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“It’ll all be over by Christmas”. 
 Alan Gowling (ex Manchester United striker) on the establishment of FC United.
For what it’s worth I am a card-carrying member of FC United of Manchester. &nbsp;I made the decision to throw my support behind the club following the hostile takeover of <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/09/30/analyzing-manchester-uniteds-teenage-defensive-lynchpin-paddy-mcnair/">Manchester United</a> by Malcolm Glazer. Though I still hold an affinity with Manchester United I don’t regret my decision to back FC United.
Don’t get me wrong it was a difficult decision. I started supporting Manchester United when I was a little boy. My grandfather gave me my first United kit, the classic 1985/86 version. My first Manchester United game was at Hong Kong Stadium in 1986 when the Red Devils faced South China (yep, there were money spinning tours back then too) the match ended in a 2-2 draw and I remember the referee awarding a debatable penalty for the home side.
At the time the club was managed by Ron Atkinson and had the likes of Chris Turner in goal, Gordon Strachan and Bryan Robson. United had a flair for doing well in the domestic cups but lagged behind the Merseyside giants in the league.
Then enter Fergie. I remember the highs like that goal by Mark Robins, the FA Cup victory against Crystal Palace and staying up late to watch the Cup Winner’s Cup triumph against Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona. The lows, the 5-1 thrashing against Manchester City at Maine Road immediately comes to mind and surrendering the title to Leeds United.
There was also the bizarre when Michael Knighton was on the verge of purchasing United and publicized the impending deal by doing keepy-uppies, fully kitted in the middle of Old Trafford. Perhaps it was for the best that the deal fell through.
Then along came the Premier League and we pretty much know what happened from then on in.
I was just your typical football fan, well as typical as one could get following Manchester United all the way from Hong Kong. I scoured for any and all football magazines, followed matches on British Forces Radio and watched the weekly round-up show on TV (my favourite version being the one hosted by the late, great Brian Moore). I enjoyed the success Fergie delivered but tempered any gloating having experienced United teams that were quite ordinary (I did make an exception for <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/09/28/tactical-analysis-liverpool-1-everton-1/">Liverpool</a> fans though!).
If supporting United had given me so much why go and back FC United? It’s a question I’ve asked a lot and the answer is still the same: football. Granted it sounds a vague and cheesy reason so let me elaborate, FC United was formed partly because of the Glazer takeover but also as a response to the growing commercialization of football.
It would be churlish not to acknowledge the Glazer’s role in all of this as there’s huge resentment about the nature of the takeover. The Glazers effectively became owners of United without putting a penny into the club. Sure it was legal but that didn’t make it feel right. I suppose that I, like many other fans, felt disenfranchised by what happened.
Of course the commercialization of the club didn’t begin with the Glazers. During the Premier League era United leveraged their on-field triumph to rake in the case and become an off-field commercial success. The Glazers only accelerated the commercial wing of the club. Maybe a takeover was inevitable, United had managed to stay out of the hands of Rupert Murdoch and if the Glazers hadn’t succeeded another buyer may have come in to buy out the club.
There’s also something to be said about the state of modern football. The clubs prioritizing Premier League survival over cup runs and success. Success is now defined as finishing in the top four, the complete disinterest in the Europa League. The reasons go on and on and whilst the influx of money has led to a lot of positive developments in football it certainly has also diluted the ‘purity’ (for want of a better word) of the game. More and more we’re discussing football finances, becoming experts in Financial Fair Play or debating whether long cup runs are a good or bad thing.
FC United appealed because it was an idea, an initiative, an aspiration, and a movement to be a part of. It seemed almost natural to become part of this collective and ‘reclaim’ part of football’s spirit. The grassroots nature of FC United, the commitment to democratizing the club so that we’re all stakeholders, the idea that this should be a football club first, second and third.
It’s easy to characterize FC United as an anti-Glazer vehicle. True, fans are not supporters of the Glazers but if it were purely an antagonistic movement the club would not have survived for as long as it has. It was more than a little disappointing when Sir Alex Ferguson dismissed the fans of FC United as ‘sad’ and questioning how big their support was for Manchester United. He either didn’t know or didn’t want to know how the supporters who formed FC United really felt.
The club is a genuine community, the manager, Karl Marginson, was a fruit and vegetable deliveryman, before going full-time with the club. The players aren’t separated from the match going fans, there’s a youth, college and women’s team and season tickets are set at affordable prices.
Why should a person who grew up and lives in the Far East care about season ticket prices? The lifeblood of FC United are the fans so regardless of where you’re from there’s a solidarity with fellow supporters.
The momentum is growing as FC United are building a new permanent home, Broadhurst Park, which will be shared with junior football club called Moston Juniors F.C. Having a stadium to call home is a tremendous achievement for FC United especially as the club was founded in 2005.
It is difficult following a non-league club overseas, I try to catch highlights on the web, order season review DVDs, listen to podcasts, there isn’t exactly blanket coverage. That said the Internet has been a great tool in following the club. Over the years, I checked the club website to see if Steve Torpey had scored again, learn about the exploits of Carlos Roca, celebrate successive promotions, feel the disappointment of failing to go up via the play-offs.
The FA Cup run and of course watching FC United’s FA Cup run in the 2010/2011 season was something else. Seeing the team make it to the second round, upsetting Rochdale in the process, and feature in a televised match against Brighton was magical. The game against the Albion had it all, a neat and tidy team goal from FC United scored by Nicky Platt, United being reduced to 10-men and defending for their lives, being just seven minutes away from making it to round three before giving away an equalizer, a header off the line and culminating in a sensational last minute penalty save from the FC United keeper Sam Ashton to take the tie to a replay. It was breathless stuff. Unfortunately, United lost the replay 0-4.
Currently, FC United is embarking on its seventh campaign in the Northern Premier League Premier Division after winning three successive promotions. The heartache of losing out on promotion via the play-offs is tough but this club if not anything else is resilient. If FC United can gain promotion from that division into the Conference North then there could be momentum to build on and help the club further climb up the ladder and hopefully sooner rather than later make it into the Football League. It won’t be easy but then again this club has never done things the easy way.
Course, I do follow Manchester United, I’ve written about them for World Soccer Talk on a number of occasions. However when I’m next in the UK I’ll make it a point to travel to Broadhurst Park and watch FC United of Manchester. Knowing my luck my first game as a matchday fan will end in a 2-2 draw with the opponents winning a debatable penalty in injury time.
Then again FCUM all! This is punk football!
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The Heartwarming Story Of FC United

The Heartwarming Story Of FC United  - World Soccer Talk

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The build up had been going on for weeks, with the first teasers of the new kit advertised on the hoardings surrounding the pitch during Spurs’ final home League game against Manchester City. “Glory Comes In Three Colours” read the tagline, and Spurs fans collectively shrugged at the thought of having another 3 kits&nbsp;for the fourth season in a row. Since the Puma deal started in the 2005-2006 season, Spurs have had 13 new outfield player kits and 8 goalkeeper kits, plus 2 Carling Cup Final limited editions.
Being a Spurs fan is not cheap, even in these heady times of the Premiership. Whilst theirs plenty of money floating around, it still isn’t driving down the cost of supporting Tottenham in particular. Yet, being a fan, you kind of get used to the expense over the years. You don’t fully accept it, but you can’t help supporting the team you love can you? When it’s an emotional attachment, all common sense goes out of the window.
Yet, I couldn’t help but feel really disappointed with the new kits, especially the home shirt in the leaked images that were floating around the internet. It just didn’t look right and I was hoping it would be the same as the awful mock up’s of the England kit that were flying about only to be disproved when the real thing was released.&nbsp; Some fans had certainly been vocal in their hostility to it, whilst others refused to believe the images were real.

So with a large fanfare, and microsite publicising the release of the new kits, Tottenham could relax in the knowledge that the fans would be fine with whatever they were served up. They were wrong though. Within minutes of the kits finally being revealed to the fans, text messages, facebook profiles and&nbsp; twitter accounts began to show the real feelings of the fans. In general, they hated the new home kit.
A petition was quickly set up, <a href="http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/yidsagainstyellow/index.html" target="_blank">yidsagainstyellow</a> and as of today, it’s reached almost 2,700 signatures. So I rang the club to ask them what they feel about this response. Suffice to say, they’ve ignored it and tried to sell the kit to me! I advised them that unless they’d give it away, I wasn’t interested but they still wanted £45.00 so I passed. Ah well.
I must admit I’m a little bit staggered by the response, if I’m honest. Whilst I hate it, due to the yellow stripes and dabs on it, I didn’t expect anyone else to dislike as much. In fact, I’m quite shocked just how many people do hate it but I think it shows just how much fan interaction has come on through the internet. From the formation of <a href="http://www.fc-utd.co.uk/" target="_blank">F.C.&nbsp;United</a>, to the purchase of <a href="http://www.myfootballclub.co.uk/" target="_blank">Ebbsfleet </a>by members of myfootballclub.com to the <a href="http://www.spiritofshankly.com/" target="_blank">Spirit of Shankly group</a>, fans can now interact without having to meet face to face.
If anything, I really dislike the fact that football clubs decide on new kits without consulting the fans. Whether football clubs like it or not, it is an important barometer of the clubs status to see shirts being worn other than on a match day. If you have the audacity of Tottenham in regards to kit releases, 13 in 4 season of the Puma deal and an incredible 35 different home, away, third and limited edition shirts&nbsp;in 12 seasons, the club HAS to take the fans opinions in account. Why aren’t they asked what they like? After all, they’re the ones who will be wearing it!
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Will the club listen? It does seem as if a ground swell of support is building, which includes boycotting all three of the kits unless&nbsp;the home strip is&nbsp;changed, though hopefully we’ll not see a repeat of the Athletico Madrid fans, who firebombed the club shop because Nike changed the stripes to halves. I suppose it’s all down to money, but it would be nice if Tottenham’s chairman, Daniel Levy,&nbsp;actually came out, admit they’ve got this very wrong and try and rectify it. Just change the yellow trim to blue and hey presto! Nice kit.
<h3>Pre-Order The New Tottenham Home Kit Today</h3>
Pre-order the new home Tottenham Hotspur shirt or kit today so you’ll be the first to get it. <a href="http://scripts.affiliatefuture.com/AFClick.asp?affiliateID=36679&amp;merchantID=791&amp;programmeID=2461&amp;mediaID=0&amp;tracking=&amp;url=http://www.kitbag.com/stores/kitbag_4_5/products/kit_selector.aspx?pid=56159" target="_blank">UK residents can order here through Kitbag</a>, while <a href="http://scripts.affiliatefuture.com/AFClick.asp?affiliateID=30305&amp;merchantID=2544&amp;programmeID=7010&amp;mediaID=0&amp;tracking=&amp;url=http://www.kitbag.com/stores/kitbag_4_5/products/kit_selector.aspx?pid=56159&amp;cur=USD" target="_blank">US residents can order here, through Kitbag USA</a>.
<h3>Related Posts:</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="../epl-talk-podcast/alan-mullery-interview/" target="_blank">Interview with Alan Mullery</a>,</li>
<li><a href="../epl-talk-podcast/epl-talk-podcast-white-hart-lane-emirates-stadium/" target="_blank">Journey from America to White Hart Lane</a>,</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/epltalk/sets/72157594388178725/" target="_blank">Photo slideshow Of pilgrimage to White Hart Lane</a>,</li>
<li><a href="../tottenham-hotspur-home-away-and-third-football-kits-for-0910-season-official-photos/8611" target="_blank">Official Photographs of Tottenham Home, Away and Third Shirts For 09/10 Season</a>.</li>
</ul>

Tottenham Hotspur Face New Kit Backlash

Tottenham Hotspur Face New Kit Backlash - World Soccer Talk

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