Gary Neville has criticised Manchester United for their handling of the Mason Greenwood situation after they finally made the decision to transition him out of the club.
After months of speculation and rumours that he might be reintegrated into the squad following a raft of serious allegations, Man United confirmed on Monday that Greenwood will not remain at the club and they will be assisting his potential return to football elsewhere.
This comes after the 21-year-old was arrested on allegations of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, as well as carrying out assault occasioning actual bodily harm against his girlfriend in January 2022 following audio and photographic evidence being leaked on social media.
The charges were ultimately dropped back in February but swathes of football fans have been vocal in their opposition to his return ever since, including a large group of female supporters organising a protest on United’s opening game of the season. As a result, Neville has summed up the club’s handling of the whole situation as “pretty horrible”.
The process taken by Manchester United to drop Mason Greenwood has been 'pretty horrible', says Gary Neville.
The former United and England fullback told Sky Sports during their Monday Night Football show, “I think it was clear from day one, for me or anyone who obviously saw that evidence that was initially released, that he wouldn’t play for Manchester United again.
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“They have got there [in the end] but I would say that the process of getting there has been pretty horrible. When you have significant situations and difficult situations like this, it requires strong authoritative leadership — and that comes from the very top. Manchester United don’t have that.”
Sitting across from former WSL star Karen Carney, she added: “Personally I feel really uneasy with the situation. I think Manchester United, as an institution and a football club and what it stands for, have handled this really, really poorly.”
There have also been calls for CEO Richard Arnold to resign after it was reported he told the key figures that Greenwood would be returning before ultimately making a U-turn following the immense backlash.
As for Greenwood himself, the young footballer has finally broken his silence on the whole scandal, writing in a statement that he “fully accepts I made mistakes in my relationship, and I take my share of responsibility for the situations which led to the social media post.”
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However, the now exiled academy product still insisted he was “brought up to know that violence or abuse in any relationship is wrong” and “did not do the things [he was accused of”.
Nevertheless, he and the club have said that the decision to part ways is a mutual decision, with both agreeing that it is best for him to try and continue his career elsewhere so as not to be “a distraction for the club”.
Featured Image — Mason Greenwood (via Twitter)/Sky Sports
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Tributes paid to former Manchester City winger Ian Mellor, dead at 74
Danny Jones
Tributes are pouring following the death of former Manchester City star, Ian Mellor, who has sadly passed away at the age of 74.
Mellor, from Sale in Greater Manchester, played as a left winger for Man City as well as the likes of Norwich City, Brighton, Chester, Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford.
With his family and former club confirming the death on Wednesday, 1 May, social media has been awash with people paying their respects to the seasoned ex-pro who sadly died following a long battle with amyloidosis, a rare and incurable disease which affects organs such as the heart, brains and kidneys.
Replying to his son and ex-Liverpool turned Sky Sports broadcaster, Neil Mellor, the club paid their respects to the former Blue who made 50 appearances for the club.
We're saddened to learn of the passing of our former player, Ian Mellor.
Mellor began his career just down the road at Wythenshawe Amateurs before going on to represent City from 1970 to 1973.
A boyhood fan of the club, he scored 10 goals whilst wearing Sky Blue and also went on to win the Charity Shield with them back in 1972.
Eventually nicknamed ‘Spider’ for a good chunk of his career due to his long-legged stature, he remained attached to the beautiful game for years after his retirement and went on to become a committee member for the Former Players Association at City.
Joining the likes of all his former clubs, Chester City said: “Everyone at [the club] is saddened to hear of the passing of Ian Mellor. Sending all our love to you and your family, Neil Mellor.
His son Neil’s goodbye has touched many online too, calling his dad his “hero” and his “everything”.
He also went on to thank locally-based end-of-life care organisation and charity, St Ann’s Hospice, who have facilities all over Greater Manchester and who helped care for Ian in his final days.
Our thoughts are with his friends and family as well as those whose lives he touched through football during this difficult time.
Featured Images — Manchester City/Neil Mellor (via X)
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Manchester MMA star Tom Aspinall slams ‘unfair’ start times for UFC 304 at Co-op Live
Danny Jones
Local MMA star Tom Aspinall has come out to criticise the start times for UFC 304 here in Manchester, calling it ‘unfair’ for fans here in the UK.
In case you missed that rather big announcement, the UFC is returning to Manchester after nearly a decade and will be the very first sporting event held at the brand-new Co-op Live Arena, which is finally set to open this week following multiple delays (touch wood).
However, in an effort to keep broadcasters and the UFC‘s massive audience back in the US, the fight card will be starting until around 3am – and that’s at the very earliest.
Responding to the decision the Atherton-born and Salford-based fighter posted a video on his socials saying, “As a fan who wants to watch it live, I think it is absolutely terrible”.
He goes on to say that “it’s just not fair on the fans – the UK fans obviously. It’s predominantly an American audience so I understand that, they want to sell to them, but why can’t they sell to them in the afternoon which is our evening time?
While he admitted it “doesn’t make that much difference” to him as a fighter, the 31-year-old went on to ask, “Why can’t the American watch it in the afternoon and Manchester, the UK and European fans can all fly to the event and sell out this new arena?”
“I mean, it’s going to sell out regardless, mate”, Aspinall reiterated, adding that “we’re very lucky to have a pay-per-view event in Manchester” but that forcing the British audience and Mancs to watch something just down the road at a US-convenient time just doesn’t seem right.
There’s been plenty of backlash amongst MMA fans online too, with many stating that it simply goes to show that the UFC as an organisation “don’t care” about overseas supporters as much as they claim to.
As the current interim heavyweight champion, Aspinall will be right up at the top of the billing for UFC 304, which is the first time the event has been in the UK full stop since 2016.
We can only hope for similarly victorious scenes for the North West this July.
As for the shiny new venue, Co-op Live, after a fair few teething problems it looks like they are now on course to open just a week or so after the initial launch date. Not so bad.
Danny Jones -
22nd August 2023 
