A Manchester United supporters’ group, The 1958, has announced a new protest against the Glazer family and, for the first time, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, ahead of their Premier League opener against Arsenal.
The group has organised numerous demonstrations in recent years calling for a change in ownership and will march to Old Trafford on August 17, with new banners being produced reading ‘Jim Can’t Fix This’.
Ratcliffe, who owns a 28.94% stake in United, has overseen wide-ranging, often unpopular, changes since taking over day-to-day operational control from the Glazers in February 2024.
A spokesman for The 1958 said: “It’s a new season but the same old ownership issues. Twenty years of the Glazers and their debt mountain is 20 years too long. Enough is enough.
“We won’t allow some natural optimism and a couple of shiny new signings to deflect from the bigger off-field picture.
“Jim Ratcliffe chose to get into bed with the Glazers and in our opinion is helping keep them in charge.
“So on 17th August, we protest not just against the Glazers, but now also against Jim Ratcliffe – a man once seen by many, including ourselves, as a possible saviour, a beacon of hope but now revealed as complicit in the ongoing erosion of everything that makes our club what it is.
“This is no longer just about ownership; this is about survival – the survival of our identity, our community, and our values.”
The spokesperson for the 1958 group stated that the protest is for “every fan who has been silenced, evicted, priced out and disregarded”, adding “this is about the future of football”.
The representative of the group further added: “Jim Ratcliffe, you have chosen your side and it is not ours. You now stand shoulder to shoulder with the Glazers. The mask has slipped. You are no saviour. You’re like a (red) devil in disguise.”
In March, Ratcliffe hinted that he would abandon United if he ever faced abuse similar to what the Glazer family experienced.
“It can be unpleasant,” Ratcliffe admitted in an interview with the Times. “And I’ve probably failed on the having fun front.
“I can put up with it for a while. I don’t mind being unpopular because I get that nobody likes seeing Manchester United down where they are, and nobody likes the decisions we’re having to make.
“Eventually, if it reached the extent that the Glazer family have been abused, then I’d have to say, ‘look, that’s enough guys, let somebody else do this’.”
United ended up in 15th place in the Premier League last season – their lowest top-flight finish since 1974 – and missed out on European qualification after losing the Europa League final to Tottenham.
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