Sport

Massive Mary Earps mural appears near Old Trafford as Nike refuses to sell her Lionesses kit

The outcry from fans demanding the shirts go on sale is getting louder and louder — and rightly so.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 28th July 2023

A massive new mural of Manchester United and Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps has appeared outside Old Trafford.

The mural — created in partnership with Sky Sports ahead of a new advert promoting the upcoming Women’s Super League season on 29 September — has appeared amidst a row between Nike and football fans, who are demanding that the sports brand puts her Women’s World Cup shirt on sale.

For anyone unaware of the ongoing scandal, there has been a massive outcry within women’s football and beyond after Nike, who manufacture the kits for both the Three Lions and England’s women’s team, confirmed that they would not be selling the female keeper kits for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Or any nation’s for that matter; 13 of the 32 teams competing in this year’s tournament wear kits made by Nike and yet the sportswear giant hasn’t made any of the countries’ goalkeeper kits available to buy, despite the interest in the women’s game being greater than ever — especially, here in the UK.

As a result, parents, little girls and football fans all around the country have been pleading for the brand to put her shirts, along with all the other ones, and to not only recognise her achievements at club level but in a showing of solidarity too, United fans have erected this massive mural right near the stadium.

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mary earps mural nike england kit drama explained
Credit: The Manc Group
The brand new ‘Welcome to Manchester’ Mary Earps mural painted along the way to Old Trafford.

Making the decision way back in April, Mary Earps has been at the forefront of campaigning for Nike to stock the shirts and reportedly even offered to cover the costs herself but the company has said it is not part of their “commercial strategy“.

Speaking ahead of the Lionesses’ opening win against Haiti, Earps told reporters, “I can’t really sugar-coat this in any way, so I am not going to try. It is hugely disappointing and very hurtful.”

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Explaining how England captain Mille Bright told her, “My niece is desperate to get your shirt, where can I get it?” and how she simply had to reply, “You can’t, it doesn’t exist.”, she said, “That is a huge problem and it is a scary message that is being sent to goalkeepers worldwide, that you are not important.

Having been voted FIFA’s Best Women’s Goalkeeper for 2022 and played a huge part in the Lionesses’ historic Euro 2022 triumph, Earps right went on to add: “My shirt on the Manchester United website was sold out last season. It was the third-best-selling shirt, so who says it is not selling?”

Earps on the ongoing Nike goalkeeper kit saga.

Earps went on to add: “It’s the young kids I am most concerned about. They’re going to say, ‘Mum, Dad, can I have a Mary Earps shirt?’ and they say, ‘No, but I can get you an Alessia Russo 23 or a Rachel Daly 9.’ What you’re saying is that goalkeeping isn’t important but you can be a striker if you want.

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“All my teammates have ordered a lot of shirts for their friends and family. They are talking about it at the dinner table: ‘Oh I wasn’t able to get this ‘…There are a lot of people who have spent a tremendous amount of money on outfield shirts and then put a number one and Earps on the back, which doesn’t sit well with me either.”

The 30-year-old Nottingham-born shot-stopper insisted it’s something she has been working on behind the scenes ever since the Euros, when the excuses she was given were, “It was Covid, manufacturing issues”, and yet there has still been little progress even with people putting pressure on the FA.

Earps admitted that she perhaps should have made a public statement earlier but said that even she had to check with her teammates that she wasn’t overreacting at which point they assured: “No, it’s absolutely unacceptable. We stand for inclusion and this is the total opposite of that. Why are we aligning with brands that don’t have inclusion at the centre? Why is it always about the bottom line?”

The love for Mary Earps and her story was there long before the mural.

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“Unfortunately, it has become very evident that is not possible and there is not going to be an acceptable solution for the young kids out there”, said Earps. “On a personal level, it is hugely hurtful considering the last 12 months especially. There has been an incredible rise in goalkeeping participation.”

From a fan perspective, they aren’t letting up and an official Change.org petition to sell Mary Earps England shirts both online and in shops has been set up. Presenter Laura Woods has also rallied behind the campaign, labelling Mary “one of [her] favourite England players” and the decision not to stock her kit “very weird“.

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The game is and has always been for everyone; no football fan, be it a little girl who dreams of being a goalie, a die-hard England fan or otherwise, should be made unable to wear their favourite player’s number and name on their back.

As echoed by the Lionesses themselves, it’s not even just about player representation either: it’s about equality for everyone and making sure little girls like Isabel can go out after school or on a weekend, pull on their favourite player’s shirt, feel like a footballer and like they can go and live our their dream.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — The Manc Group

Sport

All the free things you can get with a Great Manchester Run finisher’s medal this year

Danny Jones Danny Jones freebies for great manchester run 2025

What’s the best part about doing the Great Manchester Run, we hear you ask? All the freebies, of course. You’ll be glad to hear there are more free things than ever for finishers this year.

More than 35,000 runners are set to take on the challenge, be it the half marathon or the 10k, and we firmly believe every single one of these legends should be entitled to as much free stuff as possible.

If it were up to us, they wouldn’t pay for anything all day, but hey, we make don’t make the rules.

So yeah, without further ado, here are all the freebies you can get for taking part in the Great Manchester 2025.

Free stuff and offers for Great Manchester Runners to cop in 2025

Without further ado, here are a tonne of freebies, discounts and deals you can grab by simply flashing your finisher’s medals:

free cocktails great manchester run
salon madre cocktails
Credit: The Manc/Supplied
  • Dishoom – Complimentary 330ml Kingfisher/Kingfisher Zero (0.0%) for anyone with anyone dining with a finisher’s medal.
  • Blacklock – Free glass of fizz on us with your medal.
  • Maray –  Free glass of fizz/pint (or non-alcoholic beer/soft) for anyone with a medal who is dining on Sunday
  • Electric Shuffle – Free house wine, prosecco or pint for anyone with a 2025 medal.
  • Salon Madre – 2-4-1 margaritas all day Sunday for anyone with a race medal. 
  • Suki Suki – Free bao bun for anyone with a medal.
  • Refuge/Kimpton Clocktower Hotel – 100 free pints of Manchester Union Beer (first come, first served)
  • Hello Oriental – Discounted soft serve ice cream, plus a free beer or soft drink with any meal for all finishers
  • The Shack – Flash your medal to claim a free glass of Prosecco or beer, plus parties with medals get 20% off their food bill.
  • Dough Religion (House of Social) – half price slice at Manchester Jazz Festival on Sunday
Credit: The Manc Eats

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We’re sure a few free bits and bobs for half-marathon and 10k runners, but there are all the ones we’ve come across over the past week or so.

That being said, if you spot any, feel free to drop them in the comments and share the wisdom.

Last but not least, participants and spectators alike can find all the important information they need ahead of race day down below.

And just know, no matter how the day goes, we’re SO proud of you already!

Great Manchester Run guide 2025 – everything you need to know
Go and smash it.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group

Sport

The 81-year-old Red being forced to give up his seat after nearly half a cenutry

Danny Jones Danny Jones

We recently had a touching, albeit heartbreaking chat with one Michael Carney: the 81-year-old Manchester United fan who is being forced to give up his current seat after nearly half a century.

The lifelong Man United supporter has been going to Old Trafford since he was seven years old, meaning he’s spent nearly that same number in decades going to the iconic footballing arena, longer than most who currently attend the ground have been on thre planet.

Put simply, Michael has regularly attended matches for pretty much as long as he can remember and held a season ticket for the bulk of his adult life. His current seat in the old south end, now known as the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand, has been in his name for over 45 years – but not for much longer.

The die-hard Red was recently told that his particular part of the stand would be sacrificed to make way for new hospitality seats, a decision that supporters aren’t taking lightly. Some of you may have witnessed the protests in his section with your own eyes; even if not, millions have since seen this image:

Holding up the modest but emphatic sign, the message was clear: the current administration is favouring tourists and casual visitors over the so-called ‘legacy’ fans who have devoted their time and money to the club for generations.

The reverse of Michael’s sign read: “I was sat here before you were born”. Having moved from the old Cantilever Stand, a.k.a. ‘United Road’ (now where the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand is situated) to this particular seat back in 1979, that’s true for the majority of the INEOS Group now at the helm of the club.

Met with cheers from those sitting around him, especially those facing the same eviction, as well as countless others around the stadium when he held the sign aloft during the most recent Manchester Derby, his vocal but peaceful protest saw just as much coverage as any organised fan march.

Looking up to co-owner Jim Ratcliffe (who still wouldn’t fit into the same ticket age category as Carney, even at 72) and other members of the administration in the moment, Michael told us that those sitting in the executive seats refused to even acknowledge him and his peers.

Revealing that failed to offer so much as a glance down, merely making their “glum faces” very plain to see, he said his immediate feeling was one which many have echoed since they arrived: “They’re just puppets for the Glazers.”

Long before the days of wealthy billionaires and entire nation states splurging their cash on football clubs, Michael still remembers the simpler times in football; a time when players like Charlton, Law, Best and, most poignantly for him, often overlooked legends like Duncan Edwards were the story.

duncan edwards death newspaper clipping
He still has a newspaper clipping from the Munich Disaster.
duncan edwards man united shirt
Been there, got the shirt…
Back in those days, “you could smell the liniment and the red was so vivid” that you couldn’t help but pick United. (Credit: Supplied)

As most fans do, he still remembers his first game: it was a Saturday on 29 September 1951, when Matt Busby’s side took on Preston North End at Old Trafford and went on to lose 2-1.

Although he “cut [his] teeth” watching local non-league clubs around Cheshire back then, enjoying the likes of derbies between Northwich Victoria and Witton Albion, the joy of going to watch United for nine old pence as a junior with his uncle is a feeling that has stuck with him.

That being said, it’s fair to say he has little trouble recollecting even more recent history and big turning points, such as that first buyout back in 2005, pretty well.

Few could have predicted just quite how turbulent things would gradually become in the time since, but some certainly feared as much, and Carney isn’t the only one who now considers those same people as “visionaries” doing their best to warn their fellow supporters of a growing spectre.

Not only were they applauded by purists for splintering off and starting their own grassroots phoenix club, FC United of Manchester, but they also helped ward off the possibility of the leveraged buyout model as a threat to other teams in the future, as the attached controversy and debt only grew greater.

In short, as Michael summed it up, “I don’t think people realised just how bad it was going to get – they knew it was coming. Fergie hid it with results on the pitch, but with a lack of success even from last year, it’s increasingly evident how big a mess they’re in.”

michael carney ben carney man united fans
The next generation of matchgoing Carneys and fans, full stop – quite literally awe-inspired. (Credit: Ben Carney)

One of the biggest concerns, as he and many others see it, is the crowd itself and how decisions such as these imminent hospitality seats continue to chip away at the spirit within the stands.

For football lovers of Mike’s generation, in fact, the idea of going to both Man United and Man City (‘Purples’ as these matchgoers have often been referred to) wasn’t unheard of, and the main obstacle for him was just getting to those grounds from the not-so-nearby market town.

The love of beatiful game, pure and simple.

Fast forward some seven decades later, however, and when asked point blank if he felt the atmosphere had changed in the modern era, he couldn’t have answered quicker: “Oh yes, I think so – definitely.”

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Touching on the ‘forwarding membership’ debacle brought in for the 23/24 season, he carried on: “They’re trying to force people to refund their ticket so they can resell it [at an inflated price]; they’re just making it so difficult. They want the end-of-season ticket holders over 65, full stop, I believe.”

Perhaps the hardest thing for us to hear was when Michael told us: “I don’t feel part of the club at all, and I haven’t for a long time. It’s that feeling of not belonging and loss of feeling like part of a family – they’ve got to get that back.

“How they’re going to do that, I have no idea. I think they’re rotten from top to bottom.”

This becomes an even more bitter pill to swallow when you consider how football can play a part in local communities and families like the Carneys; for instance, without Michael, his grandson Ben may never have enjoyed truly unforgettable moments like these:

Conveying a genuine feeling of heartbreak behind his treatment, in one exasperated moment, he could only utter, “It used to be so simple…”, before going on to joke that if things keep going as poorly as they are on the pitch, they won’t have as many tourists to attract and “they’ll want people like me back.”

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We had the pleasure of speaking to Ben himself too, a fellow lifelong Red and now aspiring sports writer studying at UA92 (the further education facility set up by United legends) and he had no reservations in admitting that he owes his love the club, the sport and the magic of watching it live to Michael.

“To me, supporting United is a religion — a way of life”, he says. “It’s in my blood, and that’s all thanks to my grandad. This season, the troubling trends of the past decade have continued, both on and off the pitch, but never underestimate the stoic spirit that runs through Manchester United.

“Even in the bad times, we do it differently, and the chaotic win against Lyon was proof of that. As the chant goes: ‘Ruben Amorim, he’ll bring the glory days again.'”

Unfortunately, many well-meaning Reds, who also expressed their frustration with the club during that frankly bonkers game, have seen their memories of the night somewhat sullied.

Manchester United fan group call for full investigation into security after sit-in protest
Michael might be the oldest fan having to advocate for his own seat but he’s from the only United supporter holding up homemade signs.

Neverthless, without him, treasured memories in Ben’s life like Lyon, that PSG game in 2018/19, derbies both here in Manchester and when the Irwell flows into Merseyside – not to mention core, life-affirming experiences like ones seen above – may never have happened.

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He’s been here through the ups and downs and brought the next line of his kin, friends and numerous others along with him; he’s also stuck with the club through the big periods of transition in the past too.

Each time a new chapter has been turned, he’s refused to be left behind and still has all the passion to witness whatever comes on the next page, but its the club that seems to be trying to obfuscate that as they prepare to ultimately leave the Theatre of Dreams after more than 115 years.

The Northwich-born fan says that he understands the need for a new stadium, even though he believes “renovating would’ve been alright” – admittedly quipping that it’s already a bit like Trigger’s brush from Only Fools given how many different iterations of Old Trafford he’s already lived through.

He pointed out that “people probably said the same” back when the club then known as Newton Heath left Clayton’s Bank Street back in 1910, but did admit he wasn’t the biggest fan of the bold and controversial vision for it, which has been said to resemble a circus top by more than a few.

Being perceived as a somewhat fitting metaphor for modern-day Man United by fans, rivals and neutrals alike, “it was ready-made for the p***-takes”, says Michael, but you can gurantee that he’d be going their in full faith and getting behind his team – only the problem is it isn’t exactly up to him anymore.

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Michael text me not long after the full-time whistle following the incredible comeback against Lyon last month to joke, “Forget everything I said about them not being entertaining!”, even going on to rather sincerely apologise for what he feared was “too much ‘fings aren’t what they used to be’ chat.”

Like any truly loyal fan of a club, it doesn’t take much for him to be sucked back in and football cannot, under any circumstances, afford to take undying levels of support like this for granted. Without veterans like this, nights like the one now being set up against Spurs for the Europa League final just don’t exist.

When you factor in how much time, money and energy he’s sunk into travelling for games both home and away – getting trains from Northwich to Alty, then buses to the ground, coaches all over the country and even abroad to see his team play – circumstances like his imminent ousting feel all the more unjust.

He admitted himself that while he might not be around much longer to see the likes of the new stadium and maybe see finally win another league; to cheer on that next generation of youngsters onto the pitch and see a United reborn, he’s more than earned the right to spend every second he can at that ground.

Ruben’s reds might be going to Bilbao and, who knows, maybe they’ll even be back on track from next season, but one things for sure, they won’t get anywhere without true fans like Michael.

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Featured Images — Supplied

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