Sport

Macclesfield FC announce signing of National League player from local rivals

He's swapping Greater Manchester for Cheshire.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 13th January 2026

After their magical FA Cup victory this past weekend, Macclesfield FC have followed up the good news by announcing the signing of a player not only from the division above, but one leaving an old rival club here in the North West.

What a time to be a fan of The Silkmen.

Yes, just a couple of days after knocking out the holders, Crystal Palace, and progressing to the next round, Macclesfield were jokingly being linked with all manner of talent, from Messi to Bruno Fernandes, but they have still managed to secure a new player in the middle of the park from the National League.

Dropping down a level to the sixth tier of English football, the now ex-Altrincham FC midfielder Elliot Osborne has been officially unveiled, swapping red stripes for blue and white.

Confirmed on 12 January, the 29-year-old Port Vale academy graduate is no stranger to the region, having previously represented the likes of Nantwich Town, Tranmere Rovers, Southport and two loan spells at Stockport County.

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Born in Stoke-on-Trent and spending several years up and down the EFL, as well as various non-league teams, he joined Alty FC back in 2022 and went on to make nearly two centuries’ worth of appearances.

However, despite playing a key role for The Robins – competing in the 2023/24 playoffs and even helping former employers beat his new ones at Macclesfield in an FA Trophy penalty shoot-out just last season – the captain was released from the local club by mutual consent this month.

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Commenting on his arrival, the club said in a statement: “The combative, hard-working midfielder adds great experience to the Silkmen midfield ranks.

“Please join us in giving Elliot a warm welcome to the Leasing.com Stadium, and we wish him every success during his time with the Silkmen.”

It remains to be seen how much more business the formerly Robbie Savaged backed and managed side will do in the remainder of the January transfer window.

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Despite having limited resources, currently placed 14th in the National League North, it’s fair to say there’s been so fresh interest in the project following their ‘David and Goliath’ story.

The aforementioned ‘cup-set’ against Palace has quickly gone down as one of the competition’s most memorable and magical ties in recent memory, and Osborne will no doubt be looking forward to seeing how far they can go in the knockout tournament.

You can watch his first interview in full down below.

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Featured Images — Silkmen TV (screenshot via YouTube)/Macclesfield FC (via X)

Sport

Wayne Rooney expresses interest in joining Manchester United’s coaching staff

Danny Jones Danny Jones Rooney wants to help assistant coach with Carrick at Man United

In another unexpected twist in the Manchester United manager saga, club and England legend Wayne Rooney has expressed interest in returning to Old Trafford and potentially joining their coaching staff.

Man United’s all-time leading goalscorer is one of half a dozen different former players to have been linked with either the top job or a backroom role following Ruben Amorim’s departure.

This most recent development comes after Rooney was discussing ex-midfielder Michael Carrick, now being reported as United’s frontrunner to become the next head coach.

Speaking on his self-titled BBC podcast, the retired Premier League icon turned coach and now pundit, didn’t hesitate when asked about the prospect, simply replying: “of course I would” – dubbing the decision as “a no-brainer.”

Rooney’s last coaching job was that of Plymouth Argyle manager, which ended in December 2024 following a run of poor results, much like his time at Birmingham City earlier that year.

Since then, he’s bounced around between punditry and broadcasting, serving as a guest on the likes of The Overlap with his old teammates and peers, as well as now co-hosting his own aforementioned pod, The Wayne Rooney Show.

However, the 40-year-old has always insisted that he still wants a future in coaching, and while it may not have worked as a full-time first-team boss just yet, perhaps more of an assistant position or more specific post (maybe training the forwards as Benni McCarthy did) could be a better fit for now.

‘Wazza’ admitted that, even despite having been on holiday with Carrick “last week”, no one could have expected this situation to have emerged, and certainly not this quick a turnaround.

Moreover, Rooney insisted that rather than preferring any particular person for the next interim head coach/United manager or to join the wider staff, he simply believes that they need “people who know the club” inside and out.

He isn’t the first to have accused the global sporting franchise of losing its ‘identity’ in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, and many seem to believe that getting in familiar faces who were at the club during its heyday could help resolve that issue.

This was obviously pretty much the thinking when Ole Gunnar Solskjær not only became interim head coach but got the job on a permanent basis after they began looking more like the confident, attacking teams of old and like they were enjoying their football again. Though we all know how it ended.

Solskjær did look to be leading the race to return to Old Trafford for a second spell as manager initially, but it now looks as though Michael Carrick is the odds-on favourite to replace Amorim in the interim, with the suggestion that one might still assist the other.

Carrick certainly received a good amount of praise during his time at Middlesbrough, and while his time there didn’t end perfectly, either – parting ways after missing out on the playoff spots once again – there seems to be a belief that he, whether flanked by others or not, is the right choice for United at this time.

Once again, there is talk of current temporary caretaker Darren Fletcher remaining with the first team in some capacity rather than simply returning straight to the under-18s, but only time will tell who will be involved. Nevertheless, it now looks nailed on that Carrick will be in the dugout for the derby day.

Manchester United fans planning another major protest amid more upheaval around the club
For most supporters, the manager merry-go-round is far from the root of the problem.

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Featured Images — Gordon Flood (via Flickr)/The Wayne Rooney Show (screenshot via BBC)

Sport

Manchester United issue statement after Bruno Fernandes’ social media is hacked

Danny Jones Danny Jones Man United issue statement after Bruno Fernandes social media account is hacked

Manchester United were forced to issue an official statement following Bruno Fernandes’ social media being hacked.

The Man United star’s digital profile was hijacked in the wake of the defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion this weekend, which saw the Red Devils knocked out of the FA Cup and, it’s fair to say, quite the flurry of activity online.

As if to add insult to injury, with United‘s exit from the competition, a user then commandeered the club captain’s presence to share several fake posts.

With the official Bruno Fernandes X account being targeted following the game, the club had no choice but to respond after several controversial and/or inappropriate posts, not to mention multiple instances of general anti-ownership sentiment.

In case you didn’t see any of the since-deleted posts, besides one understandably troublesome comment which read, “let’s get rid of INEOS“, others were even more provocative/inflammatory.

The comments ranged from everything between messages @ing darts player and United fan Luke Littler to influencers like KSI and Jake Paul.

Offensive language was also present in many of them.

As for the Portuguese midfielder, he also quickly clarified that he obviously had no involvement in the activity; meanwhile, despite plenty of players coming out to apologise for the defeat on Sunday night, the skipper is yet to address the disappointment directly.

The loss to Brighton confirmed that Manchester United will be playing just 40 games for the rest of the campaign – the fewest since the 1914/15 season (i.e. at the outset of the First World War) – which serves as yet another unwanted record for the club of late.

You can see the highlights for the game down below.

It is also likely to have been caretaker manager Darren Fletcher’s final game in charge of the Reds, with an interim replacement set to be appointed imminently following Ruben Amorim’s shock sacking earlier this month.

While a number of candidates quickly emerged as the potential full-time replacement, it now looks as though former player and previous temporary head coach, Michael Carrick, is currently leading the race for the top job.

His predecessor, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, also looked like the frontrunner at one point – and could still be involved in a backroom setup – but The Athletic now has it that Carrick could be is odds-on favourite to be announced before the Manchester derby.

Nevertheless, plenty of supporters still feel the problems remain deeply rooted throughout the club and that a change of personnel among the coaching staff still may not be enough…

Manchester United fans planning another major protest amid more upheaval around the club

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Featured Images — Sky Sports Premier League (screenshot via YouTube)

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