Inside Old Trafford Stadium

What the heck.

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Man United lost again over the weekend. This time by 0-2 to Fulham, an underdog they’ve beaten twice before.

I think I’ve really jinxed it. Before this, they had like a two month undefeated record.

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The day after the Liverpool match, I had a chance to follow the Mister Potato team visit Old Trafford again. This time to see what goes on behind the scenes in The Theatre of Dreams.

Tickets to the stadium tour were sold out pretty fast. Many disappointed fans turned away at the counter, but we were lucky to have made an earlier booking.

I must say, the experience was nothing short of sensational.

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The stadium tour itself although very short, was extremely well worth it.

We walked through the same tunnel the players went through and sat on the same bench manager Alex Ferguson sat on just a day earlier. We were literally just centimetres away from the pitch.

To our surprise, the section devoted to the players was actually quite small and basic. No plush sofas, marbled pillars or gold taps.

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Can you imagine stars like Ronaldo and Rooney hanging around a place like this? It’s nothing quite like the luxurious six-star facility I had expected for those mega-rich star players who earn obscene salaries of at least RM 500,000 a week each.

There’s a bar that serves food and beer (after the match) in the player’s lounge, and even a creche for them to leave their kids for car with the nannies.

An International Honours Board lists every player that has every played for Manchester United since their inception.

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David Beckham is arguably Manchester United’s most famous player on the Honours Board.

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His name is listed there, right above the Butt.

Other stuff of interests around Old Trafford includes this chewing gum disposal board.

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I bet something somewhere in that tray has Alex Ferguson’s spit in it.

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“Respect The Game, Respect The Referee”

In football? Yeah right!

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Without a doubt, the best part about visiting Old Trafford for me was the opportunity to enter the players changing rooms.

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This is the exact same spot where players freshen up and get changed at half-time while listening to Alex Ferguson’s fiery lecture. The shirts on the wall show where each player normally sits.

We must have visited the stadium at the wrong time, because while we were about the enter the changing room we noticed a someone familiar inside.

Holy shit.

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Ryan Giggs, is that you!?

This Saturday 28th March, residents of the world celebrates Earth Hour by turning off their lights from 8:30pm to 9:30pm to “give Earth a bit of time to rest”.

Landmarks throughout Malaysia including KLCC, Penang Bridge and all major shopping malls have pledged their support. I too am proud to support Earth Hour. But because I’ll be in Sandakan this Saturday, the best I could do is turn off the lights in my hotel room. Err… a bit the no impact right?

Hopefully, this time we’ll do better compared to our pathetic attempt last year.

78 Replies to “Inside Old Trafford Stadium”

  1. LOL you really did. I wonder if you should go over to Liverpool now? I mean, no offense but for the sake of the club? :p You’ll be the unsung hero for jinxing them then.
    Also brush up on your United history. No true-red(blue) fan wouldn’t know their club history from head to toe. The Butt is actually a really good player who didn’t get enough chances at United and he had to move to get more 1st team games. I always thought he would’ve been a great replacement for Keane than buying Carrick(whose performance fluctuates).
    Now you’ve just made me even more keen to visit OT at least once in my life. And I’m halfway across the world. T.T

  2. waaa.. i’ve been there to.. but not enough time to make to the museum tour because lack of time.. .. scared if could not make it to the airport…
    now.. feel very rugii looooo……!!!!!
    heheheheeh

  3. things to do:
    collect all the chewing gums to get the DNA of the MU footballers & inject them to M’sian footballers…
    btw that’s not ryan giggs, that’s ryan biggs

  4. That’s not Giggsy, he’s way more hairy than that. I know so, i got school girl crush on him..when i was a school girl.

  5. “Respect The Game, Respect The Referee”
    In football? Yeah right! – Kenny.
    —————————————-
    Kenny,
    Should be “Respect The Game, Respect The Referee”.
    In Manchester United players? Yeah right!
    🙂

  6. Dissent ….. Rooney
    Elbowing ….. Vidic
    Stimulation ….. Ronaldo
    Mass Confrontation ….. ALL MAN UNITED PLAYERS !!
    ….LOL….

  7. niceeee post man~!!! i oso hope i have chance to go for da tour.. maybe stealing their jersey in changing room..
    then when the players wanna change for game they like “wtf?!?!”

  8. It’s so sad. Once you support MU and they lost for 2 games.
    Maybe you should back to Chelsea in order for MU to win? xD

  9. hey Kenny,
    Next time, try Santiago Bernabeu, Camp Nou or San Siro.. They are excellent stadium and you can see the difference in dressing room between British stadiums and the rest of Europe (am taking about major football countries of course)

  10. Malaysia should order more chewing gum boards like that n put in lrt stations. 1st job for najib as PM?
    Messi vs Ronaldo. who u support? vote for it in my blog!!

  11. Haha… Judging from the chest hair, it’s definitely not Giggs. Remember during the FA Cup match he ran through Arsenal defences and scored the spectacular winner…? He strip and showed us how hairy he is… More like tropical forest on his chest right to his stomach and goodness knows where it ends…

  12. that…definitely is kenny, hello…if they pay u giggs’ wages for the kind of performance that you would show (in football)…it will only ended up as MU’s worst investment, LOL!

  13. Don’t worry about not making any impact during Earth Hour when you’re in Sandakan this Saturday.
    There’s a chance you’ll not only get Earth Hour but Earth Minutes/Earth Hourssss courtesy of Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB)
    Turn off lights kacang only lah Kenny… SESB will ‘off the karan’ for Sabah. In fact, they rehearsed Earth Hour in KK just 2 nights ago!

  14. been here for nearly 3 years now but haven’t visited the stadium ever. Probably due to the fact that I am not much of a football fan.

  15. Kenny, as a patriotic Malaysian, I can’t believe that you didn’t blog about UMNO election. As far as I am concerned, your entries about Malaysian politics always received great response from your fans. I feel so sad that you have been “tied” by the government too. Seems like there is no longer democracy in Malaysia. *sob sob*

  16. Hey kenny, about the Earth Hour event in Sandakan, you have to know that Sandakan has always been giving its full support in switching off lights. Our rate of blackouts here could be the top in Malaysia.=)

  17. I was told that Old Trafford Stadium doesn’t have a rubbish bin inside the building. The reason is that they are afraid of bomb threats i.e. to avoid having bombs hidden in rubbish bins.

  18. gotta agree with Jo… David Beckham the most famous United player? Yes he is among the finest to have worn a United shirt but what about Cantona? Charlton? Schmeichel? And Nick Butt was a great anchor in seasons surrounding the treble winning 99 season back n front, he just moved to make way for young blood like Sheringham, Cole and Yorke did… You clearly should not say a thing about football anymore, most of your words about the sport are simply disgraceful… I’m a trueblue Chelsea fan btw and for you to act like you support and know about Manchester United, you seem quite dumb about the team to me….

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