A huge amount of spin in that article. Manchester Airport is not receiving £165M for roads - you could build a runway for that! I think the Birmingham Post is skewing or misinterpreting monies which have been earmarked for road improvements throughout Greater Manchester, some of which may benefit the airport's access.
As for the runway extension itself, can't see the case for it. MAN has struggled to establish a long-haul network despite having two 3000+ metre runways. BHX has a good enough runway for a limited long-haul network, which is all that can be reasonably expected. The constraints to long-haul growth at MAN/BHX/GLA are all rooted in the London-centric nature of the UK economy and it's world image.