Two brand new coaches have joined Pep Guardiola’s backroom staff at Manchester City this week, and they arrive at the club with an impressive and interesting pedigree, to say the least.
2024/25 was the first campaign that the Catalan head coach finished the competitive season without picking up silverware since his maiden year at the club in 16/17. As a result, it looks like Pep is risking any further flirtation with complacency and looks to have been proactive in the transfer market and beyond.
As well as player acquisition (one already completed and more inbound), the official appointment of two key additions to the first-team coaching personnel on Tuesday morning has piqued some interest.
Not least of all because they’ve been snapped up from a rival club.
The two men in question are Pepijn Lijnders and James French, who, up until this month, used to belong to the current English champions and had been for more than a decade, respectively.
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Lijnders, who is now assistant coach to Guardiola, initially joined Liverpool as part of former manager Brendan Rodgers’ entourage before being kept on by club legend and now close friend, Jürgen Klopp, who left the Premier League after nine years in charge last year.
Why have one Pep when you can have two, eh?
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As for his 42-year-old protégé, the fellow Dutchman had a short 2018 spell in charge of NEC Nijmegen back home in Eredivisie and, most recently, the RB Salzburg boss before ultimately being dismissed after just 29 games.
Lijnders also famously published his first book while still working as a football coach, Intensity: Inside Liverpool, back in 2022; it chronicled Liverpool’s 2021/22 season and was heavily criticised by many for shedding too much light on the dressing room and coaching secrets.
Safe to say his arrival at the Etihad Campus is a loaded and intriguing one for a number of reasons.
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He certainly seems to back himself and has already tried his hand in the top job.
Meanwhile, long-time colleague, French, has been at Anfield studying opposition teams even longer. The former Hearts, Cardiff and Swansea match analyst landed in Merseyside all the way back in 2012.
Born in Portugal but raised here in England from an early age, picking up degrees in Scotland and Wales before also enjoying a role as part of the Welsh FA, his CV is a varied one which now includes Man City‘s new set-piece specialist.
With runners-up Arsenal having seen huge success in gaining extra points through goals converted from dead-ball situations, and Pep already a very astute tactician, it looks as though the Blues are hoping to find further success in this area.
You could argue he now serves as the perfect man to help push the team forward against their closest modern rivals and will certainly serve as a helpful opposition coach now too, having effectively spent a very long spell ‘researching’ what goes on over at Melwood.
Commenting on the appointments, fellow new starter and recently integrated Director of Football, Hugo Viana, said: “We are all delighted that Pepijn and James have joined our senior coaching set-up. Pepijn and James have each amassed huge experience working in their individual roles over the past few years.
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“Their talent, application, work ethic and all-around commitment are totally aligned with the values that underpin how Pep wants football to be played.
“I have no doubt at all that both will prove to be very important assets for Pep and his coaching team as we prepare for the Club World Cup and then the 2025/26 season.”
Along with new reserve goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea also being confirmed, it is expected that Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders are next to be announced.
Club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak made clear to fans early doors that his side would pick up “several targets” this summer, even after the roughly £200 million spending spree back in January, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see even more new faces before the end of the window.
Jamie Carragher fires back at journalist after being turned away from Etihad away end
Danny Jones
Jamie Carragher has fired back at a tabloid journalist after he reported on the ex-footballer being turned away from the Borussia Dortmund away end during their meeting against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium this week.
The former Liverpool and England player was reporting on the Champions League match as part of his usual ‘Golazo’ duties for the US on Wednesday, 5 November, and was hoping to join in with travelling fans during the game.
Carragher became part of the ‘yellow wall’ last year during their UCL fixture against Chelsea, being adopted as a Dortmund supporter for the day, but was not granted the same privilege upon arriving at the Etihad this time around.
Daily Mail journalist Mike Keegan wrote a piece explaining how the working presenter was turned away due to safety concerns raised by security at Man City, but the 47-year-old has now given his own retort.
Just trying to have a good time with the Dortmund fans Mike, it was no problem it wasn’t allowed. Next time message me & I’ll tell you all you need to know, rather than Simon at Man City giving you a story. Probably explains why you’re so sympathetic around the 115 charges.
As you can see, the retired defender turned Sky Sports and CBS pundit was less than pleased with the piece, clarifying that there was “no problem” over the decision, asking instead why he didn’t contact him directly for a comment.
In addition to seemingly naming names, he also couldn’t resist the urge as a rival Red to take a jab at City’s ever-looming FFP breaches, suggesting that the outlet has been somewhat biased in its coverage of the ongoing saga.
However, Keegan didn’t let the spat pass without his own right of reply.
Reacting directly underneath the response, the sports writer added: “I already knew the facts, Jamie, but you clearly don’t.
“Next time you’re covering a game at City, you should probably apologise to Simon for wrongly accusing him of being the source on the story.”
Either way, this is as far as Carragher got on his way to the ground:
While it is still unclear as to who exactly ‘Carra’ and Keegan are referring to in their exchange, many have speculated that it could be Simon Pearce: a non-executive director at the club and part of the CFG (City Football Group) board; he has been tied to the ongoing allegations of financial deception.
Onto the action pitchside, not only did scoring machine Erling Haaland come back to haunt his former team once again, but the Blues ran, maybe not riot, but much closer to their vintage best, with Stockport’s very own bagging a brace and Rayan Cherki scoring his first UCL goal under Pep Guardiola.
Professional cricketer wins University Campus of Football Business grand prize at Old Trafford
Danny Jones
British cricketer, Marie Kelly, has won the prestigious University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) Sports Entrepreneur Competition for 2025.
Winning the whopping grand prize of up to £50,000, the Blaze – Nottinghamshire women’s team, formerly known as ‘Lightning’ – and Northern Superchargers star took home the potentially game-changing investment for her own apparel company, Versatail.
Being given the substantial grant late last month, the professional cricket player was presented as the lucky recipient following an intense deliberation process.
Expert judges chose the Birmingham-born young businesswoman from a shortlist of nine finalists selected from countless submissions.
At 29, Kelly fell just within the eligible 18-30 age bracket for the new UFCB Sports Entrepreneur Competition, with 2025 marking a decade of the further education institution here in Manchester.
Held at Man United’s home stadium, Old Trafford, it’s safe to say that the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ felt like a fitting venue to deliver news.
The judging panel was comprised of UCFB Founder, Brendan Flood; Andrea Chilton, CEO of the English Schools Football Association; Eni Shabani, Founder of Rising Ballers; Adrian Harris, Chief Supply Chain Officer of Castore, as well as the CEO of Altrincham FC, Sam Mackenzie.
As the founder of Versatail UK, which specialises in women’s and active headwear, including lifestyle caps and bobble hats, Kelly has taken her sporting background to create products that cater specifically to long hair and female-centric styling.
For instance, her label has helped oversee the design ‘Magni-Strip®’ trademarked technology, which allows people to adjust their ponytail heights.
Learn more about the inspiration behind the project here:
Votes were based on five criteria: market opportunity, innovation of the idea, feasibility, the pitch quality, and sustainability/impact of the idea.
Other runners-up included a non-league football app called Touchline, and even an anti-bacterial boxing glove liner conceived by a brand specialist at Amazon.
Speaking on the momentous milestone for her still relatively small start-up, Kelly said: “My main emotion is shock. I really didn’t think I would win – I was here for the experience.
The process really helped me strategise the business and really think about where I wanted to go with it. To be named the overall winner, I’m really delighted.”
“The financial prize takes a bit of the weight off my mind about how to supply the demand that I’ve already got for my products and my caps. Hopefully, I can just really develop the product so it’s even better and service even more women and girls in sports.”
As for UCFB, aforementioned CEO Flood went on to add: “As we celebrate 10 years in Manchester, we want to celebrate not just our own journey but empower the young entrepreneurs who will shape the future of sport.
“This competition reflected everything UCFB stands for: ambition, innovation, and the belief that the sports industry is powered by creative ideas. The calibre of the entries was incredible, so everyone who made the final judging stage deserves immense credit, but Marie was the unanimous choice overall.
“She has done an incredible job establishing her brand, and we hope that this financial reward can help Versatail continue to cater for the diverse needs of women and girls in sport at an even greater scale.
You can see the full video from the most recent event down below.
If you’re looking to make moves in this space, keep your eye out for when entries open for the UCFB Entrepreneur prize in 2026.
Danny Jones -
10th June 2025 
