Manchester United are certainly on the up. While the Ten Hag era started poorly, with inexcusable losses at the beginning of the season, the new manager has turned it around with astute man management, clever transfer dealings and a proper tactical approach.
Even the Cristiano Ronaldo saga could not bring Old Trafford down, with the team going on a winning streak since.
All this has seen United climb to fourth in the table, only a point off City and 9 off leaders Arsenal.
The mood inside Old Trafford is buzzing and is probably the most optimistic we have seen in years. It is certainly in stark contrast to what we saw in previous years, with endless protests against the ownership.
The Glazer family, an American family known for their ownership of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL team, first acquired Manchester United in 2005 through a leveraged buyout.
This means they borrowed a large amount of money to purchase the club and used the club’s assets as collateral for the loans. This resulted in the club taking on a significant amount of debt, which has been a point of contention among fans.
Many supporters argue that the Glazers’ focus on financial gain has come at the expense of the team’s performance on the field. They point to the lack of significant investments in the squad and the high ticket prices as evidence of this.
The fans also criticize the Glazers for not investing enough in the youth academy and for not giving enough opportunities to young players.
In addition to these issues, many Manchester United supporters have also taken issue with the Glazers’ lack of transparency and communication with the fans.
All this has led to the ‘Glazers Out’ protests, calling the owners to leave and sell the club to someone else.
The protests have taken various forms, including boycotts of home games, marches and demonstrations outside Old Trafford, and social media campaigns.
But the current upswing experienced this season means protests have taken a back seat as nothing can be seen in the news coverage.
Or has it?
Have the protests really stopped?
The neutrals and the sceptics certainly think so.
Manchester United fans are planning a big protest against the Glazers ahead of their home game v Palace on Feb 4th. Nah, not really. They're winning at the moment.
Well, turns out, they haven’t. The Old Trafford loyalists are still going strong with the movement, only now, Sky and other broadcasters are not giving much heed to it.
And that is probably because it does not feed into the feel-good narrative of United’s season.
Manchester United Twitter was quick to respond to these tweets which claimed that the protests had stopped with videos and photos of hundreds storming the street as recently as the Manchester Derby.
Man Utd are playing phenomenally this season, beating all the top teams yet we are still protesting. The idea we protest only when we lose is a huge lie. #GlazersOutpic.twitter.com/5XtUbqy0KX
Apparently, there's no Glazers out protests or chants anymore. Don't be fooled by what the TV shows you. Utd fans want them gone regardless of what happens on the pitch https://t.co/zqkcZUBbqg
