MY ACCOUNT
Manchester United supporters staged a fresh protest against the club’s owners on Saturday ahead of the 17-year anniversary of the takeover by the Glazer family.
Many supporters marched to Old Trafford ahead of the Premier League game against Norwich City, some carrying banners as others held lit smoke flares.
With a large police presence, there were no reports of major trouble, although the protesting continued as supporters arrived at the stadium.
A large number heeded calls to boycott the opening 17 minutes of the match, instead staying on the stadium concourses and leaving seats empty.
An early goal from Cristiano Ronaldo, to give United the lead, was followed within minutes by supporters chanting “stand up if you hate Glazers” and “we want Glazers out”.
United supporters have been unhappy with the Glazer business model at United since the early days of their ownership. While the club have been commercially successful, results on the pitch in recent seasons have been poor by the club’s previous high standards.
The Glazer family, then headed by Malcolm Glazer, established a controlling stake in the Red Devils in May 2005.
The protest came on the day neighbours Manchester City and fierce rivals Liverpool – firmly established as the current top two teams in England – were contesting an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
United lost early in that competition, and in the EFL Cup, while they were beaten by Atletico Madrid at the Champions League last-16 stage and came into the Norwich game sitting seventh in the Premier League.
Their last Premier League title came in 2012-13, with United having not won a major trophy since landing the EFL Cup and Europa League titles in the 2016-17 campaign.
Interim Ralf Rangnick has guided United through the second half of this season after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became the latest manager to struggle to deliver success.
Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag is widely seen as the favourite to become the next permanent boss.
