By Michael Burney
At the beginning of this week, it was announced that Manchester United plan to leave their current home of the past 115 years and move into a shiny new 100,000 seater stadium and complex on adjoining land next to Old Trafford. The construction of the “New Trafford” stadium is expected to cost around £2billion and the club hope to officially move in for the 2030/31 season.
However, many questions surround this decision and also whether it is a positive step or indeed a move which will further erode the feeling of belonging and community amongst some supporters. As with most things in life, considering both sides of any argument or debate are key in being able to form an opinion one way or the other, and in this case there are plenty of aspects to consider on both sides of the argument.
Ever since the Glazer family took control of Manchester United in 2005 they have neglected most aspects of the club and its infrastructure. When the leveraged buyout was completed twenty years ago, Old Trafford was the biggest and best stadium in the country. Only two years previously it had staged the UEFA Champions League final between AC Milan and Juventus. Fast forward to 2025 and there have been countless issues with leaking roofs, little to no modifications (barring an exterior paint job) and the stadium wasn’t even selected to host any games at the upcoming 2028 European Championships to be staged across the UK and Ireland.
One of the stadiums selected was the Etihad, the home of Manchester City, who have overtaken United both on and off the field in recent times. The investment into the club’s infrastructure over in East Manchester is in stark contrast to how United has been run. The redevelopment of United’s Carrington training complex is due to be completed this summer at a cost of £50m. This move was rubber stamped by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team upon becoming shareholders at the club.
Upon lifting the bonnet, Ratcliffe realised that things at United were even worse than his assembled gaggle of expensive lawyers first believed when he was in talks to invest into the club. There has been chronic mis-management and neglect of the club from the Glazer family and following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 the house of cards has fallen down, just as the roof at Old Trafford may well do without a bit of short-term TLC.
It is clear the Glazer family have milked the club financially, whilst failing to invest any of their own money. What they have done well, though, has been maximising the commerciality of the club. They have signed numerous sponsorship deals and really utilised the global appeal of United for huge financial gain, of which they have also benefited from via their dividends. However, it is the name and reputation of Manchester United that has been traded upon and sold around the world, not really anything tangible that the Glazers have helped to grow or achieve.
With United now falling even further behind their rivals on the pitch, currently sitting 14th in the Premier League table, the club cannot just keep relying on their history and hard-earned reputation forged in part by the Busby Babes, the Holy Trinity and the Sir Alex Ferguson years. The club needs to get things right on the pitch, but the handcuffs placed upon them by the majority ownership are now becoming even tighter. This is the problem Sir Jim Ratcliffe has now he is the man running the football operations at the club and being the Glazer’s public lightning rod.
In a couple of PR interviews given at the start of the week to The Telegraph and also Gary Neville’s Youtube channel, The Overlap, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has come and out and effectively tried to justify his decisions and running of the club, appease the supporters and outline his vision for the future. He made some very good points about the mis-management of the club in previous years by the Glazers’ men on the ground, Ed Woodward and Richard Arnold, and the careless and poor recruitment in the playing staff. He has said he intends to get the club on the right financial footing once more and that he is also determined to see United back at the top of the game under his leadership.
All positive comments from the man born in Failsworth. However, when pressed on the way the Glazers’ have run things and the debt they have loaded onto the club, his body language changed (ironic considering he revealed the club had spent thousands on a body language expert) and refused to publicly acknowledge or agree with the notion presented to him by Gary Neville. He also confirmed that it is highly likely that tickets will increase again for a second time in a matter of months.
This is where the crux of the “New Trafford” being a positive or a negative becomes nuanced. Amongst many comments given by Ratcliffe, he mentioned that “if you look after the pennies the pounds look after themselves”. This is a well-versed saying amongst successful businessman and of course he has to make sure the club is run well financially, but at what other cost? In this scenario the cost can be counted in the potential alienation and freezing out of some of the clubs most loyal supporters.
The increase already implemented by Ratcliffe included abolishing concessions for under 16s and pensioners. The chant of “£66 you’re taking the p**s” can now be heard from the terraces. In pricing out younger generations of fans and alienating those who have frequented Old Trafford for decades the club is in danger of losing part of it’s soul which those pounds being saved could never buy.
There are worries that a new stadium will cater mainly for a different type of ‘fan’ than ever before. The new forecourt may not have the whiff of horse excrement or cheap burgers and may well apparently be bigger than New York’s Times Square (under what looks like mesh netting) but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s in anyway better. The new shiny forecourt with a bigger Megastore (of course) and Red Café (ah yes of course) will aim to bring in and tempt plenty of people to part with as much of their hard earned cash as possible and in reality this is likely to be more of the tourist type supporter or someone who may frequent a matchday maybe once/twice a season, and who may also stay in one of the new hotels surrounding this new complex (ah yes).
There is nothing at all wrong with these fans and visitors of course. The appeal of Manchester United is wide ranging and truly global. The money that these people spend on coming to visit the club and the city undoubtedly helps United and the wider economy. What we have to be careful of, however, is ensuring the local, domestic and working-class fans are not priced out or alienated from the experience of attending Old/New Trafford.
These supporters have United in their blood. It’s been passed down from generation to generation. From North Road, Newton Heath to Bank Street to Old Trafford. It’s an undoubted loyalty and a loyalty that cannot be bought or sold. Like many others, I fall into this category. My grandad and his family from Ancoats, to my dad from Miles Platting to myself from Failsworth, the very birthplace of Sir Jim Ratcliffe. He must not forget where he came from, who he once was and all those he represents when building the new stadium and running Manchester United.
We have seen in recent times supporters of West Ham United protest against their owners about their move from Upton Park to their new stadium, amongst other things. There have been protests and discontent at Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal about how success on the pitch had seemingly been sacrificed for the commercial successes of their new stadiums. Whilst at Manchester City, many fans, including plenty who watched some of their darker times at Maine Road, are now disgruntled at their treatment by the club on pricing and how they feel newer fans appear to be prioritised and indulged.
Meanwhile at Liverpool, their American ownership group FSG have never been universally popular. They have tried to run the club prudently not spending more than they earn and keeping a tight ship as much as possible. However, it has brought them undoubted success on the pitch with savvy recruitment and they have redeveloped their Anfield home and kept the soul intact by listening to their supporters and backtracking when they have tried to increase ticket prices. The fact they listened to their loyal supporter base has meant the club has reaped the rewards in terms of keeping their identity, fostering a sense of unity and ultimately delivering an extremely competitive and successful side on the pitch.
The commercialisation of football continues at a pace, and of course everything moves with the times, but if the club is run properly it will always make enough money to be more than competitive. It may well be that Ratcliffe does indeed buy more of the Glazers’ shares and becomes the majority shareholder and that his fiscal policy bears fruit and United become once more very profitable. If this is the case, then the normal supporters must not be priced out for the sake of shareholder profits or greed. There can be no excuse. The concerts and other various uses the new stadium will have planned will more than generate enough money to ensure that ticket prices can remain affordable for all, allowing for a brilliant experience for every type of fan and supporter to feel what United truly means.
Featured image: “Old Trafford 02” by Xavoun is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Callum McFadden 