MANCHESTER UNITED
READ THE SCRIPT ... lead singer Danny O'Donoghue is a huge Man Utd fan
EVERYTHING is going according to The Script for Manchester United as they top the Premier League pile once again.
And one fan who is delighted to see his beloved Red Devils back in pole position is rock star Danny O’Donoghue.
The lead singer of Irish band The Script has been a United fan all his life and was asked to perform at the celebrations marking Alex Ferguson’s 25th year in charge at Old Trafford.
Speaking exclusively to SunSport, The Voice judge spoke of his close ties with Rio Ferdinand, who he wants to succeed Fergie and his Liverpool shirt picture shame.
TB: Why United?
DO: I’ve been a United fan all my life. I grew up in a United household and my brothers loved the Devils. My dad was a Forest fan but he had to experience some winning so I guess he made me a Man Utd fan!
What was the first game you went to?
I was quite a late bloomer going to see United, but I went to see Liverpool when I was 12. My dad knew one of club directors at Liverpool and for my birthday he asked if I wanted to go and see the team play — it was Spurs v Liverpool. We were in the Anfield boardroom — sitting there in the enemy’s belly.
I had dinner with all the players and my dad told me, “We’re in here now and you have to put the jersey on”. So there I was holding the FA Cup wearing a Liverpool shirt. It was the most shameful photo I’ve ever had!
Have you ever performed in front of any United players?
At the Old Trafford cricket ground we got to support Take That and Roy Keane was there and I was told he wanted to meet us after we performed. We were playing for 45 minutes basically for Roy Keane in Old Trafford. It was like the shoe was on the other foot — I’d watched him my entire life and now he was coming to watch me!
Last year on the 25th year of Alex Ferguson’s reign, his son asked us to play for the anniversary along with Mumford & Sons. To be asked by the son of this absolute legend because we are one of his favourite bands was just bizarre. It was an amazing moment.
Who is your all-time favourite United player?
Keane or Paul Scholes. Most of my most-valuable jerseys would be the ones with Scholes or Keane on the back. There’s obviously the Irish connection with Keane but Scholesy comes from the same school of hard knocks.
UNITED LEGEND ... Roy Keane is one of Danny's all-time favourite players
What’s your greatest United moment?
Reaching the Promised Land in Munich. I wish I had been there — I was one of the millions of people willing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to score that goal. That was a magical time.
Eric Cantona’s famous chipped goal against Sunderland also stands out. Cantona was just a king amongst kings in that game. He had arrogance backed up by pure talent. He was obviously the best signing of all time as he trained the fortunes of the club, from a mediocre mentality to a winning formula.
If you could sign one player, who would it be?
We’re lacking a bit in the midfield. It seems in the harder games, particularly in Europe, other midfielders are killing us, so I would bolster that part of the team up.
But there’s no substitute for a goal-scorer and I’d kill to have Cristiano Ronaldo back. He’s a better footballer now than he was when he left. It’s nothing about the level of quality in Spain — I know they have a more open game — but his goal-to-game return is outrageous.
IN CHARGE ... judge Danny on The Voice
Do you think Robin van Persie could be the key in winning the title back for United?
It’s quite a heavy thing to put it all on his shoulders. We want to spread the goals around the four strikers. Our problem is partly scoring goals but we keep leaking at the back too. We’ve had to put band aids on our defence all season.
When Fergie eventually retires, who do you think could succeed him?
There are only two that I think could fit into the mentality and mantra that Alex has set down: Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, for very different reasons.
With Pep, it’s his understanding of the game and the legacy he’s left at Barcelona with the passing football that has carved everybody open for the past four years. I would love to see that style to the Premier League — if we mix it with United’s ‘attack, attack, attack’ policy it could really be exciting.
With Mourinho, he was Chelsea manager which I shouldn’t like, but I really like him. I was watching the Best of Mourinho on You Tube the other night and he’s such a funny character. He’s got the charisma of an Elvis. He’s also about controversy and like any good boxer, he gets into the head of the opponent before the match. Mourinho has half the players beaten before they’ve even kicked a ball!
GOOD PAL ... Rio Ferdinand
Are you close with any of the United players?
Rio Ferdinand and I are pretty good mates. It’s funny because I used to have all his jerseys and I asked him if he could sign one at Sir Alex’s 25th anniversary.
Rio said he was a big fan of our music and that he loved The Voice. We met up in London a few weeks later when he wasn’t called up for England duty — shame on Hodgson, by the way — and ha a few drinks. He’s such a sound lad and the way he conducts himself on and off the pitch is very commendable.
Someone else who I had a bit of a Barney with was the legendary Norman Whiteside over how many states there are in America. I said there were 52 and he said there were only 50. I thought I was so right that I bet £100 on it.
Later, he emailed me saying that the two states I thought were in there, weren’t. I was so convinced and he ended up showing me that Norman has a lot more wisdom than Danny O’Donoghue!
Have you ever been a decent player yourself?
I was a goalkeeper for a team in Dublin for about four years. I played schoolboys as well and that was pretty much it. When we started we were supposed to be in the B league, but they had entered us into the A league instead. So we spent a whole season losing every game. We were the exact opposite of Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles — the F***ing Disgracefuls!
The Script's new single Six Degrees of Separation is out now
Source: The Sun
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