Manchester United will be delighted to see the back of Monday night games for the foreseeable future, not least because the fixture slot is believed to cost the club up to £1million a game.
Thanks to their lack of European football and being the biggest audience draw in the Premier League, United have been lumbered with the Monday slot six times this season (second only to Everton, whom United faced on a Monday home and away). This is despite the Football Supporters’ Association outlining last month that no club is meant to play more than five times combined across the Friday and Monday evening kick-offs in a single season.
And the club are counting the cost. Stadium tours are a major boost to United’s revenue stream, but Monday night games bring about significant disruption in comparison to games on a Saturday or Sunday. Night games, particularly on a Monday, also compromise concessions and other areas of the matchday experience.
A United source confirmed to Confidential that the club does see a commercial dip, as is to be expected in a midweek slot, but insisted the club are not losing money. United’s biggest gripe with the scheduling is the impact on supporters, who travel from far and wide for games at unsociable hours.
In Michael Carrick’s 13 matches at the helm alone, United supporters have had to contend with seven evening games. Their last four matches have been on a Friday night (Bournemouth), Monday night (Leeds), Saturday night (Chelsea) and Monday night (Brentford).
United’s record on the pitch on a Monday night has also been poor, losing at home to Leeds and 10-man Everton, and drawing 4-4 with Bournemouth. They won away at Everton and Wolves as well as beating Brentford at Old Trafford yesterday.
Manchester United are suffering on and off the pitch on Monday nights – Everton came to Old Trafford in November and won for the first time in 12 years, despite being reduced to 10 men
Bournemouth snatched a 4-4 draw in December on one of six Monday night games for United this season
And earlier this month Leeds were the latest beneficiaries of United’s Monday struggles, claiming a first away league win over their rivals for 45 years
‘I totally understand the difficulty of getting to games, and I understand that it’s not something that we can always control,’ Carrick said on the issue. ‘But this season and certainly since I’ve been here, the schedule has been a little bit unique. I totally sympathise with the supporters.’
A return to the Champions League next season is all but secured and, as well as the extra £80-100million in revenue, recouping the £1m per Monday matchday will be an added boost. With another major transfer spend on the horizon to fix the midfield, every little helps.
Tragedy chant plea
United and Liverpool will make an appeal to supporters from both clubs in a bid to stamp out tragedy chanting at Sunday’s clash between the two rivals at Old Trafford.
In recent seasons there has been a crackdown on sick taunts about the Munich Air Disaster and Hillsborough tragedy marring the biggest fixture in the English football calendar.
Two supporters were arrested when United won 4-3 in an FA Cup thriller at Old Trafford in March 2024, and eight more when the clubs drew 2-2 at Anfield in January last year.
United and Liverpool hope an appeal before the game will emphasise to fans that such behaviour is a public order offence and completely unacceptable.
Bruno security alert
There can be a real gripe among supporters when they see players failing to stop for photos and autographs, but it is easy to see why after security had to step in to aid Bruno Fernandes outside Carrington in recent days.
United captain Bruno Fernandes is renowned for being one of the most patient players when dealing with fans
The United captain, who regularly shows patience above and beyond what is reasonably expected, pulled up outside the training ground for some young fans and more than a few known re-sellers, who are there only for the financial value of Fernandes’ signature.
But footage of what should have been an enjoyable interaction with United’s star player was ruined by the fact many were pushing others out of the way and, in some cases, being pushed into Fernandes’ car, prompting security to step in.
Forest of uncertainty
You can understand the bemusement of fans when it comes to the scheduling of the final home game of the season against Nottingham Forest. Tickets had already gone on sale for a match that only received a confirmed date or time this afternoon, albeit one that still came with a caveat.
The Premier League announced that dates for that penultimate round of games would be delayed until the conclusion of the FA Cup semi-finals, in order to minimise disruption around rearrangements. Yet United fans desperate to go to that game found themselves put in a position where they had to buy a ticket not knowing whether the game will be on a Friday, Saturday or a Sunday.
United fans now know that, given the game has been selected for broadcast, it is due to take place at 12:30pm on Sunday May 17. But hold your horses. If Forest beat Aston Villa to reach the Europa League final, the game will shift to Friday May 15 at 8pm.
Talk about a lottery when it comes to this particular fixture roulette. There has to be a better way than this.
Busy Binnion
Travis Binnion, who started the season as Under 21s boss and is now part of the first-team coaching staff, is a driving force in training sessions and has spent countless hours working behind the scenes, particularly with the forwards.
Travis Binnion (right) assisted Darren Fletcher in his interim spell in charge and has continued to be part of the first-team coaching staff
But what has stood out most to United chiefs has been the miles he has covered to keep watching United’s youth teams since starting his new role, barely missing a game wherever it’s being held. He was at Oxford United in February for the FA Youth Cup, and gave Jim Thwaites a lift down to Chelsea the morning after watching the teenager play in the semi-final win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.
Binnion also made the five-hour drive down to Selhurst Park last Wednesday for the final of the Under 18s Premier League Cup, even though he had first-team training the following morning. While that is something that can easily go under the radar, it’s been a huge source of pride for insiders to see his work ethic and commitment.
Mount’s a manager for one day
Mason Mount has spent his day off after the win over Brentford being manager for Wishes United, a team of 11 young football fans living with critical illness, at St George’s Park.
The two-day event has given the kids an opportunity to ‘eat, sleep and train’ like a footballer in a one-of-a-kind immersive experience with Mount, who played the last 16 minutes on Monday night after coming on as a 74th-minute substitute for Bryan Mbeumo.
The squad were chauffeur-driven to St George’s Park, welcomed by a cheering crowd and met by their own player liaison before having the chance to meet professional players and take part in training sessions within the elite facilities used by the England team. They stayed overnight on Monday and then played a match against mascots on one of the world-class pitches, with Mount taking part in the trophy celebration.
In partnership with Make-A-Wish UK, this is one of the first group football experiences of its kind as the charity looks to bring more sport-led wishes to life.
Mason Mount spent his day off after the win over Brentford helping out with a Make-A-Wish charity event
YouTube star’s Carrington treat
Sponsors really do have the golden ticket as part of their deals with United these days. Under certain sponsorship agreements, an allotted number of guests get the opportunity to watch players train before every single home game during the season.
Along with a tour of Old Trafford and a look around Carrington – something regular fans are getting the chance to do this summer for £100 per person – guests of various sponsors can observe the first-team squad during a training session before a meet-and-greet to get photos and autographs.
On Sunday, as the players prepped for the Brentford clash, numerous prominent content creators found themselves invited in – including YouTube star Harry Pinero.
United match shirts for sale
The special edition shirts United wore in Monday night’s 2-1 win over Brentford will be auctioned off to support the fight against AIDS.
The club’s £300million, five-year shirt sponsorship deal with Snapdragon allows them to replace the US tech firm’s name on the front of their jerseys for one game every season, and the unique fund-raising initiative meant that (RED) appeared on United’s shirts against Brentford.
The charity partners with leading brands and individuals to raise awareness to fight global health crises, and has so far raised more than £600m for the Global Fund to help more than 350m people worldwide with prevention, testing, and treatment programmes in communities most in need.
Benjamin Sesko celebrates his goal against Brentford on Monday night, wearing the (RED) campaign shirt
The shirts were signed by the starting XI and substitutes, and will be made available for fans and collectors to buy on auction platform site MatchWornShirt until May 2. You can learn more about the auction and participate here.
Kate Charles, managing director of (RED), said: ‘This collection shows how purpose-driven partnerships can turn the power of sport into real-world impact. Each shirt tells a story from the pitch, while also helping to fund life-saving global health programs in communities where they are needed most.’
MatchWornShirt has grown into a global leader in sports memorabilia since 2017, working with more than 400 partners across football and other major sports. Co-founder Tijmen Zonderwijk said: ‘These shirts represent the very best of football – moments on the pitch transformed into meaningful impact off it.
‘By bringing fans closer to the game they love, we’re turning that passion into something bigger, helping to raise critical funds and awareness for life-saving global health programmes around the world.’
Fans have staying power
United fans have scored well in a Premier League survey of the Premier League’s most loyal matchgoing supporters.
A poll of Premier League supporters has found that 80 per cent of Manchester United fans have not left a game early in the last two seasons
The poll by LiveFootballTickets asked fans if they had left a game early in the past two seasons, and 80 per cent of United followers said they have not.
Of the one-fifth of fans who have left before full time, 19 per cent said they only did so because United were losing by three goals and they couldn’t stand to watch it any longer.
United supporters finished fourth in the table, narrowly behind Newcastle and Leeds in joint-first, and Liverpool.