What a difference a year makes.
A year ago in August, it seemed our red-shirted heroes might be turning a corner on the pitch. Despite a disappointing Cup Final loss to City, we had won a trophy and come in third in the table. Maybe there was room for hope?
Meanwhile, off the pitch the Club was in an absolute state. In particular, the Strategic Review lumbered on with seemingly no end in sight.
A year on, and it might be fair to say the situation is reversed. Eighth place in the League is an awful result, and any sensible United fan knows the road to be seriously challenging for titles again will be long and up-hill. Yet, we still managed to overturn our biggest rivals in a Cup run for the ages. At least one of my friends believes that the Liverpool game, capped by Amad’s devastating spear through the heart of the scousers, was one of the greatest moments of his life! And are there any of us who haven’t watched Kobbie Mainoo’s clincher, so brilliantly started by Marcus Rashford, on an endless loop to relive that pure ecstasy!
Off the pitch, we have a new shareholder. Yes, the Glazers are still here, but (a) there is now public acknowledgement of the absolute state the Club is in due to mismanagement and lack of investment and (b) more importantly, there is new investment! Real capital. Not debt or money that ends up in the Glazers’ pockets.
As welcome as this is, it is way too early to pop the champagne corks.
- There is a ground to either renovate or rebuild, for which United will need to find at least one billion pounds.
- The Club’s finances are hardly healthy, though its commercial appeal is still immense.
- There are many pending promises about fan priorities which need to be fulfilled, including the Fan Share Plan.
- And it is way too early to see whether the big changes off the pitch will start to deliver winning teams on it.
As fans, we have watched the new regime with hope and anticipation. Sir Jim’s arrival, his investment, and the speed with which he and the INEOS team are getting to work on the football side of things are all welcome changes – and let’s hope they come good.
But there are big things on the horizon about which we know little of our owners’ (both old and new) intentions. What will happen with the stadium? How will it be financed? What will the knock-on effects be for ticketing? What of the debt? These are hardly small matters. We will continue to press the club to ensure that it operates sustainably, and that fans’ priorities and interests are taken into account.
Our New Manifesto
Talking of which, also one year ago, we made a fundamental change in our vision for MUST. We launched our Manifesto, which finally pulled together all the strings of what we do as an organisation and expressed them as a single guiding principle:
The Manchester United Supporters Trust is working to build a future for Manchester United where the views, needs, priorities and interests of all supporters are central to the running of the Club.
We articulated five ways in which we would accomplish this:
- Representing fans’ voices to the Club
- Campaigning on fans’ priorities
- Building a growing ownership stake
- Standing up for fans and making sure they’re fairly treated
- Listening and consulting with fans on all issues
Apart from the ownership stake (more about this below), these were things we were already doing, but that too few people knew.
Delivering for Fans
We have said that we will judge our new owner by his actions, and that’s how we view our own performance as well. Over the past year, MUST has delivered the following:
- Pushing back against the ST minimum usage rule. We spearheaded the push to revise the Club’s proposed requirement for Season Ticket holders to not leave their seats vacant for more than two home games per season (the “17 of 19” rule). This past year the rule had been 14 of 19, and even with the many ways one can shift one’s ticket (forward, donate, sell back) and not run afoul of this rule, it was clear that the jump to 17 was too far and created concern. The Club agreed to make it 15 of 19. Just as importantly, we agreed that any future change of this rule needed to be based on data.
- Reclaiming the Stretford End. After years of lobbying the Club to improve atmosphere in the ground, United have finally moved Exec seats out of the Stretford End.
- Formalising real consultation with supporters. In an unprecedented move that represents years of investment to build trust, we agreed a framework by which the Club will regularly consult with fans via MUST on all major decisions, most notably ticketing. This means proper consultation, where the Club listens to fans BEFORE it makes decisions. While the Club may not always act in ways fans will like, it is a massive improvement on how things work now and will surely yield mutual benefits.
- Helping even more fans through ISLO. Through our ISLO (Independent Supporter Liaison Officer) service, we have helped thousands of fans over the years resolve problems or otherwise interact with the Club on a variety of matters, including ticketing, travel, sanctions, and police/legal issues. The service is free to any United fan, whether a MUST member or not, and is one of the things of which we are most proud.
- Lobbying for fans’ issues across the football world. Working collaboratively with fan groups from other Premier League clubs and the Football Supporters Association (FSA), we have fought the fans’ corner on common match-going fan issues, including ticket pricing, kick off times, establishing Fan Advisory Boards, VAR, European away fan safety, and more. While we don’t win every battle, there have been significant wins in recent years on nearly all these issues. As the recognised supporter body for Manchester United and thanks to the tireless efforts of both Duncan and our outgoing Vice Chair, Dave Pennington, MUST has huge respect among other club fan groups and with the FSA leadership team. Our voice carries significant weight.
These are real benefits for all United fans, especially match-goers, and they indisputably prove the wisdom of working with the Club – even when we don’t always see eye to eye with the owners.
Goals for This Season
Our vision and purpose, as expressed through the Manifesto, is unchanged. We will continuously strive to ensure the Club acts in ways that reflect the priorities of and benefit supporters. This season is no different. In fact, it is precisely because we have a new owner, new management, and new investment that we need to double down on this mission! Specifically, I believe we need to do two big things this season.
The first is to regain the momentum we had with the Club prior to the Strategic Review and management reshuffle. We will continue to work with the Club both bilaterally and via the Fan Advisory Board and Fans’ Forum on this and many other matchday and strategic issues.
Alongside their wider agenda to rebuild our Club, the new management team must also build upon the progress that had been made on fan engagement and make sure fans are always properly consulted for all club decisions. Making sure that happens in the ‘new regime’ is our top priority in the months ahead. Nowhere will this be more meaningful than in the discussions relating to the stadium plans. We have also reached out to Senior Management and owners to restart discussions on the FSP, which remains an unfulfilled promise of the Glazers dating back to the European Super League debacle.
The second is to use our Manifesto as a springboard to continue to grow our membership. We have over 150k members worldwide, including tens of thousands of season ticket and facility holders and official members. As United’s official supporters’ trust, we are the independent democratic supporter group here to represent and reflect the views of all United fans. However, we can only represent the views of those who choose to register with us. The good news is that it costs you nothing to join. You can be a free Lite member, or pay a very small fee to show your support as a Full member. The greater we are in number, the greater our collective power, the greater the attention the Club pays to us, and the greater the benefits we can deliver for United fans.
Get involved
As you can see, there is a lot going on at MUST. We are only a few short months away from our AGM (late October, stay tuned), at which we will elect new Committee and Board members. This AGM marks the end of my term as Chair, however it is my intent to stand again for the Board as I would like to see out the initiatives we started over the past three years. It has been the honour of a lifetime to chair this organisation and to work so closely with Duncan and the Board and Committee members who so selflessly dedicate their time to MUST. I encourage you to get involved as I did some 20 years ago. There is plenty left to do!
Up the Reds!
Leave a Reply