Champion Athletes race through streets of Manchester

Athletes from across the world raced in to Manchester for the Great City Games that saw Long Jump Champion Gregg Rutherford and 100m Paralympic Gold medallist Jonnie Peacock win once more.

But for Lollipop and I the highlight of the day was seeing 200m Olympic champion Allyson Felix and 100m sprinter Kim Collins.

At 37 years old -practically a veteran to Lollipop – Collins is still showing athletes out there how it’s done. As we watched him run a winning time of 10.26 through the streets of Manchester I pondered where this man had been hiding during London 2012.

Unfortunately the St Kitts and Nevis star was axed by his team in 2012 after missing too many training sessions. But after seeing his performance up close Lollipop and I are were soon wondering what time he could have run at the Olympic Stadium.

In 2003 he became the World Champion of 100m. And this is not the first time he’s raced in Manchester. In July 2002 he ran a personal best of 9.98.

Despite his time at the City Games being a tad shy of that Collins clearly has the experience to beat anyone on the day.

And he was clearly proud of the outcome.

However Lollipop had been waiting patiently to see another champion. Gold Medallist Allyson Felix. She took to the streets sporting a pair of daring pink legging and ran a City Games record time of 16.36 in the Women’s 150m.

Felix was ecstatic with her win and hopes to be here again next year. She said: “It’s not very often I get to run the 150m. It was an amazing experience. The crowd really helped me along the way and I just had fun.”

Both her and Britain’s Perri Shakes-Drayton recorded world best times this season in the women’s 200m hurdles and 150m respectively.

Showing that the girls were on fire on Deansgate Manchester.

Lollipop was awed by both our champ’s performance and is set for a fantastic weekend of sport in our home town.

Next up:  the Bupa Great Manchester Run live on BBC 2, May 26. to see this guy, Haile Gebrselassie.

Which manager will come out on top Lollipop?

Out of the top three contenders which manager will come out on  top?

As the Premier League reaches its final game Lollipop and I look at the top three title contenders and which potential new manager could win next season.

David Moyes: After 11 years at Everton FC the 50 year-old manager was not planning on making the move to Manchester United. But after being backed by Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton, Moyes seems like top manager. However he is also the least successful with the least Champions League experience and no trophies won with his current club.

However expenditures have been limited at Everton and after avoiding relegation in 2004  then surpassing all expectations by finishing fourth in the league and securing a Champions league place in the following season, Moyes has clearly been through it all.

With a champion side and Ferguson in the background Moyes prove Lollipop and I wrong again.

Jose Mourinho– or the special one as Lollipop and other Chelsea supporters like to refer to him as could also be changing sides. Ok. So it’s not been confirmed yet but we know current manager Rafa Benitez is not permanent staff.

Out of the three potential bosses Mourinho is the only one who won the Premier league and the first to guide four different clubs to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. His achievements outnumber his contenders by far but having only spent a maximum of 3 seasons at a club he could leave before he makes a true impact on Chelsea and English football.

Manuel Pellegrini– again not yet confirmed but rumors have been shooting from Manchester City fans and the press that current manager: Roberto Mancini’s post is not safe. Even before the FA Cup loss to Wigan yesterday Mancini’s days were numbered as he had failed to win the Premier League and reach the quarter finals of the Champions League. Pellegrini had reportedly agreed a deal to replace Roberto Mancini at Manchester City even before their FA Cup final defeat.

The decision was taken by the three City powerbrokers: Ferran Soriano, Txiki Begiristain and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak before yesterday’s numbing loss against Wigan.

Don’t feel too sorry for Mancini though Lollipop – He has three years left on the contract he signed after winning the title and will be paid a multi-million pound sum according to a clause written in the agreement.

Pellegrini on the other hand could be the man for City. In five years at Villarreal he took a club from a town with a population of just 45,000 to the Champions League semi-finals in 2006.

He was the last coach to split the big two in Spain, finishing above Barcelona and behind Real Madrid in the title race.

Hi spell at Real Madrid in 2009 is the only thing that needs to be questioned. He failed to win a trophy with the most expensively assembled squad in La Liga’s history. Circumstances which are similar to Manchester City’s stance in the Premier league but he clearly has the potential to bring the title back to the Etihad Stadium.

Who wins depends on how each manager handles their squad and their expenses. And of course who Lollipop chooses. We know who Ferguson wants us to stand by and with 39 years managerial experience we’d be foolish not to choose David Moyes. Wouldn’t we?