Man United have officially revealed their third kit for the 2023/24 season and beyond the reaction to the shirt itself, fans have been lapping up the announcement video — namely because it stars Roy Keane, giant versions of players and a reference to the infamous ‘prawn sandwich brigade’.
Unveiled on Tuesday, 8 August following a teaser released the day prior featuring the club legend which quickly got everyone talking, United‘s third kit reveal video is probably one of the most interesting things they’ve done in a while, albeit a bit… different?
We would’ve liked a ‘do me a favour’ thrown in there, but you can’t have everything.
As you can see, although there are plenty of more straightforward and stereotypical shots of the players donning the shirt, there are also clips of Keane walking around the pitch as a storm brews above, using Jedi-like powers to grab a pen using the force and a giant Casemiro looming large over Old Trafford.
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As you do.
While some of the moments are genuinely quite compelling — the whole concept revolving around the identity of being a Red Devil and the fact that people are born into supporting the club — it feels a bit jarring to go from a topless Marcus Rashford to an ultrasound of a scan of a baby United fan.
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And then there’s the pièce de résistance, which aside from getting the notoriously grumpy and no-nonsense ex-midfielder to not only promote the ex-employers he’s been critical of for so many years but to do a bit of acting, is undoubtedly the reference to one of his most famous moments in a United shirt.
Roy Keane’s iconic ‘prawn sandwich brigade’ speech in full.
In the legendary interview, Keane took aim at the casual fans and glory hunters who began following the Reds during their most successful years, inadvertently dubbing them the ‘prawn sandwich brigade‘ — a phrase which has been used to describe out-of-towners travelling to the game for decades now.
Moreover, it’s also been used by the likes of Manchester City fans to poke fun at the Old Trafford faithful and the club’s larger fan base: the joke being ‘all United fans are from London’ and prefer the luxuries of hospitality boxes to actually watching the game from the stands etc.
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While the term itself has kind of gone on to encompass casual fans, in general (somewhat similar to ‘armchair supporters’), Man United have struggled to shrug off the negative association ever since. With that in mind, the marketing team clearly thought they might as well lean into it – to great effect, we might add. It made us chuckle, anyway.
Nevertheless, it’s still far from the cut-and-paste kind of kit reveal with lots of flashing lights and too many obscure close-ups, and the shirt itself looks to be a bit of a classic judging by the reaction from the fans. They even got Keano to smile, somehow.
2024 Manchester Marathon raises £29 million for local economy and over £3.7m for charity
Danny Jones
Just under a fortnight on from the 2024 Manchester Marathon and the numbers are finally, with the annual race generating nearly £30 million for the local economy and raising over £3.7m for charity.
This year’s Adidas Manchester Marathon saw record numbers of runners and spectators as over 30,000 took part in the popular race, up by roughly 6,000 from 2023, and more than 125k turned up to line the streets of Greater Manchester.
As a result, these huge crowds spent upwards of £29.2 million at business around the city centre and around the 10 boroughs last weekend, serving as one of the most significant contributions to the local economy on the annual calendar.
Not only was this an approximately £8m increase on last year’s tally but, most importantly, a sizeable chunk of that went straight into both regional and national charities.
The 2024 adidas Manchester Marathon was a spectacular day for the city and its economy.
Beyond the boost to local vendors, the hospitality sector and retail businesses, over £3.7 million were allocated to charities such as Alzheimer’s Charity, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and The Christie.
Over £32,000 was also raised for the Trafford Active Fund, with £1 from every paid entry to the Adidas Manchester Marathon and Manchester Half donated directly to the initiative that benefits local sports clubs and organisations through Trafford Council.
Better still, with City of Trees selected as the chosen ‘Green Runner’ charity, the eco-friendly drive saw roughly 7% of participants opt out of receiving either a finisher t-shirt, medal or both.
The money saved in production goes towards maintaining woodlands and wildlife across Greater Manchester.
Together you have raised over £3.7 million for charitable causes, adding even more meaning to those 26.2 miles 💕 Well done and thank you to all those who fundraised and donated! 🌟Tag us in those charity top pictures from last weekend 😍😍#ManchesterMarathonpic.twitter.com/5gsi6NtFzB
This year’s Manchester Marathon also helped produce some of the highest number of passengers on public transport in the city’s history, with a over 175,000 journeys made on Metrolink alone – the highest number of journeys ever recorded on a single day.
This was a 20% increaseon 2023’s race day (145k), spotlighting how the event continues to be more environmentally conscious as years go by.
With the 2025 adidas Manchester Marathon confirmed to be taking place on Sunday, 27 April next year – and over 12,000 places already sold – the city can already look forward to reaping the economic and social benefits of hosting one of Europe’s largest, flattest, friendliest and most-loved marathons.
Featured Images — Adidas Manchester Marathon/The Manc Group
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‘Enough is enough’: Marcus Rashford calls out fans for ‘months’ of abuse
Danny Jones
Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has put his foot down in a social media post, calling for an end to ‘months of abuse’ from both his own supporters and beyond.
It’s fair to say that the 26-year-old hasn’t been enjoying his best season in a United shirt and while he has had his moments this year – his goal against Arsenal and stunning opener in the Manchester derby, just to name a couple – he’s come under a lot of pressure from supporters.
Rashford previously came out to address the situation in a Players Tribune interview back in February, stating, “I can’t have people questioning my commitment to Man United”, but now the England international has reiterated the point after someone came to his defence on X.
Quoting a fan who wrote that “the way Marcus Rashford is being treated is absolutely disgusting”, calling the behaviour online and on matchdays in some cases as “cruel” and downright abuse”, he responded by declaring: “Enough is enough”.
I appreciate your support! It is abuse and has been for months. Enough is enough https://t.co/MUfiU0JwEb
The Wythenshawe winger has already labelled doubts over his effort levels, love and loyalty to the club “ridiculous”, reiterating time and time again that he’s a boyhood Red, but that hasn’t stopped people continuing to criticise him online.
Sadly, while he’s also insisted that he “can take criticism” and headlines when his performances aren’t quite up to scratch, the negativity hasn’t just been limited to social media and has been spilling out into the matchday stands.
Reports of Rashford being booed off the pitch by his own supporters at Wembley during United’s admittedly chaotic performance against Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final were confirmed by multiple sources at the time.
Although he didn’t comment on the response from the travelling Reds at the time, it’s now clear he was abundantly aware of the frosty reception as he was substituted, with many within the fan base and beyond calling the decision to boo your own players “classless” and “shameful”.
We were in the west press box (among Coventry fans) so amid the din after the equaliser and anticipation of ET, the booing of Rashford wasn't as audible as on TV. Relationship between player and matchgoers is broken. In the interests of all parties he goes in the summer. #mufc
Fans play a part in performances! Especially with social media, you can say players shouldn’t be on twitter or whatever but that’s not the point. How could rashford possibly perform when half the fanbase is calling him THE problem???
With seven goals and five assists to his name across all competitions this season, it’s fair to say Marcus Rashford has been a far cry away from the heights he has managed to hit in recent years.
It was only last season that he hit a career-high record of 40 goal contributions, sitting as one of the most prolific players in all of Europe during another difficult season for the club, even managing to surpass club legend Andy Cole’s record.
Just goes to show how short people’s memories can really be – especially when it comes to football – and Erik ten Hag has already urged patience from his fans when it comes to his players, and not just his number ten.
‘The Beautiful Game’ is and always will be a fickle sport but it’s worth reminding of just how much the academy product has already delivered during his time at Man United. Anyone can have a tough season.
Danny Jones -
8th August 2023 
