Terrace Talk: Man United - Strange to be leaving Southampton with a smile

Usually, no-one at Old Trafford looks forward to Southampton away. It’s a horrendous journey, their fans can be deeply unpleasant, and it’s hardly the glamour fixture of our calendar.

Even the mere sight of the club’s name gives me the shudders: to the strained eyes of a Red of a certain age, it’ll always read ‘1976’.

But yesterday, the old United Cup final that sprang fastest to mind was 1979’s, and not just because of the scoreline. An often poor, sometimes baffling, occasionally wonderful game, unforgettably gilded by a slew of goals and some outrageous last-gasp dramatics, as a team two goals to the good and in total control almost contrived to throw it all away. No Wembley ‘79 save came anywhere near the quality of De Gea’s first half wonder-stop, mind. That was 1973 standard. (One for the dads, there.)