Prior to the appointment of Michael Carrick as Interim Manchester United manager earlier this month, the club's supporters had announced that they were planning a protest ahead of the match against Fulham on Sunday, 1 February.
The group that organised the protest, the 1958, have been at the heart of several anti-ownership protests in recent years, and when it was announced, they revealed that INEOS would be at the heart of the it, in addition to the Glazer family.
The wording of the initial statement was strong, with the 1958 labelling Sir Jim Ratcliffe an ‘incompetent clown' who was turning the club into a ‘circus'. However, in light of two brilliant results and performances against Man City and Arsenal, doubts had emerged about whether the protest would still go ahead.
These doubts have now been firmly batted away, with the group confirming that the protest will still go ahead as planned.
United is broken. The supporters aren’t.
— Dan Norseman (@dan_norseman) January 28, 2026
Sunday is about making that visible.
Protest details from @The__1958 👇
🗓️Sunday 1 Feb v Fulham
🕐 1pm
📍 Meet at:
• Sir Matt Busby Way / Chester Rd
• Outside Hotel Football
➡️ Both groups converge at the Trinity
Support… pic.twitter.com/8xXBnUlxlD
Results have been ‘in spite' of the ownership
Upon confirming that action will go ahead as planned on Sunday, a spokesperson for the group said:
“Recent results are down to Michael Carrick and the players, and they have come in spite of our inept ownership, not because of it. This club continues to fumble from one calamity to the next. Fans should not be fooled by two good results. We have been here too many times before.
“Our protest has never been about performances on the pitch. Not now, and not once in the last 21 years. We are judging a dysfunctional ownership model that has repeatedly failed Manchester United.
“Jim Ratcliffe is a successful and wealthy businessman. But in a football sense, for many, he comes across as a clueless clown, making one poor decision after another, with no cohesive plan.”
FGG says: No choice but to continue
Football fans across the country have been quick to accuse Manchester United fans of only protesting against the Glazer Family when results have been bad at Old Trafford. Therefore, cancelling the protest because of the upturn in form under Carrick would have only added fuel to these inaccurate accusations.