The "most important" fans of the club

[Bwuk]

As someone who hasn’t been in ages, and probably won’t go until my sons a bit older so I no can take him, I think I can say this fairly.

I love United. I watch every game, I keep up to date the youth teams, all online discussion etc.

However, the fact I’m not there I’d physically supporting the team, I’d say I fall more into the fan category. Supporters are the ones at the ground cheering the team on.

I’m not sure Ten Hag can hear me shouting my tactical advice to him from my home in Scotland.

 

[Volumiza]

I know fans from Bosnia who would die for UTD.

A bit extreme dude.

 

[DutchSerb]

Fans that attend the games are definitely more important. But the thread is taken out of context I believe. Wasn't the original discussion about a group of loyal fans leaving because of a potential Qatari takeover? Some people were assuming their opinion on the matter was more important than others who don't attend, even though new fans would come in their place and the season ticket waiting list is already massive. They would simply be replaced.

But yes, for the atmosphere, revenue and support they are definitely more important to the club than a guy like me sitting across the North Sea watching us play on my laptop.

Edit: read your post wrong. I didn't see new ownership making a statement about that. I thought it was about discussion on the sale thread.

 

[whitbyviking]

This is both a simple and difficult question to answer. On one hand all fans are equal. But on the other hand I would say match going fans and those with a local are connection are arguably what made the club what it is. They're not more important, but they are needed more to keep that connection to the local area, hold the local traditions and represent the club in person. Without "local" fans (I use local loosely since everyone is scattered to the winds) there would be no real derbies, and them rivalries with Liverpool, Manchester City, Leeds etc wouldn't exist, which removes some of the allure from the club. This is even an issue an issue with players, as people like Keano have previously stated.

Manchester United, in my opinion, have always been a club with strong roots in the British Isles, as in Britain and Ireland. While true for most clubs, it always seemed bigger with United. The best managers both fostered this connection and drew heavily on it to find and maintain their success. This success lead to the popularity further afield, which introduces those fans worldwide. Some of whom now are far more invested in the club than people who can see the ground from their window.

Match going fans for any club are the lifeblood, without them and without a connection to the local area the club will be soulless and may as well up sticks to another city where it is easier to attract players and find a bigger market. Without the overseas fans revenues would slip and the club wouldn't be in that top echelon that allows them to compete finally.

I do think the overseas fans are not one homogenous lump though, there are fans who buy a shirt just because of the success, and then there are fans who get to one game a year, watch all games etc. Maybe there are 3 classifications of fans. The "locals"/match goers, the overseas/remote fans who try to get to games, follow closely, or those who just buy a shirt and watch the occasional match to share the success vicariously.

I suppose one thing to consider is that if the bubble ever burst, which fans would stick around and keep the club afloat? I would suspect it would be a mix of the local, and some/all of the second category. Who'd be more important then?

 

[7even]

All fans are important.
I know fans from Bosnia who would die for UTD. And mostly of them can't travel to OT because it is so hard to get UK visa with our shitty passport.

When were young we would rent van and would travel around Europe and watch UTD with oppo fans. We do that still sometimes.
Now imagine watching UTD with Partizan fans in Belgrade. One wrong move and you could probably get stabbed. I was at college and worked at warehouse for 225 euros MONTHLY so that i can aford trips like that.

Now i am at the better place and my wife is from Croatia and I got their passport so its easier for me to travel. Till the Covid I would visit OT at least twice every season. I am planning at least one visit in this season.
Do I wish to visit every game? Yes, but is just not possible.

And every summer we would have guests from UK who are on vacation in CRO. A lot them are UTD fans, and almost of them would send me something from UTD store. One City cnut did send me Aguero replica, but I respect good banter. Football should conect people like that especially if we love the same club.

And today I am going to watch game with 2 friends. We are watching games together for over 25y. If there weren't UTD we would probably drift away from each other.

We are all important and we should stick together.

This!

Our match going fans is the heart and soul of this club when watching on television but without our global supporters then United would never be one of the biggest sport clubs in the world.

 

[pascell]

The match day going fans will always be the most important, simply because they can play a part in the outcome of the result and provide revenue to the club.

 

[whitbyviking]

Fans that attend the games are definitely more important. But the thread is taken out of context I believe. Wasn't the original discussion about a group of loyal fans leaving because of a potential Qatari takeover? Some people were assuming their opinion on the matter was more important than others who don't attend, even though new fans would come in their place and the season ticket waiting list is already massive. They would simply be replaced.

But yes, for the atmosphere, revenue and support they are definitely more important to the club than a guy like me sitting across the North Sea watching us play on my laptop.

Edit: read your post wrong. I didn't see new ownership making a statement about that. I thought it was about discussion on the sale thread.

The main issue came around because some people took umbridge at Jim Ratcliffe saying he'd put the "Manchester in Manchester". This has now been taken to mean all manner of things by some sensitive souls and lead to a discussion among others as to who is more important. It's a bit daft really, but a good debate nonetheless.

 

[Amar__]

I think redcafe members are most important, closely followed by facebook fans.

 

[Tom Cato]

Read a post in one of the various threads about new ownership which proudly stated "the most important fans of the club are from Manchester". I felt it was just wrong to say such a thing given the entity we are. So just want to ask the Caf about this. Do people actually stand with this sort of thing and have any logic or basis? Is there a fan tiering system I should be aware of?

I made a response to another user in the other Qatar takeover thread yesterday that probably fits better here. tl;dr: Matchgoing fans rank above all.

Non local supporters are worth less to Manchester Uniteds local community, as we dont live there. We are not the season ticket holders, the fans singing in the stadium, or the ones visiting the pubs in the local Manchester area on matchday. We dont contribute to the local economy, nor do we march in the streets in Green and Yellow to protest the people who threaten to take over the club when we dont feel they meet our shared values as human beings. The fans in Manchester protested by their thousands from 2005.

"Fans fear the American does not have the best interests of the club at heart and they are urging the board to reject his bid." wrote MEN in 2005. This notion has unfortunately become correct. They did not have the best interest of the club at heart, it was always an investment with annual return. Today the takeover bid comes from a regime with a very different way to view a human rghts being to exist in freedom than the rest of us. They still dont have the clubs best interest at heart.

Its helpful if we, everyone online, who reads comments like the one you are increasingly angering yourself over, and put it into a greater context than the length of the tip of our noses.

He is not saying that foreign supporters are not valuable. Of course they are. But we cant sit here with a straight face and argue that our individual inputs carry the same significance as the fans that sing the Champions League hymn at matchday, or the tens of thousands of angry fans who took to the street and collectively made the clubs back down from a unprecedented move that would have ruined the game as we know it.

The local fans and their ability to impact is always going to matter more, than anything I write online, or the jersey you buy to support the club. That does not mean it does not matter, and that is the important thing to consider when you form an opinion. The world does not deal in absolutes. The same way you cant argue a complicated issue in a tweet due to the nature of nuance where many truths can be correct, it just depends who reads them.

The same way what I wrote above is true, its also not true, because the day you travel to the stadium, take part in the matchday, spend your money at a local hotel, sing the songs and cheer the lads on, you are just as big a part of the local club that very same day.

IF anyone gets very angry at the mention of the word worth, its worth remembering that it does not actually reflect you as a person, although I am fairly certain the tendency is to take the worst meaning we can attribute and run with it. For example being disgusted by the notion that our contribution is worth less. But it factually is, so what is left to be angry about? If not for a perceived insult to yourself as a person? That is on the reader, not the messenger.

I travel to Manchester now and then to attend games, sometimes I will get a fan memorabilia to bring home. I will buy my ticket, spend some money out and about, and then go home. My contribution to the local club starts and ends with my coming and going. Everything else is meaningful, and meaningless. Every day I carry value as a fan, as one of 500 million. When I go to Old Trafford I will carry value as one of 74,310.

https://www.redcafe.net/threads/gla...ic-and-post-respectfully.474085/post-30158908

 

[Peelhead]

The right answer is me. On the BBC website where it asked for a thumbs up if you think we can win the PL, I was the first to vote.

But seriously, it's anyone who's got the club in their heart, feels the joy or sees the art.

In a couple of months I'll be back living right near it all again, I don't think anything could stop me from loving it all whether it's good, bad or ugly.

 

[Greck]

Would say match going fans are most important because they actually put the money into the club which is quantifiable.

Matchgoing fans are most important because when you strip the other stuff like finances they are still the heart and soul of the club, they formed the history and tradition before foreigners even knew there was a place called Manchester

However if we're talking about strictly money it's the global fanbase. Directly with merchandise but even indirectly with the ridiculous amount of foreign sponsorships, many of our global deals are taken to target foreign markets. It's not even fair to compare local revenue with revenue from the rest of the world combined. When it comes to foreign money tourists even seep into a small slice of our single visit matchgoers and matchday economy. The commercial comparison is not fair at all. It's tradition, history and founding culture that makes them more important.

 

[TMDaines]

Why would ANY fan have any say on the redevelopment of the facilities unless they literally lived next door and it was somehow affecting them personally.

Why would the redevelopment of Carrington or Old Trafford be a factor for someone who lives more than a mile away?

Some of the posts in this thread are clearly from some who aren’t local to a big sporting institution. Manchester United and Old Trafford have a massive gravitational pull on the local area and their sheer existence is highly influential. They are probably the most influential organisation in the Stretford, Old Trafford and Salford area bar none. Manchester United and Old Trafford are a massive asset for local people, despite being a private business.