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A day at Old Trafford with champagne reception and 3-course meal.
Manchester
11°
Rain showers
Our best tips
Manchester in October averages 8–14°C. Rain is common (roughly 22 days of the month), so a waterproof layer is essential, not optional.
Smart casual is the standard in Premier League hospitality suites. Think collared shirts and smart trousers rather than replica kits. Most venues will turn away guests in sportswear or football shirts.
Arrive at Old Trafford at least two hours before kick-off to enjoy the full pre-match hospitality. Bring a valid photo ID, as most Premier League venues require one for entry.
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F1, Wimbledon, Royal Ascot, the Six Nations, Glastonbury. If it sells out in minutes, we have people on the door.
Getting around
Old Trafford tram stop on the Altrincham line is a few minutes' walk from the ground. Trams run frequently from Manchester city centre and Piccadilly.
Taxis and ride-hailing services are readily available. On match days, expect some road closures around Sir Matt Busby Way, so allow extra time.
Manchester United Football Ground station (on the Liverpool-Manchester line) is right beside the stadium. Trains run from Manchester Piccadilly and Oxford Road.
Manchester United and Brentford share roots in the same era of English football's formation, yet their paths could hardly have diverged more sharply. United became the most decorated club in the country; Brentford spent 74 years outside the top flight before a remarkable return in 2021. Their meetings at Old Trafford now carry the charge of a fixture reborn, pitting one of the game's global institutions against a club whose data-driven model has rewritten the rules of what a smaller side can achieve.
It's the Theatre of Dreams. Well, that's what I call it, because it really is a theatre.
We are not a rich club. We have to be smart.
Railway workers changed into their kit at the local pub; not a bad start for the future kings of English football.
The club that would become Manchester United began life as Newton Heath LYR Football Club, formed by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot. They played on a pitch near the railway yard at North Road, with no changing rooms; players walked to a nearby pub to get ready.
Brentford began life as a rowing club seeking a winter pastime; football, it turned out, was a rather good fit.
Founded on 10 October 1889, Brentford FC grew out of a rowing club looking for a winter sport. They settled on football and took the name of their local area. The Bees, as they became known, would spend their early decades in local leagues and the Southern League before joining the Football League in 1920.
Designed for 80,000 spectators from day one; Leitch built a cathedral, not merely a ground.
Having been renamed Manchester United in 1902 and won their first league title in 1908, the club moved to a purpose-built ground on the Trafford side of the city. Designed by Archibald Leitch, Old Trafford initially held around 80,000 spectators. It would become one of the most recognisable football grounds on earth.
For a spell in the late 1930s, Brentford sat above United in the table; fifth place was their answer to anyone who doubted they belonged.
Brentford won promotion to the First Division in 1935, beginning a golden spell that saw them finish as high as fifth. For the first time, the Bees and United met regularly as peers in the top tier of English football. This period, cut short by the Second World War, remains a high-water mark in Brentford's pre-modern history.
Seventy-four years without a league meeting; Busby built a dynasty while Brentford simply disappeared.
Brentford's relegation from the First Division in 1947 began a long exile from the top flight. While Matt Busby was building the dynasty that would produce the Busby Babes and a European Cup triumph in 1968, Brentford slipped through the divisions. The two clubs would not meet in a league match for 74 years.
Three trophies, one season; Brentford were watching from the third tier.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side completed an unprecedented Treble of Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League in 1999. Old Trafford, by now expanded to over 67,000 seats and nicknamed the Theatre of Dreams by Sir Bobby Charlton, was the stage for one of the greatest eras in club football. Brentford, meanwhile, were in the third tier.
116 years of Griffin Park history, closed; a 17,250-seat future, opened.
After 116 years at Griffin Park, Brentford moved to the 17,250-capacity Brentford Community Stadium. The new ground, funded by owner Matthew Benham, signalled the club's ambition. Benham's data-driven approach to recruitment and management had already taken the Bees from League One to the Championship, and promotion to the Premier League was within touching distance.
Seventy-four years in the wilderness, then straight back to holding United to a 3-3 draw.
Brentford won promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs in 2021, ending a 74-year absence from the top division. The fixture with Manchester United was back on the calendar. Their first meeting came in the 2021-22 season, with Brentford earning a creditable 3-3 draw at home before United won 3-0 at Old Trafford.
Four goals inside 35 minutes on opening day; ten Hag's reign began with a humiliation that echoed across the football world.
On 13 August 2022, Brentford inflicted one of the most humiliating defeats in Manchester United's modern history. Four goals in 35 first-half minutes left Erik ten Hag's side shell-shocked on the opening day of the Dutchman's tenure. It was a result that reverberated around the football world and confirmed Brentford as a side capable of embarrassing anyone on their day.
A 114-year-old stadium facing its biggest question yet; INEOS are deciding whether to renovate or simply start again.
Manchester United continue to host Brentford at Old Trafford, a ground now at the centre of ambitious redevelopment plans. Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS group, who acquired a minority stake in 2024, have commissioned a feasibility study into either renovating or replacing the 114-year-old stadium. Brentford, meanwhile, have established themselves as a settled Premier League club, consistently punching above their weight under the Benham ownership model.
