Cristiano Ronaldo will walk out at Old Trafford this coming Saturday for his second Manchester United debut, resulting as the pinnacle moment in one of football’s most famous club returns.
The iconic number 7 is highly likely to be in the starting lineup against Newcastle when the Premier League returns at the weekend following an international break.
What may have just been a run-of-the-mill home game against The Magpies has now become a spectacle that the entire footballing world will be watching, or trying to watch, due to the match not being shown on live television in the UK.
Unfortunately for millions of Manchester United fans, not even a Cristiano Ronaldo return is enough for the bigwigs in league football to fall on their ‘3pm blackout’ swords.
For those who don’t know, or do know but just haven’t cared to research it, the 3pm blackout prevents matches taking place during 2.45pm and 5.15pm from being broadcast on live TV (or at least the major UK broadcasters).
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The argument is that TV cameras cause low attendance in stadiums, or it did back in the 1950s and 1960s when people would prefer to watch the game on the box than spend more money making a day of it at a ground.
There is argument for and against the blackout. On one hand, fans need incentive to visit stadiums and enjoy a proper day out at the footy, however, in 2021 it’s not a hard task to sell out a match – even lower league football is experiencing a post-pandemic attendance boom – and therefore many pundits think the 3pm blackout has run its course.
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Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan told TalkSport: “I do believe there is no need for a 3pm watershed because originally when it was brought in, I think Bob Lord at Burnley was the architect of it, and believed that attendances would diminish with live football being put on and taking away from 3pm kick-offs.
“That doesn’t exist anymore because you can fill stadiums ten times over. Perhaps you should change that.”
Below is a brilliant thread by the ESPN’s Dale Johnson on why the 3pm blackout isn’t used elsewhere in the world but why it is so important to English football.
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However, on the argument of Ronaldo’s influence, Simon believes one player shouldn’t be the catalyst in changing such a historic rule. He said: “We can’t sit here and say, on one hand, player power has got out of hand and then change a protocol that exits because one Herbert is rocking back to England to play games.”
Many believe the 3pm blackout still works in the UK and is something that keeps the balance in English football just right – especially for lower league clubs.
On a Saturday at 3pm you are right in the middle of your weekend and many, many local businesses such as pubs, bars and cafes benefit from the crowds brought in by a live game of football.
In the TalkSport comment section, one user put it perfectly. “I lived in England for 10 years, North/South/Midlands, and so many folk I knew would drop in to a local 3pm game, some bringing their kids along for a day out. The local cafes, pubs, shops, etc see the benefit too.
“Start televising Premier league 3pm games and all this takes a hit. No doubt about it. It would only take 10 fans to change their Saturday 3pm habits to see an approx £10k hit to a lower league club and surrounding businesses.. all to the benefit of the clubs that need it least.
“Would be crazy to change it.”
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Wayne Rooney joins the cast of Gary Neville’s The Overlap
Danny Jones
Wayne Rooney has secured a new job just a few months on from departing as Birmingham City head coach, with the Manchester United and England legend being named as the latest member of The Overlap team.
Set to join the cast of the popular Stick to Football online series alongside the likes of former teammates Gary Neville and Roy Keane, as well as the rest of the recurring panel.
Rooney is also set to feature on various other shows across The Overlap channel, including the likes of their regular fan debates and other interviews with athletes and well-known figures.
They announced the signing in true transfer window fashion as well.
As transfer expert Fabrizio Romano quips in the video, Rooney “has signed an agreement with The Overlap” and is expected to make his debut very soon
‘Wazza’ has appeared as a pundit on Sky Sports in recent weeks and has even been spotted playing some FIFA with comedy YouTuber AngryGinge as part of his pro clubs series, but hasn’t been in a steady role since being sacked as the Birmingham manager at the start of the year.
Having already appeared as a guest in one of the most popular episodes of Stick to Football and clearly sharing a strong chemistry with his old friends – as well as the likes of fellow Scouser Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott and Ian Wright – it looks to be a natural fit for the sport-based channel.
The 38-year-old revealed some pretty interesting details about his playing and managerial career last time around, not to mention some of the other offers he’s had since…
Rooney reiterated during his own interview that his primary focus is still on coaching and finding his next managerial role, but for the time being, he’ll be bringing the insight of another ex-pro to the popular YouTube channel.
Speaking on his latest move, the former striker said, “I’m excited to announce that I will be joining my good mate Gary Neville and the team at The Overlap to appear on the channel across some of their brilliant shows on YouTube and the podcast. I can’t wait to get started”.
With an episode from at least one of their series going out most weeks, you can expect to see the footballing legend back on the channel soon.
Featured Images — The Overlap/Wayne Rooney (via Instagram)
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Manchester City star Erling Haaland is now a playable character in Clash of Clans mobile game
Danny Jones
In yet more proof that footballers just live in an entirely different world from us, Manchester City star Erling Haaland has popped up in the popular mobile game, Clash of Clans – and it’s not just a little cameoeither.
Haaland‘s no stranger to the odd brand deal, so when we saw him cutting a promo for Clash of Clans we weren’t too surprised, but it’s safe to say we weren’t expecting to see footballers pop up in video games besides FIFA (sorry, EA FC) at any point this year.
The big number nine is not just a famous face to help push the already hugely popular mobile strategy and city-building game, they don’t need it; it turns out the lethal goalscorer is now going to be an actual playable character in the latest Clash of Clans update.
He even turned his hand to a bit of acting in the trailer:
As you can see, the 23-year-old stars in the new advert which sees troops appear in his home whilst he’s playing the game before being sucked into the game world.
Starring as the Barbarian King, he’s the first real person to ever feature in the game and will be available through a month-long football-themed seasonal event in-game.
When we stop and think about it, the Norwegian striker is pretty much a perfect fit given his Scandinavian heritage and the obvious Viking theme surrounding the franchise – not to mention the fact that he’s apparently been playing the game since he was 10.
He’s also been dropping a hint or two of late, in case you didn’t pick up on them.
Speaking on the collaboration, Haaland said: “I’ve been a huge fan of the game for a long time and know everything about it, so to appear as an in-game character is really cool”.
As for Finnish developer-publishers Supercell, CoC’s general manager Stuart McGaw said in an official announcement: “When we heard Erling Haaland was a fan of our game and that he wanted to partner with us, it was really a dream scenario.”
Haaland will be available to recruit in the game until 31 May, plus, if players raid his village and take down the Barbarian King himself, they can win additional rewards and a place on the leaderboards.