Andrew McCarthy

MUFC STH, MUST Member

[Adam Crafton @AdamCrafton_]

Lovely player. Quite surprised by a five year contract given some of what INEOS said when they came in about sensible market decisions. But good value fee.

[Andrew McCarthy @andrewmc_6]

@antpaulbloom Could this be the opposite strategy to last year in an effort to offload him. Let it know he can be reintegrated so we don’t come across desperate to sell (like bomb squad last year).

[Aston Villa Updates @avfcbreaking]

There was a time when a European final belonged to the supporters who dragged their club there.

Not anymore.

When Aston Villa were handed roughly 11,000 tickets for a Europa League final in a 70,000-plus stadium, the number itself told the story. UEFA can package the event however it likes — “festival of football”, “European showpiece”, “global celebration” — but the modern European final is no longer built around supporters. It is built around clients.

The supporters fund the journey. The corporates inherit the destination.

Villa fans will have spent thousands following the club across Europe. Flights, hotels, time off work, loyalty schemes built over years. Yet when the final arrives, huge sections of the stadium are reserved for sponsors, hospitality guests, executives, delegates and “neutral” allocations that often end up on resale sites within hours.

And supporters are expected to accept it.

UEFA’s defence is familiar. Sponsors fund competitions. Broadcasters need space. Hospitality drives revenue. All true. But football crossed a line when the event surrounding the final became more important than the supporters inside it.

The optics are awful because fans can see it themselves.

A finalist gets 11,000 tickets while corporate packages costing thousands remain available. Genuine supporters scramble through ballots with lottery-like odds, while neutral areas fill with tourists taking photos during the warm-up.

And UEFA wonders why resentment grows.

Supporters are constantly called “the lifeblood of the game” until ticket allocations are discussed. Then they become an inconvenience to work around premium inventory.

Football did not become Europe’s dominant sport because sponsors created atmosphere. The noise, colour and emotion UEFA sells globally every season is generated by match-going supporters — the same people increasingly pushed aside at the biggest games.

The “neutral fan” concept is perhaps the biggest fiction of all. In theory it promotes access. In reality it fuels resale markets, inflated prices and thousands travelling ticketless out of desperation.

UEFA could change it tomorrow. Finalists could receive 70 per cent of the stadium combined. Corporate sections could shrink. Hospitality would still exist.

But that would mean sacrificing revenue.

And modern football has shown repeatedly which side wins that argument.
#AVFC #scfreiburg

[Sam Pilger @sampilger]

The foul by Maguire is a penalty but the foul on Amad isn’t? The referee and the slackers at VAR are having an absolute shocker.

[Adam McKola @AdamMcKola]

Shout out to the Reds responsible for this. ♥️

[Bayern & Germany @iMiaSanMia]

Vincent Kompany defends Vini Jr and criticizes José Mourinho for his statements after the game

[Sam Pilger @sampilger]

And to think if Ruben Amorim hadn’t lost his temper with Jason Wilcox in that meeting he would still be at United and none of this would be happening…

[No Question About That @nqatpod]

Mainoo ran further than anyone else on the pitch – 11.26km

He did that against City too

We were told he couldn't run and Amorim's army of gaslighters stuck the boot in too

[Scott Patterson @R_o_M]

After five months of going “if we win at the weekend, we can go top four”, we actually did it 😂

[Mark Critchley @mjcritchley]

The simplicity of Carrick's changes to this team might be the most refreshing thing about those two performances. Nothing complicated, just players in roles they are suited to, and a gameplan that brings the best out of them.

[Andrew McCarthy @andrewmc_6]

@R_o_M We wasted so much time with that clown. He should’ve been gone in the summer.

[James Ducker @TelegraphDucker]

Football specific criticism all good. But Scholes/Butt crossed line by mocking Martinez just as Keane did with his cheap shots at Carrick’s wife. Imagine if I, as a journalist, had done similar to them in print during their playing careers. They/club would have been all over me

[Andrew McCarthy @andrewmc_6]

😍😍😍

[utdreport @utdreport]

Machael Carrick and Kobbie Mainoo 🥹❤️

[G @Gideoomatic]

I have genuinely never seen anything like the Amorim phenomenon. It's honestly baffling how some fans adore him so intensely despite the fact he wasn't even winning games. People are ready to go to war and get on literal kids and academy players for a manager with a 31% win rate. You truly wouldn't see that anywhere else

[Andrew McCarthy @andrewmc_6]

@antpaulbloom If Trump can run the US at this stage, surely Fergie could run Utd…

[Neil Meehan @NeilMeehan_]

If only Amoim would go on the attack like this against ten-man Everton at home.

[Andrew McCarthy @andrewmc_6]

@anthonyfdshaw You can argue the club has let him down but I can’t see one positive thing he has brought to the club since he came. There’s not enough space in a tweet to mention all the negatives. He’s not helped himself today either. I’d happily see him gone, can’t see it working.

[Andrew McCarthy @andrewmc_6]

@AndyMitten Binnsy always makes me smile, you should get him in one of your live shows!

[Football Remind ⚽️ @FootballRemind]

BBC Goal of the Month, December 2006

Outrageous 😱⚽️