Editorial Team
Senior Management
Cain Smith
Cain Smith is a passionate Manchester United supporter and football writer who joined UtdDistrict in April 2020. His love for the game began at a young age, eventually inspiring him to pursue a career in sports journalism. Cain has written extensively about United and has been featured on platforms such as SPORTbible, Breaking The Lines, and UtdDistrict. He has conducted interviews with leading figures in football media, including esteemed journalists Laurie Whitwell and David Ornstein, and is a regular voice on the What the Devil? podcast. Cain holds a BA (Hons) in Multimedia Sports Journalism from UCFB Wembley, graduating with 2:1 honours in July 2023.
Callum Foy
Sports Journalism student at UA92, lifelong Manchester United fan. Callum began writing while in college, publishing work for several outlets but he has now found himself at UtdDistrict. Callum's work extends past his passion for United, he is known as "The Statman" on Bolton Wanderers' fan channel "The Fanzone Podcast".
Dylan Penketh
Dylan Penketh is the Director of UtdDistrict. Having grown up watching all forms of sport, Dylan became an avid Manchester United fan as a young boy, and has barely missed a fixture since. Dylan has worked on dedicating himself to covering Manchester United for over a decade, and once he joined UtdDistrict in March 2020, he took over all operations and helped grow the brand into what it is today. Dylan has worked alongside some of the UK's biggest sporting networks, such as BBC Sport, The Athletic, and Ladbible Group. He also regularly hosts daily football talk shows on DR Sports and United View TV. Dylan holds a BSc in Psychology from Loughborough University, having graduated with 2:1 honours in July 2023.
Jack Hackett
Jack is a 22-year-old, Football Business and Media graduate with a 2:1 from UCFB Manchester. He is also a lifelong fan of all things football, especially the Premier League. He's a Chelsea fan whose best football memory is the 2012 Champions League Final. He has previously wrote for Football Enquirer.
Jamie Hudson
Jamie is a recent graduate from Liverpool John Moores University, achieving a 2:1 Bachelors degree in Sports Journalism. He is from Whitby, North Yorkshire. Having grown up abroad, Jamie's first experience of Old Trafford was Rio Ferdinand's testimonial against Sevilla in 2013. His favourite Man Utd moment was when he was at Old Trafford to see Amad 's 12 minute hat-trick against Southampton to win the game. His favourite all-time player is Wayne Rooney, with his favourite current player being Matthijs de Ligt.
Journalists
Balraj Sagoo
Balraj is a 20-year-old, third year Sports Journalism student at UA92. He is a lifelong Manchester United fan, with his first game being in 2014. It was Manchester United vs Valencia at home in pre-season where Marouane Fellaini scored the winner. His favourite players growing up were Robin Van Persie, Nani and Ander Herrera. He was previously the media intern at Salford City FC.
Ben Carney
Ben Carney has a passion for writing and sports and likes to combine the two. He is hoping to ignite his passion into a career. He first started supporting United thanks to his grandfather who is equally football and United crazy. He likes to write about United to evoke emotion and share opinions. He is an avid follower of Manchester United, who goes home and away. He’s got a few football memories, but his stand out is being in attendance at Wembley when United beat City to win the FA Cup. He has met the United team on a number of occasions , both past and present.
Blaise Parke
A lifelong Manchester United fan currently studying Sports Journalism. I’ve got a passion for writing about all things football related.
Claire Slater
I love to watch football and formula 1. I support Manchester United.
Harrison Mellish
Harrison is a devoted Manchester United fan with a passion for writing. Having watched the reds live for the first time in 2016 against home team Northampton, he fell in love with the dynasty built over the years. Studying sports journalism at UA92, Harrison aims to provide insightful views and breaking news to the United faithful. Producing a documentary about the FA Youth Cup featuring former Manchester United academy director Nick Cox and treble winner Gary Neville, has provided Harrison with crucial experience in the media world.
Joel Bontoft
Joel Bontoft is a very enthusiastic and passionate football fan, with a deep rooted interest behind that strategy and tactics employed in the game, as well as having a great love for the traditional fan and club culture of the sport. Joel has been a supporter of Manchester United his whole life and been attending games at Old Trafford from a very young age, to this day where he still frequently attends matches, with some of the best moments coming from Ronaldo's return to Old Trafford, as well as Amad's last minute winner against Liverpool. As well as football and writing.
Mason Way
Mason is a 19-year-old Sports Journalism student at UA92. He is a Chelsea and Bath City fan, also being an enjoyer of everything Non-League. His favourite player is Didier Drogba, who he thinks is the greatest striker in Premier League history.
Noah Piltie
Noah has been a Manchester United fan since 2013. He started supporting the club because of Robin van Persie who is still, to this day, his favourite United player of all time. He is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in journalism with aspirations of working in football media. Inspired by the likes of Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen, Erik ten Hag's Ajax and Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta, Noah takes a major interest in the tactical side of the game and is keen to eventually work for a professional club in a scout/analyst role. Noah has previously written for Down The Wings, where he wrote scout and tactical reports and he now also writes for Breaking The Lines.
Stan Brown
Stan grew up in Bristol and has always been a United fan with his Dad supporting United for 60+ years. He remembers going to see Bristol City vs Man United at Ashton Gate and being told to stop cheering United and filming Pogba all game. Since then he has have moved to Manchester where he studies Sports Media and communications at UA92.
Taylor Simpson-Ward
Taylor is an 18-year-old Sports Journalism student currently in her first year, with a lifelong passion for all things football — especially when it comes to Manchester United. Having been a Red before she was even born (thanks to her dad, who wouldn’t have accepted any other team!), supporting United has always been part of who she is. Taylor loves writing about every aspect of the game, but her biggest passion lies in women’s football. She admires how much the women’s game has grown in recent years and enjoys shining a spotlight on the players who make it happen. Her current favourite player is Maya Le Tissier, whose consistency, leadership, and influence on United Women have truly impressed her. Of all time, though, it has to be Wayne Rooney — the first player she remembers watching and the one who first sparked her love for football. Her favourite football memory came in 2019, when she visited Old Trafford for the first time to watch Manchester United take on Brighton. The atmosphere left her completely in awe and only deepened her love for the club. Taylor’s passion for writing really took off when she became Editor-in-Chief of her school’s newspaper, a role that inspired her to pursue a career in sports journalism. Now, she’s excited to share her voice, insights, and passion for the game with fellow Reds through her work on the blog.