Football clubs across the country have joined in mourning the loss of former professional footballer turned coach Neil Matthews, who sadly passed away at the age of 56 earlier this week following his battle with cancer.
Including various loan spells, Matthews played for 12 different clubs during his time as a pro, with three of those being in Greater Manchester — Stockport County, Bolton Wanderers and Bury FC — before going on to become a youth coach after retiring in 2001.
Starting out his career in his hometown of Grimsby, he made 258 appearances, scoring 68 goals for his various clubs with his best returns coming for the likes of Halifax, County and Lincoln City.
Eventually becoming a hugely successful youth coach, helping countless young players to sign professional contracts and go on to play in the Premier League and throughout the footballing pyramid, numerous clubs were saddened to learn about the loss of this much-loved figure.
Everyone at Edgeley Park is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our former player and promotion winner, Neil Matthews at the age of 56.
Our thoughts are with his wife Sue and all of his friends and family, at this very difficult time 💙
— Stockport County (@StockportCounty) May 10, 2023
The Club were saddened to learn of the passing of Neil Matthews, who has passed away at the age of 56.
Grimsby-born Matthews started his professional career with the Mariners and was Bradford City's Academy Manager.
Neil Matthews hit a crucial 13 goals in 16 matches towards the end of the 1990/91 season, including 2 on the final day, to push County over the line in the Div 4 promotion race
Neil Matthews scoring for Stockport County back in 1991.
Matthews was reported to have died on Monday, 8 May, at which point a flood of tributes began pouring from his ex-clubs, fans and figures throughout the footballing world.
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During his time at Edgeley Park, in particular, he was a popular figure who battle through injury problems to be part of the famous 1991 season, where he helped Stockport earn their first promotion in 20 years with numerous crucial goals in the Danny Bergara which spawned so many County fans.
As for his coaching career, he began plying his trade at Huddersfield Town as a youth coach for multiple age groups from 2003 until 2017. He then went on to join Bradford City in his most recent role and progressed to become the academy manager, helping spawn 15 for the club in a few short years.
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Bradford CEO Ryan Sparks insisted that “Neil oversaw the production and development of some of the best academy players in the country, and has played a massive role in enhancing the club in recent years. He built an academy like no other in English football, and his legacy will live on through the many careers he helped start.”
“The world has lost a true gentleman. A class act, full of love for others." @Mjdrury3
Countless figures across the English football pyramid have paid tribute to Neil Matthews.
Everyone at #htafc is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former Academy Coach Neil Matthews after a battle with cancer.
Our thoughts are with his wife Sue, his family, friends and our colleagues at Bradford City.
Once a Terrier, always a Terrier 💙
— Huddersfield Town Academy (@htafcacademy) May 9, 2023
Neil Matthews what a lovely man always a smile on his face ,great coach, the players and staff at our Academy loved him , I loved him ,so so sad RIP Mate.❤️XX.
Sparks went on to say: “Neil was a special person, who took immense pride in his work. He was one of the most selfless people I have ever met, who often put the football club and his colleagues before anything and anyone else.
“He will be sorely missed by all those who knew him and worked with him. He was one of a kind, and his passing leaves a huge hole in the Bradford City family. The passion, care and dedication he brought to his work and our football club was truly remarkable.
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“His spirit will be with us in the play-off fixtures… It goes without saying that yesterday’s result, which saw us finish in the playoffs for the first time in six years, was for Neil.”
It’s plain to see the impact he had on the clubs he played and coached for, not only as a professional but by all accounts a lovely person.
His former colleague Martin Drury, who worked under him at Bradford before joining Manchester United last summer, summed him up as “a man who gave people the best gift you can ask for: he believed in you and offered the opportunity.”
Bradford will be honouring Matthews by naming the 2023/24 Academy Player of the Year after him, with black armbands set to be worn for their League Two playoff semi-final against Carlisle and a minute’s applause in his memory. Similar displays will no doubt happen across a number of his old clubs.
Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this time.
Featured Image — Stockport County/Bradford City/Guiseley AFC
Sport
Erling Haaland dresses up as Santa and hands out Christmas presents in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
Manchester City star Erling Haaland has doubled as Father Christmas in his latest YouTube stunt, dressing up as Santa and handing out presents to local kids in the new episode.
We’re starting to think he might be one of the most likeable footballers on the planet right now.
The Norwegian footballer recently surpassed Alan Shearer’s ‘fastest to 100 goals record’ in the Premier League and has been well and truly back to his best as Man City continue to rediscover their form, but the big blonde number nine has been delighting both on and off the pitch of late.
For starters, even before any of the season’s givings began, we got the giggle just from our first glimpse of the thumbnail.
Yes, Haaland definitely has a habit of leaning into the humorous side of his celebrity status, having already dressed up as the Joker for Halloween in one of the first episodes published on his still relatively new YouTube channel.
However, the 25-year-old got up to some more heartwarming activities this time around, swapping the face paint, green wig and stripey suit for a red coat, hat, some little glasses and a big white beard.
With the video itself showing him getting into character and loading his car with a sack full of presents, he then goes on to visit multiple houses to dish out the surprise gifts.
While the title and description state that he drove around the streets of 0161, it’s hard to tell where exactly he went, but we’d guess it was more around Alderley Edge and/or the Cheshire side of the Greater Manchester borders.
One particular interaction between the disguised Blue and a young Red certainly produced a harmless little bit of comedy…
Either way, on the whole, this particular instalment was more wholesome than it was funny, and it’s always nice to see sports personalities and famous people spreading kindness.
Obviously, not everyone can afford to be as generous as a Premier League and world-famous international athlete, but it’s nevertheless a nice touch.
Featured Images — Erling Haaland (screenshots via YouTube)
Sport
Kobbie Mainoo’s brother sends three-word message to Man United after Old Trafford stunt
Danny Jones
Kobbie Mainoo’s brother, Jordan Kwadwo Osei Mainoo-Hames, has caused quite a stir online after sending a simple but definitive three-word message to Manchester United and head coach Ruben Amorim, in the form of a publicity stunt.
In case you missed the blockbuster eight-goal thriller at Old Trafford on Monday night, the scoreline wasn’t the only headline on the night.
Man United managed to give up their one-nil lead right on two separate occasions, and despite clawing their way back to 4-3 with just over 10 minutes of regulation time left on the clock, ultimately went on to concede an equaliser in the 84th minute.
Despite Kobbie Mainoo’s receiving a rapturous round of cheers and applause when he was subbed on in the second half, not to mention adding some real dynamism in the middle of the park, any notion of his contribution has now been overshadowed by his sibling.
As you can see, Jordan Mainoo-Hames – who found fame after appearing on series five of reality TV show Love Island (2019) – took the opportunity to capitalise on the ongoing narrative regarding Kobbie and his relationship with the current United boss.
For months now, there has been much speculation around whether the Stockport-born youth product will stay at his boyhood club or leave in the next couple of transfer windows, given that he’s only been afforded limited minutes under the Portuguese manager.
Amorim, who has collected just 24 Premier League points since arriving last November, maintains that he recognises Mainoo’s but, crucially, sees him as competing for the same position as Bruno Fernandes.
Now a model for a number of big brands, he’s no stranger to posing in clothes, but in this case, it all centred around a simple black t-shirt simply reading ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ in plain white text, seemingly imitating Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ font.
Safe to say that despite catching the eye of plenty in and around the stadium, as well as countless more online, it hasn’t gone down particularly well with a good chunk of the supporters.
Even neutrals have hopped on social media to label the stunt everything from “embarrassing” and causing an “unnecessary” distraction to urging the 20-year-old to distance himself from the stunt and/or his half-brother.
Utter nonsense. His brother turning up at Old Trafford in a ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ tee is pure embarrassment. Clout-chasing disguised as support, when the player’s interests should be the priority. We’ve seen this playbook from families before… https://t.co/9p5uognVsX
For many fans, the incident was reminiscent of the Alejandro Garnacho situation: another promising youngster whose family’s outspoken nature on social media, along with his own, ultimately soured his relationship with Amorim to the point of leaving the club this past summer.
Rather notably, Garnacho ruffled even more feathers earlier this month after responding to a question about any potential regrets over how his time at the club ended…
As for his former fellow academy graduate, it is looking increasingly likely that he may at least leave on loan this January in search of more regular football, especially with the 2026 World Cup looming.
Whether you’re a Red or not, we’re interested to hear what you make of the whole mess. Let us know down in the comments.
You can see the highlights from the frankly bonkers game against Bournemouth down below.
Danny Jones -
11th May 2023 
