Love to hate you: Leeds - Man Utd

Images: Ian Parker

Words: Kean Turner and Liam Waddell.

Manchester and Leeds. Separated by the Pennines, the seemingly endless patchwork quilt effect tarmac of the M62 motorway and a sporadic rail service. United in name only.

A small minority of both clubs’ fan bases throwing hand gestures, verbal insults. Using historic tragedies as present day ammunition to try and get the upper hand. Let us win, let them lose. Not the other way round.

This is a rivalry. Of that there is no doubt. It’s doubtful they could be content with the football scores.

Here’s a little insight from a Red and a White into why contentment will never be.

Kean Turner. Manchester United.

As a Manchester United, life long, match-going Red, I had my 40th birthday in La Manga Spain, playground of pros and an amazing golf course.

Alfie Haaland was in the bar. I approached him, prompted by a few beers.

“Alfie. Keano did you pal! Referencing the infamous challenge that took him out and knowing that he was ex-Leeds and Bertie City, he smiled, shook my hand and replied "obviously a fucking RED”.

We both smiled and went our separate ways but at the end of the night we went to pay the bar bill and the barman said..."it's paid...Alfie Haaland settled it".

That’s why I love football, shame his son is playing for the wrong half of Manchester.

MUFC. Hated Adored Never Ignored.

©Ian Parker/ Terrace Edition. Leeds United vs Manchester United.

Liam Waddell. Leeds United.

The hatred for Manchester is quite literally bred into Leeds fans. I remember having a lengthy lecture from my father at five years old on why I should hate them, and that was that; five years old and I had a problem with an entire city.

Having grown up around their dominance, there was a fairly large list of reasons why it was easy to dislike them. Their success, Fergie time, recent (and not so recent) off pitch issues, Rio Ferdinand, Alan Smith, etc. My main gripe is the sense of entitlement. As if there’s a divine right that‘Yanited’ should be well in the fight for both the title and cup competitions both year in year out, without question.

Happy memories are few and far between from my formative years. The early part of which I spent hopping round League 1, with the latter half settling for mid table mediocrity in the Championship while they slummed it at the top end of English football.

Hope of getting one over the reds was slim. All that was to change in 2009 when we were gifted a classic cup upset in the FA Cup 3rd round. Jermaine Beckford and 1-0 . Alex Ferguson throws the teddy out by declining any hand shakes post game. Lovely stuff.

You can find Ian on Twitter and Instagram: @_TheSaturdayboy

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