Manchester's identity is composed of many different elements; it has a unique distinctiveness where by people on a global scale know much about the city without the need to visit in person. The industrial revolution, the commonwealth games, the rain, the architectural and those few years we now know to be 'Madchester', all make up the Manchester of present day, but one of the most consumed, capitalised and influential components to Manchester's identity, is Football, namely Manchester United. The full extent of this report is to analyse theories of sport and place, and their relation to the subculture which in this case is Football Fans. To fully evaluate Football, Manchester United and its relation to place, fandom and Englishness I must first look into the theory on sport in this country.
'Taking pride in the sporting achievements of one's nation is clearly significant indicators of one's attachment to one's homeland...As English football fans re-establish their identities, they have replaced the Union Jack with the flag of St.George and are reclaiming their Englishness. ' (Storry/Childs: 1997: 15)
The sport is taking on its own identity within England, and the use of the flag is to state their separation from the other countries that make up the U.K as it has been seen in football history, clubs from Wales, Scotland and Ireland often challenge English clubs in European titles.
England is known for being a proud country, this especially equates through Manchester, although many of the countries football clubs are predominantly owned, or employ other nations-in that of its footballers, everything comes back to football being the English game. Although granted England might not always be the best in the world, its premiership league is known for holding some of the world's greatest talent. English people take pride in their game, as is quoted above, and this is shown through the dedication and support of the fans. It is stated in the text 'Sport and Identity in the North of England' that 'If cricket shows up the differences between North and South most clearly, it is football that is most deeply Northern.' (Hill : 1996: 150)
Manchester has always been a global commodity since its industrial days, in a recent talk given by Dave Haslam he spoke of Manchester and the relation on a local and global scale. When people attended the Hacienda in the early 1990's it was a local club, in the centre of the city, attended by a variety of citizens from Manchester and the surrounding areas, just as people attend the football matches held at the Manchester United ground Old Trafford. However the movement of Madchester and the people involved with this scene transgressed on a Global scale, all around the world people had their own views of what it would be like to live in Manchester and travel to the Hacienda. This is true of Manchester United, on a local scale matches are attended by local support but also people from all over the country journey to Manchester on their respective coaches, to see their team play, their hometown and its relation to Manchester is not an issue for these die hard fans. But United is seen in the Global market too, there evolution into a multi million pound company, has put the football club on the map, not only for its sport, but with clothing brands, sponsorship, summer tours to Asia and Africa, and of course the branding of their own football players through advertising and interviews, the club even has its own television channel MUTV.
The professor Robert Robertson has studied the use of the word Glocalisation, which is a combination of the words globalisation and localisation, and is the central theory to this report. It can be used in an environmental sense for the phrase 'Think globally, act locally', it combines the environments on a global, local and regional scale and forming these into one individual dimension. The word was developed to give local and global aspects a fair view, it can be stated that locality can be overlooked for the more influential global issues. It is used to link the local to the global and this is how I will use my research when linking the local support of Manchester United to its global influences.
John Bale is a senior lecturer in education, and particularly focuses his work on that of space, place and sport and its position in contemporary society. His work in the book 'Sport, space and the city' is another basis for my report. In relation to local and global scaling he states;
'Sport in its modern form, and archetypically football in its modern form, provides what is arguably the major focus for collective identification in modern Britain and in much of the rest of the world. In the USA, football, baseball and basketball perform a similar function. How else can such diverse (and to outsiders, nondescript) towns as Crewe, Scunthorpe, Torquay or Carlisle regularly project themselves via the national media and, at the same time, find a focus which unites the towns' various residents?' (Bale: 1993: 55-56)
The idea that it is the sport which provides the identity for a community, or even tribes of fans is one of the staple origins for this report, the idea that it is the place or location of the football stadium that links people and fans together, as it is stated above it does not matter on the size of the town or city in which the local football team is located but on the projection of the fans and the clubs appeal.
MCFC: Real Club, Real Fans?
The subculture I have chosen to focus on is that of the football fan, particularly focusing on my own club that of Manchester United, with a comparison to football fans depicted in film. The fan by definition is;
'A fan is generally viewed as an 'obsessed' individual: someone who has an intense interest in a certain team, celebrity, show, band or similar.' (Crawford: 2004: 19)
Football fans are usually portrayed in the mass media, as loutish, beer swilling, hooligans and although I am not denying that some fans of football do fit this treatment, in more recent times, the football clubs themselves are trying to stamp out this ethos, hence why this report is not on the much talked of subject of hooliganism, which has often tarnished the as Pele himself once said 'Beautiful Game'. It is a topic and movement that will also exist, but as fans are becoming more diverse, a strong sense of family is coming back into the stadium.
Football in Manchester has always been well documented and supported, it arose during the era of the industrial revolution, and was generally enjoyed by working class men of a white background, who had developed leisure time from working in factories and cotton mills, it is embedded in the city's history alongside the industrial revolution.
Through the research I undertook to compile this report, it is clear from the questionnaires (see appendix page 13-26 for examples) that Manchester United is a way of life for many people, in my own case it was hereditary that I supported Manchester United, and this is true of everyone I have spoken to. The club has often been criticised as have the fans for being 'Glory supporters' when the generation before us came to love the club through very difficult and turmoil times. Environments surrounding sporting events particularly football are becoming more family orientated and through my research it appears that in fact supporting Manchester United is somewhat hereditary, seen in the following examples;
Why did you choose MU as your club?
. My uncle was a Manchester City fan so my dad who wasn't a big football fan beforehand became a united fan to annoy him, which he then instilled into me. . My Dad was a united fan, and he sort of made me support United. Then I got my first shirt for Christmas that year and I never looked back. . My Grandma's brother was a steward there, in the Busby days and my Dad and Uncle are both fans. . The choice was sort of made for me by my dad - also an avid red
Personally I was encouraged that Manchester United were the team to support, my dad was born the same year as the Munich disaster and so the club always held a fond place with him, and now this has been passed on to myself and my younger brother (whose middle name is actually Robson after the legend of United that was Bryan Robson). Many view watching United be it at Old Trafford or on television as a community affair, even watching with the whole family around, or celebrating a brilliant win in the pub with mates. The football fan is not someone that should be feared and looked down upon, be it for footballs humble roots, or trouble which is caused at certain matches, but for its ability to hold whole communities together, this is the main ethos to the fans way of life.
In the spring of 2005, Malcolm Glazer, a Jewish-American billionaire businessman, who already owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, increased his stakes in the Manchester United Football Club and took a controlling role in the clubs decisions. Glazer had owned shares in the club since before 2003, over the next year he increased his share by a little but it reflected a lot on the future of the club. A hostile takeover had always been expected with Manchester United, it is a lucrative football club that makes billions of profit every year. On the 14th June 2005 he took his shares to 98% after buying out the three biggest share holders in the club, this meant that everyone who previously owned stakes in the club had to give them up to Glazer. Of course this is just the background history to what is to follow.
The repercussions of this event have been huge on the local football fans of Manchester. In a reaction to this take over and surrounding factors of Manchester United becoming a more capitalist and consumer based company, for example, season tickets and match prices were all set to increase, the fan launched a campaign; propaganda from this campaign can been seen in the below picture;
Figure 1 'Love United Hate Glazer'
This branding of United is stating the supporter's territory; these stickers are across lampposts, billboards, walls and bus stops leading from Old Trafford all around the surrounding area, even at the local tram stops. The message is very clear, and even three years after the take over new material is affiliated at match days, across the internet and through the United fanzine the Red Issue. (examples are shown in pages 5-6 of the appendix)
The use of this case study for the subculture of football fans is simple, fans are the centre to any football club be it Manchester United or Torquay United, their opinions can shape the clubs future, of course Manchester United would not be the club it is if they didn't occupy thousands of seats with season ticket holders who come back year after year. In relation to the Glazer take over, it is clear to see opposition was met due to the feeling that it was an American businessman and his family taking over the position of the club purely for profitable benefit. Although Manchester united is criticised for its global supporters, the support is Manchester is still the greatest and in this case the most vocal. Through my individual research I posed the question; 'What do you think of the Glazer take over?' Surprisingly everyone I spoke to gave the same opinion, the feeling through-out this feedback was that it was a very sceptical move by United and the Glazer family, of course there has been disappointment in the increased ticket sales and the availability of tickets, and the expense of merchandise, but in favour of the Glazer family the general feeling was that they have stayed out of the major decisions with United, and allowed a lot of revenue to buy new players which have only strengthened the teams performance on the pitch, and it was established it is this that truly matters to the United fan. (all questionnaires can be found in the Appendix)
'Green Street' or as it is always known 'Hooligans' is a 2005 film set around the West Ham United firm of football fans, who go by the name of the 'Green Street Elite', in reality the firm is called 'Inner City Firm (ICF)', they are by the far the most notorious football firm to have ever existed. The film itself has been criticised for its exaggerated levels of violence and some particularly unrealistic cockney accents. However in my opinion it can give the audience a very genuine and insightful view in the lives of football fans and their passion. The narrative follows the character of Matt Buckner, a major in journalism at Harvard who has been kicked out for use of Class A drugs, which actually belonged to his upper class roommate. He travels to England to stay with his sister, and becomes involved in the firm of the Green Street Elite through his sisters Brother- in-Law, Pete Dunham. The film may be lacking in a life changing script but the narrative does conclude some ideologies that translate through any football club or fan. The following dialogue is seen approximately half way through the film;
Bovver: Pete may be cutting you some slack, you being Shan's Brother and all, but let's get one thing straight. We Don't Like Outsiders.
I have felt this message first hand when handling my research, after submitting a post on a Manchester United fan forum. I believe because I was unknown to the forum my views and opinions were not valid there consequently I was branded an outsider.
Matt Buckner in the film is as implied before an American or as stated through-out the film a Yank. The members of the firm are also very clear that they do not like journalists, especially American journalists. Leaving Matt in a uncomfortable position when he is confronted by the other characters. In the similar respect to the position of the fans concerning the Malcolm Glazer takeover, Matt, being American is seen as having 'no idea' when it comes to football, or as he repeatedly calls it, 'soccer'.
The film also includes an interesting scene in Manchester, where they jump the United hooligans waiting for them at Victoria train station, and when the GSE are celebrating their victory through the streets of Manchester, the track 'I want to be adored' by the Stone Roses (an influential result of the Madchester days) is heard in the background, setting the tone and scene for many viewers, the audience hereby know that they are in Manchester through this well known song, locating there place geographically more so.
There is only One United.
Concerning my own research I found the best way to find the information I needed was through quantitative surveys, open ended questions to get more opinion based answers from the public. As well as asking general supporters of the football club in question I also spoke to the organisers of local supporters clubs based in my area, that of Devon. When looking back through images and supporters memorabilia I myself own, as well as other family members and friends, I found that these were best used when looking at Manchester United and its globalisation and marketable appeal. The use of primary sourced material and quantitative surveys has made up the basis for this report, and all the above stated research is to be found in the appendix in their own specific chapters. The first theorist I have chosen to analyse in relation to this research is that of the already mentioned John Bales. Bale states that;
'Apart from war, sport is one of the few things that binds people to place simply through ascription.' (Bale: 1989: 14)
Bales work describes football as this countries main identification for the collective, and particularly the uses in launching the local football team into a global market, the above quote linking this to people being connected to one place simply through its sporting achievements. In further relation to the work of Ronald Robertson and 'Glocalisation' this is particularly true of Manchester United and the research I have conducted. Eric Cantona, a true legend of Manchester United once said;
'I feel close to the rebelliousness and vigour of the youth here. Perhaps time will separate us, but nobody can deny that here, behind the windows of Manchester, there is an insane love of football, of celebration and of music.'
Manchester draws in people from all around the world, but in relation to their football team, it is the stadium that brings sense of belonging and unity, it has been stated that; 'If sport is a religion, then its stadiums are its temples and cemeteries.' (Crawford: 2004: 68) It is the stadium that acts as a central embodiment for the fans and their unification.
On a local scale, as stated before, football and indeed Manchester United are embedded in their local, northern roots, the stadium itself is of cultural importance, drenched in history of the team but also Manchester's past. This is also why many fans from different locations are mocked for supporting United purely for the Glory. The main argument from Mancunian fans that people from other counties and countries cant be real united fans because they do not live locally, and this true can be associated with the work of Bale and the connection he makes with Englishness, identity and football. This is counter argued by following text, taken from the December 2007 issue of the Manchester United Fanzine, the Red Issue.
Figure 2 - Redrant: Issue no. 199 Red Issue
This particular fan's rant is over the much discussed topic of the nationality of supporters, his way of life concerning the football club and its locality is representative of many of the supporters that are affiliated with local supporters club across the country. He states he wasn't born in Manchester nor will he ever live there, but he has supported United all his life, after following his Dads support of the club, much like the people I have spoken to. He states, 'United is in the blood, NOT in the postcode.'
The importance of supporters clubs across the country is great, the sense that people believe they are part of a united (or Manchester United) identity, that they support one thing.
In John Bales book 'Sport, Space and the City' he analyses a map of the location of Manchester United Supporters Clubs this figure is shown below;
Through my research I have devised my own version of this map, eighteen years later. The results were incredibly different to that of 1990, my version of this map, only locates supporters clubs in England, but does distinguish the counties they are located in, it can be seen below;
Figure 3 - Map depicting Local Manchester United Supporters Clubs
The local supporter's club locations have become vastly produced in the past near twenty years, and much to popular belief there are fewer in the south of the country than is perhaps assumed. The main conglomerations of supporters clubs are in fact located in three particular counties, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside. In my own home county the clubs have increased by an added five more, who all participate in traveling to the majority of home and away games every weekend.
When speaking to a member of the Plymouth branch of the Manchester United supporters club I ask him the following question;
Why do you personally find it important to have local supporters clubs across the country?
BASED WHERE WE ARE (PLYMOUTH) MAKES IT EASIER (A) TO OBTAIN MATCH TICKETS AND (B) GET TRANSPORT TO OLD TRAFFORD FOR MATCHES.
Although the open ended question was not answered to a full extent and perhaps the response I was requiring was not fully achieved the sense that the supporters from a particular area in this case over 300 miles away, can provide tickets and travel for everyone involved so they can collectively view their team, adds to the theories on unity and identification with the brand of United.
Garry Crawford in his book 'Consuming Sport' states that;
'This does not mean that 'locality' is necessarily of less importance but rather that the meaning of this is often 're-invented'. Where connection to place becomes evermore 'imagined' rather than 'physical'. (Crawford: 2004: 53)
This can be true of the United fans that cannot afford, or feel the need to travel up the country to see the team play, either through means of online membership to the club or perhaps being affiliated with the local supporters but without the travel endurances, there relation to the tribe of fans that follow United is as Crawford states, 'imagined'.
This can also be linked to Manchester Uniteds unbelievable grasp of consumerism. All items that can be bought from their own megastore at old Trafford, online at the website and unofficial products across the internet, add to the sense of belonging to a certain tribe, from replica shirts, to Christiano Ronaldo mugs, it all constitutes the sense of belonging, and buying into the brand that is United. In the appendix examples of Programmes dated from the cup finals of 68' and 99' to programmes from 2000 and 2008 can be located, all artefacts that have been kept and treasure by my own family for their own individual reasons.
Crawford also states;
'It is evident that sports will frequently draw support from beyond their specific locality' (Crawford: 2004: 53)
The belief that the fans are all fans together, and can relate to a specific identity is one of the most essential aspects. This factor also contributes to United persona on a Global scale, it is universally know across the world, but this global support is also the main reason so many other football clubs and their rival fans, look down upon United for their success and state that most of Uniteds supporters are from other parts of the world, not Manchester.
This report was originally about the topic and opinions surrounding the Glazer take over of Manchester United and some of the fans reaction to create F.C United, a now locally based club with much local support. However as my research continued I believed the 'bigger picture' was that there has always been conflict concerning the locality of Manchester United and its representation on a Global scale. The take over then became key to this point, as there was much objection due to my previous analysis of an American businessman taking over a English football club purely for its wealth and global market. Through my questionnaires and the interview I undertook I have come to realise that although initially there was much scepticism with this affair, the overall approach was well handled by the Glazer family, and although there have been increased ticket prices and merchandise has become more expensive the family have left the football club to deal with their players and the sport. The Americanisation of the club has never happened, which is what was feared. This did initially entail a capitalist future for the club; however it is not marketing but Uniteds reputation that has projected it to a global market. Manchester United is still on many levels a local club, I myself have been to games, and sat in the Stretford end, where the sheer capacity of die hard fans, continuous chanting and singing, and some very strong Mancunian followers are all very intimidating, but at the same time the sense of community and identity as a United fan is overwhelming, using my myself as an example, I have experienced both the global and local market, before moving to Manchester the closest I could get to the stadium or players was reading there 'United Magazine' (see appendix page 1) or watching them play on the television, of course my own location has changed, for my own reasons not to follow United specifically (this was of course an added bonus).
