The Manc’s Fantasy Premier League is up and running for the 2023/24 season — and there are prizes to be won
Ah yes, it's once again time to fall out with your friends, waste hours at work rejigging your team and restart the most toxic relationship of your life. Oh, how we've missed you, FPL.
The Premier League is finally back (it always feels like an eternity, doesn’t it?) and you know what that means: it’s time to get your Fantasy teams sorted, pick a clever name to prove you’re funnier than your mates, and pull your hair out every week — and you can do it all with us at The Manc.
All you need to do to take part is join The Manc‘s Fantasy Premier Leaguefor the 23/24 season by joining with the code: lwgqvq. It’s as simple as that. We’re getting excited already. With the new season getting underway on Friday 11 August, you have 6:30pm to get your team all sorted if you don’t already.
Now, while we’re sure plenty of you are already painfully-familiar with the addictive highs and lows of doing the FPL year in, year out, we thought we’d give a quick explanation for those who might’ve never played before.
Don’t worry, it’s dead easy, and you already have the comfort of knowing that The Manc‘s so-called ‘dream team’ is probably going to finish right down at the bottom of the table.
First and foremost, this is a completely free-to-enter league — we’re sure we’ve all got enough paid little invitationals on the go already — and all you have to do to get started is download the official Fantasy Premier League app, or log in online via a browser.
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The Manc FPL league works just like any other: participants are given £100m to build their best title-winning squad from this year’s 20 Premier League clubs, with one player able to be transferred in or out each week — provided you’ve got enough money, of course.
Oh, and be warned, the best players are obviously the most expensive, so you might struggle to fit Haaland, Kane, Rashford, Salah, and so on all into one team but, hey, you can try.
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You have a total of 15 players to pick but you can only choose a maximum of three players from any one club, so no, you can’t just the entire Man City or Man United squad.
To make things interesting, we’re only using people who play for City or United, were previously at either of the clubs or are born Mancs.
Again, for anyone new to this, as well as having your chosen captain that can score double points each gameweek, as well as a vice-captain to fill in for them if they don’t play for whatever reason, you also have special chips that can be played once throughout the season.
Your free hit allows you to change your team for one round of fixtures only before it reverts back to your previous squad, your wildcard lets you transfer in and out as many players as you like, your bench boost allows you to play your subs as well as your starting lineup (they play when one of your 11 doesn’t), and you’re triple captain does exactly that: triples the amount of points your chosen player will earn.
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Changing your team before each round of games will become a regular obsession/stress for you every week, believe us, but it’s also really fun once you start getting the hang of tactics and outmanoeuvring your mates — just make sure you get your squad sorted before the deadline.
And that’s pretty much everything you need to know about how to play, but if there’s anything else you’re curious about, you can see the full list of Fantasy Premier League rules explained HERE. There you’ll find information about things like double gameweeks and how points are calculated.
Obviously, the person with the most points come the end of the season is the winner and whoever that lucky sod/fantasy football genius is will win a truly mint prize — and no, we have no intention of telling you what that it is at this time. Just trust us, you want to win this…
But fear not, there’ll also be runners-up prizes for people who finish in the Champions League places (2nd-4th), Europa League spots (5th and 6th), as well as the Conference League (7th). There’s even a cup tournament that runs alongside the league which you can win too. Not bad for a free league, right?
Whether you’re a massive footy fan or not, the love/hate relationship of playing FPL every week, getting one over on a work colleague, or picking the wrong captain one week and changing up your team every couple of days, is genuinely addictive (in the best way) – and we wish you all the best for the season.
Salford City FC debut 24/25 away kit as Fireball Whisky is revealed as new front-of-shirt sponsor
Danny Jones
Salford City FC has officially revealed its new shirt sponsor for the coming seasons as globally-known North American whisky brand Fireball is set to be splashed on the front of their home and away kits.
While Salford City‘s home kit for the 2024/25 season is still yet to be revealed, the away have now been debuted in line with Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey being announced as the Ammies’ latest commercial collaboration, which is said to be a “first-of-its-kind deal” for both parties.
The multi-year agreement will see the spicy cinnamon-infused whisky liqueur feature as the main sponsor on Salford shirts for the next three seasons as part of a “360-degree partnership”.
Confirming the front-of-shirt deal on Friday, 5 July, the two brands will also team up on “various touchpoints including broadcast and news media, custom social and digital content, in-store, and on-field branding experiences” on and off the pitch.
Salford City is excited to announce a new multi-year sponsorship deal with Fireball Cinnamon Whisky that will see the USA's #1 shot brand become the men's first team front-of-shirt sponsor for the next three seasons 🤝
It’s the Canadian alcohol brand’s first foray into English football and a landmark moment for the Greater Manchester club which has been looking to expand its commercial portfolio and generate more revenue.
This comes since the Class of 92 group and co-owner Peter Lim opened the club to the floor for new investors earlier this year, with the club’s progress having slowed somewhat after they were promoted four times in five seasons following their 2014 takeover.
Fireball will replace nationwide property development and funding company, Salboy – which many Mancs will likely recognise from various bits of construction across the city centre and beyond – who served as Salford’s shirt sponsor for just one season to kick off their first year with Adidas as manufacturers.
The 40-year-old brand can be found in most alcohol aisles in the UK and is shipped all over the world, making the partnership a huge deal for the local outfit, not to mention just the latest in a series of global drinks companies sponsoring clubs – e.g. Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin on Wrexham kits and Red Bull partnering with Leeds United earlier this month.
Commenting on the new kit deal, Salford City CEO and Manchester United legend Nicky Butt said: “We are excited to welcome Fireball as our men’s team front of shirt sponsor for the next three years, and we are really looking forward to working with them.
“Salford has a rich history of being creative and doing things in our way, so when this opportunity to partner with Fireball came about and we saw how they have made an impression on their sector, it resonated with us and the journey we have been on since taking over a decade ago.”
Lorenzo Farronato, Fireball’s European Marketing Director added: “Football is a game all about shots – taking them and making them is what the game is all about. So, as the number one shot brand in the USA, Fireball was inspired to enter the game but knew we needed to do it right.
“Fireball’s partnership with SCFC is a match made in heaven – just like our brand, Salford believes in working hard, playing hard and having a ton of fun every step of the way. We share similarly dedicated fanbases, too, and can’t wait to deliver unexpected moments of mischief and celebration to them all season long.”
Featured Images — Salford City (via X)/m01229 (via Flickr)
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Jude Bellingham given suspended one-match ban and fine for ‘inappropriate’ gesture
Danny Jones
England and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham has been handed a suspended one-match ban after making a gesture towards the Slovakia fans following the Three Lions’ last-gasp win in the round of 16 of Euro 2024.
Bellingham scored what has already gone down as one of the greatest England goals of all time to equalise against their first knockout opponents of the tournament to put them through to the quarter-final stage.
However, it was his celebrations in the immediate aftermath following the goal that got him into a little bit of trouble, as a small gesture towards his genitals has seen the Madrid midfielder pick up a fine and a one-match ban that he will thankfully he doesn’t have to serve any suspension immediately.
ln case you missed it, this is the moment in question, as reshared by the player himself:
🥱❌- An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.🤝🏽 https://t.co/H8sETMkPoi
As you can see, Bellingham shrugged off the gesture as nothing more than an “inside joke towards some friends” who were in attendance inside Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins-Arena and clearly wasn’t willing to indulge any suggestion that he meant any offence despite the crude gesture.
Regardless, UEFA’s ethics and disciplinary body, unfortunately, hasn’t seen it that way; they stated that he violated “the basic rules of decent conduct” with the celebration, being slapped with a €30,000 fine (approximately £25k) and the match ban.
They did go on to explain that the ban is “subject to a probationary period of one year, starting from the date of the present decision”, meaning that it will only have to be served if the 21-year-old re-offends in the next 12 months.
A big relief for England supporters after he helped keep them in the game with his second goal in a competition where Gareth Southgate‘s side has still struggled to really get going.
BREAKING: Jude Bellingham has been given a suspended one-match ban and fined £25,000 for a gesture during England's 2-1 win over Slovakia 🚨 pic.twitter.com/M0fUx8Z0zE
While Bellingham will be available for Saturday’s match against Switzerland, another player received a harsher punishment for his reaction following a goal at this year’s Euros.
Turkey defender Merih Demiral has been handed a straight two-match ban for a politically associated gesture he made during his side’s previous win, doing the wolf salute celebration after the second goal of his brace against Austria.
The gesture is linked to the far-right Grey Wolves extremist group, who are also closely linked with Turkey’s ruling coalition National Movement Party. Bellingham’s behaviour pales in comparison when sized up against potentially inflammatory instances like this.
Meanwhile, back in the England camp, there is another member of the squad who Three Lions fans will be hoping can make an impact in upcoming games – we can only hope.