Sport

Manchester United’s Stadium Sleep Out returns for 2025

Always a special night at the Theatre of Dreams.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 2nd September 2025

Man United have announced the return of the annual Stadium Sleep Out for 2025, with a bigger fundraising target than ever.

Following a hugely successful inaugural edition back in 2022, the now annual Stadium Sleep Out at Old Trafford is back for another year, with more eyes on the crucial charity event than ever.

Manchester United by name and by nature – just like always.

Confirming the date for the first stadium sleepover as the colder months approach, people from all over Greater Manchester are being invited to come and help generate money for the local homeless community.

For anyone unfamiliar with the fundraiser, United supporters, general football fans and all manner of Mancs are encouraged to come and take part in the Sleep Out that is held under the lights of the famous football ground.

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Raising funds in support of relevant local charities that not only help homeless people throughout the North West and beyond, but have a special focus on vulnerable young adults, to amounts generated go towards helping rough sleepers around the region.

A cause we’re sure you’ll agree we can all get behind.

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Holding the third sleep-out last winter, the United Foundation smashed its previous tally and is now aiming for even bigger numbers.

Dare we say £50k is on the cards?…

Manchester United’s latest Stadium Sleep Out raises £30k for the homeless and vulnerable young people
Make that more like £40,000 raised with Centrpoint last year.

Speaking on the most recent iteration of the Stadium Sleep Out, former academy graduate and now retired pro Danny Simpson told The Manc: “I’m a local boy, so it means something to me to try and help my community in any way I can.

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“I’ve seen first-hand the positive impact the Foundation has, and it’s been great to hear about the work they’re doing – it’s been a really positive night.”

Not only is it a touching way to try and raise money for a national crisis, but it’s a window into the prevailing hardships of homelessness.

All participants must be 18 years of age or older, but if you’re interested in swapping your bed for a sleeping bag on 7 November, you can find out more HERE.

Truly heartwarming scenes.

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Featured Images — Manchester United Foundation

Sport

Manchester City star Bernardo Silva weighs in on growing fixture list congestion concerns

Danny Jones Danny Jones Bernardo Silva says fixture list congestion is unfair

Manchester City star Bernardo Silva has become the latest Blue and high-profile Premier League player to weigh in on growing concerns around the increasingly congested fixture list.

Silva’s comments come after Man City ended up conceding an equaliser to walk away with a draw instead of three points in what was already tipped as a title-challenging clash between Pep Guardiola and his protégé, Mikel Arteta, whose Arsenal side managed to score in stoppage time.

The number of games was a big talking point after the game – as it has been on multiple ocassions over the past year or so – and captain Bernardo Silva was one of the most outspoken on the matter following the full-time whistle.

Addressing the media during his post-match duties, the ‘Cityzen’ and Portugal midfielder said the current playing schedule is “not right” and is simply untenable for footballers to keep up with. You can see the full clip down below.

He gave an extensive response to the ongoing debate.

Speaking with multiple media outlets, the 31-year-old began by clarifying that his statements were not because his team lost, but because “the reality is we cannot come to one of the most important games [against title rivals Arsenal] in the season with such a disadvantage, in terms of rest.

“It’s not fair to play one of these games like this, it’s just not right”, says the Man City man. “[Arsenal] had five days, we had two and a half. In one of the most important games, this cannot happen.

“I wasn’t feeling in a perfect condition to play, and people who have not played at the highest level don’t know how it feels to play a game like this.”

Targeting his response at the likes of UEFA and those in charge of the current and undeniably full-on schedule, specifically, Silva said: “They don’t listen to us – it is what it is. We would like to change something, but it never changes.

“It doesn’t really matter, but for the fans, for the respect of the clubs, and for the fairness of the competition, I don’t think what happened was good…”

“The schedule is the schedule, and I understand you have different competitions and UEFA, the Premier League, and broadcasters want to make their money; we don’t mind playing every three or four days, and don’t mind playing 60 games – we’re used to that, but what we ask for is common sense.”

It looks like City are putting up a united front on the matter, with Pep Guardiola sharing similar sentiments on Sky Sports (a question he quite clearly resented), stating that his squad were “incredibly tired” even going into the game.

As for the City skipper, he went on to reiterate: “This is one of the biggest games of the season. It’s not because of us, I don’t think they’re trying to make us lose – it could happen to Arsenal or Liverpool in a few months…

You need to have a bit of common sense and understanding of these situations, and in such an important game, players need to be in the same physical conditions; otherwise, I don’t think it’s fair.

In short, the senior City deputy and Portuguese international said he could tell the difference in the two teams’ fitness levels in the first half, adding: “If you play at the highest level, you know two days playing against one of the best teams in the league, away, with the travel, you need at least one more day to recover.

“It doesn’t matter if Arsenal had four, five or six days [to recover], just give us one more day, and that gives us three-and-a-half days, then you make it an even game. Two-and-a-half days is not enough to recover our bodies and perform at the highest level…”

Do you agree with Bernardo Silva and so many other players’ opinions on the fixture list congestion?

Manchester City star Rodri warns that players are ‘close’ to going on strike over too many games

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Featured Images — soccer.ru)/Sky Sports/NBC Sports (screenshot via YouTube)

Sport

Viral Manchester United fan attacked by fellow Red after ‘needless’ behaviour inside Old Trafford

Danny Jones Danny Jones Man U supporter attacks United Strand fan not pulling hair

A Manchester United fan who has gone viral for his haircut strike stunt was involved in an incident at Old Trafford this weekend after another supporter attacked him.

Known online as ‘The United Strand’, Man United fan Frank Ilett has famously vowed not to cut his hair until his team win five games in a row.

The 29-year-old was in attendance for United’s fiery clash against Chelsea, which not only saw a very unwelcoming reception for Alejandro Garnacho on his first return to the stadium, but also ended in two red cards and plenty of flare-ups on the pitch.

However, scrapping up in the concourse caught plenty of attention, too; Ilett was grabbed by another fan by the hair and yanked around for several seconds. You can see the clip down below:

As you can see, he remains remarkably calm throughout the entire unprovoked ordeal and looks to have been a very popular figure around the ground up until this moment.

Countless other Reds were chatting with him and grabbing selfies before the as-yet-unidentified male approached him and began grabbing him by the hair.

Frank initially looks like he thinks it’s nothing more than a jokey tug and bit of teasing, as do many others in the immediate vicinity, before it becomes abundantly clear that the aggressive individual intends to do him harm.

After being pulled apart, the attacker can be heard shouting, “F*** off, I’ll do what I f*****g want! He’s not a United f*****g fan…”

Luckily, plenty more right-minded supporters close by were on hand to help in the moment and keep him away from Frank; we only hope he was immediately reported to security soon following the altercation.

Now approaching nearly a full year of not cutting his hair until his team, he shared his most recent video update this morning, opting not to go into the ordeal at this time, adding instead: “I’ll talk about it a bit more some other time.”

Originally from Oxford but now living in Spain, Frank travelled back to England specifically to attend the match with fellow recognisable online fan and music artist, Humz – it’s just sad that an otherwise much-needed win was somewhat soured by the assault.

Unsurprisingly, his attacker has been quickly condemned by the majority of other fans who identified the behaviour as nothing short of unacceptable and nothing short of criminal.

One person commented: “The United Strand lad is such a lovely lad, this guy with the bald head is well out of order, and I suppose he is jealous of him because he is popular! What a f*****g w****r!”

It’s worth noting that Frank Ilett started the self-imposed challenge of refusing to cut his hair not only as just a silly bit of fun but as a unique way of generating funds for The Little Princess Trust, who help raise money and supply real-hair wigs to young people who have lost their hair through cancer.

He also helped raise money for the crucial mental health charity, Mind, and even appeared as a guest on The Last Leg to help raise further awareness.

Manchester United has yet to issue any kind of statement addressing the situation; in the meantime, we hope Frank isn’t too shaken up by the whole thing, and we’ll simply direct you to his JustGiving page, where you can donate to the charity HERE.

You can see the highlights from Man United’s much-needed win over Chelsea here.

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Featured Images — The United Strand/@StokeyyG2 (via X)/Humz (via Instagram)

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