Old Trafford is known as the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ to many.
But for too many sides visiting during Alex Ferguson’s reign, it was a nightmare realm as trying to get anything at the stadium proved all but impossible.
But that has all changed in the three years since Ferguson’s departure, and under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, Manchester United’s home form has deteriorated significantly.
Teams now can get draws and wins without ever being stretched or being put under the ferocious pressure that would often suffocate teams before they ever got onto the pitch during Ferguson’s era.
And one former Manchester United starlet explains why fans are so unhappy at Old Trafford now.
Robbie Brady is a former youth player who came through under Ferguson before moving to Hull, and is now playing for Norwich.
The Canaries face a United side looking for their first win in six on Saturday afternoon, and Brady feels that Old Trafford is not once what it was:
“United are still massive but the gap between the big teams and the other clubs is much smaller now and I think we all believe we can go anywhere now and get a result.”
“You used to think you needed a miracle when you went there. But now I’m looking forward to going back and I’m confident we can pick up points against them.”
Brady joined the club as 16-year-old but featured just once for the first team in a League Cup game in 2012. However speaking to Setanta Sports he has fond memories of his time in Manchester,
“I was at the academy with players like Danny Welbeck and Corey Evans and although a lot of players and staff have left, I still have friends there.”
“It was just unbelievable to be there when Sir Alex Ferguson was manager and to see the way he went about things. It was just fantastic to work with such a great manager.”
“What I learned there did me nothing but good as a player but I knew I needed to go and play somewhere else if I wanted to play regularly and in the end going to Hull was the right move for me.”