Last updated: 11 September 2026
This policy explains how Stretford Paddock collects and uses personal data when you visit our website, sign up for Paddock Weekly, contact us, submit work, use an interactive feature or otherwise deal with us.
1. Who we are
Stretford Paddock is operated by No Comment Media Ltd, company number 12758470. We are the data controller for the personal data covered by this policy.
Our registered office is:
651A Mauldeth Road West
Chorlton
Manchester
England
M21 7SA
You can contact us about privacy at contact@stretfordpaddock.co.uk.
This policy covers stretfordpaddock.co.uk, including our articles, match coverage, shows, videos, Paddock Weekly sign-up and other editorial features.
Our merchandise store at stretfordpaddock.shop runs through Shopify and has its own privacy policy. Please read the store policy when you browse the shop, create an account or place an order. This policy does not describe the detailed processing involved in shop accounts, payments, fulfilment or returns.
Stretford Paddock is an unofficial Manchester United fan channel and is not affiliated with Manchester United Football Club.
2. The personal data we collect
The information we collect depends on how you use the site.
Information you give us
This may include:
- your name and email address when you sign up for Paddock Weekly;
- anything you include in an email or other message to us;
- your name, biography, pitch, writing samples, links and contact details if you submit work or apply to contribute;
- your answers and contact details if you enter a survey, competition, event or promotion;
- your marketing and cookie choices; and
- records of our correspondence with you.
Please do not send sensitive personal information unless we have asked for it and it is genuinely needed.
Information collected when you use the site
Our website and service providers may collect:
- your IP address;
- browser, device and operating-system information;
- the pages you visit, the page that referred you, and the date and time of your visit;
- interactions with site features, embedded media and links;
- cookie choices and related consent records; and
- technical, diagnostic and security logs.
See our Cookie Settings page for more information about cookies and similar technologies.
YouTube features and public comments
Some pages contain YouTube videos. If you load a YouTube player, your browser connects to Google and YouTube, which may receive your IP address, device information, page URL and information about how you use the player.
Where we offer a feature that lets you comment on a YouTube video from our site, Google will ask you to sign in and authorise the action. We may receive a short-lived access token so the comment can be sent to YouTube. We do not receive your Google password.
YouTube comments are public. Your channel name, profile image, comment, posting time and engagement information may appear on YouTube and on our site. Do not post anything you would not want to make public. Google and YouTube process this information under their own privacy terms.
Editorial information
As a media publisher, we also process personal data for journalism. This may include names, photographs, video, audio, professional information, public statements and other material relating to players, staff, supporters, contributors and people connected with a story.
We usually obtain editorial information from public sources, interviews, press releases, football clubs and governing bodies, social platforms, other publications, contributors and people who contact us. In limited cases, reporting may involve sensitive or criminal-offence information. We only process this where it is lawful and relevant to the story, taking account of the public interest and the legal provisions that apply to journalism.
3. How we use personal data and our lawful bases
UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for each use of personal data. We use the following bases where they apply:
- Consent, where you choose to receive Paddock Weekly, allow optional cookies or authorise a connected service. You can withdraw consent at any time.
- Contract, where processing is needed to take steps at your request or to manage an agreement with you, for example when considering a contributor pitch or arranging paid work.
- Legitimate interests, where we have a genuine business or editorial reason to use data and your rights do not override that reason. This includes running and securing the site, answering messages, understanding our audience, keeping records, protecting our rights and publishing journalism.
- Legal obligation, where we must keep or disclose information to comply with the law.
- Legal claims, where information is needed to establish, exercise or defend a claim.
We may use personal data to:
- send Paddock Weekly and manage the subscriber list;
- deal with questions, feedback, complaints and business enquiries;
- assess pitches, work with contributors and manage editorial submissions;
- publish and maintain articles, videos, podcasts and other journalism;
- provide requested features, including embedded media and YouTube commenting;
- operate, troubleshoot, protect and improve the website;
- remember and record your privacy choices;
- prevent spam, fraud, misuse and security incidents;
- understand newsletter and site performance, where the relevant consent or legal exception applies;
- manage competitions, surveys, events and promotions; and
- meet legal, tax, accounting and regulatory requirements.
We do not make decisions about you using solely automated processing where the decision would have a legal or similarly significant effect.
4. Paddock Weekly
Paddock Weekly is our email newsletter, usually sent once a week. We use the name and email address you provide to send it and manage your subscription. Our email service provider is Intuit Mailchimp.
Mailchimp processes subscriber information on our behalf and may record whether an email was delivered, opened or clicked, depending on the settings used for a campaign and the technology in your email service. We use this information to run the mailing list and understand how the newsletter performs, where permitted by law.
You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any edition or by emailing contact@stretfordpaddock.co.uk. Unsubscribing stops marketing emails. We may keep a limited suppression record so that we remember your choice and do not add you back by mistake.
Sending us a message or contributor pitch does not add you to Paddock Weekly. We only add you when you have made a separate newsletter choice.
You can read Intuit’s privacy statement for more information about Mailchimp.
5. Cookies, analytics and advertising
We use strictly necessary storage to operate the site and remember your cookie choice. Optional features are controlled through the cookie preference panel.
At the date of this policy, we do not run a separate website analytics tag or a dedicated advertising pixel on stretfordpaddock.co.uk. Embedded services, particularly YouTube, may still collect information when they are loaded. Details are set out on our Cookie Settings page.
If we introduce analytics, advertising technology or a new third-party service, we will update the cookie information and ask for consent where the law requires it before the technology is used.
Commercial or sponsored content does not, by itself, give a sponsor access to our newsletter list or your contact details. We will tell you and seek any consent required before sharing personal data with a partner for its own marketing.
6. Links, embeds and other websites
Our pages may contain videos, podcast links, social links, product links and other content from services such as YouTube, Google, Spotify, Shopify, X, Facebook and Instagram.
An embedded service may receive technical information when it loads or when you interact with it. If you follow a link to another website or app, the operator of that service controls what happens there. Please read its privacy information before providing personal data.
7. Who we share personal data with
We may share personal data with:
- suppliers that provide website hosting, maintenance, security, email, storage and other technical services;
- Intuit Mailchimp for Paddock Weekly;
- Google and YouTube when you load or use YouTube features;
- Shopify where a shop or product feature is used;
- freelancers, contractors and professional advisers who need the information to work for us;
- law-enforcement bodies, regulators, courts or other parties where disclosure is required or permitted by law; and
- a buyer, investor or adviser involved in a genuine sale, merger, reorganisation or transfer of all or part of the business, subject to appropriate confidentiality safeguards.
We require service providers acting on our instructions to protect personal data and use it only for the agreed service.
We do not sell our subscriber list or personal data in the ordinary sense of selling customer information. We do not give your email address to sponsors for their own marketing unless you have separately agreed to it.
8. International transfers
Some of our service providers operate in the United States and other countries outside the UK. This means personal data may be stored or processed abroad.
Where UK law requires a safeguard for an international transfer, we use an approved route such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework where applicable, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses, or another lawful safeguard. You can contact us if you want more information about the safeguard used for a particular service.
9. How long we keep personal data
We keep personal data only for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purpose described in this policy, including legal, accounting and security requirements. In general:
- newsletter data is kept while you are subscribed;
- a limited unsubscribe record may be kept for as long as needed to respect your choice;
- ordinary enquiries and unsuccessful contributor pitches are usually kept for up to 24 months after the last meaningful contact;
- contributor, contract, payment and tax records may be kept for up to six years after the relevant relationship or accounting period;
- website security and diagnostic logs are usually kept for up to 12 months, unless they are needed for an investigation or legal claim;
- cookie and consent records are kept for as long as needed to operate and demonstrate your choice;
- a YouTube access token used to post a comment is short-lived and is not retained by our site as a permanent account credential; and
- published editorial material may be kept as part of our journalistic archive for as long as it continues to have editorial, historical or public-interest value.
Copies may remain in restricted backups for a short period after deletion. We may keep information for longer where a dispute, legal duty, safeguarding concern or investigation requires it.
10. Security
We use reasonable organisational and technical measures designed to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration and disclosure. Access is limited to people and suppliers who need the information for their work.
No website or transmission method can be guaranteed completely secure. Please avoid sending confidential or sensitive information through ordinary email unless it is necessary.
11. Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law may give you the right to:
- ask for a copy of your personal data;
- correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
- ask us to delete personal data;
- restrict how we use personal data;
- object to processing based on legitimate interests;
- receive certain data in a portable format;
- withdraw consent at any time; and
- complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
You have an absolute right to object to personal data being used for direct marketing. The other rights are subject to legal conditions and exemptions. Rights may be limited where personal data is processed for journalism and applying the right would conflict with freedom of expression or the public interest, as allowed by law.
To make a request, email contact@stretfordpaddock.co.uk. We may ask for enough information to confirm your identity and locate the relevant data. We normally respond within one month, although the law allows more time for a complex request.
If you are unhappy with how we use your data, please contact us so we can look into it. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at any time.
12. Children
This website is intended for a general football audience and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly ask children under 13 to subscribe or submit personal data without appropriate permission. If you believe a child has provided personal data to us, please contact us so we can review and, where appropriate, delete it.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our services, suppliers or legal obligations change. The latest version will appear on this page with a new last-updated date. We will give additional notice where a change materially affects how we use personal data and the law requires us to do so.
14. Contact us
For privacy questions or requests, contact:
No Comment Media Ltd, trading as Stretford Paddock
651A Mauldeth Road West
Chorlton
Manchester
England
M21 7SA