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New York Times
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
United? Yanited? Man U? What to call Manchester United – and what it says about you
Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays took to the stage at Elland Road, Leeds. It was 1991, when the Manchester United and Leeds United rivalry was deeply hostile, yet here was a Man United fan on stage in Leeds headlining a festival along with other Manchester bands. Ryder surveyed the 25,000 crowd and asked: 'Are you Man U? Are you f****** Man U, you?' Advertisement The terminology was familiar to locals when trying to sniff out stray Mancs around football matches and the crowd loved it — although one of them scaled a 260ft floodlight and refused to come down as the anthemic bass from Loose Fit's opening chords followed. Man U. I'd only ever heard that term once before, when Everton captain Kevin Ratcliffe reckoned in a pre-season guide that 'Man U will be there or thereabouts'. In the 1990s, when Man U became serial winners, the term was more a pejorative and not something United fans would say. It was hardly 'Manure', which some rival fans used — and still do — but it marked the person out as definitely not a Manchester United fan. Cockneys and Geordies called the team Man U. Maybe that's why Steve Bruce, a Geordie who played more than 400 times for Manchester United, still calls his old club Man U. What else are they known as? The Reds, MUFC, the Red Devils, Manchester, or just United, which is bound to annoy fans of the many other Uniteds. In Leeds or Newcastle, United are the local heroes, not a team from Manchester. Most fans I know call them 'United' without meaning offence, though the club's superb official centenary book by the esteemed author Geoffrey Green in 1978 was called There's Only One United. When my dad referred to United he called them the Reds. My mother calls her team 'Yoo-nigh-tid' as if she's a Yorkshire sheep farmer and not an Old Trafford girl. It's not only the term you use but how you say it. The YouTuber Angry Ginge has popularised the term 'Yanited' and that's how the word United has long sounded when sung by fans in defiance during games. 'I say, 'u-NI-tid' (emphasis on the 'ni'),' supporter Neil Meehan tells The Athletic. 'But I emphasise the 'tid' on the chant and I'm fighting a losing battle.' 'If it's one of those who support Doncaster or someone and you know they're about to say, 'How many games do you go to?', I say, 'Manchester United Football Club',' says James Young. 'As a student in Salford, I had to justify why I supported the team in a way that a Peterborough United fan never would. And I don't like, 'Man Yernited', just grates me for some reason. Like people that say, 'footy' — trying a bit hard.' Advertisement Much is said in jest, too. I have a mate who says things like, 'Looking forward to some good man yoo-ing tonight…' Which means going to see United play. Manchester United. 'Going Man Yoo'ing tonight and the timing of those two fantastic performances previous are completely coincidental to my attendance,' wrote Bashy Mc on X in January after the 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the league and the penalty shootout win against Arsenal in the FA Cup. For years, until a certain other club in Manchester became more successful, United were simply known as Manchester by many in Europe. That's how most Spanish people referred to United, and still do — City are El City. A ticket printed by Milan for a game at San Siro in 2010 simply listed 'Manchester' as the opponents. There are terms of affection for groups of players like the Busby Babes or Fergie's Fledglings, but these were coined and used by journalists and not used in everyday vernacular. Ditto the Red Devils, which was first given to Salford's rugby league team after it took a two-month tour to France in 1934 and got the nickname 'Les Diables Rouges'. And then there are the names that rival fans use. Juvenile ones like Manure or Manush***-ed. Then there's Rags (Red Arrogant Gits). I've heard City fans call United the Stretford Rangers because Old Trafford is in Stretford, Trafford. There are also far more offensive terms. The term Munichs was and is used by a few rival fans as a slur relating to the Munich air disaster. In 2024, the novelist David Peace released a book about the Busby Babes called Munichs. Some fans were outraged at the title. 'From the moment he revealed he was giving his book that name, people, including the lifelong match-going fan and broadcaster Michael Crick, suggested to him this was not a good idea, that it would hardly be the most appealing of titles for book-loving United supporters,' wrote United fan Jim White in his fanzine column. Advertisement 'But the author responded that maybe it was time United fans reclaimed the word. That in the manner of other groups who had been insulted by provocative language, they needed to seize hold of it and use it as a point of pride. Maybe, he said, Reds should all chant 'Munichs' in the way Tottenham Hotspur followers use the Y word. Peace is a superb writer; his Red Riding Quartet and The Damned United are among the finest of modern novels. But on this, he is wholly wrong. There is nothing to reclaim here.' In Germany, Manchester United are commonly called Man U (there's a well-intended movement among hardcore fans not to say it, because of a misunderstanding that it's offensive and somehow comes from the Munich air disaster, which it doesn't), though they pronounce in it Men U. 'Essentially it sounds like the menu in a restaurant as a result of Germans learning at school that the sound 'a' is pronounced 'eh' in English and overdoing it,' explains Germany-based United fan Matt Ford. 'Hence they'll pronounce 'hand' as 'hend', 'bag' as 'beg' or, most annoyingly, my name as 'Mett'. Which is actually a type of raw meat, but never mind. Anyway, it also gives them 'Menchester' and therefore 'Men U'. With the weird emphasis. Does my head in.' Near the Lake District town of Windermere lies the grave of Fred Attock, a Liverpudlian who founded Newton Heath Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Cricket & Football Club in 1878. They became Manchester United in 1902, which is much easier to say.
Daily Mirror
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Paul Gascoigne's sudden downward turn after looking 'better than ever' just weeks ago
Much-loved football great Paul Gascoigne is recovering in hospital after being admitted into intensive care adter being found collapsed at home in Poole, Dorset Football legend Paul Gascoigne was looking like a man at the top of his game just weeks before he was admitted to intensive care after being found collapsed at home. Gazza, 58, said he felt the best he has for years as he sat down with the Mirror ahead of his new book Eight being released in the autumn. He took part in an exclusive photoshoot and looked dapper as he spoke about having a better grasp of what was happening to him during his rollercoaster life. Fans were left fearing the worst last night as news broke of the former England and Spurs midfield being rushed to hospital. He is now stable and recovering in an acute medical unit after being found semi-conscious by a friend in his bedroom at home in Poole, Dorset. The health set-back came after Gazza told us: 'I feel better now than I have in years.' He went on to detail why he has put some much energy into his new book, saying: 'I hope I am at a point that I can really look back over everything I've gone through in my life with a different - and more positive - perspective. After so many years in the spotlight, I feel like it's time people got to know the real me.' Mirror snapper Rowan Griffiths photographed his footballing hero Gazza for the first time in May and said: 'He looks fantastic.' Meeting at a hotel in Didcot, Oxfordshire, Rowan says: 'Gazza knows how to hold the room. He was very genuine, asking how we all were. He was doing a speaking tour and seemed very well. I was so relieved to see him looking so good, as I was a fan from way back in the day myself. He was one of the heroes of my youth.' Today, Paul's friend Steve Foster, who found the star, said: "He would like to thank everyone for the support he's received so far from so many old friends who wish him well and want to see him back to his best." Foster drove Paul to hospital after finding him, adding: "Paul is in hospital, which is the best possible place for him to be right now.' He is expected to remain there for several days. Earlier this year he showed his character as he confessed to a gaffe - almost letting a phone call from The Pope pass him by, before greeting him with a remarkable opening line. Speaking on The Rest Is Football, Gascoigne recalled: "It wasn't just [fans and journalists], it was from famous people as well. "I was getting calls from George Clooney, Dustin Hoffman, Oprah Winfrey. "I was getting calls from everywhere. The best one was I got told there was a phone call and I said 'tell them to f*** off, I'm training'. They said 'you better take the phone call'. I said, 'no I'm training, tell them I'll call them after my training'. They said it was important so I said, 'who the f*** is it?' "They said it was The Pope, John Paul II." In hilarious fashion, Gascoigne let his thick Geordie accent loose when answering the phone to His Holiness, adding: "I picked up the phone and went, 'Hi Pope, you alreet?' I said, 'hiya Pope, what do you want?' He said, 'come to the Vatican, I want to meet you'. "My Dad's a Catholic. We went over and saw The Pope, it was unbelievable." He added: "When you're getting calls like that and then I'm getting Mike Tyson coming to Dunston, where I live, wanting to come to my 40th birthday party. It was just crazy." Gazza is one of England's best-loved sports stars having shot to fame during the 1980s and 1990s. After coming through the youth ranks at local club Newcastle United, he made his debut for the Magpies in April 1985. He scored 25 times in 104 games for the Toon before moving to Spurs. In north London, he helped Tottenham to the FA Cup in 1991 and spent four years with the club before moving to Lazio. He later represented Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and Burnley. But it was with England that Gazza captured the nation's heart. He made his debut in September 1988 under Bobby Robson and would go on to be a key part of the Three Lions' run to the semi-finals at Italia 90. After picking up a booking against West Germany which would have kept him out of the final, Gary Lineker alerted the dugout to the fact Gascoigne was becoming upset in one of football's most enduring images. Ultimately England were beaten on penalties and did not make the final, leading to Gazza crying on the pitch as he kissed the badge on his shirt and took the acclaim of the travelling supporters. He was also part of the England side that reached the semi-finals of Euro 96 on home soil, again losing to Germany on penalties. His goal against Scotland in the group stage is one of the most famous in Three Lions history. But he was controversially overlooked for the 1998 World Cup in France by Glenn Hoddle, ending his international career with 10 goals in 57 appearances.
Daily Record
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Newcastle fans take over Rangers pubs ahead of Celtic friendly
Around 10,000 travelling Toon Army have made the trip over the border for the glamour friendly Newcastle United fans have invaded Glasgow ahead of their friendly against Celtic. And some of the travelling Toon Army have been joining supporters of the fierce rivals of their pre-season opponents. A photo shared on social media shows diehard Rangers pub the Bristol Bar covered in Newcastle flags. The boozer in the east end of the city is in sight of Celtic Park where the Geordies will head for the big match. Fellow Rangers pub Oswalds Bar in the city centre also threw their doors open to Newcastle fans based closer to home. They wrote on X: "Our famous Glasgow landmark is a Geordie for the day 'Geordie Boys are taking over' "Was a pleasure to have the 'Glasgow Mags Rangers & Newcastle Supporters Club' in Oswalds today before they headed to the Duke of Wellington and changed the iconic cone to a black and white one. "P.S. You better bring our Gazza masks back tonight."
The Sun
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Geordie Shore's Marnie Simpson gives birth to her third child and tells fans she feels ‘so blessed'
MARNIE Simpson has given birth to her third child. The Geordie Shore star shared the happy news today alongside a picture of herself in hospital. 2 2 She reassured fans that she was well are welcoming her baby girl. Marnie wrote: "Baby girl is here safe and sound! We're both doing really well and recovering. "She's so beautiful and perfect! I feel so blessed and still feels surreal I have a daughter. "Gonna enjoy this baby bubble and get back to socials once I've recovered fully. "Thanks for all the amazing messages it really means so much."
Rhyl Journal
18-07-2025
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Ant and Dec filmed in their boxers to mark dough company partnership
The pair, whose full names are Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, had wanted to support a small business from the North of England, and approached the company to suggest a partnership. The Geordie duo have filmed a tongue-in-cheek video in their boxer shorts to show how The Northern Dough Co offers restaurant-quality food at affordable prices – all prepared in the comfort of your own home and with no need to get dressed up. Founded by Amy and Chris Cheadle, the company offers a range of high-quality, frozen bakery products such as pizza dough and brioche dough, and is already stocked in major supermarkets across the UK. Ant said: 'I love making pizzas at home with my family and was already using Northern Dough Co when we started conversations with Amy and Chris about working with them. 'As soon as we met it was clear we had the same values and together we have some great ideas on how we can expand the business. It's very exciting and we can't wait to get started in our role as co-owners!' Dec said: 'We love The Northern Dough Co ethos of celebrating the joy of eating at home and bringing people together. 'Whether it's a pizza party with mates or a Saturday night in front of the telly with your granny, everyone can get stuck in and make delicious pizzas. 'We are excited to celebrate all things dough through our partnership and social content.' Amy and Chris Cheadle said: 'It's not every day Ant and Dec's team drop you a line to ask if you'd be interested in exploring working together, but from the very first meeting it was clear just how well their personal values aligned with ours, and how easy it would be to partner and grow our business together.'
