With Manchester United on the verge of finally being bought out and actually playing some decent football again, the issue of Old Trafford’s redevelopment is one that’s on many fans’ minds.
Despite being one of the most iconic stadiums in the world, the Theatre of Dreams is actually one of the older, more outdated football arenas in the Premier League, especially given the size of the club which inhabits it.
That being said, United fans have been calling for renovations at Old Trafford for a long time and while the Glazers never looked particularly keen on investing in the stadium, the potential sale of the club could mean a new lease of life is now on the horizon.
Obviously, nobody knows what a hypothetical Old Trafford redesign would look like but YouTuber Bondibot has taken it upon himself to mock up a few options.
As you can see, the 3D animator who specialises in stadium designs and concept art took multiple approaches when it came to visualising how Old Trafford’s redevelopment could unfold; the first and arguably most likely being the expansion of the existing South (Sir Bobby Charlton) Stand.
Currently the section with the smallest capacity and the only one that doesn’t share the recognisable white railings on the roof, his first option to ‘Expand’ Old Trafford would see the same features duplicated all the way around, including all four corner pillars copying the more geometric design of the existing two on the north side.
Option B, ‘Upgrade’, would see an entirely new facade built around the original Old Trafford, essentially wrapping the old ground in a more modern shell without having to destroy any of the existing fixtures.
Can’t lie, it gave us big, shiny bedpan vibes — no offence.
The final and perhaps most divisive option posed by Bondibot was a complete ‘Rebuild’: erecting a brand new, redesigned stadium right next to Old Trafford as it is now, before ultimately bulldozing the 113-year-old sporting institution and building a new training facility and wider club complex on the land.
Despite being a marked upgrade from The Cliff which United trained at up until 1999 at the time, another criticism of the club’s lack of evolution over the past decade or so has been their primary training ground at Carrington, which many have noted is also now a little outdated.
Not only would a new training complex in close proximity to the ground, similar to Man City, make much more sense on the whole, but it would create opportunities for fan spaces, more room for matchday concessions, larger parking facilities and so on — again, not unlike the Etihad Campus.
Each possible Old Trafford redesign has its pros and cons but fans might genuinely have to start considering which one they’d prefer if this takeover goes through. One thing, however, seems certain: a name change just wouldn’t feel right. They rarely do…
Kolo Touré joins Manchester City’s backroom staff on a permanent basis
Danny Jones
Former Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool defender, Kolo Touré, has now permanently re-joined the club as a first-team coach.
The retired centre-back, who finished his career at Scottish giants Celtic FC before hanging up his boots back in 2017 and becoming part of their backroom staff, has been working with Man City as part of the FIFA Club World Cup set-up.
Having clearly impressed on the road, not to mention having spent last season as Assistant Lead Coach alongside U18s boss Oliver Reiss – with the youth side winning the Premier League North title – the 44-year-old has now been given an assistant coaching job with the senior squad on a full-time basis.
Announced on Tuesday, 15 July, ahead of City’s pre-season tour getting underway next month, Kolo Touré is the latest among multiple recent appointments to manager Pep Guardiola’s ranks.
Hailing from the Ivory Coast and having enjoyed a career spanning more than 15 years, he’s considered one of the greatest African players of all time, so it’s no question that he brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the role.
Touré, who made more than a century of appearances for the Blues, began his coaching journey with the national team before assisting Brendan Rodgers at both Celtic and Leicester City.
He also spent a rather short spell at another Greater Manchester side, being made head coach of Wigan Athletic in November 2022.
But it wasn’t to be…
The older brother of fellow City club legend, Yaya, was ultimately sacked around two months later (just 59 days, to be exact) after having failed to win a single fixture in his first name games in charge.
Kolo Touré taking instructions from Pep, the chemistry’s taking shape. Brilliant to see Kolo soaking it all in from the very best. He’s here for the long haul, man. You can feel it. pic.twitter.com/RscM9rg0GS
Commenting on Toure’s appointment as first-team assistant coach, Director of Football Hugo Viana said in an official club statement: “We’re delighted to permanently add Kolo to our first team coaching staff.
“Not only does he bring his immensely precious experience at football’s elite level, but he also has a deep connection with Manchester City and a deep knowledge of the Club.
“We’ve also been hugely impressed with his work and success with our Under-18s, and by adding him to our senior staff permanently, this will only strengthen the transition for players in our Academy into the first team.
“As we already saw throughout his time with Pep Guardiola, Pep Lijnders and James French this summer, his massive personality of optimism and positivity is hugely infectious and we’re already looking forward to his work moving forward.”
In case you were unfamiliar with the latter two names, you’ll find all you need to know down below.
England cricket legend Sir James Anderson joins Manchester Originals for The Hundred 2025
Danny Jones
England and Lancashire County Cricket (LCC) legend Sir James, a.k.a. ‘Jimmy’ Anderson, has officially signed for Manchester Originals ahead of this year’s The Hundred campaign.
What a statement from the Greater Manchester side.
Now 42, the knight of The Oval and the realm is in the twilight of his career, but you’ll struggle to find many others of his ability and sheer amount of experience anywhere else in the competition.
Selected by Manchester Originals as their wildcard pick for the 2025 tournament, Anderson is set to become the second-oldest pro to ever play in the history of The Hundred.
The fast-paced cricket format only began back in 2021, but has quickly gone on to become a fan favourite, with sell-out games over at the Emirates Old Trafford and, indeed, up and down the country.
Roping in veterans like the much-loved Northern lad will only help bring more eyes to the games.
With more than 400 career appearances and nearly 1,000 wickets at international level alone over the course of more than two and a half decades in the sport, they don’t get much more iconic than Jimmy Anderson – it’s a big coup for Manchester Originals.
As mentioned, while the Lancashire-born bowler’s time in international whites may have come to an end, as well as serving as a key Roses mentor, he’s still an LCC star. Representing Lancashire Lightning in the year’s T20 Blast, ‘The Burnley Express’ has already claimed 14 wickets in his first eight matches.
Discussing his impending debut, the ‘King of the Swing’ said: “I’m really looking forward to The Hundred, and I’m really happy to be part of the Manchester Originals squad. I’ve loved my time with Lancashire this season, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to add value in The Hundred.”
“It’s a competition I’ve really enjoyed watching. When you’re at the games, you can really see that it does attract a slightly different crowd, a lot of younger people and families, and you can’t underestimate how important that is for our game. I can’t wait to get out there.”
The first lot of Hundred fixtures get underway on Tuesday, 5 August, with the first home match at Old Trafford Cricket Ground welcoming the toss the following day (Wed, 6 Aug).
You see the rest of The Hundred 2025 wildcard draft picks in full HERE.
Danny Jones -
26th February 2023 
