Football
Will The United Strand finally get a haircut?
Following Manchester United’s 2-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, The United Strand is closer than ever to finally getting his haircut.
Manchester United fan Frank Ilett who was born in Oxford but lives in Spain, started his journey back on 5th October 2024 whilst Erik Ten Hag was the man in charge, he vowed to not cut his hair until his beloved United side won five games in a row.
Frank has seen his side feature under five different managers since starting his challenge, Erik Ten Hag, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Ruben Amorim, Darren Fletcher and now Michael Carrick, who has won each of his first four games in charge of the Red Devils.
When Frank looked at the teams that Carrick would come up against, it could be fair to say he wouldn’t have expected to be in this position so soon but wins against Manchester City, Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham means he’s now just one win away from completing the challenge, Tuesday will mark 493 days since The United Strand started his viral challenge.
I’m sure the football world will all have their eyes on United’s next result, Michael Carrick will take his side to West Ham United on Tuesday night, a club where he started his senior career back in 1999 and despite the Hammers sitting inside the relegation zone, this won’t be straight forward.
West Ham have improved recently under Nuno Espírito Santo, with three wins from their last four Premier League outings, they’ve find some decent form as they look to extend their top-flight status for another season, having been promoted back in 2012.
So, how do Manchester United tend to fare against the Irons? Well, they’ve not won any of their last three meetings (D1, L2) including a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture back in December, whilst they’ve won just three of their last ten visits to east London (W3, L6, D1) and have suffered defeat in their last three trips here, their last victory came back in 2021.
Despite their struggles here in recent years, Manchester United are still the favourites going into this one, the reds are priced at 4/5 to pick up another three points under their interim boss and i’m sure Frank will be watching on with his barber on speed dial.
