RUBEN AMORIM and his Manchester United stars will be faced by a sea of HADDOCKS on Wednesday as they travel to League Two Grimsby in the Carabao Cup.
Thousands of home fans are expected to bring along the club’s iconic ‘Harry The Haddock’ inflatables to Blundell Park, hoping to see United get battered.
Grimsby is famous historically for its fishing community on the north Lincolnshire coast and the club are nicknamed The Mariners.
Southampton BANNED the whopping metre-long Harry the Haddock ahead of an FA Cup tie at St Mary’s two years ago before having to row back on their decision after pressure from fans and the media.
A club source told SunSport: “We recently gave 2,000 away to fans so fully expect to see a huge shoal of them at Blundell Park for the United game.
“Without question, this is the biggest game the club has had since it last played Manchester United in 1948!
“Harry The Haddock is much loved and something that has become etched in our cup football folklore going back to the 1980s.”
The fish first appeared during the Mariners’ FA Cup run in 1989, when it looked more like a rainbow trout.
This was on the back of a trend, started by Manchester City in 1987, of fans taking inflatables to games.
And when they travelled to then-top-flight Wimbledon’s Plough Lane, 7,000 Mariners fans crammed in, outnumbering the home supporters, with most of them wielding the inflatable haddock.
Even Match of the Day presenter Des Lynham brandished the huge fish in the studio ahead of highlights of the game, which the fourth division Mariners led before losing 3-1.
There was then a second coming for Harry at Wembley when the Mariners won the EFL Trophy against Bournemouth in 1998 with a new updated design, with it looking more like a haddock.
And the Mariners relaunched Harry again three years ago, where it is a popular item in their club shop.
In fact, during the FA Cup run which saw Grimsby reach the quarter-finals, beating Southampton en route, they sold out before getting a fresh batch.
And if Grimsby do stun United, you can be sure it will get star billing on “Catch of the Day”.
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