Sport
Man City’s Alex Greenwood vows ‘We’ll be back’ as Lionesses fly home from Women’s World Cup
It's coming home... just not yet.
The Lionesses came agonisingly close to making even more history on Sunday after just missing out on the 2023 Women’s World Cup, but as England’s women’s team head home, defender Alex Greenwood has vowed, “We will be back” in a heartfelt statement.
One of countless players that shone in the tournament, the Man City centre-back was understandably emotional as she took to social media to address the fans following the 1-0 loss to Spain in their first-ever World Cup final but, like the spirit this team has continued to exhibit, she was also defiant.
As she wrote on Instagram, Greenwood admitted, “This one hurts a lot and will for a while.
“However I just want to say Thank you to the whole team I have just spent the last 9 weeks with, it was an incredible journey with amazing people, I am so proud of you all.” Sarina Wiegman and her squad boarded the team plane on Monday morning and are due to arrive back in the UK on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old went on to add, “Thank you Australia, incredible hosts and fantastic people, you have given me some amazing memories I’ll cherish for life.
“Finally, thank you to our fans, here and at home; your support has been unbelievable and we are so thankful for that. Sorry we couldn’t bring it home!!”
Nevertheless, she ended on the perfect note which once again summed up everything we love about this group of players: “Humble in victory, gracious in defeat, we will be back!!”
You’re damn right they will.
Read more:
Speaking after the full-time whistle, her defensive partner and team captain Millie Bright said: “It’s hard [to take] but that’s football, it can go your way, it can go against you.
“They’re a fantastic team — I think first half we weren’t our best, second half we definitely put the fight in; we had chances, hit the bar but we just couldn’t finish it today, so congrats to them… A lot of emotion but really proud of the team and to come this far, play in a World Cup final, not many players do that. I’m really proud…
“I don’t think there’s much you can say at the minute; emotions are high, a huge amount of disappointment… but I think in a couple of weeks when it settles in we’ll be really, really proud and this is not it from us: we’ll bounce back I’m sure… The goal is always to win, our mentality is to win and we’ll never stop trying to be successful and be champions”.
You already are, both in Europe and to the people of this nation, and we know full well you’ll bring it home next time. Having spoken to Greenwood a few months back not long after their incredible Euros win, it was already hugely apparent how much the Lionesses have done for the women’s game already.
They should be nothing less than incredibly proud — we know we are.
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Image — Lionesses (via Twitter)/Alex Greenwood (via Instagram)
Sport
Academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving Manchester City on a permanent transfer
Danny Jones
Manchester City youth academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving the club after sealing a move to Fulham FC.
Despite plenty of loan interest throughout the January transfer window, the Man City attacker has secured a switch to the in-form West London team on a permanent basis.
Bobb looked increasingly likely to leave in some capacity following the arrival of another winger in the form of instant hit, Antoine Semenyo, but it now looks as though his departure is all but confirmed, bar an imminent official announcement.
As reported by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the agreement has now been reached between the two clubs pending a full medical today (Thursday, 29 January).
According to Romano, Fulham will pay Man City approximately £27 million for Bobb’s services, who becomes the latest addition in what has already been a fairly busy period of recruitment.
He goes on to add that “City also mantain [a] 20% sell-on clause, matching rights and future control on the player based on his decision.”
There is no suggestion of a buy-back clause at this time, but given his age and having already made a fair few appearances for Pep Guardiola‘s first team, it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility to see him return to the club one day.
Bobb also arrives at Craven Cottage following the exit of multiple wingers and offensive options, including Adama Traore, ex-Man United product Andreas Pereira and Arsenal youngster, Reiss Nelson, whose loan deal has expired and has signed another temporary deal at local rivals, Brentford.
A similar scenario played out with James Trafford at the start of this season, though it now looks as though the young keeper could once again leave before the end of the month. Many City supporters understandably have some mixed feelings about both situations.
The young Norwegian winger joined the Etihad Campus back in 2023 and went on to contribute a handful of goals and assists, despite limited appearances and some very unfortunate injury issues.
Only seven months ago, his soon-to-be former parent club released a short video charting his return from the sidelines after fracturing his leg – a setback which kept him out for roughly five months.
Plenty of fans have quickly placed him in the so-called ‘what if?’ category of players, and given that he’s still just 22 years old and has already impressed on a number of ocassions for such a big club, we wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on to have a very exciting career.
Can you see the Blues bringing in or letting anyone else go before deadline day?
Read more:
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Images — pantkiewicz (via Flickr)/El Loko (via WikiCommons)/Man City (via YouTube)
Sport
Tyson Fury has officially revealed his comeback fight after coming out of ‘retirement’ once again
Danny Jones
Tyson Fury has officially announced the opponent for his comeback fight after yet again returning to professional boxing.
Fury supposedly ‘retired’ for seemingly the umpteenth time last January following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk the month prior, and some even believed it might have actually been his final outing.
Nevertheless, ‘The Gypsy King’ said he was coming out of retirement once more earlier this year, and now his next match-up has been confirmed.
Revealing the other contender as Aslanbek Makhmudo, the fight will be aired live on Netflix only.
Partnered exclusively with boxing magazine, Ring, the bout between Fury and Makhmudo is the latest big fight night to be picked up by the streaming giants.
The most recent example was, obviously, Anthony Joshua’s brutal knockout of influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this past December.
Makhmudo, just a year younger than his opposite number, is a fellow experienced heavyweight based mainly out of Canada with a decent pedigree of his own.
The Russian, simply known as ‘The Lion’, has a record of 21 wins – more than half of those coming by KO.
With that in mind, he presents a potentially exciting prospect for the famous Manchester fighter, who hasn’t won a proper competitive fight since the defence of his WBC belt against Derek Chisora in December 2022.
Similarly, this should at least see two very well-seasoned pros going head to head.
He did fight MMA veteran Francis Ngannou in a one-off exhibition, but there was no title or anything tangible on the line.
In fact, even Fury himself admitted it was a “below par” showing.
Many fight fans would argue that there haven’t been enough proper big heavyweight dates since Fury vs Usyk, and even then, we are still yet to get a date for the all-but fully confirmed final fight of the trilogy.
Fury himself did state that the conclusion of their clash is scheduled for this April, but nothing official has been set in stone by any promotion or venue and the new date means it’s even less likely to be any time soon; meanwhile, plenty are still hoping for AJ vs Fury.
The 37-year-old will take on Makhmudo on Saturday, 11 April, and you can bet the world will be watching.
Read more:
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Images — FurociTV (via YouTube)/Netflix/Ring Magazine/@Mike_DiDomizio(via X)
