Manchester United fans have been left outraged after the club launched their new ‘forwarding membership’: a tier that basically charges you for the sole privilege of receiving tickets from others.
As confirmed via email on Saturday, United announced that they have now ‘sold out’ of official memberships for the first time in their history which, according to their own estimates, makes them the most subscribed team in world sport.
With over 350,000 official members now on board, the club have taken the decision to close the scheme for both Lite and Full Memberships in order “to protect ticket availability at future games” for existing members, but which will fundamentally prevent others from joining the queue to buy their own ticket.
Notably, however, the club waited to stop the sale of new memberships until after they broke the world record and now, to add insult to injury, the club intend to charge fans who simply want to be able to receive a spare ticket from family or friends through this new United membership tier.
Amusing in itself that their magical cutoff point was once they passed the previous world record for a football club, they decided to then introduce a new, shiny membership category, the forwarding membership!
The news has gone down exactly as you’d expect, with fans rightly pointing out that should you be fortunate enough to receive a ticket from someone who cannot attend the game for whatever reason, that should be down to them as the ticket has already been paid for. No skin off United’s nose.
Given the busy season, with the club regularly competing in four competitions a year, it can sometimes be hard for fans to make every single match, so many regulars have to pass on their tickets from time to time. Sadly, it seems United are now trying to spin an extra bit of profit from that transaction as well.
Season tickets already set fans back anywhere between £532 and £950 a year (excluding the additional cost of cup games), but whether or not supporters charge mates rates for their spare ticket — again, their discretion — or kindly pass it on for free, the outcome is the same: the seat is filled.
However, the forwarding membership scheme is the club, essentially, trying to re-insert itself as the middleman after having already charged for the ticket once, hoping to squeeze out even more money from an already angry fan base who believes the owners are only driven by money. Wonder why?
Fucking hell united never fail to surprise me, “forwarding membership” get a grip you money grabbing cunts
Why would official membership sell out? Aren't they just turning money down here? That forwarding membership sounds a complete scam, surely you'd just pass on to a family member or friend for free? pic.twitter.com/jdynrxOxHo
Moreover, as explained in @Daytrippingred‘s lengthy thread, despite fans already having to pay a £100 deposit to get ‘priority’ in the extremely long waiting list for a season ticket, they will now have to acquire an even more expensive Premium Membership to stand a chance, with no guarantee you’ll ever get one.
As for those who could never feasibly afford a full season ticket or even regularly throw in for the odd game on top of their Lite membership (£20 just be entered into the ballot to try and secure a ticket), they will now have to pay a 75% of that price just in the hope that a spare ticket comes their way.
United’s various tiers. Forwarding Memberships are already being charged for the remainder of the season. (Credit: Man United)
Not to ram the point home too hard, but this means if your Dad wants to give you his already paid-for ticket that he’s owned since before you were born — something that you have always been able to do and cost absolutely nothing as recently as last week — you will now have to pay at least £15 a year.
Simply ridiculous.
It’s just another sting in the tail of the current ownership, digital ticketing which has flooded United with data on ticket usage and modern football as a whole
In the fucking bin with the lot of them, the money grabbing bastards.#GlazersOut
It seemed as though the administration made at least some small but positive steps following the recent fan consultation, encouraging more communication with supporters’ groups, greenlighting the Fan Advisory Board (FAB), as well as allowing both opt-out and ticket buy-back schemes.
However, it now looks as though it’s one step forward and two steps back, with the new forwarding membership outrage just the latest in a long line of controversies under the Glazer family ownership.
With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that fans are once again staging not one but two coordinated protests ahead of the Manchester derby on Saturday, 14 January.
With the Glazers having now hinted at being ‘open’ to the prospect of selling the club, it’s possible that this forwarding membership stunt could be one last attempt at eking out every last penny before they finally call it quits. Reds can only hope.
Today we release protest plans for the City game
These are the most ambitious to-date
A CO-ORDINATED protest from 2 locations
We urge all fans who love our club to keep fighting until they are gone
Kolo Touré joins Manchester City’s backroom staff on a permanent basis
Danny Jones
Former Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool defender, Kolo Touré, has now permanently re-joined the club as a first-team coach.
The retired centre-back, who finished his career at Scottish giants Celtic FC before hanging up his boots back in 2017 and becoming part of their backroom staff, has been working with Man City as part of the FIFA Club World Cup set-up.
Having clearly impressed on the road, not to mention having spent last season as Assistant Lead Coach alongside U18s boss Oliver Reiss – with the youth side winning the Premier League North title – the 44-year-old has now been given an assistant coaching job with the senior squad on a full-time basis.
Announced on Tuesday, 15 July, ahead of City’s pre-season tour getting underway next month, Kolo Touré is the latest among multiple recent appointments to manager Pep Guardiola’s ranks.
Hailing from the Ivory Coast and having enjoyed a career spanning more than 15 years, he’s considered one of the greatest African players of all time, so it’s no question that he brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the role.
Touré, who made more than a century of appearances for the Blues, began his coaching journey with the national team before assisting Brendan Rodgers at both Celtic and Leicester City.
He also spent a rather short spell at another Greater Manchester side, being made head coach of Wigan Athletic in November 2022.
But it wasn’t to be…
The older brother of fellow City club legend, Yaya, was ultimately sacked around two months later (just 59 days, to be exact) after having failed to win a single fixture in his first name games in charge.
Kolo Touré taking instructions from Pep, the chemistry’s taking shape. Brilliant to see Kolo soaking it all in from the very best. He’s here for the long haul, man. You can feel it. pic.twitter.com/RscM9rg0GS
Commenting on Toure’s appointment as first-team assistant coach, Director of Football Hugo Viana said in an official club statement: “We’re delighted to permanently add Kolo to our first team coaching staff.
“Not only does he bring his immensely precious experience at football’s elite level, but he also has a deep connection with Manchester City and a deep knowledge of the Club.
“We’ve also been hugely impressed with his work and success with our Under-18s, and by adding him to our senior staff permanently, this will only strengthen the transition for players in our Academy into the first team.
“As we already saw throughout his time with Pep Guardiola, Pep Lijnders and James French this summer, his massive personality of optimism and positivity is hugely infectious and we’re already looking forward to his work moving forward.”
In case you were unfamiliar with the latter two names, you’ll find all you need to know down below.
England cricket legend Sir James Anderson joins Manchester Originals for The Hundred 2025
Danny Jones
England and Lancashire County Cricket (LCC) legend Sir James, a.k.a. ‘Jimmy’ Anderson, has officially signed for Manchester Originals ahead of this year’s The Hundred campaign.
What a statement from the Greater Manchester side.
Now 42, the knight of The Oval and the realm is in the twilight of his career, but you’ll struggle to find many others of his ability and sheer amount of experience anywhere else in the competition.
Selected by Manchester Originals as their wildcard pick for the 2025 tournament, Anderson is set to become the second-oldest pro to ever play in the history of The Hundred.
The fast-paced cricket format only began back in 2021, but has quickly gone on to become a fan favourite, with sell-out games over at the Emirates Old Trafford and, indeed, up and down the country.
Roping in veterans like the much-loved Northern lad will only help bring more eyes to the games.
With more than 400 career appearances and nearly 1,000 wickets at international level alone over the course of more than two and a half decades in the sport, they don’t get much more iconic than Jimmy Anderson – it’s a big coup for Manchester Originals.
As mentioned, while the Lancashire-born bowler’s time in international whites may have come to an end, as well as serving as a key Roses mentor, he’s still an LCC star. Representing Lancashire Lightning in the year’s T20 Blast, ‘The Burnley Express’ has already claimed 14 wickets in his first eight matches.
Discussing his impending debut, the ‘King of the Swing’ said: “I’m really looking forward to The Hundred, and I’m really happy to be part of the Manchester Originals squad. I’ve loved my time with Lancashire this season, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to add value in The Hundred.”
“It’s a competition I’ve really enjoyed watching. When you’re at the games, you can really see that it does attract a slightly different crowd, a lot of younger people and families, and you can’t underestimate how important that is for our game. I can’t wait to get out there.”
The first lot of Hundred fixtures get underway on Tuesday, 5 August, with the first home match at Old Trafford Cricket Ground welcoming the toss the following day (Wed, 6 Aug).
You see the rest of The Hundred 2025 wildcard draft picks in full HERE.
Danny Jones -
10th January 2023 
