It's wrong with saying MAN U?
By Gary Lim
Electric New Paper - Singapore, September 14, 2008


MAN U for Manchester United. It may sound like a convenient short form for some. But it has caused a mini storm among some football supporters.

The term 'Man U' has often been used freely, by the media, fans and even United players themselves.

But according to some, there is a negative connotation to 'Man U'.

United fan Wilson Sim, 26, thinks that the origins of the term is a dark one, which is why he wrote in to The New Paper.

He wrote: It seems like the 'U' means 'you', and it started from a tasteless song that rival fans sang about the Munich Disaster.

It goes like this: 'Man U, Man U went on a plane. Man U, Man U never came back again.'

There is also another line that goes: 'Man U never intended coming home'.

If one would combine the first letter of each word, you would get the word 'Munich'.

At least, Sim took The New Paper to task for using 'Man U' references in our stories all these years.

  In 1958, British European Airways Flight 609 crashed during take-off, killing 23 out of 44 passengers on board, including United players and officials.

The club had chartered the plane to fly them home from a European Cup fixture against Yugoslavian side Red Star Belgrade (the game ended 3-3).

Sim, who learnt about the origins of the term last year on an Internet forum, said: 'I have been a United fan for more than half my lifetime and I see it as a personal responsibility to correct misinformed youths, who might proclaim to be a United fan, but who know nothing of their club's history.'

The New Paper sought our man on the spot for the official view, from the Red Devils themselves.

Official view

Steve Bates, a journalist based in the UK and who also corresponds for The New Paper, said: 'I have been covering Manchester United stories for almost 30 years, and I have never heard anyone come up to me to say that it's wrong to call the club 'Man U'.

'I have also checked with an official who has been with the club for many years, and he told me there's nothing wrong with that.'

The New Paper spoke to fans who have heard about it, and it became clear that all of them found out through Internet forums.

Attempts to get a response from the club have been unsuccessful, so the authenticity of these Internet postings could not be verified.



Of the 20 Man U fans The New Paper spoke to, only three knew about it.

Not Kelvin Kwek though.

The 25-year-old auditor uses it frequently during conversations with friends and sees nothing wrong with it.

The Man U fan said: 'My friends and I say Man U all the time when we discuss about football. I never thought that there could be negative connotations to it.'

Even local Man U fan club president Louis Chia only found out about it 10 years after he started supporting the club.

Said Chia, 35, who has been a fan since he was 15: 'I don't really feel upset when people refer to the club as Man U, although I feel that we should educate them and make sure that if they support the club, they should use the proper full term.

'I believe it's just because they don't know about the background. I wouldn't go as far as calling these people untrue supporters. But I do know of some fans who feel very strongly about it.'

The Man U camp is divided.

So, Man U or Man Utd or United or Manchester United?