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Red Rebels: The Glazers and the FC Revolution
When the biggest club in the world is stolen from you, it's time to start again.
In 2004, Manchester United was the richest football club in the world, with global commercial success to match its dominance on the pitch.
By the end of 2005 the club had been plundered into record levels of debt, as Malcolm Glazer took over. To this day, the debt is estimated to be well in excess of £300m.
The fans were furious. The club they loved was being used as an asset to secure huge loans. It was an insult to the achievements of their magnificent club - to the traditions andheritage that United represented. But whilst the fanbase was united in concern, one group took matters a step further.
They were the Red Rebels. And if the club they loved was being stripped from them, they would walk away and build their own. This is the story of FC United of Manchester, the new club born out of a supporter revolution. It is a club built against all odds, with a transparent manifesto designed to protect their passionate fans.
But, as generations that have gone before will testify, football today is a very different game. How long can a modern British club stay true to its principles? And in a noble attempt to do so, could it ultimately tear itself apart?
In 2004, Manchester United was the richest football club in the world, with global commercial success to match its dominance on the pitch.
By the end of 2005 the club had been plundered into record levels of debt, as Malcolm Glazer took over. To this day, the debt is estimated to be well in excess of £300m.
The fans were furious. The club they loved was being used as an asset to secure huge loans. It was an insult to the achievements of their magnificent club - to the traditions andheritage that United represented. But whilst the fanbase was united in concern, one group took matters a step further.
They were the Red Rebels. And if the club they loved was being stripped from them, they would walk away and build their own. This is the story of FC United of Manchester, the new club born out of a supporter revolution. It is a club built against all odds, with a transparent manifesto designed to protect their passionate fans.
But, as generations that have gone before will testify, football today is a very different game. How long can a modern British club stay true to its principles? And in a noble attempt to do so, could it ultimately tear itself apart?
- GenresFootball
320 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2019
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28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 24, 2018
Las doscientas páginas del centro te dejan siempre pidiendo un poco más.
November 1, 2018
Wrote a review for WhenSaturdayComes on this book
“Revolutions only effect a radical improvement when the masses are alert and know how to chuck out their leaders as soon as the latter have done their job.” This quotation – from George Orwell – is aptly used by John-Paul O’Neill at the conclusion of his exposé on the running of FC United. What begins as a hope-fuelled guide to starting a team from scratch turns into a crime sheet of mismanagement as O’Neill attempts to evidence how ironically dis-united the fan-made club became.
The author opens by relaying the reasons for the rise of the Red Rebels. He links their roots back to Munich 1958 when one of the disaster’s lesser-known victims, prospective director Willie Santinoff, was replaced by Louis Edwards. Edwards’ son, Martin, was the chairman whose stewardship of United paved the way for their takeover by the Glazers in 2005.
O’Neill then details the efforts he and his fellow founding fathers went to in order to build something positive from the rage the Glazers’ buyout had triggered. These anecdotes are refreshing and inspiring in their determination and naivety: “Our only experience of recruiting a football manager was based upon whether we liked him or not.” He also recounts pub get-togethers to decide on a name and kit design, the lobbying of local teams and local authorities in a bid to get a ground to play at and even door-stepping Roy Keane when attempting to obtain some high-profile backing. Soon after playing their first competitive North West Counties League fixture – a 5-2 win at Leek CSOB in 2005 – FC United’s defiant stance over such issues as kick-off time changes and overpriced season tickets saw them held up as a template for all fan-run clubs to follow.
Then the Orwellian tragedy kicks in. An increase in the price of the matchday programme for a friendly against Benfica in 2015 escalates growing discontent among fans towards the club’s administrators. The bitter relationship breakdown which follows is all too reminiscent of the reason FC United came to be in the first place. Often it feels as if O’Neill – whose protests led to him being banned from the club he created – looks to set the record straight, especially in his dealings with the general manager Andy Walsh. He accuses Walsh and other board members of ditching ethos for commercial gain among other acts of betrayal.
Despite the team’s on-field success, including several promotions to their current National League North spot, the accusations of boardroom cronyism, selling out and creating a purpose-built ground that’s unfit for purpose culminates, in 2016, with several departures including Walsh’s. In the end the details of the bust-ups – which vary from petty in places to positively sinister at times – mean that it’s only the barely mentioned amateur footballers of FC United, playing their way up the football pyramid, that come out of this saga with any credit.
“Revolutions only effect a radical improvement when the masses are alert and know how to chuck out their leaders as soon as the latter have done their job.” This quotation – from George Orwell – is aptly used by John-Paul O’Neill at the conclusion of his exposé on the running of FC United. What begins as a hope-fuelled guide to starting a team from scratch turns into a crime sheet of mismanagement as O’Neill attempts to evidence how ironically dis-united the fan-made club became.
The author opens by relaying the reasons for the rise of the Red Rebels. He links their roots back to Munich 1958 when one of the disaster’s lesser-known victims, prospective director Willie Santinoff, was replaced by Louis Edwards. Edwards’ son, Martin, was the chairman whose stewardship of United paved the way for their takeover by the Glazers in 2005.
O’Neill then details the efforts he and his fellow founding fathers went to in order to build something positive from the rage the Glazers’ buyout had triggered. These anecdotes are refreshing and inspiring in their determination and naivety: “Our only experience of recruiting a football manager was based upon whether we liked him or not.” He also recounts pub get-togethers to decide on a name and kit design, the lobbying of local teams and local authorities in a bid to get a ground to play at and even door-stepping Roy Keane when attempting to obtain some high-profile backing. Soon after playing their first competitive North West Counties League fixture – a 5-2 win at Leek CSOB in 2005 – FC United’s defiant stance over such issues as kick-off time changes and overpriced season tickets saw them held up as a template for all fan-run clubs to follow.
Then the Orwellian tragedy kicks in. An increase in the price of the matchday programme for a friendly against Benfica in 2015 escalates growing discontent among fans towards the club’s administrators. The bitter relationship breakdown which follows is all too reminiscent of the reason FC United came to be in the first place. Often it feels as if O’Neill – whose protests led to him being banned from the club he created – looks to set the record straight, especially in his dealings with the general manager Andy Walsh. He accuses Walsh and other board members of ditching ethos for commercial gain among other acts of betrayal.
Despite the team’s on-field success, including several promotions to their current National League North spot, the accusations of boardroom cronyism, selling out and creating a purpose-built ground that’s unfit for purpose culminates, in 2016, with several departures including Walsh’s. In the end the details of the bust-ups – which vary from petty in places to positively sinister at times – mean that it’s only the barely mentioned amateur footballers of FC United, playing their way up the football pyramid, that come out of this saga with any credit.
May 7, 2018
I’ve never seen so many forum posts quoted in a book.
Very readable, but at times real shades of the Alan Partridge autobiography of a lack of self-awareness. It would be good to hear the ‘other side’ of the story.
Very readable, but at times real shades of the Alan Partridge autobiography of a lack of self-awareness. It would be good to hear the ‘other side’ of the story.
December 19, 2022
V good
September 9, 2017
A fantastic piece of work but I wouldn't have expected anything less. A full, in-depth warts and all look at the 12 year history of FCUM. Being a longstanding member I was familiar with most of the story, but off pitch issues, particularly over the past few years, still took my breath away despite that familiarity. Should be essential reading and a cautionary tale for anyone with a passing interest in supporter ownership and involvement. I'd like to extend thanks to the author for his role in bringing down the Walshocracy and consequently giving the football club he founded the chance of averting potential disaster and death. Cheers JP. Forza FCUM.
September 9, 2017
Very well written, fascinating and a real eye opener. I stayed neutral in the great schism as I didn't have enough information either way. This cogent, well paced timeline would take a lot of debunking!
A depressing, though thoroughly enjoyable read.
A depressing, though thoroughly enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews