Manchester United have cancelled two phone-in shows on their MUTV network amid fears viewers could call to criticise the club’s owners, the Glazer family.
A large section of fans have started the ‘#GlazerOut’ movement on Twitter, and many sent anti-Glazer messages to a club email address which was leaked online as part of their protest over the club’s management.
As a result of the growing discontent, The Sun note that United have cancelled Monday night’s Paddy Crerand Show, as well as next week’s programme.
During the show, Crerard routinely takes calls from fans to discuss the current situation of the club, but there are now fears that some callers would use the opportunity to publicly berate the Glazers.
A club spokesman has claimed that the show takes breaks every summer, before returning for pre-season, although the timing of the decision has left many fans questioning whether the decision was made as a result of the social media campaign.
The Glazers took over at Old Trafford in 2005, taking out loans against the club’s assets in order to finance the deal. At the time, United were debt-free, but their debt soared up to around £800m in the years after the Glazers arrived.
Many fans were left furious at what they felt to be a perceived lack of passion towards the club, claiming that the Glazers viewed United as more of a business than a football team.
As a result, there have been numerous protests by supporters, whilst a group even opted to found their own team – FC United of Manchester – as they were simply not prepared to support the Glazers.
With the club falling into disarray towards the end of last season, supporters have searched for somebody to blame, and the latest ‘#GlazerOut’ movement is proof that many have settled on the owners.
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