Peter

I hear plenty of noise online about what matchgoers “ought” to do to force change, most notably demands that we leave Old Trafford empty or throw missiles onto the pitch to stop games. If you don’t attend games regularly, it’s easy to look at things from a distance and assume it’s simply a matter of willpower. Here is the reality on the ground: 1. The “Boycott / Empty Seats” Myth - The money is already banked: Around 46,000 seats belong to Season Ticket holders who pay in advance in May and June—before the previous season has even finished. Whether an ST holder sits in that seat or stays home, the Glazers already have the cash. - Season ticket holders don’t control the stadium: If, on average, 20% of Season Ticket Holders forward or resell through official channels, you’re left with roughly half the stadium’s capacity. The remaining half of the capacity is filled by hospitality and general members paying premium prices, people who aren’t walking out or boycotting. - Strict attendance enforcement: Season Ticket holders must physically attend or officially transfer at least 16 out of 19 Premier League home matches. If you fail to hit that threshold, the club revokes your ticket for the following season. - You don’t create an empty stadium—you create a corporate one: With over 100,000 people on the waiting list and massive international tourism demand, any seat permanently vacated isn’t left empty. The club simply reclaims it and flips it into extortionate single-match membership prices or hospitality packages. - The European comparison doesn’t work: Pointing to Serie A or the Bundesliga ignores the fundamental economics. Many of those clubs have cheap tickets, standing sections, and 50+1 fan ownership models. Old Trafford operates in a hyper-commercialised, sold-out market. Asking a local supporter to sacrifice a seat their family has held for 20, 30, or 40 years, only for it to be sold to a tourist five minutes later, gives the owners zero financial leverage. 2. Throwing Objects onto the Pitch - It’s a specific criminal offence: Under the Football (Offences) Act 1991, throwing any missile onto the pitch or surrounding area is illegal. - It ruins lives, not ownership: Old Trafford is blanketed by modern high-definition CCTV and facial recognition. Anyone caught doesn’t just face a club ban; they face mandatory court-issued Football Banning Orders (FBOs), the surrender of their passport during European fixtures, a criminal record, and potential loss of employment. Furthermore, with modern automated flagging and blanket ticketing investigations, which have been very poor on United’s part, when disorder breaks out, bystanders and innocent people nearby often get swept up in the fallout, losing access to tickets while lengthy club appeals grind on. - Demanding that local matchgoers take on criminal records and jeopardise their livelihoods while you watch in a pub, on TV, or via an illegal stream isn’t a protest strategy; it’s completely detached from reality. What Non-Matchgoers Can ACTUALLY Do to Hit the Model: The club’s ownership model is built on one thing: commercial monetisation of the global audience. That is where you have direct leverage. - Hit the vanity metrics: Unfollow the club's official accounts on X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The club pitches these raw follower numbers to prospective commercial partners every day. - Direct consumer feedback to commercial partners: Brands invest heavily for positive sentiment. When supporters collectively make it clear across sponsor channels that partnering with negligent ownership carries a reputational cost, commercial teams take notice. - Starve the Megastore: Stop buying official kits, training apparel, and club subscriptions. If you want United gear, buy retro or support independent fan-made apparel. - Back fan-led advocacy: Support independent fan media, fanzines, and the Supporters Trust. Collective, legal, and political pressure moves the needle; reckless armchair advice does not. If we want change, it requires collective discipline across the entire fanbase—not asking matchgoers to commit financial or legal suicide just to make a 30-second point on television. There’s no divide here: it isn’t matchgoers versus non-matchgoers; it’s all of us. If we aren’t united, we achieve nothing, and that failure rests on every single Manchester United supporter. A better-formatted version of this post is here: cheesesofnazareth.substack.c…

Here we go again... Remember the wave of restrictions slapped on Season Ticket holders over the summer? The club is now targeting Official Members. They aren't even calling it "suspicious activity" anymore; they’ve rebadged it as "activity that requires further review." We all want touting tackled, but dropping restriction emails on a Monday at 18:00 with a deadline of Wednesday at 08:00 gives fans barely 38 hours, effectively one single working day to respond. This is completely unacceptable for innocent supporters. One fan who contacted me is travelling all the way from Spain and now has no idea if his ticket for Saturday will even work at the turnstiles. If United are taking this heavy-handed approach, their detection needs to be bulletproof. We all know how flawed the club's data matching can be, yet they clearly haven't learned from summer's mistakes. Worse still, this directly violates the club's own published Club Sanctions and Appeals Policy, which contractually guarantees supporters a fair 14-day window to appeal any initial sanction decision. Slashing a two-week policy down to one working day is a blatant failure of due process and breaches the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which protects paying consumers from unfair terms and one-sided ultimatums. The club cannot bypass its own written rules simply because a fixture falls within that 14-day window. If you’ve been hit with one of these emails, submit a response before the Wednesday 08:00 deadline so your ticket isn't automatically cancelled for Saturday, but state clearly in writing that you are replying strictly under protest and duress, reserve your full 14-day right to reply, and will escalate any wrongful cancellation to the Independent Football Ombudsman. The Sanctions process is broken, United are unfairly treating supporters, and they need reporting. You can do this through any or all of the following: Independent Football Ombudsman (@TheIFO): For direct breach of their own published 14-day sanctions policy and lack of procedural fairness. Citizens Advice / Trading Standards: Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for unfair commercial practices and unreasonable deadlines on paying customers. The FSA (@WeAreTheFSA): Log your case with the Football Supporters' Association, they are collecting evidence on unfair club sanction regimes. Information Commissioner's Office (@ICOnews): If they use vague digital tracking/profiling and refuse to provide your data under a Subject Access Request (SAR). If you are a member who has received one of these restriction emails, please get in touch. The way you treat us is a disgrace.