As had been previously planned and and announced, a group of Manchester United fans took to the skies to protest against the club’s Executive Vice Chairman Ed Woodward. The supporter group, known as “A View From the Terrace,” flew a banner reading “Ed Woodward – A specialist in failure” over the Turf Moor just before Burnley and United kicked off their week four Premier League fixture.
Obviously, the phrase is an allusion to the pejorative United boss Jose Mourinho (then leading Chelsea) used to describe former Arsenal manager/his all-time greatest rival Arsene Wenger.
Here’s a still photo close-up of the banner being displayed in the sky:
Via TV monitor on desk pic.twitter.com/hFNde0PDND
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) September 2, 2018
“A plane will fly over Turf Moor today, arranged by a group of Manchester United supporters disillusioned with Ed Woodward’s stewardship of the club since 2013,” reads a statement from the group.
“This statement was made in order to challenge the current media narrative of focusing on the manager, whilst ignoring where the issues at the club truly lie.”
“Many of the problems stem from Ed Woodward’s continuous undermining of Manchester United managers in the transfer market, in matters of the playing squad, and in his inconsistent approach to recruitment and retention of managers and players.
“A beancounter selecting which players Manchester United Football Club do or do not sign based on perceived resale value, ‘social media interactions’ and marketability, has resulted in one of the most unbalanced United squads of recent times. Thanks to this ill-conceived approach, this squad is incapable of producing entertaining football and challenging for the top honours.”
Here is a still photo of the airplane towing the banner:
“Ed Woodward, a specialist in failure.” plane banner flew over Turf Moor. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/wzUWuo2gN6
— MUFC Scoop (@MUFCScoop) September 2, 2018
Airplane protests are certainly nothing new in the post Sir Alex Ferguson era of Manchester United.
In recent years, we’ve seen airplane protest banners calling for the reacquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo and the sacking of Fergie’s hand picked successor, David Moyes.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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