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Jibbers outlook
If that fucking Florida gimp sells up, he is not going to sell it to the
likes of me and the rest of the lads in Manchester. It will go into the
hands of some other greedy bastard.
On that point, the war with OT just gets another name added to it.
The only reason I would go back to OT, if the whole situation changed, and
that the club becomes at least 51% owned by supporters and it becomes FC
United. Any person who thinks that by putting MUFC back onto the stock market
will solve all the problems, are just kidding themselves. Why? Because the
same situation will arise. I certainly believe
the time is now upon us, where football has reached a point in this country,
where supporters know what is best for their club. Football clubs do not
need to be controlled, by some jumped up pompous execs in suits. There is
a revolution-taking place and FC United did not start it, it began before
our existence. What FC United have done is bring it to the forefront of
the football world because of supporters association with MUFC. Because
of this previous existence, other supporters around the UK and Europe will
be watching closely at our first season. Other supporters are already considering
setting up their own. Here in Manchester we have City fans considering it.
In the Midlands, I hear of Birmingham fans that are proposing to take the
same steps as FC United because of being, priced out of the game. Then you
have the possibility of Middlesbrough supporters going in the same direction.
I hear that there are other supporters taking a keen interest in our first
season, to see if we survive as a club before they consider the same path,
but go find this out for yourself. There is no saying when and where it
will stop. There are other clubs already in existence whose supporters have
taken control of their club, and I salute them.
The future of football has to consider taking the necessary steps.
Clubs stop paying stupid money for footballers and go back to concentrating
on their youth systems. Fuck the player’s agents off in football.
Footballers stick to playing football and not part time modelling or advertising.
If some company wants to put their name on one of the ad boards in the ground,
charge the fuckers double and give em no rights or say in your club.
The list can go on but it is only fair that other people give you
their opinions…
So as to your original question what happens if the Gimp sells, it does
not matter what he does he will always be hated and those that associate
with him will be despised and hated. Anyone taking over OT for his or her
personal wealth will be hated. Any person (s) that come along and say they
are buying for the fans will not be trusted. It’s the end of the road
for MUFC, it’s had its time and it’s been an generational life
spanning time, filled with emotion that one cannot put into words. The thrills
and spills of it all, but the end has arrived.
The future of football in Manchester has been born....
FC UNITED of MANCHESTER.
unitedjibber, 2005
Are you one of those people
that feels so excited because the adrenalin is flowing through your veins.
With the FC songs still sounding in your head as you lay it upon your pillow.
To dream of a an 8 goal thriller(its you who scores the disallowed goal).
When you wake up the tingle is still inside, buzzin away as you arise from
you pit to got to work. On your arrival at work, you chat non stop with
desire about the match to your workmates. During the course of the day someone
points out to you that you havent grinned like you are doing for fuck knows
how many years.
You realise that FC has rekindled that passion, humour, happiness and atmsophere,
you have been craving for years. Where players treat you with respect, that
are proud to be supported by you and wear that shirt in your name with pride.
So why wait any longer.
GIVE UP M16 0RA and stay with FC.
Having spokent to some lads at FC who have now decided that having had a
taste for FC, they are now sticking with FC....and their choice makes me
feel proud to know them, because for them to make that decision is harder
now than it was for me back at the Apollo.
Anyone else now willing to make that crossover, and for those that make
the crossover once you have been to OT in this comming season and beyond.
I SALUTE you.
For those that are going to do both clubs, the FC doors are always open
for you, and your rightful place amongst your fellow reds awaits you.
For those that have tasted FC but cannot switch and for those that are totally
against FC.......I wish you the best in supporting the world famous tourist
brand of Florida United. and may your team be defeated in all the cup competions....and
for Florida United to go bankrupt.
That C*** Anon, 2005
Last season, we were all
Manchester United supporters. We paid our money
and went to the games to cheer on the team, as we’ve done for years.
So what’s changed this year?
Well, I can’t speak for everyone, as the reasons will be slightly
different for each person. Some might be at the end of their tether financially,
some might be sick of the lack of atmosphere around them, jobsworth stewards,
crazy kick-off times to suit TV....the list could go on.
For me there’s only one reason why I won’t be going to Old Trafford
this season. I absolutely refuse to pay a penny towards helping Malcolm
Glazer pay off the debt that he has loaded onto Manchester United. He is
unnecessarily gambling with the future of our football club, and I won’t
be part of extending his stay by one minute by giving him any money. That doesn’t mean I’ve stopped being
a Manchester United fan. I’ve followed
the team for almost 25 years and you can’t switch off your feelings
just like that. I’ll still watch them on TV when it doesn’t
clash with a FC United game, and despite my hatred for Malcolm I’ll
still cheer every goal, groan at every miss and curse every time the opposition
get lucky. I can’t change that. My feelings for United run deeper
than my dislike of Glazer.However, I make the distinction between being
a “fan” and being a “supporter”. A supporter supports
- he (or she) is active : going to games, creating an atmosphere, being
involved in the matchday experience. A fan, to me, is more passive. They’re
people that come to sit back and be entertained rather than contribute to
the atmosphere, or who merely watch on TV. So I’m now a Manchester
United “fan”. How do I get that buzz of going to a game with
mates, singing, having a laugh and rooting for 11 lads on a pitch? I’ve
withdrawn my financial and vocal support from Manchester United - I won’t
go back until Glazer and his ilk are seen off. I don’t want to go
to Macclesfield or Stockport or another established club - I’ve no
connection with them, it wouldn’t be the same. All that history that
I’ve never shared in. FC United is the ideal solution to my dilemma.
A new club of United fans, formed by United fans, for United fans. That’s
why we sing United songs - because we’re all Manchester United fans
who are FC United supporters. They’re the songs we’ve sung for
years. We’ll sing songs for Eric and Ole because they were the only
ones to speak out against Glazer, and they’ll always be legends to
us. We’ll sing “Yip Jaap Stam” because our centre half
Rob Nugent looks like him, and because we’ve only known him for two
weeks so we haven’t had time to make up a good song for him. That
will come in time, though. I’m amazed really that it feels so good.
The atmosphere at the two games so far has been incredible. Non-stop singing
throughout. The reaction of the players to
the fans at the end of the Wimbledon game was fantastic. If you could have
seen their faces as they applauded us you’d understand what this means.
It’s purely and simply about enjoying your football again. No pressure
to get that Champion’s League place, or having to sit with a load
of silent strangers because your mates are over the other side of the ground.
People may question our motives, ask how we can support two teams, say that
we’ve overreacted, that we’ve turned our backs on Manchester
United. Everyone’s got their own reasons why they’re going to
FC United. I can only truthfully give mine. I’m now 100% behind FC
United - they’re the only team I can now truly say I “support”.
I support them because I’m still a Manchester United fan - still hate
the scousers, the cockneys of course, and Leeds - and always will be. But
I can’t go to support them financially or vocally, so I’ll go
to FC United, a club that was formed for and by Manchester United fans,
and watch the Premiership on TV. The biggest mistake people
are making in all this is only seeing FC United as being “instead
of” Manchester United. It’s not “instead of”. It’s
“in addition to”. Us going to FC instead of OT doesn’t
make Manchester United a lesser club. It’s too big for that. The players
won’t notice if there’s 2,000 people missing out of 67,000.
So how can we hurt the club or the team? The only person who will hurt Manchester
United lives in Tampa. When it all goes tits up, point your finger west,
not north. We’ve got people at FC United who have renewed for Old
Trafford - they’re not shunned or pointed out. They understand that
it’s all about watching football, the way it used to be. Fun.
Colm Lambert, 2005
I am 42 years young next
week. Ive got 3 brothers who’ve all gone
through their own mid life crises mostly based around family matters. I’ve
finally figured out that I too am going through one. I think it started
2 years ago when I joined shareholders United. It was a gut reaction to
my 3 brothers and father who laughed at me for being too involved with the
anti glazer fight. Ok I have a loving wife and 4 adorable kids that keep
me hopping with there lives and needs. This is the same wife that sent me
packing on a 6,000-mile round trip to Milan back in March to get it out
of my system. She’s still mad that it only made me crave for more.......
These same 3 brothers who in the 70’s and 80’s were cockney
reds, one of them the worst kind of cockney red you can imagine, couldn’t
give a fuck about what I was fighting for. My father a fan of the 50’s
refused to even consider joining SU as it was all too socialist for him.
Don’t get me wrong all of them are died in the wool reds and have
all paid their dues, and that’s in all honesty. These are the lads
that stood next to you in the scoreboard paddock week in and week out. I
just for the life of me can’t figure out why they just don’t
get it. I invited my dad over for diner Friday night and showed him the
videos and pics from FC United’s first two games. His initial response...
“ It will all die off within a year” So there you have it, a
family split apart by the bullshit of the past couple of years. I cannot
talk to my dad or brothers about United any more as it invariably leads
to arguments. Saturday mornings in my house will not be the same again.
I will be boycotting from afar. For the past 3 weekends,
all the stories from Leigh, Wimbledon and skally... umm? Vegas, has renewed
and justified my dreams and hopes for something that has been sorely missing
in my life. It was never really about to football in the 70’s and
80’s it was the craic, nothing more nothing less. Those were my days
as a red and they’ve been resurrected in the guise of FC United. The
season has not even started and as far as I am concerned all is right with
the world now. Sorry for the pun but Football has come home. Oh that sounds
oh so horrible but its true.
What you all have accomplished in these dark days of the summer of 2005
has been a godsend, a miracle, a revelation, and the fulfillment of my hopes
and dreams. I have my football back, I have FC United.
To watch and listen from afar the camaraderie, and most importantly the
craic that you all have been enjoying these past 3 weeks, as stated makes
me most envious.
Brothers and sisters of the family of FC United, I openly thank you from
the bottom of my heart for what you have given back to me and some day very
soon I will be amongst you, singing my heart out for the shirts with you,
bypassing the theatre of dreams. I know where my dreams are.
Andrew Burton, 2005
What of The Old Guard?
After all the fun and games of FC United’s first couple of months
in existence. A question needs to be asked about the coalition. As mentioned
in my previous article there will be a time when a line will be drawn, with
regard to the United support. If this happens on a mass scale, What of the
old guard? IMUSA, The Fanzines, and SU? as a lot of the influential players
in these organisations are huge backers of FC United. In my opinion, these
organisations in particular have the hardest decision out of any of us to
make. And in my view, they must stick to their principles and go full hog
for FCUM.
The war for the hearts and minds of the “mass” United support
is lost. But us as a minority, are ready and willing to listen and back
the ideals of the coalition.
The people who solely stay at United this season and beyond, excluding the
“fight from within” brigade, are conditioned by SKY. They don’t
really care about the club, their priorities are the XI on the pitch, so
by right; off the pitch organisations like SU and IMUSA are beyond their
understanding. As we all know, this set of customers make up a large bulk
of the Manchester United fan base. If FCUM becomes the base
for the traditional supporter, then what is the point of Shareholders United?
I know that is a controversial thing to say, but hear me out. The aim of
SU is to buy a stake in Manchester United using collective funds, this aim
seems to me to be a pipe dream and unrealistic, as the fund is nowhere near
the amounts needed. When you also consider that the large bulk of supporters
at Old Trafford next season have never heard of Shareholders United, you
start to wonder what is the point. No disrespect to SU, it was a unique
idea and one that everyone should have helped carry through, but that opportunity
is not going to arise again in my eyes, and those cunts who sat on their
arses have a lot to answer for. As for IMUSA, they
face the same up hill struggle that Shareholders United will have this season.
As seen with Flash Mob II, the walkout at Southampton and the all black
protest at Cardiff, it is clear that the SKY fan doesn’t give a shit.
IMUSA is more relevant to FC United now than its original love, Manchester
United. I really cant see what inroads IMUSA is going to make against the
Glazers now, especially as any links to the franchise have now been severed.
This isn’t defeatist, this is just the way things are, even if the
whole of the FC United Brigade merged with the “stay and fight”
brigade to launch a war on the Glazers, we will still be a small number
compared with the Megastore Lemmings.
IMUSA and SU are potential victims of what is happening to the United fan
base, and I don’t envy their position. The fan base is splitting off
into 3 camps, and even they are not clearly defined. What is IMUSA supposed
to do? It cant represent them all, and why should it? Why should there be
a Phoenix fund when that money was put in by FC United supporters? Surely
this fund should go to something pure, not to a meaningless stake of a franchise
still owned by a greedy parasite.
I call for all fans to come over to FC United and start a fresh, but more
importantly we need the full support of the coalition.
The Grand, 2005
Following the takeover,
and the subsequent formation of FCUOM, Ihave been in two minds as to the
merits of the club. I seriously doubted that I could feel anything other
than just an emotional attachment to the people who had decided to take
on a new team. Could I after 30 years,
cheer for a team which, ultimately was taking away support from the club
that I had supported from 5 years old. I liked the idea of fans being united
with a common purpose, but ultimately I felt that there was a massive difference
between boycotting Manchester United, and cheering on another team. The
two didnt in my mind, seem to have any relevance to one another.
Yes, its a day out, but realistically, could it ever feel the same as travelling
away with Manchester United. Old Trafford has become a disheartening experience,
so that wasnt too hard to walk away from on a temporary basis. But away
games still held that special camraderie that makes them unique and something
I felt I would miss. I wasnt prepared to walk away from those atmospheres,
and in my mind it would still allow me to feel connected to Manchester United,
and make me feel as part of the club.
On Saturday I decided to take the plunge and actually go along. Not knowing
quite what to expect, nor knowing quite what sort of supporters would be
there. If I am honest I kind of expected a mass of hooded teenagers all
set for any fun and games that they could instigate.
I couldnt have been more wrong. As soon as I arrived in the planned meeting
place, I noticed the difference in the ages of the people I would be stood
on the terraces with. Children, teenagers, elderly men, middle aged people
like myself. Suddenly I didnt feel out of place. They were all just like
me. Maybe the reasons for being there were different, but they were all
held firmly together by one thing. A love of Manchester United. With that
doubt appeased we set off to Stalybridge.
Here was the ultimate test. Could I actually feel anything for the team.
Would I feel anything towards the 11 men on the pitch. In my heart I had
deep reservatons that I would feel any attachment to the team, other than
they were a form of entertainment, there to satisfy the lust for a damn
good booze fuelled day out. Arriving at the ground, one thing struck me.
The atmosphere. It was not that far detached from a normal away trip. The
buzz was there. The anticipation. groups of people all stood talking. This
wasn’t as bad as I thought.
In the ground we went. Paying my entrance fee with a £5 note. You
barely get the program for that at most grounds. No tickets, just pay and
in you go. No snide looks to see if its genuine. No police or security guards
making you feel uncomfortable. You just walk in as and when you feel like
it.
Then something happened that really jolted me. “where do you want
to stand”. Hang on a moment. Where do I want to stand. The choice
was mine. Did I want a seat, did I want to stand near the touchline, did
I want to go behind the goal. I got to choose. I cannot tell you how great
it felt to be able to decide where I wanted to view the action from.
Being a traditionalist, I opted for behind the goal I dont know why but
I always feel closer to the action behind the goal. So round behind the
goal we went. Amidst the expanding crowd. The buzz grew. THe singing started.
Without even thinking about why I was doing it, I found myself joining in.
I knew the words, christ, I had been singing the same songs for decades
so it wasnt like I felt out of place on that score.
Then the team came out. Again, I cheered, I clapped. Who were these 11 men.
I hadnt a bloody clue. THey could have been 11 aliens, and I then realised
they werent the reason I was cheering. THere in front of me were 11 red
shirts, 11 pairs of white shorts, and 22 black socks. Then it dawned on
me. This wasnt a different team. This could just as easily been Manchester
United. There was no difference between the 11 men who walk onto the pitch
at Old Trafford in a hail of glory, and the 11 young lads walking out onto
a barren pitch in the middle of nowhere. For 30 years I have cheered 11 men
walk onto the pitch, and yet I didnt know them. THey could have been anyone.
I knew the names, I knew the faces, but at the end of the day, it wasnt
them personally I was cheering. I was cheering the shirt on their back.
Sparky Hughes, Bryan Robson, Cantona, Rooney, they were just names. Yes
they had given me wondrous moments, but even if they hadnt they would still
have got the same adulation. Here were 11 complete strangers getting the
same treatment I thought i could only reserve for Manchester United. I have
to admit they had got me.
All through the game I found myself doing everything I have ever done at
OT. Screaming at the referee. Willing players on, moaning at poor play.
Feeling desperate for a goal, and getting the same hope in my heart whenever
they got near the penalty area of Stalybridge. This wasnt any different
to being at any premiership football ground. It was no different to standing
in the San Siro. I was feeling everything I ever felt at an average Manchester
United game.
When the final whistle went, I felt fulfilled. THe players appreciated our
efforts. I appreciated the effort they had put in, and they had put the
effort in. You could see the tired faces, the weary looks, but despite that
they still took the time to come over and aknowledge us. I hadnt spent a
fortune to be there, but they werent thanking me for what money I had paid.
They were thanking me for just being there.They had run themselves into
the ground, and here they were thanking me for being there.At this stage
I felt I owed them something. All I could give them was a final clap, and
the thought in my mind that I just had to see that team play again. Where
had I felt like that before. September 1973, my first ever game at OT where
I stood inside OT with my father beside me. I had just come full circle.
I was back where I started 30 odd years ago.
As I came home on the coach, I was thinking more and more about what I had
seen that day, and every way I thought about it, it still came back to the
same thing. What I had experienced was nothing less than the same as being
at a Manchester United game. In fact that was a Manchester United game.
The players might be different, the crowd might be smaller, but everything
from the fans, the atmosphere, the effort of the players, the feeling of
being wanted, was just the same. This was everthing I want football to be,
and this was what I wanted. I was now a FCUOM supporter.
The most emotional thing for me is the realisation that far from leaving
Manchester United, I am living Manchester United. This is what Manchester
United is all about. Take away the fancy decorations and it all boils down
to one thing. Red white and black.
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