Sport

Former Man City striker and Britain’s first-ever £1 million player, Trevor Francis, dies aged 69

A talented footballer and a real journeyman of the game.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 24th July 2023

Former Manchester City and England striker, Trevor Francis, has sadly passed away at the age of 69 following a heart attack.

The Plymouth-born ex-pro played for a number of top-flight clubs in his career, including Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Rangers and more, and while he only played with Man City for less than a year, he was a cult favourite over at Maine Road.

Francis famously became Britain’s first-ever £1 million footballer when he joined Forest, scored their European Cup-winning goal in 1979 under the legendary Brian Clough, had over 50 England caps and went on to manage four different clubs between 1988 and 2003.

Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, he was considered a legend at both club and international level. Tributes have been pouring in all across social media.

He is said to have died at his home in Marbella, Spain on Monday morning following a heart attack. Speaking in a statement, his family said: “This has come as a huge shock to everybody. We are all very upset. He was a legendary footballer but he was also an extremely nice person.”

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Francis played for City 29 times from 1981-82 and scored 14 goals during his time in blue, two of which came in his debut against Stoke City back, before eventually going on to sign for Italian side, Sampdoria.

Fellow ex-pro Gary Lineker said, “Deeply saddened to hear that Trevor Francis has died. A wonderful footballer and a lovely man. Was a pleasure to work alongside him both on the pitch and on the telly”, while Chris Kamara simply wrote: “What a player he was and what a gentleman… RIP Trevor the first Million-pound player who always looked a million dollars”.

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Rest in peace to a legend.

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Featured Image — Manchester City/England/Nottingham Forest

Sport

Luxury Manchester gym and pilates studio mysteriously closes

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Luxury Manchester gym and pilates studio Blok mysteriously closes

One of Manchester’s most premium fitness facilities appears to have closed down, leaving members and instructors in the dark.

A forfeiture notice has appeared at the entrance of Blok, a boutique gym and pilates studio in the city centre.

Members have been arriving for classes this week to find the luxury facility at Ducie Street Warehouse closed up.

Native Places, which owns the beautifully restored mill building near Manchester Piccadilly and operates the upper floors as an aparthotel, has confirmed that it’s taken ‘formal possession of the ground floor gym’.

Blok has said they believe that the forfeiture of their lease by landlords is ‘illegal’ and that the team are ‘working to get this resolved as a matter of urgency’.

The gym also stressed the Manchester is a ‘profitable site, which we have collectively worked hard to grow into a thriving, healthy business’.

With three different studios, Blok opened in Manchester in 2019 offering classes ranging from dumbbell-based weight training to barre and pilates, as well as boxing, calisthenics and HIIT workouts.

Last year, the gym introduced reformer pilates to its premium offering.

And just last week, Blok had been running a Crowdcube campaign selling shares in the business in exchange for exclusive investor rewards.

Blok Manchester is inside Ducie Street Warehouse, owned by Native Places
Blok Manchester is inside Ducie Street Warehouse, owned by Native Places

Their investment campaign cited 175% growth in membership over the last 12 months, and promised four new flagship sites forecast to generate £1.5m in profit annually.

Alas, it appears Blok Manchester is now closed. Members have been leaving comments on their Instagram posts asking for updates, and several people are posting TikToks saying they were unable to attend their class.

One person wrote: “Hello I’ve lost my personality as Blok is closed *cry*.”

She added: “You can still book but it’s all locked up, no one can enter the premises … I got one email that they’re having ‘trouble accessing the building’, confused why they’re still allowing people to book??”

@lulaadamz

Hello I’ve lost my personality as Blok is closed *cry* Good Pilates/Mat/Barre/ reformer studios in Manchester. Also please no say a place that costs the same as my kidney, because that’s not cool 🙂 #BLOK #manchesterpilates #MCR #FYP

♬ original sound – luizaadamz

A statement from Native Places said: “Native Places has taken formal possession of the ground floor gym following the sustained non-payment of rent by the tenant.

“This action marks the end of a six-year relationship during which Native has consistently supported the tenant in their occupation of the space.

“Unfortunately, due to continued non-payment, we have had no option but to follow the appropriate legal process. The premises have now been secured, and access is restricted.”

In a statement provided to The Manc, Ed Stanbury, CEO and Founder of Blok, said: “The closure of BLOK Manchester is due to the forfeiture of our lease by our landlords, an action that we believe to be illegal. We are working with our lawyers to get this resolved as a matter of urgency. 

“Whilst there has been speculation around financial pressures that may have led to this situation, we want to be clear: BLOK Manchester is a profitable site, which we have collectively worked hard to grow into a thriving, healthy business.

“We’re incredibly proud of the team and community we’ve created in Manchester, and our focus right now is on supporting them as we navigate this.”

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Featured image: Blok

Sport

Patrice Evra issues passionate plea to Manchester United as he must miss the Europa League final

Danny Jones Danny Jones Patrice Evra video message to Man United ahead of Europa League final

Ex-Manchester United star Patrice Evra has issued a passionate appeal to his old club ahead of the Europa League final, as he reluctantly prepares to miss the game.

Evra, 44, has remained an avid Man United fan even since he left the club back in 2014 and doesn’t miss a game if he can, often lending his punditry services to the likes of Sky Sports of TNT Sports.

However, despite the biggest game of their season coming up this Wednesday, 20 May, the Frenchman has been forced to skip the match due to a recent bereavement.

Nevertheless, Evra has taken time to issue a rallying cry to Ruben Amorim and his Red Devils, urging them to “be United” and “fight” just like his loved one.

As explained in the short video, the retired left-back’s sister recently passed away at just 56 after a long battle with cancer.

Visibly emotional but determined in the clip, Evra starts by sharing his “positive energy” before trying to inject some defiance.

Noting that his sibling fought for her life for more than two decades, he goes on to add, “That’s what I want from you [United players and fans] tomorrow: just fight — bleed for this shirt, for the fans, the staff, for the people of Manchester.”

Stating that there is “no excuse” for failure and that winning their first European trophy in seven years is their “duty”, he called on the team to channel the commitment and dedication of those travelling from all over the world to see them take on Spurs in Bilbao.

As for the former French international himself, he will be making his return to sport only in an entirely different arena, with a combat sports debut coming very soon.

Former Manchester United star Patrice Evra is set to make his MMA debut very soon
Wait until you see who he called out… To be fair, I think we’d prefer to watch the Evra fight even more than the Europa League final.

While the comments underneath the post are obviously filled with lots of condolences for his loss, lots of supporters are also taking further faith and motivation from his competitive spirit.

Match day isn’t even here yet, but we’ve already seen some incredible examples of the frankly ridiculous lengths fans are going to in order to travel to the final, and Amorim himself has been applauded for a very classy and generous gesture.

It’s a big game for the club and so many across Greater Manchester; you only have to glance at social media to sense the palpable tension. For instance, if you’re a Red, you don’t want to scroll past the video down below.

Go on then – do you think United are going to do it?

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Featured Images — Gordon Flood/Diego Sideburns (via Flickr) Patrice Evra (screenshot via IG)

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