Manchester United fans encourage club to ‘reclaim the Stretford End’ in open letter

The Manchester United Supporters' Trust have called on the club to help them 'reclaim' Old Trafford's Stretford End in an open letter discussing the atmosphere at the stadium.

United boss Jose Mourinho recently criticised the lack of noise from the home support at the ground, claiming he'd witnessed a better atmosphere at Portsmouth's Fratton Park. While acknowledging the club's ongoing consideration of an expansion of the stadium, MUST used the letter - addressed to Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold - to put forward several interim measures which could be taken to improve atmosphere in the short to medium term. Reclaiming the Stretford End, the letter says, would result in the most significant impact on Old Trafford's atmosphere. It calls on the relocation of the Executive International Suite and some of the Family Stand to a more suitable area of the stadium and also asks for an extension of the concession age range to help new generations of fans afford season tickets.

'The biggest single change which would impact on atmosphere would be to reclaim the Stretford End as a traditional “popular end” with cheap tickets, a youthful age profile of highly vocal fans. To achieve this, and so doing re-unify the Stretford End, would require relocation of the Executive International Suite and at least part of the Family Stand to a more suitable area of the stadium.

'We would also call for protected ticket prices to replace the eroded number of minimum price (£28) tickets resulting from expansion of Disabled Facilities into East Stand since the mid-2000’s. We recommend reinstating the number of such affordable seats to at least the same proportion of stadium capacity as they comprised prior to those developments, and locating these, at least initially, in the Stretford End.

"Younger supporters should be given priority on any new migration into a rejuvenated Stretford End...'

The full letter, which can be viewed here, also recommends the club take similar action in the old Scoreboard End (east lower), explaining that the revived atmosphere in these two areas would have a knock-on effect on the entire stadium.