For some reason, Pep Guardiola‘s still upset about the fact his “idol” Julia Roberts went to a Manchester United match back in 2016.
No, we’re not making this up.
Despite the fact that during his time as Manchester City manager alone, the Catalan coach has lead his team to four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, and one FA Cup, as well as clinching the coveted domestic treble in the 2018-19 season, and breaking countless records along the way, he admits he still considers himself to be a “failure”.
He may be considered one of the greatest football managers of all time, and he may currently hold the records for the most consecutive league games won in La Liga, the Bundesliga, and the Premier League – but that’s not enough for Pep to see himself as successful, apparently.
And it’s all because Hollywood megastar Julia Roberts snubbed the Sky Blues to make a trip over to the red half of Manchester one fateful day back in 2016.
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"I'm a failure… Julia Roberts went to see Man Utd, not us!" 💔
Pep Guardiola reveals Julia Roberts is one of his three idols, and that he'll never get over the actress going to see his city rivals when she visited Manchester 😔 pic.twitter.com/arRsfgNqsS
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 15, 2023
“I am a failure in the Champions League,” Guardiola said in his press conference last night after City smashed RB Leipzig 7-0 in the second leg of the Round of 16 in the Champions League.
“If I win the Champions League three times in a row, I will be a failure.”
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He then went on to “explain a secret” to the listening journalists, and revealed that he has three idols in his life – Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Julia Roberts.
“These are my three idols,” he added.
Julia Roberts with her family at Old Trafford in 2016 / Credit: Manchester United (via Twitter)
“Julia Roberts years ago came to Manchester, not in the 90s when Sir Alex (Ferguson) was winning titles and titles and titles. She came in the period where we were better than United, in these four or five years, right?
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“And she went to visit Man United. She didn’t come to see us.
“That’s why, even if I win the Champions League, it will not compare for the fact that Julia Roberts came to Manchester and didn’t come to see us.
“Even if I win the Champions League, it will not compare to this disappointment I had.”
The enigmatic manager has been known for saying some bizarre things in his press conferences and post match interviews throughout his career, but it’s fair to say this is up there as one of his most confusing – especially as he never actually went on to reveal why he considers Julia Roberts to be one of his idols.
Regardless of the lack of context, Manchester United still managed to have a bit of fun with it, and took to Twitter to rub it in.
The Red Devils shared a handful of pictures of actress and her family at their home stadium, with the caption: “Throwing it back to when Julia Roberts visited Old Trafford.”
And it doesn’t take a genius to work out this wasn’t a coincidental “throwback”.
Also in the same press conference, Pep explained explained why he chose to substitute record-breaking Erling Haaland after the star striker scored five goals in last night’s match – including two in two minutes, and a hattrick in the first half – before he had the chance to smash in another.
Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Britain has a new ‘favourite’ curry – and we’re absolutely ashamed of the nation…
Danny Jones
Chicken tikka masala is reportedly no longer Britain’s ‘favourite’ curry, and after finding out what has replaced it, we have decided you all need to be stopped.
Following a study carried out by Foodhub for National Curry Week (3–9 October), researchers found that one dish overtook tikka masala as the most ordered curry in the UK. It’s chicken korma, apparently.
We’re not mad, we’re just disappointed and deeply, deeply confused.
For years, chicken tikka masala has been not only Britain’s favourite curry but the UK’s national dish – it’s a classic created by Indian migrants to appeal to the nation’s palate and has done so successfully for decades. We defy anyone to turn their noses up at a chicken tikka.
Now, everyone is entitled to their opinion and we’re not necessarily saying korma is a fundamentally bad curry, but it’s hardly ahead of favourites like a jalfrezi, a rogan josh or Smithy’s beloved bhunas — or so we thought.
In fact, sod it, we side with Smithy’s take on korma:
Strong order, to be fair.
Emma Stockman, a spokesperson for the food delivery service, said, “It is clear that curry is a staple dish when it comes to the UK’s takeaway favourites”, and that their findings “did not disappoint”.
Which results are you reading, Emma?
As explained, the long-reigning number one, chicken tikka, has dropped to second behind korma and chicken madras rounds off the top three when it comes to Britain’s favourite curry.
Despite us Mancs boasting the world-famous ‘Curry Mile’, the stats also supposedly showed that Carlisle was the city that ordered the most curry anywhere in the UK, averaging out at 3.5 times a week.
Meanwhile, 0161 was given the nickname ‘Naanchester’ as we apparently order an average of two naan breads per curry compared to other regions, with plain naan being the favourite.
Just plain? Come on. If you’re ordering as vanilla as that, you’d better at least be going bottomless with the actual main event — cue Manc curry kings, Zouk:
If these numbers are to be trusted, this also begs the question as to what this means for the country’s national dish: having been chicken tikka for so long, is it now chicken korma?
Because, sorry, we’re just absolutely NOT having that…
Give it to the Sunday roast or fish and chips while you take a step back and look at what you’ve done.
Emily Sergeant -
15th March 2023 
