Avanti West Coast have issued a statement addressing the concerns of fans hoping to travel down to London by train for the Manchester Derby FA Cup final.
The train operators face a huge dilemma when it comes to the services on the day of the final (3 June) as thousands of Manchester United and Manchester City fans are expected to travel down for the 90,000-capacity fixture at Wembley Stadium.
While many will be hoping to get coaches down (ideally with extra help from the clubs themselves), trains are literally an indispensable form of public transport when it comes to fans getting to away games, let alone for massive, historic cup ties — it being the first Manchester Derby FA Cup final ever.
That being said, many have taken to social media to ask Avanti if additional and potentially separate services for each set of fans are being considered on the day of the final. However, the company has said that there are currently no additional trains expected and that separate trains aren’t on the cards.
Hi David, as it stands we're not aware of any additional services being run but that may change closer to the time. No, we wouldn't run separate trains for football fans. – Carmen
Avanti have since issued a statement assuring that they are working with both clubs to ensure that fans will be able to get to the FA Cup final with as little drama as possible.
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Speaking to the MEN, they said: “We are working with our partners and we’ve already been in touch with both clubs with a view to getting information out to fans looking to travel to Wembley by train.
“We expect to be in a position to update all our customers, including fans travelling to the final, in due course with the latest travel advice once our plans have been finalised.”
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Nevertheless, many are still very reticent to accept that everything will go off without a hitch as Avanti aren’t exactly famous for filling their passengers with confidence. In fact, even the Leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig, wasted no time in having a dig at their shaky reputation.
All that stands in the way now is Avanti trains. What could possibly go wrong… https://t.co/XtIU4A8sCn
As alluded to, not only will this be the 190th Manchester derby in all competitions but it’s the first-ever in the 152 years since the FA Cup began.
While it’s now United’s only remaining chance for another piece of silverware this season, City are hot on the heels of Arsenal in the Premier League title race; nevertheless, it goes without saying that both teams will be going all-out for this one.
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It has also been stated that the game will kick off no later than 4:45pm after the Metropolitan Police reiterated it is a high-risk fixture and travelling supporters will need added time to make it home.
Whatever happens on the day itself, for those of you heading down come 3 June, stay safe out there.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
25th April 2023 
