There were more boos for Liam Gallagher reported at the final Oasis reunion show in Heaton Park last night as the frontman once again took time out from rolling with it to pay tribute to some of his Manchester City heroes in the crowd.
Rival fans had similarly taken exception to his eulogies at the start of the five-show residency in Manchester 10 days ago, when he paid tribute to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, who was in attendance on that occassion.
Current stars Rodri and Phil Foden, as well as legendary former captain and current Bayern Munich manager were in last night’s crowd, leading to Gallagher taking a break from singing duties to give the stars a shoutout.
“Pay respects to Mr Ballon D’or,” the singer demanded, referring to Rodri, the Spain midfielder, won the 2024 Ballon d’Or award, adding “and the wunderkid our Phil, respect,” leading to a few boos from, presumably, non-Manchester City fans.
He reportedly quickly diffused the situation, telling the crowd it was “Poznan time,” encouraging the audience to do the backs-to-the-action bouncing dance Man City celebration as the band broke into their nineties favourite Cigarettes and Alcohol.
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There were also reports of some football-related trouble up on the renamed “Gallagher Hill,” a hill in the park where ticketless fans have found they can get a view of the stage despite their lack of a ticket.
Manchester Council had fenced off a section of the hill following last week’s shows, obscuring the view of the stage set up, but fans have kept on coming regardless.
Last night, witnesses claimed tensions rose between groups of fans who were involved in ‘football chanting,’ and there were reports of clashes between Manchester City and Manchester United fans, with witnesses and video footage reporting toilet rolls, bottles and camping chairs being thrown towards either end of the separate groups.
Greater Manchester Police didn’t seem to think the rivalry caused too much of a crazy situation, however. They reported that the final shows had passed “safely and successfully with no major issues” and that just five arrests were made during last night’s final show. One unauthorised drone was also seized last night, making a total of 10 over the five-show run.
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle, lead police commander for the Oasis events, said: “These concerts have been months in the making for us and our partners to ensure that hundreds of thousands of fans who have come to Manchester can safely enjoy these iconic homecoming shows.
“We’ve now seen all five Oasis events pass without any major issues and I’m pleased that the overwhelming majority of people attending have enjoyed themselves and behaved sensibly and responsibly.”
With around 340,000 (ticketed) fans having popped out to Prestwich to catch their heroes over the last 10 days, it’s now time for Manchester to say tara to its favourite rock’n’roll stars. The band are headed off for a string of London dates now before hitting Scotland, Ireland and the world as the 41-date reunion continues.
