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Nov 12, 2026, 1:03 PM GMT
Hal is an experienced freelance sports journalist at GiveMeSport, having previously produced content for websites such as Goal, football.london, HertsLive, 90min, The Set Pieces and many others.
Hal picked up his MA in Sports Journalism and NCTJ qualification from St Mary's University Twickenham, Hal has since been part of Valnet since late 2021.
He started as a freelance football writer for This Is Futbol and carried that on over to FootballFanCast before becoming their social media editor. He now works as an editor for GiveMeSport, predominantly focusing on Premier League, Champions League, and English football.
He also helps GiveMeSport cover other major sports such as MMA, boxing, darts, tennis, and golf. Key events like the summer and winter Olympics are also highlights when they appear on the sporting calendar.
Hal is an Arsenal and Three Lions fan, but keeps an eye on the All Blacks, his favourite rugby team, having grown up in New Zealand.
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The news is now official: Michael Carrick has been sacked as Manchester United manager. USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino is set to replace the Englishman, with GIVEMESPORT sources previously revealing that an agreement in principle over personal terms has been reached.
It will come as no surprise to football fans that Carrick has lost his job. The now-fired coach endured a terrible start to the season, and departs with Man Utd languishing inside the relegation zone, with one win from their opening 10 Premier League games.
Amid the poor results, friction around the club has been apparent, with senior star Lisandro Martinez questioning the summer recruitment at Old Trafford in an explosive interview. It's now emerged that Carrick recommended four signings in the summer transfer window, but the board failed to land any of them.
Carrick's four wanted men are all of high quality and surely would have helped keep him in the job at Man Utd for longer than the 10 league games he managed. Journalist Henry Winter revealed the four footballers, writing on X:
"Sir Jim Ratcliffe will one day have to explain why Manchester United didn’t follow Michael Carrick’s recommendation of the four players he felt the club needed in the summer window – Elliot Anderson, Lewis Hall, Morgan Rogers and, fourth on the list, Mateus Fernandes. Were debt repayments restricting their buying power? Was it simply because United felt the fees were too much for them?"
Anderson was snapped up by Manchester City, with the Etihad side paying £116m to land the English midfielder. Rogers joined Chelsea for £1m more, setting a new record as the most expensive British signing of all time.
Maybe it would be harsh to suggest Man Utd failed massively in not being willing or able to pay such high sums for those two, but it's a sign of the times that the Red Devils were so easily beaten to the star duo by their Premier League rivals.
And there are fewer excuses for Fernandes. While the Portuguese midfileder left West Ham for Tottenham Hotspur, Man Utd were understood to be in the race. No deal was done, though, as Carrick watched another target move to a different club, this time for £85m – with Spurs showing far more ambition in the summer transfer window.
As for Hall, he didn't even move. Instead, Newcastle United convinced him that his immediate future is better served at St James' Park, with the defender signing a contract in September. The Red Devils have needed a left-back replacement for the ageing Luke Shaw, and Hall looks to be the perfect fit. However, as with the three aforementioned, Carrick was once again let down by the club hierarchy.
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