Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is concerned that Manchester United’s lack of success is denting the Premier League brand and affecting interest and the audience in some parts of the world.
Most neutrals in England welcome the more open title race this season as adding interest, but United do have the greatest global recognition of any club and their many followers could quickly become disillusioned. Some may, of course, switch to following other clubs.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is concerned that Manchester United’s lack of success is denting the Premier League brand and affecting interest and the audience in some parts of the world.
Most neutrals in England welcome the more open title race this season as adding interest, but United do have the greatest global recognition of any club and their many followers could quickly become disillusioned. Some may, of course, switch to following other clubs.
Meanwhile, a group of Manchester United fans have paid for a light aircraft to fly a banner calling for the sacking of manager David Moyes above Old Trafford this afternoon. This is a rather tasteless action, reflecting the uglier side of fan power which makes short term judgments about managers.
When the plane did appear over Old Trafford, it could not be seen by the radio commentators, but was greeted with boos by some fans.
A United fan asserted on Radio 5 this morning that ‘We are the champions’, but many think that last year’s United side was not that distinguished and won the title by default because of the weaknesses of other sides. Sir Alex Ferguson may have been canny enough to see the writing on the wall and felt that he could not rebuild the side, as he did do successfully a number of times, escaping with his reputation intact.
The sense of entitlement that United fans have is irritating to fans of other clubs. Fans at Arsenal have been remarkably patient during the trophy drought. With their resources and reputation, United should be able to recover next season, but they may never enjoy the hegemonic dominance of the past for the forseeable future. That makes for a more interesting competition.