Manchester United banter 10

18 Jul 2026 23:29:19
I know it's preseason, but if go into this season with Maguire starting at CB ws are in serious trouble. He is just a constant liability.

19 Jul 2026 07:46:19
Shaw and Maguire really limit us, as they're very limited players. I do think heaven, given an opportunity this year, could flourish. Yoro too.

19 Jul 2026 12:10:39
All our CBs are a liability. The best of them, and the only one with potential, is Heaven. Personally, I would accept offers on any of the others.

19 Jul 2026 13:31:58
De Ligt and Martinez are good enough but not fit often enough. Heaven is really promising, and Yoro, I hope, will step up this year. If fitness weren't an issue I'd be happy enough but we're always one injury away from a big problem there.

19 Jul 2026 18:05:25
Don Martinez will cost you half a dozen goals per season and gets targeted. Despite his ability and fighting attitude, he is too small to play cb in the EPL and not get punished consistently. He also gets injured fighting battles his body can't carry. It's a shame; we could do with a few more that try as hard as he does.

19 Jul 2026 19:36:57
The player I would look at in the EPL for CB is Collins from Brentford. I think he's ready to be the man to build a defence around for the next 6 years for one of the big clubs.

19 Jul 2026 19:38:28
I get that Ken, but he also moves the ball much quicker and doesn't give up possession softly, unlike the likes of Maguire, and we are a better side with him in it. Ok, we can improve on him, but there's zero doubt in my mind that he's one of our best two CBs despite the flaws.

19 Jul 2026 21:05:09
Oakbark, as an Irishman, I'd really like to see an Irish starter, but I'm not sure Collins really is at that level, to be honest.

19 Jul 2026 21:39:12
Martinez is a poor CB. Too rash in his challenges, poor positioning, and just not up to being a CB in the EPL. That's even before the injuries, most of which he causes himself.
If he is our CB, we win nothing. Yes, aggressive and willing, but so is Amad, and that does not make him good enough either.

19 Jul 2026 22:22:57
Jsu, he most certainly is not a poor CB. I agree that he lacks physical attributes to excel in the EPL, but he's a WC winner and is one of our best two CBs. I can agree we should try to improve on him, but calling him poor doesn't align with the facts, imo.

19 Jul 2026 22:28:16
I haven't validated this, but Statsmuse (usually reliable enough) gives it as 1.72 pts per game when Licha plays, but 1.54 pts per game when he doesn't. Massive difference.

18 Jul 2026 23:15:11
What’s the bets the Cole Palmer to United stories start up again now that Rodgers is going to Chelsea.

19 Jul 2026 07:18:02
Let's hope they're more than rumours.

19 Jul 2026 11:29:32
Can't see it this summer. His injury record would concern me too. Already bought a croc from Chelsea, we don't need another.

19 Jul 2026 12:13:36
So, now we only buy players that never get an injury and got to be 18-23, what planet you living on, or, more to the point, what planet are players who never get injured living on cos that's where we need to send scouts.
I would take Palmer any day of the week. To start saying his injury record is a concern is ludicrous.

19 Jul 2026 12:40:23
Top class player, I'd jump at chance to sign him.

19 Jul 2026 13:32:57
Where would he fit in, Ken? I think he's really good, but with Bruno here, I don't see it.

19 Jul 2026 18:53:01
Bruno is 32 this season with 1 year left on his contract. He can't play every game, and we need to prepare for him not being here, and also reduce our reliance on him.
I'm not saying we will sign him or should sign him, im saying if it was up to me, id try to sign him.

18 Jul 2026 21:55:14
Mainoo must have injured his arse from sitting too much.

18 Jul 2026 22:32:32
Maybe he decided he wanted nothing to do with it. Maybe he got splinters, lol, hopefully he's back fully fit for the start of the season. He should be having a strong season this year.

18 Jul 2026 22:42:28
Splinter injury in his backside from sitting on the bench.

19 Jul 2026 00:12:15
Had the soul kicked out of him. He ain't injured, I would wager.

19 Jul 2026 05:56:34
I do have concerns about Mainoo's character long term. This stinks like being magically fit when RA left. We need to be careful he's not another Rashford.

19 Jul 2026 07:33:39
Agreed, jf123.

Like the rest of our English players, I do think that Mainoo was unfairly treated (at this point, nobody can convince me that Tuchel doesn't have an axe to grind with the club), but the best response would have been to go out today and show Tuchel (and the country) what he's been missing, not throw your toys out of the pram and feign injury.

19 Jul 2026 09:04:12
Yeah, he must have been very clever to convince all the England management he is injured. Listen to yourselves.

19 Jul 2026 10:18:25
AJH

To be honest, he may well have seen his backside, told them he didn't feel right to play, having been given zero minutes, and agreed it would be easier if the word injured was used. Feasible to me.

19 Jul 2026 11:17:47
Entirely feasible. Save face for both parties. Personally I hope, whatever the truth, that he gets over the disappointment and kicks on this year.

19 Jul 2026 12:17:47
AJH, he only got to say he was feeling a twinge, and no medical department can override that. So he hardly got to convince anyone.
Possibly what he did too, but we will never know. If he did, that's quite a bad look, and a huge concern over the mentality of a young player.

I honestly think, if a good offer comes in, he would be sold. I am not sure the right mentality is possessed by this kid.

19 Jul 2026 12:46:45
There is nothing to suggest he faked an injury. If he did I'd be disgusted.
No player has a given right to play, and that's up to the coach, simple as that. If you can't take it, then it's a very bad look and says nothing positive about his character.
imo that's Rashford-type behaviour.
I doubt he faked it.
I agree with jsu that if he faked it it leaves serious question marks over his character.


Coaches pick teams, and if you don't like the team they pick and are not in it, you try harder to get into the next selection.
If a manager didn't like or rate you, then you work harder to change his mind.
Bellingham was not in his team. He visited Southgate and Ancelotti to get advice on how to get back in the team. Who's advice has Mainoo sought?

19 Jul 2026 13:12:03
Tw

Probably Rashford.

19 Jul 2026 18:53:42
Very good, Redman. ?

18 Jul 2026 20:00:09
Rogers to Chelsea for £117m. Forget whatever figures you thought were sensible!

I think there will be a re-set after this window of what a good valuation is for players with maybe £50m for Santos actually being good value or at least fair value.



Also, Chelsea must be doing some more creative accounting to get that one throuh. Unless they know they have some big sales coming up.

18 Jul 2026 20:45:28
I'm sure Villa will be in for one of the thousand players Chelsea have available. Maybe Jackson for £80,000,000?

I'm absolutely ecstatic Woodward isn't around for these price tags. The man would have us bankrupt.

18 Jul 2026 21:18:40
Looking at that squad, you'd think that the priority would be defenders and a keeper. Nope, spending £117m on a player that plays in the same position as your "star" player is definitely the right call.

He can play on the wing too, which is lucky because Chelsea are short on wingers.

18 Jul 2026 21:58:48
I wonder if, to balance the books, Chelsea will sell Cole Palmer...

18 Jul 2026 22:55:56
They had record sales last year and it's expected they'll make even more this summer. Especially if they do sell Enzo. Pretty sure they'll sign Lacroix after the World Cup and might be in for a GK.

19 Jul 2026 07:34:33
£117m for Roger's is crazy.

19 Jul 2026 09:20:58
£116m for Anderson.
£117m for Rogers.

Both good players, but not elite.
Crazy English tax.

(And Palmer won't leave now his best mate has joined him. It'll be Enzo off to Spain for decent money).

19 Jul 2026 12:47:35
I think Madrid want Rhodri not Enzo.

19 Jul 2026 14:02:31
I've not seen anything from Rodger's to say he's more than a £60M player max.

Not fast enough, not clinical, not a huge goal or assist contribution.

Solid player but he's levels below Bruno, Musiala, Wirtz, Bellingham, Foden, Palmer.

19 Jul 2026 14:31:03
Danny, the sass mate. ? ?

18 Jul 2026 19:10:25
Season starts in a month, and with what Ed001 says about us looking for a lb before a midfielder if there's funds left, i'm not looking forward to it.

Now before you come for me; we had 1 game a week last season, with a decent first xi, not amazing, which got us over the line.

Surely we could have all agreed in May that we'd need a top window, with quality AND depth. With Casemiro leaving, we've essentially only added 1 more player to a thin squad with the 2 new midfielders coming in.

There's also a pattern, the seasons we don't get top 4 there's huge spend but not so much when we do it; wheres the ambition to build a squad/team that's capable of winning the league/cl? Or do we now shout the words process/progress AGAIN under a new manager; for the 6th/7th time and waste another 2 or 3 years!

Also find it uninspiring that Carrick would welcome Rashford back; we really really need to get rid of these players, they've done f all for us for years, why bring them back after years of failures? We've known for years some of these lads aren't good enough, why are they still here? Maguire, Shaw were rubbish in 2021! 5 years later their still here, Zirkzee, mount; rashford should be nowhere near a team that wants to challenge too.

F the Glazers and the enablers Ineos! Going to get absolutely annihilated next season with this rubbish team in four competitions! don't think we controlled a single game under Carrick aside from the first one against City, goodluck to everyone for the season.

18 Jul 2026 20:16:46
Scholes
I pointed out the pattern, finish top 4 don't spend much, a couple of weeks ago.

Stand by what I said. If Carrick welcomes Rashford back, it's weak, poor management.

At the moment our window screams bargain hunting. The manager doesn't seem one to argue against that either. I just hope it changes in the coming weeks.

18 Jul 2026 21:30:52
Yep, sure he said the coaching didn't help him, f*** him. The amount of times he'd walk back and not track back properly was a pisstake. This team is genuinely average, and we've got a yes man, brilliant. Genuinely, honestly, hope I'm wrong and we fly under him!

18 Jul 2026 21:34:37
Jesus, chill out. We have 2 MFs, the WC still hasn't finished, the window still open for a loooong time.

One comment from Ed001 and some have a meltdowm.

18 Jul 2026 21:53:43
Ajh

Up to the club to show they mean business on the pitch, not on the balance sheet.

So far, it looks like bargain hunting. We have limited resources, and will only buy when a bargain comes up.

18 Jul 2026 21:58:43
Flippin eck, man, chill.... It's mid July, signings made... Yeah, they're really poor. ?‍♂️ Finished 3rd last season, ffs.

18 Jul 2026 22:15:01
Just observing the situation, Nick. Bargain hunting is the image so far. Let's see what happens to dispel that.

18 Jul 2026 22:15:49
Personally I don't want to see Rashford back, but the reality is that he is one of our top earners, and in this crazy market (and due to his wages) we will be lucky to get 25m for him and will need to spend 60m+ to buy a player like Summerville to replace him. let's be honest, Summerville isn't as good as Rashford, meaning we are spending 35m+ to downgrade.

Hopefully, the talk of Rashford being welcomed back is just a ruse to prompt potential buyers. Yet if we can't sell him then what do we do? Loan him out (and probably have to pay a proportion of his wages) and then have to find 60m, on top, from somewhere to bring in a replacement.

I'm confident that we will bring in at least another two players. Most likely a LB and another CM.

But in this crazy market where 110m+ is the going rate for a young up and coming English EPL player, then the truth is we can't afford to go and sign 6 or 7 players and spend in excess of 350m.

We will have to be smarter, like the Tielemans deal, while the 50m for Andrey Santos is starting to look more and more like a very good deal.

If Lewis Hall will cost 70m+ like Newcastle are demanding, and other alternatives like Truffert will still cost 50m+ in this market.

We then have another midfielder (Baleba 70m) which will likely cost 50-70m at least.

That would have us at around the 200m mark.

We've been unfortunate with Ugarte's injury, as we can't sell him to raise funds, but he won't be available for us either. Meaning we have to replace him without selling him to raise those funds.

Most fans would probably agree that if we got a LB and another CM, then we are still short of a LW and a ST, possibly even a CB.

How are we supposed to fund those additional three signings having already spent 200m and without anyone of value being able to be sold.

This crazy market and a little misfortune means that we might have to accept keeping Rashford for another season. If you remember Ed002 (god rest his soul) did say that the club were making a mistake that they will regret when we gave Rashford that ridiculous contract.

18 Jul 2026 22:36:05
Just ludicrous lads. Honestly try and show some patience. We are already in a better position than we were last season. And we've scope to do more. The type of thing you're advocating for is Ed Woodward-esque vanity signings.

I'm much happier that we're focussed on the right profiles, on not getting players only interested in a pay day and destabilising the squad by overpaying on salaries for those no better than we have.

18 Jul 2026 22:51:33
Nope, not having this s****, it's not ridiculous, and it being mid July means f all, we've seen us do this for the past 13 years! That's why we've not got close to the title, always get told to calm down and it'll be fine and back the lads and manager.

18 Jul 2026 22:59:13
With you, Scholes.
To the Glazers and SJR. We see you.
Change our minds.

19 Jul 2026 11:40:50
You both are children. This just comes across so entitled. Our recruitment team have done really well last year, and so far this summer, but because you both want it done now you think that should alter well thought out plans. That is nonsense. Pure utter nonsense

19 Jul 2026 12:05:19
Yep, we're both children, since we aren't showing any patience. Really did enjoy that league title we won 13 years ago. You're obviously a mature adult who supports the players and owners who have ridden the club with debt, which the new owners then came in and didn't wipe! Proper fan you are.

19 Jul 2026 13:25:41
Don

Have they done well this year?

Free GK.
Two CM who help numbers, one with potential, but are not the class act in CM we need.

Yet we still need.
CF, at least 1.
Main CM of class.
Left back.
Left wing.
To get Rashford out.
To get Martinez out.

First pre-season game was yesterday, in which we couldn't score against a Championship side. It's not a major worry yet, but there appears to be bargain hunting where there needs to be aggression.

We don't yet look to be building on 3rd, but doing what we did before when getting top 4.

There is plenty of time, but the noises from the club are not strong, won't overpay, same as no value.

If that concern makes me a child, then ga ga. I sat watching every one of those barren 26 years and now it's 13. What we have will not win the league. If anyone is happy with that, your surname should be Glazer or Ratcliffe.

19 Jul 2026 13:39:23
Scholes I'm someone who understands strategic thinking. The rest of what you said doesn't correspond to my beliefs one bit. But I stand by calling you both children. It's embarrassing the way you are talking. There is plenty of time left in the window.
This summer had a difficult task to recruit 2 or 3 midfielders.

We've gotten the best CM at a team that's in the CL hunt last couple of seasons. We've gotten an incredibly highly rated young midfielder too. We've improved our backup GK with someone who regularly started in the EPL last year. I think you looking past that is extraordinary

19 Jul 2026 14:12:30
Redman, we have spent years raising the ceiling with well known signings with big reputations. We rarely focused on raising the floor.

We have had bang average players with a handful of superstars. High wages and egos destroyed our team spirit.

Mbuemo, Cunha, Sesko etc. have not raised the ceiling in terms of ability, but they raised the floor, both as a squad as a whole and in their own consistency, 6-8/10 every week vs 3-9/10 with Rashford.

Andre Santos, Teilmans, and even Sander Berge with Kobbie are stronger overall than last season.



Signing Anderson alone would leave us short.

Realistically, this window is a midfield rebuild, the last was the forwards and the next will be defence. Once we have a decent floor ability level and consistent performers, we can add one or two superstars to raise the ceiling, but right now we are trapped. Glazer debt, new stadium, new ownership and management team. It's going to take time and patience.

19 Jul 2026 15:28:29
Utd Road

This window: midfield build, next defence.
Yet, we still only have one CF.

That approach will see us out of the top 5, given what our opponents are doing.

18 Jul 2026 17:16:06
Only a friendly, but Santos looked a class above anyone on the pitch. Good positioning, always asks for the ball, and great one touch football when needed.

18 Jul 2026 20:46:14
Should he not look a class above half the players on the pitch anyway! Don't think we should read too much into a friendly against Wrexham, and the first one at that.

18 Jul 2026 16:47:52
Carrick out!

18 Jul 2026 18:03:18
Nou

What was our striking threat like, if you watched the game?

18 Jul 2026 20:57:10
Non-existent, Red Man.

And I forgot how annoying the MUTV commentators could be!

18 Jul 2026 21:55:32
Nou

That's my worry, they are all talking about midfield, yet we have only one striker. We need a goal scorer.

18 Jul 2026 15:29:49
Can someone please explain to me how Mount passed a medical and was signed? Biggest waste of money ever. In any other job would be told sorry you’re not up to it, bye bye, no compo, just two weeks' notice and out the door. He’s a fraud.

18 Jul 2026 13:48:35
Click-ity-clack the Maze is back.

What a wonderful World Cup thus far, the Scots adorned their dresses and the Norwegians their horned hats. But what of sultry old England cracking as the large chain hydrocarbons broke down their small molecules.

Here is a somber ponder. Other than Rashford, who wanders this earth lost and no-minutes Mainoo, no United player roars for the 3 pussy cats.

Terribly sad affair.

United identity twas always a fixture for England. It was core of both club and country. It makes a weary mere mortal grieve for the lack of United identity in the England team, the lack of England identity in the United team.

A correlation is drawn. Mediocrity can only rise when the pussy cat becomes a trident wielding lion henceforth.

18 Jul 2026 15:44:21
Welcome back, Maze.

17 Jul 2026 19:15:12
Not football related, but just seen the news that Sir Garfield Sobers, the greatest cricket all rounder ever seen, has passed away at age 89.

Don't know if any cricket fans on here ever saw him, but back in the day when the BBC had rights to test matches you could watch him when West Indies played England.

He was utterly majestic and a fantastic ambassador for the game of cricket.

R. I. P. Sir Garry.

17 Jul 2026 21:35:56
Before my time, sadly. My father and uncle reckon they played him when he was at Radcliffe in the Central Lancs League back then.

That Barbados team he was part of had 8 internationals and 5 future Sirs (Three W's and We Hall being the others) in it, and he was good enough to make his debut at 16 for them.



Sadly, before my time as I said, but I grew up on stories of his legend: the 365 n.o., the 6 sixes in an over. Probably the only player who can be spoken about in the same breath as the Don.

RIP.

17 Jul 2026 23:13:44
Yes Oakbark, he was incredible, just imagine a footballer who was both Messi and Ronaldo.

If he had never scored a run then he would be remembered as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Remember he was able to open the bowling and bowl fast, also bowl medium with terrific accuracy and even finger spin.

If he had never bowled an over he would be remembered as one of the ultimate batsmen, he was extraordinary against fast bowling.

Oh, and don't forget he was a superb fielder, especially close to the bat.

Up there with the best of the best.

18 Jul 2026 13:05:43
Heard he was good.

18 Jul 2026 18:45:54
Good? ??‍♂️