Amid the grievances that have brought fans into the streets in recent weeks there is a yearning to feel something againA lone saxophonist was playing in the sunshine outside Old Trafford on Sunday evening. This was after the tumult, after the crowds had been pushed back, after the police had regained control of the concourse outside the megastore, before the inevitable 0-0 draw between Manchester United and Liverpool had finally been called off. And on another surreal and poignant day in English football, it was possible to hear in those breezy notes a lament for something that had been lost, something that even now might never be recovered.Earlier in the day, by all accounts, the mood had been mutinous, bordering...
The team’s sense of tactical trepidation is a product of the decisions made by the Glazers and Ed WoodwardAccording to reports, the high‑powered meeting between Boris Johnson and Ed Woodward at 10 Downing Street earlier this month was actually a chance encounter that occurred when the two men stumbled across each other in a corridor. Instinctively, this feels about right. After all, these are two men for whom stumbling has been their defining professional technique: over decisions and into positions of immense and unanswerable influence.Who knows what was discussed? Perhaps the prime minister and the Manchester United executive vice-chairman bonded over their apparent shared indifference towards football, and the strain of having to feign otherwise. One thing we are told...
As Tottenham move in while Real Madrid and Barcelona show off their plans, Manchester United’s home – all but untouched under the current owners – looks increasingly tattyThere is a scene in Fawlty Towers when one of the customers is checking out of the hotel and wants to tell Basil how much he has enjoyed his stay. So much, in fact, that he passes on what he thinks is a dead cert for the afternoon race at Exeter and puts a few coins into the tip box on his way to the door. At which point Sybil appears and Basil turns to his wife with a slightly startled expression on his face. “Satisfied customer,” he explains. “We should have him...