Manchester United - fighting for organisational legitimacy against citizen power

I am not up in sports PR but it is fascinating to watch the way that Manchester United as an organisation is fighting for its credibility.  Not as a club - only this week it continued to be as successful as ever on the pitch - but its  present ownership structure is rapidly losing credibility in the face of its own fans, wider supporters of football, undoubtedly the sports media as well as the government - all concerned by the high level of debt on its balance sheet.  

It is yet another example - Trafigura was an earlier one - where organisations depend on a "licence to operate" which is not given by the courts or bought in the market but which depends on the way that an organisation engages with its stakeholders and the wider community to earn respect and support. 


It is no longer too far fetched to see that the fans who have no legal power in the ownership of Manchester United as presently structured i.e a private company; may force the Glasers to sell over the next 12/18 months.  Might this be the first Citizens Takeover in a stakeholder age?  Might the concept get an airing in the forthcoming election?