Just a few short weeks ago, we all witnessed a monumental sporting moment – football finally came home.
And it was the women’s game that did it, only a year since the England men’s team came so close to lifting the Euros trophy themselves.
The nation is bursting with pride for the phenomenal achievements of every player on England women’s team, affectionately known as The Lionesses, but we just had to give a little shout out to one of our local girls.
Ella Toone. The Wigan-born star has been called wonder kid and a golden girl, but she prefers to be ‘just Ella’.
Credit: Instagram, Ella Toone
The 22-year-old has built the bulk of her sporting career here in Greater Manchester.
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Born in Tyldesley, she spent many years as a junior at Manchester United – but the team, until very recently, didn’t have a senior women’s team for her to move up to.
So it was off to Blackburn she went, then briefly she played for Manchester City, before finally joining Man Utd in 2018 for their inaugural season.
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In an interview with BBC Sport, Ella – a life-long United (and Cristiano Ronaldo) fan – said: “It’s the best feeling in the world. Growing up a Manchester United fan, and then being able to play week in week out for the club that you love and support is really special.
“Growing up it was tough – I was in the United academy for seven/eight years, and there was nothing to look up to. There was no women’s team to try and get in to.”
But once news of a Manchester United women’s squad landed, Ella said: “It was home. I knew that my ambitions matched theirs. I’ve been happy ever since.”
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Fast forward to 2022, and she has become a household name thanks to her stunning performance with the England Women’s team at the Euros.
Ella’s impeccable chip into the net had all of Wembley on its feet during the final, and it was one of two goals that saw England storm to victory.
Along with her teammates, she is now riding the wave of the team’s success to try and make changes that will last an eternity.
The Lionesses recently penned an open letter to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, demanding that young girls are given the opportunity to get into the sport and that women’s football is given proper investment from school age onwards.
They told the prospective PMs that only 63% of girls can play football in PE at school, saying ‘a generation of school girls deserve more.’
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The letter stated: “Throughout the Euros, we as a team spoke about our legacy and goal to inspire a nation. Many will think that this has already been achieved, but we see this as only the beginning.
“We are looking to the future. We want to create real change in this country and we are asking you, if you were to become Prime Minister on 5 September, to help an achieve that change.”
The highly-praised letter went on to ask the Government to ensure all girls have access to a minimum of two hours a week of P.E.
The co-signed letter said: “They deserve to play football at lunchtime, they deserve to play football in PE lessons and they deserve to believe they can one day play for England. We want their dreams to also come true.
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“This is an opportunity to make a huge difference. A change that will impact millions of young girls’ lives. We – the 23 members of the England Senior Women’s EURO squad – ask you to make it a priority to invest into girls’ football in schools, so that every girl has the choice.”
And as Ella Toone herself once said – “I was once just a little girl with a lot of dreams, and I’ve managed to achieve them.”
About Manc of the Month
We all know that Manchester is home to some special people, some born here and others drawn here, and after a bumpy two years that effectively amounted to one big lockdown, it’s these special people that have inspired and led us through the tough times – so we decided to start a series that shines a light on those who should be celebrated.
Following on from our ‘The Mancs of the Year’ feature towards the end of 2020, Manc of the Month officially kicked off in July 2021, with Marcus Rashford MBE, Manchester’s mural king Akse P-19, the local chef feeding the region’s vulnerable families Mary-Ellen McTague, and Manchester’s groundbreaking new Council leader Bev Craig among previous honourees.
Featured image: England Women’s
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Jürgen Klopp reveals the main reason he turned down the Manchester United job
Danny Jones
Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has revealed one of the main reasons he turned down the Manchester United job more than a decade ago.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund boss turned Merseyside hero spent nine years at Anfield, going on to win a Champions League, Premier League, and a collection of cups.
It’s also worth noting that this all came in the years following the departure of legendary Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, but there could have been an alternate reality where Klopp carried on where ‘Fergie’ left off, as the now 58-year-old says the club spoke to him during that time.
With Sir Alex leaving in 2013 after the best part of 30 years, Klopp told Steven Bartlett on his most recent Diary of A CEO episode that “of course, they were interested.”
OUT NOW!
💥Jürgen Klopp on The Diary Of A CEO
Some of the topics we cover:
•His surprise at Liverpool’s £450m transfer window and why he didn’t get the same money
•He says a return to Liverpool is possible – but he couldn’t ask for just one year off
Admitting that the interest was mutual “at one point”, the prospect of joining Liverpool‘s historic rivals clearly appealed to him.
Noting that he was flourishing as an up-and-coming coach (aged 46 back then) in charge of an impressive Dortmund team – adding that even some of his then future players to be at Liverpool flew to watch them play in the Champions League – it’s clear he had plenty of suitors.
However, the retired German footballer turned ‘Gegenpressing’ tactician goes on to explain that despite United trying to poach him from the Bundesliga, it was “the wrong time, wrong moment for me.”
Crucially, he says that some aspects of the conversations between him and the club at the time proved to be a turn-off rather than an incentive, citing talk of ‘the biggest club in the world’ and supposedly “signing any player we want.”
In short, Klopp says that, crucially, it didn’t sound like it would have been his project, drawing parallels to the board wanting to bring back players like Paul Pogba, with arguably similar ‘mistakes’ being made with the return of Cristiano Ronaldo. In his eyes, looking backwards simply “never helps”.
You can see the clip in full here:
Had he not turned down the offer, do you think Klopp could have helped rebuild Man United?
According to Klopp, after negotiations seemed to revolve primarily around the kind of players they were going to bring in, he decided the opportunity wasn’t for him.
Nevertheless, it looked like things worked out for Merseyside’s biggest club, at least, as he went on to become one of the most successful managers in the Premier League, managing to break up the long period of dominance overseen by both Manchester United and, most recently, Man City.
As for the red half of Manchester, they at the very least had a good weekend as they finally ended their long wait for a win away against Liverpool.
In case you missed it, you can watch the highlights – including another big clutch goal from Harry Maguire – down below.
A 5k charity event where runners dress up as Pitbull is coming to Manchester city centre
Danny Jones
Yep, you read it right the first time – a regular 5k charity run returns to Manchester this month, only this time, those taking part will be dressed up as Pitbull for some reason…
Don’t ask us, we just thought it was funny and it’s for a good cause, so why the hell not?
For a little context, this is the latest idea from Slow Run Club: a local running organisation that takes place weekly at three different locations across Greater Manchester.
We know ‘Mr Worldwide’ himself has been and gone, having played a couple of nights in Manchester earlier this year, but these lot have decided two nights of yelling ‘Timberrrr’ still wasn’t quite enough and asking those joining the October fundraising 5k to dress up like the one and only Pitbull.
In case you missed it when ‘Dale’ fever took over the city streets this past summer, bald caps, sunglasses, black felt goatees and drawn-on moustaches descended upon central Manchester as they have been all over the UK and beyond for his live shows.
Was it utterly daft? Yes. Was it still one of THE best gig crowds we’ve seen in yonks? Absolutely.
The 44-year-old Floridian rapper and resurgent pop star played multiple nights at the Co-op Live, and they were brilliant, but we’re not going to pretend that the best wasn’t seeing the sea of shiny bald heads and shades in suits and ties.
It’s rare that you see such a shared moment of abandoning inhibitions and embracing the silliness; it was genuinely so great to see, and it’s that same energy that these guys are trying to tap into. Put simply, it’s about letting go and dancing like no one’s watching.
Teaming up with fellow charity-focused running group, Run The Streets MCR, Slow Run Club (SRC)’s Pitbull fancy-dress-themed run is just the latest in a growing trend of alternative ways to get some exercise in.
After you’ve gone all ‘305’ at the Pitbull run, these Manchester runners are worth looking into as well.
Having done everything from the regular fancy dress Halloween runs to Oasis, Sabrina Carpenter, ABBA-themed runs, and many more, you’d be surprised how much you don’t care about what people think when you’re running around and dancing to tunes – especially when it’s for charity.
Once again, the Slow Run Club x Run The Streets MCR ‘Pitbull Edition’ 5k charity run takes place this month on Wednesday, 22 October, from 6:30pm onwards outside The Tap House on Circle Square, just off the Oxford Road Corridor, before setting off at a laid-back social pace.
This is the same place and time you’ll find SRC’s city centre regular meet-up every week; speaking to The Manc, founder Holly Spiers said: “We run from The Taphouse every Wednesday (just not usually dressed as Pitbull) and offer an inclusive pace as well as rest stops.”
Speaking of fancy dress, if you haven’t seen the group of four mates who made history at the 2025 Manchester Half, stop what you’re doing and read this:
These legends set an incredibly fun, wholesome and amusing world record at this year's @ManchesterHalf – all whilst raising money for @andysmanclubuk. 👏
Daisy Jackson -
12th August 2022 
