A new Premier League season has brought hope for plenty of fans, a chance of going on to bigger and better things. One of those fans was Manchester United supporter Frank Ilett.
If the first weekend of the season had a lesson for anyone, it's that some things don't change.
Ilett has gone viral over the past 22 months for pledging that he will not cut his hair until Manchester United win five games in a row. The club finished last season with two straight victories. Notching another against newly promoted Hull City in their Premier League opener on Saturday would mean he could be just days away from completing it... right?
Wrong. Ilett welcomed followers on Day 686. "Football is back, Manchester United are back," he said. "Away to Hull to kick things off, let's get it."
United, though, did not quite get it. Manager Michael Carrick's side put in a woeful first-half performance in which Hull struck twice, first through defender Semi Ajayi, and again through defender Nobel Mendy.
If bringing on Marcus Rashford at halftime brought any element of hope -- his last performance for United came 618 days ago, almost as far back as when Ilett's challenge began -- then it never bore any fruit. Hull goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis went thoroughly unchallenged throughout the game.
Ilett began his challenge eight months after United's most recent five-game win streak -- which they completed between January and February 2024.
Now, his challenge will continue; his match streak resets. It means that the soonest it can end is Sept. 20 -- it would require United to win against Ipswich Town (H), Everton (A), Manchester City (H), Fulham (A) and beat whoever they play in their first Champions League league phase game. However, fail to win any of those games and Ilett will be forced to wait until after the international break, meaning his challenge would hit the two-year mark.
"This was meant to be one of the easier games of the season," Ilett told fans on social media after Saturday's match. "Not only was it against one of the newly promoted sides, it was against the side that finished the lowest in Championship out of the promoted sides.
"A lot of people are speaking about the individually bad performances today, but I don't think there's an outfield player that can say they had a genuinely good game. Hull just seemed more up for it. Every time there was a loose ball, they were first to it; they just wanted it more.
It's more worrying when you see the lack of squad depth this season. Something needs to change quickly."
Maybe that's the lesson from this weekend, though: After almost two years, United still haven't won five games in a row, and now Ilett is back to square one.