Friends and family of 26 year old Tom Riordan from Finglas have had to endure his borderline fanatical adoration of Manchester United for years. Every since his father bought him his first Red Devils jersey in 1991, he has never looked back.
Tom has spouted all the usual soccer clichés over the years and this year has been no different. An honourable man, who always stands by his word, even ate his own hat after Utd rivals Manchester City won the Premier League title in 2012.
However, Mr. Riordan’s love for his club turned sour this year when Utd’s performances began to spiral. There are also unconfirmed reports that this malaise is due to the team’s unwillingness to move away from the diamond formation.
Man Utd’s 5-3 loss at the hands of Leicester City on Saturday, seemingly lower quality opposition, appears to have been the last straw for Mr. Riordan. After the match, he swore off the red of Manchester for life, adding that they were “absolutely hopeless”.
This change of heart has many concerned though, as exactly two years ago after van Persie scored a late penalty to beat Liverpool 2-1, Mr. Riordan exclaimed “I’m Man Utd ‘til I die!”. This has many concerned of what will transpire now that Mr. Riordan has broken this promise to no one in particular. As of Tuesday 24th Sept. Mr. Riordan was seen alive and well in his local Centra in Finglas, explaining to the cashier why four at the back is better against the “small teams”.
While his family remain concerned, friend’s of Mr. Riordan remain confident that he will regain his faith in Utd., as he is usually in the pub during the Saturday matches anyway.
Tadhg Collins