Manchester United fans organised another anti-Glazer protest on Thursday evening. Thousands of supporters marched with banners and pyro ahead of kick-off and Old Trafford was only a third full at the start of the game. That was only a matter of time.
Supporters eventually tricked through the turnstiles after the 17th minute - one minute for each year the club has been owned by the Glazer family - but the hostility towards the American owners remained palpable inside Old Trafford. There were renditions of 'stand up if you hate the Glazers' and 'love United, hate Glazers' throughout and fans hope the anger doesn't dissipate in the summer.
It will take a sustained effort to achieve a change of ownership or compromise from the Glazers. United fans have understandably never accepted the Glazers and that anger has been exacerbated by performances this season. Thursday's match against Chelsea was just a painful reminder of where United actually are. They were dominated by the third-best team in the Premier League.
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United fans are angry at the Glazers but they're also angry at the club's players. Although the problems at United start at the very top, that's not an excuse for the remarkable level of underperformance from almost every member of the playing squad.
The players have to take responsibility for this train wreck of the season, in which the club equalled its longest trophy drought in 40 years. Their performances have been consistently gutless and their displays have been a stain on the history of United.
United fans have resorted to chanting 'you're not fit to wear the shirt'. You would have to go back a few decades for the last time that chant was heard on the terraces at Old Trafford. United fans cheered a strong Bruno Fernandes challenge last night and that proved they're not demanding much. They've been deprived of watching a committed, hard-working and spirited team this season.
Marcus Rashford, from Wythenshawe, is one of the supporters' own and you'd think that would make him more inclined to fight for the shirt when the chips are down but the reality has been quite different. United fans can forgive Rashford for being out of form this season, but they can't accept him refusing to do the basics. You don't get a free pass because you're from the academy.
Rashford encapsulated what is wrong with the United dressing room against Chelsea. He looked pedestrian, disinterested and his refusal to track back and follow Reece James left his teammates and the woeful Alex Telles at left-back exposed.
Ralf Rangnick asked Rashford and Anthony Elanga to swap sides just before half-time and that's likely because he knew the latter would actually track back. Rashford is naive if he thinks Rangnick won't talk to Erik ten Hag ahead of the summer.
Elanga and Cristiano Ronaldo worked off the ball last night to compromise for their teammate's lack of running. Both players worked hard in positions they really wouldn't want to be in while Rashford didn't - that's the reason fans are slowly turning against him.
Rashford certainly wasn't the only offender last night but his failure to track back was notable and unacceptable. Rashford has endured a difficult season, so the least he can do is show some spirit and desire to play for the club that he supported as a child.
"This lot are getting paid a fortune and they're walking on a football pitch - I'm embarrassed," Gary Neville said on commentary and that feeling of embarrassment is shared by supporters. This Manchester United team is foreign to what the club stands for.
Rashford should be aware of that embarrassment and he should compensate for his recent lack of quality with hard work.
Rashford has failed to do that when he's played and that's why supporters are angry.
