Manchester United face Arsenal as their first game of the new Premier League season, and the 1958 plan to protest against the ownership prior to kick-off.
A new season is starting, but the same problems still disconnect fans from the board, as Manchester United fans are left outraged by cost-cutting procedures the new minority stake owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has implemented.
Since Ratliffe’s ownership officially began in February 2024, fans feel the club’s debt has been transferred onto the supporters and workers, as ticket prices rise and jobs are lost.
Poor performances on the pitch haven’t helped the owners bond with the fan base, although Rúben Amorim has grown close to the fans, despite the dreadful finish in the Premier League and the disappointment in the Europa League final.
The 1958 want to challenge the board’s moral implications in their ‘efficient’ cost-cutting methods, as fans are priced out of season tickets and disregarded by the club, with other fans moved from their seats despite years in the same spot.
“You’re like a devil in disguise”
The 1958 plan to protest ahead of United’s Premier League opener against Arsenal, a spokesman for The 1958 has said, “The protest is for every fan who has been silenced, evicted, priced out and disregarded”.
“Jim Ratcliffe, you have chosen your side and it is not ours… You now stand shoulder to shoulder with the Glazers. You now stand shoulder to shoulder with the Glazers.”
A man once thought to be a champion for the club’s future has seemingly lost his credibility with the supporters, who believe he is deceiving the fans and workers with his actions in the early days of his tenure.
A club so detached from its passionate fans, led by a business family in partnership with an entrepreneur, fans are raising their concerns for the future of the club, with Ratcliffe at the forefront. In a period of uncertainty, tainted by the worst Premier League season in the club’s history, the impassioned United fans aim to demonstrate their beliefs.
“Jim Ratcliffe chose to get into bed with the Glazers and, in our opinion, is helping keep them in charge,” The spokesman added.
“Enough is enough”, fans say
Twenty years since the Glazer family acquired a majority stake in the club, and twenty years later, the fans are still in uproar, calling for their tenure to come to an end.
As a new season begins in less than two weeks, the fans have been treated to new signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo during the summer transfer window, though The 1958 won’t be bribed.
“We won’t allow some natural optimism and a couple of shiny new signings to deflect from the bigger off-field picture.”, the spokesman continued, proving the group’s neglect of the Glazers and their running of the club.
“This is no longer just about ownership; this is about survival – the survival of our identity, our community, and our values.”
The 1958 are expecting a huge turnout, taking to the streets of Old Trafford and demonstrating their defiance to be silenced in the hours before United take on Arsenal.
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