Why the Manchester United Owners need to Spend Big Renovating Old Trafford

Old Trafford, also known as the "Theatre of Dreams" is arguably one of the most iconic football stadiums on the planet. Some of the best soccer players and managers called Manchester United's stadium home for many years. Players like George Best, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Roy Keane played in front of the Old Trafford faithful on numerous occasions.

However, since the Glazers took over the club in 2005, fans have been complaining about the lack of renovations. Many feel the controversial owners have been taking a lot of money out of the club to pay back debts they owe, but feel they put very little back into the club. Sadly, they have also slipped on the playing front, with online betting sites such as casinó regularly placing them behind Liverpool and Manchester City in the race for the title.

In a recent Champions League game, the PSG fans complained about the leaks coming from the stadium's roof. There have been complaints made by health and safety regarding the problem with pests living in the stadium. Old Trafford is one of two stadiums in the league without a big screen, and many fans are baffled as to why the owners are unwilling to invest in one.

United Fans find it Embarrassing

While smaller clubs are building new stadiums, or expanding and modernizing their current stadiums, Old Trafford seems to be slightly outdated. It's a tough pill for many United fans to swallow, especially with their bitter rivals Manchester City having built a state-of-the-art stadium and training ground in recent years. Spurs, who are based in North London, have invested over $1 billion on a new stadium.

Fans are not asking the owners to build them a new stadium, they are pleading with the owners to provide the club with a healthy budget so changes can be made. The club has spent around three decades trying to figure out what to do with the stadium, and very little has changed in that time.

Other footballing giants like Barcelona are investing over $600 million in renovating the Nou Camp, and Real Madrid is planning a similar remodeling project for the Bernabeu. However, it seems like most United fans have lost faith in the Glazer family, and very few expect them to fork out a lot of money to fix up the stadium.

Why were United Fans Protesting

In early May the Manchester United Premier League game between rivals Liverpool was postponed due to fans protesting outside the ground. The main reason why so many die-hard United fans protested outside the club's stadium was to show their anger at what the current owners had proposed the previous week. The top six clubs in England and some of the biggest clubs in Europe tried to create their own league without informing the fans or the players. United were not the only fans that protested the ludicrous idea of creating a breakaway league, as fans from all over Europe took to the streets to display their anger.

But the "Super League" wasn't the only problem United fans had. Many of them protested the fact that Old Trafford hadn't been renovated or maintained properly over the last few years. Many of the supporters held banners, hoping that the Americans would involve them with the club. A lot of Manchester United fans feel the owners are trying to suck every penny from the supporters and the money generated by the club.

Can the Current Situation be Fixed?

The big issue is the lack of communication between the club's owners and the United fans. Since the American's took over Old Trafford in 2005, they have not met with the fans on one occasion, that is until recently. In June 2021, shortly after the protests at Old Trafford, Joel Glazer agreed to meet with Man Utd supporters, hoping to build bridges after the proposal for the Super League was released. The fans have been pleading with the club's board for many years to support a fan share scheme. This will allow fans to have their say on how the club is run.

Understandably, most United fans don't trust the Glazers, however, if they are to have their say, perhaps a healthy relationship might be on the cards. In the meeting, Joel Glazer promised to invest heavily in the club's training ground, stadium and team. Understandably, the United supporters are cautious about the Glazers' proposals. However, many feel it is a step in the right direction. At the end of the day, the Glazers don't have to speak with the fans nor organize a fans sharing scheme, unless the current laws are changed. German giants Bayern Munich have a fans sharing scheme that works very well, both on and off the field. United fans believe if they were more involved with how the club is run, they too will do better as a club.

Glazer's Agrees with Fans

During the recent meeting with United fans, the co-chairman, Joel Glazer, admitted that his family needed to invest a significant amount of money into Old Trafford. A big change United fans are hoping to see is for the Glazers to provide money to install one thousand five hundred barrier seats in the stadium. The Trafford Council approved the installation in 2020, yet nothing has been done about it yet.

The other area where United fans are hoping to see changes is in the training ground. They want to ensure that the players are training in one of the best training complexes in Europe, and the Glaziers are also agreeing that finance is needed to make these changes. Man United need to get back to the top and at sites like kaszinó bónusz, there are generous odds on them winning the Premier League next season.

Conclusion

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired from management, it seems the problems behind the scenes at Old Trafford were starting to show. Since the Scot left the club, United has struggled to win major competitions, and a lot of people are blaming the Glazer family. Without engaging with the club, it's hard to see how things are going to move forward. With the sums of money they have taken from the club to pay back what they owe, it's hard to imagine that they are willing to break the bank to renovate Old Trafford. However, if the sharing scheme works well, and the Glazer family does what they say they are going to do, it could be a match made in heaven, however, not many United fans are holding their breath. Most die-hard United fans want to see the Glazers out of their club, with or without a sharing scheme.