FC United – The people’s club
“It was one of the most incredible nights I’ve ever experienced at a football match...”
FC United was founded in 2005 and is a semi-
professional football club, in the Northern Premier League. Elected board member
Helen Lambert talks about how she got involved, the
club’s sensational FA Cup run and changing how football
clubs are run – for the benefi t of supporters.
Pictures by Michael Dean.
elected board member, volunteer press offi cer and tweeter. The club takes up a great deal of my time, emotions and thoughts. But I’ll admit, when the idea
I
was fi rst discussed at a supporter meeting in 2005 – called as Malcolm Glazer was securing the shares he needed to take over Manchester United – I wasn’t convinced.
I thought we’d soon get rid of
Glazer and all would be fi ne at Old Trafford. Why invest emotion, time and money in a supporter-owned club that might only be in existence for a short time?
Indeed that very question was asked
at the meeting. We liked the answer: it would be a supporter-run club and supporters would decide what would happen when Glazer was sent packing. I knew I would be fi rmly in the “not one penny” camp if Glazer did secure ownership of Manchester United. But the more I thought about what
FC United would represent, the more I liked the idea. Supporters of a like mind; running a not-for-profi t football club for the benefi t of fellow fans. Affordable prices, standing and singing with our friends. Somewhere to gather – together – on Saturday afternoons, rather than all those displaced United fans scattered across numerous other clubs across the region or lost to football for good. The hard work of a number of people
to get FC United off the ground and into a league (and Gigg Lane) has been well- documented. The Glazers may remain at Old Trafford, but there are thousands of us who are grateful for all the hard work.
10
’m a founder member of FC United of Manchester and currently an
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