John Cooper Clarke announces details of virtual Christmas gig

will take place this year. But while many fans of the markets were delighted to hear they'll return in some capacity yesterday, there have been many raised eyebrows and criticisms of the decision to go ahead.

Christmas dinners, restaurant meet-ups and annual Christmas Eve trips to the pub with old friends. But with the current restrictions imposed on Greater Manchester in the harshest tier of the government's latest covid alert system - it's hard to feel festive.

straight to your inboxFormer Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder Steve McManaman has hailed John Stones after the defender produced another impressive display during Saturday's victory against Fulham.Raheem Sterling 's early goal and a penalty from Kevin de Bruyne sealed a 2-0 win for the hosts, who were dominant throughout the match against Scott Parker's side.

straight to your inboxJohn Stones has been recalled to the Manchester City starting line up as a reward for his last two performances and in training.Stones was one of six players to come back in for City from the side that drew in Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday. He partners Ruben Dias again, with Aymeric Laporte left out of the starting XI for the fourth game in a row.

straight to your inbox every day for free Ander Herrera tipped off Juan Mata about Edinson Cavani's impending move to Manchester United so the Spaniard could help the former Paris Saint-Germain striker settle at the club. Cavani, 33, joined United on deadline day on October 5 but had to quarantine for two weeks and did not make his debut until the goalless draw with Chelsea on October 23.

straight to your inboxMicah Richards feels John Stones has taken his chance in Manchester City's defence. A combination of injuries and poor form saw the centre-back fall out of favour under Pep Guardiola in recent seasons but the hectic nature of this campaign has seen Stones play more regularly, and he started against Olympiacos and Burnley.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has recalled Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker to his Manchester City side after resting the pair for the midweek Champions League win in Greece.De Bruyne and Walker did not travel for the win over Olympiacos, which secured City's passage into the knockout stages with two games to spare. That allows Guardiola to place more resources into the Premier League in the next three weeks, starting with the home fixture against Burnley.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola thinks John Stones has put his problems behind him to help Manchester City improve their defence for this season.Stones was a marquee signing back in 2016 in Guardiola's first transfer window at the club and quickly became associated with the new identity of the team - for better or worse.

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United are receiving help from the United Kingdom's cyber security agency after it suffered a cyber attack earlier this month.The attack, which was confirmed on November 20, has left United unable to fully restore its computer systems and, as of Thursday night, staff did not have access to email - while other functions also remained unavailable.Match day operations for the Premier League club have not been impacted, with victories over West

John Boyega, actress Michaela Coel and England footballer Marcus Rashford are among the people who have been honoured at this year’s GQ Men Of The Year awards.Boyega was named winner of the icon award, with Coel, 33, named the creative icon winner and Rashford awarded the campaigner honour at the virtual ceremony.Manchester United star Rashford, 23, has won widespread praise and an MBE following his successful lobbying of the Government for the extension of free school meals.Shawn MendesCoel’s

straight to your inboxManchester City's Christmas schedule has been confirmed, as well as their upcoming Premier League games which include a Manchester derby at Old Trafford.City will face Manchester United in the first Premier League derby of the season, looking to avenge their two defeats in the league to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side last season. That game has been moved to the evening kick-off on Saturday December 12, with kick off at 5.30pm.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola singled out John Stones for praise after Manchester City's victory over Olympiacos in the Champions League. While the Blues never managed to kill the game off, it was another assured performance at the back that produced another clean sheet in the competition to lay the platform for a fourth consecutive win in Europe that confirms qualification to the knockout stage.

City know a win will seal a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League, but Olympiacos will offer a tough challenge in Greece. Guardiola opted to leave Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne in Manchester to hand the pair a much-needed rest, but was able to include Fernandinho, Benjamin Mendy and Sergio Aguero in the travelling squad.

Alexander John Soyoye, known as John, died after an alleged knife attack on Birchenall Street on Thursday, November 5.Today, Francesco Raji, 18, and Christopher Semedo, 21, both of Elm Road, Oldham, appeared at Manchester Magistrates' Court charged with both murder and violent disorder.A 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also appeared at the youth court charged with murder and violent disorder.No pleas were entered to the charges.Robin Lynch, prosecuting, said the trio were