The weather was ominous on Monday afternoon in Trafford, Manchester. The rain was torrential and dark clouds had gathered above, which seemed a metaphor for the bleak mood around Manchester United ahead of their game against Liverpool at Old Trafford.
The 1958 supporters' group had urged fans to protest against the Glazers before the match and the message was sent to arrive at The Tollgate pub just over two hours before kick-off. "Be loud, be proud, stand as one," a statement from the group read and thousands of fans responded to that rallying call. The Tollgate only allowed supporters with a match ticket in the pub but others gathered outside.
The rain had stopped and there were loud renditions of 'he goes by the name of Wayne Rooney' and 'I see the Stretford End arising' in the beer garden, but quickly anti-Glazer chants broke out with a degree of venom. "We want the Glazers out," the fans in the pub garden sang before the first airing of the sinister Joel Glazer chant was heard. That was followed by thick green and gold smoke.
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The flare was quickly removed by a member of security, who was playfully serenaded with 'you scouse b******'. The atmosphere was fitting for the Premier League's biggest fixture and some supporters gave their time to the MEN to explain why they were protesting.
"There are many reasons we're protesting, it has all been publicised," Joe said. "The money that has been taken out, the money that has been spent but in the wrong areas, the people that have been put in charge that should never have been there in the first place.
"We've seen lately that there's interest in the club, I don't see any reason why we couldn't sell. It's the end of the road for the Glazers."
Inside The Tollgate, Jamie said: "We've signed all these big players like Pogba and Lukaku, but we spend the money our club earns. Our owners keep taking and taking - that's the difference. We want football fans to come in and look after our club."
While speaking to supporters inside of the pub, the first sign of trouble emerged outside. The temporary steel fence that had been erected to control numbers in the beer garden was briefly hauled down before security acted swiftly to regain order.
It was the first idiotic behaviour of the night. There were also projectiles thrown at a coach, with supporters deciding that Liverpool fans were onboard, but it was actually frightened children, who were United fans and going to Old Trafford.
There will always be a minority that lets supporters down at protests of such magnitude, but the majority were peaceful, just as The 1958 had requested in their rallying statement. It has been estimated around 10,000 fans participated in the protest.
Those fans descended onto the street at 7pm and prepared to march to Old Trafford in their droves. The impressive size of the protest was beginning to dawn on bystanders, with many hurrying to join the waves of anti-Glazer noise along Talbot Road.
It was an outstanding turnout and impressively organised. The supporters at the front of the march were carefully orchestrated by a select few protestors and the walk to Old Trafford seemed without a lamentable incident.
“UNITED FOR $ALE,” the banner at the front of the march read, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s face etched across. Ratcliffe expressed his desire to buy United from the Glazers last week and he is a credible buyer, who could free the club from the American owners' shackles. "We want our club back. Some things were worth fighting for," the other prominent banner in the vanguard read.
The protest certainly had a militant feel and the supporters' anger against the Glazers was tangible. The heavy police presence marshalled the walk to Old Trafford well and supporters eventually arrived at the stadium, where tensions increased again.
"We want Glazers out," erupted and it was difficult to move at The Holy Trinity statue with thousands of fans gathered. There were green and gold scarves propelled and two flares were set off, despite the heavy police presence, which prevented it from turning ugly.
Some United fans had gathered around the protected away turnstiles and the atmosphere in that section regressed. A section of fans chanted 'you scouse b******' before a minority chanted abhorrently about the Heysel and Hillsborough tragedies in the 1980s.
While that section of supporters brought shame, the majority and the vanguard of the protest had already moved on down the Munich Tunnel. The shutters were down to protect the media entrance and kick-off was just 15 minutes away.
Ian Wright, who was waiting to enter Old Trafford, was asked for comment on the protest but he declined. The marching supporters thinned out and entered their respective turnstiles for the match, but a healthy number of protestors remained outside.
Jadon Sancho scored against Liverpool after just 15 minutes and those remaining protestors celebrated outside. They are hoping to celebrate the Glazers selling at the club in the near future.
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