Bespoke players’ lounge at Old Trafford

Article posted by Coliseum, August 10^th, 2023

Image: Coliseum GSVA

The Manager of the Premier League club Manchester United F.C. Erik ten Hag had his request granted for a bespoke players’ lounge to be created at the top-flight’s home ground – the Old Trafford in Stretford, England (UK) – after the Manchester United refused similar proposals from the Manager’s predecessors José Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.

‘The Guardian’ stated that the facility was signed off by the Manchester United’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Collette Roche, after ten Hag said it would help in matchday preparation. Converting prime hospitality space in the stadium’s South Stand will cost millions in lost revenue, some of which the club will recoup by no longer having to pay for the Lowry hotel as its pre-match base.

The Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United, or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England (UK). The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of the English football league system.

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The Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England (UK), and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium in the United Kingdom, and the 11^th-largest in Europe.

‘The Guardian’ further stated that ten Hag felt that the team assembling at the hotel in the City Centre before driving to Old Trafford was time-consuming, and made it more difficult to monitor players’ diet and to build team spirit.

The Old Trafford’s No 7 suite has at times been used for the pre-game meal but because it is a hospitality area, it had to be cleared about 90 minutes before kickoff.

van Gaal, who managed United from 2014 to 2016, and his successor Mourinho each asked for a players’ lounge but were refused. ten Hag got his way, it is understood, because of a renewed ‘football first’ focus under the United Chief Executive, Richard Arnold.

The lounge, which will be open for United’s first game of the season against their peer team the Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. on August 14^th, has taken about 12 months to get ready because of a reconfiguration of the area in which it is situated.

The English Premier League 2023-2024 seasons will start on August 12^th, 2023, and will end on May 19^th, 2024.

The Irish football coach Roy Keane, meanwhile, has renewed his official link with United after 18 years by appearing in an advert for the new season’s third kit. The Irishman ended a glittering 12-year career at the club in 2005 after a row with Sir Alex Ferguson (a Scottish former football Manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013) over an interview he gave to MUTV, the in‑house channel, in which teammates were reportedly criticized.

The advert features Keane at Old Trafford and ends with him joking about his “prawn sandwiches” jibe in 2000. Then, as United’s captain, he was scathing about a section of the home fans who he said had a “few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches” and who Keane believed were unfairly critical of the team.

Meanwhile, the Premier League club West Ham United F.C. have reached an agreement to sign Manchester United defender Harry Maguire. The London club had offered £30million for Maguire, and that sum has now been accepted. The West Ham has seen a £30m bid for the Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay rejected.

Maguire has fallen out of favor under Erik ten Hag, who has stripped him of the captaincy.

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