Jack Grealish has offered the perfect response after former player turned pundit Graeme Souness said he’d like to go out for a pint with him.
Phoning into to talkSPORT radio to try and dismiss the suggestion that he has an agenda against the Manchester City star, Souness said he has “absolutely no” problem with Jack and that he only has his manager to impress.
Defending his stance on the player, he added that outside of football and his professional critique, he’d “love a night out with him”. It was this comment that saw the City no.10 come up with the perfect reply.
🤣🤣 let’s do it!! As long as I can bring Pogba as a +1
As you can see, Grealish jokingly responded by saying ‘let’s do it!! As long as I can bring Pogba as a +1″. Well played, Jack, well played indeed.
If you’ve paid any kind of attention to football five years or so, the 69-year-old former Liverpool player has long-held a reputation for homing in on select players with his criticism, none more so than former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba. Well, only Pogba, really.
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Having taken umbrage with everything from his haircut and work rate to his style and perceived attitude on and off the pitch, the Scot’s seemingly unwavering problem with the Frenchman became one of the biggest football memes in history.
That being said, since Pogba left the Premier League it would seem the Brummy boy has become Souness latest target, labelling him a “precious” player and suggesting that he is “not a quick learner”.
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Their spat is now getting so much publicity in fact that even prior to his social media quip, the 27-year-old even took time out of training at the latest England camp to address the situation, insisting: “I don’t know what problem to he’s got”.
Explaining his criticism during the broadcast, Souness went on to argue that while he doesn’t have a problem with the “cheeky chappy”, he does thinks he “technically fantastic”, he still believes he’s “entitled to an opinion”.
He went on to argue that pundits can’t be critical of “modern players” these days, even citing the reaction to his own feud with Pogba and arguing he was proved “100% right at the end of the day”.
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Despite retaining his place in the England squad and opening his account in the league for City last weekend, Souness believes that there isn’t enough evidence to suggest that Grealish is among the “great” players in the Prem right now.
While he hasn’t been a regular starter for Pep’s side since arriving as the most expensive British signing of all-time, he is still one of the nation’s brightest talents and his international break would be a great opportunity to make a point.
Premier League Darts is returning to Manchester’s AO Arena in 2027
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Premier League Darts is confirmed to be returning to Manchester next year.
Now’s your chance to see the youngest world champion in darts history, AKA Warrington’s very-own Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler, show us how it’s done, as next year’s BetMGM Premier League Darts lineup has just been announced this week – with various dates confirmed across 17 different cities in the UK and Europe.
And Manchester is one of those cities, as the AO Arena has shared that they are set to host an evening next April, and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
This means that we will be lucky enough to witness the biggest names in world darts all under one roof, including headliners Gian van Veen and Luke Humphries, as well as Littler.
Manchester is the only northern city to get the pleasure of hosting the event next year, as Liverpool is also on the lineup, as is Leeds, Sheffield, and Newcastle, while elsewhere in the UK, the stars will travel to Glasgow, Birmingham, London, and several other major locations.
BetMGM Premier League Darts is to be held on Thursday 8 April at the AO Arena in Manchester, and to avoid being disappointed, fans are advised to register for presale ticket access.
Following a successful season of events in 2026, tickets are expected to be like gold-dust, so don’t say you haven’t been warned.
To access the first wave of tickets, fans must become an active PDCTV Annual Member before 23:59pm on Friday 9 October. Alternatively, general sale is on Thursday 22 October 2026, but make sure not to hang about.
Featured Image – Sandro Halank (via Wikimedia Commons)
Sport
Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has claimed he wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on fans getting to drink alcohol in football stands.
It’s a ban that’s been in place in the top five tiers of men’s football since 1985, when fears over violence and hooliganism were at their height, but now the Prime Minister has raised the question of whether drinking in football stands – or ‘drinking in sight / view of the pitch’, as it’s known formally – is actually unjust, due to the fact that same rules don’t apply to fans of other sports.
“I don’t think it’s fair for football fans to be singled out in that way,” Andy Burnham has declared this week, grabbing headlines in the process.
He continued: “I think that legislation dates to an era where football was very different, and I do believe there is a case to remove that discrimination.
“I’m not going to back away from what’s been a long-held view of mine. I don’t see how it can be fair that some supporters of one sport can be treated differently.”
The Prime Minister’s comments have been met with mixed response.
Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands / Credit: James Kirkup | Julia Nastogadka (via Unsplash)
The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), for example, has very much welcomed the idea, saying that it ‘totally agrees’ the legislation is ‘outdated’ and ‘deserves to be reviewed’.
Tom Greatrex, chair of the FSA, said in a statement: “The FSA has always argued that it’s unfair to criminalise football fans for having a pint while watching the match – especially since you can sit in the same seat drinking alcohol whilst watching an Oasis gig or rugby league.”
However, on the flip side, the UK Football Policing Unit said it would be ‘incredibly rash’ to change the rules without proper consultation.
“Other sports simply don’t see the violence and criminal behaviour from their supporters that football does, albeit a minority, with alcohol often playing a significant part in violent and disorderly behaviour,” it said in a statement on the matter.
The Prime Minister did state in his initial proposition though that ‘there are different ways it could be done’, hinting that it could be done ‘on a trial basis’ perhaps.
The English Football League (EFL) added that it would be ‘receptive to discussions around reviewing current legislation and permitting alcoholic drinks within view of the pitch’.
No formal details on a review have been confirmed as of yet, so fans are encouraged to stay tuned for updates in due course.
Danny Jones -
23rd September 2022 
