Manchester United managers of past and present Sir Alex Ferguson and Erik ten Hag were pictured having dinner together ahead of a crucial few days for the club.
Snapped on Tuesday night, Sir Alex and ten Hag looked to be enjoying an intimate conversation over a meal and a glass of wine in Cibo, Wilmslow and, much to the delight, it just so happened to be right around the time Liverpool were being battered 5-2 by Real Madrid in the Champions League.
‘Dessert’, if you will.
With United set to face Barcelona in the decisive second leg of their Europa League tie on Thursday evening, not to mention the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle on Sunday, it’s safe to say they won’t have struggled for conversation topics.
With plenty of fans dying to know what the two discussed during the intimate meeting, social media has obviously lapped the picture up.
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Moreover, being shared just hours before ten Hag was set to face the media ahead of the Barcelona game, reporters wasted no time in quizzing the Dutchman on what Sir Alex had to say.
Responding to what it’s like to have such clear support from the United and football legend, he said: “It is massive [to have his support]. I always enjoy speaking with people who have a lot of knowledge, a lot of experience. He wants to share it, he wants to help and support.
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Oh, to be a fly on the wall.
🗣 "I always enjoy it, to speak with people who have a lot of knowledge, a lot of experience."
As you can see, as well as describing it as a “great night” and opportunity to sit down and absorb wisdom from one of the greatest football managers of all time, he went on to add that “you feel Manchester United is his club” and he “look[s] forward to the next night with him”.
As for his answers regarding the first of his two massive games ahead and the credit he’s received for the Reds’ rejuvenation thus far, “it’s not about credit, it’s about trophies. We have the opportunity but the first focus point is always the next game and in [the Europa League] we can’t win a trophy this week…
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“Every day we want to give a better version of ourselves and when you face such big teams as Barcelona, you have to play your best… tomorrow we have to give our best performance of the season”.
Can they advance to the next round in Europe and pick up their first piece of silverware since 2017 in the next few days?
Featured Image — Oliver Critchlow/Manchester United (via Twitter)
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 -
22nd February 2023 
