Lewis Macari, the grandson of Manchester United and Scotland legend, Lou Macari, scored his first-ever goal in English football on his EFL debut for Notts County this weekend and it was an absolute screamer.
His grandfather, who played for Man United over 400 times and was part of Celtic’s iconic ‘Quality Street Gang’, still gives his name to one of the busiest matchday chippies outside Old Trafford and continues to work on behalf of the club to this day, but now his grandson is carrying the family on the pitch.
Lewis, still just 21, is on loan at the League Two side from parent club Stoke City, where Macari is also revered for his time as a manager across two spells and where his grandad still lives to this day helping the homeless community as he does here in Manchester.
Rifling home the edge-of-the-box rocket from centre-back no less, the youngster helped secure the three points in a 2-1 win against Gillingham in a moment he’ll never forget.
A goal for Lewis Macari in his first-ever @EFL game, to secure all three points for @Official_NCFC in their 5,000th @EFL game 🤩
As you can see, it was a finish that anyone would make anyone proud, and one more than worthy of his family name, with Macari’s sons Michael and Lewis’ dad Paul both having played professionally at Stoke in the 90s too.
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The match-winner itself helped the Magpies stay within touching distance of Greater Manchester side and league leaders, Stockport County, with their promotion rivals now sat on just a two-point cushion at the top of the table.
While his grandad scored a nearly century of goals from midfield for United and many more during his career, as for Lewis, this was just his second-ever goal in professional football, having previously netted one whilst on loan at Dundalk in Ireland last year.
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Speaking to media after the game, the youngster admitted that it was “all a blur” after he struck the ball, joking that he couldn’t even remember how he celebrated.
As mentioned, Macari Senior’s legacy goes far beyond his sporting career and having his name on the front of a chip shop; Lou and his organisation have been helping care for homeless people in Manchester, Stoke and more for several years now, raising over £750,000 for related charities.
The Macari Foundation set up a homeless shelter, The Macari Centre, in central Stoke back in 2016, helping house countless rough sleepers and now providing a bed, four meals a deal and support to around 50 individuals a day.
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Here in 0161, the ex-Red Devil has also played a key role in helping United establish their ‘Big Sleepout‘ initiative, where members of the club and locals camped out inside the Munich Tunnel to raise money for vulnerable young people and homeless charities in the region for the first time last year.
The next sleepout, which is now set to be held in the stands of Old Trafford, takes place next month on 3 November. You can find out more information and how to get involved HERE.
Featured Image — EFL League Two/Notts County (via Twitter)
Sport
Manchester City release new ‘The Decade Collection’ celebrating 10 years of Pep Guardiola
Danny Jones
Manchester City and PUMA have just released a new clothing line celebrating 10 seasons of Pep Guardiolaat the club.
Simply entitled ‘The Decade Collection’, the new PUMA range revolves entirely around Pep as he marks his 10th anniversary in charge of the Blues, focusing on minimalistic style.
Guardiola has always been a trendy bloke, often being highlighted for his fashion choices on the touchline – even some of the questionable ones…
But with a much plainer approach this time around, the Pep clothing collab
Debuting the lifestyle drop on Wednesday, 15 April, Man City wrote on social media, “Ten seasons on the touchline. Ten seasons of setting the standard.
“Introducing the Puma Football Decade Collection with the Pep Team – celebrating Pep’s ten seasons as our manager and inspired by memorable moments from his tenure at the Club.”
While it’s unclear how much (if any) of these new clothes the Catalan coach has helped design or had influence on, but given its exclusive nature, you can expect it to sell out pretty quickly.
They go on to add: “Created to honour a defining chapter that reshaped the club’s modern identity, this exclusive collection is available in limited quantities.
Starting at £30 for the cheapest item – a ‘P’ logo baseball cap – the most expensive part of the collection clocks in at £110: his special anniversary edition ‘Majesty Low Decade’ PUMA trainers.
You can see some more examples of what we’ve already seen him wearing, and what we’ll no doubt see him in pitchside very soon, down below.
Obviously, City has plenty of other brand partnerships when it comes to both official sports apparel and more casual clothing, many of which we’ve already seen the 55-year-old football manager wear, but you can almost guarantee he’ll be donning them for the coming fixtures.
You can see Man City x PUMA x Pep Guardiola ‘Decade Collection’ in full HERE.
Speaking of which, up next for Pep and co is what could prove to be THE big twist in this year’s Premier League campaign, with his squad of serial winners taking on league leaders Arsenal at home.
Not only did the Gunners’ surprise loss to Bournemouth last weekend help City close the gap on the top spot, but with them refinding their form ahead of hosting the title hopefuls at the Etihad Stadium, it all looks to be shifting back in their favour at the moment.
With seven games left, and one in hand compared to Arsenal, do you see them beating Mikel Arteta’s side to another trophy?
Featured Images — Manchester City Football Club (publicity pictures)
Sport
Sale Sharks announce signing of exciting new winger David Opoku-Fordjour
Danny Jones
Sale Sharks have revealed their latest bit of recruitment as they have announced an agreement to sign promising young winger, David Opoku-Fordjour.
The brother of existing Sharks player, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, David, is set to join Sale at the start of next Gallagher PREM season.
Sharing the news with their fans on social media, the Greater Manchester rugby union outfit is tipping the ‘exciting’ and very fast forward to achieve big things at the club.
As the older sibling of 21-year-old prop Asher (only slightly), they might be of a similar profile in some ways, but they are still two very unique talents with their own attributes.
The fellow Coventry-born prospect came through his local side’s youth academy, making over half a century of appearances for the Championship team.
He will now become the second member of the Opoku-Fordjour family, who are originally from Ghana, to play for Sale Sharks.
Already capped England star Asher is actually the youngest of the four Midlands-born brothers.
Meanwhile, David Opoku-Fordjour – still just 22 himself – will make his Premiership debut in the coming 2026/27 campaign, penning a one-year deal with an option of extending by another 12 months as part of his contract:
The youngster said in an official statement: “I know the levels at a PREM club will be much higher, but I’m really looking forward to playing and training with internationals every day.
“There are so many good wingers at the club – guys like Tom Roebuck and Arron Reed – and I just want to be a sponge and learn from them and develop as much as I can.”
“Asher and I are really close, and playing with him again will be brilliant. When I spoke to him, he just said that the environment at Sale is great and that I would really enjoy it. He said the club is full of good people, so I can’t wait to get started.”
🗣️ "Playing with my brother again will be brilliant."
Commenting on his arrival, Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said, “There’s some real talent and potential in the Champ, and we think we’ve found one in David.
“He scores tries for fun, but there’s plenty more to his game, and we’re looking forward to seeing how he develops in this environment, learning and playing with the international wingers we’ve got.”
Looking forward to seeing him on the pitch, Sharks?
Danny Jones -
23rd October 2023 
