Manchester United banter 10

02 Sep 2026 09:23:40
Going to City to get a LB is a complete embarrassment with 2 hours of the window left.
Am I meant to believe these guys have a plan or are professionals?
Hopefully either Dorgu or Amass can do well when needed. An average window, hopefully it’s clicks with the new signings and we do well over the season.

02 Sep 2026 10:11:05
Absolutely embarrassing!!
This lot do not have a clue what they are doing.
For me, Carrick has been thrown under the bus to fail.
It's unforgivable that we haven't invested in a proper left back, even more worrying after watching Luke Shaw's pathetic performances in the first two games.


Scratching around an hour before the window shuts, trying to bring somebody in, it's pathetic, and trying to get a City player in as well. F*** me, it just doesn't get any lower than that, does it.
Shambles!

02 Sep 2026 11:03:37
If Newcastle and Lewis Hall have a good season, and he manages to break into the England squad, etc., you can see the top clubs making their move for him next season. Not only that, but the fee could increase as well.

This was a missed opportunity by United, and we may live to regret it. Hall could be playing for one of our rivals this time next year. He could have been our left back for the next 10 years.

02 Sep 2026 12:22:20
Wasn't it City that went to Utd about their player, as he was keen on the move? Not sure you can blame Utd for YouTube clickbaiters reporting misinformation, but a left-back should have been brought in a few weeks ago. Oh well.

02 Sep 2026 12:54:33
Who else is to blame, scratching around for a left back 1 hour before the deadline?

02 Sep 2026 22:41:50
Diego Leon can't be far off the reckoning, surely? He was involved initially, like Obi. Both have disappeared off the face of the earth.

02 Sep 2026 07:35:08
Unless anything happens in the countries with transfer window open, the team is set until at least January and the result should mean that we see some of the youth players getting game time even if just the cup games.

Left back was the next key area, but we will likely see a rotation of Mazouari, Dorgu, Amass covering.

Striker looks like the trial of either Cunha/Mbeumo covering for Sesko. Hopefully there is a plan for Zirkzee now he is staying, whether that is alongside Sesko in certain games or as a replacement with runners for him.



How this window is viewed will be decided at the end of the season, if we have success then it can be viewed and a positive window as part of the larger squad development towards 2028. If not, then will be seen as a missed opportunity whilst other clubs are in transition.

02 Sep 2026 06:08:34
Good Morning

Well, well, well. After many weeks of me flagging, they were prevaricating and failing to sign the LB and ST, it came to pass. All those who gave me some right stick for daring to question their paymasters and even those who were well meaning, are looking a bit daft. However, some, and we know who you are, will be out toeing the company line earning their 30 pieces of silver for the Glazer family and Ratcliffe.

We all know we utterly failed to buy two main players, yet I believe we also failed to buy Louis Page. Talks reached an advanced stage, with Leicester thought to be looking for £12m + £3m. But we decided it was too much. This is a young midfield player, a United fan, who I understand was very excited and attended the Ipswich game. That is hard to understand.

I know some people don't like being told it, but reality is that we have been had.

The Glazers want dividends. You don't really think we will spend big in January, do you? Then put the date in your diaries for February, when I believe it is the earliest time they can declare dividends. Have a look at the amount.

This is a methodology, financial structure that is driven to benefit the owners. They appointed yes man manager in Carrick who will not resign for not being supported. I suspect they knew what they were going to do and the next two years would see reduced spending so profits can return and dividends paid. There are very few top managers who would not have resigned this morning over this because they have a reputation to uphold. Anything Carrick does will only be better than Middlesbrough, so he will sit there. It also likely means they won't sack him, even if results are poor.

What a mess.

02 Sep 2026 10:07:52
Very poor and underwhelming window.

All the media interviews and pr bs of "we have a plan", yet they are contacting teams 2 hours before the deadline for a full back?

3 players brought in in the midfield, Baleba and Tielmens are good signings, Santos is a wait and see, not played much for Chelsea.

But we needed more players to push others and to increase standards. Do we want to be competitive in all comps, or are they just happy to get the money for qualifying for the Champs League? You get 2.8 million per win in the league stages, and then more each round you progress in.



How Maguire and Shaw are still starters in this team is ridiculous. They should be backup or backups. One senior left back in the team is not good enough. Relying still on the likes of Maguire, Shaw and Dalot after nearly 10 years of mediocre performances and finishes is poor.

Only time will tell, but they have themselves to blame if we do not qualify for top 5 this season.

Can see the club's ambition, and they are going to be fitting square pegs in round holes again.

It was a time to try and close the gap to Arsenal, with everyone having new managers, players moving and teams rebuilding.

02 Sep 2026 10:16:09
Jason Wilcox said, "Judge me at the end of the transfer window". Well, it's judgement day, and most appear unimpressed.

02 Sep 2026 10:35:02
Wilcox has made himself look even more stupid with that quote if that's possible.
They will already be trying to spin and PR their way out of this. Some will fall for it like they always do.

02 Sep 2026 11:29:45
It's fair to be disappointed with the transfer window. Most fans wanted more. What isn't fair is claiming the lack of activity means the Glazers are preparing to take dividends in February 2027. That's a prediction, not a fact. United haven't paid a dividend since 2022, and there is no publicly stated plan to resume them in February 2027.

United have continued to spend heavily in the transfer market, and have consistently prioritised squad investment over returning cash to shareholders. That doesn't make the ownership beyond criticism, but it does make it difficult to argue that every transfer decision is driven by an imminent dividend payout.

As for Louis Page, I don't find that difficult to understand either. Leicester reportedly wanted around £12m plus £3m for a League One midfielder with fewer than 30 senior appearances. The club may simply have decided that was too much for a player with limited senior experience.

What I find harder to understand is why we're two league games into the season, and you're already declaring it a mess.



You didn't get your way in the transfer window. Neither did Carrick, judging by his comments about wanting to strengthen the squad. The difference is that Carrick appears to be getting on with the job and working with the tools he has, rather than spending two months throwing a tantrum because he didn't get everything he wanted. You call him a yes man because he hasn't walked away? I see a manager taking responsibility for the squad in front of him and trying to make the best of it.

By all means criticise the ownership. By all means criticise the window. But stop presenting every opinion as an established fact and every prediction as a victory before the outcome is even known. If dividends are announced, you can claim your prediction was correct. If they aren't, will you be as quick to say you were wrong as quick as you are to always say you are right?

03 Sep 2026 05:52:25
Kurtis,

I won't "stop" doing anything. At the same time, you are telling me not to express an opinion, you are expressing one. When did I say "fact"? I just use the obvious indicators that are out there, looked back at how the Glazers have done this before, and pointed out the similarities. When we achieved Champions League it has been seen before they are reticent to spend, that's a fact, why they haven't done it this time is an opinion, my opinion. They haven't been able to take dividends since 2022 I think, so do you not think these parasites will be hungry to get income from their cash cow? All I have done is add 1 and 1 and flag my opinion on what will happen. The fact they have not spent big after achieving CL before and again this time shows they have not "consistently prioritised squad investment over returning cash to shareholders" as per your assertion.

The consistency is not spending big after achieving CL, and I would argue that shows their real aims, just to get the CL money.

Oh, I will hold my hands up if I am wrong, by all means flag it to me. I smell dividends incoming, suspect February. Why should I wait for an official announcement, I am speculating an opinion.

In terms of Carrick, I made my points about him before he was appointed and now, whilst I didn't agree, they have put him in charge, so we see what happens. I do think he is so attached to the club he won't rock the boat, the owners know that. That's a yes man.

Louis Page, they must have seen something exceptional in him, so if he has an excellent season others will now be alerted. If he does it may well be £30m next summer. It is what we pay scouts and experts to assess. See next January or summer now.

03 Sep 2026 08:58:28
Red Man, whilst I agree with a lot of that, what possible benefit is there in having a manager resign at the start of a season? It would just be a recipe for more chaos.

04 Sep 2026 07:46:50
Nou

If you love the club, then you want the best for it. If Carrick resigned on the basis of the ownership being poor and not supporting him, it would be the best thing for the club. The lack of spending was predictable. I am not a Carrick fan, but they have hung him out to dry.

He could have been the catalyst for change if he resigned. After Amorim agitating to get himself sacked, Carrick could have been the golden arrow to get the ownership changed. He hasn't, so just carry on.

02 Sep 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Matchday 2 - Quick Round Up

02 Sep 2026 00:22:09
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Matchday 2 - Quick Round Up

01 Sep 2026 23:40:03
Resigning Malacia looks like the best move now.

02 Sep 2026 00:05:45
Jeez, I hate transfer windows. Ridiculous drama.

02 Sep 2026 01:24:20
Wasn't good enough. Why go back to a player that didn't work out for us? Dorgu would be a better option.

02 Sep 2026 02:08:40
Get Sancho whilst we're at it.

02 Sep 2026 06:37:42
Martial on a free!

02 Sep 2026 06:50:54
Bring back Pogba!

02 Sep 2026 08:23:36
Absolutely ludicrous comments. Re sign Malacia, Sancho, Martial and Pogba... Really, guys? Absolutely ridiculous suggestions...

Seeing as someone at the club must have the phone numbers of Irwin, Kanchelskis, Cantona and Robson.. ?

02 Sep 2026 09:52:22
How is Arthur Albiston doing? Might still do a job and keep within the Poundland budget.

01 Sep 2026 23:07:21
City have bought very well. I was watching the documentary on Pep last night.

I was saddened for us as Utd fans but impressed too to see how considered and forward thinking the City board were and how they used indicators to get the players they needed.

No stupid signings. No knew jerk reactions. Just a proper pathway forward where they identified who had to leave and the best players they could sign to get them back to the very top.

More importantly they wanted to sign players and give them a few years to reach maturity and peak performance.

People here say that by comparison of respective midfielders etc we have not done so badly with our signings this summer. The bitter truth is that City have signed potentially elite players who should get a lot better.

Also it's clear that the difference between winning titles is often down to marginal differences. That costs.
The extra £150m or £200m they spend is the difference that means they win the tight matches when it counts.

Marginal gains adding up to a substantial win.

They are building and so are we but they are a lot further ahead of us.

Aston Villa have lost so many good players but they too have a good managememt team and a top manager. I think they have recruited very well. Liverpool signing Barcola could be huge for them.

Spurs have signed good players (paid way over the odds but still good players). I know it was only against Charlton but when they click they will be dangerous.

Going to be a very intense season. Let's hope Utds players decide to play with real intensity.

Like most Utd supporters I wish we had signed a left back and a striker.

But.

We do have a talented squad which if they play to their potential should surely be good enough to get a top five place.

Being realistic there is no way we could compete for the title this year but the building blocks are slowly being put into position to enable a really good try in a year or so.

01 Sep 2026 23:36:42
Agreed, Salford. I think not buying a fullback (I'm not as pushed as some about whether it was a left back or right back; I'd have liked both) is a big error. I'd have had a fullback as a much higher priority than a third midfielder. But it's an opportunity for Amass that he couldn't have expected, and maybe Kamason can try to push for games.

Another forward was also high up, but that was assuming Rashford left. Since he's still here - and I have big reservations about him - we are well stocked in the forwards.

01 Sep 2026 23:39:22
A year or so. ??

02 Sep 2026 00:21:32
Berrada said that he aims to have United winning the title next year. It's extremely hard to see that being even a remote possibility, let alone this one. We've replaced Casemiro with Baleba, and added more depth in midfield. That's good but can we say that the personnel we've acquired are a match for Anderson, Enzo and Bouaddi?

If Rashford is intent on being at his best again, then I think even without an another CF we have plenty and varied scoring threats. The glaring weaknesses at the back remain however, and if it's true that it's defence that wins titles then it's hard to see us really winning much. If we look at last year, Arsenal let in just 27, we conceded 50. Is that gap going to be closed? Judging by the first 2 games, no way.

As far as the back line is concerned it appears that the club is looking to develop Yoro as a right back alternate. Judging by how Morgan Rogers tore him up last year against Villa I'm not at all convinced that this will prove to be a successful strategy. But let's say, hypothetically it works, then we have Yoro, Dalot (who can play both sides), Shaw, Mazraoui (who can play both sides) and possibly Amass. As for the others, Shaw had a good season but he can't play every one of 50 or more games, Mazraoui really wants to go off and be an imam, Amass is unproven and Dalot has his moments but is always an accident waiting to happen. I suppose Dorgu could also step in to the LB position too, or maybe Carrick will switch to 3 at the back with wing backs on occasion. Maybe he'll be forced by circumstance to do so. At least we won't be relying on an aging and slowing Casemiro and Bruno to control the midfield so it might actually work better. If we do go that way then Amad would make sense on the right. This brings us back to Yoro. He looked awful when he was dragged out of the RCB position to mark/contain a speedy winger.

Like everyone else I'm extremely disappointed that we haven't made any real signature acquisitions, particularly at the back. I really thought we would spend much more than we have. There was plenty room under the squad cost rules to do so, and given the revenues lost for failure to qualify for the Champions League, it seemed like there was every good reason to do so. Most of us understand that the decade plus of complete mismanagement by the Woodward regime has pu the club in a difficult position, but that said, this extremely parsimonious approach creates an enormous risk of ruining the good work that was done by Carrick and the team last year. Let's hope we're wrong.

Given what's happened this summer I'll consider getting to Champions League play off rounds and qualifying for the competition next year will be an enormous achievement. Any better than that will amaze me.

02 Sep 2026 01:49:58
Enzo hasn't exactly pulled up any trees at Chelsea and is desperate to play for Madrid. Bouaddi is a kid who's had a few good games. They have overpaid for them both. I'm happy with our midfield now.

02 Sep 2026 08:22:09
Utd could only spend so much due to the SCR and not being able to move players on. They worked within their limits, and tried to loan in Balde. The player wasn't too keen, according to reports, and Baeca wanted a full sale.



Hopefully Amass or even Leon can step up. It will be important to force both players a chance, if only to rest Shaw. However, I'd imagine Dorgu will drop to LB instead.

02 Sep 2026 11:47:57
Hatter, SCR allows us to spend 70% of revenues. The club will bring in £700m at an absolute minimum this coming year, so the cap would allow £490m. Last year, our SCR was around £350m, apparently, and it's not going to have changed that much. There was plenty of room to spend another £150m.



The reason we only spent a little over £100m net was down to choice brought on by self-imposed financial restrictions, with the intent of lowering the debt, probably to assist in future financing for the new stadium.

01 Sep 2026 22:23:47
How many supposedly fully grown men are acting like babies and throwing their toys out the pram all because their football club didn't spend more millions on players?

01 Sep 2026 22:36:07
Transfer Window Timetable.

June - Calm down, the window is only just open.

July - There's two months left in the window, the club are working on things.

August - Look, if the window ended today, I would be disappointed too.

Deadline - Anyone who complains is a baby.

Sub £100m net spend for a club that claims to be pushing to compete for titles, and with glaring weaknesses in the squad, smells like skimping.

01 Sep 2026 22:38:13
I think that bear has been poked enough.

01 Sep 2026 23:12:16
Spot on, Danny.

A bit disappointed with that post, Shappy.

01 Sep 2026 23:13:39
Another post exaggerating other people's reactions to come across as sanctimonious.

02 Sep 2026 00:16:47
Listen, lads, I'm sure everyone is disappointed with the lack of defensive signings and outs, and the same goes for the striker position.
But we have the squad we have now.
Lammens, Darlow, Heaton.
Dalot, Maz (Yoro).
Shaw, Dorgu, Amass (Heaven).
Martinez, Maguire, de Ligt, Yoro, Heaven.
Baleba, Mainoo, Santos, Tielemans, Mount.
Bruno, Mbeumo, Rashford, Cunha, Amad, Lacey.
Sesko, Zirkzee.
Carrick needs to find a regular winning formula from that squad and consistency.
He will need a gale force wind of luck behind him on injuries, and we can only hope that he finds ways to win games.
I'm optimistic, as I think Spurs, Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool all need the same gale force wind of luck behind them to sustain any sort of challenge. I don't think any of them will prove to be consistent or short in case of injuries in key positions, much like ourselves.
Who will Liverpool call in if their 1st choice crap full backs of Frimpong and Kherkez get injured?
Who is Spurs' no 2 rb if Porres gets injured or striker?
Who is cover for Isaak right now? Ekitike out till Feb.
My point is all the chasing pack have issues, and we are not alone.

City and Arsenal look much stronger than the rest to me.
I think we all hoped for a good window to close that gap to them, and it's not transpired.
We will have people who like to rant, and if it helps them to let off steam in here, then that's ok, as much as it's ok to argue against their constant negativity.
Now it's a case of supporting the team we have and discussing how they do and how Carrick does, more often than arguing about things that we all agree on.
We all agree they have not got what we all want and feel we need. Why not leave it at that.
We all agree the Glazers are poor owners and we would all agree we would rather have different owners. Nobody disagrees with that.
There are differences in opinion on the strategy of sjr, and that's a good debating point and fair to have disagreements on.
The window is closed; it's now. The reason I think we all watch football is because of the team and what happens on the pitch, not what happens in the boardroom or owners.
Little they do now can affect the squad until Jan, so with any luck there will be less talk of them.
I think it's all about, or should be all about, the manager and team now, you, the football team, remember them?

02 Sep 2026 05:49:47
Tumble, who are you and what have you done with Ken? All this talking common sense. ??

02 Sep 2026 06:38:30
Tumble, the thing is - we had this debate if enough was done and if they made signings on time etc.

You accepted, now they haven't done a great job, which is mature, but Shappy can't put his hands up and admit that he was wrong, and would rather call the rest of us "babies".

Anyway, as you said, it is what it is.

02 Sep 2026 08:10:53
Trololo.
We had a debate about the timings. Let's see how City do with the players they signed late in the window.
Getting all signings done before the season kicks off has never been done by a league winning team. There is no issue with late signings. In fact, history tells you no club has ever won the league without making signings post the season starting.

02 Sep 2026 08:23:44
Tw,

I thought Ekitike was out until October? Regardless of that, it is still a fair point.

02 Sep 2026 07:59:47
I didn't name anyone in my post, if you think my post was about you then that says more about how you view your posts than how anyone else views them.

The reality is that before the window opened in order to have a complete squad capable of challenging on all fronts we needed a back up keeper, a RB, a LB, a CB, 3 midfielders, and a striker at minimum, probably a LW as well if we could shift Rashford.

All of those 9 players we needed also needed to be of the required level and have the right mentality. While it now seems that an average players costs 50m, and a top player costs 80-100m. Which if we needed 9 new players we would be looking at a minimum of a 400-500m spend.

That was never going to happen, not only could we not afford it, actually bringing that many new players into a squad and trying to get them to settle and create a cohesive team is practically impossible.

The sensible approach is to either address the midfield OR the defence this summer, then the other next summer. While if the right players become available for other key positions you move for them.

We chose to fix the midfield, probably more out of necessity than choice given the darth of options we had in midfield compared to defence.

We have signed our first choice option for midfield with Baleba, along with an experienced player in Tielemans, and a high potential talent in Santos (both of which have been captains, brining much needed leadership).

We rebuilt the midfield which was the priority. We also managed to bring in a better back up keeper. We then tried to bring in our top choice LB in Lewis Hall but he wasn't available by that time. We explored other options but it seems we have decided they aren't worth investing in at this moment in time.

Due to us being unable to move Rashford on we have enough cover on the left and up front for this season. You can question the quality/suitability of some of them, but we have the players.

Is missing out on Hall disappointing? Yeah, of course. Is the the club being unable to move Rashford on and bring in better/more suitable back for Sesko also disappointing? Yeah of course.

But for the most part I assume we are all fully grown, emotionally mature men, so I would hope we can deal with that disappointment accordingly.

While if we have a level of intelligence and common sense we can temper that disappointment with understanding that in truth we were never going to be able to do all of the transfers we need this summer.

Personally, I take pride in us being a club that gives youth a chance and develops players, making stars more so than simply buying them.

Yes not getting Hall is a disappointment, but that opens the door for either of Dorgu or Amass to step up at some point this season and prove their worth.

Yes, not moving on Rashford and bringing in a more experienced striker to challenge Sesko is disappointing. But now that just gives Sesko more opportunity to step up.

Yeah, getting more cover at CB for our injury prone players like Martinez and MdL would have been good, but now Heaven and Yoro have more opportunities to step up.

We also have players like Shea Lacey who will probably get a chance to have a break out season.

There is lots to look forward to this season, but too many people are getting hung up on the things we didn't get rather than appreciating the things we have.

02 Sep 2026 10:00:10
Shappy,

A top player is 80 to 100m, you said. Then you said we had fixed our midfield. So you confirm we haven’t bought any top players and have a midfield that isn’t as good as those who do have top players.

02 Sep 2026 22:18:37
Tumble, yes, it was about the timing of the signings, but you can't say it isn't related. If you leave too many holes by the deadline, it is obvious you won't fill all of them. I said before, I don't mind an odd signing at the very end of the window, but it was obvious where this was going.

Shappy, it doesn't matter if it was pointed at me or anyone else, we all had our concerns, some more negative than the others, and we were right to point them out.

You now went even deeper and made it look even worse about what the management team did. Out of 9 positions, we signed only 4, and by what you are saying - none of them are top signings (perhaps Baleba could go into that category, he was a bit more expensive). I'd argue just two more positions - ST (and we are talking about backup striker here, nothing fancy) and LB would make the transfer window far better. You are talking about spending 400-500m, I am talking about spending another 100 on top of this 150m we have spent, so far below what you are suggesting.



Rashford most certainly is not a cover for CF. It is like saying "Maguire could cover there", yes he could, but he isn't good in that position. Neither are Cunha or Mbeumo. Sure, it is fine to cover it for a few games, but going into the full season with just one striker (who has his fair share of injuries) is ridiculous.

They had enough time to do something about LB, especially since the two CM signings were done early enough, but they wasted their time and the opportunity they had with Newcastle. It is allowed to do more transfers at the same time, and in the different areas of the team, you know?

Anyway, I think it was unnecessary calling out anyone, especially while the topic is still hot. I think people have every right to be a bit mad and to rant about it, especially since it doesn't hurt anyone.

01 Sep 2026 20:34:51
Chelsea sell Mudryk for a loan fee and an option for £75m. The kids coming off a doping ban. We can’t sell an England winger for pennies on the pound.

Something's seriously off. We can’t sell. Every other club are moving players. We seem incapable. It’s weird, really weird.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Welcome to our new normal.

01 Sep 2026 20:52:27
We def need to learn the art of salesmanship.

01 Sep 2026 21:04:53
Because no one wants to pay 300k per week for an average winger.

01 Sep 2026 22:00:43
De Zerbi was his 1st name at Shakhtar.
I'm not sure Spurs will exercise that option, but it's good optics for both clubs.

01 Sep 2026 15:48:37
I can’t believe how naive our fan base is sometimes. Believe the narrative we won’t be taken for fools in the transfer market. We only want players who want us. Transfers coming out of nowhere because the club want to keep things close but happy to put stuff out here in public domain when it suits them. All last season they were happy to brief journalists that they wanted Anderson etc.

Makes them look like they have ambition. They have zero. They are either scrambling for a LB ST or they are trying to make it look like they are. They have had months. I honestly believe none of the signings made were anywhere near the top of the list for brining in. Maybe some weren’t even on the list.

01 Sep 2026 17:15:54
They are very naughty boys.

01 Sep 2026 17:27:20
It's a disgrace. We're spending more than any other club over recent years. What are they doing?

Cunha and Mbuemo have been disasters, and as for Lammens, what a joke he is.

And getting the fee for Baleba reduced by £30M. What were they thinking?

Seriously, there are a few posters that are continually outraged and will never be swayed from their view.

The language that is used is deliberately provocative and often misguided. Sure, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but being so continuously outraged must be exhausting.

01 Sep 2026 17:28:00
Years of mismanagement. We overpaid for cack players like Mount, Ugarte, renewed Shaw's contract to keep the physio bench warm. We cant sell any of them, as no one is as stupid as we are to buy them. psr is stopping us, Glazer debt cripples us.



We were never going to get an Anderson style player. If you were Anderson, would you sign for Utd? Unproven manager, could finish anywhere from 5th to 15th, or can go to City and win at least 2 trophies a year. Sad state of affairs, but it's where we are.

01 Sep 2026 17:31:20
They're certainly not the messiah, Ken!!!!

01 Sep 2026 17:49:21
Tomorrow's news will be "Bruno signs new contract". That should shut people up. 101 Glazer playbook.

01 Sep 2026 17:56:45
It's my opinion; is this not the forum for that?
Mbeumo? Since Amorim left, he hasn't played as well in this system. At the end of last season he was terrible, and at the start of this he hasn't been any better. His decision making is terrible; he needs 10 chances to score. Would he get into any top 4 side? No. Lammens is a great signing, and Cunha is a decent signing. Are they world class? Lammens has the chance to be. The other two, no, I don't think so.
Ajh, you are happy-go-lucky, good for you.
I care about our club.
Because past signings haven't worked, with big fees, doesn't mean you just abandon signing any players in that bracket.

It's a ridiculous way to run a club, and it's the PR from the club around that really annoys me. They take fans for fools, and some of them are.
I'm no fan of Carrick; will he lead us back to the top? No. But the owners have sent him into the season with one LB, one ST. We've seen this time and again after we qualify for the Champions League; they just don't want to invest. Mission completed, box ticked. So, yea, after years of this rinse and repeat, I am outraged. The prawn-sandwich-eating fans, maybe you know them, just happy to turn a blind eye and just get behind the team. It's not that bad! I could never be complicit.

01 Sep 2026 18:12:44
Crazy, I can't be outraged but you can be outraged by my outrage. ? Make it make sense.

01 Sep 2026 18:16:13
twenty

For some reason there are a few on here who will tell you not to post what you think. They only want to read positive stuff, and, at some point, your opinion will see you blocked by some.

All points are valid, and it's a banter website. I actually wonder if some are connected with the club, because there is no logical reason to defend the owners.

01 Sep 2026 18:19:27
Jesus, lads, some of you sound so entitled. We're in good shape. Suggesting you are the one who cares about the club, Twenty, in response to Ajh, can be read directly to suggest he doesn't care, and that most certainly is not true. You and Red Man are, however, implying that the people running our transfer strategy are trying to dupe us all.

There is absolutely no evidence for that whatsoever. We paid big wages and big transfer fees for far too long on players no better than we had, and we got worse.
Would you be happier if we'd signed Tonali rather than Tielemans? I think Tielemans is the better player, as do a lot of others. That's what I care about.

01 Sep 2026 17:35:42
Maybe they want to be a woman Patrick ?

01 Sep 2026 18:35:06
Red man I was thinking exactly the same myself that some views on here are actually very suspicious, another mouth piece for the club, I definitely wouldn't put it past them!! AJH aka Wilcox! Happy to be blocked by anyone who isn't open to opinions. Some have already suggested they are blocking certain posters! Go on AJH/ Wilcox I dare you ?

01 Sep 2026 18:46:24
Red Man, who is defending the owners, I certainly am not. However, I see no merit in saying things like we're not spending money on the squad and so on when the facts simply say that is completely erroneous.
Going into this summer we owed over £400M on transfer fees from previous seasons. A bit of balance is all I'm asking for.

01 Sep 2026 18:50:11
Don red all I can say is deluded.
JUNE 28 2005, the glazers took over. I can't believe after all the turmoil, the debt the poor transfers, the not backing the mangers, the change in philosophy again and again, the leaky roof, ed woodward(let's not forget him), hiring a dof to sack him, the employees made redundant to name but a few of the things over the years. But we are in good shape, I will sleep easy tonight. I think you must be happy with mediocrity. Not only have we spent less than Ipswich! Yea let that sink in.

the other clubs have further increased the distance between us and them. Without this club being saddled with debt we would be competing with any club in the world financially. Also remember every club has bought players for high fees and it hasn't worked it's not just us, you don't see them changing over it. It's a part of football you try and mitigate it through scouting and data.
Remember we are one of the top 3 biggest clubs in the world. Just not run like one or have the ambition of one.

01 Sep 2026 19:17:00
Defending / agreeing, same difference.
We have underspent, just looking at what other clubs are doing, you can't argue we have underspent. I don't think anyone expects a newly promoted team to spend more than us. Owing money on previous transfers is normal for every major club. We are no different. So that point is irrelevant to what we do for transfers now.

01 Sep 2026 19:25:14
Red man, Fernandes signing a new contract? Didn't you hear? Rashford is like a new signing according to Berrada and Carrick! ? This is what our club does. Spin at its best.

01 Sep 2026 19:33:26
I'm not outraged, I'm bored reading the same stuff again and again, and it being relentlessly provocative and negative, it's tedious. Each to their own, I guess, Mr Happy.

01 Sep 2026 19:34:01
Mediocrity. Ffs. You simply don't understand what it takes to build high performing teams. Consistency and adherence to core principles, and insisting on a culture you try to live each day, are all central tenets. You clearly see none of that because you are fixated on the wrong metrics.

01 Sep 2026 19:40:59
Comparing our spend to Ipswich is very short term bias. Over the past 5 years our net spend has been the highest because we buy high and sell never. Contract expiry is the way we move players on, so you can't say money hasn't been spent.

01 Sep 2026 19:46:13
So no mention of the debt from previous transfers that every club has anymore.
Yea they are all things that build a pretty high performing team, but they aren't the only ones, are they? Improving on what you have could be one, and not dependent on price? Yea that's one.

Creating an environment and giving tools to a manager to succeed? Or you could sack them if the reason you got them in you realised is way too costly. I imagine there will be no cost cutting to the new stadium. Maybe plastic is cheaper than steel.

01 Sep 2026 20:27:14
Groan.

01 Sep 2026 20:57:54
Twenty what do you know about the club finances?
Have you read the published accounts in detail.
Do you think a business losing money should continue to pay employees that are deemed surplus?
Do you think a business that has had cash flow issues should overspend?
I see and understand your frustration.
Coming on here sharing your opinion is fine everybody has opinions.
I don't agree with blocking others posters i'm blocked myself by a few which amuses me. I don't want to live in an echo chamber I like reading others views and debating them.
Im not at all angry with the owners or board I'm just disappointed and sorry they own us and I don't like their agenda.
But they own the business and have their agenda its their business and they don't have to answer to you or any non shareholder.
Do you want to support the team this season?
That's the only question that needs answering if that's a yes then imo its better to talk about that.
The glazers are what they are until they sell up nothing will change.
The business was in very severe trouble due to the mismanagement of Woodward and co.
Cash flow was a severe issue psr was a severe issue the business was trading at a loss for several years and was close to running out of cash.
The cuts were very necessary and still are.


The business needs to get back on a sound financial footing before its in a position to move forward. We should/ could return to profit this year and that and that is the starting point of any recovery
Many opinions are shared without any real or very limited knowledge so they are irrelevant opinions or uneducated ones. I have loads of those opinions myself.
If you understand the clubs finances and the epl and ueffa rules in a lot more detail then you will realise how close we were to a points deduction.
The glazers have their agenda it won't change too much until they sell.
Nobody I know supports that agenda, it is not illegal its not fraudulent they bought the business to milk it and that ain't going to change,
So I just support the team and the players we have. i'm optimistic and hopeful for the season ahead just like I was last season and every one before that.
Keep your chin up it will be alright and remember its only a game and not life or death.
I can't get angry with business people wanting to make money that's what business people do. They don't care about the club or the fans they are bad owners from our perspective but they don't need to care about that. They want different things from the club than you or i and that's what's disappointing.