Man Utd fans plan to have an empty stadium for the Premier League match against Liverpool in yet another Glazers Out protest this season.
The dire start to the season at Old Trafford has seen a reignition of the “Glazers Out” movement of the fanbase, and the latest movement has some fans calling for a boycott of the game on the 22nd of August.
The American owners of United, the Glazer family, have been very unpopular with the fans since acquiring the club with a leveraged buyout in 2005.
The club has built up quite the debt bill over the Glazers’ ownership and that, alongside issues with the direction of the club and the business decisions made, have fans calling for the Glazers to sell.
The #EmptyOldTrafford movement is gaining momentum on social media, trending at one point this week, in the buildup to their next home game against bitter rivals Liverpool.
Man Utd began the season with a bleak home defeat against Brighton on Sunday, after a summer of transfer inactivity that has left new manager Erik Ten Hag with his hands tied.
Even those within the club have questioned the owners, with CEO Richard Arnold admitting their shortcomings in a meeting with fans in that pub meet up, and former manager Ralf Rangnick sympathising with protesting fans last season.
The situation is certainly a messy one, and it could get messier as a section of United supporters are now calling on the whole fanbase to leave Old Trafford empty for game with Liverpool with the proposed boycott taking inspiration from Valencia supporters pulling off a similar protest against their owners late last season.
A huge cohort of Valencia fans remained outside their Mestalla Stadium for their season-ending clash with Celta Vigo in protest against the owner Peter Lim, who partly owns Salford City with Gary Neville and co, after leaked audio drew the direction of the club into question.
As mentioned, the #EmptyOldTrafford hashtag has gained momentum within the fanbase early this week, in light of the disappointing transfer window and opening to the season.
It has to happen. #EmptyOldTrafford pic.twitter.com/sIEK6EBTE3
— WHF!🇾🇪 (@UtdWesleyy) August 9, 2022
This wouldn’t be the first time a home game against Liverpool has been targeted for protest against the Glazer family by the Manchester United fans.
Just over a year ago, when games had been played behind closed doors due to Covid restrictions, a break-in by Man Utd fans protesting the Glazers ownership saw the game called off and rescheduled.
Those protests came on the back of the much-maligned Super League movement, of which the Glazers were vocal supporters.
The movement against the Glazers continues to intensify in recent days and while an empty stadium for a game as big as the North-West derby seems unlikely, it seems equally unlikely that the protests against the club’s ownership will dissipate anytime soon.
SEE MORE: Man Utd fans have pathetic fight with each other at Old Trafford
After Sunday’s loss to Brighton, Manchester United club legend Gary Neville was among those pushing for the owners to sell the club. Neville said: “If you’ve got a business and the people who are working that business can’t do the job for you, then you remove them from those jobs. It’s actually abuse to keep them doing those jobs for longer. Actually, to be fair, they don’t enjoy it either.
“The reality is those players either need replacing or supporting.
“The money that was needed to rebuild that club this summer…I’m not getting eccentric about this or exaggerating or anything. They knew six, eight, 12 months ago that there was going to need to be investment this summer.
“You’ve got to be concerned about every element of the recruitment.
“The time has come for the Glazer family to sell the football club. The time has come. It’s now.”
🗣 “The time has come for the Glazer family to sell the football club. It’s now.” @GNev2 making his feelings clear about the Manchester United owners pic.twitter.com/y75cFxvr0U
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 7, 2022
All United fans need to watch this 🎥
Incredibly honest review of the situation at Manchester United👏🏻#GLAZERSOUT #GLAZERSOUT
pic.twitter.com/vd6jDuVe61— Kaci-Jay 🇾🇪 (@KaciJayMufc) August 8, 2022
Meanwhile, Man Utd are also subject of a “hostile” takeover bid from a consortium led by Michael Knighton to buy club from “useless” Glazers.
The 70-year-old businessman, who famously came close to buying the club in 1989, wants to submit a formal bid as part of a consortium which aims to end the Glazers’ tumultuous 17-year-old reign.
In an interview with Man Utd The Religion, the former infamous Carlisle owner – once labelled “the most reviled man in Cumbria” – revealed that he’s “ready and waiting” to shepherd in a “hostile” bid that can usurp the “useless” Glazers.
“We are a club in crisis and we all know the reason why. We have an inept and frankly useless ownership who know little about this game of football,” Knighton declared. “Everyone knows that we need new ownership of this football club and that is my aim and those are my objectives. I am making good progress, continuing to talk to the people, I have got some good pledges and good finance.
“We are now working on the offer document. Remember, it is a hostile bid – that simply means that the club isn’t officially for sale. But my intention is to present these owners with a legitimate, potent and commercial offer to say: ‘You have run out of road, it’s time go, because your time is up’.
“And frankly, the fans worldwide have had enough of this regime. The exciting feeling of a new season, which we all have, and that balloon of excitement that is there, it was all burst when we quickly saw the performance against Brighton. The club is in crisis and it will remain in crisis while we have this current ownership.”
He went on to say: “We need to rid our football club of this ownership as they have had their day, time has run out and we have had 17 years of disappointment, really. It is time for them to go. They have to stop drawing these huge dividends out of the club. We have to stop paying these huge debt servicing costs. It is time for them to sell.
“Putting this bid together, I don’t need to be the front person, I don’t need to be the spokesperson. I just want to see our Manchester United Football Club in the hands of proper football people with proper vision. We need to repair our stadium and put our club back where it belongs. We are in crisis and it won’t alter until they go.”
Knighton, who also notes that Man Utd fan and billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe coming forward after years of bubbling speculation about buying the club would “solve all our problems,” added: “My consortium is ready and waiting. The funds are pledged. The offer document is being drawn out and it will be presented… Until Jim comes, my consortium will be placing their bid very shortly, that I can guarantee you.”
Fans react as Man Utd fans plan to have an empty Old Trafford stadium for the Liverpool match in a newly planned Glazers Out protest…
@domeafavour_16: This is the only way, #emptyoldtrafford consistently, indefinitely. Anyone going inside is a Glazer supporter. No excuses, no bullshit. If you love Manchester United. Stay outside, but please. Put your Club First,Empty Old Trafford #mufc #GlazersOut #clubfirst
@unitedtunnel: 🔴 How the Glazer’s were allowed to borrow £600M from the bank, bought #MUFC, placed that debt on top of the club, took out £1.5B and placed us on the stock exchange to benefit from dividends is mind boggling. #EmptyOldTrafford
@SiruReddy_:
Dear #MUFC fans:
• Uninstall the Man United App.
• Unfollow on all social media.
• Boycott all their sponsors.
• Don’t buy their official merchandise.
• #EmptyOldTrafford from the next home game onwards.
Hit them where it hurts the most. #GlazersOut #GlazersSellManUtd
@Gerry_Deakin: Do fans care enough to save our club? Are we too selfish? It would be the biggest statement yet, if we could keep most fans outside Old Trafford for a televised game. And, let’s face it, we’re going to get embarrassed by the vermin again anyway. #EmptyOldTrafford.
@glazerscashcow: If this happens it would be a game changer and be the beginning of the end for the Glazer family as owners. It has to be done reds, the football world is laughing at us. #EmptyOldTrafford 🇾🇪🇾🇪🇾🇪
@LUHGSzns_: Enough of the excuses, you’re either against the Glazers or you’re a Glazer enabler! Enough is enough. Times up, we have to stop funding them, the Glazers need to be forced out! #GlazersOut #EmptyOldTrafford
@BusbyBabes90: I’ve not missed a home game in 9 years. I’ll be missing this one. I’m sick to death of the Glazers. We only have a few things in life we love, I’m not letting that Glazers ruing this one anymore. Man Utd v Liverpool #EmptyOldTrafford
@hesham786: One historically big PL game that has become a write off because of how low our owners have let #mufc sunk. Make the sacrifices you need to make the biggest, most eye opening legal protest against the Glazers to date and #EmptyOldTrafford v Liverpool. Glazers time HAS to be up.
@tomnaldinho: UNITED FANS THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!!! If you give half a turd about this football club, everything we once stood for and our ambitions, kindly #EmptyOldTrafford on all your tweets, whether it’s a gif, a tweet or a reply. THIS IS OUR FOOTBALL CLUB, NOT THEIRS 🇾🇪
@Bill_United44: I stand with the fans of this club get The Glazers out #EmptyOldTrafford get the club back where it belongs #MUFC #ManUnited #GlazersOut #GlazersSellManUtd
@AbsoluteBruno: This isn’t the Manchester United we fell love with, it’s time we use our voice and take a stand to get our football club back starting with #MUNLIV
@jaydalyutd:
1. Season tickets holders and day trippers need to unite.
2. Boycott the magastore.
3. Unfollow all SM outlets aka club propaganda.
(I only asked two years ago)
4. Stop buying products and services from ALL their affiliates.
5. 🐑 fans WAKEUP!
#EmptyOldTrafford
@utd_Ben18v3: if there is a time for #EmptyOldTrafford it is this game. Old Trafford being empty from first whistle to the last would freak the glazers out and might actually make a genuine impact. this fanbase has had enough its time for us to united and get the #GlazersOut once and for all
@RandyscrandyL: The fans are no more trustworthy than the Glazers. Had we won on Sunday there would be no #EmptyOldTrafford from a majority of these phonies. Put your money where your mouth is. We’ve been here before a little over a year ago and that accomplished fuck all. Learn your lesson 🙄
So it’s agreed then?
No-one goes inside for the Liverpool game.
We stay outside & make our feelings known for 90 mins.#EmptyOldTrafford pic.twitter.com/vHPZXxb2RS
— Boycott Movement Against the Glazers (@BoycottGlazers) August 9, 2022
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