What's the point? Warning: Post contains a long ramble

[MancunianAngels]

I'd stayed away from Old Trafford for many years in protest of the Glazer's ownership of the club. I attended the Youth Cup final in 2022, sat near my old spot in the Stretford End and realised I missed the place. For all its faults, for all its cracks and shoddy paintwork, it's still home. Despite that, I can't return permanently until those vermin leave the club. When I boycotted, I said I wouldn't give them a penny and, aside from that £1 Youth Cup final ticket, I've stuck to my word.

Since then, the recent endless debate about Ratcliffe/Qatar has made me question things more. If, as people suggest, the only way to compete with city is to essentially trade away what's left of our soul, what's the point? We are a club that has been Champions of England 20 times and won 3 European Cups. We are a club that lost most of its team in an air disaster but still survived. We now need a state backer to compete with the divs? Is that where we're at? Again, what's the point?

Then there's the main elephant in the room. The abuse members of our women's team received when that story was leaked was disgusting. Where are our morals?

Apologies for rambling but I fear that I'm approaching the end of my emotional relationship with Manchester United Football Club. Us winning will always be better than them winning but it won't really mean anything if those things mentioned above happen first. It will be a bit like Labour potentially winning the election under Starmer but that's a debate for another day...

 

[Plastic Evra]

You're not alone.
Is it more important to compete at all costs or would you be OK with United slowly sliding into PL rankings, perhaps even lower ?
Sooner rather than later, the question will come if you wouldn't be better off supporting another smaller club... Though you already see celebrities and opportunists nabbing Championship or below sides...

 

[RedStarUnited]

Going to avoid the MG part.

The first part though, the point is you move with the times. Why are football fans SO against change? What business has stayed the same in10/20/30 years? And yeah football is a business.

 

[FrankDrebin]

Like I've been saying, football is a big pile of fecking disgusting sh*te, now more than ever.

 

[bosnian_red]

Football is about more than winning every trophy. People have forgotten that. Or the glory hunting fans (yes that's what you are if that's all you care about) have just gone rampant in this place and lose their shit at anything other than a 1st place finish.

We don't have a divine right to be top of the pile endlessly. There are thousands of clubs around the world. All have their massive fanbases, with fans who support them to death. So many live for them. How many of them are actually successful? Many of them simply dream the dream of doing a Leicester but love their clubs all the same.

Moral of the story - stop losing your shit if we aren't top. Find your appreciation for the football club and know that it's ok to not be the best team around, because them being the best team or biggest team shouldn't be the reason you are a supporter in the first place. If it is, it's likely a relationship that will end at some point because as I said, nobody stays on top forever.

 

[Nogho]

Totttenham started it when they went public way back...since then it has all went downhill. The 51% rule used in Germany and Sweden etc. should have been implemented long before all of this started to escalate. Soon supporting United would be the same as supporting Coca Cola. Sad indeed. We all remember the good ol days..

 

[Pickle85]

Going to avoid the MG part.

The first part though, the point is you move with the times. Why are football fans SO against change? What business has stayed the same in10/20/30 years? And yeah football is a business.

Do you really not see how this misses the point?

 

[Korwas]

Football is about more than winning every trophy. People have forgotten that. Or the glory hunting fans (yes that's what you are if that's all you care about) have just gone rampant in this place and lose their shit at anything other than a 1st place finish.

This. Football should be entertainment first and competition second but it feels like people just want to win today. I would much rather have Ronaldinho than Haaland even if Haaland leads to more titles. I'm much more bothered with how United always look sluggish than the fact we never win anything.

 

[Offside]

Glory hunters who subscribed for nothing more than years more of success throwing their toys out the pram as the years tick by without it.

 

[The Irish Connection]

I have the same feeling tbh. For me, between Man City’s cheating a treble and probably winning 4 leagues in a row, the Glazer’s ruination of the club, and the insane money sloshing around, it just feels like the game is broken.
If City get properly punished and the Glazers feck off then a bit of my faith will be restored.

 

[Zed is not dead]

Football is about more than winning every trophy. People have forgotten that. Or the glory hunting fans (yes that's what you are if that's all you care about) have just gone rampant in this place and lose their shit at anything other than a 1st place finish.

Agreed with this and OP main message.

Football was not always a business, and a football club is not only about winning.
It’s about a sense of belonging, of community and shared emotions. The good emotions and the not so good emotions too.

I’ve mentioned it in the Phil Jones thread but it makes me somehow proud that the club stuck by a player who was unlucky with injuries (and social media as well) but always gave his all on the pitch.
I was similarly disappointed by how the club handled the end of contract of De Gea. It lacked class and respect towards a player who was a great servant.

We don’t need Ratcliff or Qatar to become the force we once were. We only need owners who won’t cost the club £1,5bn and treat it like a source of dividends.

Real life is hard enough as it is to now be cynical about football. Let us be romantics again

 

[bosnian_red]

Agreed with this and OP main message.

Football was not always a business, and a football club is not only about winning.
It’s about a sense of belonging, of community and shared emotions. The good emotions and the not so good emotions too.

I’ve mentioned it in the Phil Jones thread but it makes me somehow proud that the club stuck by a player who was unlucky with injuries (and social media as well) but always gave his all on the pitch.
I was similarly disappointed by how the club handled the end of contract of De Gea. It lacked class and respect towards a player who was a great servant.

We don’t need Ratcliff or Qatar to become the force we once were. We only need owners who won’t cost the club £1,5bn and treat it like a source of dividends.

Real life is hard enough as it is to now be cynical about football. Let us be romantics again

Yeah I don't care about sugar daddy owners. I don't want them. I'd rather work our way up and any success be earned through doing things the right way, promoting youth, playing with good characters and when it clicks, then we feel that much more proud. I don't care about spending 100m to get caicedo or Kane or Mbappe. That's never been us. People who think it is signed up for the wrong club, as it's never been us.

 

[bosnian_red]

Glory hunters who subscribed for nothing more than years more of success throwing their toys out the pram as the years tick by without it.

Yeeep. Was always a side effect of all that success we grew up with. You get fans who latch because of that and then think winning is all that counts. Misses the point. Dream of success, yeah, but there is more to it than just that

 

[Infestissumam]

I'm 100 percent with OP. I'm still a big United fan, but the emotional connection to the club is continuing to fade. Modern world football in general disgusts me more and more, but it obviously has a deeper impact on me when it's about United. The prospect of becoming another soulless oil club frustrates the heck out of me, and I feel the club is getting that whole MG situation as wrong as they possibly can.

 

[Zen86]

Football is more entertainment than sport these days, and yet the games aren’t really all that entertaining anymore. Football is too much of a business now, clubs are brands and now we’re seeing those brands swallowed up into larger franchises.

 

[lex talionis]

Amigos, we’ve got much bigger problems to worry about than football. In the US, we’re dealing with a sociopath by the name of Donald Trump who might just get re-elected in 2024. Climate change that presents foreseeable catastrophic changes to how all life on the planet will cope is beyond all debate, yet many of us still bury their heads in the sand. You in the UK are dealing with the idiocy of Brexit. I can go on, but football — warts and all — is still there for us to escape the living hell our political leaders have created for us in the name of serving their corporate masters.

Enjoy what you can, while you can enjoy it.

 

[gerdm07]

Amigos, we’ve got much bigger problems to worry about than football. In the US, we’re dealing with a sociopath by the name of Donald Trump who might just get re-elected in 2024. Climate change that presents foreseeable catastrophic changes to how all life on the planet will cope is beyond all debate, yet many of us still bury their heads in the sand. You in the UK are dealing with the idiocy of Brexit. I can go on, but football — warts and all — is still there for us to escape the living hell our political leaders have created for us in the name of serving their corporate masters.

Enjoy what you can, while you can enjoy it.

Why did you have to bring politics to the site? There are likely former Trump voters on this site and there are likely people on this site who are unsure of climate change. Yet you pretend to be the know all for what's best for the world. Keep politics off this site please.

 

[Murder on Zidanes Floor]

I'd stayed away from Old Trafford for many years in protest of the Glazer's ownership of the club. I attended the Youth Cup final in 2022, sat near my old spot in the Stretford End and realised I missed the place. For all its faults, for all its cracks and shoddy paintwork, it's still home. Despite that, I can't return permanently until those vermin leave the club. When I boycotted, I said I wouldn't give them a penny and, aside from that £1 Youth Cup final ticket, I've stuck to my word.

Since then, the recent endless debate about Ratcliffe/Qatar has made me question things more. If, as people suggest, the only way to compete with city is to essentially trade away what's left of our soul, what's the point? We are a club that has been Champions of England 20 times and won 3 European Cups. We are a club that lost most of its team in an air disaster but still survived. We now need a state backer to compete with the divs? Is that where we're at? Again, what's the point?

Then there's the main elephant in the room. The abuse members of our women's team received when that story was leaked was disgusting. Where are our morals?

Apologies for rambling but I fear that I'm approaching the end of my emotional relationship with Manchester United Football Club. Us winning will always be better than them winning but it won't really mean anything if those things mentioned above happen first. It will be a bit like Labour potentially winning the election under Starmer but that's a debate for another day...

I actually came to post something similar in regards to MG. I think if he plays again I'll be done.

 

[Pickle85]

Why did you have to bring politics to the site? There are likely former Trump voters on this site and there are likely people on this site who are unsure of climate change. Yet you pretend to be the know all for what's best for the world. Keep politics off this site please.

Is this satire?! If not, I don't know what to say.

 

[mariachi-19]

Why did you have to bring politics to the site? There are likely former Trump voters on this site and there are likely people on this site who are unsure of climate change. Yet you pretend to be the know all for what's best for the world. Keep politics off this site please.

If people vote for trump or are unsure of climate change, they have rocks in their fecking head and deserve to be treated as such. It’s not about having an alternate view, it’s about having the dangerously wrong view.

 

[pocco]

I'm with you OP. If we bring him back and/or Qatar take over then I think this will be the last season I renew my season ticket. I just can't bring myself to support a team that is a vanity project buying success, or a team that features a fecking rapist. It's just ridiculous to even have to type those words as a United supporter. Honestly, what have we become? We've almost lost any ounce of class these days if we're considering the above, as it seems.

Not to mention the idea of Saudi teams buying their way into the CL. Football a s we knew it is definitely gone for good now. This is something else.

 

[RedStarUnited]

Do you really not see how this misses the point?

It missed the point if you want to be stuck on your ideals of what football is. Everything the OP described can still be found, just not at Manchester United.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

I'll always support United, but can understand any supporters feelings.

This will always be what I love about football too, not even sure who is playing here..... (not sure allowed top post instagram, so sorry if not)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ct6zNaVJOwc/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

 

[2 man midfield]

I can see myself falling a bit out of love with it. It’s so far removed from the game I started watching over 20 years ago.

 

[Superden]

Most elite sport is fixed anyway...

 

[Nani Nana]

You'll never walk alone.

 

[Pickle85]

It missed the point if you want to be stuck on your ideals of what football is. Everything the OP described can still be found, just not at Manchester United.

But you said the poster needs to move with the times, no? I'm not sure you know what you're on about. It sounds as though your suggestion is either move with the times and get on board with state ownership and everything else or go and support another team, which totally ignores the idea that as a result of this, it may be that people start to fall out of love with the game as a whole.
.

 

[Pes6Monster]

I'd stayed away from Old Trafford for many years in protest of the Glazer's ownership of the club. I attended the Youth Cup final in 2022, sat near my old spot in the Stretford End and realised I missed the place. For all its faults, for all its cracks and shoddy paintwork, it's still home. Despite that, I can't return permanently until those vermin leave the club. When I boycotted, I said I wouldn't give them a penny and, aside from that £1 Youth Cup final ticket, I've stuck to my word.

Since then, the recent endless debate about Ratcliffe/Qatar has made me question things more. If, as people suggest, the only way to compete with city is to essentially trade away what's left of our soul, what's the point? We are a club that has been Champions of England 20 times and won 3 European Cups. We are a club that lost most of its team in an air disaster but still survived. We now need a state backer to compete with the divs? Is that where we're at? Again, what's the point?

Then there's the main elephant in the room. The abuse members of our women's team received when that story was leaked was disgusting. Where are our morals?

Apologies for rambling but I fear that I'm approaching the end of my emotional relationship with Manchester United Football Club. Us winning will always be better than them winning but it won't really mean anything if those things mentioned above happen first. It will be a bit like Labour potentially winning the election under Starmer but that's a debate for another day...

Same for me, chief.

Glory hunters who subscribed for nothing more than years more of success throwing their toys out the pram as the years tick by without it.

United won a trophy last season.

Your description of glory hunter informs the pro-Qatar mob.

 

[kouroux]

I used to miss out on football/futsal sessions to watch Man Utd. No more and this isn't something I processed, my loved decreased gradually and naturally over time.
I drift towards activities that bring more joy than watching Man Utd.

 

[Pickle85]

I used to miss out on football/futsal sessions to watch Man Utd. No more and this isn't something I processed, my loved decreased gradually and naturally over time.
I drift towards activities that bring more joy than watching Man Utd.

Like watching all seasons of The Big Bang Theory back to back or wanking with a cheese grater

 

[gerdm07]

If people vote for trump or are unsure of climate change, they have rocks in their fecking head and deserve to be treated as such. It’s not about having an alternate view, it’s about having the dangerously wrong view.

So you are smarter and more informed than the 74 million people who voted for Trump in 2020? Impressive. I guess you are also smarter than the recent former Nobel Prize winner in physics that recently doubted the climate science. Very impressive.

 

[Pickle85]

So you are smarter and more informed than the 74 million people who voted for Trump in 2020? Impressive. I guess you are also smarter than the recent former Nobel Prize winner in physics that recently doubted the climate science. Very impressive.

Nice trolling but a bit too obvious.

 

[Murder on Zidanes Floor]

Why did you have to bring politics to the site? There are likely former Trump voters on this site and there are likely people on this site who are unsure of climate change. Yet you pretend to be the know all for what's best for the world. Keep politics off this site please.

Not others fault you're ashamed of your political choices.

 

[arthurka]

I have the same feeling tbh. For me, between Man City’s cheating a treble and probably winning 4 leagues in a row, the Glazer’s ruination of the club, and the insane money sloshing around, it just feels like the game is broken.
If City get properly punished and the Glazers feck off then a bit of my faith will be restored.

Yeah about that, Saudi Arabia is going to play the CL so I wouldn't bet on things getting much better.

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

This. Football should be entertainment first and competition second but it feels like people just want to win today. I would much rather have Ronaldinho than Haaland even if Haaland leads to more titles. I'm much more bothered with how United always look sluggish than the fact we never win anything.

I’d argue this has been one of the biggest issues post-Fergie, more so than not winning. For long periods watching United has become a chore. Have we had single season that was blighted by a lengthy period of absolute dross? Even last season became a slog from, if we’re honest, a few games prior to the League Cup Final.

The landscape has changed & it’s easy to throw around insults like glory hunters but if watching United is meant to be entertaining then you can hardly blames fans for feeling a little disappointed in that regard for some time.

As for Ronaldinho vs Haaland, i couldn’t agree more.

 

[Blood Mage]

Just feels like a case of older fans wanting the game to go back to how it was, but you either need to accept that it's never going back or just stop watching.

 

[RedStarUnited]

But you said the poster needs to move with the times, no? I'm not sure you know what you're on about. It sounds as though your suggestion is either move with the times and get on board with state ownership and everything else or go and support another team, which totally ignores the idea that as a result of this, it may be that people start to fall out of love with the game as a whole.
.

Yes he does because Its unrealistic to think that United would stay the same. You cant fight this change, so the easier thing to do is to go support another club, probably one in the lower leagues at the beginning of its journey.

Some people will fall out of love with the game and others will join. For everyone saying they wont renew their season ticket, theres a long line of people waiting for them to go away and take their place.

 

[Obligatory Nigel]

I know where you're coming from @MancunianAngels . I've come to the conclusion my relationship with United is with a United that doesn't exist anymore. I've gone beyond the disappointment and disenchantment with modern United to realise that it does not sully or change the times, experiences and memories of United past. I feel blessed by those. The United I knew and loved has gone as has the game of football I once knew and I no longer feel the need to cling to it any longer

 

[Denis79]

There comes a time when one's principles and values intersect with their passions I guess. Growing up in a home marred by abuse and violence, I've witnessed firsthand the devastating toll it takes on individuals and families. It's a painful reality that has left an indelible mark on me.

I have also shared this with my wife, thst if a certain player were to return, there would be no way for me to continue my support for the club that I have been devoted to for almost 40 years.

 

[The Irish Connection]

Yeah about that, Saudi Arabia is going to play the CL so I wouldn't bet on things getting much better.

Yeah. The whole thing is fecked to be honest.
If city get properly punished it might revive me a bit but that could take years if anything happens.