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The Manchester United Greats and the Fan Chants That Cemented Their Cult Status
- Updated: October 6, 2016
Football fans are always inclined to think that the club they support is special in some way. For a long time, Manchester United fans would point to the years of uninterrupted managerial service that Sir Alex Ferguson gave, citing the fact that he was given time when other clubs would have long-since sacked him. How they scoffed at Manchester City for their managerial merry-go-round.
Of course, since Sir Alex retired in 2013, United have had three permanent managers, so that particular bragging right is long lost.
There is, though, an area where United fans can claim to be a bit different from the norm. The songbook from which the Stretford End, the Singing Section and the ultra-vocal away support sing is one of the most varied and original in the game. Whether it can survive the homogenising effect of globalisation remains to be seen, but for now, it is still one of the best.
A huge part of that is the array of songs for former players that get broken out; usually, but not exclusively, when United are winning during the second half of games. There are plenty of chants about the club’s own success, or chants aimed at Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds United (AND LEEDS!), but remembrances of players past are an important part of the repertoire.
Let’s take a look at some of the more popular chants. Where possible, the words to the chant will be included in full, but the tendency for strong language to form part of them will mean some paraphrasing will have to take place—those will be denoted with square brackets.
Keano’s Magic Hat
It would be a disgrace if Roy Keane did not regularly get his name sung by United fans. A bona-fide legend of the club, Keane captained the side to the treble—though he missed the final of the Champions League, having picked up two yellow cards in the semi-final.
Incidentally, participation in the treble season is something of a feature among the former players whose name gets chanted most often, but in Keane’s case, his contribution went far beyond that. He was Sir Alex’s alter-ego on the pitch, always giving his all, always possessed by an apparently preternatural will to win.
His most commonly sung chant is “Keano’s magic hat.” To the tune of the old music hall hit, “My Old Man’s a Dustman, it goes:
Keano’s [absolutely] magic, he wears a magic hat.
And when he saw Old Trafford, he said “I fancy that”
He didn’t sign for Arsenal, or Blackburn ‘cos they’re [not very good]
He signed for Man United ‘cos we’re [very] dynamite.
It is a song with a little folklore included. When Keane left Nottingham Forest, Kenny Dalglish’s Blackburn Rovers were set to be his destination, but at the last minute, Ferguson intervened. In the end, as the song goes, he signed for Man United, and the rest was history.
Rumours that JK Rowling got her inspiration for the Sorting Hat that decides which house the pupils of Hogwarts belong in from this song are unproven. Mostly because no one has ever said that before now.
Yip Jaap Stam
That Jaap Stam’s chant is still …
