'I don't want this to be about me' - The United Strand reacts after Man Utd's draw with West Ham ends haircut hopes
Manchester United fan Frank Ilett, also known as The United Strand, has spoken out after seeing his dreams of a long-awaited haircut ended by Tuesday's 1-1 draw with West Ham United. Ilett vowed in October 2024 not to cut his hair until Manchester United won five games in a row and was on the brink of a trip to the barbers until the struggling Hammers ended the Red Devils' four-match winning streak.Manchester United have been in superb form since Michael Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim as manager, beating Arsenal, Manchester City, Fulham and Tottenham to climb back into the top four of the Premier League. The Red Devils were hoping to continue that run at the London Stadium but went behind early in the second half when Tomas Soucek broke the deadlock A stoppage-time strike from Benjamin Sesko did manage to rescue a draw for the visitors, but it was not enough to send the United Strand for a haircut. His challenge now resets and his disappointment was evident for all to see on social media.The United Strand's stunt has been profitable, although he is "not as well-paid as some people think," and is also helping a good chase. Ilett's challenge is raising money for Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides wigs to children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment or other conditions, and he says the longer it goes on, the better it is for them.“The longer the better for charity,” Ilett said on his live stream after the draw. “I don’t want this to be about me at all and I’m sure that it probably will be, but it is still unbeaten and good form."Carrick also spoke after the game, admitting he was thrilled with the late equaliser but disappointed not to take all three points. He told reporters: "It’s mixed feelings. We know we weren’t quite at our best and credit West Ham for that. We can be better, the boys are frustrated and disappointed with that, which is good to see. We found a late goal, it’s a great moment and another positive. We don’t want to have to pull on it and use it too often, but in the grand scheme of things, a point is something we can take. When you assess games over a five-match period, to only have one draw is a big positive but it’s mixed feelings."We know how hard it is to put a run together in this league, it’s not easy. Sometimes you’re dangerous, you have a spark, and sometimes you are stodgy. You need to find the answer, you need to find a way. The goal we conceded was a frustrating one, with the flow of the game. But football throws things up. In the grand scheme of things we managed to take something from the match and we move on."We didn’t quite get the balance right for the first part of the game if we’re being honest, that happens, teams are allowed to stop you from scoring! We kept going, we mixed things up and because we have that flexibility we managed to find a solution.”Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reportingManchester United do not play again until February 23rd when they head to Everton. There had been talk about Manchester United heading to the Middle East for a lucrative friendly but those have now been shelved and Carrick spoke about his plans for the gap in the schedule: “We’ll stay in Manchester. It’s a chance to refresh a little bit, we have a few knocks and a few niggles. We have a few strains we would like to clean up, as well it will be good to have a little breather, and to digest where we’re at after this period. We need to clear our heads, do some good work, take a deep breath and to come back even stronger. It’s a strange one, 13 days, but we’ll look to make the most of it.”Auto translated by GOAL-e
Manchester United fan Frank Ilett, also known as The United Strand, has spoken out after seeing his dreams of a long-awaited haircut ended by Tuesday's 1-1 draw with West Ham United. Ilett vowed in October 2024 not to cut his hair until Manchester United won five games in a row and was on the brink of a trip to the barbers until the struggling Hammers ended the Red Devils' four-match winning streak.Manchester United have been in superb form since Michael Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim as manager, beating Arsenal, Manchester City, Fulham and Tottenham to climb back into the top four of the Premier League. The Red Devils were hoping to continue that run at the London Stadium but went behind early in the second half when Tomas Soucek broke the deadlock A stoppage-time strike from Benjamin Sesko did manage to rescue a draw for the visitors, but it was not enough to send the United Strand for a haircut. His challenge now resets and his disappointment was evident for all to see on social media.The United Strand's stunt has been profitable, although he is "not as well-paid as some people think," and is also helping a good chase. Ilett's challenge is raising money for Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides wigs to children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment or other conditions, and he says the longer it goes on, the better it is for them.“The longer the better for charity,” Ilett said on his live stream after the draw. “I don’t want this to be about me at all and I’m sure that it probably will be, but it is still unbeaten and good form."Carrick also spoke after the game, admitting he was thrilled with the late equaliser but disappointed not to take all three points. He told reporters: "It’s mixed feelings. We know we weren’t quite at our best and credit West Ham for that. We can be better, the boys are frustrated and disappointed with that, which is good to see. We found a late goal, it’s a great moment and another positive. We don’t want to have to pull on it and use it too often, but in the grand scheme of things, a point is something we can take. When you assess games over a five-match period, to only have one draw is a big positive but it’s mixed feelings."We know how hard it is to put a run together in this league, it’s not easy. Sometimes you’re dangerous, you have a spark, and sometimes you are stodgy. You need to find the answer, you need to find a way. The goal we conceded was a frustrating one, with the flow of the game. But football throws things up. In the grand scheme of things we managed to take something from the match and we move on."We didn’t quite get the balance right for the first part of the game if we’re being honest, that happens, teams are allowed to stop you from scoring! We kept going, we mixed things up and because we have that flexibility we managed to find a solution.”Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reportingManchester United do not play again until February 23rd when they head to Everton. There had been talk about Manchester United heading to the Middle East for a lucrative friendly but those have now been shelved and Carrick spoke about his plans for the gap in the schedule: “We’ll stay in Manchester. It’s a chance to refresh a little bit, we have a few knocks and a few niggles. We have a few strains we would like to clean up, as well it will be good to have a little breather, and to digest where we’re at after this period. We need to clear our heads, do some good work, take a deep breath and to come back even stronger. It’s a strange one, 13 days, but we’ll look to make the most of it.”Auto translated by GOAL-e
