Sport

Stockport County fans left ‘absolutely gutted’ after Aston Villa recall star player Louie Barry

'Thanks, Villa - that’s just ruined my Christmas'.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 23rd December 2024

Stockport County fans have been left with an early lump of coal in their Christmas stockings this festive period as loanee and first-team favourite Louie Barry has been recalled by Aston Villa.

After the announcement was delivered this past weekend, Barry is set to return to his parent club in January, leaving him with just three games left before he has to say goodbye to the Hatters.

Having impressed not only in his debut campaign with Stockport but going on to hit even greater heights to emerge as their star player this season, he’s quite literally been the match-winner more times than supporters will care to count as they prepare to bid him a reluctant goodbye.

Breaking the news to the Edgeley Park faithful on Sunday evening, the update may have been inevitable but it still came as a no less painful one that has frustrated many who believe it’s a “poor from Villa” and “unfair” both on the player and the club who desperately rely on him.

Having taken his goal contribution tally from 13 in 20 games throughout 2023/24 to having notched 15 goals and three assists in 22 appearances this season so far, there can be no question that Barry has found a comfortable second home at the League One club.

It’s come as a hard one to take for the fans who are all too aware of his potential. One person joked, “Thanks villa that’s just ruined my Christmas, All the best Louie”; another simply said, “Are you taking the p***?”, while a third dubbed him a “County legend”.

Many merely mustered the old adage, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. Thank you”, but to sum up the overall feeling, they’re simply “gutted” to be losing the super talented youngster.

One person even went so far as to write: “An absolute box office footballer and a pleasure to watch live Up there with Anthony Pilkington as the most talented footballer I’ve ever seen in a County shirt Thoroughly enjoyed every moment of watching him, will follow his career with great interest.”

Even fans of other teams have been sharing their sympathy, with more than one echoing the sentiment: “An absolute shame. Been brilliant for you but his talents do lie at a higher level. Presume he will be loaned to a Championship team for the second half of the season.”

In fact, there were plenty of Villa fans to be found in the comments too, all debating whether or not this will prove to be a “mistake”, with several asking “Why upset his rhythm?”.

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With the Birmingham-based side sitting in the European places once again in the top flight this season, the assumption is that Barry will most likely be loaned once again only to a Championship club to see at what level his ability is currently at.

Just as County will now be wishing they had, there’ll be plenty looking to snap the 21-year-old up on a permanent deal should they get the chance, with Leeds, Middlesborough and both Sheffield clubs all said to be interested.

On the other hand, with the Villans still in multiple competitions, they could be looking to bolster their squad with more numbers and given the success of youngsters like high-flying Jhon Durán, Morgan Rogers and Jacob Ramsey, they could be hoping to integrate him into the matchday squad.

However, the worry is that if he does stay at Villa Park and try to fight for first-team minutes, he could end up wasting valuable time sat waiting on the bench rather than continuing to thrive as he was at Stockport County. Regardless, the only saying still rings true: never get attached to a loan player…

Do you think Louie Barry was right to be recalled or is it a misstep from Villa?

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Featured Images — Screenshot via YouTube/Stockport County

Sport

Streamer AngryGinge ‘arrested and banned’ from Silvestone at the British GP

Danny Jones Danny Jones AngryGinge arrested at F1 British GP

Popular Manc influencer, ‘AngryGinge’, was arrested, fined and ultimately banned from Silverstone at this year’s British GP.

The Salford-born Twitch streamer, YouTuber and social media personality (real name Morgan Burtwhistle) was detained at the circuit after being arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

Ginge recently starred in Soccer Aid 2025 and is a well-known face both on the internet and in the sporting world, regularly working in and around football, and is an avid Manchester United – even featuring in the club’s third kit launch video last year.

The 23-year-old and two other fellow streamers, ‘Chazza’ and ‘Samham’, were accused of criminal damage after sitting in an F1 car whilst recording around the Silverstone complex.

According to reports, Ginge and his peers were alleged to have broken part of a display vehicle.

The local lad claimed they had been asked to pay £30,000 in compensation; national outlet talkSPORT has since confirmed the story with Northampton Police (NP) via an official statement.

“On Friday, July 4, NP received a report that a classic Formula 1 car on display at Silverstone Circuit during the British Grand Prix event had sustained several thousands of pounds worth of damage, which was alleged to have been caused by someone accessing the display stand and climbing into the vehicle.

“Officers carried out initial inquiries, and suspects were identified. Three men, aged 23, 25 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and taken into police custody.

“Following a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident, all three men were released with no further action.”

He and his friends have at least seen the funny side, sharing snaps from outside Northampton Justice Centre; Ginge even played ‘Locked Up’ by Akon as he walked out on stream in an orange jumpsuit.

Burtwhistle went into more detail on the incident on socials, explaining that the trio were taken away in handcuffs and “locked up” for several hours – 15 hours, according to SamHam (Samuel Imie).

All three individuals deny causing any damage to the racecar, even despite users sharing clips from the livestream footage captured for the Red Bull online Content on the day that many argue incriminates them, or at least sounds like it – we’ll let you watch and decide for yourselves.

Ginge himself went on to detail that ridculousness of the situation, explaining how he was effectively detained for watching someone else climb into the vehicle.

He’ll be dining out in this one for some time, you can be sure of that.

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Featured Images — Soccer Aid/angryginge13 (screenshot via Twitch)/Samham (via X)

Sport

Boxing legend Ricky Hatton is coming out of retirement after more than a decade

Danny Jones Danny Jones Ricky Hatton coming out of retirement for middleweight fight

Mancunian and British boxing legend Ricky Hatton MBE is coming out of retirement after more than a decade for his first competitive fight in 13 long years.

This is sure to be one to watch.

The Stockport-born and Hattersley-raised fighter first retired back in 2011, but did flirt with a comeback a year later in what turned out to be a one-off fight and defeat to 35-year-old Ukrainian welterweight, Vyacheslav Senchenko.

‘Hitman’ Hatton also got back in the ring for an exhibition match against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022, enduring eight two-minute rounds after a decade away from fighting, but now he’ll be undertaking an official fight over in the United Arab Emirates.

Lacing up his gloves at 46 years old, Hatton will be facing fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah (same age), who was the first professional boxer in the UAE.

The ‘Pride of Hyde’ may have been out of the competitive sporting sphere for a while, but he’s still remained an active figure in the boxing world.

In addition to training his son, Campbell, who has followed in his father’s fighting footsteps, Hatton has continued to coach other young boxing talents from his gym in Tameside, including John Hedges and Chloe Watson.

Campbell, 24, has won 14 of his 16 fights, losing just twice since he began in 2021.

Meanwhile, his dad – who still boasts a record of 45 victories from 48 matches, 32 of which were by knockout – will be once again focusing on getting himself back in fighting shape for the Dubai bout.

The local athlete has done plenty to dispel the old jabs of ‘Ricky Fatton’ in recent times, mind you, having taken his talents as a once-promising young footballer to play in the Manchester Remembers charity match, as well as the aforementioned Barrera exhibition.

Set for this winter, Ricky Hatton will face fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah in a middleweight contest on Friday, 2 December, telling national media via video call in the recent press conference that confirmed he would be coming out of retirement: “What you’re trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic.”

Meanwhile, Al Dah added: “It will be a true fight, true action. And I will do my best, because everybody in the UAE and the Gulf, they will watch this fight. The place will be sold out, and it will be watched around the world.”

Will those Haymakers still hit like they used to? Well shall see before the end of the year.

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Featured Images — Russell Harry Lee (via Flickr)/Eisa Al Dah (screenshot via Instagram)

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