I'll expand on last night.
For various reasons - upbringing, friends and family, etc. - I've not actually hated United since we started getting good enough to beat them. The last time I remember saying "I hate United" out loud was after the Rooney overhead kick in 2011. A few weeks later we beat them in the FA Cup semi-final and I called them "fucking red twats" after we'd won the game, but I was high on adrenaline and was so stressed during those 90 mins that I gave myself a migraine. Since then (roughly), they've been more of an inconvenience every few months of the season but have never really troubled my thinking. Ever since Moyes came in I've not really found much about them to hate.
But these last two weeks have got under my skin a little, I'll admit. The amount of United shirts I'm suddenly seeing on the streets again (even from before the pandemic); the amount of "United fans" I've met post-Ferguson who never said a word to me about football but are suddenly filling up their Facebook and Instagram feeds with pictures of Ronaldo; the United fans who've insisted they were "falling out of love with the game" but have come back in droves since Ronaldo signed. I feel really sorry for the people who protested at Old Trafford and Carrington, and who've been boycotting United for years (they do exist), because ever since Ronaldo came back the gullible idiots have lined up like the good consumers they are to buy "Ronaldo 7" shirts.
I've had to listen for weeks as pundits and commentators have: a) ignored the very credible rape allegations against him and in some cases have tried to pretend they don't even exist, b) have argued for the 3pm blackout to be removed because "the people deserve to see the return of Ronaldo", c) have disregarded all available evidence to insist that Ronaldo will be the difference in the title race this year, and d) have made tweets like this. I'm sure there are other things that have irritated me these past few weeks but those are just four examples I can think of right now. I don't hate United -- they're just a football team -- but when pundits talk about them like they're some special case it really does my head in. It's the same when pundits like to get all romantic and sentimental about Liverpool and Barcelona as well.
Throughout all the Ronaldo homecoming hysteria I've been quietly biting my tongue, knowing that, with Solskjaer at the helm, they'll still never get close to winning a thing. Ronaldo isn't a magic bullet just like he wasn't for Juventus -- especially when they've got Olé in the dugout and Fred in midfield. Their squad isn't deep enough, they've neglected crucial areas that badly needed improving, and his transfer actually typifies their short-termism that's cost them so dearly basically ever since Mourinho came in. Their only answer to the question "How do United get back to the top?" is simply "We need to be more like MANCHESTER YANITED", but what does that even mean? Well, apparently it means have Ferguson as a board member, have a former Ferguson acolyte as manager, and a Ferguson-era legend as your star player - oh, and keep your youth team players for as long as possible, even if they're not good enough, "because it's what we did under Ferguson".
So forgive me for chuckling when they threw it away last night. They're a good side with big limitations, nothing more.
For various reasons - upbringing, friends and family, etc. - I've not actually hated United since we started getting good enough to beat them. The last time I remember saying "I hate United" out loud was after the Rooney overhead kick in 2011. A few weeks later we beat them in the FA Cup semi-final and I called them "fucking red twats" after we'd won the game, but I was high on adrenaline and was so stressed during those 90 mins that I gave myself a migraine. Since then (roughly), they've been more of an inconvenience every few months of the season but have never really troubled my thinking. Ever since Moyes came in I've not really found much about them to hate.
But these last two weeks have got under my skin a little, I'll admit. The amount of United shirts I'm suddenly seeing on the streets again (even from before the pandemic); the amount of "United fans" I've met post-Ferguson who never said a word to me about football but are suddenly filling up their Facebook and Instagram feeds with pictures of Ronaldo; the United fans who've insisted they were "falling out of love with the game" but have come back in droves since Ronaldo signed. I feel really sorry for the people who protested at Old Trafford and Carrington, and who've been boycotting United for years (they do exist), because ever since Ronaldo came back the gullible idiots have lined up like the good consumers they are to buy "Ronaldo 7" shirts.
I've had to listen for weeks as pundits and commentators have: a) ignored the very credible rape allegations against him and in some cases have tried to pretend they don't even exist, b) have argued for the 3pm blackout to be removed because "the people deserve to see the return of Ronaldo", c) have disregarded all available evidence to insist that Ronaldo will be the difference in the title race this year, and d) have made tweets like this. I'm sure there are other things that have irritated me these past few weeks but those are just four examples I can think of right now. I don't hate United -- they're just a football team -- but when pundits talk about them like they're some special case it really does my head in. It's the same when pundits like to get all romantic and sentimental about Liverpool and Barcelona as well.
Throughout all the Ronaldo homecoming hysteria I've been quietly biting my tongue, knowing that, with Solskjaer at the helm, they'll still never get close to winning a thing. Ronaldo isn't a magic bullet just like he wasn't for Juventus -- especially when they've got Olé in the dugout and Fred in midfield. Their squad isn't deep enough, they've neglected crucial areas that badly needed improving, and his transfer actually typifies their short-termism that's cost them so dearly basically ever since Mourinho came in. Their only answer to the question "How do United get back to the top?" is simply "We need to be more like MANCHESTER YANITED", but what does that even mean? Well, apparently it means have Ferguson as a board member, have a former Ferguson acolyte as manager, and a Ferguson-era legend as your star player - oh, and keep your youth team players for as long as possible, even if they're not good enough, "because it's what we did under Ferguson".
So forgive me for chuckling when they threw it away last night. They're a good side with big limitations, nothing more.
