Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany has won his first trophy in just his second job as a coach, leading Burnley to an emphatic Championship title win.
And to make things even sweeter, he did it with two games to spare, 13 points clear of Sheffield United in second place, and he got to do it away to historic rivals, Blackburn Rovers.
Burnley were crowned winners of the EFL Championship on Tuesday night after a narrow 1-0 win away at Blackburn’s Ewood Park, it never being easy to play against your rivals on their home turf — especially when there’s a league title on the line.
Nevertheless, not only has Kompany led the Clarets to promotion back into the Premier League from next season at the first time of asking, but he’s also won his first piece of silverware as a first-team manager, having only begun professional coaching full-time in 2020.
lt only took a single albeit wonderful goal from substitute Manuel Benson to seal the win, who only needed six minutes to score his third goal in the last three games and put Burnley’s name on this year’s Championship trophy — though it was only the inflatable version being passed around on the night.
ADVERTISEMENT
The 37-year-old didn’t manage to win a trophy during his time as a player-manager and then full-time coach at his boyhood club, Anderlecht, but it only took him one season to win his first major honour at Burnley in convincing fashion.
Speaking to media after the game, the Belgian said: “There’s two awards [in a Championship campaign], promotion and the title, and there’s two more trophies: your two derbies. We’ve won all four this season. I know what those games mean. We’ve made memories for life. No one can take that away from us. We won the league at Ewood Park.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Having done it by winning an East Lancashire derby, he went on to add that this season “will be talked about for generations” by Burnley fans.
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany says there is no better way to secure the Championship title than beating their biggest rivals Blackburn 💪pic.twitter.com/CfxH5VRcG2
Kompany had already been linked with the Spurs job even before promotion and the title itself were sealed, but given what he’s got going at Turf Moor and the kind of football they’ve been playing, it’s looking like he’ll want to see out the project back in the top flight.
The former City captain now adds an EFL Championship to his four Premier Leagues, two FA Cups and four League Cups; two Charity Shields and two Belgian league titles as a player. Decorated.
ADVERTISEMENT
You can see the highlights of Blackburn Rovers vs Burnley FC and the celebrations after the whistle down below:
Tickets go live as opening date is announced for Manchester City’s new ‘immersive’ museum experience
Emily Sergeant
Tickets to visit Manchester City’s new ‘immersive’ museum experience have officially gone live ahead of the grand opening.
Set to open in the heart of the £300m Medlock Square entertainment district at Manchester’s Etihad Campus next month, the Manchester City Museum Experience will be spread across 10 distinctive spaces – with visitors invited to take a trip down memory lane with nostalgic environments from throughout the club’s history.
Fans will also be able to take part in interactive media experiences, like posing with all 48 major trophies won by the club’s first teams or trying their hand at football punditry.
The experience will combine the latest immersive technology with physical memorabilia drawn from across the club’s history to do this.
Hidden details and surprising ‘did you know’ facts are set to be embedded across the experience, so that even the most devoted Man City fans will have the chance to discover something new about the club they love.
By combining interactive environments, technology, and authentic artefacts, the experience is aiming to appeal to a wide audience – from lifelong Manchester City supporters, to families and those with a broader interest in football, culture, and the city of Manchester.
“The Museum Experience has been designed as a destination that goes beyond just the pitch,” commented Jeremy Maxton, who is the Director of Visitor Attractions at Manchester City Football Club.
Manchester City releases CGIs and important details of its new ‘immersive’ museum / Credit: Manchester City / Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA)
“Whether you’re a lifelong supporter, visiting Manchester for a weekend, or simply looking for a unique day out, we’ve created an experience that offers something for everyone.
“From the recreated environments and original memorabilia to the interactive elements, there are different ways into the Club’s history throughout the Museum.
“We’ve also built in space for new stories to be added over time, so the experience can continue to evolve. It’s been a huge project to bring together and we’re looking forward to people seeing it for themselves later this year.”
The Manchester City Museum Experience officially opens on 14 December, and you can now book tickets to visit from that date here.
Featured Image – Credit: Manchester City / Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA)
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)
Danny Jones -
26th April 2023 
