It is a cliche that 98 per cent of Manchester United fans have never been to the home ground of Old Trafford. Though the team is supported by 3.2 million people worldwide, and bound by a club magazine translated into 21 languages, including Sanskrit, its followers have long been viewed as somehow fake, rootless limpets.
So the unity of the outraged reaction from fans to the £623.4 million takeover of the club by Mr Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB has taken many by surprise.
After the deal was announced on the London stock market yesterday, the hastily-formed Independent Manchester United Supporters Association vowed to stop it "at all costs".
At a press conference in Manchester, they called on fans to protest at the home game against south London's Charlton Athletic tonight. They have planned a rally for next week. A spokesman said: "We oppose this move totally. We vow to fight this proposed takeover to the bitter end."
The association chairman, Mr Andy Walsh, brushed aside assurances from the BSkyB chief executive, Mr Mark Booth, that the company's concerns were "100 per cent" identical to those of the fans. "We're going to fight Murdoch," Mr Walsh said. "He's not got the interests of Manchester United at heart. He's got the interests of Rupert Murdoch at heart."
The former United manager, Mr Tommy Docherty, also criticised Mr Murdoch. "He's not really been involved in football, I doubt very much if he even knows where Old Trafford is . . . he will not understand the true feelings of football people," he said.
Outside the ground yesterday, supporters also opposed the deal.
Mr Martin Smallbone (36), a welder, said he was "disgusted". He asked: "What's he (Murdoch) ever done for the sport except put it out of reach of people who traditionally watched it?"
Overseas supporters, however, backed the takeover. Mr Kieran Dunleavy, of the 500-group Victorian Manchester United Supporters Club in Victoria, Australia, said by telephone: "This might not make me popular in the UK, but for us in Australia it is a good move. Murdoch will make sure we can watch United on Sky TV."
Patrick Smyth adds from Brussels:
The sale of Manchester United to BSkyB should be investigated by the European Commission, the Munster MEP, Mr John Cushnahan, said yesterday.
Mr Cushnahan has initiated a debate on the issue at next week's meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. "The controller of BSkyB is interested in one thing - making profits," Mr Cushnahan said. "He has little regard for the interests of sport and sports fans."
A spokesman for the Commission said on Monday, however, that the takeover was not within the remit of the Commission's supervisory powers.