The Prime Minister will meet football bosses and fans on Tuesday in a bid to halt football’s new European Super League.
Boris Johnson will take part in crunch talks with representatives from the FA, Premier League and supporters’ groups after six of England’s top clubs announced plans to breakaway and form their own division.
In a direct message to fans via The Sun newspaper, the PM said: “It is your game – and you can rest assured that I’m going to do everything I can to give this ludicrous plan a straight red.”
Fellow cabinet members have joined Johnson in his opposition to the new league.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the government will do “everything to protect our national game.”
“The football authorities have robust rules in place to deal with this, and I know from my conversations today that they are rightfully considering a wide range of sanctions and measures to stop this move in its tracks,” he stated.
“My message to them was clear: they have our full backing. But be in no doubt: if they can’t act, we will. We will put everything on the table to prevent this from happening.”
If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that football is nothing without its fans.
These owners are only the temporary custodians of their clubs; they forget fans at their peril. pic.twitter.com/W82mhFtrDu
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson denounced the Super League on Tuesday morning – claiming it was a concept “dreamed up by money men” and “must be stopped”.
Many local MPs have also expressed concern over the division – including Manchester’s Lucy Powell, who called it “disastrous for the game and its fans.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham echoed the sentiments of ex-Manchester United star Gary Neville – who has repeatedly called the proposals “disgusting.”
Fans are united in their outrage over the #SuperLeague announcement. I've supported @ManCity from Division 2 to the Champions League and that's part of what makes our national sport what it is. These proposals will be disastrous for the game & its fans. My Question in Parliament pic.twitter.com/A4mpxTAEOh
The European Super League has even come in from criticism from the monarchy – with Prince William publishing a statement deploring the move.
Writing via the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s social media account, he stated: “Now, more than ever, we must protect the entire football community – from the top level to the grassroots – and the values of competition and fairness at its core.
“I share the concerns of fans about the proposed Super League and the damage it risks causing to the game we love.”
Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have all agreed to take part in the European Super League alongside Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan – which would have no promotion or relegation.
The division is set to be funded by investment bank JP Morgan – with participation expected to be highly lucrative for all the clubs involved.
The chairman of the league – Real Madrid President Florentino Perez – claimed the tournament would “save football“.
He told Spanish TV: “We’re doing this to save football, which is in a critical moment.
“The important clubs in England, Italy, and Spain must find a solution to a very bad situation that football is going through.”
But critics have called the league “anti-competitive” – and anger has continued to mount since the official European Super League statement was released on Sunday evening (April 18).
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has already warned that players who take part could be banned from representing their countries at international level.
On Monday, fans from clubs across England hung banners at stadiums protesting the formation of the league, with some claiming they would not return to watch their team if the division went ahead as planned.
During Liverpool’s game against Leeds last night, United’s players wore t-shirts bearing anti-Super League messages – including ‘earn it’ next to the Champions League logo and ‘football is for the fans’.
A plane also flew overhead trailing a ‘Say No To Super League’ banner.
The 14 Premier League clubs not involved in the Super League will discuss the situation together on Tuesday.
It is understood that the six clubs preparing to breakaway will not be invited.
News
A long-standing Italian restaurant in Trafford has sadly announced its imminent closure
Danny Jones
Another day, another bit of unfortunate hospitality news, as long-standing Greater Manchester restaurant, Little Italy in Timperley, has announced it is closing permanently very soon.
The Trafford favourite, which has been serving locals for nearly 20 years, has informed regular diners that it will sadly be closing its doors for good, with Little Italy’s final service set for later this month.
Having earned plenty of praise in its time, including being one of the few spots in and around the Altrincham area to have won a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence in 2015, before the borough saw its foodie boom begin.
But fast forward a decade, and the Timperley institution is yet another culinary casualty to be confirmed of late, with Little Italy sharing a tear-jerking statement online.
Sharing the tragic news on social media this Friday (5 Sep), the restaurant wrote: “To all our lovely customers, it is with a heavy heart that we share some news with you all. After over 18 years of serving you all in Timperley, we will be closing our doors later this month.
“This has not been an easy decision. Unfortunately, rising costs and a significant increase in rental [costs] have made it impossible to continue in a sustainable way. As much as we love what we do, the reality is that it has become too difficult to maintain under these circumstances.
“Over the coming weeks, we will continue to cook with love and serve with the same passion as always. We would love to see you all and share one more meal, and raise a glass together.”
Safe to say that the post has been met with an outpouring of condolences and support from natives nearby and those who have travelled to enjoy their food.
Little Italy went on to add that they will detail more about their final week of business as soon as possible.
They can’t be accused of not keeping up with times and not trying to promote via social media either, as they small family-run team – headed up by Sam Cauchi, who bought the site back in 2008 – have always given things a go besides the day-to-day operation of the restaurant.
Being one of many saddened customers to respond underneath the announcement, we couldn’t possibly sum up things better than local Vanessa Nice, who said: “Look at all these amazing comments – you certainly made your mark as a home from home for the residents of Timperley.
“The end of an era will always be sad, but sometimes life and families have to move on.”
As for Cauchi and co., they signed off by simply adding: “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support, kindness and friendship over the years. Timperley has been our home, and you have all been our family.
“Love from all the team at Little Italy.”
It goes without saying that we’re gutted for the gang and our thoughts are with everyone involved at this difficult time. For now, we can only say thank you to the countless Greater Manchester locations that continue to fall foul in the face of the rising pressures industry-wide. Case and point…
The bizarre explanation behind Manchester’s new mini ‘green space’ – that’s completely closed off
Danny Jones
One thing you always hear people who live in central Manchester calling out for is green space, but when a new patch of grass does arrive, you don’t exactly expect it to be completely inaccessible.
Just a quick FYI to those of you passionate about supporting what little nature there is left in our city centre: brace yourselves, as this one is rather annoying…
For anyone who’s walked down Whitworth Street West past the once lively Locks, or even got off at Deansgate–Castlefield tram stop and come down the glass stairs closest to the Albion Bridge, you may have noticed a rogue patch of grass surrounded by black fencing next to the City Road Inn pub.
It could be considered a nice little lawn were it not completely fenced off, but the question is, why has it popped up there? Well, local lad Curtis Rothwell has recently debunked the whole frustrating mess for us in a helpful video.
Yes, as explained by the Pre-Construction Manager who works for local utilities contractor Zenit Infrastructure Solutions Limited, the somewhat laughable but disheartening gated green space on Whitworth Street is essentially a feeble attempt at adhering to permission laws.
As detailed by Rothwell, the plot bought for a sizeable sum last year (only the original developers didn’t have the funding to actually pull off their initial plans) is now set to become student accommodation.
Currently, real estate firm Tri7 – which has now been fully folded into the parent group known as Fusion, as previous part-owners already – still has a hold on the land for now.
However, after being ordered by Manchester City Council to tidy up the area in the meantime, as they await planning permission to be fully approved, they decided to lay these new rolls of turf there.
Ok, so while the notion of the Council ordering a property company to make urban spaces look pretty and the idea of introducing more grassy zones into the city sound good on paper, as you can see, the real-life result doesn’t quite match up.
Not only does this feel like a bare minimum effort to appease the local authorities ahead of erecting yet another skyscraper, but more importantly, it feels like sheer nonchalant neglect and/or plain dismissal of those Manc residents crying out for more grass, nature and a break from the concrete jungle.
The fact that the rare green space is totally blocked by tall, almost authoritarian-feeling fences and sealed off by a big, black gate comes across like a casual two fingers to both the Council and those living in the city centre.
Speaking to The Manc, Curt commented: “It’s positive the council can take charge of how our empty spaces look after demolitions. In this case, maybe the demolition was carried out too early, which happens, but when it does, greenery is the best look they can give to local people.”
You can see the latest update on the planning permission HERE, and for now, if you’re looking for green spaces in Manchester, you’ll find them more frequently beyond the outskirts and heading into the boroughs; this one is strictly off limits. Find a whole bunch of ones that aren’t down below:
The Manc -
20th April 2021 
