Actor Jonathan Sayer bought the football club his grandfather played for – and now he wants to leave an impact on the community
Before Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney hit the headlines as superstar Hollywood football club owners – a home-grown actor was quietly toiling away at a non-league outfit in Greater Manchester.
In 2019, Jonathan Sayer, best known as part of the Olivier-winning comedy troupe Mischief, bought out Ashton United with his father, after the club put out an SOS tweet begging for help.
It tugged on Sayer’s heartstrings – not least because his grandfather played for Ashton (which is one of the oldest football grounds in the world) more than 400 times and so, in the office of a flooring shop, papers were signed to make him the co-owner.
In his new book, Nowhere To Run, he gives a comical warts-and-all peek behind the curtain of running a non-league club – seemingly a universe away from what’s going on in the Premier League and beyond.
Ashton United was steeped in some surprise debt, players were being paid by the match from the secretary’s bank account, and only one person had the key to the changing rooms – and he’d gone AWOL.
Sayer goes from hiding in the car park following early losses in his tenure, to screaming on the terraces in a cup final.
Speaking to Sky News from Los Angeles, ahead of opening his company’s production of Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Sayer said owning a club has changed his relationship with football.
“I think it’s fair to say I’ve seen how the sausage is made. It’s made in a terrifying manner – it’s a very expensive sausage.
“I think that there’s a point in the book where I talk about how the first competitive match started, and then 10 minutes later I just kind of realised that I hated it. I was just totally panic-stricken. I was just like, ‘Oh my God, what if we lose? What if we lose next week? What if we lose the weekend? What if we go down and really struggle to get out of the mindset for a while?’
“I think since then, thankfully, I’ve managed to come to terms with those emotions and the fact that football is up and down.”
He added not being able to deliver for his community “terrifies” him, and he wants to be a “custodian” on their behalf.
Pic: Colin Thomas
‘Gaggle’ of volunteers holds the club together
Sayer also talks highly of those volunteering at the club, with Sayer calling them the “lifeblood”.
In scenes unlikely to be seen at Old Trafford or the Emirates, volunteers offered to water the newly relaid pitch earlier this year after the heatwave threatened to dry it up, by sleeping out in tents and taking shifts to walk up and down the new turf watering it.
Sayer added some volunteers have been around for decades working on the turnstiles or even painting lines around the terraces, calling the team a “gaggle”, rather than the cliched army.
“I think that’s super, super special,” Sayer said.
“It connects you with something – like a goal that’s bigger than yourself and a purpose that’s larger than you, and you feel connected to something.”
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‘There’s no winner if you’re not interested in the community’
And while Sayer has a deep family connection to the club and wants to root it in the community, he said some owners might see their clubs as assets – and that’s disappointing.
“There’s no winner, if you will, coming in to invest in a football club, and you’re not really interested in the community and the football club – you can have a bad time,” Sayer said.
“You’re going to just find after a couple of years, this is awful, this is expensive, there’s a lot of emotion knocking around.
“And what do you get out of that? I’m not sure. And the same for the supporters, the players – that’s just a negative situation.”
Sayer is keen to point out that giving back to the community and listening to the stakeholders is what should make people want to come in and invest in football clubs.
The actor said he can relate to what Reynolds and McElhenney are doing in Wrexham: “There’s a bit [in their documentary] where they’re talking about making good on their promise to the community and I think you do you feel that. I think that is totally true.
“You feel ultimately responsible for everyone’s happiness.”
Sayer said being an owner has changed his relationship with football. Pic: Colin Thomas
‘Small things could make a huge difference to us’
Sayer said his club, and those in the Premier League are “chalk and cheese”, but added he would love to have more conversations about how they can support each other.
“It would be great for those worlds to connect, to just have formal connections in different ways. I think that would be really, really beneficial for so many different people,” he said.
He explained being able to link up with clubs higher up the pyramid would be really beneficial, adding he’d like to see the FA support the community side of clubs more, for instance on pitch maintenance – which for small clubs is a big deal.
“To clubs like ours, that would make a huge difference because it would mean that lots of our teams could play on the pitch, we’d have more of a sense of community, you wouldn’t have games postponed at the same rate… It genuinely puts clubs into financial peril,” he said.
He added even just being able to contact bigger local clubs and ask for advice would make a “tremendous difference”.
Sky News has contacted the FA for comment.
Hurst Cross in 2020
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham
Is Ryan Reynolds the Jonathan Sayer of Wrexham?
And on Reynolds and McElhenny – well, Sayer was there first.
But would he say Reynolds is the Jonathan Sayer of Wrexham?
“I think that if you said that to him, he’d say, ‘Who is Jonathan Sayer? What are you doing in my club? Get out!’
“I certainly don’t honestly think that I’d started a trend. I don’t think we’re the same people at all.”
He points out at one time, the two teams were only a league apart – and a good season for Ashton or a bad season for Wrexham could have seen them meeting up.
Sayer added: “I’m desperate to get a copy of the book in their hand because I think both of them would do a really good job at playing me in a movie, you know?
“Quite often people are saying, ‘oh, you know, Jonathan, that guy from Deadpool, you’ve got similar physiques’. So, you know – he could do the stunts.”
Nowhere To Run is out now.
Blondie drummer Clem Burke has died at the age of 70
The band said Blurke had been diagnosed with cancer, and described his death as a “profound loss”.
He featured on all the Debbie Harry-fronted group’s studio albums since joining a year after their formation in 1975.
Blurke was with the band from their self-titled debut, through their 1978 classic Parallel Lines, to 2017’s Pollinator.
Drummer Burke.
Pic: Reuters
In a statement on Blondie’s Instagram, Harry and the band’s guitarist, Chris Stein, said: “It is with profound sadness that we relay news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Clem Burke following a private battle with cancer.
“Clem was not just a drummer, he was the heartbeat of Blondie.
“His talent, energy, and passion for music were unmatched, and his contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable.
“Beyond his musicianship, Clem was a source of inspiration both on and off the stage. His vibrant spirit, infectious enthusiasm and rock solid work ethic touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
“Clem’s influence extended far beyond Blondie, a self-proclaimed ‘rock and roll survivalist’, he played and collaborated with numerous iconic artists.”
Burke in his performance at Festival Estereo Picnic 2023.
Pic: AP
Burke featured on Iggy Pop’s 1982 album Zombie Birdhouse and also performed with Bob Dylan, The Ramones, The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and Joan Jett.
The statement went on to say Burke had left an “indelible mark on every project he was part of”.
It added: “We extend our deepest condolences to Clem’s family, friends, and fans around the world. His legacy will live on through the tremendous amount of music he created and the countless lives he touched.”
Burke, who performed on classic tracks such as Call Me, Heart Of Glass and One Way Or Another, made his final live appearance with Blondie last year.
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Blondie performing during Glastonbury Festival in 2023.
Pic: Invision/AP
Among those paying tribute to him was Kinks guitarist Dave Davies, who said: “I feel saddened that Clem Burke was taken from us so soon.
“May he rest in peace, spectacular drumming, we were friends.”
Nancy Sinatra said: “My heart is shattered. Clem became an icon as a member of Blondie, but he was also an important part of my band, the K.A.B. I was blessed to call him my friend.
“If I ever needed him, he was there. Always. Sending healing prayers and comfort to his widow, Ellen, his family, and all who loved him.”
Entertainment
Olivier Awards: US actor says ‘special relationship firmly intact’ despite Trump’s tariffs
British star Lesley Manville and American actor John Lithgow have won the acting categories at this year’s Olivier Awards, which recognise excellence in London theatre.
Lithgow, 79, played Roald Dahl in Giant, which is about the children’s author wondering whether to make a public apology.
While accepting his award he appeared to reference the current controversy over Donald Trump’s second term as US president.
The Conclave star quipped: “It’s not always easy to welcome an American into your midst, and at this particular moment, it’s probably a little more complicated than usual.”
He also told the audience at the Royal Albert Hall that the “special relationship is still firmly intact”, despite Mr Trump imposing tariffs on British exports to the US.
His co-star, English actor Elliot Levey, took best actor in a supporting role.
Giant was also named best new play.
Lesley Manville was best actress. Pic: PA
Manville, 69, was honoured for her performance in the Greek tragedy Oedipus at the Wyndham’s Theatre.
She said she felt “emotional” while accepting her statuette because it was a production she had “felt very strongly about being” in.
Manville, who played Princess Margaret in The Crown, added that she was taking an early flight to Dublin on Monday to do some filming, and would not be getting “much sleep tonight”.
Romola Garai was best actress in a supporting role. Pic: PA
Best actress in a supporting role went to Romola Garai for her performance in The Years, based on a memoir by French writer Annie Ernaux.
Garai, whose film credits include Scoop and Atonement, was nominated in the same category for Giant.
Elliot Levey was best actor in a supporting role. Pic: PA
Dame Imelda Staunton won a fifth Olivier, for best actress in a musical for the London revival of classic musical Hello, Dolly!
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button won best new musical, a best actor musical award for Lark Rise To Candleford actor John Dagleish, and the outstanding musical contribution award.
The annual event was co-hosted by British singer Beverley Knight and Pose star Billy Porter.
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
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