Old‑En Trafford – Glazer Neglect and Stadium Failings
With very little stadium maintenance carried out during the Glazer tenure this is not the first time a leaky roof has been evident at an ageing and tired looking Old Trafford.
However, after Sunday’s biblical rainfall during the thunderstorms experienced across the region during the second half of the Manchester United and Arsenal game the flooding around and within the ground reached new levels of embarrassment for the largest club in England. Whilst millions of pounds have been siphoned out of the club via the greed of the Glazer family, the ineptitude of their ownership in maintaining a stadium and standards has seen the famous ground overlooked for hosting major events, including the Euros, for a number of years now.
As heavy rain fell towards the end of the Premier League fixture, water could be seen cascading down from the corner of the roof between the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand and East Stand on to the seats below. With social media videos showing water flowing down the steps of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand, flooding a moat around the pitch. There were also reports of leakages into spaces below the stands including the away dressing room, with drainage around the ground unable to cope with the heavy rainfall fans of both clubs were forced to walk through cascading streams as they exited the stadia.
Manchester United minority co owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was present at the game, alongside members of a joint taskforce that includes Lord Coe and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, which has been set up to look at options for redeveloping the ground. This will definitely have provided yet another example of the enormity of the task in hand that the Glazer ownership have forced upon one of Britain’s great sporting institutions.
