A video of a Chelsea supporter expressing his doubts over whether Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will “live up to the expectation” is doing the rounds again and it’s absolutely priceless.
Blues fan and YouTuber Rory Jennings appeared on Sky Sport’s Saturday Social show back in August, just a couple of months after City signed the frightening forward from German side Borussia Dortmund.
Though it went viral at the time, with most fans finding his assumption that Haaland stood no chance of winning the golden boot laughable, it’s enjoying an even more hilarious half-life now the Norwegian has put up the kind of numbers he has.
Jennings said at the time that he was “so bored” of the discussion and excitement, insisting that the 22-year-old striker “isn’t the player everyone thinks he is” and to suggest he could win the personal accolade in his debut season was “outrageous”.
An often divisive commentator and content creator who regularly appears on ‘True Geordie’s watchalong show, The Kick Off (where he has also had numerous viral moments), he even went on to say that the mere notion was “disrespectful” to players like Harry Kane and Mo Salah.
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Rubbishing the possibility as a “ridiculous achievement”, he simply declared that Haaland “isn’t going to do it”. Well, this is awkward…
https://youtu.be/YkZPMwAJRjg?t=12
Not only is City’s new number nine already the top scorer in the Premier League with 14 but he also has double the amount of the second highest-scorer in Harry Kane after just eight games. Ridiculous indeed, Rory.
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Moreover, despite Jennings claiming that he is “wasteful” in front of goal at times and lacks the “build-up play” to play in Pep Guardiola’s side, Haaland has the most efficient strike rate of any player in Europe right now, averaging 1.89 goals per 90 minutes in the league alone.
Oh, and he’s also chipped in with three assists on top of that.
It’s safe to say that Rory received a fair bit of grief after his bold claim, to the point that even he had to hold his hands up and record an ‘apology’ video.
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We can only applaud journalist and co-host Ade Oladipo for being less smug than we would have been in this situation.
To make things even more hilarious, Haaland had scored six when he made this video around two months ago. He is now one goal away from the YouTuber’s initial prediction of 15 in the league and has already netted 17 in all competitions. Yikes.
City are currently second in the league with a whopping goal difference of +20 — nearly three-quarters of you can basically credit to just Haaland.
Don’t think you’ll find anyone tipping Kane, Salah or Son for the golden boot now, do you?
Premier League Darts is returning to Manchester’s AO Arena in 2027
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Premier League Darts is confirmed to be returning to Manchester next year.
Now’s your chance to see the youngest world champion in darts history, AKA Warrington’s very-own Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler, show us how it’s done, as next year’s BetMGM Premier League Darts lineup has just been announced this week – with various dates confirmed across 17 different cities in the UK and Europe.
And Manchester is one of those cities, as the AO Arena has shared that they are set to host an evening next April, and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
This means that we will be lucky enough to witness the biggest names in world darts all under one roof, including headliners Gian van Veen and Luke Humphries, as well as Littler.
Manchester is the only northern city to get the pleasure of hosting the event next year, as Liverpool is also on the lineup, as is Leeds, Sheffield, and Newcastle, while elsewhere in the UK, the stars will travel to Glasgow, Birmingham, London, and several other major locations.
BetMGM Premier League Darts is to be held on Thursday 8 April at the AO Arena in Manchester, and to avoid being disappointed, fans are advised to register for presale ticket access.
Following a successful season of events in 2026, tickets are expected to be like gold-dust, so don’t say you haven’t been warned.
To access the first wave of tickets, fans must become an active PDCTV Annual Member before 23:59pm on Friday 9 October. Alternatively, general sale is on Thursday 22 October 2026, but make sure not to hang about.
Featured Image – Sandro Halank (via Wikimedia Commons)
Sport
Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has claimed he wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on fans getting to drink alcohol in football stands.
It’s a ban that’s been in place in the top five tiers of men’s football since 1985, when fears over violence and hooliganism were at their height, but now the Prime Minister has raised the question of whether drinking in football stands – or ‘drinking in sight / view of the pitch’, as it’s known formally – is actually unjust, due to the fact that same rules don’t apply to fans of other sports.
“I don’t think it’s fair for football fans to be singled out in that way,” Andy Burnham has declared this week, grabbing headlines in the process.
He continued: “I think that legislation dates to an era where football was very different, and I do believe there is a case to remove that discrimination.
“I’m not going to back away from what’s been a long-held view of mine. I don’t see how it can be fair that some supporters of one sport can be treated differently.”
The Prime Minister’s comments have been met with mixed response.
Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands / Credit: James Kirkup | Julia Nastogadka (via Unsplash)
The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), for example, has very much welcomed the idea, saying that it ‘totally agrees’ the legislation is ‘outdated’ and ‘deserves to be reviewed’.
Tom Greatrex, chair of the FSA, said in a statement: “The FSA has always argued that it’s unfair to criminalise football fans for having a pint while watching the match – especially since you can sit in the same seat drinking alcohol whilst watching an Oasis gig or rugby league.”
However, on the flip side, the UK Football Policing Unit said it would be ‘incredibly rash’ to change the rules without proper consultation.
“Other sports simply don’t see the violence and criminal behaviour from their supporters that football does, albeit a minority, with alcohol often playing a significant part in violent and disorderly behaviour,” it said in a statement on the matter.
The Prime Minister did state in his initial proposition though that ‘there are different ways it could be done’, hinting that it could be done ‘on a trial basis’ perhaps.
The English Football League (EFL) added that it would be ‘receptive to discussions around reviewing current legislation and permitting alcoholic drinks within view of the pitch’.
No formal details on a review have been confirmed as of yet, so fans are encouraged to stay tuned for updates in due course.
Danny Jones -
4th October 2022 
