Sport

Man United ‘meet with Kieran McKenna’ as reports claim Erik ten Hag will be sacked after FA Cup final

Some sources are now claiming that Erik ten Hag will be sacked following the FA Cup final - regardless of the result.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 24th May 2024

As Erik ten Hag’s time at Manchester United looks as though it may be at an end, it seems the club are looking at potential replacements, with sources stating that they have already met with former under-18s coach, Kieran McKenna.

The Ipswich Town boss – who was recently voted the LMA’s Manager of the Year after getting Ipswich Town back into the Premier League for the first time in 22 years – has suddenly become one of the most in-demand names in the country, being linked with Brighton, Chelsea and now Man United.

According to Sky Sports, United have already met with McKenna following his successful promotion campaign in the Championship (just his second year as a senior men’s coach), with representatives now making it apparent that he is on the list of candidates to succeed ten Hag if he departs.

Following the reports, the story has since been backed up by the likes of The Athletic, who confirmed that the club has already contacted McKenna’s representatives, with The Guardian already claiming that United are now set on sacking ten Hag regardless of whether they win or lose.

Reports go on to claim that the likes of outgoing Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel, Brentford coach Thomas Frank and recently sacked Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino have all been named on United’s most immediate shortlist, but several other names have been floating around in recent weeks.

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Other names linked with the job have included former German national coach Hansi Flick, Sporting Lisbon coach, Ruben Amorim, and even Gareth Southgate at times – though the England boss was quick to rubbish the rumours ahead of Euro 2024 as “disrespectful”.

Speaking of paper talk before big games, it’s fair to say that the links with McKenna and talks around ten Hag come at a fairly awkward time for the club, with United taking on recently re-crowned Premier League champions Man City in just the second-ever Manchester derby FA Cup final this weekend.

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He was careful to be coy in an interview with Sky earlier this week, where he insisted the speculation is inevitable but that his focus is on “the future ahead” and looking back at what his side has achieved over the past two seasons, but the latest on ten Hag’s rumoured status at the club could change things.

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With McKenna securing back-to-back promotions with Ipswich, lifting them out of League One and now into the English top flight within just two seasons at the club, it’s clear that he’s gone on to become an adept coach in the short time since he left United.

Having been praised heavily for his work amongst the youth ranks and going on to become a key assistant during the best days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s rollercoaster reign, it was long thought that McKenna was largely underrated – and that evaluation is now looking more convincing than ever.

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All that being said, this is all overlooking the assumption that the 38-year-old Irishman is the frontrunner and if he even feels he is ready to take the job, or that the likes of Chelsea won’t tempt him with a more convincing and immediate offer given that they are currently without a coach full-stop.

Let’s just say that if reports are to be believed, whether anything goes ahead between him and his former employers could very well come down to whether Wembley is lit up red or blue tomorrow evening – unless they haven’t been decided already, that is.

Manchester United are declining to comment on whether or not a decision has been made regarding Erik ten Hag’s future.

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Featured Images — Wikimedia Commons/Man United (via Instagram)

Sport

The annual Manchester Remembers Foundation charity football match has shut down

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester Remembers charity game 2025 cancelled

The annual Manchester Remembers charity football match has been cancelled for 2025, and unfortunately, the wider Foundation has also shut down for the foreseeable.

Set up back in 2020, the Manchester Remembers charity game was created to help raise funds for the families of those lost in the tragic 2017 Manchester Arena attack, raising nearly £200,000 in donations for multiple organisations.

It has been a truly treasured community event across Greater Manchester, welcoming thousands to the likes of Manchester City Academy Stadium and Oldham Athletic‘s Boundary Park, as well as spotlighting local musicians and notable figures volunteering their help for a deeply important cause.

However, the Foundation is now set to hang up its boots. Confirming the news over the bank holiday weekend, founders Aaron Lee and Paul Corrigan shared “a difficult statement to make and a decision not taken lightly.”

As explained in the lengthy and emotional post, it is with a “heavy heart” that this year’s charity match has now been officially cancelled, and tickets already purchased up to this point are now being refunded.

Having played a small part in helping spread awareness around the game and the Foundation since it began, we were gutted to learn of this sad news.

The 2025 MCR Remembers game was scheduled to take place this June at a new venue for the event, Bury FC’s home ground at Gigg Lane, but following what they have labelled “a lack of support” from Greater Manchester leaders and “influential people needed to carry the event forward.”

Lee – a former police officer turned firefighter who was one of the emergency responders on 22 May, 2017 – went on to share a follow-up video reflecting on the announcement.

As he puts in the piece to camera, he says that even if those who had been reached out to in recent times were to suddenly respond, that it is “sadly too late.”

Taking time to thank not only past sponsors, managers, ex-pros and celebrity players who have been part of the event in the past, but everyone who bought tickets to the event(s) over the past few years, stating simply: “We cant thank you enough.”

Lee, who was given both a Chief Fire Officers Commendation and British Citizen Award in 2024, went on to address those “so-called leaders and influential people” in a subsequent post, adding: “All we needed was a bit of help. But we were ignored. Thanks for the memories.”

Unsurprisingly, the comments on social media have been awash with messages of love, support and sadness upon learning of this year’s cancellation and the end of The Manchester Remembers Foundation after more than half a decade.

There is some hope, though, as he ends the video by saying, “Who knows if this is the end or not? […] I dare say we’ll be back at some point.” We can only keep our fingers crossed he’s right and the MCR Remembers charity game won’t be shut down for good.

Manchester will always remember.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group/Manchester Remembers Foundation

Sport

25,000 free footballs are being given away across the UK

Danny Jones Danny Jones Barlcays bank giving 1000 free football across the UK

A total of 25,000 free footballs are up for grabs this month as part of a new scheme from Barclays, who are giving them away to mark a special anniversary.

The British multinational universal bank, which boasts over 850 branches and more than 48 million customers worldwide, has been supporting the beautiful game for a quarter of a century now and has been the primary Premier League sponsor since the 2001/02 season.

Approaching 25 years helping fund and promote English football, they’ve come up with a new initiative to celebrate, simply called the ‘Lost Ball Project‘.

We’ve all seen scenes like these before.

barclays free footballs
lost ball project
Credit: Barclays (supplied)

Tapping into the national and generational memory of losing a ball to a pond, up a tree, over a fence or on a roof and so on, Barclays are making up for those heartbreaking little losses – one ball at a time.

Lost Ball will see the bank give away 25k footballs across the UK, with Barclays customers able to claim a free ball for themselves or someone else who has lost theirs.

Already up and running, the scheme is off to a flyer and free footies will be available until Thursday, 22 May, so we wouldn’t wait around.

The bank has played an integral role throughout the British football pyramid for decades now, sponsoring to only the Premier League but also the WSL, Barclays Women’s Championship; the Northern Irish Women’s Football Association, Scottish Women’s Championship and the Scottish Women’s League One

They’ve even put together this emotive, albeit a bit tongue-in-cheek video:

Excellent song choice.

As they put it, the mission of the Lost Ball Project is simple: “Let’s keep the nation playing the beautiful game. Because there’s no football without grassroots football.”

In addition to backing established leagues, they have continued to support the country’s footballing community at large, especially in terms of the women’s game.

For instance, the Barclays Girls’ Football School partnership with The FA has seen the number of participating schools rise from 3,000 in 2019 to 20,000 in 2024, helping more than 2.5 million schoolgirls access football.

Important work done from the ground up.

Credit: Supplied

Barclays’ Group Head of Sponsorship, Tom Corbett, said in a statement: “We are immensely proud of our pioneering work and funding to grassroots football over the past 25 years.

Giving away 25,000 balls to replace our customers’ ‘Lost Balls’ means they will never be without the one thing you need to be able to play the game we’ve supported at Barclays for all these years.”

If you bank with the group, you can find out how to claim your free football HERE.

We quite fancy a kick around now.

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Featured Images — Barclays (supplied)

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