Manchester United football club has gone nowhere but down since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, and the last five years have essentially been nothing but running on a treadmill, or trapped in a hamster wheel- lots of energy expended, but in the end going absolutely nowhere.
The club keeps changing the managers and splashing massive cash out on new players, only to see the same massively disappointing results, and it has a lot of club supporters infuriated. Many are taking to social media to voice their disgust with club leadership, specifically, the Glazer family ownership and Executive Vice President Ed Woodward.
https://twitter.com/Sarvesh_Utpat/status/1125668993677832194
It’s not just talk- they’re taking action, by unfollowing the club’s social media accounts, and utilizing the hash tag #UnfollowManUnited You can keep tabs on how this Twitter hash tag is doing by going to this link
It’s very easy to see why high numbers of United fans are so angry. The team that bills itself as the European capital of trophies and the biggest club in the world has finished 7th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 2nd and now most likely 6th since Sir Alex stepped down.
That’s only two finishes in the top four in six years, and the club has not been relevant in regards to the Premier League title race or advanced deep into the UEFA Champions League tournament since Fergie rode off into the sunset.
With a recent track record this poor, obviously the problems run deep and you have many potential scapegoats. Woodward, who has a brilliant business mind and excels in the boardroom, isn’t a football guy at all and he simply just has too much power right now when it comes to forming the on-the-pitch product.
It’s easy to see why he’s such a primary target for the ire of the fans.
While it’s great to see fans rise up and mobilize, using their strength in numbers to try and make a difference. it remains to be seen how effective this will ultimately prove to be.
https://twitter.com/TheManUtdWay/status/1125481627814113281
Those who work in social media management will be the first to tell you that calling attention to a Twitter account, even to try and minimize its reach, often leads to only amplifying its reach. Perhaps a more effective approach might be to hit them at the gate- stay home from matches.
In the end, the proverbial “people vote with their feet” is 100% true, so empty seats might better send a message to the higher-ups.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is 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,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, also contributes to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.