Sport

Wigan Athletic announce sale of football club

Administrators have agreed a deal with a consortium led by Bahraini businessman Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi.

The Manc The Manc - 16th March 2021

Wigan Athletic Football Club has officially been sold this week after administrators struck a deal.

The buyers are Phoenix 2021 Limited – a consortium led by Bahraini businessman Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi.

The purchase is still pending approval from the English Football League board – with a final decision expected before the end of the month.

The club said they were hoping the sale would bring some “much needed stability both on and off the pitch.”

The Latics have been plagued by financial problems for many months – with the club being placed into administration in July 2020.

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After suffering relegation to League One, it was feared Wigan would be unable to take part in the 2020/21 campaign, with administrators Begbies Traynor setting a deadline of August 31 for the club to find half-a-million pounds.

Football fans around the world quickly cobbled together more than £652,000 as part of a fundraising campaign – ensuring the Latics survival.

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Wigan representatives have been looking for a buyer ever since – faced with the task of finding suitable new owners in a tight timeframe.

Several ownership changes over the past few years have left the club’s finances in tatters, and whilst Wigan remain understandably wary of potential investors due to problems in the past, they have also been placed under substantial pressure to agree a deal as Football League rules forbid clubs from starting successive seasons in administration.

One previous takeover attempt by a Spanish consortium was blocked in December.

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Wigan’s new Chairman, Mr Talal Al-Hammad, admitted he knew that he would “have to earn [fans’] trust through actions rather than words.”

He also said he wanted to “help restore pride and belief with everyone associated with the Club.”

The Chairman added: “To Latics fans everywhere, we can only guess at the amount of hurt and distress you have felt since the Club entered administration and it is now our focus to stabilise its future and to illustrate why we believe we are the best ownership group for the Club.”

MP for Wigan Lisa Nandy welcomed the takeover news and said it was her “cautious hope that we can finally close the door on the nightmare of recent months and begin a new chapter for Wigan Athletic.”

A club statement said: “It is anticipated that the EFL Board approval and all other ownership-transferral matters will be formally completed by 31 March 2021.”

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Wigan currently sit in the relegation zone in League One – picking up 33 points from 34 games.

Featured image: Dan Farrimond / Flickr

Sport

Scott McTominay jokes he’s ‘fuming’ he didn’t score a hat-trick against Chelsea as he reflects on Man United’s mentality

Danny Jones Danny Jones Scott McTominay jokes he could have scored a hattrick against Chelsea

Scott McTominay has joked he’s “fuming” with himself after failing to score a hat-trick in Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Chelsea on Wednesday night and shed some light on the mentality around Old Trafford.

McTominay starred in the Red Devils’ win over Mauricio Pochettino’s side on a cold night at home, managing to bag a brace with a goal in the first and second half to get his squad over the line, but he himself said he could have had more.

Speaking to MUTV after the game, the 26-year-old said he and the squad knew they needed to drum up a reaction after the Newcastle disappointment, adding that contributing more goals is something he wants to keep working on and insisting that plenty of people back him to do so.

Confessing that his mum, dad and grandad have all been encouraging him to “get in the box” and that he just needs to “believe in [him]self and go for it”, the Scotsman did go on to quip he was “fuming” to not grab a third as he shook his head went on to shake and reveal a wry smile.

Scott McTominay was the match-winner against Chelsea.

Commentator and presenter Stewart Gardner went on to list McTominay’s impressive stats this season, having now scored 14 goals in his last 33 appearances for club and country. A seriously good rate from a midfielder typically entrusted to help link play and break things up in the middle of the park.

Now boasting half a dozen goals and an assist across all competitions so far this campaign, he sits as the club’s leading goalscorer in the Premier League with five finishes to his name — with only Bruno Fernandes having contributed more (five goals and five assists) — he’s genuinely become one of Man United’s main goal threats.

He also led the goalscoring charts in the Euro 2024 qualifying for a good long while there and still ended up joint fifth with his new teammate Rasmus Højlund on seven goals.

While he recently rubbished talk that he played as a striker regularly coming up through the youth academy, simply having been deployed for the odd game in reality, he has always had a shot on him and it isn’t the first time he’s bagged a winner or a big goal for the Reds. This wasn’t a bad one either:

A great assist from Alejandro Garnacho as well, who also starred on the night.

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Chatting with the pundits on Amazon Prime Sport, he reiterated that he could have had “one or two more” on another night and agreed that the performance against Newcastle in the previous fixture was “pretty abysmal”, holding his hands up to admit that it was “no way near good enough”.

Reflecting on the later chance he had to seal the hat-trick towards the end of the game, he said he simply needed to “calm down on the last one”.

As for the mentality to get the result during a difficult period where the club remained under a lot of scrutiny from pundits and fans alike, McTominay went on to say that the manager is responsible for the way they played and some “lighter training sessions to keep energy levels up” definitely helped.

Regardless, he was sure to not get ahead of himself and assured ten Hag‘s team were still taking things a game at a time. You can watch the full highlights from Manchester United vs Chelsea down below:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Scott McTominay (via Instagram)/MUTV

Sport

Kevin Sinfield has entered the final leg of yet another ultra marathon challenge for MND

Danny Jones Danny Jones Kevin Sinfield ultra 7 in 7 in 7 marathon challenge

Ex-rugby player turned England coach Kevin Sinfield has begun the final day of yet another incredible ultra marathon challenge he is undertaking to raise money and awareness around motor neurone disease (MND), with the sports personality scheduled to finish up this Thursday.

Having set off on 1 December, the Oldham-born athlete is facing what he has called easily his “toughest challenge” yet, taking on the newly-dubbed ‘Ultra 7 in 7 in 7’, which will see him once again run an ultra marathon every day for seven days across seven different cities.

Following on from his first Ultra 7 in 7 back in 2020 and most recent one last year, the Leeds Rhinos legend has now raised well over £8 million pounds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA), the cause he got behind following his former teammate and best mate Rob Burrow’s diagnosis in 2019.

Now, having taken on the incredible feat once again — running the equivalent of 27 miles (43km) a day — Sinfield is hoping to not just reach the trademark £777,777 fundraising target, but smash it for a fourth consecutive time. Here he is finishing up his penultimate leg in his second home.

Setting off from Yorkshire’s iconic Headingley Stadium with a team of friends and volunteers, the 43-year-old has passed through the likes of Cardiff, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Dublin and Brighton, and is now staring down one last push towards the finale from Twickenham Stadium to the Mall in London.

Having already amassed over £557k in donations since the start of his remarkable journey, he is well on course to reach the finish line in every sense of the word.

The best part about this most recent Ultra 7 fundraising challenge, though, is that beyond just putting in the hard yards in Burrow‘s name and raising money for the MNDA, the funds generated from this series of runs will be going to multiple causes.

As well as the Leeds Hospitals Charity and The Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, money will also be going to the Irish MNDA set up by former Scottish rugby player, Doddie Weir, who sadly died from the condition in 2022 but has remained an inspiration to Sinfield and countless others over recent years.

Having echoed his lasting sentiment that “MND isn’t untreatable, it’s just underfunded” throughout his own campaigning for the cause, the local sporting hero will also be representing the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation in his honour. Heartwarming stuff.

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As we’re sure is the case for all of you too, we’ve been absolutely blown away by this man over the last few years not only in his ability to keep completing these huge feats of endurance but by the size of his heart in continuing to fundraise on such a massive scale.

From raising awareness around MND and becoming an emblem of friendship with his best mate Rob, Kevin Sinfield has truly set an example for all of us and will no doubt prove a role model to millions for years to come.

Be it setting up Leed’s first official marathon for years in the name of Rob Burrow, rightfully earning a Pride of Britain award, or sending personal messages of support to fellow sufferers, he is a truly incredible human being.

You can donate to this extremely worthy cause HERE and help do your bit to nudge Kevin across the line.

Rugby legend, ultra-marathon runner, inspiration | Kevin Sinfield — Manc of the Month November 2022

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Leeds Rhinos/Motor Neurone Disease Association (via Instagram)

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