Singing For England?
“Did you cheer, did you cheer, did you cheer when Beckham scored?” we would sing to opposition fans following David Beckham’s transformation from villain to hero in the eyes of England fans. After his sending off in the World Cup 1998 he was given an awful time in this country, with effigies of him being...
Singing For England?
“Did you cheer, did you cheer, did you cheer when Beckham scored?” we would sing to opposition fans following David Beckham’s transformation from villain to hero in the eyes of England fans. After his sending off in the World Cup 1998 he was given an awful time in this country, with effigies of him being...
When They Were 25…
Red News celebrated its 25th anniversary this month, which is quite an incredible feat, and Sir Alex Ferguson wrote a letter to them to mark the occasion. As part of the special edition of the fanzine, I wrote an article looking at some well known Manchester United players in their 25th year… Roy Keane –...
When They Were 25…
Red News celebrated its 25th anniversary this month, which is quite an incredible feat, and Sir Alex Ferguson wrote a letter to them to mark the occasion. As part of the special edition of the fanzine, I wrote an article looking at some well known Manchester United players in their 25th year… Roy Keane –...
When They Were 25…
Red News celebrated its 25th anniversary this month, which is quite an incredible feat, and Sir Alex Ferguson wrote a letter to them to mark the occasion. As part of the special edition of the fanzine, I wrote an article looking at some well known Manchester United players in their 25th year… Roy Keane –...
Stand up if you hate Man U – Manchester United against the world
Following United’s game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season, a match report appeared in the London Evening Standard. The opening paragraphs did not mention the score or the man of the match or anything to do with the tactics, instead they focussed on our fans’ most popular chant at the time. What’s the most...
STATS: City and Chelsea Prove Success Isn’t Just Bought
For years, rival fans claimed that Manchester United “bought” their success. Unlike Liverpool, we took advantage of our big name globally, cashed in nicely on the Sky Sports money, exploited fans with regular new shirts and merchandise, so we had money to burn in the transfer market. We broke the British transfer record in 1981...
Olympic Spirit: the amateurs who played for Manchester United
These days it would normally be a term of abuse to call a Manchester United footballer ‘an amateur’, but it wasn’t always so. Sometimes it’s simply been a statement of fact, albeit applying to less than a dozen players in United’s history from the 1880s to the 1960s. Thoughts about this select band who pulled...
RoM Reaction To “The Handshake”
The fuss about handshakes is all the rage at the moment, after the FA cancelled the pre-match handshake between Chelsea and QPR following rumours that Anton Ferdinand’s teammates would all be willing the snub John Terry’s hand. Last weekend we had more fuss, with speculation then suggesting that Rio Ferdinand wouldn’t shake Terry’s hand in...
Wall hits Fan: Manchester United Star Does A ‘Cantona’… 100 Years Ago
When Eric Cantona of Manchester United did his amazing Kung-fu kick on an obnoxious Crystal Palace supporter seventeen years ago this month, I was there. By chance I was also an eye-witness thirty-five years earlier when United’s goalkeeper Harry Gregg spectacularly whacked a spectator at Luton Town in April, 1960, knocking him to the ground. That coincidence meant...
Don’t Treat Welbeck Like Wes… Give Him The Deal
Wes Brown was repeatedly given a hard time by Sir Alex Ferguson when it came time for contract negotiations. In October 2004 the club had offered Brown what they believed to be a reasonable deal and weren’t prepared to budge. “We’ve made the boy an offer and he’s turned it down,” said Ferguson. “It’s his...
When Arsenal beat Manchester United 5-2 in 1960, was the match ‘fixed’?
I was lucky when I first used to go to Manchester United matches, over fifty years ago. Although the team was in the painful early stages of recovery from the Munich Air Crash they still often managed to play wonderfully expressive football in keeping with the finest traditions of the club.Take this description of United’s quicksilver style, written by ex-1930s Arsenal star Bernard Joy...
