Ice hockey team Manchester Storm have confirmed that a long-standing club servant will return in a dual player-coach role for the new season.
Unveiling the news on Monday, 11 August, Manchester Storm commented, “Was it ever in doubt?”, as they announced that fan favourite Dallas Ehrhardt is back at the ice shelter only with an adjusted sphere of responsibilities for 2025/26.
Approaching nearly a full decade here on the European circuit, this upcoming campaign marks Ehrhardt’s ninth Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) season, representing both Manchester Storm and Great Britain over his many years spent across the pond.
Having already operated as a highly experienced and valuable figure in the dressing room for some time, his focus will now switch primarily to coaching, but he will still be eligible to pull on a jersey when needed.
🤝 Was it ever in doubt?
Manchester Storm are pleased to confirm veteran defenceman Dallas Ehrhardt returns for his ninth full EIHL season. While stepping back from a full-time playing role to focus on coaching, he will remain on the active roster and be available when required.… pic.twitter.com/swu9WNv3nb
— Manchester Storm | #TakeShelter (@Mcr_Storm) August 11, 2025
Writing in an official statement on the club website, the Storm said: “Veteran defenceman Dallas Ehrhardt returns for his ninth full EIHL season. Despite stepping back from a full-time playing role to focus on coaching, he will remain on the active roster and be available when required.
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“Ehrhardt holds the franchise record for league appearances (420) and leads the club’s all-time points, goals, and assists charts for a defenceman with 207 points (70G, 137A).
“Since joining the Storm in 2016, he has featured in over 90% of all league games and has earned 20 international caps for Great Britain.”
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The 33-year-old will also be joined by assistant and junior development coach, Mike Morin, who is remaining in his post, helping the senior team whilst also helping support the growth of local and academy players.
In terms of playing personnel, Manchester Storm have been doing plenty of recruitment at the same time, announcing multiple new signings for 25/26.
All three of these backroom figures have represented Storm for multiple decades between them, so they know the place inside out.
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Fellow club veteran and now former player turned head coach, Cam Critchlow, said of the appointment: “Dallas and Mike both have a deep understanding of the game and of this club.”
“Dallas’s experience and leadership will be vital behind the bench, and Mike’s commitment to developing players speaks for itself. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both.”
While Ehrhardt’s on-ice experience will no doubt be called upon throughout the season, it’s good to see plenty of new and exciting faces being brought into the Storm Shelter – case in point:
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 -
11th August 2025 
