Supporter Occupies Lowest Step Outside Stadium After Man Utd Lineup Preview Calls Spurs Bottom Of Table

A Tottenham man arrived at the stadium at 9:15am on Wednesday and sat down on the lowest step, having read in a Man Utd predicted lineup that Spurs are bottom-of-the-table.

The article concerns Michael Carrick and his need for a convincing win at Old Trafford on Saturday evening. It mentions Tottenham once, in the first sentence, and in passing. The man has read it eleven times.

The piece invites readers to press the next page for the predicted eleven, in which Carlos Baleba and Shea Lacey start and Mainoo and Rashford are out. The man did not press it. He says he had what he needed from the opening line.

I'm not being dramatic. It says bottom, so I've come to the bottom. Somebody ought to.

The Herald measured the step on Wednesday afternoon. It is the lowest of fourteen, sits beside a drain, and rises eleven centimetres from the pavement. The man has brought a cushion, a flask and a folded league table, which he consulted twice to confirm the position.

A member of staff carrying a crate across the forecourt at 11am asked whether he was waiting for someone. The man said he was waiting for Saturday, and that he would follow the match from the step on a phone with fourteen per cent of its battery remaining.

The article also refers to the doubters that three points would silence. The man has taken this to mean him, and says he has been keeping a low profile since.

It says doubters. I haven't said a word. I'll admit I've been thinking it, though.

The Herald understands he will move to the second step at dusk, on form.

He has brought a second cushion for Saturday.