Speaking to BBC Five Live, he said the Glazer family’s ownership and involvement "has brought stability and we are all benefiting from that. "They have got involved in areas where they feel they can add value. But in other, football, areas they have allowed manager Sir Alex Ferguson and others to get on with it. "They are delighted - and so they should be. They are sports fans and they know what running a sports club is all about."
 | | There were mass protests by anti-Glazer Utd fans |
There’s little surprise they’re happy. Let’s not forget that the American businessman’s takeover of United was meant with mass protests, the burning of season tickets and the setting up of a brand new team, FC United. As starts go, it wasn’t a good one. Since their takeover, though, United have finished first and second in the Premiership, won the Carling Cup, made the semi-finals of the Champions League and could still grab a double this season if they beat Chelsea in the FA Cup Final on Saturday 19 May. Indeed, in a coincidence that can only serve to reinforce the positive glow around the Glazers, United will receive the Premiership trophy at their final home game on Saturday 12 May, which is also the second anniversary of Malcolm Glazer’s first purchase of United shares and thus, his involvement with the club. | "They are delighted - and so they should be. They are sports fans and they know what running a sports club is all about." | | David Gill on the Glazers' response to winning the Premiership |
Even the most vehement objector to the takeover would be forced to admit that, at the very least, the club’s achievements have continued at the same pace as before the American arrived. As Gill put it, "all the doomsayers who said we would be in trouble have been proved wrong." But more than all that, what the title does do is call into question the fans’ actions of two years ago. Was it right to protest against Malcolm Glazer before he’d had chance to show what his leadership could do for the club? And what about FC United? They may have had success but it is nothing compared to United’s Premiership title; does the decision to break away from United and set out anew still seem like the right one?
In the end, it comes down to one question: do you think that the takeover by Malcolm Glazer was the right path for United to have taken?
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