Manchester United have finally addressed yet another in-house drama with one of their wingers, issuing a statement updating fans on the ongoing situation with Jadon Sancho.
The club seem to be regularly releasing statements regarding the conduct of their players at the moment, with the Mason Greenwood scandal not long behind them and, more recently, Antony being removed from the squad amidst his ongoing assault allegations.
Now, though, it seems as though the frustrated forward Jadon Sancho will also be joining his teammate in spending some time away from the first-team and the club’s normal training sessions after they confirmed that he will once again be put on a “personal programme” away from Carrington.
This comes after Sancho took issue with manager Erik ten Hag dropping him against Arsenal and claiming that he wasn’t selected based on his performance in training.
Writing a short update on Thursday, 14 September, the club said: “Jadon Sancho will remain on a personal training programme away from the first-team group, pending resolution of a squad discipline issue.” This means ten Hag’s squad will be even more depleted ahead of the Premier League resuming.
ADVERTISEMENT
With the 23-year-old publicly dismissing the Dutchman’s claims and even going so far as to suggest he has been used as a “scapegoat for a long time”, the United boss was evidently disappointed by the decision to discuss this on social media.
It isn’t the first time he has made sure to punish players for breaking codes of conduct and overall behaviour, having similarly decided to drop Cristiano Ronaldo and back the board’s decision to sack him late last year.
ADVERTISEMENT
It also isn’t the first time Sancho has been told to train separately either, though the first time around seemed to be more fitness and confidence-related, as far as we know:
Following the backlash to the backlash, essentially, a number of reports surrounding Sancho’s behaviour and overall demeanour around the club then began to appear in the media, with several citing him as a “complicated character” who often flits from “loud and extroverted” to “very reserved”.
Both the club and the fans will simply be hoping for some normality to resume after what seems like an eternity of scandals and club statements for one reason or another.
The Red Devils get back underway at Old Trafford on Saturday, 16 September against Brighton.
Featured Image — Jadon Sancho/Man United (via Instagram)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
14th September 2023 
