Sport

Manchester United fans shut down launch of new home shirt with protests outside megastore

While countless will have been sold online already, the green and gold brigade are taking this as an opportunity to reinforce their position.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 27th June 2023

Manchester United fans have shut down sales of the new home shirt at the club’s Old Trafford Megastore in protest of the Glazers.

The new home kit for the upcoming 2023/24 season was officially released online and in various shopping outlets across the UK on Tuesday morning, 27 June, but with the potential sale of the club still up in the air and looking to have reached an impasse, fans are making their feelings crystal clear.

Organising the legal and peaceful protest last week, The 1958 supporters’ group asked fans not only to reinforce the ‘Glazers Out‘ sentiment but to also boycott kit manufacturer Adidas as shirt sales are still pumping money into the owner’s pockets.

With the Megastore opening at 10am, just half an hour after the new home shirt went live, it only took a sizeable group of United fans a minute to begin their protest and block the entrance to the main stadium shop.

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Obviously, thousands of shirts will have already been ordered online, but this group of supporters are making sure to reaffirm their position even in the off-season: ‘green and gold until the club is sold’ and when they say sold, they mean a ‘full sale only’.

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Although there are still two bidders in the race to buy Man United, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, news on the negotiations seems to have gone quiet and it remains unclear who is leading the race — to the point that even the Qatari prince has been left “fed up”.

Moreover, while there are plenty of ethical concerns over Sheikh Jassim’s world-record bid to buy the club, another sticking point for many Reds regarding Ratcliffe’s bid is the suggestion that he might allow the Glazers to keep a minority share — an absolute deal-breaker for most fans.

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The hope is that a takeover deal will be completed before the start of the new season but, in the meantime, United fans will keep banging the drum. Plus, it’s not like they hadn’t seen the new kit already:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Manchester United/The 1958 (via Twitter)

Sport

Tributes paid to former Manchester City winger Ian Mellor, dead at 74

Danny Jones Danny Jones Man City star Ian Mellor dead at 74

Tributes are pouring following the death of former Manchester City star, Ian Mellor, who has sadly passed away at the age of 74.

Mellor, from Sale in Greater Manchester, played as a left winger for Man City as well as the likes of Norwich City, Brighton, Chester, Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford.

With his family and former club confirming the death on Wednesday, 1 May, social media has been awash with people paying their respects to the seasoned ex-pro who sadly died following a long battle with amyloidosis, a rare and incurable disease which affects organs such as the heart, brains and kidneys.

Replying to his son and ex-Liverpool turned Sky Sports broadcaster, Neil Mellor, the club paid their respects to the former Blue who made 50 appearances for the club.

Ian Mellor died on Wednesday morning.

Mellor began his career just down the road at Wythenshawe Amateurs before going on to represent City from 1970 to 1973.

A boyhood fan of the club, he scored 10 goals whilst wearing Sky Blue and also went on to win the Charity Shield with them back in 1972.

Eventually nicknamed ‘Spider’ for a good chunk of his career due to his long-legged stature, he remained attached to the beautiful game for years after his retirement and went on to become a committee member for the Former Players Association at City.

Joining the likes of all his former clubs, Chester City said: “Everyone at [the club] is saddened to hear of the passing of Ian Mellor. Sending all our love to you and your family, Neil Mellor.

Arguably his greatest game for the club.
His longest tenure was for Brighton but once a blue always a blue.
Our friends over at The Sheff will be more than familiar with ‘The Spider’ too.

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His son Neil’s goodbye has touched many online too, calling his dad his “hero” and his “everything”.

He also went on to thank locally-based end-of-life care organisation and charity, St Ann’s Hospice, who have facilities all over Greater Manchester and who helped care for Ian in his final days.

Our thoughts are with his friends and family as well as those whose lives he touched through football during this difficult time.

Rest in peace.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Manchester City/Neil Mellor (via X)

Sport

Manchester MMA star Tom Aspinall slams ‘unfair’ start times for UFC 304 at Co-op Live

Danny Jones Danny Jones Tom Aspinall says UFC 304 Manchester start time is absolutely terrible and unfair on UK fans

Local MMA star Tom Aspinall has come out to criticise the start times for UFC 304 here in Manchester, calling it ‘unfair’ for fans here in the UK.

In case you missed that rather big announcement, the UFC is returning to Manchester after nearly a decade and will be the very first sporting event held at the brand-new Co-op Live Arena, which is finally set to open this week following multiple delays (touch wood).

However, in an effort to keep broadcasters and the UFC‘s massive audience back in the US, the fight card will be starting until around 3am – and that’s at the very earliest.

Responding to the decision the Atherton-born and Salford-based fighter posted a video on his socials saying, “As a fan who wants to watch it live, I think it is absolutely terrible”.

@tomaspinallofficial My thoughts on UFC Manchester fight times for you UK fans 🤛 #ufc #manchester #foryoupage #viralvideo #fans #tomaspinall ♬ No Loss – Instrumental Version – Canon

He goes on to say that “it’s just not fair on the fans – the UK fans obviously. It’s predominantly an American audience so I understand that, they want to sell to them, but why can’t they sell to them in the afternoon which is our evening time?

While he admitted it “doesn’t make that much difference” to him as a fighter, the 31-year-old went on to ask, “Why can’t the American watch it in the afternoon and Manchester, the UK and European fans can all fly to the event and sell out this new arena?”

“I mean, it’s going to sell out regardless, mate”, Aspinall reiterated, adding that “we’re very lucky to have a pay-per-view event in Manchester” but that forcing the British audience and Mancs to watch something just down the road at a US-convenient time just doesn’t seem right.

There’s been plenty of backlash amongst MMA fans online too, with many stating that it simply goes to show that the UFC as an organisation “don’t care” about overseas supporters as much as they claim to.

Tom Aspinall isn’t the only one complaining about the UFC 304 start time.
Others have been less negative about it.
Aspinall has been having digs ever since the announcement.

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As the current interim heavyweight champion, Aspinall will be right up at the top of the billing for UFC 304, which is the first time the event has been in the UK full stop since 2016.

The promotion’s last British fight was here in Manchester too, on a night when local legend and adopted Manc Michael Bisping retained his middleweight championship belt against Dan Henderson.

We can only hope for similarly victorious scenes for the North West this July.

As for the shiny new venue, Co-op Live, after a fair few teething problems it looks like they are now on course to open just a week or so after the initial launch date. Not so bad.

A guide to the brand-new Co-op Live Arena: drinks prices, how to get there, capacity and more

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Tom Aspinall (via TikTok/Instagram)

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