NEWS AND GLOBE (CANADA)
Manchester, England — FC United of Manchester, the fledgling semipro soccer club, formed in response to American businessman Malcolm Glazer's takeover of Manchester United, has found a home.
The club has been accepted into the North West Counties Football League for the upcoming season, league organizers said.
Later this week, officials are expected to announce that games will be played at Droylsden's 3,000-capacity Butcher's Arms ground. The stadium is close to Bank Street, the first ground of the Newton Health club, which became Manchester United.
On May 16, Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, became majority shareholder of Manchester United in a 790-million-pound ($1.77 billion Cdn) takeover. Glazer raised his stake to 97.3 per cent on June 13, and is giving remaining shares until June 27 to sell their shares.
Roughly 2,600 Manchester United fans, disenchanted with the Glazer ownership, have signed on to back the new club, which will play in the second division of the North West Counties Football League. The league is several divisions below the lowest division of the professional Football League.
Interviews for potential managers are underway, and open tryouts are scheduled for June 26.
Droylsden's owner and manager, Dave Pace, is a lifelong Manchester United fan who is eager to help the supporters of the new club.
"It's hard to say how it will go," he told the BBC. "The fans feel like they want to do something to counteract Glazer and it could work."
AND A BIT MORE LOCAL... THE M.E.N.
FC United's much-heralded entrance into the Moore & Co Construction Solicitors North West Counties League could help regenerate the entire non-league scene according to one leading administrator.
Officials from the fledgling club are due to confirm later this week that Droylsden's 3,000-capacity Butcher's Arms ground will play host to their fixtures when the new campaign gets underway in August.
It would be a symbolic choice of venue given its proximity to Bank Street, the first ground of the Newton Heath club which eventually became United.
With more than 2,500 Manchester United fans disenchanted with Malcolm Glazer's Old Trafford takeover already pledging their support, rival clubs including Football League founder members Nelson and Darwen are eagerly anticipating the prospect of a massive jump in revenue.
Rather than just look at the potential for an increase in attendances, North West Counties officials had to take a hard-headed approach to FC United's application.
But after numerous meetings with members of the club's steering committee, league chairman Dave Tomlinson is convinced FC United can be a force for good across the semi-professional game.
"This move could really help regenerate non-league football at our level and it is the type of thing I would like to see more of," observed Tomlinson.
"I am fully aware of the specific situation at Manchester United with regard to Malcolm Glazer but there was a time when official supporters' clubs had football teams of their own and it would be nice to get back to that.
"Even supporters who continue to attend games at Old Trafford will be able to watch this new team because their weekend matches will kick-off at 3pm on a Saturday.
"We had the usual concerns about whether they would be able to fulfil their fixtures or whether the whole concept would be a flash in the pan but we are fairly confident the people behind this are not taking their actions lightly.
"They have received enormous help from AFC Wimbledon and whether the support they are hoping for materialises or not, their introduction into our league can only be a force for good."
FC United's adventure is likely to begin at Leek CSOB on August 13 - the opening weekend of the Premiership - with league officials preferring to utilise the modern facilities of their 3,600-capacity Harrison Park home to test the extent of the new club's support.
Interviews for the manager's post have already taken place, while trials for potential playing recruits will be held on Sunday, June 26.
"We don't want this to be seen as an instant reaction to Malcolm Glazer's involvement at United," said Jules Spencer, who has relinquished his position within the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association to take an active role in the creation of FC United.
"It may have been the catalyst for this new club but there are a lot of disenfranchised Manchester United supporters who have been priced out of the game in recent years and we would like to offer them a home.
"We fully appreciate the level we are entering at and we certainly do not wish to start making bold statements about what we are going to achieve. We are just grateful to the North West Counties League for giving us the opportunity to start something new."
While the loss of support will barely register on a global scale, Glazer will be mindful of the need to tread warily in his first few months in control at Old Trafford in an effort to ensure no more supporters are alienated.
Sustained talk of a move for England striker Michael Owen should at least appease fans who fear Sir Alex Ferguson's transfer budget will be drastically cut, although it is only when such deals actually materialise that most of the sceptics will be won over.
After 14 years as a plc, United will officially revert to private ownership on Wednesday when their Stock Market delisting will be confirmed.
Next Monday, Glazer is likely to announce he has passed the 97.6% threshold which would allow a compulsory purchase of the remainder of the club and enable the Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner to complete his £790million buy-out.
Only then will the American's son Joel, who is likely to be entrusted with taking care of the Glazer family's interests in United, be free to go public with details of how he intends to significantly increase profits.
SQUARE FOOTBALL - WISHING FC UNITED ALL THE BEST
'The latest chapter in the history of Manchester United will be written next season when newly-formed Football Club United of Manchester will take their place in division two of the North West Counties league in the unlilkely setting of the Butchers Arms, home of Droylsden FC.
FC United have been set up by Manchester United fans in the wake of Malcolm Glazer’s takeover at Old Trafford.
The inevitable comparison is with AFC Wimbledon but there are clear differences between the two.
Wimbledon’s move to Milton Keynes to all intents and purposes meant an entirely new club, MK Dons had been created leaving an empty space where Wimbledon had been.
A number of people were thus left without a club to support and so formed (or re-formed) their own with the intention of it being there more or less forever.
Manchester United still exists of course in its recognisable form, albeit with a new owner who is unpopular to say the least, meaning the new club is there to serve a different purpose than AFC Wimbledon and will probably have a finite time limit on its existence.
The key thing to say about all this is that Manchester United’s unpopularity as a club on many levels should not detract from the fact that they have many thousands of genuine, committed supporters who see the Glazer takeover not just as a bad thing in itself but as the straw that broke the camels back after years of being marginalised, taken for granted and exploited by their club.
For fans of other, smaller clubs the interesting thing is that if these fans achieve their intention of being in a position to take a stake in Manchester United in a few years time, then they could find themselves in a position of power in English football.
Hopefully then the things that they have picked up during a journey around the lower reaches of the game could lead to a more enlightened Manchester United who have not just their own welfare at heart but the game as a whole.
Much of the ambivalence from supporters of other clubs towards the Glazer takeover has come because Manchester United as a club have been at the forefront of many of the moves over the last fifteen years that have made themselves and the bigger clubs richer at the expense of the smaller sides.
The ‘us and them’ mentality is now firmly embedded in the English game and is not benefiting it at all. A more enlightened administration at the biggest club in the country could have a positive impact on more than just Manchester United.'