As residents and local businesses in various parts of the region continue to pick up the pieces after recent flooding, one of the venues worst affected is Didsbury Sports Ground, which sadly suffered “catastrophic” levels of damage.
Having stood in South Manchester for over 100 years, Didsbury Sports Ground (DSG) has been a key community institution for generations, home to rugby, cricket and football clubs, as well as the weekly parkrun, just to name a few of its regular leisure activities.
Unfortunately, following the recent floods which hit several of the 10 boroughs hard, as well as many parts of Cheshire from New Year’s Eve onwards, the pitches, car park, clubhouse, storage and changing rooms have all rendered unusable or completely ruined following the major incident.
And when we say unusable, we mean a lot of it is still underwater.
Credit: Didsbury Sports Ground (supplied)
After banks burst up and down the River Mersey and the North West downpour continued, not only were the various playing fields left heavily waterlogged, but the club’s central building also suffered significant structural damage.
ADVERTISEMENT
In addition to a large hole being knocked through the main clubhouse wall, with collapsed fencing and tree limbs littering the perimeter, the constant flow of water has seeped right down to the foundations.
Speaking on the damage,DSG‘s director Ian Bailey said: “The devastation caused by the flooding is nothing short of heart-wrenching. The Grounds have been a landmark and local hub within the village for over a century. The damage is catastrophic and the impact on the community is immense.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Our Ground is far more than just a sports facility, it is a place where people connect, grow, and thrive, and embrace the community spirit. To lose such an iconic and central community resource would be unthinkable and such a travesty, which is why we’re calling on local and central government support.”
“Every week, DSG brings together over 800 people from the local area for Manchester sports, fitness, social activities, recreation and community events, creating a place for well-being, a fantastic social circle and helping to build an all-round happier and healthier community.”
As a result of the damage and loss to the community, the team behind DSG are now frantically trying to raise enough funds to carry out a raft of remedial repairs and some serious groundwork.
ADVERTISEMENT
Setting themselves a total target of £50,000 for the entire clean-up operation, every penny of which will go towards getting the sports ground back in a usable state.
Thus far, thanks to nearly 500 donations by loving locals and kindhearted Mancunians who know the value of leisure centres and clubs like this, they have already more than 30% of the amount needed in just over a week (just over £17k). Legends, every single one of them.
Bailey went on to add: “We are so grateful for the immediate help of our volunteers and the fantastic people at this club […] We will, however, need more than time, we will require the funds to bring the Grounds and Clubhouse back into full use and to safeguard from future flooding, which is why we have launched our ‘Repair & Rescue’ Fund.
As Ian reiterated, “Every contribution will make a huge difference”; you can see more proof of just how much work needs to be done and donate if you wish HERE.
Bruno Fernandes out for ‘at least a month’ following Aston Villa injury
Danny Jones
Less than ideal news for Manchester United fans as first-team star Bruno Fernandes is reportedly out for “at least a month.”
Reds can consider that akin to a lump of coal in their Christmas stockings.
Man United lost 2-1 to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday night despite a good performance, and certainly missed their creative spark in the middle of the park when Bruno Fernandes was forced off at the break.
Supporters in the away end and watching at home were no doubt looking through their fingers as they saw him pull up out of the blue and let the ball go out of play, especially given the fact that he never missed a game through injury.
To put things into context, Fernandes has played more matches than any top-level football player in Europe in the last three years (approximately 6,343 minutes – yes, really), so not only is it usually taken as read that he’ll start, but seeing their midfield talisman pull up mid-game was obviously a worry.
Fans immediately feared the worst as he had to stop moving and signal to the bench on multiple ocassions towards the end of the first half, and although it couldn’t certainly be worse, The Telegraph is now reporting that Fernandes has injured his “soft tissue” and faces at least a month on the sidelines.
The exact nature of the damage and the precise window he is expected to spend on the sidelines is yet to be fully confirmed by the club, but it seems likely that he’s latest to find his way onto the physio bench with a muscle problem.
Safe to say that it comes at a rather unfortunate time in the season, not only with three important players missing on AFCON duty, but with his supposed ‘like-for-like’ positional replacement, Kobbie Mainoo, seemingly having picked up an issue as well.
It still remains to be seen, however, just how serious the young Stockport-born star is injured for.
As the Portuguese captain, you can see the moment he suddenly pulled up and had to stop play – before ultimately seeing out the 45 – here:
Bruno should not have been on the pitch.
He’d done his hamstring.
Watch the video… Why is he still on the pitch if he can’t close down the player? pic.twitter.com/H8swgaQGSP
His compatriot Ruben Amorim was in no doubt that he would “lose some games”, but did play down that “nobody is going to die.”
The manager is still struggling to pick up points and still has the worst win percentage stat looming for the time being.
It doesn’t help that his now diminished squad have a tough game against Newcastle United coming up on Boxing Day; it’ll be interesting to see how the Red Devils head into 2026.
You can watch the highlights from Aston Villa vs Man United down below.
However, following a consortium bid led by a former player, it now looks as though the local community will be starting a new sporting era in 2026. You can read the RFL’s statement in full down below.
As you can see, the English governing body has agreed to grant the new Salford-based rugby league team Championship status in time for the start of next season.
The Red Devils were officially relegated back in October, following months of uncertainty surrounding their unpaid debts and having to rely on loan players to field squads.
It’s unclear whether the new Salford side will carry on under the well-established brand and logo, or whether they fresh start will include a new Greater Manchester moniker.
There is, of course, an obvious choice as retired winger Mason Caton-Brown has been confirmed as one of at least three key investors following his ‘Phoenix Bid’ to resurrect the club earlier this month.
Speaking in an official press release, Caton-Brown stated, “This is for the fans. They are the heartbeat of this club. Today’s announcement is the result of countless hours of hard work, honesty, and unity. We’re incredibly proud to bring rugby league back home to Salford. But now the hard work really begins.”
Following the official announcement on Monday (22 Dec), fan group The 1873 have now expressed their gratitude and support regarding the new investment, adding: “The strength of this club has always been its people and that must remain true in this new chapter.”
We would like to congratulate The Phoenix Bid on being awarded RFL membership and becoming custodians of Salford Rugby League 👏
Fans must fully back the new board as we move into 2026. We have a responsibility to ensure that this is as successful as it can be. pic.twitter.com/BZEwzS0zC6
Caton-Brown had already insisted that the new leadership group had reached multiple pre-contract agreements with players and a new head coach.
Meanwhile, ex-Salford Red Devils stars Paul Rowley and Adam Sidlow have now joined the coaching staff at St Helens.
While it’s obviously a big result to be gearing up just a few weeks after seemingly folding as a competitive side, the owners are now racing to get a full squad ready to face Oldham in their season opener on 16 January.
The 32-year-old went on to add: “The next month will be crucial. We’re asking supporters to stand together with us, to get behind the rebuild, to volunteer, to spread the word, and to help us make sure Salford rises again stronger than ever.” Happy, Salfordians?
Elsewhere, the national rugby community are similarly uniting to give a Super League legend some long overdue recognition…
Danny Jones -
10th January 2025 
