Sport

Jadon Sancho returns to Carrington after two months of separate training

Rashford-esque resurgence incoming?

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 18th January 2023

Manchester United forward Jadon Sancho has returned to full training after two months away from his teammates, with the Reds set to face Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening.

The 22-year-old is said to have returned to first-team training on Tuesday, according to United We Stand editor and journalist Andy Mitten, who reported that the United winger and England international completed has now completed an extensive personal training programme.

Sancho dropped out of the side and first-team set-up altogether back in October after he was subbed off during the 1-1- draw with Chelsea and has been training separately from the rest of the squad since the start of November.

The former Man City and Borussia Dortmund man’s drop-off in form saw him sadly miss out on a place in the Three Lions squad for the 2022 World Cup, but he’ll be no doubt looking to eye a comeback in the second half of the season — especially with that number seven shirt now vacant.

Back in November, it was revealed that Sancho had begun a special regime in the Netherlands, even being pictured taking part in private training sessions with Dutch amateur club OJC Rosmalen.

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Earlier this month, manager Erik ten Hag confirmed that Sancho has since returned to United’s AON Training Complex at Carrington but was still “not fit enough” to make a comeback just yet.

He went on to explain that the issue was “physical, but physical is also the connection with mental”, adding that “he is now making good progress on the physical part and that will help him.

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Shortly after, he told reporters covering United’s FA Cup tie with Everton that “[he] would like Jadon back as soon as possible”, but added that “footballers are not robots” and fans must be patient as “everyone needs an individual approach”.

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That tailored man-management certainly seems to have worked for the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw and main man Marcus Rashford, in particular, who has gone from a player previously lacking in self-belief to one bursting with confidence and enjoying the best form of his career.

It seems unlikely that Sancho will be reintroduced to the matchday squad even as a substitute so soon — especially with United enjoying a strong run of nine straight victories and 10 consecutive home wins in all competitions — but you never know.

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New loan signing Wout Weghorst will also be hoping to be in with a shout of his debut against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, having now completed his first full training season for the club.

Could we see cameos from one or both?

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Featured Image — Manchester United (via Twitter)/Jadon Sancho (via IG)

Sport

Manchester United in talks with Disney over ‘multi-million-dollar documentaries’ deal

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester United talking to Disney Plus about documentary deal

Manchester United are said to be in talks with Disney over a potential deal to create a number of “multi-million-dollar documentaries”.

Just a week or so after the first trailer for their upcoming 99 series on Amazon Prime Video, which will follow their iconic treble-winning campaign – and only a couple weeks after Manchester City dropped their own over on Netflix – it looks like we’re getting more Manchester football media.

As per the report by The Athletic‘s Adam Crafton, the discussion between the footballing icons and entertainment giants centres around the proposal to make multiple documentaries about the club, with a specific focus on Sir Alex Ferguson and the legacy he left behind.

With Disney+ now the third biggest streaming service available, boasting more than 150 million subscribers according to the most recent estimates, and Man United still one of the most instantly recognisable brands on the planet, it goes without saying that the viewing figures would be huge.

Man United and Disney are reportedly exploring a collaboration for multiple documentaries.

The article goes on to detail how the prospective documentaries would also ideally involve “substantial interview time with Ferguson”, the now 82-year-old former manager and footballing legend who won a total of 38 trophies in 26 years as the Man United boss.

Disney would reportedly also be given access to the club’s wealth of archive footage along with key ambassadors and figures from their rich sporting heritage, including former captain Bryan Robson, goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and more.

We’d be surprised if you didn’t see plenty of David Beckham, Gary Neville and other Class of ’92 members involved as well, sitting as arguably the most iconic and foremost serial winners in their history.

As the plans are still in their infancy, Ferguson and his former players would need to formally agree to be part of the documentaries and United would have their say over final edits.

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It is said that the current deal on the table is “in the low seven figures” and is actually lower than the terms originally offered to the club when the idea was first floated a couple of years ago.

There is still no indication as to how many projects could be in the pipeline or when we might see the first released if/when a deal is agreed upon.

As for out on the pitch itself, it’s been a turbulent season for the Red Devils, to say the least, but they have still managed to secure a place in the FA Cup final for the second year running following a game they made difficult for themselves against Coventry City.

Set to be just the second Manchester derby final in history, kick-off has once again been moved to an earlier start time to aid with travel issues and potential crowd problems.

FA Cup final confirmed for 3pm kick-off time as Metropolitan Police stress safety for fans

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Featured Images — Hquan2508 (Wikimedia)/Disney UK/minhquangle87 (Flickr)

Sport

FA Cup final confirmed for 3pm kick-off time as Metropolitan Police stress safety for fans

Danny Jones Danny Jones 2024 FA Cup final kick off time confirmed for 3pm

The start time for the 2023/24 FA Cup final has officially been confirmed with holders Manchester City and challengers Manchester United set to kick off at 3pm on Saturday, 25 May.

It’s a Manc final for the second year running and yet another Manchester Derby this year as City beat Chelsea on penalties to try and defend one of their trophies from last season and Man United did just about enough to scrape through against Coventry City this past weekend.

Logistics and travel arrangements for the conclusion of last year’s FA Cup proved problematic, with the Metropolitan Police stressing that they needed the schedule brought forward to try and help curb crowd trouble – the first time the final had been reverted back to a traditional 3pm start since 2011.

Kick-off times for the knockout tournament have varied for the last three finals, having taken place at 4:45 and 5:15pm in the two years prior to 2023’s first-ever all-Manchester final, but it looks as though the same rationale has been put in place once again.

The kick-off time for the FA Cup final has been confirmed for 3pm.

As per an official statement by the FA, the final has now been officially confirmed as 3pm BST which has been agreed with local authorities, members of the Safety Advisory Group and broadcasters, as well as with the clubs who must take the time needed for fans to travel to and from Wembley into consideration.

While pockets of fighting broke out before and after the game last year, it was deemed that this time would still be the best kick-off time for all parties involved and there will, of course, be an increased police presence in London for the game next month.

Although prioritising safety comes as welcome news, it’ll no doubt prove to be a blow to broadcasters who prefer later kick-offs when eyeing up peak audience numbers; the game is also set to clash with ITV’s coverage of the rugby as the Investec Champions Cup final is also due to start at 2:45pm. 

With last season’s historic FA Cup final being the first time the two sides had met in the final in the entire history of the oldest competition in all of football, it rounded off a massive year of viewing figures for the tournament which has continued to hit record numbers in 2024.

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The game will once again be shown live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and ITV1; ITVX, UTV, as well as STV, and there will no doubt be huge screenings of the game all over Greater Manchester, where an increased police presence is also expected.

With Man City having dropped out of the Champions League, this year’s FA Cup final could see them defend the first of their treble for last season. As for their fierce and historic rivals, this is the second year in a row that both United’s men’s and women’s teams have made it to their respective FA Cup finals.

Is it going to be back-to-back FA Cups for the Blues or are the Reds going to make it two trophies in Erik ten Hag’s first two seasons?

Featured Images — @brentflanders (via Flickr)/FA Cup (via X)

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