is on Facebook! Join the group by visiting: facebook.com/groups/rollinreds Meet and chat with other MUDSA members. Share your matchday stories and photos for the magazine and even submit your questions for the player interviews! THE OFFICIAL MUDSA MAGAZINE VOLUME 23, ISSUE 2, SPRING 2020 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Brandon Williams PLUS: 10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT Old Trafford 2 CONTENTS CONTENTS 3 Fab four: The team celebrate with Marcus Rashford during United’s 4-0 win over Norwich, back in January 2 Inside this edition… The official MUDSA magazine 4 Secretary Says: with Chas Banks Volume 23, Issue 2, Spring 2020 6 Things You Didn’t Know: Old Trafford This magazine is issued free of charge to MUDSA 8 Events: Aon Training Centre visit Your MUDSA Committee… members. You can also view Rollin’ Reds and 12 Events: MUDSA Annual Dinner download it in PDF format from our website: 14 Exclusive Interview: Brandon WIlliams CHAS BANKS JAMIE LEEMING NATHANIEL YATES www.mudsa.org 19 Get Creative: Pull-out colouring in section SECRETARY ROLLIN’ REDS EDITOR JUNIOR AMBASSADOR Photography: John and Matthew Peters 23 Puzzle time: The Rollin’ Reds quiz T: 0845 230 1989 T: 07590 406 669 T: 07581 653 452 Design/production: leemingdesign.co.uk 24 Fan Focus: Harrison Simpson E: [email protected] E: [email protected] E: [email protected] 26 Events: MUDSA Christmas Party Thanks this issue: Richard Trenchard SUE ROCCA JOHN SIMISTER RICK CLEMENT John Allen 37 Competition: MUDSA Member of the Year TREASURER VI REPRESENTATIVE SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR 38 Home and Away: Fan Focus Cover artwork: ©2019 Geoff Harrison and may T: 0161 861 9454 T: 07471 195 930 T: 07949 523 089 40 Souvenirs: MUDSA Merchandise E: [email protected] E: [email protected] E: [email protected] not be reproduced without written consent. ANN-MARIE LEWIS Rollin’ Reds on Facebook: MUDSA EVENTS facebook.com/groups/rollinreds Keep yourself up to date with the T: 01352 715 794 E: [email protected] MUDSA on Facebook: latest news by visiting facebook.com/MUDSA.official www.mudsa.org.uk 4 SECRETARY SAYS SECRETARY SAYS 5 Latest news from the MUDSA Committee Netting/Safety of the season for our members, but it was made even These meetings have really helped to put pressure Social Media more special by Ole taking part and answering the on underperforming clubs. When 13 different clubs As reported in the last Rollin’ Reds, the Club have questions put to him so candidly. We achieved an get together and make a joint complaint to the SGSA I’d like to give a plug (again) to our social media guy been deploying the netting we saw for the first time attendance of 630 people which is a new MUDSA (The Sports Ground Safety Authority) citing similar Rick Clement who has now set up our official Twitter last season, on a game by game evaluation basis. Most record! If you’d ever like to join us one year, simply safety issues, it tends to make people wake up and account MUDSA-Official @MudsaO So if all you members seem to have got used to this situation go to www.mudsa.org.uk for details. You definitely take notice. Hence 2 or 3 of the worst offenders guys can all follow us and re-tweet us or whatever it and when it is deployed, it’s not a surprise and now won’t regret it. have now given undertaking to raise their game and is you do with these things, we’d be eternally grateful. seems to be accepted, as the lesser of two evils. IE a increase protection for visiting disabled supporters. PL Disability Advisory Group Welcome Bruno trade off between safety and the inconvenience. The Foundation As the secretary of MUDSA, I represent our DSA Finally, on behalf of MUDSA, we’d like to welcome MUDSA Dinner within the DAG. After the success of the joint effort with The Bruno Fernandes to the club. His hero is of course MUDSA would like to thank the manager, who The third DAG meeting, held at Watford’s ground, Foundation of establishing the MUDSA Cup, the Ronaldo and if he becomes half the player for us gave up his time to be our special guest at the Annual went really well and we had people attending from Committee are due to hold talks shortly to see how that Ronaldo was, I’m sure we’ll all be thrilled. We Dinner, held in the Manchester Suite on November all over the country. I spoke briefly about the new else we can make progress working with them. We’ll just need to get some of the injured players back on 8th. facilities which were due to come on line this season report back as soon as we’ve established the best the pitch and we’ll hopefully soon be climbing up the Bearing in mind we had a Europa league game and in general about the relationship between the way for us to work together on other issues. table! the night before and a match on the Sunday, it was a club and it’s disabled supporters. heck of a commitment for him to make and we’d like It’s only when you mix with disabled supporters to place on record our thanks to him. from other clubs that you realize how much more It’s a tremendous event and one of the highlights support we get from our club compared to the rest. Disabled facilities expansion update Before and after MUDSA is very pleased to see the expansion season. In other good news, the Rota group has in facilities for disabled supporters currently now finally been re-established and everyone taking place at Old Trafford. With 58 brand-new on, what will be the final Rota, will get the wheelchair spaces, all with carer seats by their opportunity to see the number of matches they sides, being provided in the new facility at the are entitled to. back of the Stretford End alone. We are confident that we will reach the end of Although like most building projects, it’s what has been a long journey by the end of the currently running a little behind schedule, some season and the Club will be fully compliant with Ability Suite gets refresh with new mural and testing has already taken place and is ongoing in the Accessible Stadia Guide in every way in time the new North West Quadrant facility (with good for the 20/21 season. Including operationally, a two fancy UHD TVs for half-time highlights feedback so far) and the work is moving ahead at not just numbers of spaces provided. The more observant among you may have already were kind enough to put it all in place for us. At the a pace in the other locations. On behalf of the committee I’d like to thank noticed that one of the end walls of the Ability same time, we replaced the two old TVs in there GPS have been kind enough to send some the club for taking onboard our suggestions and Suite has been completely changed. MUDSA’s with bigger and super smart UHD models, paid photos to help you see the progress being made. comments throughout this process. Especially very own designer in chief, Jamie Leeming, came for with the money MUDSA raises from events. Testing is due to start taking place at the other embracing the idea of flexible seating to provide up with a stunning design and the guys from GPS Check out the before and after pics, above. various locations from now until the end of the friends and family positions. 6 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW 7 OLD TRAFFORD things you probably didn’t know about the 10 biggest stadium in British club football 6 WARNING: We all enjoy coming to the Theatre of Dreams on One of these facts Bomb damage in the Second World War In 1965 the North stand (now Sir Alex Ferguson match day, but how much do we know about Old 4destroyed the south stand and there were no 8Stand) roof was replaced with cantilever roof Trafford Stadium? Here are just a few facts about might be made up! games played from 1941 to 1949. The team had to and Britain’s first football ground private boxes were our beloved ground. Be warned one of these facts play at Maine Road. introduced. is a porkie! Highest attendance was in 1939, when 76,962 The FA Cup Final has been played at Old Trafford If United extend the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand to Original cost of construction for Old Trafford 2spectators watched the FA Cup semi-final 5three times — 1911, 1915 and 1970 and also 9mirror the Sir Alex Ferguson stand the capacity 1in 1910 was £90,000. A journalist at the game between Wolverhampton Wanderers and the mighty three 1966 World Cup group stage matches. would rise to over 95,000 (bigger than Wembley). reported the stadium as “the most handsome, the Grimsby Town. The lowest was in 1950 when United Our east stand was the last to be covered in 1973 Before United built Old Trafford the site was most spacious and the most remarkable arena I have beat Fulham 3-0 — the attendance was only 11,968. 6and at the same time the manual scoreboard was 10a spam canning factory and was closed after ever seen”. Tickets cost 2.5p for an uncovered seat The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand capacity is 25,500 — replaced with state of the art electronic one.