Amid intense scrutiny within the Manchester United fanbase, co-chairman Joel Glazer made a public appearance at a fan forum. There, Mr Glazer confirmed the club’s intention to form a fan advisory board and promised significant investment in Old Trafford.
For the first time in the 16 years his family has owned the club, Joel Glazer made a public appearance in a Manchester United fan forum. He made opening remarks on the positive impact of the ownership, revealed plans to invest in Old Trafford, and reportedly took follow-up questions from those present for an additional 20 minutes – BBC reports.
United fans have publicly protested the Glazer ownership since the start. Things took a turn for the worse recently when the club announced its decision to participate in a European Super League. Fan backlash ensued, and the club was forced to pull its name from the list of competitors.
However, the situation did not improve; it instead worsened, with fans storming Old Trafford before a Premier League tie against Liverpool. Due to the widespread protest, the match had to be called off and subsequently rescheduled later.
In the aftermath of the protests, Glazer promised to appear on a fan forum – a promise which he delivered on June 4. In the meeting, he revealed a roadmap for the club’s future which involved creating a fan advisory board and improving Old Trafford stadium.
“Old Trafford is at the heart of Manchester United and while we have spent over £100m over the last 10 years on infrastructure projects, we will now accelerate the process of planning much more significant investment and upgrades to the stadium…rest assured, we will consult with supporters throughout the process to end up with a result we can all be proud of,”
he said before promising further investment in the training facilities.
Glazer also pointed out the club’s decision not to increase the ticket prices in the last decade as something that he -and the club – is extremely proud of.
