickley Athletic on Wednesday night (7.45pm).
Sam Williams
January 23, 2010
FC United missed the opportunity to return to action with three points by conceding a late equaliser at Stocksbridge Park Steels.
The Rebels, who had not played since early December due to the big freeze, looked to have claimed a vital win through Carlos Roca’s second half strike but had to settle for a point in a game they controlled throughout.
Karl Marginson’s side started on the front foot and carved out the best chances of the first half.
Centre-back pairing Rob Nugent and Adam Tong both spurned golden opportunities within minutes of each other around the half-hour mark, before the outstanding Phil Marsh had a free kick cleared off the line with 35 minutes on the clock.
The sides went in all-square at the break, but FC picked up where they had left off in the second half and took a deserved lead on the hour, when a sweeping team move involving Jake Cottrell and Ludovic Quistin was finished off superbly by Roca.
The home side were reduced to ten men shortly after, and it appeared certain that the Rebels would increase their lead further. However, with just two minutes remaining, Stocksbridge snatched an unlikely leveller to the delight of the home fans.
FC’s next game is at home to Frickley Athletic on Wednesday night (7.45pm).
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