Empty Old Trafford

I think we fans have had our hopes for better performances continuously dashed and it isn’t outside the realms of possibility that many of us are sick of the level of toxic mediocrity that permeates the planning, coaching and recruitment functions of this once great club.

I for one hope these planned protests go ahead. It doesn’t have to be flawlessly executed. It just needs to be evident enough to be picked up by the media. The medium is the message.
 
hasanejaz88 said:
This is pretty much the only way you'll get the owners out. It is a major source of their revenue so if people boycott games then it will hit their pocket deep and force a change, either a sale or promising changes to how they run the club.

I've said this for ages, for Arsenal fans before when their hatred from Kronke was at an all time high. Boycotting games is the only way, small random protests won't change anything.
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The bulk of the clubs income is tv rights and noodle partnerships, which is why the club didn’t raise season ticket prices for a long time. Emptying the stadium is a symbolic gesture.

TV rights are all done collectively and foreigns and casuals aren’t going to stop watching. So nothing can be done about that.

I’m unsure whether anything can be done to nobble the clubs sponsorship arrangements, or whether we want to become that toxic as a fan base. Presumably we’d want sponsors after the Glazers have left, which might be hard to do if we have form brigading sponsors twitter and marketing feeds when we’re not happy.

The only way we’re getting rid of these parasites is by act of god. Maybe a meteor can strike the lot of them when they’re having some family shindig.
 
BuzzKillington said:
The bulk of the clubs income is tv rights and noodle partnerships, which is why the club didn’t raise season ticket prices for a long time. Emptying the stadium is a symbolic gesture.

TV rights are all done collectively and foreigns and casuals aren’t going to stop watching. So nothing can be done about that.

I’m unsure whether anything can be done to nobble the clubs sponsorship arrangements, or whether we want to become that toxic as a fan base. Presumably we’d want sponsors after the Glazers have left, which might be hard to do if we have form brigading sponsors twitter and marketing feeds when we’re not happy.

The only way we’re getting rid of these parasites is by act of god. Maybe a meteor can strike the lot of them when they’re having some family shindig.
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As a fan based in Ireland who only get to occasional games I can tell you fans will stop watching on TV if the stadium is almost empty and the performance on the pitch is poor.
The Emperor has no clothes. It’s time to reveal that.
 
Nicolarra90 said:
I personally bought the white hoodie from pre season... Sorry I couldn't help it :nervous:
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No need to apologise mate it’s your hard earned money! I didn’t mean people shouldn’t go and shouldn’t buy the merchandise sorry if it came off that way. I just mean that we won’t ever be able to convince enough people to boycott the club to make the Glazers sell.
 
gica_7 said:
It surely is a nice thought but United has a loyal fanbase and huge number of tourists wanting to attend a game. But, surely more visible protests that exposes Glazers will work. Maybe replace all the banners with anti glazer ones is also a good idea.
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Yeah the tourists and die hards are why protests will never get the level of traction ever needed to make a serious impact
 
Mickeza said:
Can the Premier League revoke an owners license? If another game got called off would they have any power to get rid of them - given the financial implications and negative damage that would bring to the premier league.
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Sadly this won't ever be possible
 
Sweet Square said:
Have you got any stats for this. Had a look online and there doesn’t seem to be a noticeable difference in attendance. The highest attendance were with Berlusconi and since the change of ownership there’s hasn’t been a dramatic rise.

The lack of fans seem to be a more general trend in Italy(Which is most likely down to the poor state of the economy).
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No, I watch Milan frequently and vividly remember fans not showing up to the San Siro. And the few that did had anti-Berlusconi banners.

This was around 2012/13 when Milan sold Zlatan and Thiago Silva in their prime to PSG and didn't adequately replace.
 
The Brown Bull said:
As a fan based in Ireland who only get to occasional games I can tell you fans will stop watching on TV if the stadium is almost empty and the performance on the pitch is poor.
The Emperor has no clothes. It’s time to reveal that.
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You’d think so wouldn’t you, yet empty stadiums of covid did nothing to affect peoples desire to watch football, and here we are after 10 years of mainly shit football and results, still one of the most widely followed teams on the planet.
 
Glazers are the worst owner ever. But they don't give a feck because the fans can't do anything to them.

The stadium is full week in week out. Merchandise sales are good. TV money is lucrative. Commercial revenues are at record high year after year. Dividends are good. The club grows in values.

What's the problem? Who cares about the performance on the pitch and how the fans feel?
 
Sky1981 said:
They're good enough. They just dont give a feck.

Tell me 250k a week player who fails at basic is not good enough
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I honestly don't think that's true at all. Fred and Mctominay always look like they care more than most. They just happen to be incredibly poor footballers. It's not a lack of effort with those two. It's everything else they lack.
 
BuzzKillington said:
You’d think so wouldn’t you, yet empty stadiums of covid did nothing to affect peoples desire to watch football, and here we are after 10 years of mainly shit football and results, still one of the most widely followed teams on the planet.
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Not a good comparison in my view. During Covid every club was playing in an empty stadium.And it was during Covid when peoples leisure activities were greatly curtailed.
 
The Brown Bull said:
As a fan based in Ireland who only get to occasional games I can tell you fans will stop watching on TV if the stadium is almost empty and the performance on the pitch is poor.
The Emperor has no clothes. It’s time to reveal that.
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Im suprised people dont see this. The whole crux of the product of Manchester United AND the Premier League is the full stadiums, the unique atmosphere. The premier league wouldnt be happy with those scenes either. People saying it will be full of tourists to watch what, this drivel? That wont last long. Half of OT, maybe more is harcore season ticket holders. Europa league games dont sell out already, and they have dropped the automatic cup scheme this year so people are not forced to go. People were leaving early for LVG years ago
 
Planning on doing it on Monday bindippers game, I can't see it happening, the tickets some people get are maybe once in a lifetime they won't walk out or not go. I think it's not a bad idea to not go but like everything not everyone thinks the same. We need the Glazers out that's obvious the only issue is and I've said it before there is no chance of them selling its there cash cow and personal bank has been for years.

Imo the fans need to target the Merchandise section of the club , don't buy tops etc I haven't bought one officially off Man UTD for years. I haven't renewed my membership for over 10 years I'm not putting anything in there pockets.

There still there and if there was a mass walk out in that game ie say whole of the Stretford end walks out that would still not move the Glazers into selling up.
 
Hughie77 said:
Planning on doing it on Monday bindippers game, I can't see it happening, the tickets some people get are maybe once in a lifetime they won't walk out or not go. I think it's not a bad idea to not go but like everything not everyone thinks the same. We need the Glazers out that's obvious the only issue is and I've said it before there is no chance of them selling its there cash cow and personal bank has been for years.

Imo the fans need to target the Merchandise section of the club , don't buy tops etc I haven't bought one officially off Man UTD for years. I haven't renewed my membership for over 10 years I'm not putting anything in there pockets.

There still there and if there was a mass walk out in that game ie say whole of the Stretford end walks out that would still not move the Glazers into selling up.
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Why cant we do all of the above, its not a case of take one option. You've no idea what repurcussions walkouts would do to them. They gave into fanshare due to overwhelming fan opinion/movement
 
The Brown Bull said:
and the performance on the pitch is poor.
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Ultimately this is the only thing that will cause change, it always has been and always will.

Attendances use to be a good measure of interest, but now even in the UK so many now watch on Sky/BT because they cannot get there in person and/ or cannot get a ticket, and the number of people watching PL football in the UK and indeed across the world is going up.

The PL is big 'box office' across many countries, hence the drive (mainly from interests outside the PL) to develop a 'super league', something that in box office terms can rival the PL, every week and if it 'hobbles'the PL in the process so much the better. The covid season proved you can run a PL franchise without live fans, 'canned' singing and crowd roaring made it feel live.

Amazon/Netflix/Disney + are all going to be looking at those figures these mass media franchises don't need to fill 75,000 seats, in a stadium they can sell live games with canned sound to 750,000,000 world wide, either directly or through Sky/BT etc.

The only thing that will kill any of it, is poor performances, people are not going to be tied to contracts that serve up rubbish.

For the real fan who sits in the stadium or follows on streaming models, this is the only way change will occur.
 
I reckon this will probably be another diversion type thing where they do a decoy protest and then block the bus…
 
Utd heap said:
It's not happening chaps. No proper fan group behind it, no nothing.

Twitter talk.
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I remember there was another one like that last season - I want to say it was the 67 minute protest or something - bit of a damp squib.
2 man midfield said:
True, I don’t even know what percentage of the ground are ST holders.
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Not sure either would like to know. Anyone got any ideas?
 
As a none Englishman I find the support and loyalty you guys have for the teams you support without question. If any other team outside of England gets into the state man utd is in for the last 9 years there would simply be empty seats and rioting.
So I personally don’t think anything will happen, the previous protests that were announced didn’t even get attention on tv because it simply wasn’t big enough to warrant a mention.
I don’t hear a lot of boos or a hostile atmosphere either, the fans show up and watch there is no jeering or whistling, they just go through the motions. Man utd fans don’t seem to have any passion for their club. Just an observation, don’t flame me…
 
Wouldn't an empty Stretford End have the same (if not more) effect? The bucket listers and day trippers will still come in droves no matter what, and there's too many of them.
 
Sadly there’s little financial leverage to be had with an empty stadium.

That said, it’s a very hard thing to ignore when it happens. If nothing else it makes a statement but it’s infuriating when people can’t commit to doing it. Ic you dislike the Glazers that much, align and withdraw from attendance.
 
clarkydaz said:
if you think protests would in any way be aimed at a new manger you would be in a distinct minority
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I think ETH might notice that the fans are rioting after he loses a 2nd game in a row, even if the fans all swear that it's not because he lost 2 games in a row.
 
The Glazers will not be happy with the bad press. They want a quiet, efficient, money-making machine and hate putting their head above the parapet every time the club fecks up.
 
I just hope the protesters remain sensible - rioting is definitely not the answer even if we loose the next 10 games on the bounce
 
When is the "#WeAreUnitedGetBehindTheTeam" protest? That's one I could definitely get behind, and one I can definitely see some value in.
 
wangyu said:
As a none Englishman I find the support and loyalty you guys have for the teams you support without question. If any other team outside of England gets into the state man utd is in for the last 9 years there would simply be empty seats and rioting.
So I personally don’t think anything will happen, the previous protests that were announced didn’t even get attention on tv because it simply wasn’t big enough to warrant a mention.
I don’t hear a lot of boos or a hostile atmosphere either, the fans show up and watch there is no jeering or whistling, they just go through the motions. Man utd fans don’t seem to have any passion for their club. Just an observation, don’t flame me…
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How about keeping quiet on stuff you have no fecking idea about.
 
The team needs the fans so we should be supporting the team during the match. The fans already paid the tickets anyway so Glazers wouldn’t care much. Well, this is just my opinion, I could be wrong.
 
Loon said:
The Glazers will not be happy with the bad press. They want a quiet, efficient, money-making machine and hate putting their head above the parapet every time the club fecks up.
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Agreed. We can definitely rattle them. I’d be very surprised if more than a few thousand seats were empty but you never know. This is bigger than short term results imo.
 
UNITED ACADEMY said:
The team needs the fans so we should be supporting the team during the match. The fans already paid the tickets anyway so Glazers wouldn’t care much. Well, this is just my opinion, I could be wrong.
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You are wrong. This particular team clearly doesn’t give a shit about fans .A stadium devoid of home fans for a game against our biggest rivals makes a statement.
 
BuzzKillington said:
The bulk of the clubs income is tv rights and noodle partnerships, which is why the club didn’t raise season ticket prices for a long time. Emptying the stadium is a symbolic gesture.

TV rights are all done collectively and foreigns and casuals aren’t going to stop watching. So nothing can be done about that.

I’m unsure whether anything can be done to nobble the clubs sponsorship arrangements, or whether we want to become that toxic as a fan base. Presumably we’d want sponsors after the Glazers have left, which might be hard to do if we have form brigading sponsors twitter and marketing feeds when we’re not happy.

The only way we’re getting rid of these parasites is by act of god. Maybe a meteor can strike the lot of them when they’re having some family shindig.
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Add 1 more point. Majority of the stadium are filled by season ticket holders. If 100% of them paid but refuse to turn up, do you think the Club care? Rip off your season ticket would matter, I dare you.

In fact, I won't mind this project going ahead, just to demonstrate how little visual impact it will be. A dozen of "so called" fans think they are the majority.
 
I honestly think the best way to get them out is either through continued spiralling performances, or via the government.

I'm sure I heard that their leveraged buyout would now be illegal. On that basis, there may be grounds to force a sale? They did it for Abramovic, although I understand the reasons are different. But it shows the power of the government over club ownership.

I also wonder if they'd be tempted anyway if somebody came in with a good offer. I think they were considering selling to the Saudis until they killed that journalist and there was severe backlash.
 
Utd heap said:
How about keeping quiet on stuff you have no fecking idea about.
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Harsh. The poster was only comparing us to more militant fans in Europe. I don’t think there’s much wrong with what was said.

There’s obvious reasons for that being the case, such as far harsher punishments here for that type of behaviour and fans being split up around the stadium.
 
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