Manchester is red: Old Trafford continues to remain fan favourite

MANCHESTER: If you take the main exit out of the Lancashire County Cricket Club, take a left, cross the road named after former England fast bowler Brian Statham and walk slightly uphill for about half a kilometre, there is something that starts drawing attention.

Everything a little further down that road is named after Manchester United or Red Devils. Pubs, kebab shops, fish and chips, restaurants all have a trace of the club’s famous red. Walk a little longer and on your left appears the East Stand of Old Trafford named after Alex Ferguson. You also notice that you are not walking alone. There is almost a crowd walking alongside.

As you reach the famed stadium which has seen some of the biggest names in world football in action across generations, another group of people are likely to attract attention. They are in front of a pedestal which has three statues. It’s called the United Trinity --- George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton. Hardly a second goes by when there is not somebody or the other is standing there, either clicking pictures of the statues or taking selfies in front of them. If you stand there for 10 minutes, it’s likely that you’ll meet people from 10 countries.

“Undoubtedly the first destination in Manchester,” said Assiya, a girl from Ghana who was there with her friends. Chinese, Thai, Belgian, French, South African, Bangladeshi and of course Indian --- they were all in front of the Trinity on Friday afternoon. One has to wait a few minutes for a shot of the three United legends without any visitor in the frame.

According to staff in the office handling visitors and managing the guided tour of the stadium, daily footfall runs into several thousand. The tour and the museum is open all days barring those when Manchester United have home games. There is a team of about 70 which looks after only this part. The museum, too, is a meeting place of people from different parts of the world.

Other than a glittering trophy room, there is a section dedicated to the victims of the Munich tragedy of 1958, when eight players of the club were killed in a plane crash. There is a collection of boots and jerseys used by some of the club’s most famous players. It’s difficult to see everything properly unless one spends at least a few hours out there.

Members of the staff are polite and ready to help with all the information one wants. But if you ask how far is Etihad Stadium, “Oh what is that? We haven’t heard of it,” is the answer one gets!