Whilst I don’t appreciate your tone, I fully respect that my points were clumsily constructed and I deserved a bit of patronising, because ultimately, yes it was an emotional outburst.
Because like you, I go to games, I have a season ticket, my old man has had the same seat since 1986, so my post was more out of heartache and confusion at some fans thinking instead of digging out those fans or belittling their own views.
Of the 4 aways games this season I’ve been to (emirates being one of them) they have all been tired and in need of work. As I’ve said, if Real Madrid and Barca can do it… could we not to?
Because in my mind (and wrongly assumed in other United fans minds) that renovating old Trafford and bringing the glory days back to that ground, our true home, would make it even more magical.
Have to respect you here, its almost never the case that someone will pause and reconsider. If not their overall opinion, then at least the positioning of it.
My frustration comes partly from just the constant negativity and I have no idea what fans want. Want an owner who will endlessly plow money into the club, bend to their every whim, pay lip service constantly, guarantee the team wins all the time and anything less is met with a slew of ad-hominen attacks.
Does anyone want to leave Old Trafford? No. Absolutely not. Is there an acceptance that it may be necessary in order to keep up and ensure we are fighting for titles in 10 years time? Sadly, yeah. I take no joy in leaving Old Trafford. It was the first ground I took my son to, then my Mrs and my 5 year old girl will join that soon. I bloody love the stadium and have pushed back repeatedly over the last few years when people exaggerate how downtrodden it is.
All of this is only really to convey why I probably snapped at you. I defend Old Trafford and get loads of shit for it. I get behind the new stadium and am getting shit for it. No matter what I think or say about anything, someone will make a claim that I'm not a 'proper' fan and it gets tiresome.
I do understand the apprehension though, I do feel it myself and I'm gutted to hear it's unlikely we can downsize OT and use it for academy and women's games, I was absolutely behind this.
It'll be brilliant for the area though and with my son desperate to live as close to United as possible, this creates housing and jobs etc that might see him able to get right on its doorstep. In 50 years, nobody will care, sadly. A bit like how none of us care that the Old Trafford we love simply isn't the same stadium it was 50 years ago. Time moves on, things change. We left the cliff, which held so many memories for so many people. Replaced it with a shiny new training complex which now needs a do over because our own fans bemoan that it hasn't moved on. Nobody cares about where the class of 92 trained at anymore, they've moved on and that's uktiantely what will be the case here. Humans don't like change, nothing new there but change is inevitable.
The club's identity isn't a single, consistent thing. It's changed over time and with every decade it moves further and further away from where it started. Not to mention that everyone identifies with it differently. It's not a universal thing. It is in our identity to pursue change, to innovate, to overcome. I don't see this as not fitting that.
Identity isn't in brick and mortar. Old Trafford became iconic because if what occurred there, it didn't pop into being and just exist as that. We built and changed and won and over time, it became iconic. I don't see why this won't be the same. Tens of thousands of fans being able to gather to watch away games and the like will ultimately be an experience that many will grow up with and they won't be able to imagine a time when we had a leaky stadium that you literally turned up to and left immediately from.
To so many people it will be just like when older people talk about the 'old days at the cliff'. Sure it's nice to talk about etc but would anyone want to swap back? No chance. Nobody would sack off the state if the art renovations at Carrington to go back to the good old days where Fergie had his office etc etc. It seems prehistoric now, we'd be in uproar that it isn't befitting a club of our ambitions and size - our own fans have been skating Carrington massively since that Ronaldo interview. So imagine what it would be like if we went back.
And whether any of us like it or not, this is how Old Trafford will be seen. Do a poll in 25 years and I would put my house on basically nobody other than a few bitter old timers saying they would sack off the new stadium and go back to the leaky roof and god awful forecourts. Would anyone swap the current OT for the stadium as it was 50 years ago? Nope, they absolutely wouldn't. Why? Because it simply isn't fit for purpose for a team such as ours.