Fans voices: Why do we love football?

A Manchester United tells us of his emotional connection to the club and why he is so frustrated with the current situation.

This is the first article of our Fans Voice series. If you want to get involved, please message us on Twitter and we'll respond as soon as possible.

My first United game was the last watched by the old Stretford End. We beat Tottenham 3-1 and was mesmerised by the sights and sounds. In the previous weeks, we had thrown away a lead at the top of old First Division and lost the title to Leeds United. My dad knew this would be my first game and thought it would be a title party, sadly he was mistaken.

We only had to wait another year to finally clinch the title and we were both there as we celebrated winning the first-ever Premier League. I was slightly older so was able to appreciate things a bit more. Little did my and my dad know though but football was about to change forever.

Domination but at what cost?

Over the next six years, United would win everything aside from the League Cup. We dominated English football, winning five of the next seven Premier League titles. This culminated in the best night of my life. The 1999 Champions League final. Two late goals clinched the European Cup and the Treble. Oh, what a night.

Outside of the wonderful memories being delivered by the soon to be Sir Alex Ferguson, there were plenty of issues. The Independent Man United Supporters Association was formed in 1995 by United fans dissatisfied with how the club and the wider game was treating them. Increased ticket prices, overzealous stewarding and games being moved for TV coverage were amongst the gripes of our hard-core support. I turned 18 at the start of the 98/99 and whilst I was enjoying my first legal beers, there was a battle for the very soul of Manchester United.

United fans v Rupert Murdoch

At the start of our greatest season, Rupert Murdoch and BSkyB launched a bid to my beloved club. It was ultimately stopped by a combination of fan power and Government. 

Winning the league on Teletext

Over the next few years, it appeared that things were ticking over comfortably for the team and wider club. Those "in the know" knew things weren't exactly perfect. We started to struggle more in the Champions League and issues with regards to the running of the club were starting to become more apparent. 

At the end of our third successive Premier League title-winning campaign, there were more rumours that Fergie was prepared to walk after several arguments with the board. Add Roy Keane's angry rant following our tepid Champions League exit to Bayern and a better picture was being drawn.

Fergie ultimately said he was gonna stay for another season (before actually staying for another eleven years) and we announced the signings of Veron and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. We missed out on a 4th successive League season but it was still a fun season.

We got "our trophy back" during the following campaign following a superb run in the final third of the season. "Ruud" got 44 goals in all competitions and became a legend. The next season though, those off the pitch issues became more apparent.

What's going on?

The 03/04 season was quite frankly bizarre. Fergie's row with (Irish shareholders) threatened to derail everything. Rio's ban didn't exactly help things either. The less said about 04/05 the better. Football and United were about to change forever.

LUHG

United, United Not For Sale sang 64,000 reds around 15 minutes before Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored a penalty to help end Arsenal's 50 match unbeaten run. A remarkable day at Old Trafford with an amazing atmosphere. Around 3 hours before Wayne Rooney confirmed United's win that day was a huge protest showing United fans dissatisfaction at the proposed takeover from the Glazer family. It was an incredible day but things at Old Trafford were about to get slightly messy.

A few months after that day, the sadly now defunct Red Issue proposed something rather bizarre but something resonated with elements of United's support. In the event of a takeover by the Glazer family, a new club would be formed called FC United. This team would be100% fan-owned and play in the Non-League system. As the 04/05 marched to its slightly depressing ending (we would limp to 3rd place in the league and Liverpool would end as European champions) protests amongst our core support became desperate. In May 2005, and a couple of weeks before 'that lot' did the unthinkable in Instanbul, the Glazer family bought Manchester United Football Club. A horrible day compounded by a lack of fans protesting outside the ground made me feel slightly ill.

The end of that month saw the FC United idea march on. Led by well known Man United fans 'JP' and Andy Walsh, over 800 reds backed the club financially to get the club off the ground. A few weeks after a lot of running about, it was announced that the club would play in the North West Counties and ground share Gigg Lane with Bury FC. This led to soul searching amongst the hard-core United support. People would ask themselves: "Can I stop going to Old Trafford?"

The never-ending story

The next 16 years have been a whirlwind. Fergie's managerial genius made sure he was the first United manager to two European Cups but like 99, things faltered slightly after that. Despite not finishing outside the top two between 2006 and 2013, there was an argument that the Glazer's lack of investment would cost the club in the long run.

During the early part of this period, the core support was gripped by infighting. Fights amongst United fans were a regular occurrence for a period. Some reds carried on like nothing had happened. Others went to OT but didn't buy anything in the ground. A few stopped going to Old Trafford but carried on supporting the club. A sizeable minority though went through with the FC United idea previously mentioned. After months of moaning about how rubbish Old Trafford was post-Glazer, I finally decided to spend a Saturday at Gigg Lane. Wow, was I impressed. Non stop singing and seeing loads of faces I hadn't seen for years. I brought my now sadly declining old man and he had a tear in his eye. This was like the OT and United he had grown up with. Could we do it every week though?

It took five years before we gave up Season Tickets at Old Trafford. The green and good protests at Old Trafford inspired us to give up the things we had assumed were out God-given right.

I sang not for sale and I meant just that?

A few months later, I found myself in the away end at Rochdale watching FC United produce a shock FA Cup win. What a night. It was an atmosphere that I'll never forget.

Less than 24 hours later, I found myself returning to Old Trafford for the first time since May 2010. United played Wolves in a rather dull game that was settled by a late goal from Park. Despite the decline in matchday experience, I realised I missed Old Trafford. I missed Sam Platts with my mates. What followed over the next few months was more soul searching. 

Ultimately, my love of United was stronger than my hatred of the Glazer family. During the end of the 2010/2011 season, I was doing the odd FCUM match alongside going to United regularly again.

Singing we knocked the scousers off their perch

The day United clinched the 19th league title was wonderful. Not even city winning the FA could ruin the day. I stumbled out of a bar at 6 am apparently. A couple of weeks later, I was at Wembley to see us torn apart from Barcelona in the Champions League final.

The following season had great potential but was ruined by one day in May 2012. We were eight points clear of city with a few games left to play but proceeded to throw it away. We still had a chance of winning the title but needed help from our former hero Mark Hughes. The less said about that day the better so I'll move on.

During the next transfer window, we signed Robin van Persie. This would prove to be an inspired signing. The Dutch striker scored over 30 goals and we won our 20th title.

So long Fergie

A few days before United faced Swansea, in a match where we would be officially crowned champions, we got a shock announcement. Fergie was retiring. The fortnight was an incredible celebration. The parade down Deansgate was one of the best nights of my United watching life.

Just another club

David Moyes was appointed as manager to replace Fergie. This was a mistake. Louis Van Gaal replaced Moyes who had been sacked in April 2014. This also proved to be a mistake. Despite winning our first trophy since Fergie retired, the Dutch manager was also sacked and ultimately replaced by Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese manager had some success but thing were never 100% with him in charge.

Mourinho was finally sacked in December 2018 and replaced by a Norwegian bloke who had given me the best moment of my life. He got off to a great start bit the issues of Mourinho's reign were still evident.

Ole did a great job at making me fall in love in with United again. Things were going ok until it felt like the world ended in March 2020. The Premier League was suspended due to the global pandemic and resumed a few months later. United reached the semi-final of the Europa League and FA Cup but poor performances in both cost us. Was Ole the man to take us forward?

2020/2021 was played almost entirely behind closed doors. However, another of those great United moments played out. The "big 6" announced plans to develop a European Super League alongside the continents best teams. This caused outrage but sparked United's support into action. The scheduled game against Liverpool was abandoned as fans blocked the team coaches and breached OT security.

On the pitch, we finished the campaign in 2nd and reached the Europa League final. That match against Villarreal ended in heartbreak for Ole as we lost on penalties.

Viva Ronaldo

What to say about the current situation then? Horrendous defeats against Liverpool and City have stung. I dread to think where the club is going on and off the pitch but I just can't stop going.