Manchester United fan Mark Goldbridge delivered a passionate half-time team talk during the Sidemen Charity Match, sparking discussions among fans.
Goldbridge took on the role of manager for the YouTube All Stars team during the match held at the London Stadium, which drew a crowd of 62,000 spectators. The opposing team, Sidemen FC, featured popular YouTubers such as KSI, Miniminter, and Vikkstar123.
Despite Goldbridge’s motivational efforts, his team couldn’t secure a victory, with the Sidemen emerging as the winners in an entertaining contest, with an 8-5 scoreline.
ChrisMD and Max Fosh were among the scorers for the All Stars team, contributing to an impressive fundraising effort. The match managed to raise an incredible sum of £2,425,855 for various charitable causes.
Mark Goldbridge played a significant role during the afternoon, not only as manager but also by delivering a passionate half-time team talk that would have made even the legendary Neil Warnock proud. His dedication and enthusiasm certainly added to the overall excitement of the event and its charitable impact.
(A warning that the below clip does feature some strong language)
After a slightly bizarre assertion that somehow combined puppies, Christmas Eve and the All Stars into one sentence, Goldbridge quickly got into his stride.
He continued: “I don’t want to be Spurs, I want to be Real Madrid. I don’t want to win halves, I want to win trophies.
“This is about determination. It’s about teamwork. The only thing that can stop us is fear. And what have we got to be scared of?
“Look around – you’re all on the same team. Fear will hurt us, fear will make us tired, fear will drag us down. Does fear exist in this dressing room? No.”
Goldbridge then started making film references: “We are Rocky Balboa FC. Every champion started off as a contender, who fought hard to become what they are. We are Maximus Gladiator FC.
“This is about winning. Who wants to f***ing win? They want to destroy you, who wants to win? I said, who wants to win? Well, go out there and f***ing win!”
The dressing room then burst into raptures of noise as they prepared to re-enter battle, buoyed by their manager.
And fans were impressed at Goldbridge’s rousing half-time speech.
One wrote: “Better manager than Klopp and Pep combined.”
A second simply stated: “Pep Goldbridge.”
And another added: “I’m not even playing and I want to run on the pitch after that.”
A fourth compared him to current United boss Erik ten Hag: “I’ve seen enough, you’re a better manager than Ten Hag.”
And a fifth wrote: “Why’s Pep managing the YouTube All Stars?”
Unfortunately for Goldbridge, his passionate speech didn’t have the desired effect. The All Stars conceded four goals in 17 minutes after the interval – and went on to lose the match.