Ben Clinton

On Sunday there will be no flag display on The Stretford End. In its place, a single banner will hang above the players’ tunnel with a clear message to the owners, directors and decision-making staff at Manchester United: “THE WAY YOU TREAT US IS A DISGRACE” This isn’t a ‘TRA’ message, it’s a message on behalf of every genuine fan group, match-going supporter, supporters’ club and fan representative who has either contacted us directly or been negatively impacted by the recent behaviour of The Club. It’s an honest, heartfelt cry for recognition from the maligned, vilified, and misrepresented beating heart of our football club – the generational match-going supporters. Neither is this solely a ‘Manchester United’ problem, this is a league-wide crisis that should be addressed at every club, regardless of rivalries and history. Without drastic changes, there will be no rivalries in the future vision for football shared by the decision makers. Whilst we still advocate for a change in ownership, we believe that there should be a realistic roadmap for any protest if it is to act as a catalyst for change. Match-going supporters should be prioritised over all others within the Club’s Fan Engagement model and all aspects of the Fans’ Forum process should be reviewed & improved to ensure that its fit for purpose. Dedicated fan representation that engages openly and regularly with the match-going supporters and proactively fights to ensure that they are treated as a priority by The Club is essential. Unless our generational match-going support is given a real voice that is actually listened to, the little that remains of our fan culture will soon be gone forever. TRA aren’t a protest group, we’re an ‘atmosphere’ group but we’ve never shied away from making our position clear when we believe not doing so would be to the detriment of the interests of match-going supporters. We hope that you’ll understand and support our decision and that those of you who are asking for meaningful change and are able to help will stand up and be counted when called upon in the near future. Until then, we’ll continue to fully back and support the players and manager throughout, starting with the derby on Sunday. MUFC