United’s players are already said to be at Old Trafford
Manchester United appear to have put a plan in place to thwart any attempts by protesters to postpone their Premier League game with Liverpool for a second time in a fortnight.
Mass protests against the Glazer family ownership of United were carried out by the club’s supporters earlier this month, eventually causing the game to be rearranged for Thursday evening.
As well as the thousands who turned up at Old Trafford, some fans gathered outside the Lowry Hotel in Manchester city centre, where United’s team usually meet up before games.
The team coach was prevented from leaving the hotel for the stadium, eventually leading to the postponement of the game.
In preparation for the rescheduled fixture, the Manchester Evening News report that several of United’s first team players drove themselves directly to Old Trafford six hours before kick-off instead of meeting up at the Lowry.
Two coaches were also said to have been used as decoys, driving to and from the Lowry in an apparent bid to distract any potential protesters.
United played their first home game since the original protest on Tuesday night, when an understrength team lost 2-1 to Leicester City.
Prior to the game, United had erected large fences around parts of the stadium that had still been accessible to the public. There was also a notable police presence around the ground in order to disperse any protesters.
Whereas there were no protests scheduled for Tuesday, there have been suggestions on social media that a follow-up protest would take place around Old Trafford ahead of Thursday’s game – perhaps explaining the plan seemingly being executed by United ahead of kick-off.
