M40 4FC Supporting FC United of Manchester

M40 4FC is a pressure group in North Manchester supporting FC United of Manchester's efforts to build a new stadium, sport and community facility in the Moston area of Manchester.

They are on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FCUnitedofManchester/posts/10150318181280540

And Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/M40_4FC

Below you can see some YouTube clips of the group.



Keep up the good work!

Mark Cavendish-True Superstar

I'm already looking forward to Le Tour de France 2012, especially to see Mark Cavendish defending his Green Jersey as sprint champion of this year's tour. We'll be planning next year's holiday in France around the route, even Mrs B is getting hooked on Le Tour.

Cav has been referred to by many as 'probably Britain's greatest current sportsman'. That's rubbish, drop the 'probably' and you're right! Tour cyclists are the greatest and toughest athletes in the world, and Cav is up there with the best.

Don't forget Cadel Evans. In recent years he's had some terrible luck in le Tour, but this is his year and he thoroughly deserves the Yellow Jersey as overall winner, Australia's first. Many congratulations to him too.

Roll on Le Tour 2012.

Scandal-Bryan Robson Tells The Truth

What is untrue in the following statement made by Bryan Robson?

'I disagree with people when they say football is a sport. Football lost its sporting thing when the money started coming in and Sky TV and all that. Football's a business.'

He's absolutely correct, which is a large part of why so many of us former Manchester United season ticket holders sacked them in 2005, and haven't watched Premier League football since.

So why is he being pilloried for doing what thousands of people, agents, directors, players, officials and others have been doing for years-bending the rules to make a few quid?

Oh yes, he got caught mentioning it!

Lunch With Mark Halsey

I was at a lunch at Old Trafford yesterday to raise funds for the Lancaster County Cricket Club Development Association. The special guest was Premier League referee Mark Halsey. If you don't know Mark Halsey and his wife have recently both been battling cancer, Mark had throat cancer his wife leukemia. Thankfully they are both doing really well and Mark is now refereeing again, his wife's leukemia is in remission.

He is now doing sterling work raising funds for the Christie Hospital in Manchester. Later in the year he is planning a fundraising event, again at the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club and the guest speaker will be Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho. It should be in September or October, I will be posting details here as soon as possible.

Mark Halsey was an entertaining and likeable speaker. His fight back to fitness is an inspiration to us all, and I hope to be there again when Jose Mourinho comes over to support him and an extremely worthy cause. 

Vancouver Ice Hockey Riots

I love ice hockey and, as the news reports from Vancouver say, the violence is usually on the ice not among the spectators. And I can assure you, there are some amazing fisticuffs on the ice. But yesterday it kicked off on the streets of Vancouver after the Canadian team Vancour Canucks lost the Stanley Cup to the Boston Bruins.

I'm always loathe to take the mainstream media at face value and the coverage of the Vancouver riots has justified that cynicism. According to the media there is shock that this kind of thing could happen in Vancouver, of all places. I wonder then, which Vancouver the following riot took place in when Vancouver Canucks lost the Stanley Cup to the New York Rangers in 1994?

Premier League Axe Supporters Direct Funding

In an act of sheer spite the Premier League has axed funding to Supporters Direct. This is how Supporters Direct describe their work:

Supporters Direct help fans form trusts by offering advice on how to get it off the ground. We ensure that as many supporters get involved as possible. Having worked with fans setting up over 160 trusts since 2000, we advise fans on what works and what doesn't and give examples of good ideas from other places. As the fans who get involved are volunteers, it's important that they don't get disheartened or feel they wasted time on something that hasn't delivered. We help them avoid going up blind alleys and instead spend their time on things that will be positive and make a difference. We also take some of the load off their hands, as we have full-time staff who are at the end of a phone to advise if needed.


We also pay for all the legal costs of setting up a Trust and may be able to provide small grants, to cover things like advertising, printing, and room hire etc.

It seems the withdrawal of funding is retribution for 'innapropriate' Tweets by their former chief executive Dave Boyle when celebrating AFC Wimbledon's promotion to the Football League. Boyle has already resigned.

The Premier League, proving once again that they exist merely to shit on supporters!

Full Article by David Conn.

FC United of Manchester-Moston Community Stadium

FC United of Manchester is to hold further consultation sessions over its plans to develop a community facility and sports stadium in Moston.

Four further sessions have been planned across the area for June as the club continues to talk to residents about its proposals.

The sessions will be held at the following venues:

Session 1
Venue: Moston Methodist Church, Moston Lane
Date: Tuesday 21st June 2011
Time: 6pm - 8pm

Session 2
Venue:Moston Labour Club, Moston Lane
Date: Wednesday 22nd June 2011
Time: 6pm - 8pm

Session 3
Venue: North City Library, Rochdale Road
Date: Wednesday 29th June 2011
Time: 6pm - 8pm

Session 4
Venue: Miners Community & Arts Centre, Teddington Road
Date: Thursday 30th June 2011
Time: 6pm - 8pm

The sessions have been organised by FC United and club representatives will be there, together with Moston Juniors Football Club, to explain the plans and answer questions. Representatives from Manchester City Council will also be there to answer questions and explain the council’s processes.
FC United general manager Andy Walsh said: "These sessions are part of our on-going consultation with the Moston community about our plans, aimed at giving as many people as possible the opportunity to put their views directly to us and Moston Juniors Football Club.

"We want as many people as possible to come along and tell us what they would like included in our plans for what would be a community facility. Equally this is not a done deal so we want to hear any concerns so we can take these into consideration as we develop our proposals.

"We will be working closely with the council to keep the community informed as our consultation progresses."

FC United’s proposals for the development include a 5,000 capacity stadium, community changing facilities and classroom, a function space open for public bookings, two additional community pitches and landscaped public areas. The development represents around £3.5 million of investment in Moston.

ENDS

Foreign Players in the English Premiership

If you watched England's excruciating performance against Switzerland yesterday you will know exactly why there are so many foreigners in English football. Eleven Englishmen just aren't worth paying to watch.

Barcelona v Manchester United

Barcelona deserved their victory last night, but greatest team in the history of football? Do me a favour, United were crap. They apologised for not turning up in the 2009 final then forgot to turn up last night too, pathetic.

So what does last night say about English football? That it is all hype and no class in a nutshell. United were lucky in 1999. Were lucky in 2008 to get an English team in the final. Fulham got to the final of the shambolic Europa League but apart from that English football is all fur coat and no knickers. Man City won the FA Cup, can you even remember who knocked them out of the Europa League? Who knocked Asenal out of the 'Champions' League, which isn't even for champions any more?

English football is the triumph of hype over quality. A tart who wins a rollover, pardon the pun, on the lottery is still a tart.

Manchester City FC Announce New Shirt Sponsor

To celebrate their first trophy in 35 years MCFC have announced a new shirt sponsor:

Pro Cycling: The Tour Series

One of the highlights of the sporting summer is the Halfords Tour Series, which will be in the North West on June 9th when they race through the streets of Oldham, ee bah gum.

Ok, you're not going to see Lance Armstrong but you will see fantastic, thrilling cycle racing with some of Europe's finest racers taking part on a street circuit no more than 2 miles long, so the action never stops as the teams go for it.

For me it's a great appetiser before my trip to France to watch a few stages of Le Tour in July. If you enjoy cycling, or have always wondered about watching pro cycling, then this is the ideal introduction. And it's free!

Pamplona Bull Run

If you're fancying a holiday with a difference this year, I can recommend taking in the Pamplona Bull Run. We were there ten years ago and watched in the bullring rather than out on the streets where the Corrida takes place. But a couple of warnings, if you're squeamish about bull fights then leave Pamplona out, if you're squeamish about seeing people getting gored by bulls, leave Pamplona out. Here's a superb film that gives you a flavour of the event:



Pamplona San Fermin Official Website