Sport

Manchester City cult hero Scott Carson is leaving the club after six seasons

He's lived the dream.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 9th June 2025

A Manchester City fan favourite and cult figure’s time at the club has come to an end as Scott Carson will be leaving the club after more than half a decade.

The veteran goalkeeper, who started out life at Leeds United before going on to represent the likes of West Brom, Wigan Athletic and Derby County among several other clubs, has been the reserve shot-stopper at Man City for six seasons.

He arrived at the Etihad Stadium on loan back in 2019 before being made a permanent signing and part of the keeper rotation in the summer of 2021.

Despite very rarely playing for the team and mainly serving as a more of a senior statesman, trainer and would-be goalkeeping coach, he’s remained a popular figure in the dressing room through his time in East Manchester, and his departure has been met with nothing but a flood of fondness and gratitude.

Part of the reason his status at the club has been such a case of fascination is that he’s essentially landed the dream job in the twilight of his career.

Having made just two appearances over the course of nearly six whole years, completing a total of just 108 minutes, he quite literally has one of the best money earned and trophies earned per minute ratios on the planet.

With the 11 accolades he won as part of Pep Guardiola‘s set-up, he averaged a piece of silverware for every 9.8 minutes played at the club.

To put that into even wider context, that’s a better rate than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and many others…

Again, we repeat, Scott Carson is absolutely living the life, and the supporters have been there right along with him, loving absolutely every second of it.

Case and point:

Confirming his departure in an official statement, the club wrote: “During his time at City, Carson has been praised by goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor and peers Ederson and Stefan Ortega Moreno for his work ethic and the effect of his positive attitude amongst the group.

He has been part of a squad that has lifted 12 major honours over the last six seasons during what has been a historic period of success for Pep Guardiola’s team. Everyone at Manchester City would like to thank Scott for his hard work and dedication and wish him the very best of luck for the future.”

With his contract expiring amid the 2025 summer transfer window, he leaves City as a free agent at the age of 39; it remains to be seen whether or not he will be searching for a new club.

One thing we do know is that he’s had a ball of a time in blue.

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Featured Images — Scott Carson (via Instagram)/England/FA TV (screenshot via YouTube)

Sport

Pep Guardiola aims not-so-subtle dig at ‘destructive’ FIFA Club World Cup

Danny Jones Danny Jones Pep Guardiola Club World Cup comments

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is the latest to voice his concerns surrounding the ongoing 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, delivering a not-so-subtle dig at the competition.

Ahead of Man City‘s round of 16 match against Al Hilal in this year’s Club World Cup, of which they won all their group stage games, the Catalan head coach has once again come out to criticise the increasingly congested fixture calendar.

His comments come after former Liverpool manager and now Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull, Jürgen Klopp, labelled the current off-season summer run of matches “the worst idea ever.”

Somewhat echoing his statement – or at the very least aligning with it (albeit indirectly) – Pep Guardiola gave his two cents also, claiming that the now extended, 32-team tournament could “destroy” his squad and their fortunes in the next campaign.

Clearly, Pep is far from the biggest of fan of the recently refreshed format, even despite having won the thing on four occasions in the past – the most recent being with Manchester City back in 2023.

Reflecting on what impact he fears the Club World Cup may have on his team next season, Guardiola said: “I try not to think about it, otherwise I will be so anxious. We will rest [for as much time as] the Premier League allows us to.

“And game by game, month by month, we will see. And maybe in November, December, January, ask me, Pep. I may say: ‘So listen, we are a disaster. We are exhausted. The World Cup destroyed us.’ I don’t know, but it’s the first time in our [lives] that that’s happened [a 32-team CWC]. So we will see…”

Unpredictable weather in the United States, where the action is being hosted, has also been the subject of outrage in some cases, with Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca stating, “It’s a joke! It’s not football”, after a major storm delay mid-game pushed meant that one of their games took five hours to finish.

The 54-year-old also insisted that those who were against the tweaked concept “fought a lot” here in England, in UEFA meetings and so on, as was the case with the revision of the new layout of the Champions League, but to no avail.

Regarding Klopp, who set this latest chain of criticism, he claims that whoever wins the 2025 Club World Cup is ultimately “pointless” and will be “the worst winner of all time because they’ll have played all summer and then gone straight back into the league.”

In his eyes, the decisions are being made by people who have “never been involved” with the pressure of day-to-day life in professional football and the physical toll of multiple competitions, in particular.

As for who might win the 2025 CWC, it could very well be Man City for a second time, as the Blues are the only team remaining that has a 100% win ratio this year, having most recently thrashed Juventus 5-2 in their last game.

Nevertheless, it seems that the stance of Klopp, Guardiola, Maresca and more is pretty plain: this particular tournament will go down in the record books for the wrong reasons, and they won’t be happy until the format is revisited.

Do you agree with Pep and co. on the Club World Cup controversy?

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Featured Images — Man City (screenshot via YouTube)

Sport

The latest on Salford Red Devils financial situation as ‘winding-up’ petition is adjourned

Danny Jones Danny Jones Salford Red Devils finances problems explained

The current situation at Salford Red Devils is far from ideal, with the rugby league team currently owing hundreds of thousands of pounds in debt, not to mention facing further stress over finances with players owed wages, key personnel leaving and remaining uncertainty over future ownership.

So, why is the board expressing reassurance among supporters following the recent adjournment of a ‘winding-up’ petition, and what exactly does this mean?

It is no doubt a complex issue, but with the season concluding in October and the Greater Manchester club essentially being given a stay of execution, for lack of a better phrase, it’s possible that a corner could hopefully be turned soon.

Here’s everything we know so far about the situation in Salford and where the Red Devils’ finances are currently at.

Salford Red Devils’ finances and more – explained

For a start, they’re late on payroll again this month.

How much do Salford Red Devils owe and why?

According to recent reports, Salford Red Devils owe more than half a million pounds to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) at present, with current estimates said to be in the region of £600,000.

The Super League side has fallen into debt due to a number of factors: their own performance as a business, cuts to local funding and a period of spending in terms of recruitment and pre-season preparation under the assumption of a subsidy from Salford City Council (SCC).

However, this would-be uplift – despite it being promised late last year – never came as the Council (having already provided £315k in ‘immediate’ financial aid back in March 2024) U-turned on the decision after it was revealed further backing was not in the budget.

SCC ended up owing around £2 million itself after stepping in to save both SRD and fellow rugby league outfit Swinton Lions, handing out loans to both clubs even prior to purchasing Salford Community Stadium and the surrounding area.

The Council ultimately shelled out north of £7.7m to buy the ground and sever commercial ties with previous owners, Peel. They had hoped to further alleviate pressure on the club, but Salford Red Devils (SRD) had already spent the money they were expecting to receive on new players, training and more.

SRD were then told to sell off a number of players by the league.

Salford Red Devils issue statement after being ordered to sell players by Rugby Football League
Former CEO Paul King was also parachuted back in to try and save the club after his predecessor left almost as quickly as he came.

What is the ‘winding-up’ petition?

With all this in mind, something called a ‘winding-up’ petition – basically a document sent by creditors that demands the immediate liquidation of a company/organisation that owes them money – was filed by HMRC back in May, with the tax authorities demanding payment of the outstanding sum.

However, special dispensation appears to have been made not only due to the complicated and unforeseen circumstances Salford have faced along the way, but also for the sake of the Rugby Football League (RFL) itself, with the Red Devils still seen as a valuable sporting and community asset.

One of those unexpected twists was the takeover by a new consortium led by Dario Berta, whose investment failed to clear in time and resulted in the club being hit with the financial sustainability problem that saw them cutbacks.

In a small bit of good fortune, it has now been decided that the petition to liquidate the SRD has been postponed, though not indefinitely.

What could happen next?

The date for coughing up what debt they owe to the tax authorities has now been pushed back to September, meaning they have until then to find the finances, or else they could very well be made insolvent in a matter of months.

However, as per BBC Radio Manchester, those involved in the ongoing process are “confident” that bridging loans will be put in place over the coming days to keep HMRC at bay.

And, nevertheless, head coach Paul Rowley has insisted that he can see “green shoots” starting to emerge around the club, despite still sitting bottom of the table with just one win to their name.

What’s for sure is that the local area isn’t giving up on them, with numerous fundraisers and charity events being set up to help support the club via the official Salford Red Devils Foundation.

Fingers firmly crossed that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

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Featured Images — Antony Parkes (via Geograph)/Salford Red Devils (via website)

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