PROUD TO TAKE A UNITED STAND

SIR Alex Ferguson sneered. Alan Gowling, the former Manchester United striker, famously said they wouldn’t last until Christmas.

- CHRIS DUNLAVY

Yet 20 years later, FC United of Manchester are still here, still thriving, and still proudly sticking two fingers up to the greed and commercialism that inspired their formation.

"I think everyone underestimated us," says Paul Hurst, who started out selling programmes in 2005 and is now the club’s commercial director.

"But if you look at the resolve of the people who were involved in creating this club, and the amount of effort and care that went in, they were never going to let it quietly fade away. There was too much anger and too much determination for that."

That anger stemmed from the sale of Manchester United to the US-based Glazer family, whose leveraged takeover loaded the club with £694m worth of debt.

To United fans already weary of the growing gulf between turf and terrace, and of the Premier League’s willingness to ride roughshod over tradition in pursuit of revenue, it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Over a curry in Rusholme, a group of supporters formed FC United and on June 14—just days after the Glazers’ takeover was ratified - they were accepted into the North West Counties League.

Getting ready for that inaugural season required long hours and dedication from a board comprised entirely of volunteers.

One, Russell Delaney, had a terminal illness yet travelled up from his home in the south-east every week. He died in November 2005 and the club’s player of the year award is named in his honour.