In the final part of our interview with former Red Issue editor, John-Paul O’Neill, he gives his verdict on the current ownership and the resilience of FC United.
Given his background, it is hardly a surprise to learn O’Neill is not a fan of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and is critical of his tenure since acquiring a minority stake in Manchester United.
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In fact, O’Neill said he made a prediction about Ratcliffe earlier this year which, in hindsight, might have been too conservative.
“In March I said: ‘This guy’s a phoney – Emperor’s new clothes’,” O’Neill said.
“There are all these people saying they want a new stadium and I was saying it will be £100 minimum for a ticket in that new stadium.
“That looks cheap because at Old Trafford now it is £90 for some of the bigger games. It will be £150 by the time that stadium is built.
“If that’s what people want, get behind him.”
FC United of Manchester has men’s and women’s teams and runs an academy [Getty Images]
Meanwhile, rebel club FC United is now over 20 years old, has its own stadium to fund and wrestles with the same financial issues as every other non-league club.
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But the mere fact it still exists – currently fourth in the Northern Premier League with matches in hand on the teams above them – is testament to the strength of feeling that saw the club launched in the first place.
O’Neill is not as heavily involved as he once was, but he is still proud of the ideal.
“FC United will always be the protest against the Glazers,” he said. “The Glazers were quite clear and open. They came for financial reasons.
“As hard as it is, there’s only two ways to go from there. You either accept they are there to take as much money off you as they can and you give it to them, or you say: ‘No, I’m not going to play this game’.
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“The more localised the person is, the more influence the support can have. The Glazers in Florida, 3,000 miles of ocean away, are a lot harder to influence.
“The only way you can influence is financially. That’s the battle. FC will always stand as the protest group because they provided somewhere for people to go.
“You are not withdrawing support for the club. They still support United. Every FC game, if there is a Manchester United game on, everyone is cheering United.
“Crowds aren’t what they were in the first three or four seasons, but it was always going to be that.”
Read down this page to see the whole interview.
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