In the last few days, no fewer than three former Manchester United men lifted the league title, despite not really playing the role they were looking for in such a glorious campaign.
Bayer Leverkusen, Bundesliga champions for the first time in their history, drubbed Werder Bremen 5-0 on Sunday to end Bayern Munich’s decade-long domination of the German football scene. Matej Kovar, the goalkeeper signed from Manchester United last summer, did what he has done throughout much of the season, and watched on from the bench as Florian Wirtz struck a hat-trick for the ages.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah, lifting his first piece of silverware since winning the Community Shield under Jose Mourinho back in 2016, wasn’t even part of the matchday squad.
And Fosu-Mensah can probably understand what Regan Poole is feeling, the Wales international seeing his involvement in Portsmouth’s own title celebrations dampened slightly by the anterior cruciate ligament injury which has kept him out of action since the beginning of November.
Former Manchester United youngster wins league title
Poole, who spent four years at Old Trafford and made his one and only first-team appearance against Midtjylland in the Europa League match that launched a young Marcus Rashford, would likely have been one of the first names on the Pompey clean sheet during the 3-2 win over Barnsley which secured their long-awaited return to the Championship after 12 years in the doldrums.
At least Poole can look back on the role he played at the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign and know that he did his bit. The 25-year-old centre-half started 13 of Portsmouth’s first 14 League One games and even scored three times during an impressive unbeaten run for John Mousinho’s side.
“I’m loving it down there,” Poole told Sports Max back in October after finding the net in successive wins over Lincoln and Wigan, forcing his way into the Wales team for the very first time. “We’ve started so brightly and we’re looking for promotion.
“We’re trying to get the football club back to where it belongs. Why can’t we do it at Portsmouth? Portsmouth is a Premier League football club and should never be in League One.”
Poole, at least, has second-tier football to look forward to when he finally wakes from that injury nightmare. The Cardiff-born colossus remains convinced, meanwhile, that he can one day go up against Manchester United in the very highest level of English football, though he harbours no bitterness towards the club who handed him just one senior outing before his 2019 exit to MK Dons.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
Regan Poole dreams of Premier League return
“I believe I can play in the Premier League. If you don’t think that, you’re in the wrong sport,” Poole added.
“I was at such a young age when the move (to Man United) came about. It was such a shock, but it was something I had to do. I look back on my time there and they improved me so much as a person and as a player.
“I don’t regret it in a way because I had to do it. I loved my time there and I think it’s showing now how much they improved me. I was training with such good players and that’s shown in my career.”
“I know it was only one game (against Midtjylland). But I can say that I played for Manchester United and not many people can say that. So I look back on that and think ‘well done’.
“Marcus scored two in that game and then I came on late. He was a good friend of mine at the time and he’s gone on to do such great things.”
Who is to say Poole, still a relative youngster at the age of 25, cannot achieve pretty ‘great things’ himself? First things first, however, Championship football and a return to the pitch awaits for the League One champion.