Sport
GB News’ ‘Alternative Match of the Day’ was so bad we’re convinced it was a parody
It didn't show any of the actual football, there were technical issue and since they couldn't actually analyse anything, the presenters just kept calling people 'woke'.
In a bit of guerilla broadcasting that absolutely nobody asked for, GB News decided to run their own ‘Alternative Match of the Day‘ programme on Saturday, just without showing any of the football…
That’s right, after the fallout from the BBC asking Gary Lineker to ‘step away’ from his duties on the football analysis show and UK TV institution, with his fellow pundits and presenters all standing in solidarity and boycotting the latest episodes, alternative media outlet GB News decided to step in.
However, since it is mainly BBC, Sky and BT that have the rights to the weekend’s action, their coverage could only go so far as showing a few still images of the games and a big graphic which read the title of the show while they listed the various scores.
Unbelievably, that wasn’t even the worst bit. Since they had no footage to watch back or actual sporting people to break down and analyse the matches with any real insight, they just resorted to repeating buzzwords from the ‘anti-woke’ thesaurus. Brace for cringe.
Right, seriously, what is actually happening?
While we won’t purport to have sat through this tripe, it seems as though the majority of the broadcast went on and on like this without anyone asking the question, “shall we talk about the football now?”, “whose idea was this again?” or “can you make it stop?”.
As one person remarked on Twitter, it was “kind of GB News to remind everyone how brilliant MOTD usually is”, but there was also some seriously problematic stuff on show too, with LGBTQ+ newsletter Out and Out Football noting that “while it’s fun to mock the fragile masculinity on show, the comment about Brighton being ‘full of rainbow flags’ is pure homophobia.”
Fortunately, as this brave soldier wrote in his caption, he “watched this sh*t so you wouldn’t have to”.
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It’s no wonder GB News reported losses of more than £31 million after just a year on air.
We don’t mind putting impartiality to the side on the odd occasion and sharing our unadulterated opinion on this one: we sincerely hope this is the last time GB News ever feels like they need to provide the UK’s footy fans and TV viewership an alternative Match of the Day. We assure you, we can do without it.
That being said, the latest development in the BBC boycott situation is that Gary Lineker is expected to return to presenting sport sometime soon with an apology from the corporation also being rumoured.
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Featured Image — GB News (via Twitter)
Sport
Both Manchester United and Manchester City named as teams with the least amount of local fans
Emily Sergeant
Both Manchester United and Manchester City have been identified as being teams with the least amount of local fans, according to a new survey.
We all know that supporting a local team can be seen as a mark of credibility among a certain kind of football fan, while on the flip side of that, not following a local team is often associated with being a ‘glory hunter’. But which Premier League clubs have the highest – and lowest – proportion of supporters living close to home?
Well, YouGov decided to use its profiles data to analyse the fanbases of all 20 Premier League clubs for the 2026-27 season to get the answer to this once and for all.
And it’s fair to say that it’s not looking the best for the Manchester teams.
The study found that, overall, Brighton & Hove Albion is the Premier League’s most local team – with 56% of fans based in the South East.
Sunderland (50%) and Nottingham Forest (49%) supporters are the next-most likely to live in the same region as their teams, followed by Aston Villa, Brentford, Ipswich, Leeds, Fulham, Hull, and Crystal Palace fans rounding out the top 10.
At the other end of the table, Manchester United has the second-lowest proportion of local supporters, with only a quarter based in the North West (23%), with one in six (17%) actually living in London instead.
And then as for Manchester City – who are widely considered to be the most successful team of the modern era – it has ranked fourth-bottom for local fans, as a quarter of the club’s supporters are based in the North West, with a fifth based in London (19%).
But although both United and City have found themselves towards the bottom end of the ranking, they are not the worst offenders.
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That title, unfortunately, does belong to another North West team though – Liverpool.
Liverpool is the club with the lowest proportion of ‘local’ supporters, as just a fifth are based in the North West (21%) with the next highest concentration of fans can being found in London.
Featured Image – Johnny Gios (via Unsplash)
Sport
Manchester Storm game postponed just one week after AO Arena return due to ‘technical issue with the ice’
Daisy Jackson
Manchester Storm’s second game back at the AO Arena had to be postponed over the weekend due to a ‘technical issue with the ice’.
The ice hockey team made a record-breaking return to the venue earlier this month, attracting some 11,000 fans to watch their match against Sheffield Steelers.
But just one week later, as Manchester Storm prepared to face off against The Nottingham Panthers, the game had to be postponed.
Fans were already inside the legendary venue when a ‘technical issue with the ice’ became apparent and the game was called off.
Manchester Storm and the AO Arena said they ‘sincerely apologise’ to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption.
The game has now been rescheduled to Wednesday 14 October, with tickets valid for the new fixture.
The full statement read: “Unfortunately today’s Manchester Storm game vs The Nottingham Panthers has been suspended due to a technical issue with the ice.
“We sincerely apologise to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption and would like to thank everyone in attendance for their patience.
“We advise attendees to retain their tickets which will remain valid for the rescheduled fixture.
“Those with single-game tickets for this game and seeking a refund are advised to contact their point of purchase.
“The rescheduled game will take place on Wednesday 14th October 2026.
“Manchester Storm and AO Arena would like to thank attendees for their understanding.”
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Featured image: Supplied
Danny Jones -
13th March 2023 
