Fan Ownership Would Enhance the Manchester United Brand

All Manchester United fans should be UNITED in their opposition to the current model of ownership of the club. That's true. But being UNITED in a strategy that's just plain wrong, serves nobody's interests.

One Million Reds philosophy differs in one huge respect from MUST. We do not believe that an aggressive stance towards the Glazers serves any purpose other than to reinforce their determination to maintain the status quo.

It's really a no-brainer. Let's just imagine for one minute that you are Malcolm Glazer!

Would you be remotely interested in doing business with someone who is carrying out a such a negative campaign against you and your family, and even conspires with third-party investors to undermine the solvency of your business through calls for a boycott? When you put it in that context, it doesn't sound like a very appealing prospect.

The philosophy of One Million Reds calls for a much more thoughtful approach. It's based on seeking to engage the Glazers in an intelligent and thoughtful way. Please don't tell me this has been tried, because it has not.

If we as fans want to convince Malcolm Glazer and his sons that fan ownership is in the interests of the Manchester United brand (as viewed from their perspective) then we have to work really hard at selling the idea to them.

We have to make the business case for it and we have to make the moral case for it. We need them to understand that Manchester United is not really like any normal business.

Its soul can never be 'owned' by just one man, or even a group of men, in truth Manchester United is not something that can ever really be "owned:" it is an ideal to be treasured and shared with the world.

We would like the Glazers to understand that the relationship between fan and club is based on an unwritten understanding... of fans giving their support and loyalty to the club in return for wonderful football, played by great teams in the tradition of Manchester United...at a cost which is fair and reasonable.

We would like the Glazers to acknowledge that under their ownership, that relationship has been put under severe strain.

They must see what we see, that as a result of the huge debt burden placed on the club, ticket prices have risen to levels where the ordinary fan struggles to justify the cost as a proportion of the average wage.

Perhaps the Glazers did not expect the fans to make the connection between money paid out to Manchester United and money paid out to service their borrowings.

But that connection has been made, and the ramifications of that are going to have to be resolved if the Glazers are remotely interested in winning the fans over, or want to take any real joy or satisfaction from what remains of their tenure at Manchester United, short or long, and in whatever form that ownership may take.

On the fans' side we must keep building the case for fan ownership, ideally 100 percent ownership, but we have to start somewhere and build from there. A first step would be to aim for a 75/25 split in favour of the fans.

The one selling point that could eventually win over the Glazers is that Manchester United's 'brand' will be vastly enhanced by a move towards a model of majority fan ownership.

It's difficult to imagine, but if the Glazer's embraced the concept and looked to build it into the club's brand going forward, it would in an instant eliminate all of the negative feelings that have built up over the last few years and simultaneously catapult the profile and brand value of the club to a level, not even conceived of by the Glazers.

Just imagine the enormous and ongoing publicity that would be attracted by such a move, from every corner of the globe. Fans and business collaborating in a spirit of partnership and common purpose. Incredible.

The achievement of majority fan ownership at Manchester United based on one member, one vote: would be the single greatest sporting and social innovation of the century to date. Such would be its impact that it's quite conceivable that in a few years time a minority private holding could actually be worth more than the entire club is today.

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