Munich takes priority at United
08 Feb 2010 - 11:22:02
Manchester United fans briefly put aside their grievances over the Glazer ownership to honour the Munich dead. The minority, among hundreds who gathered below the Munich memorial on the side of Old Trafford's East Stand before the Portsmouth match, who attempted to hijack the poignant moment to make their feelings known about the American family and the club's debt were shouted down by the majority. After the crowd on the Old Trafford forecourt sang the Munich memorial song `Flowers of Manchester' a number broke out in `Love United. Hate Glazer' chants. They were booed and one United fan echoed the thoughts of the majority as he shouted: "This is not the time." Indeed on the 52nd anniversary of the disaster that claimed the lives of eight Busby Babes, club officials, journalists and crew, it was not the moment to voice disapproval. Eight banners with the names of the United players who perished in the disaster or died as a result of injuries were hoisted. The red flags also bore a black phoenix. Committee member Stuart Parish organised the flags tribute and they were individually made by MUST Action Group member Adam Davies. History Parish, however, insists it was not an attempt to hijack the memorial to protest against the Glazers and the gesture had the full support of the club. "We have had this planned for three or four months so it was nothing whatsoever to do with a protest or demonstration," Stuart told M.E.N. Sport. "We weren't attempting to jump on the Munich bandwagon it was simply a set of United fans who decided to pay tribute to the eight Babes who died. We were paying our respects and recognising the club's history. "I had the idea and went on Facebook and asked if anyone was interested in clubbing together. We costed the material and Adam made the flags. We all chipped in £5 each. They looked really good and we were very proud of them. "United were excellent about it and allowed us to take the flags into the Stretford End as well. They also asked us if we could make flags for the three club officials who died. It was a bit too late in the day to do that but we will be making them for next year's anniversary." For the first time ever among the red and white scarves worn by fans paying tribute were a host of green and gold scarves. It was a surreal picture but one which strengthened the sentiment behind the peaceful and visually striking green and gold demonstration that is gathering momentum. During United's 5-0 pummelling of Portsmouth the thousands of the newly-made scarves were whirled in the air to send a further message to the Glazers. Meanwhile, MUST & IMUSA, the club's democratic supporters' representative organisations have called a public meeting in Manchester, set for later this month, to answer questions from fans about their progress in building the Red Knights consortium. The meeting will also discuss ideas of how best to drive the campaign forward. A joint statement from the groups said: "Plenty has been going on behind the scenes, particularly in the political arena, and at such a crucial point in the campaign's evolution (with the build-up to the Carling Cup final against at Wembley on February 28 and the Champions League match on March 10), the fans' groups are keen to ensure that the unparalleled unity of the Green & Gold campaign is not fractured." Invited speakers include Michael Crick, and author and broadcaster Tony Lloyd MP. What do you think? Have your say.
