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Manchester United’s women’s team recently took a lighthearted jab at Red Devils supporter Frank Ilett, who’s been enduring an unusually long wait for a haircut. His pledge to let his hair grow until the men’s team secures five consecutive Premier League victories hit another snag after Tuesday’s game against West Ham.
Ilett, who’s holding out for five straight wins under Michael Carrick’s management, saw his hopes dashed when United only managed a draw against West Ham. The team had been on a promising four-match winning streak prior to this match, but Benjamin Sesko’s late goal wasn’t enough to clinch the much-needed victory, resetting their streak.
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s women’s team has been on a remarkable run, achieving six consecutive victories. Had Ilett extended his haircut promise to include the women’s team, he would have been able to visit the barber by now.
Under Marc Skinner’s leadership, the women’s team has been unstoppable since their January 10 draw with Arsenal. They’ve claimed victory over Burnley, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Leicester, showcasing their dominant form.
Marc Skinner’s side have won every game since drawing with Arsenal on January 10, getting the better of Burnley, the Gunners, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Leicester before Thursday.
The viral Manchester United fan who is not cutting his hair until the side win five games in a row has been mocked by the side’s women’s team
Then, in the Champions League, they saw off Atletico Madrid, beating the Spanish side 3-0, and the players chose to mock Ilett in their celebrations.
Elisabeth Terland opened the scoring in the third minute of the game, and the goal scorer, alongside England defender Maya Le Tissier, were seen pretending to cut their ponytails.
Ilett’s live reaction to Tomas Soucek’s goal for West Ham – that put the Hammers 1-0 up – in front of almost 100,000 viewers on streaming site Kick said everything. The afro-toting social media star held his head for several seconds, before consoling himself with the encouragement: ‘There’s plenty of time, plenty of time.’
After almost 500 days of waiting, and having amassed 1.3million followers on Instagram, Ilett – known as The United Strand – is back to square one.
‘We go again for the next five,’ one of his friends said at full-time, as Ilett sat pensively, with a thousand-yard stare, covering his mouth with his fingers. By this point, almost 180,000 people were watching.
‘The longer the better for the charity,’ he said, referring to how he will donate his hair to The Little Princess Trust, who provide wigs to children who have lost their hair. ‘I don’t want this to be about me.’
While his challenge has brought humour to rival fans, he has been accused of financially benefiting greatly from United’s downfall, something he denies.
The United duo haven’t been the only professionals in the game to poke fun at the social media star, either. West Ham’s assistant boss Paco Jemez reportedly aimed a cheeky dig his way in midweek – before his side had even ended the streak.
Jemez, who joined the Hammers in mid-January, was asked about Ilett’s challenge on Spanish TV ahead of the game.
Frank Ilett came close to completing the challenge in midweek before United drew with West Ham in the Premier League
Speaking on Cope’s ‘El Partidazo’ programme, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, he said: ‘I saw the Manchester United fan with the hair (Frank Ilett) and I told him: “You’re not getting a haircut today”.’
Carrick, meanwhile, brushed off any talk before the game, saying: ‘I can say I’m aware of it, yeah. My kids have made me aware of it, if anything.
‘It certainly won’t go into the team talk, from a professional level. I can understand and what’s going on with it and it does make me smile but it won’t have an impact ultimately in the end.’