Jo! Jo! - Update

[Osc]

Just got a text from Miss Osc saying that a friend of hers is giving away two free tickets to see Eric Cantona tonight and wondering if we would be interested - well, yes we are!! I’ll report tomorrow

[JoM]

OSC!!!!

Are they the tickets where you get to meet him? I looked at them for Manchester but felt a bit greedy as John and the lads had already bought me a ticket to meet Ole. I’d most likely cry at Eric anyway, he’s my ultimate footballing hero.

It’ll be SO interesting, and the food was fantastic at the Ole event we went to, the whole evening was actually!

Have a wonderful time, I want to hear all about it!

[Osc]

We are waiting to see the level of ticket. The woman offering them is wealthy and bought them as a Christmas present for her brother who lives in Co. Clare, apparently he not cannot travel up now. So far as Miss Osc knows there is a photo op and they are front row seats The compère is a guy called Jed Stone, who seems to be a Premier League comedian. Off now to decide what I’ll wear!

[Workingman]

Is that THE Eric Cantona made famous by his time at Leeds United before we flogged him to the other United? Just asking.

[Kaz]

Oh have a great time Osc!.

[Osc]

We thoroughly enjoyed last night and Edward absolutely loved it. The tickets we had were eyewateringly expensive, we would never have bought them ourselves. The woman who gave them to us just asked that we give her the signed jerseys which was fine. It was in a theatre and we were in the front row. First of all, we got to “meet” Eric Cantona although in reality you went in, he fist bumped us both, we posed for the photo and moved on. He is very tall and has big hands. We got the photos straight away, one was not so good but the other was fine. There was an option to buy a frame, at first we weren’t going to but changed our minds. There is a place for your photo surrounded by photos of Cantona. Then we had a wait for the actual show but that was fine, Edward had a drink and I had a cuppa.

Then we went into the theatre where we were entertained by two guys singing Irish type songs. Cantona came on just after 8pm. It was billed as an unscripted conversation, which is just as well, as the interviewer would have struggled to keep him on track But he was engaging and funny, we discovered that he hates Trump and Musk, and has very clear views on the current state of ManU. At one stage there was a spontaneous singing of “Ooh ah Eric Cantona”, absolutely amazing, the whole theatre belting it out. I know Jo experiences this sort of singing every time she goes to Old Trafford but we have only been there once many years ago. During the interval they had an auction of ManU memorabilia, people paid LOTS of money. I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t tell us where the money was going though. He got a huge standing ovation at the end. A great night out, even more so as it was so unexpected (and free )

[JoM]

So glad you both had such an amazing night Osc!

There was an auction at the Ole one we went to, when we saw how much the first item went for I told Joe to keep very very VERY still I’m not sure whether it was a charity auction or not, I don’t remember anything being said. With the few things that didn’t reach the guide price the highest bidder was told to talk to someone at the end to see if they could negotiate so I had a feeling it was just a sale as such for one of those sports memorabilia companies.

I looked at tickets last week for Manchester, think it’s tonight and possibly tomorrow too, and all that was left were the ones you had with the signed shirt - can’t think now if they were £575 or £595. Couldn’t justify that for both of us and I’ve got a signed shirt from back in the day anyway (or rather Joe has, it’s on his wall) so we’d have been happy with the next tier of just the photo. Maybe next time

There was a fair bit of singing at the Ole one too, You Are My Solskjaer and Who Put The Ball In The German’s Net. It was a fantastic atmosphere. We both came away and said it’s something we’d definitely do again.

[Osc]

I agree about the auction, the guy sitting next to me says there is a shop in the Trafford Centre that sells all that sort of sports memorbilia. I was afraid to even scratch my nose!! There was a photo of most of the team getting on the plane in Munich which I would have loved Edward to have if I had won the lottery. The Irish player Liam Whelan who died that day was in the photo, and the only time we have been to Old Trafford was because his brother Christy gave us his season tickets. The tickets we had last night were €399 EACH

[JoM]

That photo would be lovely to have!

That’s less than they were charging over here then. I got the price wrong, it was £529 per person here for the package you had.

Platinum VIP Package per person £529.00 Includes....
18.15pm Arrive at the International suite
Signed authenticated Eric Cantona 1992 shirt.
Complimentary drink
A Professional 6X9 photograph taken with you & Eric to take home.
Platinum seating (Best seats in the house)
Live on-stage unscripted Interview with Eric
Official event program
Delicious 3 course dinner
Live entertainment throughout the evening
Bespoke memorabilia auction
Drinks service to your seats
Master of ceremonies Jed Stone
The evening is scheduled to finish at 23.00pm

[Osc]

That’s a great evening! We actually felt that for the money people paid, there should have been maybe nibbles and a drink for the VIP package. The pricing structure here meant that you paid €200 for the signed jersey. We absolutely enjoyed it, don’t get me wrong, but it is a very large amount of money.