Erik ten Hag’s competitive debut threatens to be overshadowed by protests against the Glazer family.
The 1958, a group dedicated to the removal of the incumbent ownership, protested vociferously over the American ownership in the final three home games of last season.
Those protests look set to continue on Sunday, with a march set to begin at 12pm with the intention of having the Megastore at Old Trafford’s East Stand and the directors’ entrance in the Munich tunnel closed off.
In their rally letter, the 1958 made their views on the owners clear:
“The Glazers are unfit and improper owners.”
Richard Arnold, the appointed CEO of Manchester United following the departure of Edward Woodward, sought to win over members of the 1958 during a conversation in a pub back in June.
He came across as open and honest while ironically being filmed without his knowledge.
However he does not seem to have earned much love from the group, who refer to him as a “puppet” in their flyer.
“We will always support the club. We will always support the manager.”
We will always rise up against the current owners and any puppet hierarchy they appoint. Our club’s future is our only motivation.”
PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN TIMINGS FOR SUNDAYS PROTEST
We have had feedback from the fanbase and to accommodate any delays and include young and old we march from 12 noon🚶🏽♂️
Full details and map on our site 👉 https://t.co/1mp8wo6gnG
Be legal & peaceful. Look after each other 🇾🇪 pic.twitter.com/2AnenBaVrR
— The 1958 (@The__1958) August 1, 2022
The protest is expected to be entirely peaceful, as the group reinforce their determination to see change right at the top of the club.
With the Glazers among the very few top-level club owners to take large dividends out of the club, there is unlikely to be anything they can do to sway opinion in their favour.
This is unlikely to concern the engineers of the club’s leveraged buyout, who have gone back on their promise to commit to an “era of dialogue” with fans.
Nevertheless, the protest is a distraction new boss Ten Hag would have hoped to avoid.
