It’s been a roller coaster ride for most Manchester United fans. A true test of patience, loyalty and faith that a club that has seemingly lost its way since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson will find its way back on its perch to cement their position as Europe’s elite. 

SPOGO’s exclusive interview with Sunil Thakur, the ex President of MUSCM delves deeper into his journey so far, his visits to Old Trafford, the state of affairs at the club, encounters with players and his expectations for the future.
When did your love for Manchester United begin? What is your earliest memory of the club? 

Like many other Manchester United fans, I became a fan through David Beckham. Growing up, I was infatuated by British Rock Music and grew up with a fondness for everything British. I used to support England in football, loved Beckham and I remember during the 1999 Cricket World Cup, the commentators kept harping about Manchester United winning the treble. My curiosity grew and the rest as they say …

Who were the players you looked up to as you were growing up?

David Beckham was my biggest love, but as I watched more matches, I really started liking Roy Keane more. A no nonsense guy, a fighter, a leader and what a player. In fact, the first ever jersey I bought with a player’s name on it was Roy Keane. I still love and respect him. 

You have been involved with MUSCM since 2006/07 and have served as the President/Chairman. What has that experience been like? 

It’s been everything, it’s been my LIFE. After coming back from the US in 2007, I joined MUSCM (MUFCM back then, fans club) straight away and started taking part in the functioning and in a few years took charge. I have always said, I need MUSCM (became a supporters club after it became official in October 2013) more than it needs me. It’s given me lifelong friends who are as good as family. One might say better that  because of the pandemic, my MUSCM mates have met me more times than my cousins and family. We continued meeting each other to watch matches and those once a month meets actually got me through. Even my wife knows, MUSCM comes first for me and every weekend my mood depends on how Manchester United does or where we are going to watch the match. Fortunately even my job involves MUSCM (since it’s now based at the pub I co-own and run), so there is no life without it. Even now, as ex President, I am still as involved in the running of the Supporters Club as ever. I don’t need an official position or designation to do what I love most. I can go on and on here ….

You have also visited Old Trafford five times in the last six years. What makes you keep going back and which was the most special trip out of all of them? 

I have always wanted to go to Old Trafford with my own money, so when I started earning and when we became official, I took my first trip in 2014 and after that it became an addiction. Every vacation that I plan, I make sure I visit Manchester (England) and watch as many matches as possible. The most special visit was the last one, definitely. It was the first time we planned a group trip from Mumbai to Manchester, with all our regulars, around 25 of us. I was fortunate to watch United win away, from a 0-2 deficit at half time to 3-2 against Crystal Palace and also a 2-1 home win against Liverpool. I don’t think I can do better than this trip, but the next one I take needs to be to watch us win the Premier League or a Champions League finals in some other country.

What is your view about the ownership and the state of affairs of Manchester United? Do you think something needs to change? 

WELL well well, I don’t really understand financial statements, so I will leave the argument of the debt the owners have put on us and the fact that they have taken out so much money out of the club, to others who can explain it better. There is one thing I have understood very well in all my years of running MUSCM, that Manchester United is a business. With Alex Ferguson, we continued winning titles even under the current ownership but after him, it hasn’t worked out. If I have to sum it up, I would say, they have the wrong people heading things. I don’t understand how Ed Woodward still has a job despite Manchester United not winning the league for so many years now and I don’t buy this logic of we are still doing great financially because we could have been doing BETTER if we were winning.

What’s your most memorable moment as a fan? Have you had any chance encounters with players? 

Definitely, the Champions League finals we won against Chelsea. It was our first BIG screening and we got featured in some news channel as part of the build up, probably the first time we had over 100 people at a screening. I used to bring my speakers from my home in those days to play pre match videos. Those were simple times and yes, I have been very lucky to meet so many players in Mumbai. In fact, Dwight Yorke was at 3 Wise Monkeys when the club won its last Premier League title under Sir Alex. I’ve been lucky to meet Giggs and Scholes, TWICE. I’ve also met legends such as Vidic, Berbatov, Irwin, Schmeichel and players like Forlan, Saha and even David Moyes.



Why did you choose to step down voluntarily from your position at MUSCM? 

Over the past few years, I have grown slightly disillusioned with how the club treated us at One United or I love United (basically all these big events in Mumbai where they value sponsors more than fans). They even made us move from our home venue for screenings, just to accomodate more ‘clients’ but I understood that this is part of being official and getting to meet so many ex players. What really got to me was the functioning of the club, who have been unable to sign the right players every transfer window, firing managers without really backing them in the transfer market and not being competitive for a few years. We once expressed our frustration on Twitter and we were made to delete it and they took away our access to ticketing. Last summer, when Bruno Fernandes proved that we could actually become competitive and our transfer targets were so obvious, a RIGHT WINGER, a Center Back and a Defensive Midfielder; the club failed to deliver again. One more manager was left to fight for himself. I wanted to say a lot of things, I knew they wouldn’t let me use the SC handles, I didn’t want to jeopardize our official recognition and our access to Home Match Tickets through which we fulfill so many people’s dreams of watching United play at Old Trafford. That’s why I quit my position, to tell everyone what I was feeling. Even in a pandemic, when there was no income, buying the One United Membership was not even a question for me and many others, but I thought it was the right time to question the club for my little investment. I won’t be investing any more money into the club until I feel happy about how the club is being functioned. It doesn’t have to be winning a particular title but I want them to become competitive again. There are still 13 games to go in this season, but as you can already see, if Manchester United had signed the right players, (even Sancho) we would have probably gone on to win the league this season. Look at how Pep and Man City fixed their CB problems, of course they have unlimited resources. I can’t expect that, but at least sign the right players. Back the manager and aim for titles rather than money. For a start, sack that incompetent Ed Woodward please.

As co-owner of 3 Wise Monkeys, a venue that has featured many screenings over the years, which is the one match that stands out in your mind?

There have been MANY memorable screenings, but if I had to pick ONE, surely the Europa League Finals. We somehow managed to cram around 280 people in that small pub at Khar. In fact, there was a line to get in which extended all the way to Khar station, it was unreal. Also, I have to mention the screening where we gave Arsenal fans (they had a screening at the banquet hall upstairs) a guard of honor in the Robin Van Persie season. Thank you for RVP



In your experience, which fan base in India or abroad has the most fanatical/ extreme set of supporters?

In terms of football, our away fans are definitely the best. I have been lucky to go to a few away games and experience it for real. But I also have to be honest, growing up in India and also being a huge Cricket fan and a regular at Wankhede, I actually learned a lot of how to chant from The Barmy Army. They are so loud and you can actually hear them on TV at most England away games. Of course, now we have our own Bharat Army, who are doing a great job. If you ever want to go watch India play live outside India, I would definitely recommend travelling with them. I have also been lucky to watch a Champions League game in Istanbul, WOW they were loud!



Manchester United haven’t looked like title contenders since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, when do you think the club will win it’s next premier league?

Bruno Fernandes has transformed this club and Ole has done a great job in bringing back the club values we had lost in this transition phase. We could have actually won it this season and I expect us to be competitive next season, provided we make the right signings. If things go well, we retain Ole and build a team around Bruno, I hope we win the league in the next few seasons, if not next.

Lastly, the fan base especially on social media are divided in their opinion about Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s appointment as Manchester United’s manager. Do you believe he is the man that will help the club win trophies? 

YES, I am definitely OLE IN, but I also think he is learning a lot on the job and has a lot of room for improvement but I am very sure that he is the right man for Manchester United. He understands the club better than all the previous managers and will surely lead us to success hopefully very soon.