Manchester United consider song sheets to boost Old Trafford atmosphere

Jose Mourinho has frequently taken aim at the Old Trafford crowd during his time as Manchester United manager (as he liked to do during his Chelsea days too), but he might just have a point: it is a very quiet ground these days, and its atmosphere has probably been lessened by the growth of football tourism.

According to The Times, among the responses considered by the club is the creation of song sheets containing the words to all the most popular chants, which would then be distributed to fans on their way into the ground.

It's easy to mock - and, yes, clearly it's sad that football has arrived at a point where this kind of thing is necessary - but it's a problem which a lot of the bigger clubs face. So far, none of them have found an adequate solution.

Back in late 2017, the Manchester United Supporters Trust invited Mourinho to a meeting to discuss the atmosphere issue within the ground, but so far - as far as we're aware - he hasn't taken them up on that offer.

One point to make, though: maybe some of this responsibility falls on the team itself? Their style of play hasn't exactly generated much organic excitement recently, and that's a problem song sheets are unlikely to solve.

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Seb Stafford-Bloor is a football writer at Tifo Football and member of the Football Writers' Association. He was formerly a regularly columnist for the FourFourTwo website, covering all aspects of the game, including tactical analysis, reaction pieces, longer-term trends and critiquing the increasingly shady business of football's financial side and authorities' decision-making.