Football can do a lot of things. It can turn completely stable people into emotional wrecks, it can play with our emotions like nothing else, save perhaps a member of the opposite sex. In short, it’s a very powerful thing. One thing it should not do, however, is to change our perspective. Not footballing perspective, [...]
How Patrice Evra has never played the race card and why assumptions are dangerous
Keep This Man Away From Old Trafford
When the trademarked Special One was at Chelsea, I was an advocate of him. No doubt he brought something interesting to the table that other foreign managers simply don’t. Wenger, Benitez and the rest are generally as dull as dishwater. And as much as we already had cause to dislike him for his hop, skip [...]
Desperately Seeking De Gea – How Fans Tie The Noose So Very Quickly
So 90 minutes into his Manchester United career, young Spanish goalkeeping wonderkid David De Gea has ended his spell as MUFC’s number one. At least that’s what some fans would have you believe. Never before has the word ‘howler’ been used out of context in such a short space of time. De Gea’s mistake vs. [...]
WBA v Manchester United in 1961, when ‘kicking-off’ meant something different
‘There are so many very unhappy people around..’ my wife said , her voice tailing off despondently as we watched the TV coverage this week of rioting, looting and arson wrecking lives and destroying communities. As Hilary and I tried to make sense of it all, our mood swung wildly from anger at the wanton [...]
Remembering Dave Gaskell and the best save seen from a United goalie
There can be few more thrilling experiences than watching Manchester United come from being two goals behind at Wembley to beat ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City 3-2 with a last minute winner in the Community Shield. However much City may now try to dismiss the occasion as simply a ‘pre-season warm up’ it’s still a terrific [...]
The Redemption of Eric Cantona: The Double Double of 1995-96 Part III
The day after Manchester United clinched the Premier League title at Middlesbrough’s Riverside stadium it was a Bank Holiday. I spent it strolling nonchalantly in the sun down by the Riverside at Richmond, with my wife and daughter, wearing my old ’92-93 Champions T-shirt. It was a satisfying feeling knowing all that effort and commitment [...]
The Redemption of Eric Cantona: The Double Double of 1995-96 Part II
Cheer Up , Kevin Keegan On course, for United to now go on to win the Double, having secured their place at Wembley, much depended on how Newcastle handled the pressures of the league run-in.And we got a very significant clue only a few days after the semi-finals, in one of the all-time great Premiership [...]
The Redemption of Eric Cantona: The Double Double of 1995-96 Part I
I love it when Manchester United players show an interest in the club’s history. I want my idols to understand what it means and why it’s important, just like a supporter. That’s why Patrice Evra long ago endeared himself, with his immediate immersion in United’s past when he arrived in 2006, getting out books and [...]
Actually, Manchester United have been playing ‘socker’ since at least 1902
It’s sometimes easy to laugh at Yanks. I remember watching a pulsating FA Cup tie at Stamford Bridge in 1995 when Manchester United roared into a miraculous 5-0 lead against Chelsea only to concede three goals in the last twenty minutes, leaving them desperate to hang on for the 5-3 win. As the huge crowd [...]
Forever Young – 1993
1993. The year the youngest of United’s squad breathed their first. Paul Pogba, Sam Johnstone and Ravel Morrison are all younger than Dumb and Dumber (the film, not the Arsenal centre-half pairing). If that doesn’t make you feel old, stop reading this and go tidy your room – I’m not telling you again. I myself [...]
Looking Back – The Rooney Saga
Being a Manchester United fan has obvious benefits. There’s the trophies, the youth system, the stadium, the nice kit, the fact that you’ll never struggle to see a game on television, and the lack of managerial turmoil. And the more of this you have, the easier it gets to take it all for granted – [...]
Football Support and Misplaced Schadenfreude
Football and schadenfreude are frequent bedfellows. The ability to derive pleasure from the misery of others is a genuine component of supporting a football club. You get a kick seeing your rivals doing poorly and when a player you find particularly distasteful encounters misfortune you take pleasure from it. Nothing worthy of getting concerned about; [...]
What If There Isn’t A New Midfielder?
Sir Alex Ferguson has always been tough to predict in the transfer market, he’s capable of securing transfer deals that seemed incredibly unlikely, unexpected, genius, or sometimes, baffling. From Henrik Larsson to Chicharito to Gabriel Obertan and Bébé, there’s usually something from way out in left field. Yet, centre midfield has long since been viewed [...]
The jealousy of victory causes more pain
It’s not defeat that hurts most. The jealousy of victory causes more pain. Longing for what could have been is more poignant than loss. Seeing the joy that you so craved, seeing their players dancing where United players could have done. You lose games, it happens, but rarely after a loss do you see such [...]



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