Over the past decade or so, Manchester City have cemented themselves as one of the most impressive teams anywhere in Europe’s top five leagues.
Moreover, the City Football Group (CFG) itself has assembled a multinational sporting organisation that has helped develop everything from the training facilities and youth set-up to local residential areas.
That being said, while the Champions League is one of the few trophies they are still yet to win, European nights have become a regular and special occasion for the club and it is this level of investment from the CFG that has seen them deliver an unforgettable experience thanks to the City Tunnel Club.
We were invited along by City’s official crypto trading partner OKX to sample the Tunnel Club for ourselves and, safe to say, it was quite the night.
Entering the Etihad
Even upon arriving at the Etihad Stadium, the welcome you receive lets you know you’re in for a night of luxury and being doted upon like you were one of the execs or players themselves.
Upbeat music plays and people take photographs as if you were waking the red carpet (or blue in this case), you are received by a charming greeter with some of the most convincing small talk you’ll find anywhere in hospitality, before being taken downstairs to a VIP section.
At this point, you’re met by even more friendly staff who escort you to your table for the evening, lay out the menus and ask you if it’s your first become and whether you’d like a drink. Strong start.
The Tunnel Club menu is fit for royalty
After glancing at the complimentary City programmes, we are handed a menu full of what we can only describe as some of the poshest grub we’ll probably ever eat.
Braised ox cheek and beef fillet, seafood and foie royal (because style can still be sustainable); fancy compound butters and much more that we daren’t spoil in case you ever try it and because we don’t want a stern telling off.
Lobster laksa with beetroot, kohlrabi and orangeRabbit terrine with chicory and offalFoei royal with hens egg, girolle mushrooms, broad beans and peas
The menu undoubtedly changes as the season goes on but what we’re trying to say is that there was plenty of variation, it was exquisitely presented and absolutely delicious.
Oh, and then there’s the whole list of classic cocktails and City specials.
Better still, not only did all the food and drink we could muster come as part of the Tunnel Club VIP package but you could order it whenever you liked and have it in front of you in a heartbeat.
ManhattanPassionfruit Martini & Old Fashioned
We ordered a beer for after half-time and it was promptly handed to us upon returning to the table. The most doted on we’ve been and perhaps the fanciest we’ve ever felt. Little do they know we were happily eating beans on toast with a brew the night before.
Although we’d already seen the players coming in upstairs shortly after we’d arrived as they stepped off the team bus and were met with rapturous applause and wide-eye children (and adults, to be fair), the unique selling point of Manchester City’s Tunnel Club is catching a glimpse that no others can.
Well, truthfully, it was far more than a glimpse: it was the entire time before the match as well at half-time, as supporters line up against the glass to watch the players from both sides walk down the tunnel just inches from their face. And yes, Haaland is even bigger in real life.
We even got to see them trotting back up the tunnel after the game, having intimate chats with referees, staff and other players that you would otherwise never be close enough to witness. They were on the pitch only moments ago and now they’re in closer proximity than you get to some of your relatives.
Speaking of which…
Best seat in the house
Some of us in attendance had been lucky enough to walk out while the Champions League music is playing before, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less of an unforgettable moment the second or third time around.
No matter whether you’re a red or a blue, the hairs go up on your arms and chills run down the back of your neck. No matter whether it’s the home side or the visitors, it still feels like a ‘pinch-me’ moment seeing top professional players lining up in front of you, let alone watching them play.
Sat just behind the team benchesMoment of silence for Queen Elizabeth II
What was even more surreal was that we were sat so close to the pitch that we could see the players chatting on the subs bench and even make out the tiniest of hairs on Pep’s shiny bald head.
We did all of this whilst sitting on soft padded leather chairs and butt warme—I mean, heated seats; they even had charging ports like on trains and modern buses. It was everything you could possibly need.
We also got to see this bit of kung fu madness live. He’s a bit good, isn’t he?
After the full-time whistle blew and everyone had caught breath at that piece of late-on magic, we headed back down to drink our last pints and eat our dessert, both of which we had asked to be served after the game so we didn’t have to rush. City’s hospitality staff were more than happy to oblige.
Lastly, before heading back on the tram packed full of happy fans, the servers kindly asked if we liked a photo to remember the night and the maître d’ — very good at her job, by the way — couldn’t have been keener to hear our feedback. All we could think to say was ‘can we come back?’
The VIP Verdict
Now, we’re not gonna pretend that anything compares to the feeling of being in the stands with your friends and family, hot pie in hand, as the songs start ringing around the ground and limbs start flying. However, as far as a gift for City-supporting loved one, it’ll blow them away.
If you want to feel like a high roller for the night or have always wondered what football hospitality is like, we hazard to guess you won’t find better than the Manchester City Tunnel Club.
In fact, one of our fellow guests who had been to several similar experiences at sporting venues around the UK said on the evening, “This blows Wembley out the water”. Big words.
City’s Tunnel Club is an extravagant way to experience the Champions League and one that is fitting of the level of prestige the club are gradually beginning to acquire on the European stage. As far as sporting hospitality goes, one of the finest we’ve ever come across.
Question is, will this be the year they manage to get the long-sought silverware to match that on the table?
Gymshark is opening its first standalone northern store in Manchester this weekend
Emily Sergeant
A huge new Gymshark store is opening in Manchester tomorrow, and it’s the brand’s first standalone store in the North.
The global sportswear and fitness brand will be setting up shop at the Trafford Centre and taking over a large 7,500 ft space on Upper Peel Avenue with all of its iconic Gymshark ranges, including the massively ‘Vital’ and ‘Power’ collections, as well as some exciting new exclusives for Gymshark Trafford Centre.
The store itself is said to have Gymshark’s ‘increasingly trademark’ look and feel throughout it, including mannequins that are created from the image of real people in the community, different destinations for its hero products, and spacious changing rooms with bespoke lighting.
Unfamiliar with Gymshark? Since it was founded by Ben Francis from his garage in 2012, the brand has gone on to become one of the UK’s greatest business success stories of the 21st century – with more than 20 million people across 200 countries now counting themselves as members of the Gymshark community.
Gymshark is opening its first standalone northern store in Manchester this weekend / Credit: Supplied
The new Trafford Centre will be Gymshark’s first standalone store in the UK outside of London, and follows recent openings in Dubai and Amsterdam, as well as coming ahead of the opening of Gymshark’s first flagship store in the US later this year.
Most importantly, it builds on the brand’s long association with Manchester, as one of the first-ever Gymshark meet-ups was in the city, as well as its first ‘Lift’ event post-COVID.
Gymshark also credits the public’s reception to its space inside Selfridges at the Trafford Centre as one of the driving forces behind its choice to open a permanent store within the shopping centre, calling it ‘nothing short of spectacular’ and adding that the new opening genuinely solidifies Manchester’s role as a ‘big brother’ to a Brummie brand.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Gymshark’s first Northern store to Trafford Centre this weekend, joining our growing athleisure and sportswear offering at the centre,” commented Simon Layton, who is the Centre Director at Trafford Centre.
“We have no doubt that Gymshark will prove immensely popular and can’t wait to welcome them on opening day.”
Gymshark is opening at the Trafford Centre tomorrow (Saturday 12 July) with a grand ribbon cutting at 10am, followed by goody bags, refreshments, and merch being handed out for those waiting in line.
There’ll also be different fitness challenges to take part in too, in true Gymshark spirit.
Featured Image – Trafford Centre
Sport
Explaining the ‘Poznań’ and why Oasis fans are doing it at their Live ’25 reunion tour gigs
Danny Jones
The sun is shining, Britpop is back on top and, more importantly, Oasis are BACK – plus, they’ve got thousands of people that aren’t even Manchester City fans doing the Poznań. Here’s why.
Before you jump down our throats, yes, we’re fully aware of what the popular Man City supporter celebration is (including the fact that it’s nicked); however, we have seen plenty of people confused over what it’s all about.
Including a few in our office who couldn’t give a monkey’s about football, which is fair enough.
So, if like lots of other non-footy-obsessed Oasis fans, you’ve also been wondering A) what the Poznań is and B) why people on the Live ’25 reunion tour have been doing it, here’s a brief explanation.
What is the Poznań celebration?
For starters, if you’ve been keeping off social media completely to avoid any spoilers whatsoever, first of all, well done, your willpower is much stronger than ours.
Secondly, if you’ve never seen it before at all, here’s what it looks like:
It came out of Poland, hailing from the place of the same name and popularised by Ekstraklasa (a.k.a. the Polish first division) football team, Lech Poznań, who have been doing it since the 1960s.
As you can see, the group – and in this case, stadium-wide celebration – sees supporters turning their backs on the pitch/the centre of the arena and linking by wrapping arms around each other’s shoulders and jumping up and down in one, massive, continuous wave.
It is quite a striking visual, no question about that.
Why are Oasis fans doing it?
Come on, you must have put two and two together by now.
Manchester City fans adopted this now iconic celebration more than a decade and a half ago, and have been doing it regularly during big games, big scorelines, and big trophy wins, of which there have been a lot since then.
In fact, aside from the Burnage boys being massive Blues, Liam Gallagher himself actually instructed the Cardiff crowds on nights one and two.
Gallagher brothers kick off Oasis world tour with Cardiff show, as Liam tells fans 'do the poznan'.
It’s actually said to originate from Turkey or Greece, where it is also fairly commonplace, being simply referred to as ‘la Grecque’.
They’ve even used some pretty biblical official photography from the opening weekend of the reunion tour as the cover art for a live recording re-released of ‘Slide Away’.
It might be the coolest album artwork we’ve seen in a while, to be honest.
The history of the Poznań and its connection to Man City
Be it at Wembley for a cup final or at the Etihad Stadium, where the majority of fans saw the supporter stunt for the first time, it’s become arguably even more synonymous with City than its creators.
It was 2010, and the blue half of Manchester was hosting Lech Poznań in the group stage of the Europa League, but despite a 3-1 victory on the grass itself, more eyes were fixed on the stands themselves.
An army of 6,000 loyal Lech Poznań fans travelled for the game and had the ground quite physically bouncing with a shade of slightly darker blue, so when Emmanuel Adebayor wrapped up a hat-trick, the home support decided to turn the jubilation on their opponents and do it themselves.
It was all in good spirit, of course, but it went down a pretty instant hit with City fans and has only grown more prevalent and regular ever since.
Perhaps one of the funniest sights in recent years is Noel Gallagher being too hungover to join in, which also led to one of the coldest-looking images of the songwriter ever, and one that was quickly dubbed a perfect album cover for the next High Flying Birds album or, who knows, maybe another Oasis record?…
Ok, this is still up there in the cover art competition too.
So, yeah: that’s pretty much the long and short of it, we just thought it would help if we quickly explained the Poznań to anyone wondering why Oasis fans have been doing it.
Basically, if it was that big over in Wales, don’t be surprised if you see a literal sea of people flood Heaton Park before turning their backs to the stage, which seems to be triggered once Liam introduces ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol.’ It’ll be interesting to see if Man United fans get involved.
And finally, just imagine how much more epic this is going to be back home in Manchester as we brace for quite possibly the biggest headline gig the region has ever seen…
Danny Jones -
5th October 2022 
