Over the years United fans like many other fans have amended many a Christmas favourite to suit a player or abuse opponents on a regular basis. Older reds will fondly recall paying homage to Denis law with the following:
Hark the Herald Angels sing Glory to Denis Law the King Scores a goal every week Through the defence Georgie Best does sneak Passes the ball to Denis Law “He’s the King” the crowd does roar Cracks the ball and breaks the net To European football we are set Denis Law Emmanuel Twice as good as Colin Bell Hark the Herald Angels sing Glory to Denis Law the KingIn more recent times The Pogues’ classic ‘Fairytale of New York’ was reworked by yours truly to abuse good old Ciddy and contained such lyrics as sung ever so beautifully by ‘Laura’:
They’ve got beards They’ve got taches They live in the sticks They claim they’re all mancs Coz they’re all fucking pricks When they drove Swales out Success would them come All with their saviour good old Franny Lee!A few songs haven’t made the list due to restricting it to ten, so a couple of clever re-workings of Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ failed to make the cut. Here is my choices but if you thing I’ve made any glaring omissions please contact me via the usual channels.
10 – ‘Jingle Bells’ – quite generic but it always sounds good in December when we’re winning away from home
9 – ‘Santa Claus/Van Nistelrooy Is Coming To Town’ – a Bishops’ favourite until he left
8 – ‘Noel, Noel’ – a fitting tribute to the ‘63 Cup winning captain Mr Cantwell
7 – ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ – tribute to the original King of the Stretford End
6 – ‘Merry Christmas Everybody/Terry Tits-up’ – cruel but necessary mocking of all things Chelsea after Moscow to the ever popular Slade anthem
5 – ‘Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer/Shearer’s A Greedy Bastard’ – fourteen years on and still a classic
4 – ‘Feed the World/Scousers’ – An all-time United Christmas great which came to be taken up by many other clubs once people wised up to the fact that scousers aren’t actually funny, kind people as their former media stereotype would have people believe
3 – ‘Fairytale of New York/Fairly Terrible Ask Dwight Yorke’ – more justified mocking of the bitter third of Manchester
2 – ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ – originally a hit after Liverpool beat United 3-0 at Old Trafford in 1978 (the Tom Connell game). People in recent years have sung this about City before derby day, primarily because they sing it about us, but to me these will always be the proper words:
Hark now hear United sing The scousers ran away And we will fight forever more Because of Boxing Day1 – ‘Twelve Days Of Christmas/Cantona’ – not maybe the best song but no run-up to Christmas would ever be the same without regular renditions of it
So have a good one, keep singing and if you’ve any song suggestions you’d like to see covered here in the New Year then send them in.
This article was first published by Pete Boyle in Red Issue magazine
Boylie’s Top 10 All-Time United Christmas Songs ,
Mourinho are you listenin you better keep pur trophy glistening because were back in may to take it away walking in à Fergie wonderland