‘Our roots are Man Utd’: but FC United ethos ‘more important than ever’

FC United of Manchester striker Adam Le Fondre spent Tuesday lunchtime working with a group of academy players on a 3G pitch next to the club’s 4,900‑capacity Broadhurst Park stadium. The dozen youngsters are unlikely to reach the Premier League, unlike Le Fondre himself, but the Northern Premier League side aims to build a pathway to senior football while keeping the teenagers in education through a partnership with Manchester College.

Training with the 39‑year‑old Le Fondre, who has scored more than 300 goals in professional football including 14 in his only Premier League season, exemplifies the community work that takes place at non‑league clubs across the country. For those who run FC United, this feels far removed from the club they once supported.

It has been 21 years since the Glazer family bought Manchester United and loaded the club with £600 million of debt. It is also 21 years since a group of fans decided to stop protesting the American owners and instead create their own supporter‑owned club.

This weekend, while Michael Carrick leads his team to Leeds in search of a win to quiet the criticism around him, FC United travel a short distance to Altrincham for an FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie that could be worth £25,000.

“We didn’t stop loving Manchester United,” said chairman Nick Boom. “We started FC United because we loved it.”

“Our roots are Manchester United. The songs, the humour, the traditions and the shared history still run through FC United.”

“But after 21 years we have also forged our own identity. We have a sense of place in North Manchester. We are unmistakably a Manchester club. We attract Manchester United fans who have been priced out of Old Trafford, and we have supporters who feel disconnected from Premier League football.”

“We think football, in a sense, has lost its way at the top level. Football should be somewhere you can go with friends