Fans show their strength at Old Trafford, Torres comes to the party for Manchester City and Leicester nerves jangle again
“We decide when you play.” That was the warning handed out to Manchester United by the fans who invaded the club’s training centre during the week the European Super League was formed and then expired. It was one they delivered on in getting a blue-riband fixture with Liverpool postponed. They also managed to get Manchester City’s collection of the Premier League title postponed. Direct action achieved its aim: embarrassing the club and the Premier League, and reheating the latent outrage the failed breakaway caused. And most of all, reinforcing the detachment that so many supporters have felt during 16 years of ownership by the Florida-based Glazer family. Manchester United’s is an often disparate, divided support, with the ownership causing deep rifts between the many fan groups. What happened on Sunday was a show of collective strength and unity between such factions. Football authorities may abhor the actions that took place but they ignored the underlying reasons at their peril. John Brewin
Related: Manchester United fans’ direct action is an expression of powerlessness | Jonathan Liew
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