Hate Man Utd

A quick blog post today to draw attention to the potential of Man Utd winning nothing this season, a topic I’ve seen no mention of in the media. Wigan draw at home with Man utd on the last day of the season and Chelsea win against Bolton. Then Chelsea beat Man Utd in the Euro Cup final.

 The reporting of Manchester United games is often biased and is bound to be a topic frequently visited on this blog. It is particularly annoying to see Manchester United reffered to as “United” in match reports when they are playing another team with “United” in their name. Take for example the game against West Ham United, below are some quotes from the match reviews where the singular word ”United” is used in relation to Manchester United and not West Ham United.  

BBC website: ”The victory means United will retain the title with victory at Wigan next Sunday.

Sky Sports: ”The United midfielder head-butted Lucas Neill as the duo tangled on the edge of the West Ham box.”

The Guardian: “United found themselves numerically disadvantaged.”

News of the World: “The United faithful roared their approval and saluted skipper Rio Ferdinand and his side.”

Daily Mail: “United will wrap it up if they win at Wigan next Sunday.”

Telegraph: “Senseless piece of violence like the butt on Lucas Neill by Nani which condemned United to play with 10 men.”

I’d like to see comments from supporters of teams with United in their name!

The dictionary definition of United is: To join, combine, or incorporate so as to form a single whole or unit. As Manchester has another team (i.e. Manchester City) the team name of “Manchester United” when analysed makes no sense! 

Why is it Manchester United fans that don’t come from Manchester feel they can support Manchester United? It is mainly because they are insecure in some way and gain reassurance from being able to tell their friends that “their team won”. In so doing they have ignored their birth right to support their local team. This is fundamentally bad for the grassroots of football - essentially the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

 The individual misses out on going to games (99.9% of Man Utd fans have never been to Old Trafford) and the social benefits that go with it, preferring instead to sit and watch TV. Supporting your birth right team through thick and thin means that the emotional highs are higher than those of a Manchester United fan as they have no real association at an emotional level. For example, it would not be unreasonable to hear comments from a Man Utd fan along the lines of “We had a poor season, we only won the FA cup, came second in the league and lost in the semis of the Champions League”. Where as a supporter of a lower league team could gain more personal pleasure from winning in the 3rd round of the FA cup against Premier League opposition.