'Our roots are Man Utd' – but FC United ethos 'more important than ever'

FC United are hoping for FA Cup success, 21 years after being formed as a supporter-owned club following the Glazer family takeover of Manchester United. FC United of Manchester moved into their Broadhurst Park stadium in 2015 FC United of Manchester striker Adam Le Fondre spent Tuesday lunchtime working with a group of players from the club's academy on a 3G pitch next to the club's 4,900-capacity Broadhurst Park stadium. The dozen lads are probably not going to get anywhere near the Premier League, as Le Fondre once did, but the Northern Premier League club want to try and create a pathway to senior football, while ensuring the teenagers continue in education through their partnership with Manchester College.

Getting to train with the 39-year-old Le Fondre, scorer of more than 300 goals in professional football including 14 in his sole Premier League season, is the kind of community initiative that goes on at non-league clubs across the country. For the people who run FC United, it is a world away from the club they once supported. Just as it is 21 years since the Glazer family bought Manchester United and dropped £600m of debt on the club, it is 21 years since a group of fans decided to stop joining protests against the Americans and instead form their own supporter-owned