Manchester United fans demonstrate outside Old Trafford. This caused the Premier League match against Liverpool to be delayed.Friday 4 June marked a significant day in Manchester United's recent history. The club's ownership spoke directly for the fans.None of the Glazer family members had ever engaged supporters in stewardships that date back to 2005.Joel Glazer, the co-chairman of the event, spoke to 11 representatives at a virtual fan forum.After a quick apology, he quickly admitted that United's American ownership was "not right." Glazer reviewed some of his plans for making the club more inclusive and giving the fans what they want over the next two hours.Many people don't trust the 54-year old.They claim that Glazer's presence was entirely due to simmering discontent over his family's ownership at United, which erupted after the collapse of European Super League.They claim that the 8m they will pay to their family in dividends, announced 17 June, is proof that nothing is changing.These fans don't care about the Glazers. They want them out."Understandable Cynicism"Manchester United fans displayed 'Go Glazers posters at Old Trafford' against Fulham in MayGlazer set up his stall at the fan meeting.He said that there are many factors that can lead to a club’s success. We all know that for a club's success to be truly great, everyone must work together - supporters and the club.While no team is guaranteed to win every match, we can all work together in the same direction and have the best chance of achieving that success. The club has a bright future, but there are areas that need to be worked out.Many fans believe that the main conflict is caused by the Glazer family and the lack of communication."Cynicism by supporters is understandable," stated Ian Stirling (vice-chairman, Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), who attended the forum."There has been 16 years of Glazer family ownership, virtually zero communication. When the Super League plans were revealed, people believed it could not be stopped. It was for the fans' forum, which stated Joel Glazer would never commit to anything or meet with us.Glazer has pledged to strengthen the forum. Glazer also stated that a fan advisory board would be established to "consult and advise the club's senior leaders on a regular basis".He wants to keep in touch with supporters groups about a "mutually-beneficial fans' share ownership scheme". This would allow the same voting rights for Class B shares, which are almost entirely owned by the family.Are fans owners?Eric Cantona, United legend, has backed MUST's "Sign for United" campaignThe stated goal of MUST is for United fans have an active role in the club's running.MUST launched the Sign for United campaign on 25 June. Eric Cantona, a former United captain, supports the scheme. It asks supporters to "register their commitment towards becoming a shareholder supporter". Within four days, over 50,000 people had signed-up.There are however issues.Red Issue, which has over 58,000 Twitter followers, has been questioned about its motives.They claim that "direct action", such as the protest against the Premier League match with Liverpool on May 2nd, when two large groups of supporters stormed security around the stadium, is the only way to get the Glazers out completely.BBC Sport suggested that the will might not be available to replicate those scenes. However, there were rumours of protests at Loftus Road's pre-season match against Queens Park Rangers on 24 July.It is difficult to imagine how a fan's ownership scheme would work.First, major investors already own shares in the club that do not have voting rights. United has also done extensive research on how the share sale could be incorporated into the legal and regulatory realities of New York Stock Exchange listing. However, the thoughts of Class A shareholders regarding a new lot being made only to those who theoretically have more power than they do are not clear.How many will you sign up?The Newcastle United Supporters Trust announced that it has received over 100,000 pledges in its efforts to raise money for a stake in the club. This is despite the huge discontent with Mike Ashley's ownership.Ashley believed that he would sell the club to a Saudi Arabian consortium for 300m. It would take 15m to get a 5% stake, even at this valuation. Manchester United's share price is around 1.8bn, so a 5% stake at that valuation would be 90m."Is there any chance of building a meaningful stake at Newcastle?" Stirling agreed. Stirling asked, "Does Ashley want supporters in the center of the club?""If supporters were offered the possibility of change and knew that their shares would be protected, they would receive far more than 100,000."We believe that Manchester United fans have the desire to own a stake in the club. It takes time. It will take many years.We don't ask for 1bn worth shares to be given to us immediately. But that vehicle must be available for supporters to invest."We must build for the future. You will never be able to achieve your goals if you don't start. Compare the situation we found ourselves in three months ago to what we find today. Consider where we might be if legislation follows the fan-led government review. It would be foolish not to plan for this."Is 50+1 possible?MUST is just one of many supporters' groups that have met with the government's review team in order to continue the push for a reset following the European Super League storm.Many consider Germany's 50+1 model to be the ideal goal. It allows supporters to have a share of the club that prevents private investors from taking over.There is not a clear way to get there in England, where most clubs are privately owned.The best United fan can hope for is that the Glazer family honors their commitment to being more inclusive of those who have received such a substantial financial benefit.Stirling stated, "Direct action has been a catalyst in speeding up our process to bring the Glazers to us, but there's a lot more work that has gone into getting us here,""People go into these things at different levels and with different motivations. At MUST, we believe in long-term."Joel Glazer wasn't witty in his words. We have to hold Joel Glazer responsible for the commitments he made.We want the best deal for our supporters. We are not doing this for our own benefit, but to help the club. It doesn't matter if he seems genuine. It's what the actions are and what is delivered that matters.
