As we queued to climb the steps to the Stretford End bridge, barely 15 minutes after Joshua Zirkzee had prodded us to opening-day victory over Fulham, conversation quickly pivoted to a matter of near-equal significance: United's off-field performance levels.
This was not just the first bow for Erik ten Hag’s class of 2024/25, but also a night that thousands of Reds had waited more than three decades for: the rebirth, or reaffirmation, of the Stretford End as the aorta of Manchester United’s home support.
‘That’s what it used to be like,’ eulogised one old boy – a veteran of the Tommy Doc years – as thousands of grinning faces started to ascend the steps to the bridge.