“Going for Frank” is unlikely to be part of Michael Carrick’s team speech when Manchester United travel to West Ham tonight. But maybe it should be. Apparently, when fan Frank Ilett vowed not to cut his hair until his team won five games in a row, he had no idea that it had been almost 500 days since he went to a barber, that his appearance had become so ridiculous, or that he had more followers on social media than some of Manchester United’s first-team players. After four wins in a row, though, he’s very close to finally ending his self-inflicted ordeal.
Ilett’s challenge begins on October 5, 2024, at the start of the club’s worst-ever start to a Premier League season. The 29-year-old said it was a bit of a joke and hoped to “spread some humor and positivity” to help the club’s supporters get through “dark days” – United had salvaged a miserable season by winning the FA Cup the previous year, but it was clear all was not well. By the end of the month, manager Erik ten Hag was sacked and the promise of a smiling Ruben Amorim arrived. At the time, the idea of a rejuvenated United going on the run was almost unthinkable, but then things began to take a turn for the worse. Under Amorim, United stumbled through a doomed season, finishing 15th in the Premier League and losing in the Europa League final.
As losses mounted and United’s slide worsened, Ilett’s hair swelled, and so did his audience numbers. His various “The United Strand” accounts on Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube have gained hundreds of thousands of followers, and his daily updates have amassed millions of views. The centerpiece of every video, of course, is the hair, which not only grows longer but more ridiculous as time passes, spreading outward in every direction, bouncing up and down on the top of his head and coiling around the back of his neck like a lush bush of floating gas. United’s dismal end-of-season form left Ilett spending the entire summer under this ridiculous, thick, lush cloud. Oxford-born Elitte now lives in sunny Spain, which adds to the weight.
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Throughout the process, Ilett has maintained a positive outlook and is endlessly optimistic that United’s fortunes could turn around. In the process, he also raised money for mental health charity Mind and, after exceeding his previous fundraising target, for the Little Princess Trust; when Elitte is eventually cut off, his hair will be donated and made into wigs for young cancer patients suffering from alopecia. As bad as United’s performance was, it was at least an entertaining sideshow. Although it is as infamous as Old Trafford’s leaky roof, Amorim’s 3-4-2-1, Sir Jim’s big cuts and Roy Keane’s roar during this particular period of the club’s decline, it will eventually do some good to the world.
For some, however, Ilett’s messy hair is a reminder of the depths United have fallen into, and a case study in the often divisive impact of viral online fandom/content creators. For example, it was the toxic atmosphere during the final years of Arsene Wenger’s legendary reign at Arsenal that provided fertile ground for the development of Arsenal Fans TV. Back then, an infuriating post-match monologue outside the Emirates Stadium after the club’s latest humiliating defeat to Bayern Munich was sure to cause a stir, racking up millions of views on digital platforms. As content, AFTV has been incredibly successful. But for loyal, live-seeing supporters, AFTV has been accused of gleefully exploiting embarrassment and gobbling up clicks. Arsenal are not the only Premier League club to experience such factional divisions.
Ilett has yet to request a police escort as he leaves the pitch, or have Old Trafford collectively chant “get out of our club” for inadvertently highlighting their shortcomings. But that’s not to say his challenges haven’t been without incident. Horrifying footage of Ilett being attacked in the lobby while watching Manchester United play Chelsea at home in September went viral – with another supporter grabbing him by the hair and forcefully pulling him down, and the supporter was later banned from Old Trafford. iret told manchester evening news He’s been called an “attention-seeking jerk,” but reports that 99 percent of other reactions have been positive. Since then, his Instagram following has tripled from nearly 400,000 to over 1.2 million, and thankfully, perhaps for everyone, the end is in sight.
Manchester United have won four consecutive games for the first time in nearly two years (Getty)
As head coach, Amorim said he hopes Manchester United can find Ilett’s form as soon as possible and let him cut his hair. Yet the Portuguese’s departure in early January proved to be a turning point: under Michael Carrick, United have beaten Manchester City, Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur in succession and travel to West Ham tonight seeking a fifth consecutive victory. It’s been 493 days since Ilett started the challenge and the excitement is palpable: Carrick’s teenage children have naturally become followers and made sure their dad knows it. He joked that he would not put undue pressure on his players by letting them know what was going on at the London Stadium, although they would also be asked about Ilett whenever they won a few games in a row.
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“I can understand where it is, it does make me smile but it doesn’t have an impact,” Carrick insisted. A victory for United would continue their resurgence and move towards a return to the Champions League; for Ilett, it would end a breezy stunt that has spiraled out of control in so many ways. He would get his five minutes of fame. He will be doing the same interview on the breakfast TV sofa. Some would overpay for a shot of a barber’s clippers running through the chaos, but Elitte would feel much more at ease.
What does this say about the sense of entitlement that seems to be seeping into modern fandom? Perhaps this will inspire imitators: a Liverpool fan from Southend went on hunger strike until they signed a defender; a Tottenham Hotspur fan in Cork handcuffed himself to a park bench until Thomas Frank was sacked. But in the end, if all goes to plan, the winner will be United and the players will no longer need to be reminded of their role in this tragic chapter.