Sport

Barry Keoghan stars in ‘magnificent’ and nostalgic new Manchester United x adidas Originals advert

'You Can't Beat An Original'.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 14th August 2024

Manchester United have just released their new third kit for the 2024/25 season and the shirt itself looks to be going down a treat, but the new advert featuring none other than actor Barry Keoghan has proved to be the real star of the show.

The white adidas Originals kit actually debuted a day prior to the lengthy ad being rolled out, but United had already shared a teaser of Keoghan, a lifelong fan, last week after reports he had been picked for the lead role back in June.

Designed around the central feature of the familiar flag used by the Red Army and various other supporters’ groups around the club, the shirt and the retro tracksuit that has been released alongside it both revolve around adidas’ trademark three stripes and that iconic colour scheme: red, white and black.

Running for nearly two and a half minutes, it channels the magic of iconic footy adverts like Nike’s Joga Bonito, those noughties Pepsi ads, the best of Man United’s kit launch videos down the years, only with all the nostalgia of 90s Manchester scene. Safe to say people have fallen in love with it.

They saw similar success with their recent Stone Roses collection.

Regardless of whether you’re a Red or not, you have to admit it feels like a real throwback and the cameos alone make for a great watch.

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Filmed around the old Cliff Training Ground in Salford – where the team used to train before moving to Carrington – there’s all manner of references to the club’s history, and the filmic quality to the whole thing makes it feel like something pulled straight out of the era itself.

As Irish reporter Gavan Reilly wrote on X: “Barry at Fergie’s desk. The three lads sitting atop the dugout. Linesman Jaap. Mainoo and Robson. Højlund and Irwin. Amad’s celebration. Garnacho’s grimace. Luke Shaw (probably) getting injured giving fistbumps. A magnificent piece of work.”

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We have to say, the nod to Alejandro Garnacho’s wonderful overhead kick against Everton is a particularly well-done moment.

The outpouring of positive reactions online is endless; one person wrote: “Everything about this is class with the 90s feel to it and ‘Born Slippy’ [by Underworld] in the background over the commentary is chef’s kiss, while another joked: “If United can get Barry Keoghan to actually dress well, they can absolutely win a quadruple this season…”

A third person added: “Last big advert was Roy Keane, this time Barry Keoghan. The Irish lads are doing well out of Man United. I like the ad. Pulling on the history of the club.” We could go on but you get the gist – fans love it.

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You couldn’t put it better than the consensus has on social media, with, “They always drag you back in with stuff like this”, “Reminds you why you love football and why you love this club. Sensational”, and many other comments to this effect to be found in the replies.

United and several other big clubs such as Real Madrid, Arsenal, Juventus and more will be wearing special adidas Originals kits featuring the classic trefoil logo this season, but we dare say very few will be showing there’s off there’s with an advert starring Barry Keoghan.

Mixing nostalgia and football will always be a winning formula and even Manchester City revealed their throwback 99-inspired away kit earlier this month, but like any kid who watched the old-school campaigns on the telly, adverts like these always stay with you.

What do you make of the new third kit, Reds?

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Featured Images — adidas/Manchester United (screenshots via YouTube)

Sport

The hearing over Manchester City’s 115 FFP charges will officially start next week

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester City hearing over 115 FFP charges start date next week

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.

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.

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The club itself launched unprecedented legal action against the English top-flight back in June but it doesn’t appear to have been enough to swat away those investigating the books.

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:

What punishment could Manchester City face for FFP breaches?
The outcome and level of punishment following the Man City hearing could vary greatly in severity.

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Featured Images — Arne Müseler (via Wikimedia Commons)

Sport

Billy Harris’ sensational Davis Cup debut helps secure GB’s opening win in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Great Britain grabbed their first win in the opening game of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage this week with a hard-fought day against Finland which featured a truly stunning debut from would-be dark horse Billy Harris.

‘The World Cup of Tennis’ returned to Manchester’s AO Arena on Tuesday for the next stage of the tournament, with Britain getting their Finals group games underway this past Wednesday and starting as they mean to go on.

It may have been too early to throw in Jack Draper – who despite being one of their most promising squad members is still pretty raw from his draining semi-final defeat in the US Open last week – but, thankfully, experienced Dan Evans got the ball rolling and it became a case of building on the advantage.

That being said, you could tell from the early points of Evans’ opener against world no. 703 Eero Vasa that it was going to be a long day for the home team, as the sets felt drawn out right from the off.

Birmingham’s finest was taken to a tense tie-break in the first set of the day but, tough as always, he weathered the early test and emerged with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over the Finnish underdog who looked to be playing well above form.

Evans’ stamina and resilience were a big factor in their dominant display in the qualifiers last September too, but energy levels can only take you so far and after a tiring first match, Finland piled on the pressure in the doubles fixture where he and partner Neal Skupski just couldn’t quite survive two tie-break sets.

The 34-year-old duo were truly put to the test but, fortunately, the game was already a bit of a dead rubber, as the real star of the show came in the form of surprising debutant Billy Harris from Nottingham, who impressed everyone with his emphatic performance against in the other singles fixture beforehand.

Harris only earned his first ATP Tour win last year and is admittedly a bit of a latecomer to the party, but his journey is an inspiring one: working hard over the last 12 months and simply continuing to push so as to now earn his stripes with a Wimbledon debut earlier this year as well.

At 29, he’s at a crucial point in his prime years as an athlete, so it was important that he did his utmost to leave his mark on the GB squad at his first Davis Cup, and he tackled that objective head-on.

Notching a comprehensive 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win against Otto Virtanen – who is no slouch in this particular tournament – team captain Leon Smith said of the showing: “I’m thrilled for Billy – I think that’s one of the best debuts you’ll have seen. It was that good.”

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Even on an early afternoon mid-working week, the second day of this year’s Davis Cup managed to attract nearly 6,500 fans to the AO Arena (roughly 90% capacity), which just goes to show how much of an appetite there is for the sport here in Manchester.

The opening rounds of the competition’s return to the city after a whopping three decades late last year saw its biggest overall attendance ever in this country and it’s clear Great Britain look very at home playing here.

Our boys take on Argentina in the next round this Friday, 13 September, where hopefully the likes of Draper can come back into the fold and give the likes of Evan, who has struggled with fitness of late, a much-needed bit of rest where possible.

Even without the likes of the now-retired Andy Murray, an injured Cam Norrie and Stockport’s Liam Broady, GB still look to be one of the teams in with a really strong chance of going all the way. Is The World Cup of Tennis ‘coming home’ and just how big a maiden tournament is Billy Harris going to have?

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Featured Images — The Manc Group/Billy Harris/ATP/Davis Cup (via Instagram)

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