Manchester, Dodger Fans Appear United by Events

Angry fans protesting outside the gates of the storied stadium. New majority owner hung and burned in effigy. Grave concerns about massive debt undermining the future of the franchise. Boycotts of season tickets and team merchandise quickly organized. Gloom and doom forecasts penned by local sports columnists.

Kind of takes you back, doesn’t it, Dodger fans?

That was an interesting juxtaposition of stories on the front page of The Times’ sports section Friday. A report of Malcolm Glazer’s controversial majority purchase of soccer’s Manchester United next to a report about a controversial Dodger defeat next to a report about controversial Dodger owner Frank McCourt arranging a $250-million, 25-year loan in an effort to consolidate his debts.

And tying the thread together was the recollection of how and why Glazer became interested in pursuing Manchester United in the first place.

He failed in his bid to buy the Dodgers in 2003, which opened the door for McCourt, which provided aghast Manchester United supporters a glimpse into what probably is in store for them and their soccer team, the best-known professional sports franchise in the world.

What will happen to United, winner of eight English Premier League championships since 1992, but, crucially, none in the last two years?

Will legendary Coach Sir Alex Ferguson be run out and replaced by a 32-year-old disciple of the soccer pound-pinching manifesto “MoneySavingBall,” who decides goals are overrated and gets rid of everyone on the team who scores them, focusing instead on his cutting-edge corner kicks-plus-throw-ins-divided-by-time-of-ball-possession “formula for success”?

And what will happen to United’s fabled stadium, Old Trafford?

Will planned expansion designed to increase seating capacity to 76,000 be scrapped and super-sized to 106,000 because Glazer is taking on such debt he now needs a soccer stadium bigger than most international airports so he can pay to keep numbers stitched on the players’ jerseys?

(Names on the jerseys, however, are quite optional, United fans. Do you know how expensive each of those letters are? So get ready for that money-saving maneuver. What’s that, you wanted a personalized Wayne Rooney replica jersey? Well, you better wait and pay extra to have those letters attached. Or, wait a little longer, until Rooney is sold to Chelsea, and then it’s not your problem anymore.)

Will the new stadium design call for obstructed-view seats? If so, where to put them? How about near the goal standards, since goals, according to new team policy, are overrated?

And what’s the deal with “Old Trafford,” anyway? Who wants to go to a stadium named “Old Trafford” anymore? Welcome to the 21st century, Manchester! Where’s the corporate sponsorship, so popular these days and now necessary if United wants to field 11 players, because any fewer might be cheaper but ill-advised in English soccer, as someone probably ought to soon mention to Glazer?

How do you like the sound of “New and Thoroughly Modern Trafford Sponsored by Hooters and Presented by Taco Bell”?

To get a closer view of the situation and the controversy that has consumed most of Manchester -- not all; cross-town rival Manchester City is said to be delighted by the Glazer news -- there’s a United-Southampton match on local television Sunday at 7 a.m.

Appropriately enough, it’s pay per view.

Also available for viewing this weekend:

TODAY

* National Lacrosse League Champion’s Cup Final

(Channel 4, 12:30 p.m.)

Lead paragraph from a Thursday NBC Sports news release: “NBC Sports weekend programming lineup features a key Arena Football League battle between the New York Dragons and Tampa Bay Storm (Sunday, 1 p.m., ET); the National Lacrosse League Champion’s Cup Final (Saturday, 3:30 p.m., ET); Michael Douglas & Friends Presented by Lexus celebrity golf tournament; and the inaugural National Heads-Up Poker Championship (Sunday, noon-1 p.m. ET).”

If you’re looking for an explanation as to why NBC would agree to pay all that money to televise Sunday night NFL games come 2006, there it is.

* Baltimore Orioles at Chicago White Sox

(WGN, 4 p.m.)

The Orioles and the White Sox began this series as the winningest teams in the American League. So you might want to check this one out. And check back in a month to see how much will be different then.

* Miami Heat at Washington Wizards

(Channel 7, 5 p.m)

Bad news for the Wizards: Their nickname sounds so disturbingly similar to the Whizzinator, it might be time to bring back “the Bullets,” just for a game or two.

Worse news for the Wizards: On second thought, about that “a game or two”: If they can’t beat the Heat playing without Shaquille O’Neal in a must-win Game 3 at home, that’s all that needs to be said about this series.

Better news for the Wizards: It will be over soon.

SUNDAY

* Atlanta Braves at Dodgers

(FSNW2, 1 p.m.)

Concerned Manchester United supporters will be interested to know that on this side of the pond, McCourt inherited a $113.2-million payroll when he bought the Dodgers after the 2003 season, then lowered it to $101.7 million in 2004, then lowered it to about $88 million in 2005.

So far, this has failed to noticeably affect the team’s performance in any negative way. The Dodgers won the National League West in 2004 and began this series against the Braves in first place. What is this, then, success through slashing payroll while alienating your fan base?

Then again, as they would say in England: Early days, early days.