Legendary musician and big Manchester City fan, Noel Gallagher, recently made the bold statement that Sir Alex Ferguson’s reputation may have been overstated, claiming that he “never invented anything”.
In contrast, while calling into Andy Goldstein’s show on talkSPORT, he said that Pep Guardiola has fundamentally “changed football” in the modern era and that, when it comes to who has had more impact on the beautiful game as we know it today, the Spaniard has been far more influential.
Big words, to say the least.
Now, while no one doubts that both managers haven’t just given both United and City fans memories for life but also put Manchester on the map when it comes to sport, arguing the case for who is/was better is a debate that has been raging years and it’s safe to say it split opinion on this occasion too.
As you can see, co-host Darren Bent posed the question of whether winning a treble for City would see the Catalan coach go above Sir Alex Ferguson in the discussion of the greatest manager of all time.
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The former Oasis immediately responded, “Alex Ferguson never invented anything. Pep Guardiola changed football”, to which Goldstein quickly corrected, “SIR Alex Ferguson”.
The talkSPORT host wasted no time in coming to Fergie’s defence, remarking: “I mean, he’s won the treble. He’s won 13 Premier League titles.” However, Gallagher countered by saying, “Well, he never did it in any other country, did he?”
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Nevertheless, the presenter continued with his argument by stating he thinks “Pep needs to prove himself” with this team on the European stage, noting that “the last time he won the Champions League was 2012… with Xavi, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta”, quipping, “even I could have won [it] with them.”
While Goldstein continued to play devil’s advocate, Gallagher wasn’t willing to let it go either, asking what he has to prove and responding that “‘the greatest manager of all time’ jammed two Champions League finals, one on penalties and one in injury-time.”
Firing back further at the suggestion that Pep won his two Champions League with one of the best squads to ever grace the game in Barcelona and needs to win a European trophy at another club, the 55-year-old said he has absolutely nothing to prove to anyone.
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Asking one final question, the United fan said: “For argument’s sake… if he leaves Man City without winning the Champions League, you don’t think will be a failure?” Naturally, his suggestion was met with laughter from Gallagher, who simply replied, “that is mental. Failure? What are you talking about?”
Doubling down on his belief surrounding his impact, the Manc icon insisted Pep “has changed the way that football is played in this country and probably every country he has ever been in”, citing how “everyone [now] plays out from the back. Kids are doing it and they don’t even know what it means, but they do it because he does it. He is a tactical genius.”
Goldstein conceded that couldn’t argue against his tactical knowledge and style of play — though many online have clarified that Pep himself didn’t invent the likes of ‘tiki-taka’ but rather emulated his icon and predecessor Johan Cruff — but said that he still believes “you can’t take anything away from Sir Alex”.
But Gallagher was always going to get the last word in, quipping “Oh, I can. And I will.” Nothing but ‘Berting’.
Moreover, plenty on social media noted that Ferguson did, in fact, do it in other countries; he won three Scottish Premierships and four Scottish Cups with Aberdeen (the last manager to win the league not in charge of Celtic or Rangers) and even won a UEFA Super Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup with them.
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Pep still has three more league titles to win if he wants to level with Fergie’s 13 Premier Leagues, let alone his three others in Scotland and his long list of major honours. For many, it’ll take a few more trophies for Guardiola to be considered equal to or above Sir Alex, but what do you think?
Featured Image — Ian Wright/Man United/Man City(via Twitter)
Sport
The CEO of Bury FC has officially resigned after two key board members step down
Danny Jones
The CEO and Club Secretary of Bury Football Club, Niel Sears, has officially resigned just hours after two other key board members also stepped down.
Fan-owned Bury FC has weathered a difficult few years after slipping into administration back in 2020, splintering into two teams and eventually reforming with its phoenix club in July 2023.
A return to Gigg Lane, a significant investment in the women’s team and a new financial strategy looked to signal the start of a new chapter for the Greater Manchester side, but after a backlash in response to an impending ‘review’ of their volunteering practices, it looks like drama is returning.
Sharing merely two sentences on Friday evening, a statement on the Bury FC website simply read: “We can confirm the resignation of CEO & Club Secretary, Neil Sears. Further comment will be released in due course.
⚪️🔵 Club Statement
We can confirm the resignation of CEO & Club Secretary, Neil Sears.
As alluded to in the update, there is little detail at this time and with the weekend’s football to tend with first, the club are unlikely to address the situation until sometime next week.
Having previously worked with Burnley FC and retrained to specialise in sports business and law, Sears was appointed CEO and club sec back in February after having been deemed to have successfully fulfilled the position on a part-time basis since October last year.
A seemingly popular appointment, the only issue of note between Sear and the club was an incident this past summer after he called out some “absolutely disgraceful behaviour from a certain fraction of Bury fans” during a visit to Blackpool this past summer.
However, with the Football Supporters’ Society of Bury (FSSB) chair Phil Young and the club’s football chair Marcel De Matas – both fellow board members and important figures around the club – having also stepped down earlier this week, there looks to have been a clear walkout among the higher-ups.
While there are almost certainly multiple vying factors, the recent review of the volunteer framework and, more specifically, the dismissal of loyal club servant John Rafferty has no doubt been influential.
Very saddened to hear my friend John Rafferty has been relieved of his duties at our club. John epitomised the "club man" ethos. Ensuring fans without Internet access could get their STs, helping start the veterans hub, and networking with @BuryFCWorldwide gutted & angry 😡 https://t.co/p9HNxwh2rZ
On Wednesday, 6 November, Rafferty was told his services were no longer required and despite assurance that he was welcome to come back to Gigg Lane once he has taken time to look over their latest offer, he has been relieved of his current duties after a number of years.
Contextualising the series of events, Bury explained in another lengthy statement this week: “We have been in regular contact with John since Wednesday, both offering apologies for the upset caused and working on the solution to move forward.
“A conversation was had between a member of the board and CEO Neil Sears regarding John’s role. This led to confusion, and miscommunication and caused unnecessary stress on a volunteer. We greatly regret this action.”
Unsurprisingly, there has been an outpouring of support for Rafferty and frustration towards the NWCL (North West Counties League) team online.
“John Rafferty, one of the nicest people you could wish to meet and one of the biggest Bury fans you can speak to removed with no justification as to why. What possible reason can be given?” one person wrote. Another person added: “Whoever is behind this decision should hold their heads in shame – I have never seen a man put so much effort into a [football] club. Absolutely shocking.”
Only time will tell as to why these numerous and clearly seismic decisions have been made and we won’t be surprised if more don’t join the exodus.
Featured Images — Mylo Kaye (via Pexels)/Bury FC (vis YouTube screenshot)
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Benjamin Mendy wins legal case against Manchester City over unpaid wages
Danny Jones
Ex-Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy has officially won the legal case against his former employers over unpaid wages.
The French defender was suspended from Man City without pay in September 2021 after being charged with six counts of rape and one instance of sexual assault before ultimately leaving the club last June.
Despite multiple allegations and the high-profile case going to trial in August 2022, Mendy was eventually cleared of all counts in July 2023 and has been demanding he receive his ‘lost’ finances earned at the Etihad ever since.
Mendy took legal action against City last November and now, nearly a full year on, the 30-year-old fullback has won his claim against them and is expected to receive most of the outstanding wages accumulated while he was in custody and on bail, as he was still unable to play due to FA sanctions.
As detailed in an official judgement summary, “The result of this decision is that Mr Mendy will be entitled to receive the majority of his unpaid salary, although not all of it.”
BREAKING: Benjamin Mendy has been successful in his employment claim against Manchester City 🚨
In her judgement, published on November 6, Judge Joanne Dunlop's concluded that Manchester City were not entitled to withhold Mendy's pay while he was not in custody. pic.twitter.com/dRWmfHpfgO
The former Premier League star initially entered into an employment tribunal to claim around £11 million in compensation for the wages he missed out on during the period between his suspension in September 2021 and City letting him go in the summer of 2023.
Mendy’s wages were worth around £500,000 a month after joining the Manchester club back in 2017 for a then-world-record fee for a defender, £52m. While he was unsuccessful in claiming all unpaid wages back, City are expected to hand over approximately £8.5m.
Writing on social media, the Frenchman welcomed the decision which found that the club had “unlawfully made deductions from my wages for a total period of 16 months and 23 days.”
Mendy urged the club to do the “honourable thing” and pay the outstanding wages promptly, along with other amounts included in his contract, so as to “finally put this difficult part of my life behind me.”
He went on to conclude the statement by thanking family, agent and legal team for their support and while it’s unclear how soon Man City will be forced to cough up the sum, the footballer will be playing this weekend as usual. You can read his full statement down below:
The club themselves are yet to respond to the decision but will be required to pay out the number within a certain period by law. Mendy has been back playing football in his home country at Ligue 2 club, FC Lorient, who he signed for just days after being acquitted even despite huge backlash.
Meanwhile, their well-publicised case against UEFA and the outstanding 115+ charges regarding FFP and PSR has now begun but isn’t expected to be settled for some time.