I have read with interest the last few posts about Man Utd and whilst there are some points that hold up under scrutiny I would say it is very difficult for anybody outside of the island to understand what really lies beneath this loathing.
Man Utd have always had a fantastically large following spread far and wide which was correctly reinforced by the sympathy vote for what the club went through in the late 50's at Munich. Ok they have exploited this via their marketing strategy but this isnt the cause of the loathing.
It is a particular British trait to love the underdog and hate the successful. Man Utd in the 90's equalled success, therefore hate Man Utd.
Also what a lot of the anti-feeling is all about is the arrogance of the club in that they believe they can do no wrong and try by whatever means to influence the match officials and the football association.
The main characters in this, Messrs Ferguson and Keane, are perceived as obnoxious people and this again loses them votes.
Then we come to the average Man Utd supporter who comes from Bournemouth or somewhere similar - yet again to the British this is an alien concept as the average fan, correctly, still has a local team mentality. Also they are arrogant beyond belief.
As to the shirts - well when Liverpool were ruling the roost, London was awash with the Anfield Red.
With regard to Beckham, he didn't court publicity for his team - it was solely for the Beckhams themselves.
My mother, was a West Ham fan and she absolutely hated the Arsenal. When asked why, she would reply that during the 1930's when they were incredibly successful she just got sick and tired of having Arsenal rammed down her throat everyday.
Now move 60 years on and you have the same reason for loathing Man Utd. They have just gone overboard with the hype.
All of the fans that loath them will quote a variety of reasons to support their view. As to why I loath them - its down to their arrogance, a certain Mr Cantona, and their so-called fans who killed a Crystal Palace fan at a cup semi-final.

As to the cup-final, both Man Utd and Millwall have some very tasty young men and then throw into the pot the home-grown talent of the Cardiff Soul Crew (reportedly the number one firm in Britain) and you have a recipe for a very nasty couple of days.

Interesting to hear Pizza 5 and SPL's views