Inside Carrington: The Laundry Room

The all-important job of washing and preparing the players' match and training kit is done in the bowels of the training ground but this wasn't always the case.

Prior to Carrington's opening in January 2000, the dirty kit would have to be transported by mini-bus from the Cliff - United's old training HQ - to a laundry room at Old Trafford.

“I’ll never forget the day when Brian Kidd and Nobby Stiles brought it over as a favour,” recalls former laundry lady Sharon Livesey.

“As they went to leave, Nobby got the mini-bus wedged between the pipes under the stand. It was absolutely hilarious, with Nobby blaming Brian even though he was driving!”

Denise Norton, Gail Anderson and her sisters Debbie and Paula Cross are tasked with helping the kit staff ensure the Reds are always finely turned out on the pitch. Between them, they look after all the kit for the first team, Reserves and Academy.

The quartet have racked up over 35 years at the club between them and there have been some funny moments along the way.

“I’ll always remember when Laurent Blanc came running into the laundry room after realising he’d left his wage-slip in his tracksuit bottoms,” recalls Gail.

“By that time they were already in the wash. We stopped the machine immediately and managed to save the slip after drying it with a hairdryer!”