Nostalgic hokum won’t restore United’s place in natural order

“What’s your team, Patrick?” went the standard introductory gambit ahead of a week making tea and fixing paper jams.

It was something young Patrick said that brought it home for me. Patrick was a transition year kid in the office on work experience a few weeks ago.

Nice lad, capable of eye contact, straightforward haircut, not the one they have now that looks like a low-flying cumulonimbus perched on top of their heads.