Manchester United v Brighton PL match programme, 25.09.25

MANCHESTER UNITED 25/26 HOME JERSEY

RUBEN AMORIM

Good afternoon and welcome back to Old Trafford.

Last weekend’s victory over Liverpool was for our fans; you really deserve that result for all of the support you have given to us.

We are capable of improving the overall performance level that we showed last Sunday but I was really happy with the spirit and composure from the team throughout the game. We must now back up that result and continue to maintain that approach and high standards every week.

We took confidence from our win at Anfield but I was really pleased with how quickly the group turned its attention, and showed the right focus and determination, to prepare for today’s game.

As we welcome Fabian Hurzeler and Brighton & Hove Albion to Old Trafford, we must continue to be all about action, and that starts with maintaining the right spirit and attitude.

“WE MUST CONTINUE TO BE ALL ABOUT ACTION, AND THAT STARTS WITH MAINTAINING THE RIGHT SPIRIT AND ATTITUDE”

manchester united football club ltd

CO-CHAIRMEN Joel Glazer, Avram Glazer DIRECTORS Bryan Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Edward Glazer, Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, Michael Edelson, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Gill CBE, Omar Berrada, Sir Dave Brailsford SECRETARY Rebecca Britain HONORARY PRESIDENT Martin Edwards

OLD TRAFFORD: 5.30pm

Still buzzing with last weekend’s Anfield heroics? Well, this afternoon it’s time to focus on the visit of Brighton and building momentum on matchday nine of our Premier League campaign…

The scenes last Sunday evening, as players and fans celebrated together in a jubilant corner of Anfield, were ones to savour. Our superb 2-1 victory over Arne Slot’s Liverpool – on our 100th visit to play them at their home – was hailed by many as the finest result of Ruben Amorim’s Reds reign so far.

The boss agreed and, as you’d expect, was full of praise for his players afterwards while expressing how good it felt to start repaying the fans’ loyalty with such a big result. However, our Portuguese head coach was also quick to stress where his next priorities lay, telling MUTV: “Let’s enjoy this win but focus on what we have to improve to win against Brighton.”

That Anfield success made it two straight league wins following victory over Sunderland before the last international break, bringing a real buzz around Carrington this week. There’s also a steely determination to build on it today, with minds especially sharp given the clear awareness of the threat Brighton pose, having won six of our last seven top-flight meetings. The Seagulls have enjoyed plenty of recent success at Old Trafford (see opposite) and arrive buoyed by their own impressive result. A day before our triumph on Merseyside, Albion beat Newcastle 2-1 at the Amex thanks to a brace from Danny Welbeck – the former United striker’s second goal being an 84th-minute winner.

There’s been no shortage of positives from our last couple of performances, though the Reds know better than anyone how quickly fortunes can flip in this division. Brighton can vouch for that too. Fabian Hurzeler’s side downed Manchester City earlier this season – a memorable comeback win that came between two less fruitful trips to Everton and Bournemouth, their only defeats so far. They entered the weekend just a point and a place behind United in the table. All of which adds to the anticipation around today’s clash – as does the vibrant atmosphere expected inside Old Trafford after last weekend’s uplifting result. As always, our home support has the potential to be decisive – so let’s turn up the volume and get right behind the lads!

Buoyed by last Sunday’s triumph on Merseyside, the Reds enter today’s fixture determined to extend our winning run

With five goals, Bruno Fernandes is our all-time top scorer against the Seagulls. Our captain – poised to make his 300th United appearance today (see page 75) – rolled home a penalty in last season’s corresponding fixture here and has either netted or assisted seven of our last 15 league goals in clashes with Brighton.

Here’s one for the visiting fans... Brighton have won each of their last three Premier League away games against United – a run that Ruben’s Reds will be keen to stop today. The last side to win more consecutive league visits to Old Trafford were Manchester City with five straight victories – a very long time ago! (1968-1972).

Ending Brighton’s recent run here is just one aim from today’s contest

Mbeumo was quick out the blocks at Anfield (and what a celebration in front of the Kop)

That’s how many seconds had elapsed when Bryan Mbeumo put us ahead at Liverpool – the top-flight’s fastest goal so far in the eight weeks of 2025/26. Only narrowly did it miss out on joining our eight Premier League efforts that were scored in the first minute, the quickest remaining Ryan Giggs’s 16-second opener against Southampton (home) in 1995.

UNITED v BRIGHTON IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE BRIGHTON WINS 50%

UNITED WINS 50%

30 PLAYED 16

After today’s encounter, it will be 30 days until Amorim’s men are back on home soil, with trips to Nottingham Forest and Spurs to follow before November’s international break. Everton’s visit, on Monday 24 November (8pm), feels some time away, so we should probably take the opportunity to make the most of this M16 matchday!

There’s nowhere else we’d rather be today than this place...

In case you missed it... United Review recaps all the latest news from in and around Old Trafford

Remembering Jon Humble...

The club was very saddened to receive news that our former kit man, Jon Humble, has passed away after a short illness, aged just 44. Jon was with us for six years until August 2025, predominantly as United Women kit lead, and a much-loved presence. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this deeply sad time.

BELIEF

IN BRUNO FROM THE SPOT

Ahead of last weekend’s victory at Anfield, Ruben Amorim confirmed that captain Bruno Fernandes will remain first-team penalty taker, despite failures from the spot against Fulham and Brentford earlier this season. “I think he [Bruno] has 70 penalties, and he misses, like, nine,” said Amorim.

“He’s really confident… I’m fully confident that Bruno will sort that out.”

December fixture changes

The times and dates of four United Premier League matches have been changed, due to the latest round of broadcast selections. Two fixtures at Old Trafford are affected: our home game against West Ham will now take place on Thursday 4 December (8pm), and the Bournemouth match is now on Monday 15 December (8pm). Our trip to Wolves is also on a Monday (8 December, 8pm) while our away game at Aston Villa has moved

MUW flying in Europe

United Women have made a perfect start to the club’s first full Champions League campaign, recording two victories and two clean sheets so far. Maya Le Tissier’s penalty was enough to earn victory against Valerenga at Leigh Sports Village on matchday one, and a stunning volley from Fridolina Rolfo ensured the same result against Atletico in Madrid on 16 October. The girls are also handily placed in the Women’s Super League: after six games, we lie third, just two points off early leaders Chelsea, who are the only other side that are unbeaten. Turn to p68 for a full round-up from Marc Skinner’s Reds.

teen leon’s senior bow for Paraguay

Summer signing Diego Leon made his senior international bow for Paraguay during the international break, coming on for the last 10 minutes in his country’s 2-0 defeat to South Korea. The 18-year-old had been an unused substitute in the preceding game against Japan. Leon joined the Reds in the last transfer window, from his boyhood club Cerro Porteno, and appeared for United’s senior team during pre-season. Congratulations, Diego!

SHARE YOUR OPINIONS ON OUR

STADIUM

Have you completed the club’s new fan survey on the future of Old Trafford? The club announced its vision to build a stadium in March, and has now moved into the latest phase of consultation, where supporters are invited to share their views on a range of options. The survey is for all match-going supporters and is open until 11.59pm on Thursday 6 November – simply scan the code below to share your views:

The first of our summer additions, Leon’s senior international call-up shows how highly he is rated

The Reds celebrate Rolfo’s winner in Madrid to register successive 1-0 wins in Europe

club MAG hits 400!

The landmark 400th edition of our club magazine, Inside United, is out now. To mark this milestone moment, the team have put together a special collectors’ edition which celebrates the magazine’s story since its launch in 1992. Inside, the mag features some classic content from years gone by and fantastic anecdotes from former staff members, with tales of Sir Alex, Beckham, Rooney and others that you won’t have heard anywhere else. It is also the last issue before the magazine’s transition from a monthly publication to a quarterly one. Get your copy from one of the kiosks around Old Trafford today!

U21 s beaten AT Barnsley

Our young Reds were beaten 5-2 at Oakwell on Tuesday night, in our second EFL Trophy game of the season. Jack Fletcher helped us make the perfect start by netting with a deflected effort in just the seventh minute, but David McGoldrick’s penalty brought the hosts level. The striker netted two more shortly after the break, either side of a Chido Obi goal, to make it 3-2, and Jack Fletcher’s red card just after the hour mark further hampered the Reds. Two more Barnsley goals made it a slightly flattering 5-2, but it was another great experience for Travis Binnion’s team.

RIP, Jimmy Nicholson

We were sad to learn that former United midfielder Jimmy Nicholson passed away on Saturday 4 October, at the age of 82. Born in Belfast, Jimmy moved to Manchester United in the late ’50s and made his debut in August 1960 against Everton. He scored his first goal the following week, in another match against Everton, and went on to make a total of 68 first-team appearances and net six goals. In 1964, he moved to Huddersfield, where he would lead the Terriers to the 1969/70 Second Division title as captain. He also won 41 caps for Northern Ireland. We send our condolences to all Jimmy’s friends and family at this sad time.

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Although he saw his side go down in midweek, Binnion will have welcomed the tough test against League One opposition. See p70 for more

Nicholson spent three seasons with Busby’s Reds

laSt home fixT ure...

It’s three weeks since we were last together here at the Theatre of Dreams – and that was a satisfying afternoon against Sunderland…

Having suffered a disappointing defeat at Brentford in the previous game – stifling any momentum from the preceding victory over Chelsea – it felt doubly important to take a win from the home match against Sunderland just before the international break. For the three precious Premier League points, of course, but also to respond to that setback against the Bees and to go into the break buoyed and in good spirits.

A commanding first-half display – at the end of which Ruben Amorim’s men headed to the dressing room with a lead of two goals that could have been four

or five – ensured that was exactly what happened, with United having too much in all departments for Regis Le Bris’ Premier League newcomers.

That said, it was the Black Cats who fired the first shot in this Saturday 3pm encounter, Simon Adingra escaping down the left to set up an inviting near-post opportunity that Bertrand Traore could not get a true contact on. The flag went up, but there may well have been a VAR investigation had the Burkina Faso forward converted the chance.

Soon, though, the Reds were in their stride. For a second Old Trafford match

in a row, an early goal – that priceless commodity – gave both players and spectators a timely lift. In the eighth minute, after good build-up down the right, Bryan Mbeumo’s ball in picked out Mason Mount, who brought it down neatly with his left foot and then converted cleverly with his right from just inside the area to give the Reds the advantage. It was an advantage United enthusiastically pressed. Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs was forced to make three good saves, one each from Amad and Mbeumo cutting in and shooting from the right, and the best

The Reds celebrate racing into an eighth-minute lead courtesy of Mount’s smartly converted strike

“We didn’t play well all the game, but we had moments and defended well. It was a good day, not a perfect day, but to win like this with a clean sheet is important for our team”

of them from Bruno Fernandes’s cutely measured clip towards the top corner, which Roefs feathered superbly onto the bar to deny Bruno goal number 101 for the Reds.

United were particularly dangerous down the right with the running and interplay of Amad and Mbeumo, and that was where the second goal eventually emanated from.

The supporting Leny Yoro helped win a throw near the corner flag, which Dalot launched long into the box.

Sunderland’s Nordi Mukiele was the highest head among several that went up, but unfortunately for him could only flick the ball across goal, where

manchester united 2

MOUNT 8, SESKO 31

Sunderland 0

04 OCT 2025 | 3PM | OLD TRAFFORD

United XI: Lammens; Yoro (Maguire 85), De Ligt, Shaw; Amad, Casemiro (Ugarte 85), Fernandes, Dalot (Dorgu 64); Mbeumo (Mainoo 77), Mount (Cunha 65); Sesko

– RUBEN AMORIM

Benjamin Sesko (below) was lurking in the danger area and quickest to react, neatly steering the ball home.

The Reds could have added more in the second period – Mbeumo and Casemiro both miscued from presentable shooting positions, and Cunha went close with a header – but any disappointment on that front was tempered by the clean sheet that was kept intact by some solid and focused defending against the game Wearsiders. That included one notable confidence-boosting save from goalkeeper Senne Lammens, on his debut, keeping out a Chemsdine Talbi shot from the inside-left channel well with his legs.

A good afternoon’s work winning, and singing, in the Manchester rain.

Unused subs: Bayindir, Heaven, Leon, Zirkzee

Booked: Casemiro

Yoro advances with the ball as he supports our attack

The Wearsiders were kept busy by Mbeumo’s darting runs, while Lammens (left) impressed on his Reds debut, the Belgian finishing the league contest with a clean sheet

Two games, One Passion

From Old Trafford’s colour to the roar of the Anfield away end, United fans have shown their loyal backing in our last two Premier League matches – and been rewarded with a pair of victories to celebrate…

Fans in the Stretford End display banners of support ahead of our last home match, against Sunderland on 4 October – a day when we’d enjoy a comfortable 2-0 win

The array of flags displaying slogans from the past and present – also praising former and current Reds – have been a wonderful addition to home matchdays this season

These fan-led displays, organised by The Red Army, have turned Old Trafford into a sea of colour as kick-off approaches, with plenty of defiant messages of support for Ruben Amorim and the players

Manchester’s coat of arms, a tribute to George Best, and words of an anthem... The Red Army’s many banners are creative and inspiring

Ruben has his game face on, but always makes a point of praising the backing shown to his team

Sunday service: United fans in the Anfield away end make themselves heard ahead of English football’s biggest fixture

Liverpool away is regarded as the ultimate challenge for a United team, and Amorim’s men were a tight unit in our thrilling 2-1 victory on Merseyside last weekend

Heroes of yore: From the ‘Flowers of Manchester’ (the Busby Babes) to fellow academy graduates like David Beckham, Red legends are visually celebrated

Reds even got

Oh, what fun it is to see United win away! For the first time since 2016, United fans revel in victory in L4

In it together: at the end of our 100th visit to Anfield to play Liverpool, fans and players share some deserved mutual appreciation

United’s travelling fans made plenty of noise at the home of our biggest rivals – and left with even more to shout about thanks to Harry Maguire’s winner!

Some

dressed up for the biggest occasion on the English football calendar. Nice tie!

I try always to give energy to my team-mates

His shirt number may have changed this season (from 20 to 2) but Diogo Dalot remains as dedicated as ever to maintaining positivity as the Reds aim to climb the Premier League table...

Earlier this season we saw you celebrating our win against Chelsea, a game you missed through injury. Was that a glimpse of what you’re like when watching football – like a fan in the stands?

Yeah, I mean it’s tough to be on the outside. You suffer a bit more sometimes than when you’re inside [the pitch], as you cannot help your team-mates. You see the effort that they were putting in and the amount of quality in the game, and then winning the game. It was important, and you could feel the atmosphere was really good.

That’s how we want Old Trafford to be –all together, helping us over the line…

I think it’s special for us, this season, to build this connection with the fans – trying to every time, every team that comes to Old Trafford, making it really tough to play against us. And to build that fortress that I think that we can.

You’re one of our senior players now. Have you noticed the togetherness is better this season? There seems to be much spirit within the squad… I think it’s something you can always improve. When the results are not there, that’s where you can relate to it and it’s on your team-mate, too, trying to build that connection. But not just

team-mates but the staff at the club, also the fans. Sometimes it is that energy that puts you back on track again and pushes you up. So that’s something we can definitely work on and there is always space for improvement. We can be an even better team. We have very good characters inside the dressing room, to also create this dynamic in the group. It’s important for us to keep always trying to find ways of getting better.

How does the mood get lifted after a game when things haven’t gone our way? In the week when you come back here, when we have full weeks now to prepare, is it individuals, is it the staff? It’s a combination. First and foremost, it has to come from you. You need to find that energy and way of trying to come here and change things, especially when the results are not the way we want. But then the dynamic of the group is really important. The connections you build, even with staff, to help you to go to these moments where, sometimes, it is difficult to go. But, at the same time, it has to put you really quickly back on track because that is the standard of the club. There’s no looking back. It’s just trying to look to the next game and find the best way to win the game. That is the ultimate pressure and the ultimate standard

This season we’re going up from 128 to

Premier League matches

Carrington is becoming more like our second home... that is the way it should be”

of the club, because it doesn’t matter what you did yesterday. Only the next game matters.

What is it like having to wait a week between games rather than in previous seasons?

I’d say this is a different season because of that. Obviously, when you’re winning, everything looks better. But when you don’t get the results you wanted, the weeks can seem a bit longer. But at the same time, it has to give you more time to recover and feel fresh for the next weekend. What we have to find is that rhythm in the week. We have to focus really well to win the next game.

I think you described Carrington as a home from home; do you like the new complex?

Yes, it’s becoming a bit more like our second home and that’s the way it should be. The players and staff want to be around the place a little bit longer. It’s important because we are, apart from our personal families, the ones where this is like our second home. And if you feel well in your place of work, you will perform better – but this is something that has to come. It’s from inside of you every day to come here and look at this facility as something you should not take for granted because it’s a privilege for you to have the quality of these facilities. I think we have everything here to perform.

Would you describe yourself as quite vocal or one who leads by example?

I think I’m a bit of both. I try always to give energy to team-mates, whether it’s by actions or sometimes words. It depends on the time, the mood. Sometimes, it’s like just trying to find the best moments to do it either way. Ultimately, I try to lead by my actions and the example of what I do every day, and try to learn from my team-mates as well.

You’ve played 50 games in each of your last three seasons. Now that it’s only one game a week, have you had to change your routine at all?

A little bit. When you play every three days, it’s just recovery and play, recovery and play. Now, with training, the routines change in the way you prepare. It is a bit different from last season’s routine because of that, because I was so into that rhythm. I’d say, from the outside, if you reduce the games that should mean you should be physically more available and more up to it. So that is the routine we need to find so we can always be ready, mentally and physically, for the weekend.

A quick word for your team-mate for club and country, Bruno Fernandes, for his 100 goals and 300 games. He continues to lead by example...

Fostering a strong team spirit is an important aspect of getting things right on the pitch, says Diogo, who appreciates the support from his team-mates, staff and the fans

DNow in his eighth season with the

to improve and win

is stronger than ever “I’m looking forward to this game. These are the types of game that challenge you and push you even further”

It’s something that comes naturally to him. I don’t think he came here with those goals on his mind but his quality and consistency shows the player he is – both inside and outside of the pitch. Everybody in the club recognises the effort he puts in and the way he loves the club, and the way he wants the club to succeed. Then the individual recognition, the individual awards, come by itself because of the quality player that he is.

You have some good memories against Brighton – you got a goal down there in an away game against them, and scored a penalty in a shoot-out against them at Wembley, in 2023... They are one of the teams I’ve played most. They’ve been really good in the last couple of seasons, playing good football. So I’m not expecting anything less than that. I’m looking forward to the game. These are the types of game that challenge you and push you even further.

Speaking of shoot-outs… you have a 100 per cent record for penalties at United. Is it something you practise in training?

Every time we have games that are decided by penalties, I try to be always training to be prepared. Then it’s just being available to do it and then focusing on the job. I hope it continues.

We’ve got to ask you about your shirt number change, going to no.2. What was the thinking? It was always my first choice and my favourite number. When I arrived, Victor [Lindelof] was with the no.2 and represented really well that number. So I chose no.20 was because it had the two but also, I was almost 20 at the time – and obviously because of the ‘20 times Man United’ [chant] as well. But this season I felt that it was the time for me to go for that, and I think my aim is to win a lot of things with that number. Hopefully I can.

You’ve been here a good few years now, so you know how to handle the pressure that comes with playing for United – how confident are you that we can get things right this season? I’m always positive about it. I’ve been here for quite a long time now. I’ve been through ups and downs, and the only thing I am 100 per cent sure all the time is that this is a club that finds a way to go up. We are not at the level that this club should be fighting for the Premier League and Champions League, but we always find a way to go up again and fight to win games again. I don’t think it will be anything different. The only thing I can always assure you is that I will try to do everything that I can to be there, to be better, to try to win games, to help my team-mates to be in that position. And then I’m sure that we will get a time where things are going in the right direction and we will be back on track. I’m really positive.

A you say, you’ve been here a long time now – do you feel Mancunian?

Yeah, 100 per cent. I think the city is my home. I said this a couple of times where every time I come here, I feel that I am actually at home. That’s normal when you’ve been here for a long time, that bond I’ve created with the city, with the fans, and with the club. I just feel at home, and I think that there is no better feeling than when you come here and you are feeling at home. ●

Reds, Dalot’s desire

trophies

Brighton & hove albion

The Seagulls have a spring in their step following five games unbeaten in all competitions – and now for a 25th league meeting with the Reds…

KEY DETAILS

Nickname: The Seagulls, The Albion Founded: 1901 Stadium: American Express Community Stadium (capacity 31,876, above) Last season: Premier League, 8th; FA Cup QF; League Cup R4 Top achievements: FA Cup runners-up: 1983 (right); best league finish: 6th, Premier League, 2022/23; Charity Shield winners: 1910

TALKING POINTS

Brighton revel in their self-appointed status as south-coast pound-for-pound contenders that punch well above their weight. Last weekend’s 2-1 victory against Newcastle was their third Premier League win of 2025/26, every one of them coming against teams that qualified for the Champions League last term after come-from-behind triumphs over Manchester City and Chelsea.

What pleased Seagulls head coach Fabian Hurzeler most about Danny Welbeck’s deadly brace seven days ago was his team’s ability to deliver a knockout punch in a contest they were leading on points. Brighton had led Fulham deep into stoppage time on the season’s opening day and were 2-0 up against Spurs in mid-September, but on both occasions were too passive as four points slipped through their fingers.

“I’m very pleased with the performance overall,” said Hurzeler, whose side moved into the top half after beating the Magpies. “We showed resilience, character and personality on the pitch. We stuck to our principles, stayed in our formation, kept the structure and got the rewards.”

SEARCH FOR consistency

Personality, resilience and no little conditioning are key tenets of the German tactician’s upwardly mobile middleweights, who have picked themselves off the canvas to accrue more points from losing positions than any other top-flight team this term.

Even more impressively, the Seagulls bagged each of those seven points with goals scored from the 86th minute onwards. They sensed blood against City and were rewarded with Brajan Gruda’s winner with a minute to go, they took advantage of a tiring 10-man Chelsea to win 3-1 thanks to two stoppage-time goals, and had Jan Paul van Hecke’s header to thank for the 1-1 draw with Wolves.

At their best as reactive counterpunchers, if Brighton can find more consistency against teams that seek to frustrate their high-pressing fury in a low block – Everton’s 2-0 win against them being a case in point – then European qualification is a realistic target for owner Tony Bloom’s successful numbersbased approach.

“We showed resilience, character and personality on the pitch”

– Head coach Hurzeler after the win against Newcastle

Last weekend’s win against Newcastle moved Brighton back into the top half

Finding value in young talents from across South America and Europe –such as midfielder Brajan Gruda – remains the Brighton way

tactics board

Brighton selected Hurzeler to succeed Roberto De Zerbi at the start of last season to ensure intensity in perpetuity in Sussex. What they also got was a streamlined tactical approach – gone is the regular dalliance with a back three, in favour of Hurzeler’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.

Yankuba Minteh operates on either wing depending on his coach’s desire for out-to-in unpredictability on the right, or byline-attacking speed followed by swift crosses on the left.

After late September’s four-goal haul against Barnsley in the League Cup, Diego Gomez had often featured as a high-pressing no.10 – it was his intensity that forced Trevoh Chalobah’s game-changing red card against Chelsea – but the Paraguayan’s injury last weekend means Georginio Rutter is likely to play off in-form forward

Welbeck. It was the Frenchman’s ability to take the ball in his stride in between Newcastle’s lines and well-weighted through ball that set up Welbeck’s opener. Kaoru Mitoma and Brajan Gruda are approaching fitness and represent other creative options.

Finding that central creator with line-breaking passes is vital, a role in which Yasin Ayari’s light-touch promptings are increasingly prominent since Jack Hinshelwood’s knee injury a month ago. Ayari, who scored a fine goal in the 2-2 draw with Spurs, complements Carlos Baleba’s muscularity in front of a back four led by club captain Lewis Dunk and the impressive van Hecke. Mats Wieffer, right-back in Joel Veltman’s injury-enforced absence, also tends to drift centrally to protect against counterattacks.

recent STARTING XI

GOALKEEPERS

PLAYER

DEFENDERS

PLAYER

MIDFIELDERS

PLAYER AGE NATION

Solly

head coach

FABIAN HURZELER

The 32-year-old tactician may be younger than four Brighton first-teamers, but he hasn’t struggled to instil his visceral, promotion-winning high press from his St Pauli team since the move from Germany to Sussex in June 2024. Such zeal to chase and disrupt are central to his philosophy, one which is increasingly establishing Hurzeler as one of Europe’s brightest coaching minds.

FORWARDS

PLAYER

25 YEARS CHAMPIONING GRASSROOTS

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Red-hot wide man

YANKUBA MINTEH

Whether cutting in from the right or overlapping down the left to deliver inch-perfect crosses, the 21-year-old winger is living up to his £30m fee. The pacy, direct Gambia international bagged 12 goal involvements in a breakthrough 2024/25, with a further three to his name this season – against Tottenham in September he won the ball back on the edge of his own box, then sped onto Georginio Rutter’s through ball to score in a trademark blend of industry and end product. Previously with Newcastle, the Magpies loaned him to Feyenoord in 2023/24 prior to his switch to the south coast.

Blond ambition

JAN PAUL VAN HECKE

The fiercely competitive 25-year-old Dutchman, signed for a bargain £3m from NAC Breda in September 2020, has become a central cog in the high-pressing Brighton machine. A highly mobile centre-back who dominates in the air as much as with his feet when bringing the ball forward out of defence, van Hecke has led the Premier League progressive carrying distance metric for the past 18 months and has started 41 of boss Hurzeler’s 46 Premier League games in charge. After making his senior Netherlands bow last year, he now has seven caps to his name.

in-form former red

DANNY WELBECK

Having already opened the scoring against Newcastle with a delicious dinked finish, Welbeck was about to be replaced when he swept home from the edge of the area for a fourth goal in his last three games that sealed a 2-1 victory over the Magpies. Fourth on the all-time list of Premier League substitute goals after a brace at Chelsea, the 34-year-old has struck more times per 90 minutes in his thirties (0.36) than in any decade since his Premier League debut 17 years ago – for United against Stoke at Old Trafford, when he scored our fourth in a 5-0 win.

9

This is Brighton’s ninth consecutive season in the top flight – comfortably a club record, beating their four campaigns in the old First Division between 1979 and 1983.

8TH

Last season’s eighth-placed finish was the Seagulls’ second-best campaign in their 124-year history, following the 2022/23 season, in which they finished sixth to qualify for Europe for the first time.

6-0

Next Wednesday sees Brighton continue their Carabao Cup campaign, having made quite the start: successive 6–0 away wins, at Oxford, then Barnsley. They’ll do well to continue that sequence, though: next up is Arsenal (away).

FIRST, LAST AND ONE IN BETWEEN

United’s first encounter with Brighton, in January 1909, proved to be the start of another famous Reds first; our maiden FA Cup title four months later would have been impossible without a backs-to-the-wall 1-0 win at our old Bank Street home in front of 8,300 fans.

One of 15 non-league sides given byes into the first round proper and well set up by future United boss John Robson, the Seagulls fought manfully after Harold Halse gave the reigning First Division champions the lead on the half-hour.

The visitors even pushed hard for a late equaliser after Billy Meredith’s 75th-minute sending off after he ‘so far forgot himself as to kick the knee of Brighton’s Stewart’ according to a match report.

Nearly 84 years to the day later, in January 1993 (we’ll skip the 1983 FA Cup final meetings, which you probably know all about!), another FA Cup tie pitted top-flight United against

third-tier Brighton. There, the visitors gave a good account of themselves, despite another 1-0 Reds win. The Seagulls edged the first half, with follicly challenged 35-year-old former Chelsea winger Clive Walker impressing down the left flank. “Our game plan was to deny them space and play them on the break,” said boss Barry Lloyd at full-time, “and there were two or three balls across the box we might just have got a foot to.”

With Peter Schmeichel a little lucky not to give away a first-half penalty, the Reds improved after the interval. Teenage

Our maiden FA Cup title would have been impossible without this backs-to-the-wall win

wingers Keith Gillespie and Ryan Giggs terrorised the Brighton full-backs and, after Brian McClair saw a goal ruled out for offside, it was the Welsh wizard who bagged the winner courtesy of a stellar free-kick. The financially troubled Seagulls were nevertheless delighted to take home £100,000 to keep the lights on.

“The boss wasn’t very pleased at half-time,” admitted the Reds’ vice-captain Steve Bruce after some choice Sir Alex Ferguson hairdryer treatment. “I couldn’t tell you what he said, at least not before 11.30 at night.”

The latest of our 35 previous contests with Brighton came in January this year, as the Seagulls won 3-1 thanks to goals from Yankuba Minteh, Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter. The Seagulls have won six of the last eight meetings, going back to 2022, and the past three at Old Trafford – a run the Reds will be out to end today.

Keith Gillespie goes up against the Seagulls (check out those striped shorts!) in January 1993

manchester born & bbred

Official Betting Partner

LOVE To See IT!

There’s so much to build on after our back-to-back wins against Sunderland and Liverpool…

L AMMENS ’ SOLID START

Gary Neville has described the job of Manchester United goalkeeper as the most difficult in English football, so Senne Lammens deserves applause for his two assured performances so far. The 23-year-old Belgian was named Man of the Match after keeping a clean sheet in the 2-0 win over Sunderland before the international break, and in the Anfield cauldron – arguably United’s toughest away ground – he was secure once more. A smart one-on-one save to deny Alexander Isak stood out, but it’s Lammens’ calm

demeanour and rapport with his defensive colleagues that bodes best for the future.

M OUNT MAGIC

B RYAN ’ S A PLAYER

United’s opening goal in the Sunderland win came from the right boot of Mason Mount (left), who found the net with ease after Bryan Mbeumo’s astute pick-out. It was the southerner’s first of the season and a fine reminder of his poise in front of goal. He kept his place for the match at Anfield, and has now missed just one game in the last 23 since returning from injury in April. Fit and firing, Mount is a vital weapon in United’s armoury, both with and without the ball.

With Bruno Fernandes currently playing in a deeper role, it feels like summer signing Bryan Mbeumo has quickly become the leader of United’s attack. The Cameroonian struck inside two minutes at Anfield, with a barrelling run and smart finish, and was a constant threat to Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate throughout the match. He looks confident in a United shirt, at home in the Premier League and is forming a really dynamic partnership with Amad – another standout player at Anfield – down the right flank.

R UBEN ’ S SAVVY SUBS

Casemiro was excellent for just under an hour on Merseyside, but Ruben Amorim had hinted pre-match that the Brazil

It’s been a solid start for our new Belgian stopper, including a Man of the Match debut clean sheet against Sunderland

captain might need to be managed carefully after journeying to the Far East during the international break. Casemiro played 180 minutes against South Korea and Japan and, when he picked up a yellow card in the 57th minute at Anfield, Amorim called for Manuel Ugarte to replace him. Amad was also substituted, for Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu, in anticipation of a raft of attacking changes from the hosts, which would inevitably necessitate a more defensive outlook at wing-back. Diogo Dalot moved to the right flank with Dorgu’s introduction, and Benjamin Sesko, Leny Yoro and Kobbie Mainoo also came on. Each player contributed: Sesko by starting the move that created the set-piece opportunity that led to Harry Maguire’s winner; Yoro and Mainoo with some important defensive work. It takes bravery to substitute experienced heads like Casemiro when 1-0

A quickfire opener at Anfield was complemented by another assured outing for Mbeumo as he continues to make his mark on Amorim’s attacking line

Amorim’s tactical changes against Liverpool were key to us coming out on top

up at Anfield, but Amorim’s boldness, and trust in every member of his squad, was rewarded with a collective performance that was loaded with grit and guts.

C UNHA ’ S SWAGGER

Last Sunday’s win over Liverpool ended our nine-year wait for a victory at Anfield, and during that long period, United teams were sometimes too timid in the face of strong Liverpool sides and a hostile atmosphere. But not this time. Every member of the team stood up, but we at UR think Matheus Cunha deserves a special nod. The Brazilian is a player with oodles of flair, but the best thing about his performance last weekend was its heart. He never shied from asking for the ball, fought like a Viking, and looked like a man born for this fixture – always the mark of a true United player. And there was still time for flashes of his remarkably dextrous footwork. It feels like a matter of time before he scores his first United

goal, but our new no.10 already has the admiration of Reds everywhere.

A NEW A NFIELD H ERO

What is it about United and unlikely matchwinners at Anfield? Goalscoring legends like Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Scholes never managed to find the net there in a United shirt, but down the decades, a cast of surprise heroes have managed to melt this daunting fixture into victory. Particularly defenders. Gordon McQueen in 1981, Arthur Albiston the following season, Gary Pallister in 1997 and, most famously, John O’Shea in 2007. (There was also Diego Forlan’s unexpected double in 2002 – the Uruguayan forward had scored just three times in his first 41 United appearances.) You can now add the name Harry Maguire to that list of cult heroes, and few players could be more deserving of such a memorable moment. The Yorkshireman has endured more than his fair share

Cunha steps into the Anfield arena ahead of his spirited, gladiatorial performance

Maguire adds his name to the list of unlikely but heroic United matchwinners at Anfield

of ups and downs since moving to Old Trafford – and outlandish levels of criticism at times – but Maguire simply never stops showing up. After the final whistle, Amorim said to the media: “The most important thing is that the spirit is there. That is the beginning of everything.” He was talking about United’s collective performance, but nobody embodies that idea better than Maguire.

B RUNO ’ S AMAZING ASSIST

Last weekend’s big win won’t be remembered as one of Bruno Fernandes’s greatest performances. Like all of his team-mates, the skipper had to muck in with the dog work, and there were only a few moments where this all-time Premier League auteur could flex his creative muscles. But rarely does a game go by without Fernandes doing something special; without producing a moment that thieves your breath. Just as time was running out, it came: a volleyed first-time cross that could not have found Harry Maguire’s head with any more precision if it had been delivered by a special ops sniper. One of Fernandes’s greatest assists, it will be remembered for years by every United fan.

Benjamin Sesko P layer F ocus

What’s the story? Unlike Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko is new to the Premier League. But recent matches suggest that he is getting used to life in England fast.

How so? The Slovenian has scored on his last two Premier League starts, away at Brentford and at home to Sunderland, and seems to be building a nice rapport with his attacking team-mates. He’s strong in the air, nimble with the ball at his feet, and has an obsessive drive to get better that has already been mentioned by Ruben Amorim.

Next steps? Sesko was on the bench at Anfield to deny Konate and van Dijk the physical, aerial duels they relish so much, but the striker will aim to reclaim his starting berth today. This match will be a different type of contest to last weekend’s, and Sesko’s varied skillset will almost certainly be needed at some point. “All the characteristics that Ben has – not just the goals, but all the characteristics – can help us to win games,” says Amorim.

The euphoric ending on Merseyside owed much to the majesty of Bruno’s pinpoint volleyed assist

The players show what victory at Anfield means to all of us

Busby shows the way

Who are we looking at? Members of United’s first post-war team speaking with manager Matt Busby. They are, left to right: Henry Cockburn, Johnny Carey, Johnny Morris and Charlie Mitten.

When and where was this taken?

At Old Trafford in August 1946, shortly before the resumption of First Division football after the end of the Second World War. The FA Cup had resumed in 1945/46, but the 1946/47 season was the first league campaign since 1938/39.

What’s the significance of the photo? It shows boss Busby speaking to four key players from his first great United side, taken just weeks before league football’s return – a top-flight opener at Maine Road. Old Trafford was still unable to host matches at this point following damage caused by German air raids in December 1940 and March 1941. As you can see here, the pitch was also not in the best condition, although evidently good enough for a kickabout for this new season photocall. Busby was less than a year into his role as United boss, having taken charge of team affairs on 22 October 1945 – 80 years ago this month!

How did the season go? For the team? United beat Grimsby Town 2-1 in front of 41,025 fans at our temporary home – rented from neighbours Manchester City until the end of 1948/49 – eventually ending the season as First Division runners-up behind Liverpool. Individually? These four players all contributed to United finishing just a point behind the eventual champions. Half-back Cockburn played 32 matches across the season, one behind captain Carey (33). Inside-forward Morris scored eight goals from 26 appearances, with winger Mitten matching that tally from 20 games.

Old TrafforD’s Trailblazers

For United fans of a certain vintage, Viv Anderson is perhaps best remembered as Sir Alex Ferguson’s first signing. The rangy right-back, who joined United on 1 July 1987, was blessed with power, pace and loved to maraud upfield –assets he’d previously employed at Nottingham Forest and Arsenal before his move to Old Trafford.

Although he was unveiled to the press on the same day as Brian McClair, Anderson’s services were the first to be secured – meaning he pipped his new team-mate to becoming a notable piece of club trivia.

A lifelong United fan, Viv has often spoken of his pride in that piece of club nostalgia – but there’s another milestone for which he’s even prouder. In November 1978 he became the first black footballer to play for England’s senior men’s team, a landmark moment that paved the way for generations to follow. His debut outing came in a friendly against Czechoslovakia at Wembley (a 1-0 win) and was the first of the 30 caps he won for the Three Lions across almost a decade. For his penultimate England appearance, he wore this shirt (pictured opposite), in a goalless draw with Hungary in Budapest in April 1988. Viv left the Reds for Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer in January 1991, after making 69 appearances and scoring four goals.

The other item shown here, the medal pictured right, belongs to another United trailblazer. It was won at the FC Blue Stars youth tournament in Switzerland in 1962 by Dennis Walker, who holds a unique place in Reds history as the first player of mixed heritage to

To mark Black History Month, UR picks out two items from the club archives that shine a light on two football pioneers for club and country…

make our first team. Born in Northwich in 1944, Walker joined United as a teenager and rose through the youth ranks during Matt Busby’s rebuilding years after Munich. The quick, skilful attacking midfielder made his senior debut in the final league game of 1962/63, a 3-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest just days before we lifted the FA Cup at Wembley. That was to be Walker’s only first-team outing as a Red, although he later enjoyed impressive spells with York City and Cambridge United. Sadly, Dennis died in 2003, but his pioneering achievement has never been forgotten. To this day, the club’s Academy youngsters are still taught about his part in our history through the club’s education programme.

History-maker Dennis Walker (below, inset) was the first player of mixed heritage to represent United’s first team, his solitary appearance coming after impressing in the youth ranks where he helped us win the 1962 FC Blue Stars tournament, earning him this medal (below)

To find out more about the many other fascinating objects in the Old Trafford museum, scan here.

Lammens SENNE

UNITEDReview

Fernandes BRUNO

UNITEDReview

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41,289

Was 1958/59

Sir Bobby’s greatest season?

It’s two years since the great man passed away, prompting United Review to look back at arguably his best – and most difficult – campaign in Red…

When Bobby Charlton woke on the morning of Saturday 23 August 1958, he was just 20 years of age. But his youth had become an irrelevance.

Only a year earlier, United had been defending champions, and the season started serenely with three straight wins. Bobby didn’t play a single minute, and had to wait until the 11th match to get onto the pitch.

“I was still the kid who stepped in for the big men, Tommy Taylor, Dennis Viollet and Billy Whelan,” he would later acknowledge. “When they went down, I went in, and when they came back, I stepped down.”

But everything changed in an instant on a slush covered runway in Bavaria. Eight of Charlton’s team-mates perished in the Munich Air Disaster. Three beloved staff members were also dead, and the entire shape of United’s future had been redrawn. No-one associated with the club would emerge unchanged from the tragedy’s long, long shadow.

As Bobby pulled on his boots on that August day at Old Trafford – where Chelsea were the opponents – what did he see, as he looked around the dressing room? What did he feel?

He could see his manager, Matt Busby, and the Scot’s heroic assistant, Jimmy Murphy, who had, implausibly, led United to the FA Cup final in the fraught months after Munich. There were fellow survivors, too: goalkeeper Harry Gregg, defender Bill Foulkes, winger Albert Scanlon, plus striker Dennis Viollet. But the rest of the team was completely unrecognisable from 12 months earlier.

Of the Busby Babes’ famous five-man forward line – Berry, Whelan, Taylor,

“I was the kid asking the questions, and then, suddenly it was different – I was supposed to be the experienced hand”

Viollet, Pegg – only Viollet remained. Berry was still alive, but the crash had broken his leg, arm, elbow and pelvis, and also fractured his skull. He’d spent nearly two months in a coma before returning home, and was barely able to kick a ball. He would never play again.

Instead of looking to his right and seeing Tommy Taylor (131 goals in 191 games), or glancing left to Billy Whelan (33 goals in the season before Munich), Charlton was now forced to look inward. His tally of 24 United goals made him second only to Viollet in terms of attacking seniority. The waves of responsibility and pressure must have been intense as the clock ticked towards 3pm. And who knows what other emotions were also in play?

“Everything had changed for me profoundly,” he admitted. “Before the accident I was always advised by players who I respected so deeply. I was the kid asking the questions, and then, suddenly

it was different – I was supposed to be the experienced hand.

“I’d played against Real Madrid, I had played in a cup final and people were talking about me as a future star of England, but if everyone thought I was experienced, that I had grown quickly into the role of an elder statesman, the truth was that inside there was no difference.”

And yet what poured forth from this passionate but fragile 20-year-old over the course of the following 90 minutes – and the season after it – was one of the greatest individual seasons in United history.

Collectively, when we think of Charlton, we see that graceful figure sweeping over the Wembley turf in 1966 (for England) or 1968 (with United). The World Cup. The European Cup final against Benfica. His few strands of golden hair carefully, modestly combed across his scalp.

But in plain goalscoring terms, Charlton never bettered the season after

Busby, still recovering from his injuries sustained during the Munich Air Disaster, chats to Charlton, elevated to key status, ahead of the 1958 FA Cup final

Charlton in derby duel mode as the Reds chase the Division One title a year on from the horrors of Munich

Munich; an unlikely, but inspirational campaign that set the tone for the legendary United resurgence that flowered years later.

HAT-TRICK HERO

Expectations were low as the first whistle blew. Bobby himself had surmised that United might just about possess “enough ability to finish in the top half”. We might “beat a few teams in the Cup”.

But nobody knew what was coming: even though Jimmy Murphy had miraculously led a patched-up side to that FA Cup final – in Busby’s absence – the same team had won just one of 14 post-Munich league games. Relegation form.

But within 52 minutes of the new term, Bobby had notched a hat-trick – including a glorious lob over Chelsea goalkeeper Reg Matthews from an improbable angle. He then set up United’s fourth, for Alex Dawson, with a sublime pass. The final score, to the delight of more than 52,000 packed into Old Trafford, was 5-2.

In My Manchester United Years, writing decades later, Bobby revealed that the target at the season’s outset was simply ‘survival’. But suddenly, from nowhere, there was hope.

He scored twice more in the next game, away at Nottingham Forest, and twice again in a 6-1 hammering of high-flying Blackburn Rovers. There were eight goals in the first five matches for the boy-man at inside-left, who was forming a magical partnership with Dennis Viollet. He was taking penalties, too – another symbol of the personal levels of responsibility he had manfully strapped to his young back.

“I became obsessed with the idea that this football club would indeed get back on the road to progress; it would grow strong again,” he explained, movingly.

“I couldn’t come up with some tactical masterplan, but I could respond to suggestions I heard that the club might go under, that the effect of Munich would not in the long run be a point of defiance, an inspiration, but the start of a relentless decline. I could play better than I had ever done before.”

LEADING THE CHARGE

There were some problems, however. Charlton’s talent meant that he was also in high demand at international level. England whisked him (and Wilf McGuinness) away for a 3-3 draw with Northern Ireland (and Harry Gregg) in

early October, in which Bobby scored twice. Crucially, United went down 4-0 at Molineux on the same day – a result that later became hugely significant. And he was still playing for England’s under-23s throughout the season, too!

When he returned, Busby decided to tinker with his position, playing him at no.9 rather than the usual attacking midfield (or inside-left). But Charlton was relatively ineffective in a 1-1 draw with Arsenal on his 21st birthday, and again in a 3-2 defeat at Everton.

United had slipped to 14th by mid-November, and those relegation fears were starting to creep back into the collective psyche. But another brilliant burst of Charlton scoring arrived just in time: between midNovember and early January, he scored 11 times in eight league games, driving a run of eight consecutive league victories. His double at Blackpool on 3 January 1959 put United just a point behind table-toppers Wolves.

In February, the two leading title contenders came together at Old Trafford. A crowd of 62,794 crammed in, with the turnstiles shut more than half an hour before kick-off. Viollet opened the scoring after a good cross by Charlton during the build-up, but Wolves equalised, against the run of play, with 25 minutes left. But with seconds remaining, Charlton hammered home from Viollet’s pass at the Stretford End, hoisting United level on points with the league leaders.

That goal might have been the springboard to the most improbable of all titles. But, sadly, defeat followed at Arsenal the next weekend, and Wolves would not lose another game during the run-in.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

Bobby scored six more times during the remaining fixtures, taking his final tally for the league season to a remarkable 29, as United finished runners-up. Had he not missed another match – a goalless draw at Luton – due to international duty, or let Albert Quixall take a penalty at Birmingham (following a miss against Bolton), Charlton may very well have equalled or surpassed Jack Rowley’s then club record for league goals (30).

However, while Busby’s reconfigured

A Charlton double in the 3-1 February 1959 win over Spurs keeps us in the title hunt

Reds had missed out on unlikely First Division glory, Charlton and his colleagues had already far exceeded expectations. They had not only survived; they’d thrived. Incredibly, the team’s final count of 103 league goals had equalled the Babes’ tally from 1956/57 – the last full season pre-Munich.

Charlton had scored more than before, and played better than ever before. Just as he had pledged to do during the awful personal gloom of those first days after the air crash. But at what cost?

A SPECIAL SACRIFICE

In 2025, we commend our culture on its more progressive attitude towards mental health. But back in 1958, just 13 years after the end of the Second World War, things were quite different.

“Mother insisted on me seeing a doctor,” Charlton remembered, in Bobby Charlton’s Book of Soccer, published in October 1960. “‘There’s nothing wrong with you, Bobby, nothing at all,’ he said. ‘Look, I served in the RAF during the war and I had my pals shot down beside me. It was happening all the time. After a while you learned to take it for granted.

“I became obsessed with the idea that this club would get back on the road to prog ress; it would grow strong again”

That’s what you’ve got to learn now… You have been spared this time – the accident didn’t have your number on it, and you’ve got to carry on. That’s the way to look at it.’”

It’s inconceivable that a 20-year-old dealing with such incomparable grief would be given that kind of brusque lecture nowadays. But Charlton took the advice, and claimed he did feel better once a ball was back at his feet. But while football is as fine an escape from the miseries of life as mankind has ever created, it cannot, of course, heal the deepest wounds. “He stopped smiling,” lamented Jack Charlton, when speaking about Munich’s impact on his brother.

Survivor’s guilt was always noticeable whenever Charlton talked about Munich, throughout his long life. A guilt at being alive; a confusion at the arbitrary nature of fate or luck; an acknowledged feeling of aloofness or disconnectedness at times. That he was able to give so much to United in 1958/59, and the many years that followed, was almost miraculous. But there is no doubt it came at a huge emotional cost.

“After Munich he was the hope of both Manchester United and England, and he carried the burden brilliantly,” said Johnny Giles – a team-mate between 1959 and 1963. But the full weight of Bobby’s burden will always remain beyond our comprehension. ●

Most Goals in a League campaign

How Sir Bobby’s best term compares with fellow Reds

(1959/60)

(2007/08)

(1947/48)

Dennis Viollet 32

Cristiano Ronaldo 31

Putting pressure on Newcastle keeper Bryan Harvey as the Reds’ eight-game winning run is halted by a highly absorbing 4-4 draw, another game in which Charlton was on the scoresheet

STYLE?

UN I TED

MMMF pays honour to Bishop Auckland

The Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation raises almost £20,000 for charity at Old Trafford dinner

The Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation hosted its 2025 gala dinner earlier this month, on a memorable night in Old Trafford’s International Suite.

Around 300 guests were in attendance, including many relatives of the Busby Babes, plus former United players and, of course, many loyal Reds.

An incredible £18,806 was raised on the night, which will go towards supporting youth-focused charities in the three locations directly linked to the Munich Air Disaster – Belgrade, Manchester and Munich.

There was also a moving presentation made to Bishop Auckland FC, who loaned three players to United in the aftermath of the 1958 tragedy: Warren Bradley, Bob Hardisty and Derek Lewin. Bradley’s association with the club was later made permanent, and he made 67 appearances and scored 21 times for our first team.

During the evening, the MMMF presented members from Bishop Auckland FC with ribbons from the wreaths laid at Manchesterplatz, in recognition of the contribution made by the north-east club.

The evening then climaxed with some top music from 15-year-old John Denton and DJ M. The annual dinner is always a cracking night, so if you fancy coming along next year, keep an eye on mmmf.co.uk and the charity’s social platforms for the latest information and booking details.

The MMMF’s annual gala dinner proved another huge fundraising success as guests enjoyed the evening’s entertainment, which included stories from Sammy McIlroy (above) and a special presentation to Bishop Auckland FC (left) in recognition of their help in the aftermath of Munich

Pictures courtesy of Dave Featherstone

UNITED VOICES

TIM BURGESS & MARK COLLINS

The Charlatans’ lead singer and guitarist talk all things United – from being in Turin in ’99, to wishing they’d seen ‘Big Dunc’, and Gary Neville joining the band...

Why United and when did you start supporting them?

Mark Collins: My support for Manchester United is a family thing, really – all my family are Reds from Whalley Range in Manchester. In fact, we were all born in Stretford Memorial Hospital – so it’s a local thing! My dad took me to my first game when I was seven, which was back in 1972. It was against City and I got to see George Best play live at a reserve game at Maine Road. I used to go with my brother and sister, and my dad would happily give us a couple of quid to get us out the house for the day. I started going properly from about 1976 onwards. I was a Stretford Ender or a Stretford Paddock Red. Me and my mates from school would meet up every week and be in the Stretford End –maybe two hours before kick-off. We would have our own little spot where we would meet.

Tim Burgess: My dad had been a United supporter since the mid-1950s and he was always talking about seeing the Busby Babes play. As a kid I used to be intrigued by his stories about United. I think he may even have watched United when we played at Maine Road. I was born in Salford, and my earliest United memory is the 1977 FA Cup final and the 2-1 win against Liverpool. I remember Stuart Pearson scoring the first goal.

Who was your first United hero?

Mark: My first heroes from that period would have been the two wingers Steve Coppell and Gordon ‘King of all Cockneys’ Hill, and Joe Jordan and Stuart Pearson. I also liked the Greenhoff brothers and, of course, Lou Macari. It’s hard to believe the state of the pitches in the ’70s; there was no grass on them for most of the season, so how they managed

to play the beautiful game I don’t know. And the actual football when it was wet must have been like heading a brick. That football team didn’t win much but we went to Wembley a few times and did win that FA Cup in 1977.

Tim: I think Stuart Pearson [left]. He was one of my first heroes – probably because of that first goal v Liverpool in the final. I liked Alex Stepney, too, and the Greenhoff brothers – they were good. I also really liked Martin Buchan, the Rolls-Royce of defenders. He was a classy

Our 1977 FA Cup final win over Liverpool brings back fond early memories for Tim and Mark

“To hear that United players listened to the Charlatans before the game and that we were part of the dressing room was great”

looking lad with a great haircut! I can’t remember my first match, but I would have gone with my dad. I can’t even remember the games I go to with Mark, as I like to live in the moment. But I think it might have been against Wolves?

What are your most memorable matches?

Tim: Didn’t we go to the Juve match in 1999, Mark? That was an amazing game. Mark: Yes, we both went to watch United at Juventus in the Champions League semi-final in ’99, when we won 3-2 in Turin. Roy Keane’s header getting us going. I also remember being in Japan when United were playing in the Intercontinental Cup final that same year. The Charlatans were playing in Japan and we were landing about three hours before kick-off. Me and Johnny Brooks, our drummer, got offered tickets at Narita Airport and we went straight from a 12-hour flight to the ground in Tokyo and watched Roy Keane score from a Ryan Giggs cross. There were so many Mancunian accents in Tokyo that weekend it was like being in Manchester! Tim: I remember around 1993, when we were recording and mixing the Up to Our Hips album – at the Mill in Cookham, or

somewhere like that – that we seemed to be watching United all the time, and they seemed to be playing amazing. Mark: Yes, 1993/94 was a great season.

Any United players from the past or present that you know who are Charlatans fans?

Mark: Gary Neville and Brian McClair… Tim: I remember Gary Neville telling me once that Ryan Giggs used to listen to the The Only

One I Know before he went out to play for United before each game. That is amazing! To hear that United players listened to the Charlatans before the game and that we were part of the dressing room was great.

Mark: Gary played guitar with us live once, and if he gets me a position on the wing for Salford City I might ask him to play on one of our albums [laughs]. [United fan] Pete Boyle normally brings a couple of United legends with him backstage when we play live, like David May and ‘Choccy’ McClair.

Tim: McClair is a big fan of the band. He has been to a few Charlatans gigs. I’m sure he’ll come to a gig on the next tour too. My dad used to love to be backstage after the gigs and being with the lads, but when Brian came in after a gig he dropped us all immediately. He wasn’t interested in us anymore! He pinned McClair in the corner, talking about United and offering him beers. It was the best time of his life when a United player came backstage.

How do you feel when you see Charlatans song titles and lyrics on United flags and banners?

Tim: I have seen at the match that there are lots of United flags now that feature Charlatans lyrics and song titles like the The Only One I Know and One to Another. It’s amazing to see.

Mark was there in Tokyo to see the Reds lift the 1999 Intercontinental Cup ahead of The Charlatans’ gig in Japan

Keane leads the Reds out in Turin, where he went on to open our scoring in a pulsating come-from-behind 3-2 victory during our Treble-winning season in 1999

Do you have a favourite United goal?

Tim: It has to be Ryan Giggs v Arsenal in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final, doesn’t it?

Mark: Great goal, but I think my favourite United goal has got to be [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer – roof of the net – last minute v Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in 1999. I watched the game with my mates in my house in Chorlton.

What are your thoughts on this season so far?

Tim: This season has been hard. The Grimsby result made me throw everything I had in my hands on the floor, but I think United are starting to bed in. The new players are starting to find their feet. I’m a ‘glass is half full’ United fan, and I think the new signings are going to be good. Sesko has started scoring and Mbeumo looks good. I think that Bruno is still great, isn’t he? And I’m looking forward to seeing Lisandro Martinez coming back into the side. I think that Mason Mount is an important player, too. Since he has come to us it has been a bit of a nightmare for him with injuries and stuff, but recently he has shown us something that this United team lack – an unpredictability and a bit of guile. Playing within the system yet being an anarchist. Mark: I went to the Arsenal game at the start of the season, and although we lost 1-0, I didn’t walk away depressed –although I did get a bit down after the Fulham and Brentford games. It can be tough to watch United but you just want to see the fire in the players – like against Sunderland. I think it’s clear that Ruben Amorim knows what system he wants to play and he’s not going to change it. I hope he succeeds. I think Mbeumo is a good signing – he’s a fine addition to the squad and I enjoy watching him play. I like Maguire and I’m surprised he’s not starting every game because he always seems to play for the badge. Plus, he’s not a bad number nine to have in the dying stage of the game!

Which player from the past do you wish you had seen play?

Mark: If I had a time machine I’d like to go back and watch Duncan Edwards because everyone from that generation who saw him play always says how good he was. Getting to watch United

“If I had a time machine I’d like to go back and watch Duncan Edwards because everyone from that generation who saw him play always says how good he was”

at Wembley in the 1968 European Cup final, too – that would be a good night! Tim: Growing up, my dad would tell me about the Busby Babes, so I would have loved to have seen the likes of Duncan Edwards and Liam Whelan playing for

likes of Bobby Charlton playing because the game can seem really slow, so it would be amazing to have been in the stands and see it at that time.

The Charlatans have survived some tough times and returned stronger and better than ever. So what would your message to United fans be?

Times are tough for us United fans at the moment, but as a band we have always got tighter the harder things have got. You have to dig deeper and keep looking forward and looking for positives in life; that is how you get through the dark times. United fans have to believe in the good times returning and keep the faith. Up the Reds!

I agree with Mark. Us fans have got to keep the faith and believe. Good times are coming and We Are Love will be the soundtrack!

The Charlatans’ new album ‘We Are Love’ is out next Friday. Scan here to find out more…

The Charlatans have been around since their formation in 1988 and know all about the importance of having a strong fanbase

The legendary Duncan Edwards is one former Red Mark would have loved to see play

MATCHDAY

MESSAGES

A very warm welcome to Osian Owen, who’s here today for his first game.

Welcome back to Theatre of Dreams to Wayne, Becky and Joseph... three generations of United fans!

Hello to Harry Meek, who has travelled up for his Old Trafford visit with Dad and Papa Pebbs as a gift for his fifth birthday. Enjoy it, Harry, and here’s to many more. Come on, United!

Big 21st birthday wishes to Beau Cruickshank, here today with dad Derek.

Happy seventh birthday to Harriet McCarthy, here today for her first visit to Old Trafford with sister Molly, Ejay, Grandad and Dad.

Happy birthday to Brendan Byrne from Kinnegad, Ireland.

Happy birthday, Gareth Mc Shane. Love Siobhan and Grace.

Many happy returns to Se Casey for his 17th birthday on 21 October.

‘Happy birthday to not just a loyal supporter of nearly 50 years, before he even had a ball at his feet, but also an amazing father, grandfather and a true friend, who we all love and appreciate, and we thank him for everything. Happy birthday, Daz.’

Happy 30th to Michael Risom!

Happy 14th birthday to Layla-Terri Phillips.

Wishing a very happy ninth birthday to William Harris, and enjoy your day at Old Trafford.

Wishing a happy 50th birthday for 30 October to Carrie Gelling. She’s here today with family and pleased to be back at ‘her’ Theatre of Dreams.

Happy 80th birthday, Bill Layton, for 27 October. Love from your Layton family and friends.

Freddie Pollock turned 10 on 21 October and is a big Red who goes to almost every game. Happy birthday!

‘Happy birthday, Yvonne! We’ve supported United together since the Treble of ’99 – the year our story began. Our marriage was borne out of this club, these colours, and these stands. Here’s to many more matchdays and memories at Old Trafford. With all my love, Calvin.’

Wishing a happy 10th birthday to Ava Vitez. Have a brilliant day!

Happy birthday, Ryan. Love from Mum, Dad and Zac.

From Belgium to Old Trafford – celebrating Arne’s 16th birthday as a proud Red, making unforgettable memories with Man United!

‘Wishing my dearest wife, Darshani, a very happy 42nd birthday! With love from Viknesh, Singapore.’

Happy birthday to Luke and Oliver Jones for their ninth and 12th birthdays on 18 and 30 October respectively. Their favourite player is Bruno Fernandes and they’re looking forward to coming to some more games this season.

Lois Taylor is a huge fan of United and Bruno Fernandes, and turned 11 on 24 October. Hope you had a very happy birthday.

Happy 12th birthday, Annie. Hope you and Henri enjoy the

Happy 21st birthday, Brandan. Hope you enjoy the game! Lots of love, Mum, Dad and Mirren.

Special welcome to Old Trafford to Halle, who is here today watching her first men’s match accompanied by her dad, Adam.

game.

Happy 13th birthday, Casey.

Happy birthday to Martin Karake for 9 October.

and Theo,

their

are celebrating their birthdays at today’s game with their dad. Enjoy your

‘Wishing a happy 40th birthday to my amazing wife, Vicki Jenkins

We are attending our second game of the season. We hope you have a great day. Love Georgia, Olivia, Jovi and your husband, Craig.’

Welcome to your first game, Emily Humphreys, and a happy ninth birthday to you. She loves playing football, is United obsessed and is really excited to see Old Trafford.

Happy 11th birthday to Ella

‘Happy birthday, Sean! Hope you had an amazing day and hopefully get a United win to top it off. Our biggest supporter. Lots of love, Abbie and Peanut.’

‘Happy 18th birthday, Ethan Truscott –hopefully the first of many trips to the Theatre Of Dreams. You deserve your special day.’

birthday to Matt, pictured

‘Happy eighth birthday to Cían Donaghy! We hope you enjoyed your first-ever United match, against Sunderland. We are so proud of you and hope your day at Old Trafford was one you’ll never forget.’

To Alan Edward Wrench: happy 80th birthday, Grandad. We hope you have the best time at the Theatre of Dreams today. Love from Brendan, Joy, Simon and Jennifer.

Happy 18th birthday, Orlagh McArdle. United forever! Love Mom and Nana.

Wishing a very happy birthday to James, a lifelong supporter celebrating his special day on 29 October.

Happy 16th birthday to our grandson, Jake Ryan Williams, of Llay, Wrexham.

Happy birthday to Leon Sanders, who came to United v Sunderland to celebrate turning 11 on 4 October. He’s a keen young footballer and loves the Reds.

to

United,

and

62nd birthday for 16 October to

A very happy birthday to Fred Kirkpatrick, who recently turned seven. His favourite player is Bruno Fernandes and we hope he had a great time at the Sunderland game. With love from Mum, Dad and sister Ivy.

Here’s Grandad, Oscar, Isaac, Elliot and Alice, aka Grandad’s Red Army, who celebrated Isaac’s eighth birthday doing what they love at the Sunderland game.

Happy 18th birthday, Callum

Enjoy the game. Love from Mum and Dad.

Wishing Chris Holgate a very happy 50th birthday! Enjoy your celebrations, Sally.

ninth birthday to Luis Hollingworth, a huge United fan who hopes to play for the club one day like his idol, Bruno Fernandes. Hope you had the best time celebrating at the Sunderland game.

Wishing a happy 40th birthday to Warren Ingleson, and also a big shout-out to Jack, who came with Warren and Uncle Carl to the match v Sunderland – his first United game.

Marshall! She loves

coming

Old Trafford, collecting matchday badges

cheering on the Reds. Have a fantastic day, Ella!

Happy birthday to Emma Coffill and her nan, Jo Kelly, who were at Old Trafford to celebrate turning 40 and 90 respectively on the day of the Sunderland game.

Happy

Happy

here with dad Dexter.

Max

pictured with

little sister, Isla,

special visit.

Happy

Beverley Jones, pictured here with her friends Mickey and Yvonne who also travel here on the coach from Aberystwyth.

A very happy birthday to a passionate young red and a budding footballer, Roman, who turned eight on 1 October. Lots of love and best wishes from Mum, Dad, sister Sophie and all the family.

Happy eighth birthday to Shea Breen, pictured with his four brothers: Dara, Eoin, Luke and Mark. We hope you all had a great time at the Sunderland game.

Cousins Gary, Gerard and Darragh have travelled from Ireland to celebrate their birthdays at Old Trafford. True United fans!

Happy 11th birthday, Brody Condon. Hope you had the best day in your favourite place. Love Mammy, Daddy, Esmè and Theo.

‘Happy 10th birthday, Freddie!

Our little superstar – we are so proud of you. Keep shining bright and enjoying your football. Love, Mum, Dad, Tayla, Callum and Brodie.’

Happy birthday to Aidan and James Breen from Northern Ireland. Love from Dad, Mum and Alice.

Happy ninth birthday, Zane Many happy returns also to brother Camran and dad Si on turning 23 and 59 respectively.

Happy 70th birthday, Dad. Looking forward to making more memories with you at Old Trafford... fingers crossed it includes a win today. Love Kate.

We’re sure Eli Davies had a great time watching United beat Chelsea to celebrate his seventh birthday – the perfect present!

Happy 21st birthday for 28 October to James Kelly, here today watching with Mum and Dad. He came to his first Old Trafford game when he was six and subsequently became a season ticket holder, and his favourite current player is Amad.

Fionn O’ReillyMcIlhatton is here for his first match today. Welcome, Fionn, and happy ninth birthday to you.

A belated happy 16th birthday to Vasilis Georgiou, aka ‘BB9’, for 27 August.

Happy birthday, Grandad Kinney. Enjoy your first trip back to Old Trafford in 20 years! Lots of love, Aimee, Glenn and the McKinneys.

Happy birthday, Ann. Keep the red flag flying high! Lots of love from all the family.

‘Happy 15th birthday to Neveah Bridgeman, a proud and passionate Red who has been an Old Trafford regular since she was six. Last season she and her county team were crowned national U14s champions – a huge achievement and testament to her dedication and talent. We are so proud of everything she has achieved, both on and off the pitch. Love Mum, Dad and brothers Tyries and N’rell’.

Happy ninth birthday for today to Cian. He’s United’s no.1 fan, and his favourite players are Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha. He’s here watching with Dad, Mum, and brother Conor, also a massive Red.

Happy ninth birthday, Darragh. Hope you enjoy your first visit to Old Trafford. From Granny, Granda and Mummy.

Happy 17th birthday to Reece, a massive United fan.

Have a great day, son. Love from Dad, Mum, Ryan and Eliza.

Hudson Cook had a big weekend at Old Trafford recently, watching United beat Chelsea and then enjoying the Museum and Stadium Tour with Grandad Neil.

Happy birthday, Casper!

IN MEMORIAM

Steve Scrutton was a passionate United fan through and through. Born in England, he later moved to Canada, where he grew up in the countryside in Ontario. He was a reservist, a professor, and there wasn’t a single matchday that passed by without him watching. Rest in peace, Steve.

Steven Brindley (05.04.1960-18.09.2025) recently passed away after 25 years’ service as a matchday turnstile steward at Old Trafford. Grief is like the ocean, it comes on in waves, ebbing and flowing, sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it’s overwhelming. All we do is learn to swim. Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; love leaves memory no one can steal. He is sadly missed by wife Elaine, daughters Michelle and Lisa, and son James.

Glyn Willcox was a member of the MUSC Oxford & Banbury branch. He died suddenly on Sunday 14 September, aged 37. A much-loved son of Gareth and Sue, and brother to David, Glyn travelled with his grandmother with the branch from the age of six. He was a gold season ticket holder who travelled home, away and to European matches. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him and our sincere condolences go out to his family. A true Red. Rest in peace, Glyn.

Effie was born in 1968 in Melbourne, Australia –coincidentally, the same year Sir Matt Busby led United to our first-ever European glory. Effie instantly fell in love with the club and was a lifetime fan, living and breathing Red. In April 2025, while receiving treatment, he was delighted to receive a pleasant get-well letter from Manchester United, which he said he wanted to take with him when he died. Sadly, Effie passed away on 22 September 2025 after a battle with cancer. Once a Red, always a Red.

‘My dad, Neville Longshaw (left of pic), was a season ticket holder in the Stretford End in the late ’70s and ’80s, along with his brothers. He followed United home and away, including one time where he was watching the derby at Maine Road and his appendix burst. Tommy Docherty, the then United manager, brought the team into the hospital to visit my dad and take photos and sign autographs. He passed his love for United onto me, his son, Stuart Longshaw, and I now have a season ticket of my own in the East Stand upper tier.’ Neville passed away on Thursday 25 September. He was a much-loved man who will be dearly missed by his friends and family. He leaves behind his partner of 30 years, Pauline, his son Stuart, and his grandson Oscar.

Keith Gorman, a lifelong Manchester United fan and season ticket holder, sadly passed away recently. Keith regularly travelled from Balbriggan, Co. Dublin, to Old Trafford. A giant of a man with the heart of a lion, his fondest memories are the trips with his father, Bernard, brother, David, and close friend, Vincent O’Brien.

In loving memory of Carol Anne Treveil, a loving mum and nan as well as a dedicated Red and season ticket holder for more than 40 years. Carol wore her United tattoo on her chest with pride, close to her heart, and she will forever be in our hearts. Keep watching over us and your boys in red. Gone, but never forgotten. We love you forever.

In loving memory of Paul Bryan (1952-2025), a lifelong Red and Stretford End season ticket holder for over 20 years. Paul faced his illness with remarkable courage, never losing his infectious humour and warmth. Dearly loved and missed by his wife Karen, children, grandchildren and friends, including fellow Reds at Old Trafford Bowling Club. His companionship and unwavering devotion to United will forever be remembered. Rest in peace, Paul.

In fond memory of John Dornan, who sadly passed away aged 78 in September. A lifelong Red from Cushendall, County Antrim, his favourite player was Roy Keane. He will always be remembered.

‘We recently lost Big Paul after his brave battle with cancer – faced with strength, courage, and endless love. A true legend, he lit up every room and left a lasting mark on everyone lucky enough to know him. To Jamie, Lewis, little Paul, and his beloved wife Julie: he was so proud of you. His strength, kindness, and humour live on in you. You miss him every day and always will, but his love surrounds you still. He’ll be smiling down, forever in our hearts.’

Matthew Trotter was an avid Reds fan from as far back as we can remember. He ate, slept and lived United and, like everything else in his life, this played an enormous part of his way of coping with his lifestyle from the age of 10, when he had his first cancerous brain tumour. United and especially his hero, Roy Keane, gave him the inspiration to carry on. Twenty-six years later, it was Matt’s privilege to meet Roy and thank him for that letter of support he wrote all those years ago. Sadly, 26 days later, on 22 September 2025, Matt succumbed to a second brain tumour, but never forgot his beloved team. We, as a family, would like to thank Raisa, Roy and the club for all the support they have given Matt in his final months. From Ann, Bob Trotter, Jennifer, Andy Archie and Ellie Weedall.

Remembering Tomás

‘Tommy’ Hernon, a lifelong Red across the decades who sadly passed away recently aged 82. He will be greatly missed by family and friends, and no doubt watching over today’s game from up above.

tribute to vinny

The Manchester United family was saddened to learn about the passing of Vinny Earl in August, a much-loved man who served the club with great dignity for nearly two decades.

Vinny was a lifelong Red and, having started going to games as a nine-year-old, began working with United as a security supervisor for Special Projects Security in 1988. An important and well-respected job, his role involved looking after Sir Alex Ferguson, as well as overseeing the players’ tunnel, changing rooms and lounge at Old Trafford on matchdays. He also travelled with the team on numerous occasions, including to cup finals and European away games.

Working closely with the first team was an honour for Vinny, who took great pride in his duties and cared for the colleagues around him. He got on well with a number of players; Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Eric Cantona, David May and Ryan Giggs to name a few.

Vinny also relished the opportunity to work alongside his brother Brenny Earl and best friend Brian Hesmondhalgh during his time at United, in which he enjoyed many a cherished memory –none more so than the Treble-clinching trip to Barcelona in 1999, which always stood out to Vinny, according to his daughter Rachel. Why? “Because we won the Champions League!” she says.

Speaking to United Review, Rachel also recalls the funny story her dad used to tell about driving Cantona and Ned Kelly – the club’s former head of security and a colleague Vinny first met in 1988 – back from Haydock Races. “He accidentally drove through the cones

We remember lifelong Red Vinny Earl, who gave so much of his life to the club he adored...

on the motorway and scared the life out of them both!” she tells us.

While always working with the utmost professionalism, Vinny was a man full of laughter. After 19 years serving the club that he adored, he left United and carried on working in his job as a postman for the Royal Mail until retiring in 2019.

Sadly, Vinny passed away on 3 August at the age of 62, with his family by his side. “He had four children, seven

grandchildren, a twin brother and a sister that will forever be grateful to have been able to make so many precious memories with him,” Rachel says of her late father.

“He was a great man with a huge heart and a huge smile that everyone loved. He will sadly be missed by everyone.”

Everyone at Manchester United echoes that sentiment and sends our heartfelt condolences to Rachel, the rest of Vinny’s family and friends.

Vinny (left of photo) alongside his twin brother Brenny and his best friend Brian – aka ‘Hessy’ – in 1992

Vinny’s work ensured he was a regular presence around Sir Alex and his players

Taking in the sights alongside Mark Hughes on a club trip

STORY BEHIND THE SHOT

During our last home outing against Sunderland, club photographer ASH DONELON (above) was in prime position to capture the Reds in jubilant mood as the players raced towards the fans in the Stretford End in celebration of our second goal

SESKO’S OLD TRAFFORD OPENER

When and where:

United v Sunderland, Old Trafford, 4 October 2025.

Ash says:

“When I shoot United away games, I’m usually assigned a fixed position at each goal end. But when we play at home I’m able to sit beside the long end of the pitch (level with the six-yard box) to get a different perspective from the other photographers. Unfortunately, this vantage point meant my view of Sesko’s first Old Trafford goal was blocked by a crowd of players, but I didn’t mind too much as I was able to snap this photo as he raced towards the Stretford End to celebrate. I was using a long telephoto lens which gave me a close-up view of the action, and I like this intimate angle as it clearly shows the players’ beaming faces while they enjoy this milestone moment.”

Reds JUNIOR

How did Sir Alex build his third great side?

For all the exhilaration of pipping Arsenal with a sprint finish to the 2002/03 title race, Sir Alex Ferguson went into the summer of 2003 with a clear vision of the future: change was required. It would be a case of short-term pain for long-term gain. The sad departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid apparently weakened United’s threat from wide areas and set-pieces, and his replacement – an 18-year-old named Cristiano Ronaldo –arrived on the eve of the 2003/04 Premier League season with no reputation outside his native Portugal. Despite a spellbinding introduction in which he terrorised Bolton Wanderers in his half-hour debut as a

substitute, the early signs from Ronaldo were that he was a sensationally tricky individual talent, but would require time to develop into a team player. It would also take his new colleagues time to adapt to his unpredictable game. Previously, Beckham’s trusty right foot guaranteed assists galore for his colleagues, who knew that he would find them from any position. Now, Ronaldo’s unpredictability was such that nobody knew what to expect from him.

With Rio Ferdinand missing through suspension for the second half of the 2003/04 season, United’s Premier League defence faltered and the Gunners – who

The additions of Rooney and Ronaldo, alongside our established senior stars, saw Fergie’s revamped Reds reclaim their throne

went through the entire league campaign without losing a game – reclaimed the trophy to ensure that it had resided at Old Trafford or Highbury after 11 of the first 12 Premier League seasons.

The pair’s dominance would soon be ended, however, as Jose Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge, bankrolled by limitless funds in the transfer market, and quickly turned Chelsea into the new benchmark in English football. The Blues won back-to-back titles in 2004/05 and 2005/06, and were firm favourites to retain it again in 2006/07 –not least because United’s club captain Roy Keane and goal-machine Ruud van Nistelrooy had both departed to seemingly leave United weaker without their presence and experience.

What experts hadn’t predicted, however, was Ferguson’s long-term plan coming good. Ronaldo had been joined by Wayne Rooney, the most exciting English talent of a generation, in the summer of 2004 and his debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce made him an instant hero at Old Trafford. While homegrown Academy talents like Darren Fletcher and John O’Shea also stepped up to the senior squad, impressing with their versatility, commitment and football intelligence, Ferguson had also made vital signings: Louis Saha, Gabriel Heinze, Edwin van der Sar, Ji-sung Park, Nemanja Vidic

and Patrice Evra all came between 2004 and 2006, and even though the Reds underachieved in the Champions League and Premier League, victory over Wigan in the 2005/06 Carling Cup final represented the first trophy for a new United.

“History would show that the green shoots of recovery sprouted with that victory over Wigan,” said new captain Gary Neville. “It was a step towards building a new team. The manager cleared space for Rooney and Ronaldo to thrive.”

And thrive they did. On the opening day of 2006/07, United obliterated Fulham 5-1 at Old Trafford, bagging the first four goals inside the first 20 minutes to make a huge statement to the rest of the Premier League. The Reds never looked back.

New signing Michael Carrick brought poise and control to midfield, while veterans Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes exerted control and wisdom as their young colleagues ran opposition into the ground. Moreover, with Ronaldo in his fourth season and Rooney in his third, the Scot had arguably the top two young talents in the world settled and wreaking havoc at the same time.

They both ended the ’06/07 campaign with 23 goals, joint top-scorers for the Reds, as United wrenched the Premier League title back from Chelsea in stunning fashion. Throw in defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup final and a Champions League semi-final exit to eventual winners AC Milan, and it was clear that the Reds were once again in contention for all the major honours. Sir Alex had done it again!

From pupils to masters

Where the Class of ’92 once learnt from the 1993/94 Double-winning team, they evolved into the benchmark from which Rooney, Ronaldo and company all took their lessons. “Guys who always arrived for training one hour early,” laughed Ronaldo.

“Scholes and Gary Neville were incredible examples... people like Giggsy too. That example from the older players, I took it.”

The 2006 Carling Cup final decimation of Wigan signalled a new era of trophy collecting

After four seasons without a Premier League crown, the Reds celebrate their return to English football’s summit with the 2006/07 title

SEAGULLS SILLIES

‘ROBIN’ VAN PERSIE! WHICH BIRD HAS THE MOST PREMIER LEAGUE GOALS? ON THE WING! WHERE IS A BIRD’S BEST POSITION?

THE BIRD BOX! WHERE DO BIRDS TAKE PENALTIES?

FEATHER-TON! WHICH MERSEYSIDE CLUB DO MOST BIRDS SUPPORT?

TRICK OR TREAT?!

Have we played these teams in a Premier League fixture? Answer ‘TREAT’ for yes and ‘TRICK’ for no!

Some of our favourite bird bants in recognition of today’s opponents...

THE GEORGE NEST! WHAT DID THE UNITED-SUPPORTING BIRD CALL THEIR HOME?

HOME & AWAy MASCOTS!

Bristol City – Trick,

Luton Town – Treat,

Preston North End – Trick, 4. Southampton – Treat,

Watford – Treat, 6. Wrexham – Trick

Charlie Kasey

Ralph

Kamran Sofia

Frankie Charlie

Introduce young Reds to 30 club legends and their incredible stories, with fantastic illustrations from artist Stanley Chow.

Test your knowledge of the club with more than 1,400 questions on a range of topics and eras of the club’s history.

Shining bright

The WSL season is in the midst of an international break, making it the perfect time to look back on what has been a dazzling last month or so for the Reds…

EUROPEAN ENCOUNTERS

Since UR’s last round-up, the Reds have entered the UEFA Women’s Champions League’s main stage for the first time and won the opening two of our six league-phase fixtures. After qualifying with a two-legged win over Norwegian outfit Brann, United beat Brann’s domestic rivals Valerenga 1-0 at home on the opening matchday earlier this month, thanks to a cool penalty from captain Maya Le Tissier. That scoreline was also enough for the points in game two, away

to Spanish side Atletico Madrid, with two-time Champions League winner and summer signing Fridolina Rolfo’s superb volley – her first United goal – deciding it.

BATTLING THE BEST

Around those European successes, United have maintained an unbeaten start to the Barclays Women’s Super League season and currently occupy third position in the table (where we finished last term) with 14 points after six matches. After earlier triumphs over Leicester and London City,

Summer signing Jess Park was in fine form as the Reds beat Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium in our most recent league fixture

Dominique Janssen was sent off in Madrid, with the hosts also going down to 10 players in a tense UWCL encounter

the team’s last four domestic results can be split evenly into two sections: a pair of wins on Merseyside and draws at home to the two clubs that finished above us in 2024/25. We shared the points with both Arsenal (0-0) and champions Chelsea (1-1) at the Progress With Unity Stadium – the new name for the ground at Leigh Sports Village – as defender Anna Sandberg scored a brilliant equaliser in the latter. Keep reading for more on those Merseyside successes…

EVERTON & LIVERPOOL BEATEN

Like the men’s team, United Women have also triumphed on Merseyside over recent weeks, beating both Everton and Liverpool on the road. The red side of the city were put to the sword first, in St Helens, with first-half goals from Hinata Miyazawa and Ella Toone doing the damage in a 2-0 victory at the end of September. Then, in early October, Skinner’s side came from behind to win 4-1 on Everton Women’s first appearance at the Toffees’ new Hill Dickinson Stadium. Melvine Malard struck to cancel out Honoka Hayashi’s opener, before a Hikaru Kitagawa own goal nudged us ahead and Jess Park netted an impressive brace to complete the scoring.

TWO HUNDRED FOR TOONE

A special landmark was brought up in the Reds’ final game before the international break, away to Atletico Madrid, as childhood Red Toone became the first

TOP 10 MUW APPEARANCES

200 Ella Toone*

Millie Tuner*

Katie Zelem

Mary Earps

Hayley Ladd

Maya Le Tissier*

Hannah Blundell*

Kirsty Hanson

Rachel Williams*

squad member

player to play 200 games for United Women. ‘200 appearances for this club, little Ella never thought it would have been possible,’ the midfielder, a mainstay member of the squad since the team’s reformation in 2018, proudly posted on Instagram after her milestone night in Madrid. Ella, also the side’s all-time top scorer with 63 goals, continued: ‘Thank you for all your support over the last seven years and cheers to making more memories together.’

PSG AT OLD TRAFFORD

In case you missed it, United’s next Women’s Champions League tie will be played here at Old Trafford, against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday 12 November (kick-off 8pm). Tickets for the big European night in M16 are available now – scan the code below for the latest availability – and your support could make all the difference as United look to continue a winning start to the league phase against the French side (complete with ex-Red Mary Earps). Before then, a chance to put six more WSL points on the board awaits at the start of November, with fixtures away to Brighton and at home to Aston Villa first up after the break.

(H) 8pm WSL Sun 14Tottenham (H) 1pm UWCL Wed 17Juventus (A) 8pm LC 20/21Quarter-final JANUARY

WSL Sun 11Arsenal (A) 2pm

FA Sun 18Fourth round

LC 21/22Semi-final

WSL Sun 25Aston Villa (A) 2pm

FEBRUARY

WSL Sun 1Liverpool (H) 1pm

WSL Sun 8Leicester (A) 3pm

UWCL11/12 Knockout phase play-off 1st leg

WSL Sun 15London City (H) 1pm

UWCL18/19 Knockout phase play-off 2nd leg

FA Sun 22 Fifth round MARCH

WSL Sun 15West Ham (A) 12pm

LC 14/15Final

WSL Sat 21Everton (H) 12.30pm

UWCL24/25 Quarter-final 1st leg

WSL Sun 29Manchester City (H) 1pm APRIL

UWCL1/2 Quarter-final 2nd leg

FA Sun 5 Quarter-final

UWCL Sat 25Semi-final 1st leg

WSL Sun 26Tottenham (A) 2pm MAY

UWCL Sat 2Semi-final 2nd leg

WSL Sun 3Brighton (H) 1pm

FA Sun 10 Semi-final

WSL 16/17 Chelsea (A) TBC

UWCL22/23/24Final

FA 30/31 Final (United score listed first)

Malard currently tops the WSL scoring chart, with five in six games

SUPPORTING PROGRESSION

United’s world-famous Academy continues to look to the future, with two innovative industry-leading projects taking place at this time of the season…

Parents of Academy youngsters were welcomed to Carrington earlier this month for a full behind-the-scenes look at the club’s development programme. As well as being shown the new facilities, they got to participate in workshops to help them better support their sons on their Academy journeys.

The latest in a line of parental workshops follows recent innovations, such as the Pro Experience Programme –where players spend a week training at a Football League club to prepare them for full loan moves; the U21s’ player-coach role (filled by Paul McShane, Tom Huddlestone and Tommy Rowe), and the annual Celebration Event, which Sir Alex Ferguson was guest of honour at earlier this year, handing out awards for achievements on and off the pitch.

October’s parents’ day featured a couple of new additions to the schedule. The first was a live, mic’d-up training session, offering attendees real-time insight into the United coaching approach and communication style. Then, inside the club’s Graduate Lounge – where every player to progress from the Academy to the men’s first team is named – club chefs provided tasting options of healthy snacks and recipe handouts for parents to take away, plus information about the nutritional needs of young athletes.

Upstairs in the refurbished Carrington main building, where Ruben Amorim conducts his Friday press conference, a different kind of presentation took place. Two former Academy parents – whose sons are now enjoying success in the Premier League and Football League –provided advice on the journey. ‘No.1 Fan Club’, an independent group dedicated to supporting parents in grassroots and academy football, put on the session. They explained their mission as “equipping families with the right tools” to help them overcome the “practical,

mental, and emotional obstacles that can be daunting to face alone.” Those obstacles can include anything from the realities of regular transport to managing tax affairs, understanding the role an agent plays, as well as how to best support a child’s sleep and mental health. Parents’ Day isn’t the only time parents interact with staff at Carrington. There are regular evenings held, as well as ongoing conversations to ensure they’re kept up to date on their son’s progress, but it is a special day fully dedicated to helping them.

Academy coaches give some training insight to parents of our young scholars during a behind-the-scenes visit to Carrington

ROUND-UP

DIFFERENT APPROACH

Biobanding Week – the practice in which young footballers are temporarily grouped together according to physical maturity, rather than the usual age bandings – is set to take place at the Academy in November.

“We remove age groups for a week and look at players based on the percentage of predicted adult height,” explains Alex Ouzounoglou, the Athletic Development Lead for the Youth Development Phase (U12-U16). “For a player who’s more physically mature than the others in their age group, they might be playing with older players for this week. So they really can’t rely on their physicality. Instead, they have to make quicker decisions. They need to scan more, they need to work with their team-mates, take fewer touches. It’s a great challenge, relying on technical, tactical skills, not physique.

“A kid who’s playing down with younger players, who is less developed than their team-mates at their age, they might have a little bit more time on the ball. They can express themselves more, take more touches and dribble more. Being an older player, we can also start seeing them being a leader within the room. It brings their confidence out.”

This year, United will push the programme an extra step by welcoming international opposition to Carrington for the week, having previously collaborated with local clubs such as Blackburn, Wolves and Sheffield United. Biobanding was pioneered at United in the early 2000s, and has since been adopted by academies worldwide.

IPSWICH FRIENDLY

United’s U21s have supplemented an already busy fixture schedule with regular friendlies so far this season, the latest against Ipswich Town at England’s St George’s Park base. While Ipswich are in the same league as United, each Premier League 2 team plays only 20 of the 29 sides and with no upcoming fixture and the Tractor Boys sitting second behind our young Reds, it made sense to arrange a meeting. United triumphed. It follows match-ups against senior opposition including Rochdale, Bolton and a PFA XI. Those experiences were credited with helping United overcome a more senior and physical Athletic Club side in our recent Premier League International Cup game at Old Trafford.

ON THE CUP TRAIL...

Sticking with cup games, United’s U21s visited Barnsley on Tuesday in the EFL Trophy, where the young Reds were beaten 5-2 by our senior League One opponents. Travis Binnion’s Reds were excellent in the first half and unlucky to be pegged back before the break when David McGoldrick converted a penalty to cancel out Jack Fletcher’s early opener.

The hosts upped their game following the restart, however, with McGoldrick completing a hat-trick, either side of a Chido Obi strike that was well received by the 382 Reds fans in the away section of Oakwell. Jack Fletcher’s red card further hampered United’s cause and Barnsley took full advantage, with Neil Farrugia and Jon Russell generating a 5-2 scoreline that would not have been believable judging by the opening half.

Next Wednesday, Travis Binnion’s table-topping U18s travel to Rochdale for a National League Cup tie. We won 1-0 there last season – with an Amir Ibragimov strike – and will hope to find a first victory in this season’s competition, having suffered a narrow defeat at a sold-out Brackley Town in September.

ENGLAND EXPERIENCE

Young United trio Elyh Harrison (currently on loan at Shrewsbury Town), Ethan Wheatley (at Northampton Town) and Shea Lacey enjoyed a fantastic experience over the recent international break, as they were called up from the England Under-20s squad to train with the senior Three Lions set-up. Elsewhere, Gabriele Biancheri found the net on his first start for Wales U21s, against Austria, while Enzo Kana-Biyik – on loan at Lausanne Sport – netted a hat-trick on his France Under-19s debut, in a victory over Switzerland.

CHRISTMAS TRUCE PROJECT

A big welcome to our U12s squad, who are in attendance at Old Trafford today, alongside members of the Trafford Veterans, after visiting the Imperial War Museum North as part of their annual Christmas Truce project. One player read out a touching poem about Sandy Turnbull, one of 23 United players to have died in conflict. The squad hosted Manchester City at Carrington on Wednesday for our annual ‘truce game’.

Our U21s faced a senior test on Tuesday night, away to League One Barnsley

Manchester United Foundation has released its impact report for the 2024/25 season, showcasing its work with over 41,000 young people, generating over £60 million in social and economic value.

The report and accompanying video highlight key moments from the Foundation’s season, including player and fan support, events and opportunities, and the impact on participants, families and communities across Greater Manchester and beyond.

The Foundation is proud to report that across the 2024/25 season, it generated £61,256,384 in social and economic value – a figure calculated by Substance, an independent research company. This means that for every £1 spent, we generated £11.57 of social value for the communities we serve.

The report also celebrates fans who have taken part in fundraising activities, and donated via the season ticket scheme or by rounding up at online checkouts. Last season, such donations totalled over £660,000 for the Foundation, meaning that £2 million has been raised to support young people in our communities since 2022.

Manchester United Foundation is the associated charity of the football club and works across all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester, offering educational and community outreach programmes – many of which are funded by the Premier League – to provide young people with positive opportunities and aspirations for the future.

Across the 2024/25 season, the Foundation impacted 41,289 young people across Greater Manchester and in outreach areas of London, Carlisle, Derbyshire and Northern Ireland. Over 49,000 hours were delivered by dedicated

Outstanding impact

The Foundation’s latest annual report highlights the numbers behind another successful year of community work, and some of the standout moments from ’24/25…

The Foundation’s latest impact report highlighted how over 41,000 young people benefited from our various programmes in 2024/25, while the fundraising efforts and social and economic value were also celebrated

coaches at 125 projects, cumulating in 517,304 free-of-charge attendances of young people aged five to 18. Hunter, a participant who features in the report, has taken to fundraising for the Foundation after being positively impacted by the Ability Counts PAN-disability football programme. He said: “I wanted to give back after everything the Foundation has done for me, and I have raised over £2,000. I’ve learnt new skills, become more sociable and confident, and developed my leadership skills. I’ve met friends for life, and I’m really happy and grateful for all the amazing opportunities I’ve been given.”

Collette Roche, chair of the Foundation and chief operating officer of Manchester United, said: “Young people being given the opportunity to thrive is something that Manchester United proudly stands for – on and off the pitch – and is epitomised by the Foundation. As this report demonstrates, this philosophy is needed more than ever in our communities, and I am proud to see the Foundation and our fans setting the standard for providing such vital support.”

children’s Book Project

Manchester United Foundation has joined forces with the Children’s Book Project, a national charity whose aim is to give every child the opportunity to own their own books and develop the love of reading.

By partnering with the Children’s Book Project, eligible partner schools of the Foundation, plus other local Greater Manchester schools who sign up to the initiative, will have the opportunity to receive up to £7,000 worth of books, which will be gifted to students through events throughout the school year. The books are carefully curated

(a mix of new and pre-loved titles, and reflecting all reading stages) and the initiative is fully funded, with no cost to schools or families.

John Shiels, Foundation CEO, said: “We’re opening up an exciting opportunity for our partner schools to access this amazing offering of free books that they can gift to their pupils. Something that they can have forever, to enjoy, to learn from. This is an initiative that, for our young people, will greatly improve their life chances.”

‘Greatness comes from everywhere’

St Alphonsus Primary School pupil, Luqman, has won the Foundation’s inter-school poetry competition, in celebration of Black History Month! The competition encouraged children from 10 of the Foundation’s partner primary schools to write about the importance of equality and diversity. Here’s the winning entry from Luqman, a Year 6 pupil at a school less than a mile from Old Trafford:

Diversity is a gift, A specialised prize, Different skin colour, Different eyes.

If the world was the same, And no-one was unique,

Would we all play the same old game, Always hide and seek?

Each face tells a story, Unique and true, Dreams and hopes, Shining through.

When we all play together, We’re just like glue, The world is not the same, And it won’t ever be, Everyone’s unique, It’s called diversity!

Well done, Luqman (pictured) – and thank you for your wonderful words!

Hunter says he’s learned many new skills while “giving back to the Foundation”

Bruno’s BIG NUMBER

With our captain on the cusp of another milestone appearance, we delve into the stats from Fernandes’s 299 games since his 2020 arrival

United debut United 0-0 Wolves 1 February 2020 Premier League, Old Trafford

Appearances by competition

Most appearances in a season 59 (2022/23) 1

Appearances by location

Pointing the way forward on his debut at Old Trafford, against Wolves in February 2020

skipper

PREMIER LEAGUE

Twenty teams, 10 fixtures, all spread over three days this weekend...

Away from Old Trafford, nine other games feature in this weekend’s Premier League schedule – three of which will have already been played by the time the action kicks off here.

On Friday night, struggling West Ham, now under new boss Nuno Espirito Santo, made the trip to Leeds’ Elland Road. Then, this afternoon’s 3pm fixtures see Chelsea host Sunderland and Newcastle take on Fulham, before Brentford face Liverpool at 8pm. After three league defeats in a row, can Arne Slot’s side turn things around at the Gtech Community Stadium – where they won 2-0 in the league last season?

Tomorrow brings a quartet of 2pm kick-offs, including an

intriguing clash on the south coast: in-form Bournemouth against Nottingham Forest, led by new manager Sean Dyche. After 39 days to forget under Ange Postecoglou, Forest fans will be hoping Dyche can turn their season around.

Arsenal v Crystal Palace is another fascinating 2pm encounter – Jean-Philippe Mateta might find things trickier here after his hat-trick last time out – while Aston Villa v Manchester City and Wolves v Burnley complete the early afternoon fixtures, the latter pitting two of the league’s bottom four against each other. Rounding off matchweek nine at 4.30pm tomorrow, it’s Everton v Tottenham

Four players have started all eight of our Premier League games so far this season –Matthijs de Ligt, Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo and Luke Shaw. Our top scorer, meanwhile, is Mbeumo, who has netted twice in the league, and once in the League Cup.

APPEARANCES & GOALS, 2024/25 SEASON

As you’ll have seen on p75, Bruno Fernandes is on the cusp of an appearance milestone. He played his 299th United game in our win at Anfield last weekend, and leads the way for games played for the club from among the current squad. Close behind him is Luke Shaw, on 295 games – and so, like Bruno, he’s close to joining United’s ‘300 club’.

EMERGENCY PROCEDURE

2025/26 FIXTURES

FernandesDorgu

FernandesDorguMbeumoMount

Ugarte Dorgu

Fernandes 1

FernandesDorguMbeumo

Fernandes 1 DorguMbeumo

Fernandes Dorgu MbeumoCunha

FernandesDalot

Help tackle discriminatory or offensive behaviour inside Old Trafford by texting ACTION to 66777* followed by the STAND, ROW and SEAT of the offender and then the nature of the problem. Allow us to do the rest. *Texts are charged at the standard network rate. United

From which team did Benjamin Sesko join the Reds?

United beat Brighton on penalties in the semi-final of which competition in 2023?

It’s all or nothing in our 10-question test – you have to get every poser right for the win. Good luck!

Which of these two players made their United

How many United goals did Wayne Rooney get in his two highest-scoring

Which of these other blue-and-white striped teams did the Reds face more recently in the Premier League?

For which club has Danny Welbeck made more appearances?

is our top Premier League scorer against Brighton?

Which current top-flight club were promoted with the Seagulls in 2016/17?

NEWCASTLE OR

United’s last game on Halloween was a 2-0 win over which team in the Champions League in 2017?

BENFICA OR

was the first Red to win the Ballon d’Or?

Brighton (168-142);

Newcastle; 9. Benfica; 10. Denis Law (1964)

MANCHESTER UNITED 25/26 HOME JERSEY

MANCHESTER UNITED BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION

Altay BAYINDIR (GK)

Diogo DALOT

Noussair MAZRAOUI

Matthijs DE LIGT

Harry MAGUIRE

Lisandro MARTINEZ

Mason MOUNT

Bruno FERNANDES

Matheus CUNHA

Joshua ZIRKZEE

Tyrell MALACIA

Patrick Chinazaekpere DORGU

Leny YORO AMAD CASEMIRO

Bryan MBEUMO

Tom HEATON (GK)

Luke SHAW

Manuel UGARTE

Ayden HEAVEN

Benjamin SESKO

Senne LAMMENS (GK)

Chido OBI

FREDRICSON

LEON Kobbie MAINOO

Bart VERBRUGGEN (GK)

Adam WEBSTER

Lewis DUNK

Jan Paul VAN HECKE

Solly MARCH

Brajan GRUDA

Stefanos TZIMAS

Georginio RUTTER

Yankuba MINTEH

Jack HINSHELWOOD

Tommy WATSON

Carlos BALEBA

Danny WELBECK

Charalampos KOSTOULAS

James MILNER

Olivier BOSCAGLI

Kaoru MITOMA

Jason STEELE (GK)

Ferdi KADIOGLU

Diego GOMEZ

Yasin AYARI

Mats WIEFFER

Maxim DE CUYPER

Joel VELTMAN

Tom McGILL (GK)

Diego COPPOLA

Charlie TASKER

Harry HOWELL

Nehemiah ORIOLA