Week Ending: O’Neill’s Rooney jibe; Headhunters banned at 11th hour & more

TOP economist and former Red Knight Jim O’Neill was in self-depricating mood as he spoke at the Northern Futures event in Leeds.

Perhaps knowing that Manchester United fans are not always made to feel terribly welcome in the heart of White Rose county, he began his speech with a cheeky jibe about his beloved team’s captain and star player, Wayne Rooney.

“Wayne Rooney has peaked. The case for regional devolution hasn’t”, he quipped. 

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IT never ceases to amaze and also disappoint when big businesses over-react to the potential threat from smaller players. 

Week Ending has learned that small, but perfectly-formed Manchester headhunting firm Tindall Perry Partnership was black-balled at the 11th hour from attending a newspaper’s business awards bash last night, after one of the sponsors, international recruitment group Robert Walters (its website boasts 53 offices in 24 countries), demanded their exclusion on competitive grounds.

Week Ending would also like to state that Tindall Perry, and any other firm so affected, will be more than welcome to attend TheBusinessDesk.com’s 2015 Masters Awards on March 12 at the Midland Hotel. Tickets are on sale now.

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FOOTAGE emerged this week of Wayne Rooney duetting with chart topper Ed Sheeran at the Sir Ralph Abercrombie pub in Manchester city centre.

Landlord Mike Christodoulou told The Sun: “Ed pulled out his guitar and him and Wayne had a little sing song — it was good vibes all round.”

Heartwarming stuff. It’s just a shame that Rooney’s former team mates Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville are planning to tear the pub down as part of a plan for a five-star hotel.

Giggs and Neville are working with developer and Burnley FC director Brendan Flood on a plan to clear a two-acre plot which is home to the pub, Bootle Street police station and a synagogue. The council is currently in talks with the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office over acquiring Bootle Street and then striking a development deal with the footballers’ vehicle.

Just for the record, the Abercromby is said to be the last remaining structure from St Peter’s Field, the location of the Peterloo massacre, and is where Granada TV executives came up with the name of Coronation Street for their new soap opera.