Gary Neville and Noel Gallagher have been enjoying a little bit of a back-and-forth in the build-up to the second consecutive Manchester derby FA Cup final this weekend, and it’s for say the Man United legend’s final word on the matter was a good one.
With Saturday, 25 May set for another derby at Wembley, just the second time it’s happened in the history of the competition, icons and figures close to both clubs have been coming out to get their digs in ahead of the massive fixture.
Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester after Manchester City lifted their fourth Premier League title in a row, Gallagher said, “Gary Neville, at this moment in time, I wonder how he’s feeling”, insisting that his team deserved their record-breaking title and are “the best team in the country”.
While it’s hard for anyone to argue with that last statement, the former fullback turned entrepreneur and pundit showed exactly why he produces so many soundbites on TV, taking aim at how the older Oasis brother left his Manc roots behind a long time ago.
The Salford City co-owner concedes forthrightly that Noel Gallagher has been “a huge part of Manchester history” and its musical legacy, but as he goes on to qualify through an amusingly tight-lipped expression, “he lives in London”.
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That face and the hand gesture killed us off, we must admit.
For many of the most vehement fans of the region’s legendary music scene, one of the very few things that can be held against the Oasis boys is that they decided to up-sticks and leave their home for the glittering lights of London shortly after they became a global phenomenon.
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As Neville put it rather bluntly: “D’you know what I mean, Noel?”, pun unintended, “Don’t talk about [Manchester], you love in London. You live in Knightsbridge, Hampstead or wherever he lives, you can’t start talking about Manchester. 25 years he’s not been here”.
Gary Neville vs Noel Gallagher has always been a humorous rivalry with plenty of harmless banter.
"It's great to be sat beside a legend of the game, and Gary Neville."
The 49-year-old goes on to jibe that the legendary musician “only comes once a year for that trophy parade, I saw him on Sunday, actually. Honestly…”
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While he and brother Liam will always be massive Blues and are heavy favourites to be among those celebrating this weekend, you have to give G Nev this small victory.
‘The Mighty I’ has yet to respond with a comeback but we’re sure he will and we sincerely look forward to hearing what either one of them has to say after full-time on Saturday.
Still, even if Neville’s club do manage to win, at least it’ll only be a short trip home for Noel anyway…
Featured Images — BBC Radio Manchester/Wikimedia Commons/Gary Neville (via X)
Sport
You can win two VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show as part of a heartwarming Manc charity raffle
Danny Jones
Fancy bagging yourself the posh treatment at the biggest indoor gig and live entertainment venue in the city? Well, you can do just that by entering the latest Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, which is offering a pair of VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show.
All you have to do is simply do your bit for a crucial local cause.
It’s one that we’ve worked closely with in the past on many occasions: the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, which helps house rough sleepers across the region.
Teaming up with The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness – which was created specifically to generate funds for this ongoing crisis – as well as an upcoming community social, all you have to do to be in with a chance is put your name down for a cheap raffle ticket.
Writing in the caption of the post, the Mayor’s Charity has revealed that “Cross Club Social and The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness are teaming up to raffle off 2x VIP Co-op Live tickets to a show of your choosing.”
That’s right, not just any random show – you get to pick which one you fancy going along to in style.
With the 2026 edition of the annual fundraising relay event, on behalf of Greater Manchester’s homeless community, taking place this November (find out more on the GMMC website and keep up to date with us here at The Manc for the latest) they’re hoping to get the donations going nice and early.
For anyone unaware, the Cross Club Social, or ‘XCS’, has been going for a few years now; it brings together runners from all over the 10 boroughs for a big post-race party, all whilst raising money for charitable organisations.
DJs, karaoke, quizzing, three full rooms, an entire beer garden to themselves, and MUCH more. 👀
The next edition will be taking place this Friday, 19 June, over at the award-winning Fairfield Social Club, where an all-day party will run, pardon the pun, well into the night.
Better still, entrants into the raffle don’t have to wait long to find out if they’re a winner, as the lucky recipient is set to be announced the following Saturday (20 Jun) after the big shindig over on the XCS Instagram page.
The Mayor’s Charity team signed off by adding, “Good luck and together, we will end homelessness” – a mission that many Manc groups, especially, have been working so hard to make possible in recent times.
For instance, last year alone, the aforementioned 24 Hour Run, whose team will be in attendance and taking donations for at XCS 2026, generated a whopping £70k, and the total tally has now reached truly life-changing sums.
As for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, you can grab a ticket HERE for just a fiver to secure your chance to go along to a VIP night at Co-op Live. Fingers crossed!
Manchester United agree record streaming deal for new Amazon documentary TV series
Danny Jones
Manchester United have officially agreed a record sporting TV deal for a brand-new documentary TV series on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.
That’s right, Man United are getting the All Or Nothing treatment.
With the Red Devils finishing the 2025/26 season much stronger than they started it, they’re now set to invite a film crew into the dressing room and the newly refurbished Carrington training complex for the upcoming campaign.
Although there have been many United documentaries over the years, everything from big budget and smaller indie projects to fan-made, this new show looks set to give a more exclusive present day peak behind the curtain of the club’s modern-day set-up than ever before.
While it remains unclear whether or not this past term’s exploits – be it the drama of the Ruben Amorim era, or the upturn under Michael Carrick – are set to be included, as the official announcement teases, the Amazon series will provide behind-the-scenes MUFC throughout the 26/27 term.
There was an opportunity to accept this kind of coverage shortly after INEOS invested in the business, but Amorim put a rather public kibosh on the offer to preserve the backroom’s privacy and prevent any unnecessary intrusion.
Understandably, a lot of people agree with the decision, especially given the team was not just in another state of flux but at a crucial turning point under their then-new boss.
Taking a more old-school manager approach, it may have been seen as a sensible step, but it wouldn’t have mattered either way, as the Portuguese head coach (who now looks set to join AC Milan) was eventually sacked after just over a year in charge.
Nevertheless, many supporters are still reticent about the prospect of lifting the lid on an organisation that has famously seen plenty of turbulence. The fan base will just be hoping for a season to remember for the right reasons while the cameras are running for a reportedly record
Really not a fan of this – I wonder what someone like Carrick thinks of this? Additional scrutiny and pressure in his first full season as Head Coach.
The two most recent Premier League champions, Arsenal and Man City, have both seen seasons of Amazon’s now well-known docuseries before going on to win landmark titles, so perhaps it could be a good omen; who knows?
Conversely, Sunderland – who were infamously selected as one of the first subjects of this all-access kind of series – arguably ended up putting more unnecessary spotlight on their struggles.
As for those under the All Or Nothing umbrella, Spurs, Juventus and even the German international have also served as examples of how the big payout may not always be worth the bad press, with all three having gone through plenty of trials and tribulations in and around the respective versions airing.
Let’s just say that, reportedly ‘record’ sums or not, this could still go one way or the other…
While it’s still unclear as to the actual figure Manchester United will be taking home as part of the package with Amazon, this is yet another example of the steady Americanisation of association football, starting with the NFL and ice hockey before now drawing even wider audiences to the beautiful game.
Danny Jones -
24th May 2024 
