Thousands of us walked away from Old Trafford, binning our season tickets and turning our backs on the club we had supported as boys, as had our fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers. To the vast majority of Mancunians United is in our blood, but we also have pride and principle and while understanding why many couldn't and still can't make the break, despite ever more expensive tickets and other rip-offs, we left and began supporting a breakaway club, FC United of Manchester.
FC United is an idealistic club. Owned by the members it is an Industrial and Provident Society. Having rebelled against the crass commercialisation of top flight football one of the first votes of the membership was to reject spirt sponsorship. A few years back there was a boycott of a game when the kick off was brought forward for the benefit of internet TV. Kick off should be 3-00pm on a Saturday, not 8-00pm on a Monday or 1-00pm on a Sunday. In our second season there was a boycott of a game because the home club did away with concessionary prices for juniors and OAPs for our visit in an effort to cash in on the club's huge support.
Chester are also a fan owned club so there should be a natural affinity you would think. But Chester FC are charging £12 to enter the seated area of the ground, which is expensive when you think that the average admission price in that league is around £9. And Chester are seen by some clubs as trying to buy success, a poor man's Manchester City in a way, by poaching top players from other clubs.
As a football league club in a previous incarnation Chester's fans are also seen as arrogant and obsessed with regaining their status as a league club as if it's a God given right. A similar club, AFC Halifax Town were similarly unpopular, for the same reasons, last season as were Boston United fans before them.
In the 1990s I spent a lot of money travelling to support little Chester City, as they were, when they had a 'Fans United Day' to try and stave off bankruptcy, something they have had to do due to poor support on a regular basis. Fans from all over attended in a spirit of mutual support. United fans attended only to hear the majority of Chester fans chanting abuse about Manchester and United in particular, hardly in the spirit of the event. I decided then that I would never do anything to help Chester football club again, whatever form it took.
So what does this have to do with FC United playing Chester on 24 August? Well, while there is no organised boycott, a lot of FC United fans have decided that they will miss the Chester game. I'm in two minds myself. I'd prefer to boycott the game but want to support my team. Are we (FC United fans) getting a bit carried away with the idealism at times? Maybe, I'm not sure. Will I be there on 24 August? Maybe, I'm not sure, I'll just have to see what happens between now and then.
But in their own small way Chester FC/Chester City have given me at least as much cause to stay away as the Glazers have at Old Trafford. I no longer visit Munch, Florence, Milan or Lyon to watch football, maybe I'll add Chester to that list.
*A correction. I initially referred to them as AFC Chester in this post which they are not. It is confusing when Chester City they were, now they are Chester FC and there also seems to be a club called AFC Chester knocking about with some tenuous link to the other two. Mea culpa.
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