6 reasons why it is wrong to stereotype supporting Manchester United as 'too easy'

Curse every new fan who falls in love with the phenomenon in world football that is ‘Manchester United‘ or simply cut him to see if he bleeds red, because it’s just too easy to be a Red Devil than being a real fan. That is the way hatred for Manchester United is justified by it’s closest rivals, simply jealous fallen giants ‘Liverpool‘, an absolutely stubborn and ignorant ‘Arsenal‘ and an impatient and trigger happy ‘Chelsea‘. So is it really ‘too easy to jump onto the Man United bandwagon as a football fan or are there real valid reasons behind the popularity of the Manchester giants’? So, that brings me to the part where we start separating the facts from the fiction fueled by negative emotions.

1. I am sure it’s not too hard to understand that not every Manchester United supporter was born in 1878, when the club was called ‘Newton Heath and Lancashire Yorkshire Railway Football Club’, so saying that most fans don’t know about the club’s history, hence that don’t make ‘em real fans is not justified. I am sure most of Chelsea’s fans are of the Roman Abramovich’ s ‘Cash from Russia with love’ era. And if clubs would put out a statement that ‘We won’t accept fans who are of the 21st century’ then probably all their supporters would be Bobby Charlton’s age by now or simply dead.
2. ‘Manchester United simply bankrolls it’s way to glory‘ – Not true, at least not anymore. They have a bigger debt problem now and thanks to City’s unlimited funds, United’s neighbors should be given that tag now albeit with a minor change – ‘Manchester City simply bankrolls it’s way to one F.A cup’ in 33 years isn’t it?
3. ‘Most of the club’s fans are glory hunters!’ – Personally I would say, ‘Come on people, who doesn’t like to win or like to associate themselves with winners or have a desire to win, unless of course you are a stubborn frenchman called Arsene Wenger and you already consider the exceptionally gifted kids in your team as champions at pre-season and by the end of it you realize you are back where you started or worse’. But it’s not Manchester United’s fault is it if they are the most successful team domestically in the Premier League era.
4. ‘Sir Alex Ferguson is an arrogant Scot!’ – Really? As far as I can tell he’s the best manager at club level, that there probably was, is and will be, barring Sir Matt Busby, who had to build a team from a dot not even a scratch after the Munich disaster. Rival fans, even your managers rate him as the best ever. I guess you don’t go around winning 37 trophies in 25 years with one club in the current era anymore, where trigger happy Chelsea shoots down a world class manager each season and bought one recently at the transfer price of 15 million pounds, 4 million more than what they paid for their legend midfielder Frank Lampard‘s services.
5. Off the pitch Manchester United was the first to break the boundaries of its own city. James Gibson, the then owner of the club in 1935, persuaded the railways which operated express trains from Central Station out to Liverpool on a line passing right behind Old Trafford to run special Match-day trains and put a halt station near the ground. Soon fans of Manchester United started coming from all over England. The idea of being a Manchester United supporter from beyond the city confines was first introduced by this simple and effective marketing strategy. Just a basic lesson in ‘Marketability’ to our most ardent haters Liverpool, undoubtedly the other most successful English club with 18 league titles. So just complaining that most Manchester United supporters not even real Manchester people doesn’t make them any less a fan than a beer guzzling scouser at the infamous ‘Kop End’.
6. Lastly, the true reason behind Manchester United gaining it’s initial popularity is also a very sad reason. The players who died in the Munich tragedy ironically brought a lot of sympathy and interest in equal amounts. But yes, the truth is that the club rose from the ashes where they should have just shut down and fought to gain a spot in the F.A Cup final of 1958 with a makeshift squad with Charlton at it’s helm only to lose, but Manchester United is what Manchester United made of itself.

Being a supporter of a club doesn’t mean you have to know it’s history before you even like how they play. Having a winning mentality doesn’t mean you are a glory hunter and yes, winners have as many followers as they have haters. Personally I love the way Arsenal play, I mean they try so hard to play tiki-taka football, but a friendly suggestion – Have a plan B and C Arsene.

Sir Alex Ferguson the most hated and loved figure in equal elan in football wouldn’t have been where he is if the Man United board would have sacked him after his first few failures and hadn’t won the first of his 37 trophies, the F.A. Cup in 1990. Manchester United have gone on to win 19 league titles and their fiercest rivals Liverpool and their fans have kept cursing them for 21 years since 1990, when they won their last league title. So rivals, put some logic behind the negative reasons you associate with a Man United supporter and understand a simple fact – Manchester United is what Manchester United made of itself.