Chris Sutton asks why the term “United” is only associated with Manchester United and not other clubs like Newcastle
Former Premier League forward Chris Sutton who appeared in 255 matches claims that the supporters of Manchester United should not get arrogant with the usage of the term “United” as a nickname for themselves as many other clubs also don the term “United” in their full name.
The Red Devils are one of the most successful clubs in English football and have won the league title a record 20 times. United is regarded as one of the most successful clubs in the world and has one of the biggest fan followings in world football.
Every supporter of the team has developed their own understanding of the club’s history and their part in ensuring that the stories stay alive. With such love and devotion towards one of the most successful clubs, it is reasonable that a certain name or way of calling the club resides with the supporters.
With our noisy neighbours Manchester City dwelling on the successes in the past decade, United have taken a turn for the worse. Hence with our rivals also becoming a household name and being from the same place, the association of “United” with Manchester United makes sense.
Citing the example of Newcastle United, Sutton, shared his opinion on BBC Radio 5 Live via his Twitter that it is disrespectful to other clubs such as Newcastle or West Ham United if Manchester United is referred to as just “United”.
Sutton seems to cite the example of Newcastle United being above them in the league to be sarcastic about the nickname given to Man United by the supporters. It would be wise to suggest that quotes such as the above should require little to no attention as it really holds no relevance to the way we see the team and the manner in which we fans choose to look at it.
Sutton, who was a bit of a journeyman among the English tiers failed to truly make a mark with his one and only season at a top club with Chelsea in the 1999-2000 season and hence has a certain affirmation for mid-tier clubs to get recognition, having spent most of his career with such clubs.
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Historically, Manchester United have been dominant in the league and a few years of blip would not change that. We have earned the right to be seen as the team that can be associated with the term “United” and statements such as the one made by Sutton would be of no use to how the club is already perceived by everyone.
