Sport

André Onana reportedly dropped after latest Manchester United errors

For the next Premier League game, at least.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 13th April 2025

Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana has reportedly been dropped for the Red Devils’ upcoming Premier League game following his latest errors in net.

Onana found himself at fault for the two goals conceded by Man United in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Lyon this week, making it a total of eight errors leading to goals in all competitions this season – the most of any Premier League goalkeeper.

What made the most recent mistakes even more unfortunate was a pre-game spat with former United midfielder Nemanja Matić, who not only dubbed him the “worst” keeper in their modern history but didn’t even need to come off the bench to get the last laugh, as the 29-year-old gifted Lyon a point.

Following the unforced errors which saw him concede the opener and a last-minute equaliser against the Ligue 1 side, Onana looks to have been dropped for this weekend’s game against Newcastle United.

As per multiple outlets, the Cameroonian goalkeeper is supposedly being ‘rested’ for the match and has not travelled as part of the squad, with journalist Chris Wheeler reporting that manager Ruben Amorim wants him to “clear his head”.

Amorim was keen to offer some protection for his go-to shot-stopper, arguing that he has made “more mistakes” than Onana during his time at the club, reassuring that he remains “really confident” in his abilities in the post-match interviews immediately after the European disappointment on Thursday night.

Wheeler also went on to note that the former Ajax number one has been struggling with issues off the pitch also, as it was reported that his family recently suffered a violent robbery and have subsequently needed 24-hour security protection.

That being said, Onana’s omission from the matchday squad means that second keeper Altay Bayindir, who has made just six appearances for United (two of which were clean sheets), will make his Premier League debut against Newcastle.

It’ll be interesting to see whether he rises to the challenge, especially given the reverse fixture, which saw a 2-0 defeat against the North East side at Old Trafford late last year.

He put in quite the performance in the FA Cup against Arsenal.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe won’t be in the dugout for the face-off, which could give the Reds a slight advantage; alternatively, it could have an entirely adverse effect as the home side will no doubt look to show solidarity.

It’s also worth mentioning that United’s last goal at St James’ Park came back in December 2021, when Edinson Cavani was the scorer.

Do you think he deserves a run as the first-choice goalkeeper, or should it be a case of seeing how he fares against Newcastle before making a decision? Better yet, it is thought he is still in contention for the second leg against Lyon, but who would you go with?

Let us know in the comments.

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Featured Images — TNT Sports/MUTV (screenshot via YouTube)

Sport

Rugby Football League to merge second and third divisions from next year

Danny Jones Danny Jones

The Rugby Football League (RFL) has officially announced that it will be combining the Championship and League One divisions next year as part of a larger restructuring.

Besides the push for phasing out automatic promotion and relegation with the top flight, these will be among the biggest changes in the RFL since the creation of the Super League.

Revealing their plans earlier this week, the rugby authority confirmed that the second and third-tier divisions will be merging, with the changes set to be implemented from 2026 onwards.

You can see the statement in full down below, which has been met with a mix of

Confirmed in a lengthier statement online this past Wednesday, 27 August, the update reads: “The RFL Board have confirmed that the Betfred Championship and League One competitions will be combined in a single division outside the Betfred Super League (BSL) in 2026.

“This follows the decision to expand Super League from 12 clubs to 14, subject to conditions – which was taken by the existing Super League clubs last month.

“A number of fixture formats are being developed following consultation with the Championship and League One clubs, but there will be no final announcement until after the number and identity of clubs in each of the two expanded competitions is confirmed, on Thursday, October 16.

“However, the reversion to a single division outside Super League means the Middle Eights that had been scheduled for the end of the 2025 season, as a means of determining promotion and relegation between Championship and League One, will no longer take place.”

It’s also worth noting that these changes will also see the proposed Super 8s end-of-season fixtures scrapped, as the 12 teams set to compete in the playoff-style tournament are obviously now being combined into one league moving forward.

As detailed in the latest communication from the RFL, the League One champions’ prize of £25,000, as well as the usual trophy and medals promised at the start of the season, are still up for grabs; the Championship Play-Offs will still also take place as scheduled.

The winners of the Betfred Championship Grand Final are to receive £100k and 0.25 club grading points.

Commenting on the impending overhaul, Rugby League Commercial Chair Nigel Wood OBE – who headed up the latest strategic review – said: “Following the decision of the Betfred Super League clubs that the elite competition should expand to 14 clubs in 2026, subject to conditions, this is a logical and equally exciting next step.

“The Championship and L1 clubs have been extensively consulted and were virtually unanimous that the two divisional structure for the part-time game wasn’t working as well as it ought, particularly League One – and it is a great credit to the Championship clubs that they recognised that position.”

Reiterating the belief that this is the best way to support and promote “historic and ambitious clubs” outside of the BSL, helping boost attendances, finances and hopefully future investment. It remains a touchy subject for some, though.

Greater Manchester Mayors deliver update on Salford Red Devils situation
The RFL merging divisions may not yet even matter for some.

Speaking of clubs looking for further backing, questions remain over the vetting process for investors and the ‘fit and proper persons tests’ in both rugby and football, especially with the ongoing crisis at Salford Red Devils.

With all that being said, while everyone will have the chance to win the new Championship and perhaps Super League promotion, the likes of Salford are just trying to stay afloat.

Regardless, what do you make of the RFL merging the Championship and League, and do you think it’s the right step for the future of rugby league?

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Featured Images — RFL

Sport

Ruben Amorim has explained why he refused to watch Man United’s penalty shootout against Grimsby

Danny Jones Danny Jones Ruben Amorim explains why he didn't watch Man United's penalties against Grimsby

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has explained the reason why he didn’t watch his team’s penalty shootout against Grimsby Town as they crashed out of the EFL Carabao Cup.

It was yet another night to forget for Man United as the Premier League outfit conceded the first two goals against the League Two side in a fixture that hadn’t been played since 1947.

Even a late comeback through new signing Bryan Mbuemo and Harry Maguire’s late header – an increasingly frequent scenario, it would seem – wasn’t enough to spare their blushes, as the Carabao‘s straight-to-penalties format meant that they couldn’t even rely on extra time.

You already know the rest, and if you were watching on telly, you will have seen head coach Ruben Amorim rocking back and forth as he refused to watch his squad’s spot-kicks. Like the rest of the game, it’s not gone down as a particularly great look.

While there were plenty at home who felt similar reluctance to watch the pens, many supporters have been left understandably frustrated by the Portuguese head coach’s behaviour, accusing him of a lack of leadership.

Admittedly, it doesn’t project great optics, especially given all the talk of ‘storms clearing’ and ‘good days coming’ spouted via club media in recent weeks and months.

However, the 40-year-old has at least given some reasoning for not watching his players take a total of 12 penalties, though we’ll leave it up to the fans.

Speaking to ITV in one of the few post-match interviews he conducted on Wednesday evening, Amorim said: “The penalty shootout was not important, if I’m there trying to see if we win the game, it doesn’t matter. The beginning of the game, during the game, that’s what mattered.

“If we win this game, it’s so unfair on these guys – the opponents. So today, the football was fair; congratulations to them. We move on to the next game, and then we have time to decide things.”

You see Amorim’s post-match interview with ITV in full right here:

As you can see, he went on to explain that he was “not thinking about the penalties, to go to the next stage”, choosing instead to add that his side “spoke really loud about what they want today. It’s really clear, I think it’s really clear to everybody what happened today.”

Being probed further on the precise meaning of this turn of phrase, he told multiple reporters that “a good team can win anything”, suggesting instead that those he fielded were, in the end, merely a collection of players who failed to chime with each other.

Many would argue this has been a common theme not only since he joined the club, but for the last few managers who have taken charge at Old Trafford.

Besides that, he signed off by insisting that there was little he could say to soften the blow of the result, besides apologising to them directly and adding, “something has to change, and you’re not going to change 22 players again.”

Be it as a begrudging Red, an amused rival, or just a neutral, you can either hate-watch or simply study the shocking defeat on what was a historic night for some very happy Grimsby fans down below.

Amorim may not have wanted to sit through the penalty shootout, but MUFC weren’t great to watch in regulation time either.

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Featured Images — Sky Sports (screenshot via YouTube)

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