United With Dad is an emotional tale of football fandom and fatherhood, detailing the agonising final two years of a man’s life while drawing on his love for and memories of Manchester United.
David Lloyd passed away from metastatic prostate cancer in a nursing home in November 2019. During his heartbreaking decline, he also lived with dementia. His affection for United was ignited by early visits to Old Trafford as a boy in the 1950s. Through the anguish of his final months, his passion for the club never completely faded, even when so many other things did.
United With Dad is written by David’s son, Simon, who reflects on his father’s life and their relationship, attempting to make sense of why, at such a bleak time, a shared love of a football club should matter so much.
It is a book that transcends club allegiances, for anyone who knows what it is to devote a large chunk of their life to watching their favourite team beside someone they love, then, one day, realise the time has come to go on doing so without them.
