For the more than 550,000 people who are lucky enough to call this city our home, you don’t have to tell us twice about how great it is.
You’ll probably find us shouting about it from the rooftops at any chance we get.
Manchester is global powerhouse that’s instantly-recognisable for its architecture, culture, musical exports, acclaimed food and drink scene, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact, world-beating football teams and sports clubs, impressive transport connections, and so much more.
But what is it that makes the city so close to our hearts? What makes the hustle and bustle of city life so appealing to Mancunians and the people who visit?
Here at The Manc, we’re always keen to know where you stand. And in this case, we want to experience the wonders of our great city through your eyes and see what it is you think makes Manchester so special – a different viewpoint.
ADVERTISEMENT
So, we took to two of our social media platforms this week – Facebook and Instagram – to ask you, our loyal audience of Mancunians, to finish this sentence – ‘I love Manchester because_____‘.
And here’s what you said:
___
ADVERTISEMENT
The People
There’s no denying that a significant part of what makes a city so special is the people that inhabit it. The people you find walking down the streets, lending a hand, entertaining the masses, or working so diligently in all of our shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, office buildings, and beyond.
Our family. Our friends. The people that we love.
Of course, it makes sense that so many Mancunians said that their favourite thing about the city of Manchester is the people who live here.
“It’s full of Mancs.”
“I always loved how diverse it was, full of wonderfully colourful people.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“I met my wife here – Best thing to ever happen to me.”
“I love Manchester because of its salt of the earth people – the city has some of the world’s warmest hearts! Manchester made me and you are beautiful.”
From globally-loved bands such as Oasis, The Stone Roses, Joy Division, Happy Mondays, The Smiths, and too many more that we just don’t have time to list off, to the iconic Madchester music scene and the days of Factory Records and The Haçienda, and right through to the music of all genres that’s being produced here today, there’s bound to be something that the Manchester music scene has created for everyone to tap their toes to along to.
The city is also full of live music venues of all shapes and sizes, which has cemented Manchester as a staple location on the touring schedules for artists all over the world.
Manchester is a city such a rich culture – and you all seem to love it.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’d spend a lot of time in Manchester with my aunt, especially Afflecks and the market, a lot of collectors / album shops, and you’d just see people with all different styles there.”
“There’s always vibe about the place, a uniqueness and surprise around every corner or street and alley. Little cafe or antique shop, or a pub or bar you have never noticed. And the buildings where ten of thousands of people walk passed every day and not the beautiful architecture or a fantastic piece of graffiti art on a wall.”
“I love Manchester because of Afflecks.”
“It’s just a lovely place. Not too fast paced not too dull. I think it’s the right balance of all things – a bit of country side nearby, a bit of modern infrastructure in the expanding city, a bit of history and everything here.”
Just as the famous quote from the iconic Tony ‘Longfella’ Walsh poem This Is The Place goes, “Some are born here, some drawn here – but we all call it home.”
Manchester is a city to call home, and that is something so many of us are proud of.
“It’s home (and a million other reasons).”
“It’s home. I’ve been all over, but I always come back – best city in the world.”
“It’s where I was born and raised.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“Because I was born there, and it will always be home no matter where in the world I am.”
“It’s where I came for six months, and stayed 12 years.”
“Because whenever I visit, inside it feels like I’ve come home.”
“No need to finish the sentence… It says all it needs to say.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“Everyone from every age, colour and religion come together. It’s the best city on earth.”
“Best city in the world – very cosmopolitan and good mix of Western and Eastern culture, and food places, and all my uni memories are here too.”
“It’s my happy place.”
“There’s nothing else like it. Best city in the UK by a country mile.”
___
ADVERTISEMENT
Not found an answer you agree with? Do you have a different view? We received hundreds of replies to our question across all social platforms, so we unfortunately haven’t been able to include every single one in this article.
Instead, we chose to feature a few that seemed to resonate the best with our audience and received the most interactions overall.
Are you keen to have your say?
Well, there’s still time to chip in, so make sure you head on over to The Manc on Facebook and Instagram to take part, leave your thoughts and discuss with other Mancunians in the same position as you.
Ruben Amorim addresses the latest round of redundancies at Manchester United
Danny Jones
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has addressed the most recent round of redundancies at Old Trafford and Carrington in his latest press conference as well as the club’s wider finances.
Speaking before a crucial clash against Spurs which has already been dubbed the ‘Calamatico’, with both teams struggling for form as their both Amorim and opposite number Ange Postecoglu remain hell-bent on sticking to their tactics, the 40-year-old was quizzed ahead of yet more layoffs within the business.
It was only last autumn that co-owner Sim Jim Ratcliffe and the INEOS Group made 250 employees redundant as one of his first major edicts in charge of the club and it is now being heavily reported that at least another 100 staff are set to lose their jobs if not more.
Although he wouldn’t be drawn into the discussion too much, Amorim did reflect on the evident and continued cost-cutting taking place around United and crucially argued that the talk of more redundancies is and should be on everyone’s minds.
🎥-🔴 Ruben Amorim on staff members losing their jobs
🗣️ “It’s really important for us in the first team, coaches and players, to not ignore that. People are losing their jobs so we have to acknowledge that the biggest problem is the football team.”
“I think it’s really important for us in the first team, coaches and players, to not ignore that,” he began. “People are losing their jobs so we have to acknowledge that the biggest problem is the football team.
“Because we spend the money, we are not winning; we’re not in the Champions League, so the revenues are not the same, and we spent a lot of money in the past so now we have to be careful with the finances.”
He goes on to say that while he and the board cannot rebuild the team the way they and the fans would no doubt like as a result of this, he reiterated that people losing employment is the most pressing concern and that a lack of job security is obviously going to affect the mood around the club.
United have lost over £300 million over the last three years, with large severance fees paid to the likes of Erik ten Hag when he was sacked, along with coaching staff.
Most notably, INEOS also let sporting director Dan Ashworth go just after paying a premium to hire him for just five months – a head-scratching decision which further rubbed supporters the wrong way after having just made 250 staff redundant.
“We cannot ignore [the redundancies]”, Amorim continued, adding that “the responsibility is on the first team and we have to change that.”
He went even further to add that in order “to change that, the first thing that we should do is to [beat] Tottenham – that is the small step to try to help these people, to try not to push the prices of the tickets higher.”
It’s the first time Amorim has spokenly openly about fan frustration following the £66 ticket price hike which was announced towards the end of 2024, and it seems he made it pretty clear what he thinks of it.
The job losses, targeting of concessions, reduction/removal of bonuses and limited activity in the January window United are just a reaction to the loss of income either.
United remains in large sums of debt and are said to still owe approximately £319m in unpaid transfer fees alone, so cutbacks were always going to happen, but Amorim clearly believes that the simplest thing he and his squad can do is still improve their fortunes on the pitch.
United fans will definitely be relieved to hear that Amorim aligns with their sentiment and was quick to hold himself and the players accountable for the impending redundancies and more, even if many missteps were before his time.
More importantly, everyone around the club seems to be in agreeance with one core, underlying factor: the performances just haven’t been good enough and business decisions aside, that has to be the priority in order for other aspects to improve in turn.
With United and Spurs 14th and 15th in the Premier League table, respectively, and both figures in the dugout under pressure, there’s a lot riding on Sunday’s fixture down in the capital.
You can watch the first half of Amorim’s pre-match press conference HERE and the previously embargoed section down below:
Featured Images — Manchester United (screenshot via YouTube)/The Manc Group
Trending
New Lancashire Cricket investors aiming to make Manchester Originals as big as United and City
Danny Jones
Lancashire County Cricket’s new investors and Manchester Originals’ majority owners have stated their desire to make the local Hundred team as big as Man United and City.
The Originals were courted by the RPSG (Rising Pune Supergiant) Group this month, with the Goenka family agreeing to buy up a 70% share of the club after LCCC sold part of their stake in the franchise.
Famously in charge of the Lucknow Super Giants over in the Indian Premier League and their Durban equivalents in South Africa, the possibility of not just a shiny new kit but the Originals being renamed the ‘Manchester Super Giants’ isn’t out of the question, though it would be much further down the line.
Although the conglomerate was initially interested in one of The Hundred’s Southern teams, London Spirit – and they were quizzed on this in a press conference on Friday, 14 February – Vice Chairman Shaswat Goenka’s answer was simple: “Lords is Lords but Manchester is Manchester.”
Expressing a huge amount of respect and admiration for the city’s competitive history, even dubbing it a “sporting powerhouse”, Goenka began by insisting that the opportunity presented is one to build a perfect marriage of culture and a love for cricket.
Going on to identify sport as “one of the single biggest things that unites people across the world, regardless of race, colour” and so forth, he believes that while this is categorically not football, this new chapter could rival its prominence here in the UK and especially Manchester.
From there, he went so far as to argue that the stopping power is there and that RPSG “want the Manchester franchise in the Hundred to become the third biggest sports team in Manchester and challenge those two sports teams [Man City and Man United] in Manchester.”
Quite the statement indeed – but one that was echoed by his two new key collaborators in Lancashire’s CEO, Dan Gidney, and Manchester Originals Chair, James Sheridan.
Gidney in particular was visibly energised by the prospect, reflecting on the moment he realised a great potential after seeing the fanaticism shown by the crowd during India vs Pakistan at Emirates Old Trafford for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Even with new leadership, Lancashire Cricket will remain 30% owners of the Manchester Originals. (Credit: The Manc Group/Matt Eachus)
Waxing lyrical about seeing “just how much supporters celebrate a single game of cricket”, he said the goal is to “inject some of that passion into Manchester and LCC“.
Doubling down on Goenka’s statement, he continued: “We’re a bit conservative in the UK, we need to embrace the power of this sport; the fandom is off the scale – [it could be] stronger than the Premier League, in my opinion.”
All three executive speakers were also keen to reiterate that is by no means a complete takeover but rather a “joint venture” aiming to achieve a “true partnership” which could pose even more exciting cross-pollination in the future.
The consensus seems to be that further collaboration with the Super Giants is pretty inevitable and not just in regards to the men’s game but that this merging of brands presents a huge opportunity for young players and the women’s team too, the idea of players spending more time over in India and even some games perhaps being held still sounding very plausible.
Manchester Originals’ Chair, James Sheridan, did caveat the discussion by noting that “contracting isn’t straightforward in franchise cricket” but that conversations have at least started to take place” and, like Goenka, they don’t see this as a gamble but what is bound to be a “formidable partnership.”
He also reiterated the belief that Manchester is “probably the UK’s No 1 sporting city, adding “There you go, I said it”, and that the vision is to build the best team, the biggest fan base and the best culture – with this particular region being the perfect staging ground to do so.
The Manchester Originals Chair and LCCC Chief Exec welcome the incoming co-owners. (Credit: Supplied)
Two players were present for the press conference as well, with Originals Women’s star Beth Mooney saying she had “admired The Hundred for afar” since it started and quickly knew she “100% wanted to be a part of it”, aiming to “help create a legacy with the Originals as the tournament.”
Men’s player Phil Salt welcomed the new ownership as the start of an “extremely exciting new era” that should help them “bring the best product to the UK”, reiterating that “being part of the right organisation is key.”
Although the investment is yet to be fully ratified by the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) and Lancashire made no bones about the arrears they still have on the books, Gidney was keen to label a lot of as ‘good debt’ and an investment in facilities and infrastructure, something which RPSG will only further aid.
One of the biggest outlays even prior to the new co-owners is the ongoing Farrington project but since the wider county region may have struggled to cheer on a Manchester team, the Originals and Lancashire, more importantly, will no doubt benefit from its completion.
The new sister stadium will be based over in Preston, offering a second home for what is crucially a Lancashire club. (Credit: Supplied)