Sport

Wrexham AFC announce Manchester United friendly with hilarious Sir Alex Ferguson video

Filed under things you never thought you'd see.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 28th March 2023

Manchester United confirmed that they would be playing Wrexham AFC as part of their US tour on Tuesday, but the Welsh club’s Hollywood owners had a much better way of announcing the pre-season friendly.

While the Red Devils put out a simple statement revealing that one of their games would come against the resurgent Red Dragons, Wrexham‘s celebrity owners in Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney once again decided to put their acting to good use and inform their own fans of the upcoming match.

So, what’s the best way for a National League club to announce a massive fixture with one of the biggest sporting franchises in the world? Well, ideal scenario: getting a United legend and perhaps the greatest football manager of all time to help you do it would have quite the impact. Surely not?…

Yes, somehow, Rob and Ryan managed to convince Sir Alex Ferguson to be in the video and while they’re the ones known for their funny bones, it’s the gaffer who shines as the star of the show.

Manchester United vs Wrexham AFC, announced by the Sir Alex Ferguson. What a time to be alive.

So good. We almost thought we were staring at a still image at one point and the gag was going to be along the lines of him not even being there while they wonder, ‘is he frozen’?, but the punchline was the perfect level of dry for Scotsman who is literally known for his infamous ‘hairdryer’.

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Now, we’ve seen plenty of parodies and funny videos since the acting, writing and comedy-producing duo first bought the club back in November 2020, but I think it’s fair to say we never expected to see Sir Alex in a sketch.

Obviously, we’ve seen countless commercial ads involving United down the year working — including that time the players met Deadpool himself (remember that?) — but we can’t remember the legendary coach ever getting involved with these kinds of shenanigans before.

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Suppose retirement has given him the free time to focus on the things he enjoys: i.e. more United.

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As detailed in the video and United’s tour teaser at the start of the week, the two teams will be playing in a pre-season friendly at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on July 25 later this year.

Not only will there be plenty of American Reds piling through the doors this summer, but there’s also sure to be a fair few transatlantic Wrexham supporters too, as the story of the club’s takeover has captured the attention of millions, especially after their hugely popular documentary series.

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To make things even cooler, it isn’t the only connection between the Devils and the Dragons we’ve seen of late either, as former United keeper and Premier League veteran Ben Foster came out of retirement to sign for Wrexham 18 years on from his previous loan spell. What a coup

Reynolds even popped up in his latest matchday vlog. Wrexham really is one of the strangest sporting stories we’ve witnessed in quite some time.

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Featured Image — Wrexham AFC

Sport

Cole Palmer picks up FSA Men’s Player of the Year for 2024

Danny Jones Danny Jones Cole Palmer wins FSA Player of the Year award 2024

Chelsea star Cole Palmer has officially won the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) Player of the Year Award for 2024 following what can only be called an incredible 12 months.

It’s been an unbelievable 12 months for the former Manchester City academy product and now England international, who is still only 22, having already notched eight goals and six assists in 15 games for his club this season.

The Wythenshawe-born winger, attacking midfielder and all-round dynamo has been virtually unplayable the entire calendar year, to be honest, becoming the fastest Chelsea player in history to reach 30 goals with his latest contribution this past weekend.

Picking up the award at this year’s ceremony held in London on Monday night, Cole Palmer becomes the first Chelsea player to ever win FSA Player of the Year, having done so with just over one full senior season under his belt.

Registering 26 goal contributions in 2024 so far, he’s been one of the most prolific players not only in England but in European football full stop, and he’s no way near done yet.

With a busy Christmas period ahead thanks to the congested festive fixture list, you can expect him to add to that tally soon enough, having just scored a goal-of-the-season contender in the West London side’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.

This latest award also comes just a few months on from notching Young Player of the Season for 2023/24 in his debut season for Chelsea and his first full Premier League campaign. Generational stuff.

Leading the league in chances created from open play (30) and so often being the match-winner in a team so overly saturated with talent – approximately £1.15 billion on a total of 39 players across the last five transfer windows – he’s worth his weight in gold.

Just a lad from Manchester who’s very good at kicking a ball.

With well over half the season still to go and Enzo Maresca’s side finally looking like a team worthy of the money spent and able to compete at the top of the table, the question is how much more quality is there to come from him?

Currently third in the assists table (6) and not too far from the front of the Golden Boot race (8), we wouldn’t be surprised if you see the local lad picking up even more personal accolades come May.

Well done, Cole – we’ll be pulling out the Palmer celebration the first chance we get. Mainly because it’s December and we’re freezing…

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Featured Images — Premier League (screenshot via YouTube)

Sport

Pep Guardiola fires back at Liverpool fans after ‘sacked in the morning chants’

Danny Jones Danny Jones Pep Guardiola reacts to Liverpool fants chanting sacked in the morning

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hit back at Liverpool fans after chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” rang around Anfield this past weekend.

Not unlike this spell of seven games without a win – now six defeats and one draw – Guardiola has never really had those chants pointed in his direction before given that he’s one of the most successful managers in history, and it’s clear he was just as taken aback as those watching were.

The 2-0 loss to his title rivals marked four straight league defeats for the first time in Pep’s entire career and City‘s worst run since 2008, when the club was first bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group.

With that in mind, the home crowd certainly had fun at the Spaniard’s expense, and after the chanting continued, he was happy to respond with the facts both on the pitch and in the presser.

Having reminded the Kop End and co. of his time in England thus far, Guardiola went on to reiterate in his post-match press conference: “I’m so proud of my six Premier Leagues against that team and the previous team [under Jürgen Klopp].

While he applauded Arne Slot’s side for their performance, recognising that a trip to Merseyside is always difficult, he didn’t expect to hear the kind of chanting he did after conceding the second goal, and with time still to play against what is still one of the best teams in world football.

“Maybe I deserved to be sacked with our results! Maybe I’m still in the job because I won six Premier Leagues and a lot of titles. They want to sack me. I wish they were more kind. Why didn’t they do it at 0-1? Why didn’t they do it last season when we won the league? Why do they want to sack me now?

“I didn’t expect that from Anfield, for other clubs like Brighton I can understand it, but for Anfield, I didn’t expect this, maybe it is the [level of] respect we have. They know we have won six Premier Leagues. But it’s fine, it’s part of the game.”

In a similar vein, replacement keeper Stefan Ortega (who stepped in for out-of-form Ederson) also said he had been told that the “area [Liverpool] is probably not the best part in the UK” and that his manager responded well to the taunting overall.

Meanwhile, as well as some much-needed levity and sarcasm, the 53-year-old did insist that his years in Manchester have “probably been the best of my life” and that he just wants his team back in their “prime” – we’re sure it won’t be long before we see the familiar City we’re all used to.

In fact, some interpreted Pep’s specific reaction after the full-time whistle as equal parts playful banter and actually admiring Anfield for the atmosphere its supporters create, having criticised the Etihad Stadium for a lack of noise more than once.

We’re not so sure but you can decide for yourself.

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With a promising Nottingham Forest team coming up on Wednesday – not to mention Forest being the only team to have beaten Liverpool in the Prem so far this season – the Catalan coach won’t just be hoping for a defiant home crowd but a desperately needed win if they are to stay in the race.

One thing is for sure, if Pep thinks these ‘sacked in the morning’ chants will be limited to Liverpool, he’s got another thing coming if they go even a goal down in the next game.

Do you think Pep deserves more respect as he suggested, or is behaviour like this completely fair game during derbies and title races?

You can watch his press conference in full down below:

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Featured Images — Viaplay/Sky Sports (screenshots via YouTube)

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