United with Dad cover art

United with Dad

Fatherhood, Football Fandom and Memories of Manchester United

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United with Dad

By: Simon Lloyd
Narrated by: Matthew McNulty
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About this listen

United With Dad is an emotional tale of football (soccer) fandom and fatherhood, detailing the agonizing final two years of a man's life while drawing on his love for and memories of Manchester United.

David Lloyd passed away from metastatic prostate cancer in a nursing home in November 2019. During his heartbreaking decline, he also lived with dementia. His affection for United was ignited by early visits to Old Trafford as a boy in the 1950s. Through the anguish of his final months, his passion for the club never completely faded, even when so many other things did.

United With Dad is written by David's son, Simon, who reflects on his father's life and their relationship, attempting to make sense of why, at such a bleak time, a shared love of a football club should matter so much.

It is a book that transcends club allegiances, for anyone who knows what it is to devote a large chunk of their life to watching their favorite team beside someone they love, then, one day, realize the time has come to go on doing so without them.

©2023 Simon Lloyd (P)2023 W. F. Howes Ltd Football (Soccer) Sports

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All stars
Most relevant
As a United fan of the same age as the author, it transported me back through my own journey watching the club. If this was simply recalling the last 30 years or so of United, it would have still been a great book. At its heart though, it recounts a story of fathers and sons bound together by a common interest, and the fact that it is a football team is secondary to the emotionally immersive recounting of his father's life and their relationship.

The book also does a great job when carefully explaining the way people living with dementia and cancer change before our eyes as their conditions grip them, and it is clear that this was put together through thorough research and with sensitivity.

An emotionally immersive masterpiece

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Brilliantly written, it felt like a privilege to share the story of a father and son relationship that was anchored in the love for their football team. Equallly sad and yet heartwarming in parts.
As a middle aged man reminiscing about my youth and relationships with loved ones this really hit home and makes you think how lucky the author and his dad were to share such memories.

A very intimate and emotional window into a father and son bond.

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Can relate to much of this, having been first taken to Old Trafford by my dad aged 4, some 50 years ago. Great story, well read. Well done!

Great story, well read

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This is a wonderful but heartbreaking book, not only about Manchester United but about football and the connections we have. Beautifully written

Beautiful

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