HOW many of the 67,000 fans at Old Trafford, I wonder, instantly
thought of Malcolm Glazer when Wayne Rooney fired in that
sensational volley against Newcastle?
What proportion of the Red multitude gave the American predator
with a kinky taste in trousers a moment's consideration during the
penalty shoot-out at the Millennium Stadium that cruelly denied
Manchester United the FA Cup last month?
And how many times did the club's vilified new owner cross the
minds of the United faithful when they noticed that their £30m
record producer and boy-racer Rio was hitting the headlines for
everything but his football?
I guarantee the answers are that on no occasion did concerns about
take-overs, share dealings and florid Floridians enter the heads of
the planet's biggest band of soccer-loving supporters.
The reason? Simply because they appreciate that football is still,
despite the distractions of conspiracy, money, greed and cheating,
about players and what happens out there on the pitch.
The excesses of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Ferdinand and others
frequently decorate the news pages, but it is the 90 minutes they
spend on the field of play that define their place in the hearts
and minds of the true fans.
Strange, then, that as the Glazer boys finally move in, there still
exists a substantial nucleus of dedicated United followers who have
got their shorts in a twist about what is happening in the
boardroom.
Their resolve and sincerity are hard to criticise but their mind
set must be questionable as surely no rabid Red brought up on
Charlton, Law, Best, Robson, Hughes and Cantona would choose to
watch a bunch of part-time hackers in the North West Counties
League rather than the current crop of United stars.
The proposed formation of the breakaway FC United appears a futile
exercise to me as the enlarged Theatre of Dreams will still be
bursting at the seams for each match and the 75,000 observers will
be preoccupied with their heroes' efforts to regain the Premiership
title.
The colossal debt that the Glazers have incurred in buying the
club is a worry, but not one that should dominate the thinking of
the ordinary fan who can still feast on the skills of Scholes,
Giggs, Van Nistelrooy and Rooney.
Not surprisingly, Brian Kidd has turned down the opportunity of
managing FC United and other targets Sammy McIlroy and Asa Hartford
will not doubt follow suit.
Despite the realistic view of spokesman Russell Delaney on what the
new club could achieve, it really is a misguided venture as the
only winners will be the eager supporters who quickly grab the Old
Trafford season tickets discarded by the defectors.
THE intention was to fill this space with a eulogy on Ricky Hatton,
but every word of praise that occurred to me had been done to death
by a boxing media who finally discovered what a first class fighter
and top-class individual the lad from Hyde is following his epic
world title victory.