Sport

The CEO of Bury FC has officially resigned after two key board members step down

The reaction from supporters to a recent review of the volunteer system looks to have stirred up some discontent.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 9th November 2024

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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Featured Images — Mylo Kaye (via Pexels)/Bury FC (vis YouTube screenshot)

Sport

Bernardo Silva shares hilarious X-rated clash with John Stones before they were teammates

Danny Jones Danny Jones John Stones called Bernardo Silva a soft cunt funny story

This long weekend not only saw Man City manager and sporting legend Pep Guardiola bid goodbye to the club after a decade, but so did John Stones and Bernardo Silva, and the latter shared a hilarious story about an encounter before their bromance in blue.

Can’t lie, this one nearly made us spit out our tea when we first watched it…

Following the trio’s respective final games, this late May bank holiday Monday saw yet another City parade pass through Manchester, and as the party continued over at the Etihad Campus and Co-op Live for the afterparty, the boys got up on stage to say some parting words.

In Silva’s case, he chose to share, rather fittingly, some very choice words indeed, as he talked about his time playing against Stones when he was still in France.

Safe to say no one was expecting that particular expletive to come out of his mouth – we reckon not even most of the squad themselves.

During the Yorkshireman‘s first season at Manchester City, he came up against the creative midfielder in the Champions League when he was still playing at Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.

As you can see in the clip above, while it wasn’t the friendliest of exchanges back then, they soon buried the hatchet and chalked it off as nothing more than football.

Both fierce competitors in their own right, they look to be plenty soft with each other off the pitch ever since they became teammates.

So much so, in fact, that the duo ended up being the face of a pop-up Man City pub earlier this month, recreating the famous photo of the Gallagher brothers wearing the 1993/94 kits.

Stones and Silva pub Manchester city centre
Credit: Manchester City FC (publicity pictures)

It’s plain to see in the clip how much love there is between the two, all these years later, and the story itself got a rapturous reaction from their peers and the crowd alike.

Silva has plenty of fans across Europe, both as a player and purely as a character; you only have to look at how Jack Grealish often reiterates his love for the Portuguese playmaker as a person and Premier League character, or even how pundits aligned with rival clubs like Gary Neville waxes lyrical about him.

And then we come to Pep himself.

Guardiola was rightfully given a fantastic guard of honour at the stadium itself on Sunday, with his speech making for an emotional moment for all those in the stands and watching at home, and City supporters at the parade made sure to give him a proper send-off.

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Featured Images — Manchester City FC/CITY+ (screenshot via YouTube)

Sport

Manchester’s The Grosvenor pub set to host huge England fan zone with Fireball for 2026 World Cup

Danny Jones Danny Jones Fireball fan zone 2026 World Cup Manchester

With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, there’ll obviously be tonnes of places showing the game, but there’s only one place that’s promising big screens, ball pits, pool tables, ping pong, a ‘peep show’ and plenty more right from the off: The Grosvenor.

It doesn’t hurt that they’re teaming up with beloved booze brand Fireball to spice things up.

We hope the goals come easily for England this tournament, but we can assure the drinks will be free-flowing regardless, over at The Grosvenor on Oxford Road Corridor here in Manchester city centre.

Located just on the corner of (you guessed it) Grosvenor St and the busy Oxford Rd stretch, they’re already getting geared up for tournament time…

Teaming up with the famous cinnamon whisky liqueur, the popular student and matchday spot is set to be busier than ever for this year’s World Cup.

We’ve watched a few Manchester derbies and other big games here in the past, so we can personally vouch for the vibes.

As for what they have in store for the North American edition of FIFA’s biggest competition and the ultimate celebration of the beautiful game, besides numerous England flags hanging from the walls and that beautiful ceiling, there’ll be plenty of music, England anthems, giveaways and top-tier atmosphere.

In addition to lots of chanting from yourselves, no doubt, there’ll be DJ sets and merch up for grabs, as well as lots of big wigs, St George’s glasses and foam hands floating around the room.

Credit: The Grosvenor (supplied)

Of course, there will also be wall-to-wall coverage of the games across their many screens around the venue, not least of all the big box sitting pride of place above the bar itself.

With two large floors and more intimate seating options upstairs, there are plenty of ways to watch Thomas Tuchel’s team fly the flag.

Kicking off with the Three Lions’ opening clash against Croatia on Wednesday, 17 June, the venue will be transformed into a sea of red and white, and guests will also be treated to a completely FREE shot of Fireball every single time England score.

Don’t mind if we do.

Naturally, with stuff like this on offer, fans are encouraged to grab their tickets for the fixtures as early as possible so as not to miss out.

In their words AND ours, “From the first whistle to the final anthem, The Grosvenor is set to become one of Manchester’s home ends for the World Cup.”

You can reserve your tickets from just £3 for The Grosvenor Fireball Fanzone – along with plenty of cheap pints and affordable food and drink packages – right HERE.

(Don’t say, don’t say it, don’t say it) It’s coming home…

the grosvenor food menu
fireball fanzone world cup 2026 manchester
See you there? (Credit: The Manc Eats/Supplied)

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Featured Images — The Grosvenor (supplied)/The Manc Group

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