Rebel Club are Champions!

FC United of Manchester (FCUM), the breakaway club formed by disgruntled Manchester United supporters after the Glazer takeover last May, has been promoted as champions from the Moore & Co. North West Counties Division Two (NWCD2) after Flixton drew 0-0 away at Holker Old Boys and Nelson lost 2-0 away at Oldham Town. FCUM's promotion had been confirmed the previous week after beating Chadderton 4-0 at Gigg Lane. NWCD2 is the tenth rung of the football pyramid, just six steps away from Division Two and professional football.

The promotion, as champions, is a remarkable feat for a club only formed last summer and staffed with players from public trials. 900 players applied to take part in the trials, of whom 200 were selected to do so and 17 were chosen to play for F.C. United. Credit must go to manager Karl Marginson, the club's founders, and the outstanding level of support that the club has gained over the past few months.

FCUM is amongst a new breed of football club, in that it is both owned and democratically run by its members, who are predominantly people local to the Manchester area. From the start FCUM were formed as a non-profit making entity on the Industrial and Provident Society company model. The club has no shirt sponsor - and will never do so - and for the moment have stuck rigidly to their club constitution. Inspiration for the club came in particular from AFC Wimbledon, which was founded in 2004 when their greedy, already rich owners, moved the club 70 miles away to Milton Keynes in order to make even more money.

The new United is, of course, everything that Manchester United is not, created to address the concerns of ordinary fans who have seen the Reds develop into a multi-national mega-club run for profit, not the supporters. The straw that broke many supporters' back was the takeover by Malcolm Glazer but it is fair to say that fans' grievances had been building up over at least a decade.

Although I continue to support Manchester United - attending games at Old Trafford, not Gigg Lane - I fully sympathize with the ideals of FCUM. From a personal point of view I wish FCUM all the best and continue to track their development. I hope FCUM's entry into the FA Cup during the 2006/7 season brings a good run and a match with Manchester United!

The future looks very bright for FCUM. In a division where the typical gate is less than 200, FCUM has achieved average crowds of 2,884 at Bury's Gigg Lane ground, a similar level of support to many League Two sides, making FCUM - in attendance terms - the 88th largest club in England! At this rate, providing the club maintains that level of support, FCUM could very well find themselves in the football league within a decade, depending on successive promotions and continued Football Association tinkering with the football pyramid.

The current system sees FCUM at step 6 of the pyramid, after restructuring in 2004/5, and the structure means that the club will need to finish in the top two of each subsequent division to continue being promoted. Although the FA plan to streamline the pyramid once again for 2007/8 FCUM will play in the North West Counties Division 1 next season, then the Northern Premier League Division 1, the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the Football Conference North, and finally the Football Conference around 2012!

The white Pele

Past, present and future collided in enthralling fashion at Old Trafford and, as so often the case lately, Wayne Rooney dominated and pure class. Fifty years on, Manchester United remembered the Busby Babes' first title; the current successors maintained their slim hopes of a ninth Premiership title.

When the Busby Babes were beating Blackpool in 1956, a certain 15-year-old Brazilian was two years away from winning his first World Cup and a half-century away from being likened to Manchester United's current talisman. Even as almost every Manchester United youngsters can be saddled with comparisons with a predecessor from the historic club, Rooney has little to live up to; he has already been christened 'the white Pele'. No pressure there, Wayne. Right?

'Manchester United has always been built on young players who entertained,' said Sir Alex Ferguson. 'Matt Busby started a legacy and we try to live up to it. Wayne Rooney, at times, was absolutely sensational.'

And on a day for celebrating emerging talent, it was only fitting that he emerged triumphant. Ferguson and Arsene Wenger share a commitment to developing teams with a youthful heart and, for 20 minutes, Arsenal's cosmopolitan collection were the more convincing.

Then United, and Rooney, assumed control. The unlimited potential of the player who, like the Busby Babes in the 1950s, offers the promise of 15 years of excellence, determined the outcome of another match in United's favor.

The Champions League's meanest defense was beaten first in the 54th minute when Mikael Silvestre's cross eluded Philippe Senderos and Rooney rifled it home. Victory was sealed when Rooney escaped from the inside right channel, withstood Senderos' attempt to tackle him and squared the ball to give Park Ji-Sung a simple tap-in for the youngsters first goal.

And yet the abiding image of Rooney came in the closing minutes when, with United's two-goal lead looking safe, he appeared in the left-back position, covering for Silvestre, jostling with substitute Freddie Ljungberg and ultimately earning his side a goal kick.

Pele's competence as a left back is unknown. Rooney, however, did establish that Kolo Toure's talents extend to goalkeeping. Such is Toure's versatility that, during his first 18 months at Highbury, he appeared in almost every outfield position. He appeared an able deputy for Jens Lehmann, too, when Rooney sprung the offside trap, rounded the German - though the goalkeeper's touch on the ball forced him wider - and struck a shot that appeared headed for Senderos, stood on the goal line.

Instead, Toure, recovering after slipping to the ground, managed a double-handed save that, via the post, deflected the ball to safety. Graham Poll, often praised by Sir Alex Ferguson, missed it completely; no penalty, no red card and, in a fixture where the hatred has bordered on the visceral, no reprisals, surprisingly.

Rooney's second-half display meant Ferguson could afford to be generous, both to the official (who went unmentioned) and Arsenal.

‘These are two fantastic football clubs who go head-to-head and provide some great football,’ he added. ‘The build-up was fantastic, the form of both sides was superb and Arsenal’s form in Europe was fantastic. They always start well, but it was a great performance from us. I thought we had to go and attack them.’

Which is, after the opening exchanges, what they did. A shared commitment to attack, however, revealed different methods, reflecting on the strengths of both sides. Arsenal, with slick inter-passing and Alexander Hleb and Robert Pires tucking in, concentrated their advances in the centre.

Cesc Fabregas, both with his exceptional passing and his ability to elude his markers at will, was at the heart of their best moves. United were at their strongest down the flanks and when they pierced the Arsenal offside trap, with Rooney either the perpetrator or the recipient.

Arsenal's talisman, Thierry Henry, could only watch. Benched - a consequence of the Gunners' fixture backlog and with a far more winnable game against Portsmouth on Wednesday - it was an indication that the Champions League is Arsenal's major priority. Not that Wenger, commendably honest, albeit with his view of Toure's handball predictably obscured, used that as an excuse.

He said: ‘It wasn't a major factor. We have lost with Thierry Henry on the pitch. We didn't concede because he was on the bench.

‘We were not as sharp as we could be and Man United were sharper today. It diminished our chances [of finishing fourth] today, but it is still in our hands mathematically.’

As, mathematically, is finishing first for United. After a ninth straight win, Chelsea remains in their sights. Ferguson added: ‘Obviously we have to go to Stamford Bridge and win. We need a collapse, but that's what happened to us in 1992. They have to go to Bolton and Newcastle so there's a lot of things in our favor.’ Including the presence of Wayne Rooney.

Franchise?!

Now let's get this straight right from the off - Manchester United Football Club are not a "franchise." Your local McDonald's - franchise. Subway - franchise. Burger King - franchise. Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Dominos. Franchises one and all. Manchester United - a 126 year old institution, club and company not repeated, replicated or copied anywhere in the world.

Why am I so very pissed off? Because our esteemed new owner Malcolm Glazer insists on calling United a "franchise" - the term regularly used for sports teams hear in the States. And he did so again this week in his first British media interview. Why? Because although the Glazers own shares in their NFL club - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - the mandate to exist is 'franchised' by the NFL. The same system is in place in baseball, hockey, and basketball too. This is why new clubs can simply pop up overnight - much like McDonald's may stick up a new drive-thru on the latest highway.

Let's take a quick look at our favorite dictionary definition of the word, just so there's no misunderstanding:

fran. chise
Pronunciation: 'fran-"chIz
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French, literally, freedom, liberty, from Middle French, from franchir to free, from Old French franc free

A right or license that is granted to an individual or group to market a company's goods or services in a particular territory under the company's trademark, trade name, or service mark and that often involves the use of rules and procedures designed by the company and services (as advertising) and facilities provided by the company in return for fees, royalties, or other compensation; also : a business granted such a right or license

It's not a big deal - 600m worth of debt IS a big deal - but it does show a continued lack of understanding and respect for the club, and for the fans. Nothing less should have been expected of people who have disrespected the fans almost daily since they took over.

Unless of course the Glazers are planning to offer franchises across the world - Beijing Red Devils United, perhaps? United have strong links in the United States however - including new sponsors American International Group - and there is bound to be speculation that the club is interested in forming a franchise of their own in Major League Soccer. David Gill, was forced to deny speculation this week as well as defending his boss, said:

"America is a vast and interesting market and we have obvious links over there with Nike, Budweiser, Pepsi and now our new shirt sponsors. How we get involved out there is still to be worked out - but there's only one Manchester United and forming a franchise out there is not what we are looking at.

"Should he [Glazer] have called us a great club instead? Yes, of course. But people get hung up on stuff like that when the reality is 'franchise' an American term and he doesn't mean anything by it."

That explanation may be enough for some fans but not for me. It wouldn't be difficult for Gill to give the ginger bearded one a few lessons in football on his weekly conference call back to the U.S. Or should we say soowcheeer?

With season ticket prices set to be formally announced on Tuesday - and fans expecting a massive ticket price hike as was reported last month - Glazer's first attempt at talking to the fans has turned into another kick in the teeth.

But don't expect a change soon - the Glazers, I kid you not, have in the past also talked about United winning a "pennant." In the meantime I can only hope that ginger visits the world's favourite McFranchise a little too often and gives himself a McHeart attack.