Any Manc that reveals themselves to be a sports fan is invariably asked the same question: Are you a Red or a Blue?
United and City’s respective success on football’s world stage means Manchester is often divided neatly down the middle. One side are Devils. The other are Cityzens.
But football support here isn’t binary. It’s a spectrum.
In between the famous hell red and sky blue, there’s a kaleidoscope of club colours. Starting with Hulme Athenaeum in the 1860s, Greater Manchester has been a blossoming garden for the beautiful game.
In recent history, there’s been a team for almost every borough above the sixth tier (Tameside being the only exception until recently).
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But the rainbow of club colours in Greater Manchester is rapidly being bleached.
The white and navy blue of Bury was washed out of the football league in 2019. The blood red of Droylsden was removed from the Northern Premier earlier this year.
Despite its somewhat diminutive stature, Wigan Athletic is a special little club; having repeatedly come out on top when the odds are stacked against them.
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After climbing up from regional levels and making their way into the football league in the 1970s, The Latics enjoyed a meteoric rise under the regime of chairman Dave Whelan in the noughties; moving from the old Division Two to the Premier League in the space of three years.
It was wonderful to watch – temporarily diverting eyes away from the two big clubs in the region to gawp at the blue and white stripes making big waves in northern football.
Everyone expected Wigan to swiftly exit the door as soon as they entered – a la Grandpa Simpson – but they made themselves part of the Premier League furniture; remaining in football’s top tier for eight seasons.
During that final Prem campaign in 2013, they also battled their way to the cup final – facing billionaire-backed Manchester City in what was, on paper, a guaranteed drubbing.
We all know how that one ended. Again, Wigan stunned the football world – and it’s a memory that’s gone down as one the great all-time shocks of Mancunian football.
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Two changes in ownership, however, have left the club unbalanced.
Despite passing the football league’s ‘test and takeover’ criteria, Wigan were left in the financial red zone by the most recent acquisition in 2020 – headed by Wai Kay Au Yeung, the frontman of Next Leader Fund (NLF).
Suddenly, the cards were stacked against The Latics once again. The football league deducted 12 points from their tally as Wigan went into administration, landing the club in the biggest battle of their existence.
Just days after that deduction, Wigan won 8-0. Their biggest league victory on record. They were still fighting.
They even resisted their deduction with a quarrel, but when the FL dismissed their claims (unfairly, some argue), it was confirmed the club would play football in the third tier for 2020/21.
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At least, in theory. Wigan will only compete next year if a buyer can be found. And there’s just a matter of days left to raise the necessary funds.
According to administrators Begbies Traynor, if no agreement is reached by 31 August, considerations would have to be made as to whether the club can begin the new campaign.
Wigan need £500,000 by Monday. It’s a steep hill. But the good news is, they’re already more than a third of the way there.
All the local leaders – including MP Lisa Nandy, Wigan Council and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are behind the cause. It’s over to us now.
Huge day today. With just weeks to go until the new season starts @WiganAthSC have put together plans to make sure that, whatever happens, our club will survive.
We have a lot of support and we know we can do this – but we need your help https://t.co/QsfUloqLGX
So close to our first £100,000 to save our club & aim to secure a voice at the very highest level in the future of WAFC.Pledge now to receive rewards in Wigan Athletic once survival is secured.Together we can make our football club fan & community led!https://t.co/HwN8xDOgPo
A petition has been launched to raise the necessary money to keep Wigan alive.
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Wigan Athletic Supporters’ Club stated: “We need to be READY to act in order to secure the future of Wigan Athletic. Not just a football club, but an integral part of our community that helps to improve thousands of lives across Wigan.
“We need to raise £500,000 by Monday 31st August from supporters and community pledges. Each pledge will make a difference and YOU will be rewarded with a place in our future for your pledge.
“This funding will be used to support the future of the football club with community-ownership and supporter representation and influence at the highest level.”
Wigan have given the game in Greater Manchester so much in terms of shock, glory, and enjoyment over the years. It’s time for us to do our bit and give back.
Football up here won’t be the same without Wigan Athletic.
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‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
🔵 Subscribe to our Manchester City page on BBC Sounds for the latest interviews. #MCFC#bbcfootball
Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Sale Sharks sign highly-rated Harlequins hooker, Nathan Jibulu
Danny Jones
Sale Sharks are investing in youth with their latest bit of transfer business after signing one of the Harlequins’ hottest prospects, Nathan Jibulu.
The highly-rated hooker, who has already nine appearances this season, including more than half a dozen in the Gallagher Premiership, has been exciting plenty of scouts throughout rugby union and is already firmly in national team plans.
Having already been part of the England Under-20 and A squads, not to mention impressing at club level in a relatively short space of time, it’s a big coup for Sale.
From the Quins academy to the right side of Shark-infested waters.
Jibulu joined the Twickenham-based outfit back in 2022 just a year after they won their second English championship (a full decade since their first) after previously attending Seaford College and representing nearby Wimbledon Warriors.
However, now the six-foot and seriously strong forward will be swapping the life near the capital for the North and Greater Manchester, specifically.
Set to join Sale Sharks for the 2025/26 season – scheduled to kick off in September – he’s looking like a really strong addition to their front row and a future squads to come.
Speaking to the club in an official statement, he said: “When I was younger, whenever someone asked me, ‘what team would you want to play for?’ I’d always say Sale…
“I’ve scrummed a lot with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] and I got to know him pretty well. I always tell him how special and different he is, and I can’t wait to play with him.
“The way the club has developed him and nurtured him to become an established Premiership and England player speaks volumes about the coaching and the support that he’s getting at Sale.
“The entire front row is in the England squad, with the Curry boys too, so that tells you that someone at the club is doing something right. I looked at that and I said, ‘why would you not want to be there?’”
Still just 22 years old and having made just as many appearances for his soon-to-be former club, Sale weren’t the only ones chasing his signature.
Jibulu went on to add: “I love those games where you go toe-to-toe physically, so all of that attracted me straight away, and then speaking to people who are there already, they said all the stuff that I really like so it was a no brainer when the opportunity came about.”
As for his impending coach, Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: “Nathan is really driven, he understands what he wants from his life and his career, and he knows how he’s going to get it.
“He’s a young lad but he’s incredibly mature and he’s got the game and the physical attributes to match. I’ve got no doubt he’ll play for England in the future and we’re really excited to bring him to the club.”
Currently sat seventh in the table after another at times promising but somewhat frustrating start to the year, the summer can’t come soon enough for Sale.
The Manc -
27th August 2020 
