The European Super League plot has been dead for over a week now, but football fans are not naive. Anyone who’s paying close attention knows that this is just part of the movie where Jaws goes back out into the ocean, away from the people. We all know the killer shark could and most likely will come back someday.
It won’t be anytime soon though, according to Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman, who announced his intention to resign at the end of the season. The Super League backlash forced his hand, as Woodward’s original plan was to step down year at the end of the calendar year instead.
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Woodward met with supporters in an emergency fans’ forum on Friday, where he told those present that United have no intention of reviving the plans for the Super League.
“As Joel said last week, we failed to give enough weight to the essential principles and traditions of sporting merit which are so vital to football not just in domestic competition but in European competition since the mid-1950s,” Woodward said.
“We want to restate our commitment to those traditions. I can assure you that we have learned our lesson from the events of the past week and we do not seek any revival of the Super League plans.”
A very large fan protest against the Glazers is planned for tomorrow when United host Liverpool. Amid growing concern about how that demonstration might play out, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has urged the supporters to stay peaceful.
In the immediate aftermath of the Super League controversy, United co-chairman Joel Glazer apologized to fans in an open letter.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.