The rise and rise of FC United
Posted in FC United on Wednesday October 5th, 2005 7:18pm
From the Guardian:
A watershed moment came when 2,266 fans snubbed the Manchester derby in favour of FC’s clash with Blackpool Mechanics. In that crowd were 600 under 18s, granted free entry in line with the club’s policy of encouraging young, local support - a long forgotten demographic at Old Trafford.
The attraction of turning your back on what was once the biggest day in Manchester’s football calender? As FC fan Chris Porter explains, it’s a soul thing. “It’s all about the match-day experience,” he says. “It’s about standing with your mates, singing songs, having a laugh and basically enjoying yourself doing what you used to do at Old Trafford before you became a ‘customer’ rather than a ‘fan’.”
There are other differences too. FC United play 4-4-2 not 4-5-1 and have scored nearly 30 goals in eight games so far. And, after every game, the team join a crowd of fans in the pub for a drink or 10. The club’s adopted song, Under the Boardwalk, is sung in unison, with players linking arms with supporters. It’s a utopia of how life should be. Can you imagine Rio Ferdinand sharing a drunken embrace with Brian the bricky from Salford? Exactly.
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