Manchester United: United's "Singing Stand" Close to Completion at Old Trafford

When Sir Alex Ferguson criticised the fans' lack of presence after a 1-0 New Year's day victory against Birmingham City four years ago, the United faithful didn't quite know how to react.

After all, this was Fergie, the man who at that stage had led them to 15 league titles and two Champions Leagues as well as countless FA and Carling Cups.

Rather than jump on Sir Alex's back about the comments, the Red Devils' supporters opted for a far more positive solution to the problem that would hopefully silence any away fans in the future from ridiculing the supposed lack of atmosphere and support at Old Trafford.

As such, the notion of a "Singing Stand" was put forward. 

This stand's focus would be to raise the decibel level around the home of the Devils on match days, putting them into contention for "best atmosphere in England"—an attribute that is usually credited to the fans of Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.

Now, it seems as though officials at Old Trafford have given the plans the go-ahead.

Talks have begun with the Greater Manchester Police to ensure that the new arrangement and allocation of tickets will not cause any uprisings of hooliganism amongst away and home supporters alike.

Ironically, the end of the ground being proposed to house the new idea is The Sir Alex Ferguson stand.

I can certainly see this being one of those almost fairytale-like stories in the future.

Perhaps 40 years or so from now, the stand will be seen as somewhat of an iconic feature of English football, with the backstory being that the (late) great Sir Alex Ferguson once complained about the lack of support in a match and so a few years later to appease him they not only created the atmosphere he so wanted, but also housed it in the stand that was dedicated to him.

Unfortunately for MUTV, this would mean that their studio is based directly above where an extreme amount of noise would be coming from.

This is unlucky for them, but after all, as a United based television channel they can hardly have too many complaints about their fans' dedication to the Devils.

Whatever the case, I think it is a very good idea and can only help to silence all those fans who claim that United don't have a "proper" following of football fans.

Throwing the singing fans in at the away end of the ground will also give the players a huge psychological boost.

The travelling supporters will be more than likely drowned out by the hearty fans giving it their all at the Sir Alex end.

It will be very interesting to see these plans reaching completion in the near future—perhaps for the start of the next season.

As for now, United have to focus on this year's league title, with their match against Manchester City now just 10 days away.

And one thing's for certain: they definitely won't be getting much support from the Sky Blue's fans at the Etihad!