‘There’s people chanting outside my house and filling my bin with beer cans - it can only mean one thing’

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

I’m sitting on the sofa in my flat on Thursday evening, laughing to myself as I rewatch Ariana DeBose's ‘Angela Bassett did the thing’ BAFTAs rap for the eight-hundredth time in a row when I hear a massive bang from outside followed by chants and cheers from, what I can only presume, a group of rowdy men.

Mere minutes later, police sirens bellow out as the chanting continues to get louder. As an always-on reporter - I like to think I’m perhaps ‘seasoned’ by this point, but I’m sure many will argue otherwise - I am right on the balcony, eying up the going’s-on in case I need to make my colleagues on shift aware.

Then I realise something that changes the narrative slightly: It’s match night and Manchester United have just won. I am one of the lucky souls to live in Old Trafford (or Stretford, depending on who you ask) right near to Manchester United Stadium and Old Trafford Cricket Ground.

When there’s a home game, a cricket tournament, or even a Harry Styles gig, I have a front row view of the sea of crowds making their way to and from each of the venues. READ MORE: 'I'm a GP and might not be able to send my patients for basic scans - this is what needs to change' Like clockwork, our bins become communal as they are filled to the brim with beer cans and chip wrappers, our entrances become unofficial car parking spaces, and our streets become glorified parade routes - either filled with good or bad chanting depending on the outcome of the game.