Belgium born Karl Hanssens has been hooked on Manchester United since 1983.
His amazing personal collection of photographs, programmes, ticket stubs and anecdotes from supporting one of the most famous and globally supported football teams in the world is truly impressive, as has been his commitment to following United home and away for nearly 40 years.
A loyal Manchester United fan, but also a lover of British football in general, Karl was inspired to take photographs of all the matches he attended; the fans, the stadiums, the action on the pitch and the atmosphere outside the ground. He was simply addicted to the British football culture.
Speaking to Lower Block, Karl shares some of his photographs from back in the 1980s, taking in his earliest football trips to the UK, including Anfield, Maine Roade, Goodison, Highbury, Villa Park, White Hart Lane, and of course Old Trafford. He talks deeply about his love for Manchester United and how the 80s football era got him well and truly “hooked” on the game.
Lower Block: Karl, where are you from and how has it come about that you support United….
Karl Hanssens: I was born and live in Belgium and I support Manchester United Football Club.
I fell in love with United and have been hooked since February 1983, when I saw the FA Cup tie, Derby County versus Manchester United on Match of the Day and I was immediately drawn towards United.
The atmosphere, the huge number of travelling fans swaying behind the goal…
I started to look up things about United and sensed that this was a special club. The history, the support…
My idol was, and will always be, Bryan Robson. He was three players in one: the best midfielder, a great defender and he could score goals as well. The Captain.
My first live match was Liverpool versus Manchester United on 31st March 1985. There were plenty of big name players on show including Robson, Norman Whiteside, Mark Hughes, Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush…
I was 15 at the time, and had been harassing my parents for the last two years to take me to England to watch United.
That match at Anfield was during the Easter Holidays.
My parents were Anglophiles and we always spent our holidays in Britain, and we still do.
I had a book with all the addresses of European football clubs. So I sent a letter and money to Liverpool F.C. and asked them for tickets. And on the day we departed to England the tickets arrived by mail at my home in Belgium.
We made the long journey to the North of England by taking the boat in Ostend to Dover and drove our car all the way up to stay in Chester.
Nowadays the grounds are full with tourists and it is easy to come and watch a match live, but back then I was very much a rare species making those long trips to come watch English football.
English football that was in the doldrums those days and was not well seen by the general public due to the hooliganism.
To finally arrive on match day at Anfield, see the ground, the hostile atmosphere, the terraces of the Kop, our players and travelling United support live… it was heaven… to see it live was a dream come true.
Football in England during the 80s was something else and in 1985 it was very much the heydays of hooliganism. It was scary from time to time but for a teenager it was all very exciting.
It was the best atmosphere I had ever experienced. The rivalry, the hostility between the two sets of fans made for a heated, toxic and passionate atmosphere. The fact United won made it all the better of course.
Liverpool 0-1 Manchester United, Anfield. 31st March 1985.
LB: Presumable, from there on in your interest in the British game just grew stronger…?
KH: I watched and played football in Belgium, and followed F.C. Bruges, but the real action and the summum for me was English football. And being Anglophiles, going to England a couple of times a year, our television was always on BBC. I was always watching Grandstand, Football Focus, Match of the Day…
FA Cup Final day was even shown live on Belgian television, which was rare in those days.
I had all comics of Roy of the Rovers and Billy’s Boots and would reading them over and over again.
I kept everything about United I could find, newspaper-cuttings, magazines… and was also very interested in all the fan-troubles as well; the firms, the violence… I am more the quiet, non-violent type but I was absorbed by the scenes and events of football-fan trouble. I taped everything and rewatched it all, over and over.
LB: You’re clearly a visual person, and it was natural for you to want to take pictures and capture your own experiences?
KS: My Dad always had taken pictures of our trips and had a decent camera so for me, collecting everything about United and football-hooliganism was only normal. I took as many photos as possible when I started coming over to England to follow United.
Even before, during one of our Summer holidays in England, we had visited Wembley Stadium which was a holy ground back then. Even in Belgium Wembley was known as the pinnacle of football, a sacred place. We visited in July 1983, a couple of weeks after United had won the FA Cup in my first year following them. To be there in that stadium that I had seen so many times on television, coming out of the tunnel, walking up the steps and hoisting the Cup was paradise.
KH: So we always took pictures and that first match at Anfield was no different. Those were the days long before digital cameras so you never knew the quality of the photos and only found out when you got home. You had a roll of film in the camera and the number of pictures you could take was very limited.
LB: Do you have favourite photo from this era and collection?
KS: I personally like the photo that captures the trouble in the Kemlyn Road at Anfield stand before the match got started, as there were United fans in the home end.
I also like one from the very first time I saw Old Trafford. We were there to pick up the tickets we had ordered for my first live home-match, Manchester United – Stoke City, on the Saturday after the match at Anfield.
Manchester United 5-0 Stoke City, Old Trafford. 9th April 1985.
KH: This one is another favourite, taken during that first live home-match against Stoke City. I like this because the terraces on the Stretford End are packed with United fans … there is no better sight. In general, the atmosphere in the ground was much better when there were terraces as the younger lads could all stand together and create an atmosphere. Now the average age of the fans is higher and you are less likely to make noise the older you get. It’s also much more difficult to sing and shout when sitting down and certainly so when the more vocal fans are all sitting separated across the ground.
LB: Other than United fans, which other supporters impressed you – in terms of their noise or their numbers?
KH: Best other fans is difficult. During the 80s many football clubs had great support. I must say I was pretty impressed by the travelling fans of Middlesbrough when I attended United – Boro in 1988. The numbers they brought to Old Trafford was impressive and they were very much up for it.
Manchester United 1-0 Middlesbrough, Old Trafford. 10th September 1988.
LB: What about your favourite other grounds?
KS: My favourite other grounds, other than Old Trafford, are the older grounds in general. The grounds that are situated between terraced houses and with different stands that give the ground its own character. The newer grounds are all bowls and all look the same.
I liked Villa Park a lot, White Hart Lane, Highbury, Goodison Park, Anfield Road… all these historic grounds. Although a rather small ground I have a soft spot for Craven Cottage… great facade and just next to the Thames River.
Everton 3-2 Manchester United, Goodison Park. 9th September 1989.
Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United, Highbury. 1st February 1992.
LB: You took in a lot of different grounds, and got to experience of lot of different clubs and their fans. Football fans in general ofter share similar traits; their love and loyalty to their team, how they follow football – their commitment, and also the subcultures that exist within the game – the fashions, music, etc….
KH: The attraction of English football, certainly when I was a teenager, were the fans. Every club had a large following (which was not the case in Belgium), a great history and a ground surrounded by houses. I also really liked the kits from back then with only the badge. FA Cup final day was just fantastic. England was and is the cradle and the home of football and being in love with England from a young age thanks to my parents just made me hooked on English football.
I always loved to have pics of the matches and grounds I visited. I took them mainly for myself, to be able to look back and cherish the memories. You try to capture the atmosphere, the fans, the ground… You take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone. Now with the internet and social media it is easy and a pleasure to share those pictures.
Manchester City, Maine Road.
Aston Villa, Villa Park.
Tottenham Hotspur, White Hart Lane.
LB: What’s next for you?
KH: I try to come over to England 4-5 times a year to support United. There are still many grounds I haven’t been to. The historic ones like Hillsborough and Elland Road are certainly high on my list.
Keep up with Karl on Twitter where he regularly posts nostalgic photographs from football grounds around the UK.
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