Manchester United have cancelled the club’s traditional end of season awards dinner as the club’s on-field form nosedived towards the end of the campaign. The club say they do not want to provide any distractions ahead of the upcoming FA Cup final against Manchester City.
The club ordinarily host a dinner at their Old Trafford stadium at the end of the season in order to present awards including the Sir Matt Busby player of the year award, as well as recognition for breakthrough young talent. It is attended by the first team for the men’s and women’s teams, as well as academy players, coaching staff, club staff, supporters and sponsors.
However, United have endured a hugely disappointing season, leaving manager Erik Ten Hag battling for his future. They crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage before Christmas. They are eighth in the Premier League table, having lost fourteen matches and are scrambling to qualify for a place in the Europa League or Europa Conference League. There is hope of some success as United are still to face neighbors Manchester City in the FA Cup final at the end of the month.
The club say that United’s dinner for this year had originally been scheduled for May 20, in the week leading up to the final against Man City on May 25, but following consultation with Ten Hag and the football leadership team, it was decided that the players should not have any distractions in the week of the game. The players will still receive awards voted by their peers, coaches and fans but there will not be an awards dinner.
United’s players previously took the decision to cancel their end-of-season awards in the 2021-22 season, when their form similarly fell off a cliff under the interim management of Ralf Rangnick.
United, as a club, have had success to celebrate this season and even on Sunday the club’s senior women’s team lifted the FA Cup as Marc Skinner’s team defeated Tottenham at Wembley.
Manchester United Women’s Academy have already held a celebration to mark their own trophy-winning season earlier this month when Player of the Year awards were presented to the their U-21 and U-16 teams.
The women’s U-21s won the Academy Northern Division in April and U-16s won the Women’s Professional Game Academy (WPGA) Cup by beating Arsenal.
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