Man Utd transfer news

NEWPORT’S comedy hip hoppers Goldie Lookin Chain have promised not to insult any Manchester United WAGs at Rodney Parade like they did Victoria Beckham.Frontman Rhys Hutchings, 48, and the group are big County fans and even twice designed their kit – although the second one had to be pulled after the club were threatened with legal action by designer label Burberry.
Goldie Lookin Chain frontman Rhys Hutchings on the River Usk in Newport
Goldie Lookin Chain performing while David Beckham warms up
But, famously in 2005 before Wales’ World Cup qualifier against England at the Millennium Stadium, the group performed their then new song Your Missus Is A Nutter.
They announced it was being dedicated to Victoria Beckham, while her husband David was warming up on the pitch.
Although Beckham took it in good humour, the FA of Wales condemned the group and issued a public apology.
But ahead of watching their local team’s FA Cup fourth-round clash with United after finally managing to land a ticket, Hutchings has revealed why they dedicated the song to Posh Spice in the first place.
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Hutchings told SunSport: “We were invited to do a set before the match and Beckham was out on the pitch. A newspaper offered us £100 to dedicate one of our songs to Beckham’s missus, which we did.
“However, we never got the £100 – so can we have the £100 please!”
So should Bruno Fernandes or any of the other United stars’ partners be concerned that the hip hoppers will invade the pitch to sing Your Wife Is A Nutter at them before Sunday’s game?
Hutchings, 48, laughed: “No, we’d get banned for life if we did that. We’ve matured a bit – although now we’re men in our late 40s singing karaoke in tracksuits!
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David and Victoria Beckham were the target of a joke from the Welsh hip hoppers
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“We did a gig recently with Noel Gallagher and I was like, ‘Look guys, I know we’re funny – but don’t say anything bad about Noel. Don’t say, ‘Oh yeah, Liam’s awesome, or anything like that!’ 
“Then when we got there, and did the gig, Noel turned up, went on stage and said, ‘What’s this? A festival?’ 
“And we said, ‘No, it’s your gig, dude!’ He didn’t even know what it was so we could’ve said anything we wanted!
“But if we do beat United, I think everyone will run on the pitch but I wouldn’t run on mid-game because I’ve seen it happen and people get clobbered. 
“Even the footballers come in and they might get in a punch or two but if County win it, that will be it – everyone will be on the pitch!”
Hutchings says his love affair with County started back in the days they were playing at their old Somerton Park ground.
And he loved the whole shabby feel of the place.
He said: “I remember going in there when there wasn’t a football match on, it was just empty, and there was a huge pile of dogs**t and I just thought, ‘This place is amazing!’ That was back in the glory days of the 1980s!
“They knocked it all down in the end and built houses on it. But that was the first time I noticed Newport County!”
The group are all fans and Hutchings says bandmate Graham “The Bear” Taylor has worked in the club shop while Billy Webb (aka Tim Westcountry) is a season-ticket holder. 
And the guys have had two collaborations with the Exiles in designing their kit.
They first designed a shirt which they sponsored for the club’s FAW Cup in 2004-05 and three years ago the group helped design their third kit which had to be pulled after fashion label Burberry threatened to sue.
Newport players and Goldie Lookin Chain band members model Burberry kid that was pulled after designer label threatened to sue the club
Hutchings said: “That kit was really exciting. We went down there and put them on but at the end of it they were like, ‘Take them off, put them in the box.’ 
“We were like, ‘Do we have to? You’re going to give us some, aren’t you?’ And they said ‘Yeah, we’ll give you some’
“But they were very similar to a Burberry design – and they asked them to take them down and all the fans that had bought them had to send them back, so we didn’t get any of them.
“That was so disappointing. I would’ve just worn it to bed, just worn it all the time!”
The group are later this year embarking on a “world tour of the UK” and Hutchings said: “It’s been 20 years since we did something big so doing 20 quid, 20 dates, 20 songs. Actually, it turned out to be more than 20 dates so my missus is going to kill me!”
Hutchings eventually managed to secure a ticket on the eve of the game.
He said: “Billy’s managed to get one for me. He was going because he’s a season ticket holder so was able to get priority for himself.
“We used to know the chairman there but things have changed at the club in recent times. 
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“So it was difficult getting a ticket. They were on the internet for £600 a pop and I couldn’t afford that. I have two kids, got to pay for music lessons, football subs, cubs and all that sort of stuff.
“I had feared I might have to book a room in the Mercure hotel and watch the game with binoculars – or maybe just pay my TV license! But I’ll be there and the dream scenario for me is a replay, so the club can make even more money!”  More

NATHAN WOOD this time last year was making lattes and cappuccinos in a Newport coffee shop.But today he is dreaming of putting the mochas on Manchester United.
Newport midfielder Nathan Wood relaxes at the old coffee shop he worked at
Nathan Wood is now living the dream with his home-city club
The County midfielder, 26, thought his chances of being a pro footballer were over and worked at a local Caffé Nero to make ends meet.
But Newport signed the lifelong Manchester United fan in the summer – and incredibly he now has a chance of facing his heroes at Rodney Parade.
He told SunSport: “Had you come into the coffee shop and told me I’d have a chance to play Manchester United in the FA Cup here in Newport I’d have thought you were mad!
“While sorting out someone’s Espresso or Americano, you’re not thinking in a year’s time you’d be up against five-time Champions League winner Casemiro or Lisandro Martinez, who has just won a World Cup with Lionel Messi! 
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“I was working there while playing part-time in the Welsh Premier League for Penybont to pay the bills.
“It was 7am until 2pm four days a week. I had to learn everything about coffee – the right levels of foam, the beans, not burning anything and steaming the milk.
“I still pop in on the way to training to grab a flat white because it’s a little stronger, not so much milk, and gives you energy for running around a pitch.”
Marcus Rashford’ will’s Manchester United will be looking to beat Newport
Wood is proudly Newport born-and-bred and used to watch the team as a kid while they were still playing non-league – and fondly remembers watching the club’s first game back in the EFL against Accrington Stanley 11 years ago with his dad and grandad.
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But the midfielder’s own story is even more extraordinary as he thought his dreams of making it as a pro were shattered when County released him as a 17-year-old after coming through the club’s academy.
He said: “I was gutted because I thought it was my last chance to be a pro. I ended up going to Undy, who were bottom of the whole Welsh pyramid system.
“And although I didn’t get the elite coaching enjoyed at a pro club, I learned about being kicked and pushed around in men’s football.”
Wood went on to study sports coaching at Cardiff University as well as becoming a support worker for vulnerable school kids.
But he also spent four years with Penybont where he won promotion to the Welsh Premier League – and after scoring 15 goals last season he once again attracted the attention of Newport, who signed him in the summer.
He said: “Had it not been for Penybont and the manager Rhys Griffiths and his assistant Martyn Giles I’d not have developed the way I did.”
His favourite player is Marcus Rashford and he even bought his named shirt in the club shop when watching United take on Manchester City in the FA Cup four years ago.
He said: “I love everything he stands for. He’s the same age as me and he gets a lot of harsh criticism sometimes.
“I admire how he conducts himself off the pitch. 
“From my own experiences working with kids, I understand there’s more to football than just football. I see how influential he is to young people and how he uses his platform for a greater good.
“Whether it’s being a footballer or working in a coffee shop, it’s important to keep being yourself and show people there’s more in this sometimes dark and selfish world. 
“Some critics have been saying he must focus on just football – but I don’t agree. 
“He knows how hard his upbringing was in Manchester – how he went home and didn’t eat. So he’s using his background and story to help the next generation coming through. That’s something I’m passionate about too.
“And his ability on the pitch is unbelievable. I don’t think he’s reached his pinnacle yet – he can be as good as he wants to be.
Nathan Wood outside his old place of work in Newport
Nathan Wood had a cup of coffee with our man Justin Allen at his old cafe
“So as both a person, and player, he’s top. I definitely would love to grab his shirt and meet him after the game on Sunday.”
Newport fans have not yet invented a song about the midfielder working in a coffee shop – although they made a flag for the Wrexham game last weekend, which read: ‘Who needs Hollywood when we’ve got Nathan Wood.’.
And although Wood has been a pro for only eight months, he is certainly making up for lost time – having already faced Premier League Brentford in the Carabao Cup and now Manchester United.
If the midfielder ends up not getting beyond the two-year contract he signed in the summer, he will forever be grateful for weekends like this one.
He said: “To be a doctor you have to study for something like seven or eight years – but it’s taken me NINETEEN to be a pro footballer.
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“If this contract is all it ends up being, I’ve crammed in playing against two Premier League clubs – one of them the biggest in the world. But hopefully I can kick on because I’m living the dream.”
Or should that be the Americano dream? More