When the stars of Ted Lasso came to Old Trafford
Manchester United had the pleasure of welcoming some of the cast members of hit US TV show Ted Lasso to Old Trafford for our Premier League clash with Arsenal recently.
We caught up with Billy Harris, who plays Colin Hughes, and Phil Dunster, who plays Jamie Tartt, before the game kicked off to chat all things United and get a glimpse into life on the show.
The first point of discussion was to find out what it was like for the team to be at Old Trafford, and Harris enthusiastically explained: “It’s pretty cool, and as you can tell I’m a United fan. The last time I was here I was about 11, so to come here again, especially against Arsenal, it’s going to be amazing.”
Dunster told us that the last time he was here was to watch United play Reading: “That was a pretty big day for me, but I think today might just top that!”
The conversation soon moved on to life under Erik ten Hag at United, and we wanted to know what the pair were expecting from the Dutchman as he negotiates the early stages of life at Old Trafford.
Harris explained: “More organisation. I think that’s what we’re seeing at the moment, he’s brought in two players in particular in [Tyrell] Malacia and [Lisandro] Martinez who have taken a little while to settle in, but are now fantastic.
“Look at Martinez, he’s just won the Player of the Month award.
“So he seems to be getting the right players, and hopefully, the rest are the same.”
We wanted to find out a little bit more about the show, and which United player they would love to have appear on it?
For Harris, it was an easy answer.
“For me, as a midfielder, I would love [Christian] Eriksen to help me out with some assists. I would love for him to come on the show and sort my passing game out so that I can set Jamie up,” he said.
“That’s all I care about to be honest!” replied Dunster. “For me, it’s got to be CR7. Cristiano [Ronaldo] is the greatest of all time and a big part of Jamie Tartt’s character on the show is wanting to be like that, and you know, to be in the presence of someone like that? It’s easy.”
Looping back to the discussion of summer signings, which do they think will have the biggest impact this season?
“For me, it’s Martinez,” explained Harris.
“His grouping with [Raphael] Varane at the moment is really good. I love a good centre-back for Manchester United, so hopefully Martinez is the same.”
For Dunster, it’s our acquisition from Ajax.
“I’m excited to see Antony. I don’t follow Dutch football too much, but I've seen good things so far. I’m excited to see Martinez as well, I think he’s made a really good start, there’s been a lot of passion. And Malacia as well, just seeing someone run down that wing!”
Finally, we wanted to know which kits this season have caught the eye
“I mean, I love the collar [on the home kit] and the Cantona inspiration,” explained Harris. “The away shirt also reminds me of Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney, too. But this one, [the home] has that Manchester swagger.”
It was great to catch up with the cast of Ted Lasso, so if you want to see more from the day and other link-ups at the club, head on over to @weareunited on Instagram.