From an under-13 match to a Premier League During this meeting, Andy Mitten attended five football matches in 48 hours this weekend.

But first he warmed up with a Europa League preview and press conference of the transition manager…

THURSDAY

George and Alex, two young PAOK supporters making their first trip to Manchester, sit next to me on a delayed flight to Manchester for Thursday’s Europa League match between Manchester United and on the Greek side. We start talking. They are excited but nervous because the flight will be three hours late.

They remind me of my younger self, traveling to watch football without thinking much about where you would sleep. Their bed on Thursday will be a coach from Manchester to London. They love PAOK and their city, Salonika, and tell me that 4,000 of them will make noise inside the stadium and ask how they are going to get from Manchester Airport to Old Trafford.

Meeting young PAOK fans George, left, and Alex, right at Old Trafford (Andy Mitten)

I offer to drive us and I love their observations about “the gray English sky”. They are like children who see snow for the first time.

“The houses, they’re all brown and brick.” As we round the M60 ring road, they ask us questions like: “Why is Opel called Vauxhall here?” »

Then they see Old Trafford for the first time and I remember how I felt as a child. It was one of the greatest moments of my life.

United and PAOK players line up for their Europa League match (Andy Mitten)

“It’s like living a dream,” they say. I show them around and they drop their bags in my rental car before going to meet their friends to walk… to Old Trafford. There’s a lot going on. A new book to launch, a new United We Stand fanzine on the streets and lots of football matches and people to see.

The boys are right about the PAOK fans: they are so impressive that I envy their support. Loud and passionate without trying to be hooligans, they gain a lot of respect in Manchester. United also deliver a surprise: winning a European football match for only the second time in 12 matches.

Amad is the man and both Greek boys tell me they loved the whole experience.

Friday

This is United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy’s press conference at Carrington. He is handling questions about his future well, he is showing he can lead a big club – if that is what he wants. I have spoken to him several times in recent weeks in the run-up to the arrival of new permanent coach Ruben Amorim.

I also received a phone call from a man near Enschede, which I appreciated. I’ve gotten a lot of calls from people who were laid off by United this year. This job is crazy sometimes, but people don’t always see the human aspect of it, nor that everything doesn’t need to be made public.

GO DEEPER

What I know about Van Nistelrooy and his relationship with United

I also catch Johnny Evans leaving Carrington. He complains about the match notes I give him and the fact that people keep talking to him about them. I also meet one of my brothers, a former footballer who lives with a work colleague who was at United when he was a child. “Why didn’t you succeed?” I ask. “My left hook,” he replies.

I ask him who he played with and Evans was one of them. I take a photo and ask Evans if he remembers him, because hasn’t everyone played at a club?

“Certainly not!” Evans said. “He is a high-level man. He looked after me at school when I left Belfast.

SATURDAY

The weekend starts with a morning coffee with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He is in Manchester, where he resides, for 36 hours for a dinner chat. He is enjoying life, loving coaching his daughter’s young team and being home in Norway with his family after missing out on so much as a player and manager. But he is also being sought after again for jobs in professional football.

He always watches United matches. I tell him he is my fourth favorite Norwegian. “Who is above me? » he asks. “Lars Morten Olsen from the United Supporters’ Club, Jens Stoltenberg, No. 3 is to be confirmed and you are No. 4.”

“I miss British humor,” he said, before talking about Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister who became NATO secretary general for four terms. He sent Solskjaer good luck messages when he was manager at Old Trafford.

I’m leaving and going to Carrington to watch United’s under-18s beat Everton 3-0. The standards are high and this team is superb. They have won all nine league matches and are five points ahead of Manchester City.

They scored 43 and conceded just four. Manchester United academy in poor health. I like the look of midfielder Jim Thwaites and goalkeeper Will Murdock, while Chido Obi-Martin is a recently joined striker from Arsenal – and he scored four goals.

The game has been moved to a different pitch as major construction work is underway to improve the training ground. There are a lot of people there: coaches, scouts and long-time employees like Dave Bushell who helped so many young players establish – and then flourish – at United.

Trafford FC are the closest club to United and that’s my next game.

Situated between Old Trafford and Carrington, a crowd of 587 were on hand to watch their match against England’s eighth-tier side Wythenshawe. Players at this level are semi-professional and it is a community club run by volunteers.

Trafford averaged 200 supporters for home games before Covid but, like many football clubs at all levels, has seen an increase in attendances over the past four years. Wythenshawe gave the world Cole Palmer, Marcus RashfordAnd Phil Foden was born nearby.

Trafford win 2-0. It’s nice, the opposite of Premier League football.

Fans can enjoy a pitchside drink or buy a pie, peas and gravy for £4, with a hot Vimto (the distinctive fruit drink is a hugely popular Ramadan drink of choice around the world, but originally from Manchester).

Legendary United academy figures Tony Whelan, left, and Dave Bushell, right, with former United security guard Dave Murray at Trafford FC (Andy Mitten)

Greater Manchester has a population of around 2.5 million and has 11 professional clubs in this area. No other region on the planet has such a concentration of professional clubs within an hour’s drive. Buenos Aires comes in second place.

One of these clubs is Liverpool and I was supposed to go to Anfield for the Villa match, but my accreditation was rejected. Liverpool are generally good to me, but he explained that the press box was full because it was a big game on a Saturday night. I thought about getting a replacement ticket from a Liverpool or Villa fan, but those I spoke to told me their ticketing system had gone digital and I needed to be a member. I am not a member of Liverpool FC.

I’m talking to Ruud van Nistelrooy instead. He’s really looking forward to playing against Leicester.

Sunday

There is a 10am kick-off to see my nephew Freddie play for Ashton on the Mersey Under 13s against Broadheath Central in Sale, Manchester.

Players observe a minute’s silence (below) as it is Remembrance Sunday. Freddie knows his great-grandfather fought in the Second World War and was on board a Royal Navy minesweeper during the Normandy landings.

He attended a United-linked school that young United players attended. I have to leave before the end to return to Old Trafford for the Premier League match against Leicester City.

My concern is not one that many of the other 73,000 fans descending on Old Trafford would have: the rain. The rainy weather means fans won’t be stopping to buy a paper fanzine, but the rain doesn’t exceed a drizzle and the mood is surprisingly upbeat, as is the atmosphere. This helps United move forward and stay ahead, which has been rare in recent times. The 3,000 Leicester supporters are unimpressed with the home fans and sing original songs about supporting their home team.

Van Nistelrooy salutes the Stretford End several times then heads to the full-time stand. It’s wonderful. Fans are chanting his name, no one knows if they’ll see him again anytime soon, but if he leaves there will be more closure than when he left as a player amid acrimony in 2006 .

After the match I speak to United’s Brazilian midfielder Casemiro in Spanish, then share the quotes with other journalists. This is the best time for the Brazilian to speak as he has had a good month – after a poor game against Liverpool in September.

Then I was told to wait in a side room – Van Nistelrooy. He wants a copy of my book, for which he wrote the foreword. He does some media and is doing very well. He looks and talks like a top manager. He did well in these four matches, with three wins and a draw.

“You now have the best win rate of any Manchester United manager in history,” I told him.

“But I only managed four matches,” he protests. But he smiles. He gives me a hug, a real hug. He loved every minute in charge of United, but this was later confirmed. he is about to leave when Amorim takes command.

With Van Nistelrooy after his final match as United interim manager (Andy Mitten)

The roads around Old Trafford are still busy two hours after the final whistle and it takes almost an hour to travel the 12 miles to Leigh Sports Village, where United’s women’s team play.

It’s a modern stadium with a capacity of 10,000, but I would like to see United Women and the younger men’s team play in a purpose-built stadium at Old Trafford, less than 20 miles away. Maybe one for the future.

A noisy crowd of almost 4,000 people attended but the match drew 0-0 with Villa Aston is not viewed favorably by United fans.

United Women draw 0-0 with Aston Villa at Leigh Sports Village

I leave the stadium after attending a third match of the day. Manager Marc Skinner speaks to a reporter. The result was not positive and some fans are worried. “I perform better under more pressure,” Skinner replies. He certainly has that. Just like his male counterpart, the new arrival Amorim.

It will be another day and another story in the soap opera that is Manchester United.

Bring on United: Ferguson’s Golden Generation in Their Own Words, by Andy Mitten, was released last week.

(All photos: Andy Mitten)