Marcus Rashford has taken to Twitter this morning to share a hard-hitting thread of tweets that is once again seeing him receive overwhelming public support.
The 22-year old Manchester United forward is asking MPs to #maketheUturn on closing the free school meals scheme over the summer holidays.
Rashford, who has partnered with the charity FareShare and has helped raise over 20 million pounds to feed around three million vulnerable children across the UK during lockdown, published an open letter urging government officials to take action on Sunday evening.
The letter garnered mass public response and discussion.
An Open Letter to all MPs in Parliament…#maketheUturn
Now, Rashford is currently trending number one on Twitter across the country this morning after a series of follow-up tweets which come after the government announced in response yesterday afternoon that it will not continue the free school meals scheme over the summer holidays.
ADVERTISEMENT
A Department for Education spokesperson stated yesterday that: “Free schools meals are ordinarily term time only, and the national voucher scheme will not run during the summer holidays.”
“However, as announced this week by the Prime Minister, the local authority welfare assistance scheme will provide help those to who are struggling to afford food and other essentials due to the impact of COVID-19. £63 million pounds is being allocated to this important project.”
ADVERTISEMENT
We aren’t beaten yet, stand strong for the 200,000 children who haven’t had a meal to eat today and keep retweeting ? #maketheUturn
2. When you turn on your kettle to make a cup of tea or coffee think of those parents who have had to default on electricity bill payments just to make ends meet having lost their jobs during the pandemic#maketheuturn
After posting the series of tweets this morning, Rashford once again called upon the public to “keep this noise going” and continue to keep the topic trending.
He said: “We are trending no 1 and 2 in England. I need everyone’s help to keep this noise going as I head to training but before I go, to ALL MPs in Parliament, this is not about politics.”
“The same way us players put rivalry aside when we put the England shirt on, please”.
ADVERTISEMENT
We are trending no 1 and 2 in England. I need everyone’s help to keep this noise going as I head to training but before I go, to ALL MPs in Parliament, this is not about politics. The same way us players put rivalry aside when we put the England shirt on, please #maketheuturn
The UK government is expected to formally respond to Marcus Rashford in due course.
A spokesperson for Boris Johnson confirmed that Rashford will receive a response from the Prime Minister “as soon as possible”, with the footballer being praised by Downing Street for “using his profile in a positive way to highlight some very important issues.”
More to follow.
Sport
Keely Hodgkinson is setting up her own running event next year as she prepares for a world record attempt
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester’s middle-distance running maverick, Keely Hodgkinson, has just been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year and we couldn’t be prouder, but she’s already eyeing up her next accolade: the 800m world record – and she’s hoping to do it at her own brand-new running event.
The Atherton-born athlete was one of Team GB’s shining lights at Paris 2024, storming ahead of the pack to win her first Olympic gold medal in just her second summer games but it’s been an unbelievable calendar year for her as a whole.
She already held the British women’s record before going on to not just defend her title but actually better her time at the European Athletics Championships back in June, with only five people in history having ever run it faster than her.
However, the Tyldesley-schooled track star believes she isn’t too far away from achieving another dream and one which would forever cement her amongst the sporting greats. She’s even creating the perfect opportunity for herself early in the new year.
Hodgkinson is launching an all-new running event of her own called the ‘Keely Klassic’, which is set to take place in Birmingham and will effectively serve as her first real attempt at smashing the 800m record.
Being registered as an official Bronze meeting on the World Athletics Indoor Tour, the day of racing will feature around nine heats involving top athletes, live music and entertainment, as well as celebrity appearances and more.
With the BBC themselves already in talks to broadcast the very first edition of what her teams hopes will be an annual event, it is rumoured to be an hour-long televised show and the headliner will be Keely’s attempt at breaking a 800m record – or two…
As well as aiming to smash Jolanda Ceplak’s all-time best (1:55.82) set on 15 Februrary 2002 – which just so happens to be the day Keely was born and when the Klassic will be taking place – she’s also going to try and surpass the outdoor record of 1:53.28 set by Czech runner Jarmila Kratochvilova back in 1983.
Speaking to the BBC after lifting the 2024 Sports Personality Award, the 22-year-old runner and Olympian said: “I’m pretty close [to the world record], I would like to think. I have seen this year what my body is capable of and I’m excited to push on.
“That world record is something I will always have in the back of my head. But I have so many years to get stronger so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.”
She also said she has no fear in making her goals public as it only serves as motivation to push for them under the public eye, having done exactly the same in the lead-up to her first Olympics back in Tokyo.
Hodgkinson made a point of thanking her coach Trevor Painter on the stage after he name was revealed too, stating, “I wouldn’t be where I am without his guidance that I’ve had since I was 17.”
She only doubled down on her gratitude after the fact as well, adding: “I trust in Trevor and Jenny [Meadows] a lot. I know what shape I’m in before I step on the start line.
“[A world record break] all depends if it comes together and that can depend on many things in athletics”, she insists, but it’s clear that if she does manage to go and smash another feat – be that the indoor/outdoor record in 2025 or another time in the near future – their wisdom will no doubt play a part.
Is Marcus Rashford really gearing up to leave Manchester United in January?
Danny Jones
Marcus Rashford has been one of the best homegrown talents at Manchester United in recent years and a fan favourite ever since he broke onto the scene back in 2016, but things haven’t been going sosmoothly of late and it now looks like he could be leaving the club after nearly two decades.
Despite hitting the heights of 30 goals during the 2022/23 campaign, Rashford‘s output over the past couple of seasons has dipped and he has been known as more of a ‘purple-patch’ player throughout most of his time as a senior player at Old Trafford.
There is nothing United fans want more than to see the Wythenshawe winger rediscover his form and go on another one of those streaks as a fresh chapter begins under the new head coach, Rúben Amorim, but it looks as though Rashford could be gearing up to call it a day in the iconic red shirt.
Now 27 years old and entering what would be traditionally seen as his peak for most footballers, the number 10 told journalist Henry Winter that he is “ready for a new challenge”, which could very well signal a move away from Man United in the upcoming transfer window.
Having spent a day off with the veteran sports writer this week, the pair visited his old primary school Button Lane to hand out hundreds of Christmas presents, watching kids play on the football pitch he helped fund and once again tackle the issue of food poverty in Greater Manchester and beyond.
As Winter goes on to explain in his lengthy post on X, Rashford woke up to headlines speculating that his boyhood club have now put him “up for sale” and are reportedly willing to listen to offers in January.
Although the Manc footballer didn’t categorically outline a desire to leave, nor to stay necessarily, he did say that he feels “next steps” are due but that “when I leave it’s going to be no hard feelings. You’re not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That’s me as a person.
“If I know that a situation is already bad I’m not going to make it worse”, he continued. “I’ve seen how other players have left in the past and I don’t want to be that person. When I leave I’ll make a statement and it will be from me”, adding that he’ll always be a Red, “100%”.
So how likely is it that Rashford will leave the club in January? Well, being left out of the Manchester derby – a decision he made no bones about being disappointed over – clearly signals that Amorim wasn’t totally happy with his overall preparation but the Portuguese manager did respond in a shrewd manner:
Agreeing with the United star, who at one time was considered one of England’s hottest prospects and is still unplayable at times when operating at his very best, the 39-year-old was mindful not to respond defensively to his comments but turn them into what he hopes will be shared motivation.
It’s also worth noting that Rashford wasn’t the only one dropped from the derby-winning team: Alejandro Garnacho, undoubtedly one of the club’s most promising talents who already delivers game-changing performances as his teammate has done so many times, was also left out for one reason or another.
Amorim reiterated that each week can be a clean slate and that he intends to observe everything from how players train and eat to how they dress and carry themselves around Carrington, especially when it comes to “engaging with the [rest of the] squad”, so this seemingly wasn’t an effort target the two.
The 39-year-old also assured that his decision wasn’t a disciplinary issue in any way, as Rashford hasn’t been left out of matchday squads or at the very least benched by former boss, Erik ten Hag, for turning up late to a team meeting and a rogue night-out in Belfast.
All that being said, while it appears there is no personal issue with Rashford, another element that will no doubt factor into whether he decides to leave United will be his increasingly fractious relationship with sections of the fan base, having shared more “despicable” direct messages with Winter too.
Lastly, it’s also important to consider whether or not he is the right fit for Amorim’s unwavering 3-4-3 system that he is starting to implement on the current collection players.
Rashford has pace, skill, finishing ability and a great passing range, but his best position has always been cutting in off the flanks and unless he can nail down that spot as the left-sided number 10 (a position where there is already plenty of competition), the only other option is as a striker or a left wing-back.
Now, with lots of other attacking and creative midfielders in contention for those players sat just behind and on either side of the number nine, and two big-money forwards rotating up front, it will likely be a scrap every week to get in that starting XI.
Moreover, with Amad Diallo already showcasing exactly the kind of energy levels and persistent pressing that Amorim wants from his two 10s and his wing-backs, in particular – not to mention reaping the rewards for his efforts against Man City and in previous matches – it’s might be a case of can/will Rashford match that amount of running when asked.
Perhaps the better question is, do you think it’s time for Rashford to take on that new challenge away from Manchester United and do you expect to see him leaving in the January transfer window?
The Manc -
16th June 2020 
