Oasis fans are taking to social media to complain of their pre-booked hotel rooms being cancelled due to a supposed “technical error”.
In case you’ve been living under a rock and somehow missed it, arguably Manchester‘s most famous band confirmed that, against all odds after decades of feuding, they would be putting their grudges to one side and reuniting for a massive comeback tour next year – playing a run of shows in all four UK capital cities and Dublin too.
Oh, and of course, how could we forget? They’re also playing four major gigs at Heaton Park in July 2025 too, returning to their hometown to show us what we’ve been missing.
Not only is the sheer fact that Oasis are actually reuniting make it a hot ticket, but the tour is also to help celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band’s debut studio album, Definitely Maybe, so you can see why fans will be travelling from and wide to witness and be a part of a moment in history.
And those travelling fans, despite whether or not they actually manage to get tickets this Saturday morning (31 August) at 9am, are keen to make sure their accommodation is secured ahead of time just in case, and so, have been booking rooms at several of Manchester city centre‘s many hotels in advance so they don’t miss out.
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Sounds like the perfect plan, right? A ‘Masterplan’, if you will… the only thing is, however, many of these fans have apparently been having their bookings cancelled due to a so-called “technical error”, and then are claiming to have seen the same rooms re-advertised at hiked prices on the same dates.
Some fans have even been contacting Greater Manchester’s Night Time Economy Advisor, Sacha Lord, about the issue with one hotel chain in particular, Maldron Hotels – which has two hotels in Manchester city centre, one near Oxford Road and one near Manchester Cathedral – asking him to address and look into the issue.
I’m being contacted by several people who booked your hotel for the Oasis concert, to say their rooms have just been cancelled and are now back up for three times the price.
I’m sure this is a “computer error”… easy to correct.
“Hey @MaldronHotels. I’m being contacted by several people who booked your hotel for the Oasis concert, to say their rooms have just been cancelled and are now back up for three times the price,” Mr Lord wrote.
“I’m sure this is a “computer error”… easy to correct. Do the right thing.”
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As well as those who contacted Mr Lord separately, dozens of fans have also been reacting and sharing their own personal accounts of the same thing happening to them, and many have also been sharing screenshots of the cancellation emails they have received from Maldron Hotels.
The cancellation email reads: “We are writing to inform you of an issue with your booking… Due to a technical error, you have received a confirmation for a booking that was not successfully made. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate your booking at this time. We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.
“Our system will send a cancellation request, which we ask you to accept promptly. Please rest assured that no charges will be applied to your payment card.”
At the time of writing, Maldron Hotels does not appear to have responded to Mr Lord’s X statement, or the complaints from fans, either publicly or privately.
The Manc has also contacted Dalata Hotel Group, owner of Maldron Hotels, for a comment.
Featured Image – Maldron Hotels
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The hearing over Manchester City’s 115 FFP charges will officially start next week
Danny Jones
After more than a year of speculation as to when proceedings will finally start, it has been confirmed that the hearing regarding Manchester City and their 115 FFP charges is set to begin next week.
Man City were first slapped with the laundry list of alleged breaches of FFP (financial fair play) and failure to comply with Premier League rules on profit and sustainability (PSR) back in February 2023, but little movement on the case has been reported since then.
In that time, they also won the coveted Treble and their record-breaking fourth league title in a row; meanwhile, the club have continued to deny all claims of rule-breaking.
However, it has now been revealed that City‘s hearing will now kick off on Monday, 16 September.
BREAKING: The hearing over Manchester City's 115 charges will start on Monday 🚨 pic.twitter.com/9ujOCryVMF
As explained in various reports, given the extended nature of the claims made against the Manchester side, it is estimated that the case could run on for up to two months if not longer.
Furthermore, it is thought a decision isn’t expected to arrive until spring 2025 – again, this is simply due to the number of charges brought up over the best part of a decade.
In case you need a refresher, the allegations levelled at Man City date back to 2009 and concern a supposed nine years of financial irregularities, as well as subverting UEFA FFP rules.
Some of the accusations made against them also include failing to cooperate with the European football body and the Premier League, as well as offering ‘secret contracts’ so as to pay one particular manager a larger sum than what they recorded in their financial statements.
The final verdict, whenever it is reached, will be handed down by an independent commission and City will still be able to make an official appeal.
It goes without saying that were they to be found guilty, it would be the biggest financial scandal in English football history and could be seismic for the future of money in the sport and regulations surrounding ownership, which have already grown tighter following the charges being issued.
And in case you needed a more detailed refresher on what exactly they are being tried for and what the possibilities are regarding punishment if found guilty, here’s a quick rundown:
Featured Images — Arne Müseler (via Wikimedia Commons)
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The NHS found to be in a ‘critical condition’ following an independent investigation
Emily Sergeant
A landmark independent investigation has found the NHS to be in a ‘critical condition’, it has been revealed.
Lord Ara Darzi – who is an independent peer and practising surgeon, with 30 years’ experience in the NHS – was commissioned to write a report that will inform the Government’s 10-year plan to reform the nation’s health service.
He examined more than 600 pieces of analysis from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England, and external organisations during his investigation.
70 organisations were brought together in an ‘Expert Reference Group’ during the investigation, while Lord Darzi also sought input from NHS staff and patients through a number of focus groups and frontline visits.
Overall, his probe concluded that the service is in a “critical condition”.
NEW: @ImperialNHS Professor Lord Darzi has published his independent investigation into the state of the NHS.
This report will inform the government’s 10-year plan to fix our broken NHS.
The report particularly highlighted surging waiting lists, and a deterioration in the nation’s underlying health, as well as identifying “serious and widespread problems” for people accessing its services.
“Although I have worked in the NHS for more than 30 years, I have been shocked by what I have found during this investigation,” Lord Darzi admitted.
“My colleagues in the NHS are working harder than ever, but our productivity has fallen.
“We get caught up frantically trying to find beds that have been axed, or using IT that is outdated, or trying to work out how to get things done because operational processes are overwhelmed.
“It sucks the joy from our work – we became clinicians to help patients get better, not to go into battle with a broken system. We need to rebalance the system towards care in the community, rather than adding more and more staff to hospitals.”
Lord Darzi declared that the NHS is now “an open book”, and added that the Government needs to have a “more honest conversation” about performance.
"I've worked in the NHS for more than 30 years, but I've been shocked by what I've found during this investigation."
Despite the damning analysis, Lord Darzi did insist that the NHS’s vital signs “remain strong” and he praised staff for their “shared passion and determination to make the NHS better for our patients”.
In response to Lord Darzi’s investigation and the publishing of the report, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scale of the damage done to the NHS revealed by the report is “unforgivable” and that “major surgery” is needed to reform the service “not sticking plaster solutions”.
“People have every right to be angry,” the Prime Minister said.
“It’s not just because the NHS is so personal to all of us, it’s because some of these failings are life and death. Take the waiting times in A&E. That’s not just a source of fear and anxiet, it’s leading to avoidable deaths.
Emily Sergeant -
28th August 2024 
