Last month, a terminally ill Manchester City fan was treated to a heartwarming gesture by the club as he got to fulfil his dream of seeing the Treble trophies in person, along with a few other surprises from his fellow Blues.
Lifelong Man City fan John Cretney was born and raised in Manchester and has never missed a game, be it live or on the telly, but earlier this year he was sadly told he only has around 12 months to live.
With that in mind, in true Blue fashion, one of the first questions John asked his doctor was if he’d be able to see out another season in full. It was at this point that his son David had the idea to write to City and see if there wasn’t some way they could say “thank you to him for being there, always”.
Naturally, the club didn’t hesitate to do their best for the 80-year-old and after learning that he had relocated to Australia — where last season’s historic trophies were on tour — they decided to take them out for the day and pop in to see John. His reaction when they arrived at his door says it all.
Surrounded by his family, John — once a very gifted footballer in his day — said, “I still don’t really believe it’s happening”, as the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League were carried into his home in New South Wales.
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But it wasn’t just the Treble trophies that were part of the visit, with the help of Australian TV station Stan Sport and presenter Mark Bosnich, they even threw in the UEFA Super Cup for good measure.
And the surprise didn’t stop there either, as you can see, the club also arranged for Man City and England centre-back John Stones to send him a special video message thanking him for his unwavering support over the decades.
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Speaking from John to another, the treble-winner said: “You and all the fans are the life and soul of, and a big part of [City’s growth]. We recognise that as players and I just want to thank you for every bit of support.
“I see us all as one and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without each other, so thank you again from me personally and everyone in the team”. We always knew Stonesy was sound.
As his son David explained in his letter to the club, “It’s been a lifetime of early morning kick-offs in the family lounge room,”, adding that his “Dad has often been heard whooping and yelling in the wee hours of the morning across the neighbourhood.”
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Go on, John; there’s no other way to be when you’re watching your team and we’re so glad to know he got this special moment with what is the club’s greatest achievement. Better still, he wasn’t the only one to be taken aback by the surprise either.
Back in Ashton-under-Lyne, fellow City supporter Mark Whittaker — a lifelong Blue from Denton who was sadly diagnosed with malignant melanoma in March — saw the parade of glittering football prizes arrive at his bedside in the Willow Wood Hospice.
Labelling the moment “the only dream [he] had left”, Mark was over the moon as he also received a signed shirt and video message from former City and England winger Peter Barnes. A real touch of class from the club and one that no doubt meant a lot to both Blues and their families.
Featured Image — Manchester City/Willow Wood Hospice
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Stockport County’s playoff fortunes hampered following Callum Camps injury
Danny Jones
Stockport County’s luck as we head into the crunch time period has taken a less than ideal turn as Callum Camps is confirmed to be injured.
The club now has a clearer idea of how long he’ll be out for, but it’s not great news.
Camps was subbed off in just the 21st minute during County‘s recent away clash with title contenders Wrexham after a full-blooded tackle by fellow midfielder George Dobson – a challenge which went unpunished on the day, much to the frustration of the travelling fans.
Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester on Friday, 28 March, manager Dave Challinor revealed that the physios expect him to be out for “at least 6 weeks”, meaning he’ll likely miss the rest of the season.
🔵 Stockport midfielder Callum Camps is out for at least 6 weeks. #StockportCounty
As one of County’s most crucial and experienced players, his presence in the middle of the park is likely to be a big miss, especially with the playoff scraps looming large for the promotion hopefuls.
Challinor acknowledged that it’s a big blow not only for the club but the Tameside-born Northern Ireland international, cutting a quietly frustrated figure in his interview and giving away little regarding Camps’ current mentality besides his obvious “disappointment.”
At 29 years old and running out of contract this summer, the injury will no doubt bring an added pressure regarding his future as well, though you would suspect most Stopfordians would like to see him stay at Edgeley Park come 2025/26 if possible.
Not only a reliable operator in the engine room but also considered by plenty of fans as one of their best players this season, there’ll be lots of Hatters worrying how much of an impact this will have on how this year’s League One conclusion pans out.
Even with prior fitness issues in recent years, he’s still managed to make an impact and work his way back into the first-choice matchday squad, and many believe he should be more of a mainstay on the teamsheet for his national team.
Callum Camps was just sublime today and made the difference when he came on. If he’d have been fit more often he’d be right up there as one of our players of the season, he’s been right at it whenever he’s played. https://t.co/7oMZYutCCp
— The Stockport County Shirt Collection (@countyshirts) February 15, 2025
To make matters worse, he’s not the only one set to watch the remaining games from the sidelines, as defender Ryan Rydel also looks set to be out for the next few weeks.
Following an injury suffered at Bolton Wanderers the week prior to the Wrexham game, the Oldham-born left-back who had made 15 appearances for County this season – half of those as an increasingly regular young member of the starting XI – a hamstring problem looks to have cut his campaign short too.
With just over half a dozen league fixtures left, it’ll be interesting to see how they’ll fare if they stay within the playoff places as predicted.
It’s been a frustrating few months for Stockport as they also had to bid a reluctant goodbye to rising star and high-flying loanee Louie Barry, who was recalled by his parent club Aston Villa only for him to be loaned out to Hull City and end up getting injured himself.
When it rains, it pours, as they say.
Infuriating Dobson was allowed to get away with that pretty much for free and now we'll be without a key player for the rest of the season.
The 2025 Manchester Marathon is set to create the UK’s biggest-ever day of running
Danny Jones
The 2025 Manchester Marathon is just a month away now and as this year’s race is once again set to coincide with another major event (quite literally), it’s about to become the biggest day of runningin UK history.
Like, ever…
Greater Manchester is no stranger to making sporting history, be it athletics, football, tennis or otherwise – you name it, we can lay our claim to plenty.
However, stuff like this always makes us feel part of something truly ‘greater’ and genuinely special as the tens of thousands preparing to run through the city centre and surrounding areas are about to put us in the record books in the running world.
Credit: Manchester Marathon
As more than 36,000 racers, joggers, fundraisers and downright legends are scheduled to take on the Manchester Marathon this year – with the annual event on course to break its attendance record – even more will be taking on the equivalent down south, given it is one of the official World Majors.
Recently, the Manchester and London Marathons have been colliding, and with the 2025 editions of both due to take place on the same day for the second year in a row, it means there’ll be an unprecedented number of participants taking on the 26.2-mile challenge.
More accurately, it’s predicted that over 90,000 runners will be out on the roads of the nation’s capital and its second city (yeah, you heard us, Birmingham), which will be the greatest concurrent number in British history – at least on record when it comes to marathons.
The potential milestones don’t stop with just those taking part, either; as per an official press release from the event time, it’s predicted to be a record-breaking day for charity too.
An estimated £80m is set to be raised for charitable causes, including the adidas Manchester Marathon charity partners: the British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society, The Christie and Cancer Research UK. Incredible stuff.
In one month you’ll be making your way to the 2025 adidas Manchester Marathon start line!📢
We are buzzing – are you? Comment the GIF that best describes how you are feeling one month out ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/1ioROLfejW
Commenting on what will be a historic day for UK Marathons, Andrew Smith, CEO of A.S.O. UK, said: “Having the adidas Manchester Marathon and the London Marathon take place on the same day — Sunday 27th April — marks a landmark moment for British running.
“We’re incredibly proud to be part of this historic occasion, inspiring 90,000 people to take on 26.2 miles, supported by nearly a million spectators across the country.
As if all this wasn’t already momentous enough, nearly a million spectators are expected to line the streets to cheer on all the PB hopefuls and fundraisers – we can only hope for similarly groundbreaking crowds and levels of support to mark the occasion.
Danny Jones -
26th October 2023 
