Diary of a Manchester United fan

It seems like the encore of winning the Premier League title is just a distant memory now. The team holding that trophy up for a record 20th time and the whole world bidding adieu to one of the greatest managers in the history of this beautiful game are the images which come to our mind when talking about the 2012/13 season. But things have changed since then, and how dramatically so.

The Gaffer retired. The coaching staff changed. And there were changes in the office as well. Next season would be tough and that is exactly how everything has panned out. Though Sir Alex Ferguson did leave the legacy of this great club in the hands of an another highly regarded Scot, a series of injuries and a difficult transfer window has seen us languish at the 7th spot in the Premier League and getting knocked out of the FA Cup recently.

However, I am not here to criticise the team management. Nor am I here to add to the fury of the trending #MoyesOut movement. But I am here to present you a new point of view to this whole fiasco. Although this would not make up for the lost chance or for the losses the team incurred during this season, I guess it will instil a sense of belief in all the United fans worldwide.

For years United fans were being termed as mere ‘Plastic Fans’ by the rest of the football community. Although I used to get irritated by such statements, recent events did force me to retrospect. And the more I thought of it, the more it made sense. Manchester United had maintained a lineage of championships ever since Sir Alex Ferguson took over. After taking up the reigns during the late ’80s, United gave something or the other for their fans to cheer about. Whether it was a FA Cup victory or the Champions League victory, Manchester United stacked the trophy cabinet and kept on adding great quality to their roster, such as the likes of David Beckham, Teddy Sheringham, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo etc. The office couldn’t complain and the fans couldn’t be happier.

But there was a downside to all of this. As people from all over the world were being drawn towards this game via technological advancement and commercialisation; the new fans could only see one thing: Manchester United. People who didn’t know squat about football were now labelling themselves as ‘True United Fans’. Also many a people migrated from one follower cult to the other because who doesn’t like to brag about have ‘n’ number of championships.

By being a Manchester United fan, you weren’t appreciating the quality of football that was being played out there, you weren’t feeling the pain of dropping a few points or the ecstasy of grabbing those 3 points, you were just being a pretentious football fan drawn towards the club just because of its humongous trophy cabinet. And that is exactly why United fans are termed as being plastic, just because of a few people who think that silverware is what the club is all about.

The reason why I am writing all of this? It’s simple. A fan who can’t withstand the hardships of his club has definitely no right to walk with it during its glory. This bad run has certainly ascertained one thing; who the real fans truly are. Although we might not end up winning any silverware this season, heck we might not even be able to compete in Europe next season, but as long as the club stands, I’ll stand up every time they walk out to the field through that tunnel and I’ll still scream at the top of my voice when the goal count goes up for United because “Win, Lose or Tie, Manchester United till I Die”.