Okay, so this is a food website, but as a Manc I can’t really let this one pass.

The curtain has all but dropped on another football season but what a great season it’s been for my hometown team, Manchester United.

The UEFA Champions League title wasn’t to be this year, soundly beaten 2-0 by FC Barcelona in last night’s final at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome. Stepping out from behind my own partisanship, it was well earned and Barca were deserved winners. Despite this deep disappointment it’s important not to overlook the achievements of this year.

The English football league season drew to its conclusion last Sunday with United once again taking the spoils, their 11th triumph in the FA Premier League era and 18th in England’s top division - a joint record. Further more it becomes the second time that United have won three successive Premier League titles, a feat not matched even once by their rivals.

Back in March, Manchester United took the Football League Cup (aka Carling Cup) in a Wembley final against Tottenham Hotspur but an FA Cup semi-final loss to Everton prevented United from a clean sweep of domestic trophies. However, just before Christmas they achieved their first ever victory in the FIFA Club World Cup, a relatively new tournament represented by all six of the continental football confederations, being dubbed World Champions.

It’s been a wonderfully memorable football season for us Mancs and for the hundreds of thousands of Manchester United supporters worldwide, due solely to the dedication, determination and abilities of everyone involved with the club. Until August, “Forever and ever, we’ll follow the boys…”

GDave