A genuine title tilt for United's best squad in years?

 As first days of term go, that one wasn't too shabby was it? Manchester United passed their first test with flying colours to comprehensively finish top of the class after the opening assignment of the season. 

Speaking of which, Leeds were very much on the wrong end of one - again, for the second successive season. Inspired by straight A students Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba - with the former hitting a hat-trick and the latter grabbing FOUR assists - Leeds were sent from the classroom sweating profusely, muttering under their breaths and begging for mercy like an errant pupil with a high tolerance for rule breaking. Manchester United didn't show them any. For notoriously slow starters as United often are, this was a gauntlet thrown down to rivals, a question asked, a statement made. 

This United side have all the ingredients to excel at whatever challenges they are posed across the next nine months. Fernandes and Pogba lead the way in academia par excellence, adding a sprinkling of genuine 24-carat stardust on to an already stellar collection of players. Mason Greenwood was excellent, Harry Maguire kept Patrick Bamford quiet, Luke Shaw did well again and even Fred scored. Perhaps most notably of all, it's easy to forget this is a Reds side with four players still to drop back into it. Marcus Rashford is injured, Edinson Cavani unavailable with summer signing Jadon Sancho consigned to the bench for this one. Raphael Varane, our other new arrival, was unveiled before kick-off and is set for a debut at Southampton. Grabbing the goals - and avoiding the concession of them - should not be a major concern for Solskjaer this season. 

A little under a year ago, United - undercooked, unprepared and simply not ready - were outclassed in almost every department by Roy Hodgson's Crystal Palace at an eerily empty Old Trafford in our 2020-21 opener. In the very next home game, the Reds humiliation was even worse - 1-6 to Jose Mourinho's Tottenham, albeit in controversial circumstances. Three games into the last campaign, and a title challenge was already out of reach. Eleven months on and, indeed, its only one game in but we're already three points better off. A quick start is imperative if we are to mount a genuine assault on top spot for the first time in many a year. Last season, we should perhaps have seen that poor start coming when United's transfer window was more akin to a trolley dash in Poundland. No one really expected a serious challenge on the leaders. Now, given United's far more cohesive, measured and joined up thinking in the market, many are giving us a genuine chance. 

This United squad looks the best we've had in years - not only in terms of its quality, but also its depth, its balance and its capability to adapt. Whatever the rest of the 2021-22 campaign has in store for Solskjaer's United, one thing seems certain: this version of the Reds looks and feels eminently more durable and efficient than that debacle. It's going to be tough to emerge from this particular school with the top honours when you share a room with the rich and spoilt oil tycoon, the Russian mafia's son and the good looking, hard working and talented high flyer - the kid who always used to say he'd do well "next year" until he finally achieved top marks. But maybe this time, this year, might just belong to the pupil named Manchester United. 

Fernandes has had too many brilliant games for United to list but this was perhaps his most impactful. Pogba, if less consistent, could distil his career at Old Trafford into a similarly sublime highlights reel. Without Pogba in the team, opponents can stifle Fernandes and stop United but with them both, when it all clicks together as we saw here, they both make the other better. It was poetry in motion as United's two finest string pullers in chief combined for a performance amongst their very best in Red. The outcome was swift, brutal and devastating - headmaster Fernandes with a hat-trick, prefect Pogba with four assists and old rivals vanquished. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. 

Not since 2006-07 have a United vintage enjoyed an opening day quite like this one. Still under the tutelage of the greatest teacher of them all, Sir Alex's Class of 2007 served up another lesson with Fulham this time the sacrificial lambs to the slaughter. Needless to say, the Reds did finish top of the class that year (the rich oil tycoon hadn't joined the school then) with another deadly duo - two emerging young pups by the names of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo - at the peak of their considerable powers. That's surely got to be an omen..

Welcome to Manchester United, Raphael Varane..

And so its official - Raphael Varane is finally a Manchester United player with the signing of the £34m defender confirmed on Saturday.

It was always going to take some doing to upstage the return of fans to Old Trafford as the Uniteds of Manchester and Leeds met on the opening day, but - in truly iconic style - the Frenchman walked down the tunnel and held his new shirt number aloft in front of a rocking, baying Stretford End.

The deal had seemingly taken an eternity to complete - with United having agreed an initial fee for the 28-year-old on 27 July - but then held up through quarantine requirements and image rights with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitting on Friday the deal was not "100% done" as United still needed to "dot all the i's and cross all the t's." It all left us wondering when and perhaps even if the deal would be struck, but then, 24 hours later, Manchester United's latest recruit walked on to the Old Trafford pitch as a Red for the first time.

34m for a player of this quality seems almost criminal, especially when you consider Arsenal bought Ben White - a player in only his second Premier League season - for 50m. I never thought we'd see such a madcap transfer window as Lionel Messi departed Barcelona and their arch rivals Real Madrid moved on Sergio Ramos and Varane - one of the finest centre-back pairings of their generation - in the same summer. 

So what are Manchester United getting for their money? Widely considered one of the best exponents of his craft on the planet, the 28-year-old is one of the most decorated players in world football and brings with him a wealth of experience.

With a glittering CV of three La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey, three Spanish Super Cups, four Champions League titles, four FIFA Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups during his decade at Real Madrid, and the World Cup with France, Varane is a serial winner as the only United player from this current squad to win everything there is to win. 
Only David de Gea is a league champion with the Reds, with Varane's influence and trophy-winning  expertise across 360 games for Los Blancos a significant boost as United seek to end their four-year search for silverware. It's easy to see why he's so highly rated - United have needed a player like this for years. The club have been long term admirers of the French international with former manager Sir Alex Ferguson originally interested in the then 18-year-old Lens player and Jose Mourinho also attempted to bring the player to M16. 

Ever since Rio Ferdinand departed Old Trafford in 2013 as Father Time finally tolled for a brilliant player, it left a gaping chasm in the defence that hasn't really been filled since. Plenty have tried - from the makeshift (Scott McTominay) to the moribund (Phil Jones) but none have succeeded. Ferdinand's exit saw the sudden absence of a specific type of defender, someone whom is dominant in his defensive duels whilst being calm and elegant on the ball to play out from the back. Last season, it was increasingly obvious we needed a partner for Harry Maguire - Varane ticks both boxes and generally brings an upgrade to a previously much maligned backline. That said, new Sweden captain Lindelof was excellent against Leeds but you feel it is his place in the team under the greatest threat now Varane has come in. 

The affable Norwegian said: "We are all absolutely delighted that we have managed to secure one off the best defenders in the world over the last ten years. Raphael is a proven winner who we have tracked over a long period of time and we know just how much of a dedicated professional he is.
"We have a great depth of international defenders and he will add immense skillset, experience and leadership to our group. He is a unique defender with a rare combination of top level attributes we hope will rub off on our young players."

His guile to Maguire's grit will be the final piece of the puzzle in the defence for Solskjaer with Varane's pace, ability and composure on the ball the perfect foil for his captain's tenacity and aerial strength. 

Varane will don the number 19 shirt at United, previously worn by Amad who now takes up 16 (Michael Carrick's former number). He will available for a debut at Southampton on Sunday - welcome to Manchester United, Raphael Varane. 

Match report: Manchester United 5-1 Leeds United

Bruno Fernandes struck a stunning opening day hat-trick as Paul Pogba claimed four assists on a day Raphael Varane was officially unveiled as a Red.
The £43m French international, signed from Real Madrid, was introduced to an already fervent Old Trafford crowd shortly before kick-off as fans returned with the iconic old ground at full capacity.

Fernandes picked up the mantle and carried on his magnificent form from 2020-21 as he set United on their way with a dinked opener on the half hour.
Although Leeds levelled through Luke Ayling - arguably the best goal of the game - the Reds responded superbly as Pogba played in Mason Greenwood and then set up Fernandes to fire in the third. The Portuguese magnifico volleyed in an excellent strike to seal his first Reds treble
before Fred joined the party to put the seal on a famous, magnificent day.

Fernandes quickly assumed hero status at United - such has been his transformative effect - but this was only the fourth time our talismanic figurehead had played in front of a packed Old Trafford.
United's other summer signing Jadon Sancho was named on the bench having not featured at all in pre-season with Pogba stationed on the right, Dan James on the left and Greenwood up top in the absence of the unavailable Edinson Cavani.

The Reds stormed into the new season looking intent for a repeat of last term's pre-Christmas thumping in which Scott McTominay put Marcelo Bielsa's side to the sword with a brace inside the first three minutes. And, perhaps inevitably, it was he whom went closest early on with an early sighter, blocked by Robin Koch after 120 seconds.

Greenwood, leading the line in his favoured centre-forward position, was denied by Illan Meslier and then put Pascal Strujik under pressure, with the defender forced to only poke the ball against the striker in trying to clear, but Meslier was equal to the effort.

Pogba smashed into the side netting having been played through by Greenwood but David de Gea was then called into action at the other end. Leeds served notice of their sporadic threat as a trademark swift counter attack culminated in first Jack Harrison, and then Mateusz Klich, denied by the recalled Spaniard.

Rodrigo headed wide but United's first goal of the new season arrived on the half hour mark when the Reds seized on an errant clearance from Meslier and Pogba picked out Fernandes. The string-pulling Portuguese took the ball under his spell with a wonderful touch to pull it down and clip neatly over the advancing keeper, whom got a hand on the ball but was unable to keep it out.

The Reds went in at half-time but, with only a slender lead, certainly did not have an unassailable lead.
Indeed, perhaps inevitability, came a blow to the solar plexus as Ayling collected the ball, travelled with it and - still unmarked - released a rocket from 25 yards to leave the helpless De Gea with no chance.

Just when it seemed as though familiar failings would return to haunt the Reds again, the response was swift, brutal and brilliantly emphatic. 
Only three minutes further on and United were ahead again as Pogba's defence splitting pass picked out Greenwood, he held off the struggling Strujik and drilled home a superb low finish beyond Meslier.

Leeds - and we - barely had time to draw breath before United, by now in the finest of fettles, came again.

Fernandes sat down Meslier and wrong-footed the defence in one movement before his goalbound effort looked to have been cleared by the stretching Ayling. However, referee Paul Tierney indicated goalline technology had signalled a goal and Old Trafford erupted again. Replays did, indeed, show the ball had crossed the line by a mile so it was the correct decision.

Still Solskjaer's men did not relent with Leeds now under siege and Old Trafford rocking with electricity and baying for blood. 
The Reds were rampant now and Fernandes added his crowning glory with the pick of the bunch on the hour mark. Varane will replace Victor Lindelof in the United side but the Iceman and Swedish captain showed his ability on the ball and why Solskjaer still views him as a key part of his squad. Lindelof's superbly lofted, raking through ball fell perfectly for Fernandes to smash home on the volley inside the box with a brief VAR check unable to prevent the completion of his maiden treble.

Leeds had been battered and there was still time for Fred to join in the fun as he swept home our fifth from yet another Pogba pull-back, the Frenchman's fourth set up of the match. 
But perhaps the biggest roar of the day came on 74 minutes when Sancho was handed a debut as he came on to replace Dan James with assist-king Pogba also given a breather in place of compatriot Anthony Martial. 

We're Man United, we're top of the league!

Overall team performance: 9/10
United Faithful Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes. Simply magnificent. 

Manchester United vs Leeds preview and predicted XI

 It's early August and just like clockwork its that time again as the new 2021-22 Premier League season gets underway on Friday.

We only have to wait until Saturday lunchtime before the long awaited return to action of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tricky, piss boiling, showtime Reds. For the first time in 520 days, United will run out to be greeted by a capacity crowd at an expectant Old Trafford in the biggest crowd the famous old ground has had since Scott McTominay's red letter day in the Manchester derby with mass gatherings legal again and no restrictions on crowd numbers.
Newly promoted Brentford host London rivals Arsenal in the first top flight match of the new season before Old Trafford opens its door again to a full compliment of fans.

As if that in itself wasn't enough to set pulses racing, the identity of the opening day opposition certainly will as the purists favourites - Marcelo Bielsa's eye-catching Leeds side - make the 48-mile journey across the Pennines for the 112th instalment of one of English football's fiercest, most storied rivalries. Solskjaer will want to ensure a better start this time, after he resided over a poor beginning to 2020-21 in which United picked up only seven points from the first six games. 

The Elland Road club took the league by storm on their return to the top flight last season but have bolstered their ranks in an attempt to avoid the threat of the dreaded "second season syndrome" - the unwritten rule in which promoted clubs dip significantly in their second year having survived with ease first time around (see: Sheffield United). Junior Firpo has arrived from Barcelona, Jack Harrison has made his loan move permanent and teenage winger Amari Miller has come in from Birmingham as they aim to kick on from last term's impressive ninth place.

It's worth noting that probably United's best performance of the season came in the corresponding fixture last term as Bielsa's side were blown away by a swashbuckling showing from the rampant Reds to the tune of a 6-2 thumping.

Speaking of which, there can only be one outcome if Solskjaer and his side are to improve on our 2020-21 showing. The Reds have finished third and second in the affable gaffer's two full seasons at the wheel so only the title can continue that upward trajectory. Finishing narrowly behind Manchester City is one thing, and you feel it might be this team's zenith, but taking the final step to usurp them is easier said than done.

But the Reds, too, look - on paper at least - a stronger and better balance proposition this time around. We've finally filled the Cristiano Ronaldo shaped hole on the right wing - twelve years on from the Portuguese's departure - with the 73m arrival of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund, ending the Reds long running pursuit of the highly rated young wideman. Sancho hasn't featured at all during pre-season and a lack of match fitness could mean he's eased into things on his debut so don't be surprised to see him on the bench for this one.

The same can be said for our other newest recruit. As I write this on Wednesday afternoon, Raphael Varane is yet to be officially unveiled as a Manchester United player. The centre-back - signed from Real Madrid for the bargain price of 43m - underwent his medical on Tuesday at Carrington with the signing set to be completed and announced on Thursday. Champions League Varane would need to be registered later that day to be available for Leeds but - like Sancho - hasn't played a minute of pre-season and carries the risk of being undercooked going into the campaign opener with no competitive football in two months. If there's one team you don't want to face with a lack of sharpness, it is Leeds. 

So it wouldn't be a total surprise if Solskjaer gave him an extra week to prepare, with Victor Lindelof to partner the fit again Harry Maguire at the back for the visit of Bielsa's team. 
Marcus Rashford (shoulder) is out until October with Edinson Cavani also unlikely to feature as the Uruguayan hitman could need to quarantine following a late return from his South American holiday. Alex Telles is a long term absentee, Jesse Lingard tested positive for Covid whilst Eric Bailly and Amad Diallo have only just returned from Tokyo having represented Ivory Coast at the Olympics. 

Nemanja Matic impressed in our final friendly against Everton to stake his claim for a start, a match in which Anthony Martial returned having been out since March. In the absence of Rashford and Cavani, the mercurial Frenchman could be selected to lead the line. Dean Henderson missed the entirety of pre-season after his positive Covid test, so David de Gea is expected to be named in goal. 

Manchester United host Leeds at Old Trafford on Saturday 14th August with a 12.30pm kick off, live on BT Sport 1. 
Match odds: Man Utd 3/1 Draw 10/3 Leeds 5/1 (Odds courtesy of SkyBet) 

Predicted Man Utd XI vs Leeds: De Gea; Wan - Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; James, Fernandes, Martial; Greenwood. 

United complete Jadon Sancho signing

Manchester United have finally confirmed the much anticipated signing of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund for £73m.
After a two-year long transfer saga that saw talks for the player last summer break down when the two clubs could not agree a fee, the 21-year-old - long linked with a move to Old Trafford - put pen to paper on a deal until 2026 with the option of a further year. 
The Reds have finally got their man to resolve the problem right-wing position, vacated by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 and not adequately addressed since. Only took us twelve years. 

Sancho - for whom the deal was agreed on July 1 - becomes United's fourth most expensive summer signing (after Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Maguire) and the second costliest English player of all time - behind only team-mate and new captain, that man Maguire.

Sancho, a former youth team player at Manchester City, said: "I'll always be grateful to Dortmund for giving me the opportunity to play first team football, although I always knew and hoped I would return to England one day.
"The chance to join Manchester United is a dream come true, and I just cannot wait to perform in the Premier League. 
"This is a young and exciting squad and I know, together, we can develop further into something special to bring the success the fans deserve. I'm looking forward to working with the manager and his coaching team to further develop my game."

Sancho, widely regarded as one of the brightest young talents in Europe, scored 50 goals (64 assists) in his four seasons (137 appearances) in Germany, won the German cup and DFL Supercup (the equivalent of the Community Shield) and has been capped 22 times by England under Gareth Southgate having won the World Cup at U17 level in 2017.
Highly
technical, creative and brimming with pace and trickery, Sancho was the focal point of Dortmund's youthful attack and will look to reprise that role at Old Trafford - stationed on the right hand side to dovetail with stellar talents Bruno Fernandes, Cavani and England colleague Marcus Rashford. 

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told ManUtd.com: "Jadon epitomises the type of player I want at this club - he is brilliantly exciting forward player in the best traditions of Manchester United.
"He will form an integral part of my team for years to come and we look forward to seeing him blossom - there is no better place for him to unleash his considerable talent. His goals, assists and attacking influence records speak for themselves and he will bring us pace, flair, and impetus to my squad."

Sancho's arrival at Old Trafford completes the final piece of Solskjaer's attacking puzzle, with the problematic right-wing issues now consigned to the history books. Not since a certain chap by the name of Cristiano have we had a right-winger worthy of the name, but now Sancho - who will take up the no.25 shirt at the club - will mean we have a proper, top class, out-and-out right sided player for the best part of a decade to come. Sancho had been linked with the iconic, exalted status of United's famous no.7 but Edinson Cavani - whom currently occupies the hallowed epitome of excellence - will now retain that number. 

United's newest recruit is currently on a well deserved holiday having played for England at the Euros but is expected to return in time to feature during pre-season ahead of our opener with Leeds on 14th August. 

Welcome to Manchester United, Jadon Sancho. Welcome to the biggest club in the world.

Marcus Rashford... the whole of England is with you

The disgraceful scenes which followed England's penalty shootout defeat to Italy in the final of the Euros were as disgusting as they were predictable.
Despite taking the knee for over a year, you knew what would happen as soon as Bukayo Saka's penalty was clawed away by the giant frame of Gianluigi Donnarumma to give the Azzuri a second continental title and deny England at the last. 

Even before Saka's errant spot-kick, there was a sad sense of inevitability once Red-in-waiting Jadon Sancho and very much Red Marcus Rashford failed to convert from 12 yards. Your first thought was "Oh no" - not because it was  England but because of the identity of the players. Three young black men had erred when it mattered most - and suddenly the notion that Black Lives Matter was conspicuous by its absence. It said it all when you knew - in 2021 for goodness sake - England's failure would pave the way for their black footballers to be scapegoated and vilified. Rashford's memorial in Withington - a tribute to this finest of young men - was vandalised with disgusting, abhorrent racist abuse. On Instagram, Sancho and Saka were besieged with monkey emojis and language not fit for either these pages or, indeed, anywhere at all. 

To these abusers: you are not fans, you are scum. The lowest of the low. To call you people at all is being too polite. It's the minority, the likes of you, that give the rest of us a bad name as football fans and human beings. Get in the bin, get out the country and never come back. We don't want you here. You don't deserve us. Rashford doesn't deserve you. How dare you. What goes through the minds of these sick, twisted, vile, pathetic excuses of a human being to even think of actions like these, let alone carry them through. We can only hope Rashford has a loving arm thrown around him and the country, as a collective, reaches out and pulls him into the warmest of metaphorical embraces. He deserves nothing less. It's been fantastic to see the warmth of feeling the nation has for this man with his newly repaired mural - defaced in the aftermath of Sunday's defeat - showered with cards, messages and an outpouring of love. We are all with you Marcus. The response to the events of Sunday evening have only gone to further illustrate how much of an impact Rashford has had on the nation's conscience over the past year or so.  

In Rashford, a young, working class black man from impoverished Wynthenshawe in the leafy suburbs of Manchester's metropolis  - the country had found a people's champion during the worst health crisis of this and any other generation. With the UK plunged into the first of three national lockdowns, Rashford took on the government under his own steam in the face of defiance to provide food for our nation's children, setting up his own foundation, doing charity work, helping out at a foodbank with his mum, becoming the face of FairShare and earning an MBE. England took Rashford to their hearts as a rare example of a successful, high earning, high profile celebrity using his exalted status to make a difference to others. Throw in the fact he learnt sign language to judge a poetry competition for deaf children, and his new found expertise as a children's author, and you have a young man with a heart of gold, a role model, an inspiration and a thousand times better a person than any of us mere mortals can ever even hope of becoming. Yet this is the thanks he gets for putting those less fortunate first. He's got nothing to apologise for, but yet the fact he feels he even needs to says it all when it comes to the systemic treatment of coloured people in 21st century Britain. Love will always conquer hate. 

This young man - a lad in his early 20s no less - possesses more courage than I could ever even dream of. He had the guts to step up and take that penalty when others didn't. There's absolutely nothing for him to feel sorry about - he's done more than most to keep our country going, keep our spirits up, and should be proud of himself. I'm certainly proud of him and one missed penalty won't ever change that. I'm proud and privileged a player and a person like Rashford plays for our club - my club. He's taken plenty of pressure penalties before and succeeded - who can forget that famous night in Paris when he completed Mission Impossible with nerves of steel. It's sport. It happens. It's no secret that Rashford has struggled through this season, playing through injury to put his body on the line for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and United. But yet he still refused to be cowed in the Euros final, and showed courage, guts and bravery when his country needed him most. 

 He was merely a bit part player in the Euros, only coming on in the dying seconds of the final specifically to take a penalty. Rashford hadn't got a feel for the ball and his ill-fated spot kick was only his second touch but yet he still put his hand up to take that penalty with everything at stake, despite being far from his best and struggling with fitness and confidence. He should be commended, not criticised. If anything, Gareth Southgate - for all his excellent work with the national team - could be apportioned blame for overlooking Rashford (and Sancho to an extent) for weeks but then bringing them on as first choice penalty takers with two minutes to go having barely had a touch. Sorry, but that's setting you up to fail. 

Take time off, Rashy, get your injury sorted and come back stronger. The whole of England is with you. 

One team, one United - My apathy towards England

And so another major tournament comes to an end in agonisingly familiar fashion - with the pain of penalty shootout defeat. But at least its only England.

As the rest of the nation danced to the tune of Gareth Southgate's uplifting England side - on a run to their first major final in our generation's lifetime - for me, there was nothing. No emotional rollercoaster, no feelings of pride and passion, indeed a widespread apathy. Football's coming home? Couldn't care less.

They had the easiest run to the final any international side has probably ever had with the worst Germany side in memory their toughest opponents before the final. The rest read like a who's who of football's backwater journeymen.

They played every game at Wembley except one. England had everything in their favour but yet still could not win it. It's enough to raise a smile and make you chuckle. 

When United were beaten in the same manner by Villarreal in May's Europa League final (my therapist says I'm not allowed to talk about it), I was, unusually, down in the dumps for days. The Reds finally reached a major final after a long overdue drought under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and were firm favourites against a side playing for their first ever piece of silverware. You don't need me to tell you how it ended. I don't normally get down after a defeat - life is too short and must go on - but that one hurt. There were striking similarities between the two - Southgate, like Solskjaer, seemed reluctant to use his back up players. Southgate, like Solskjaer, didn't do enough to redress the balance when the opponent inevitably came on strong in the second half. Southgate's decisions and game management were questionable - so much so, you could argue it was the single most decisive factor in the final - criticism also levelled at Ole in the fall out from that night in Gdansk. 

So you'd be forgiven for thinking: How can a man cope with both his club and his country losing finals on penalties within weeks of one another? But despite my best efforts, the England team just don't mean as much to me. The national team simply don't elicit the same emotions, don't stir the soul or bring out the animal in me, as Manchester United. It doesn't feel any different to me whether England win or lose whereas a United result can affect my mood, my mindset, for days on end. 

Perhaps it's because we've become accustomed to failure with the national team - it happens so often, we've come to expect disappointment and heartbreak. So there's not the same sinking feeling when the inevitable happens. United have been victims of their own success - as a wise man once said, if I hadn't seen such riches I could live with being poor. 

Not only do I not particularly like international football (what is the point) but I find it nigh on impossible to get behind England - or even hold a vested interest in them - for a multitude of reasons. Think about it logically for a moment. The notion I'm supposed to suddenly start supporting and liking players I despise is alien to me.
I despise every other football team on this earth. Kyle Walker, Phil Foden, John Stones, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Kalvin Phillips to name but six all play for my club's most hated rivals - yet when they pull on an England shirt I'm expected to hero worship them? There's an expectation to celebrate when a rival scores or does well - it makes no sense to me. You can't suddenly switch allegiances like that - it's simply not how football works and goes against everything I believe in. A Sterling winner, a Stones clearance or a Henderson tackle only ever usually brings bad news for Manchester United so you won't find me supporting their every move just because those players wear a different coloured strip every two years. Imagine wanting your rivals to succeed. 

I hate the majority of England fans - they're deluded, arrogant, self serving, patriarchal twats with a penchant for trouble and self entitlement. Every team has idiots in their fanbase, including mine, but there's something about the vast majority of this country's supporters that gets under your skin and winds me up no end.

Then we come on to the elephant in the room. Even now, a matter of hours after defeat at Wembley, it has started. It's as predictable as night following day. The scapegoating, the abuse, the public witch hunt that comes with every England defeat at a major competition. Wayne Rooney - the very same Wayne Rooney who is all time top scorer for club and country - was given dog's abuse for years over his perceived failings on the big stage. The burning effigies of David Beckham after the 1998 World Cup. The death threats and the hate mail directed towards the Neville brothers. The perceptions about Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand. Spot the common denominator here? The media and public love a scapegoat when England fail. But when that player happens to play for Manchester United? It's enough to send the headline writers and newspaper editors giddy with excitement and frothing at the mouth. Players I dislike and fans I hate - is it any wonder why I have borderline hatred for the England team. 

We've already seen it with Marcus Rashford in the aftermath of the Italy agony. A man who captured the nation's hearts with his charity efforts and outstanding community work during the Covid pandemic - earning him an MBE in the process - suddenly becoming public enemy number one. The racist abuse, the online bile, the disgusting treatment of a young, black man who has become a hero during our country's biggest national crisis for a century. And this is the thanks he gets. All because he missed a penalty in a shootout. He had the balls to step up and take one where others wouldn't. Marcus Rashford showed more courage than any of us ever will yet - in 2021 and after a year of "taking the knee" - we are still seeing this sort of treatment to the players. Rashford (not to mention Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka) need our love, our support, our compassion, not abuse. The fact we all knew this was going to happen tells you everything you need to know and shows exactly why I've got no time for England. 

Enough of the friendly frivolity at the Euros - thank goodness that's over - and roll on next month when the 2021/22 Premier League season gets underway. The return of the proper stuff.