As for Clegg, the former Warrington Rylands and Macclesfield FC boss, Altrincham scout, and two-time Colls coach – who also has a long association with the well-established miners’ club – he is stepping away from football management altogether for the time being.
“Today, I’ve made the decision to step down from my role at Atherton Collieries”, he continues. “Coming back to the club over the last 14 months has meant a great deal to me.
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“The aim was to help the club move away from relegation and then leave it in a secure mid-table position, and I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together. I want to thank everyone at the club – players, staff, volunteers and supporters — for making me feel so welcome again.
“I’ve genuinely loved my time back at the Colls. The team is in very good hands with Danny and Tom [Bentham], and there’s a strong playing squad in place. I leave knowing the club is in a positive position.”
As mentioned, fellow coach Tom Bentham will remain in post supporting Lafferty during his transition into the top job, as well as provide some consistency in terms of leadership.
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🚨HERE WE GO!🚨@JHulme1 & @Gazseddon kicked off our new season with the return of fan favourite…MICHAEL CLEGG!
👀 What really happened at Macclesfield. 😬 Working with Robbie Savage 💔 Play-Off heartbreak And more!
Meanwhile, Clegg signed off with the following: “Over the next few months, I want to reflect, watch football at different levels, and decide what I want next from the game.
“I’m hopeful that in 2026 I’ll be able to free up time and look to return from next summer. Thanks again for the support, and I wish the club every success moving forward.”
He also went on to congratulate his successor following confirmation of his replacement, commenting, “One of the best. Go and smash it, mate.”
As for his employers, they added: “We would like to thank Michael for his efforts and contributions, managing the Black & Whites for a total of 369 matches across his two spells, including last season’s historic ‘Great Escape’.”
‘Cleggy’ has long been considered a bit of a non-league cult hero, and we have every faith he’ll work wonders whatever he does next.
New Amazon Prime Video docuseries to show Pep Guardiola’s final seasons at Manchester City
Emily Sergeant
A new all-access docuseries featuring Pep Guardiola’s final few seasons at Manchester City is set to air this summer.
Coming exclusively to Prime Video in the UK and Ireland, the four-part documentary is set to take Manchester City fans and neutral viewers alike inside the club as the players and manager – who delivered an era of dominance -make way for a new generation.
Filmed over the past two seasons, this is the ultimate account of an emotional farewell that marks the end of an era in English football, and will offer unfiltered access to Guardiola, his squad, and the City boardroom.
After 10 trophy-filled years – which included six Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, three FA Cups, and five EFL Cups – Pep Guardiola called time on his tenure in Manchester last month, alongside fan favourite players Bernardo Silva and John Stones, as well as Kevin De Bruyne the season prior.
This new docuseries was there to follow them every step of the process.
Fans can follow City from a disappointing 2024/25 campaign right through to a domestic double the following season, charting the raw emotion of a squad in transition.
The series is directed by Academy and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker, Kevin Macdonald, alongside City Studios’ John De Caux, and is produced by Kevin Macdonald for Plan B/KM Films and Gavin Johnson and Ged Doherty for City Studios.
“This is the ultimate account of an emotional farewell that marks the end of an era in English football,” Amazon Prime Video said in a statement.
Joining Prime Video’s wide selection of sports programming, the series will be available to watch at no additional cost to Prime members this summer.
It’ll be ready to stream on 19 August.
Featured Image – Prime Video
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Here’s our petition for ‘Wonderwall’ to become England’s new football anthem
Danny Jones
All things considered, England have made a great start to the 2026 World Cup, pitching themselves as one of the great entertainers this tournament, and the scenes of the supporters and players alike serenading an entire stadium with ‘Wonderwall’ after the full-time whistle gave us chills.
So why not time for a change?
After all, that feels a lot like what this World Cup squad is about: a new manager, new teammates, not clinging to the previous ways of playing – and perhaps it’s time to put ‘Sweet Caroline’ to one side.
Now, we’re by no means saying that we’re ‘done’ with the John Denver anthem that has been reborn as a Three Lions anthem, but look at how good it was watching England belting out Oasis with the fans.
“Today is gonna be the day that England beat Croatia 4-2”, as BBC’s Match of the Day cleverly quipped.
Obviously, we’re biased as Mancs, but we also think there’s something special about having that particular track feel so good to hear again.
As much as we love Oasis, for a long time, it felt like we couldn’t enjoy arguably their biggest-ever single anywhere near as much as we once did.
We assume it’s something akin to hearing ‘Mr Brightside’ non-stop for what felt like millennia, and in truth, hearing those repetitions of “ba, ba, ba… SO GOOD, SO GOOD!” over and over again at sporting fixtures beyond just national team games has taken the magic out of it at times.
Perhaps it’s just a case of saturation in certain settings and songs simply being overplayed – FIFA’s co-hosts over in the US certainly helped see to that when it came to ‘Wonderwall’ for a long time.
On the other hand, it feels like we’ve now come full circle; singing those famous lyrics at the top of our lungs in a sea of Mancs and fans travelling from all over to Heaton Park for Live ’25 last year felt better than ever, and like we’d all remembered how great a tune it’s always been. So did this…
In fact, this felt so emotional that you’ve got people who aren’t even English praising both those on the pitch and up in the stands for the moment online.
Even the admittedly rather American Man vs Food himself, Adam Richman (though he does have British ancestry), felt compelled to write a moving response on social media: “Shut up. You’re the one that’s crying. Bravo, England.”
He’s far from the only one who was left bowled over by the atmosphere – us included.
What do you think? Is it time for a new go-to tournament anthem for the Three Lions moving forward?
Danny Jones -
31st December 2025 
