i was born within sight of old trafford, fromthe age of 8 i used to walk up every saturday, pay my tanner and watch from the stretford paddock.
Did that for over twenty years, saw all the greats and also saw a lot of crap.
last game for me was FA cup final reply against Crystal Palace in 1990, after that they brought in the compulsory membership scheme which meant that even though i'd been a red all my life and supported them through the dark and dire years i had to pay extra for the privalege of renewing the season ticket i'd held for almost two decades
I stopped going out of principle as i could see what was happening was the thin end of the wedge and i knew that the clud i loved was going to end up as no more than the financial pawn it is today.
the odd thiong is, since jacking it in i know tend to appreciate football as a whole no matter who's playing, aslong as it played well.
For a time i crossed the divide and took my son to maine road for a few years when they were down in the old second division and followed them back into the top flight. being a smaller club, city reminded me of what united used to be before the greed and money took over.
I still follow united on the tele, i cried when they won the European cup in 99 but then again i did the same after Liverpools fantastic final fightback in 2005 and for what its worth, the second half of that game was possibly the best half of any game i've ever seen, truly awesome.
and thats me
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