Manchester United fans set to begin ‘constant, peaceful’ protests against Glazer ownership

Manchester United fans will stage the first of a number of "relentless" protests against its owners after claiming the club is "a mess".

A supporter group called The 1958 has organised the protest march on Saturday 16 March, ending at Old Trafford before United’s Premier League game with Norwich kicks off.

The 1958 tweeted a rallying call to United fans say that: “The club’s a mess so we need to act and raise awareness again."

Calling the leadership "rotten", the group said it would be the "start of the constant, relentless, peaceful and legal protests" against the owners.

It added the protests would not be "another Liverpool", where fans broke into Old Trafford before a behind-closed-doors Premier League game against Liverpool in May 2021, forcing the fixture to be postponed.Some United fans also previously stormed the club’s Carrington training base in April 2021.

The statement added: "We know the challenges ahead of us and we will not waver or detract from these goals."

After the debacle of the failed European Super League, Owner Joel Glazer apologised for failing "to show enough respect" for the club's "deep-rooted traditions."

The Florida-based Glazer family have owned United since 2005 and have overseen a sharp decline in performances and results in recent years.The record 20-time champions of England have not won a Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge in 2012-13 and no kind of silverware for five years.

United have endured a campaign of turmoil, sacking manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November and slipping to seventh in the Premier League under interim boss Ralf Rangnick.They are 23 points behind leaders Manchester City with seven games of the season remaining and out of all cup competitions.A recent survey, conducted between October and December 2021 by the Manchester United Supporters Trust, found 78% of respondents were “dissatisfied” with those at the Old Trafford helm over the past year.More than 70% of the 20,000 supporters surveyed also said they lacked confidence that the club has “a clear strategy to return to the top”.This represented a huge increase from the 36% that said they lacked confidence the previous year.The period reflects the 12 months in which the club were involved in the doomed European Super League project which resulted in an angry backlash against the Glazers.