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
Liam Broady is on the comeback – here’s why you need to watch out for him at Wimbledon
The Manc
Local tennis player Liam Broady is quietly rising back up the ranks on the ITF Tour, and here’s why we think you should watch out for him come Wimbledon 2026 this summer.
He is physical proof that the ATP Tour ranking means so much to a player’s career.
The Stockport-born tennis player has suffered many injury setbacks since turning pro in 2014. With a host of ankle and back injuries plaguing his playing career, he has had to turn to the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Tour to climb the rankings once again.
He is currently placed at 283* on the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour after reaching two semi-finals in the space of a month.
With wins on two of Portugal’s hard courts in Faro and Santo António, the 32-year-old has climbed from rank 303 at the start of the year to under the threshold in less than three months.
His hard work on outdoor courts is paying off as his seeding is slowly improving, and his opponents are becoming less of a challenge.
For the unititated, the ATP ranking is decided by a points system that determines your playing level, and therefore who you can possibly draw, with lower seeds getting tougher games as they need more points, and vice versa.
These point tallies factor into every win, loss, serve, and shot as it propels you up or down the table.
With an injury over Christmas, the Stopfordian Team GB player came back stronger for the start of the annual tournament calendar and now looks to be in fighting form on the ITF Tour.
He’s definitely had to tackle some obstacles over the years, both on and off the court…
Competing solely on outdoor hard courts to gain his fitness levels back is necessary, but the grass courts – his speciality – will come around with time and consistent form, with Wimbledon being his home tournament and his highlight of the competitive calendar.
His career best ranking was 93, after becoming the first British wildcard entry to beat an ATP top five player in 2023 when defeating Casper Rudd on Wimbledon’s centre court.
His win against the Norwegian in round two sent him into the top 100 rankings for the first time, and into the shining spotlight alongside British tennis stars.
The adverse effects of time away from the tour are clear to see with Broady’s peaks and dips in the table below; this means taking a hit to player motivation, game-to-game momentum and teamworking within doubles pairs.
Liam Broady’s career rankings progression chart. (Credit: ATP Tour)
It is a likely situation for players to neglect their doubles career without the added stress of injury, so if they are to arise, it does not just impact individual physicality levels but also communication between doubles pairs.
A fellow British player with similar injury problems is Emma Raducanu, who rose to fame with a shocking US Open grand slam win as a qualifier. Since her win, she has had multiple surgeries, which saw her plummet down WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) standings due to time spent off court.
The issues that come with injury upsets can make a career really difficult to reclaim, even at a young age; tour rankings can be brutal on game time and match opponents, such as Broady’s Wimbledon draw against Holland’s Van De Zandschulp and Raducanu’s recent draw against American no.3 Anisimova.
We hope to see Team GB’s athletes fit and ready to fight on tour, and we have a strong feeling we’ll see native talent Broady back in the spotlight where he belongs.
Manchester Basketball set to make history at first-ever Super League Cup finals in the city
Danny Jones
In case you missed the latest landmark for Manchester Basketball, both of our men’s and women’s teams have officially reached the 2026 Super League Cup Finals.
Aside from being a huge achievement for the fresh sporting franchise in itself, things are now all set up for a perfect weekend for local fans, with the conclusion of the Super League Cup taking place in our city for the very first time.
All that being said, it’s quite a watershed moment for this new and improved outfit – and pretty soon, too, so here’s hoping they can follow it up with a dream ending against the kings and queens of the capital.
Secure your Cup Finals tickets now 🏆 You don’t want to miss it 🎟️
— Super League Basketball (@SprLeagueBballM) March 8, 2026
It’s rare you get both the male and female members from the same side making it to the final of a major competition in the same year, not to mention having it hosted on their own turf.
Zak Irvin, Captain of the Men’s side, said in a statement: “Since I arrived here, the goal has been to bring championships home to the city.
“Our team has a great opportunity to do that in front of a Manchester crowd on the 22nd. It’s going to be an electric final, and having the backing of the Manchester crowd can be a real difference maker.”
With multiple Manc natives like Kaiyem Cleary, Demi Babalola and Irene Oboavwoduo in the squad – all of whom have come through the club’s junior pathways – they’ve got hometown pride on the line, too.
And better yet, they’ve already proved that they can make sure the weight of the occasion doesn’t get the better of them, having just won a major European knockout match as part of the MOBOs Fringe Festival earlier this week.
Facing off against KK Dubrava from Zagreb, they managed to pull off a narrow victory, beating the Croatians 94-92 to make it through to the quarter-finals of this year’s European North Basketball League (ENBL) knockout phase.
17-year-old Irene added, “It means a lot to me to play in a Cup final in my home city. Having my family and friends there, as well as all the support for Manchester, will be incredible.
“To play in a domestic final around the corner from where I’ve grown up is really unique. We’re all excited for the game; it will be a great occasion.”
With the stage set for what we have every faith will be an unforgettable conclusion at the AO Arena, it’s on us to make sure they’ve got the stands on their side.
Taking place on Sunday, 22 March, with seat prices starting from just £26 for adults (or £65 if you want to sit courtside), let’s help Manchester Basketball get over the line against London Lions.
Danny Jones -
11th May 2023 
