What a Surprise!

Luke Hurst was a media student at Manchester University who had just started an internship at the Manchester Evening News.

But unlike most Manchester locals, his family did not support Man City. They supported Manchester United instead, making them part of a minority in Manchester. Luke had been a die-hard Manchester United fan ever since he was a child.

As a veteran fan and a fresh graduate who had just left university, he was ambitious about making a name for himself in the media industry. His role model was the senior reporter David Meek.

Unless they were extremely devoted Manchester United and Ferguson fans, few people had probably heard of that name. But Luke Hurst not only knew it—he knew it well. David Meek had once been the most famous reporter at the Manchester Evening News.

That famous reporter from the Manchester Evening News had followed Manchester United news for forty years. He had been extremely close to Ferguson, and later Ferguson had recruited him to work for Manchester United. Within the club, he was regarded as an authority. Before every match, he would be arranged to speak with Ferguson and was responsible for writing Ferguson's matchday column.

It was said that Ferguson had once revealed publicly that if he ever decided to write an autobiography, David Meek would definitely be its author, "because no reporter understands me better than he does!"

David Meek first became widely known in 2003, when he was diagnosed with cancer. Ferguson had personally visited him at home several times and encouraged him to overcome the disease, which deeply moved David Meek.

Luke Hurst hoped that one day he could follow in David Meek's footsteps, enter Manchester United through the Manchester Evening News, and work for the club he was willing to love for the