Red News Q&A: Supporting fanzines, favourite away trip, Glazers & "bald is best"
A chat with Red News editor Barney Chilton.
Fanzines are an essential part of fan culture. I remember going to games as a kid and picking up issues of Red Issue, United We Stand and Red News. Sure, my eyes were a bit young for some of the content in those mags, but I loved it. An abundance of stories from fans who go above and beyond for Manchester United and follow the team across the globe.
Looking back, I’d argue I got some of my best education from United fanzines. That is why I hate hearing that we could potentially lose another this summer after Red News set up a new campaign welcoming subscribers to help save an important voice for Manchester United fans.
In 2015, Red Issue creased publication because it had enough of modern football. It produced 295 issues over 26 years, often touching a nerve with their satirical takes on United as well as rival clubs.
To ensure we don’t lose another fanzine, I want to invite you all to subscribe to Red News ahead of next season.
Editor and gentleman, Barney Chilton, has answered a number of questions for Stretty News to explain the important of fanzines and more.
Thanks for agreeing to answer a few questions for Stretty News, Barney. I always enjoy our chats even when they are brief. Congratulations on 36 years of RedNews, which has been seen as a critical voice of the fans throughout my lifetime. What inspires you to keep doing what you do as editor of a brilliant fanzine?
Barney: “Er, stubbornness and a fetish for getting soaked for three-quarters of the season! I still love doing it, the content comes in now more than ever which is really good, and with all the changes in the world its nice to have constants of then, here and now - we've sold at over 1130 matches in the same spots, we're still there. We're a visual reminder to the powers that be that we give Reds a voice at games, and we have a community which remains an antidote to a lot of the bullshit around.”
We want our readers to subscribe to Red News to keep it alive for another season. Why should they?
Barney: “That's kind, thanks Dale. Well we know technology is heading towards the short form. So what better way to question that than longer reads! 240 characters can be fun, but there's more to life and Utd than that. And we encourage the diversity that is great and flourishes about Utd. I often say you won't always agree with the content in the mag, as I don't, and that is healthy in a world which seems to only want to listen to its own side of an argument. And this latest mag; a detailed Tom Cleverley interview on his regrets say of TC23, a Utd fan trying to listen to a game on a dodgy radio as he's being shot at, whilst Pete Shaw rants about everything. It's like Utd fans, an eclectic mix. We're not afraid to ask difficult questions nor take the piss out of everything, including ourselves.”
At a time we could see another takeover at Manchester United, with geopolitics at a forefront, how important is Red News and, of course, United We Stand?
Barney: “I think fanzines should prod and poke; ask the difficult questions. I don't think Reds or readers would want anything else. We've shone a light on the background and practices of the owners for 18 long years, on information that wasn't elsewhere, and we'll continue to do that, whatever the future. We're a fanzine!”
Who is the one player you wish had joined United but never did?
Barney: “Hmm tough ones. Lineker, Butcher, even a goalkeeper like Shilton at one point. Ronaldinho of course, Benzema. But just for the romance and the style he represented, I always loved being linked with Batistuta.”
Favourite away trip?
Barney: “I loved the days out at Coventry in the 80s and Nottingham remains a great one. I love when there is a bit of needle about. Even that time at Leicester when we turned all their songs back at them. Villa Park for an FA Cup Semi Final though; that's what it was all about.”
Red News recently did an interview with Tom Cleverley. Who has been your favourite United player to interview?
Barney: “The ones with Fergie were always a bit time limited and in a rush so though obviously a pinnacle they were never a proper sit down - so I'd say Vidic. We had 20 minutes allocated but got an hour. Nothing was off the table and he opened up brilliantly about his football and personal life and was a gent.”
How optimistic are you about the Glazers selling up?
Barney: “I won't believe it until we actually see it. That they will potentially walk off with billions each does temper the what will still be great celebrations as they have been a blight on the soul and history of this great club. We warned what their financial structure could do to the club and here it now is. Still playing card games just to keep things just about even, and the debt nearly, STILL, a billion. It was, is and will always be an awful period of ownership which derailed the football side as many feared.”
Erik ten Hag seems alright, doesn’t he?
Barney: “Bald is best. There will be further tight squeezes and wobbles but he exudes a confidence that he can handle anything. We needed a modern day football obsessive whose only vice is cycling without a bike helmet and we've caught up with the modern game. I hope he gets to stay a very long time to build a Utd in his image.”
Favourite away day story?
Barney: “Printable, are you mad?! I do think those looks in '99 with the people I loved, and sadly a few who are now lost, will always be the moment I stumble back to. Delirium, tears of joy, it was primal of every MUFC journey made together over decades. Turin '99 with all sorts of missiles being thrown towards us and Roy Keane just saying 'I'm having this game', the Fergie last game. But Utd is always about what comes next so there's so many more stories (write them for the mag, Reds!) being made, and great to see so many younger Reds coming through. Forest away in the Semi Final was a great night, and I was in some dodgy bar at 3am just like the old days talking shite about MUFC with Reds from all over. Something so simple, is so reassuringly brilliant.”
If you could sign one player in the summer, who is it?
Barney: “Harry Kane. He could do a Van Persie, but for longer than a year and he'll solve the issue of say like today having 25 chances vs Everton and only scoring twice. He's at a stage where he'll be desperate for silverware, times perfectly with Erik's Utd wanting more in its second season. We might, just might, see some scaffolding in May if we got him... (Utd is about dreaming after all).”
Where do you stand on the whole new stadium/redevelop Old Trafford debate?
Barney: “For me OT always has the romance, just seeing it as you come from whatever route... but football will not be about the likes of me in 20-30 years, it'll be about a generation who want mod cons. And modern stadiums are putting a lot of what OT offers to the shade. The leaking roofs are just laughable really. But with proper backing and planning, why not do a Spurs and build in the same space, give or take a few inches. Where there is a will, build it and they will come, etc, etc anything is possible and OT has had many redevelopments, so someone with a vision do it at long last.”
How close is this team from being title contenders?
Barney: “A Harry Kane. Another midfielder. And a better right-back who can defend and attack (not that the two this season have let us down, and improved dramatically), just think we need the finished article there. Antony second season will be better, Garnacho looks the real deal. We have hope come the ending of a season and not dread which feels lovely!”