Manchester United banter 5

06 Jan 2026 18:02:58
I am still gathering my thoughts on what has happened.
Saw comments about being grief stricken and it is akin to that, I'm almost without words on the sacking.
What I am seeing though whilst I gather my thoughts is the level of our fanbase, on here and beyond. Celebrating the one manager who has turned a corner with the toxic squad (something that has been the core cause of the rot at this club) it beggars belief it really does. My opinion only of course, but those that are saying he was crap etc quite simply don't know what they are talking about or are blind when watching the games.

Those that go on to support the likes of Mainoo are rotten. I hope he leaves now and asap. I supported that little rat and he is no better than those that have gone before him. I genuinely hope his career nosedives, he doesn't deserve to wear the shirt.

As for interim manager appointments, if it is Ole again the club are so backwards it is untrue. Ruud yes, Carrick maybe, Fletcher if he gets the results sure give him a crack. But dear god not Ole, he is the worst of the yes men and is stealing a living.

As for the board, if they don't continue to churn the squad through and rid it of the mistakes, then they are deluded that this will change. For me that is their only saving grace is if they follow through and get rid of the likes of Casemiro, mount, Shaw Maguire Ugarte Dalot etc

I give my thoughts on the squad another time and the pathway forward.

06 Jan 2026 18:41:45
Crikey, where to start.

As you say, everyone has an opinion, but then you go on to rubbish others opinions. I respect your view but it doesn't mean I agree with it.

As for Mainoo, how is he suddenly the villain? One of the best talents we have produced for a while and he has been treated dreadfully by RA. As I said, opinions are opinions, but why people can't see that escapes me.

As for RA, rumours now that some players called him Ruben Interim, and that they were frustrated with his rigidity of system. Rumours he told Sem3nyo he would play l3ft wing and he would be changing his sytem too.

I have watched every game this year and other than a couple we have been poor. We have scored more, but also conceded more and seem unable to hold on to a lead.

I guess there are 2 viewpoints dominating on here right now.

The first thinks he was the future, he was building something long term, addressing the culture and would ultimately have led us to success.

The other is he was a one trick pony who realised very quickly he was out of his depth, and 3ssentially sacked himself.

I am firmly in camp 2, but that does not mean i think any less of Fizz or RedMan who hold a diffefent view, none of us sacked him so we really don't need to fall out over this. I have no truck with the 'you have a different view so you are an idiot' approach.

What we can all agree on is that the new ownership seems as incompetent as the last lot.

06 Jan 2026 18:42:16
Casemiro is out of contract. He will probably move on. He will only be re-signed if he accepts a much reduced salary, and probably just for one year. Either way the cost of employing him will go down from >£30m to.

06 Jan 2026 19:48:09
Agree jimbo except about mainoo.

06 Jan 2026 20:03:50
AJH, that comment is purely aimed at the folk who have remained silent whilst RA was gradually steering the ship through choppy waters (even the negative posters must accept we were going in a direction, rather than rounds in circles) . There are a number of posters who have not said a word and all of a sudden it is glorified that the only manager to actually provide a route out of the cyclic nature we once again find ourselves in has been sacked, it is embarrassing.

To be clear, you have made your position clear to all throughout, and I respect that. It is not aimed at the likes of yourself, so I'm sorry if that hit a nerve.

On Mainoo, his conduct has been dreadful. He was given a pathway to the first team, a direction to achieve the greatness he once promised. It is the insta posts, the feigning injury, the t shirts, the liking of posts when Amorim was sacked etc etc. his conduct, not his footballing ability are what puts him in the crosshairs. Maybe I'll calm on that as we weather the storm and go around in circles again, but it smacks of the Sancho/Rashford/Garnacho/Pogba. situation.

06 Jan 2026 20:26:45
Grieving for Amorim, really.

Mainno comment was harsh too. I think you need to put the phone down and breathe.

06 Jan 2026 21:13:49
I think you know Jimbo that I'm aligned with you about Amorim. Whilst everyone is entitled to their opinion I thought the criticism of RA went over into toxicity. The constant stuff about formation and so on, claiming our play is negative, that we haven't progressed etc when all the numbers, and our eyes, tell us differently. I believe that as fans we should back the manager unless it becomes completely and overwhelmingly obvious that he's not up to it, and I don't think that can be clear to anyone.


However I do think you're going too far with your criticism of Mainoo. In Garnacho's case I was delighted he was turfed out. His attitude stank the place up. But I don't see that with Mainoo. I hope he does see this as an opportunity and grasps the chance.

06 Jan 2026 22:00:18
Sorry, I'm not going to let the Mainoo thing go gents.
He was criticised, rightly, for not having the athleticism, stamina, match fitness to play in the formation. He had an opportunity to put in the effort, he chose not to. Instead, he took the oath of throwing toys out of his pram, and the instant gratification fans lapped it up.
Look at Casemiro, I have been a strong critic of his, when he was overweight and labouring through games, and I still want him gone, but look at him this season, puts the effort in pre season and is ready to go, albeit time is catching up with him and he looks exhausted come 70mins.

Just look at how those 2 conducted themselves when told they needed to put in the extra effort.

If you think Mainoo has handled himself well in all this then you are simply wrong I'm afraid to say.

06 Jan 2026 22:11:50
AJH

I just read that many, if not most of the players were right behind Amorim, they did not want him to go. They were not consulted. That goes against your rumour about the players.

06 Jan 2026 22:33:36
Red man, think it's the athletic piece where it was mentioned that the players were not aligned with Amorim.

Also, 38% win rate speaks a lot louder.

07 Jan 2026 04:15:40
Dont trust what media is writing, they are all being fed rubbish by the club to save face. Utd media machine is in full flow.

The page is turned. The marriage is over. Stupid decision to bring someone with such a radical change in formation in when we then didn't have the money or competence to bring in the necessary players to play it. Regardless, Amorim also didn't exactly cover himself in glory either.

We have the next half of the squad to turn over and then perhaps we will have hit the bottom and will be slowly build back towards the top.

07 Jan 2026 06:50:21
Dodgy

Agree on the club media machine, next Amorim didn’t get a Christmas card for Doris in the canteen. The nasty man.

Angel
What was SAF win rate in the 1986 to 90 seasons? It was terrible to watch, poor results but he was sorting the attitudes. No one dissected win %. You got your wish now we are a shambles. Maybe you will be cheering when Ole comes back?

I have no faith in Wilcox or Berrada or SJR. We need new owners completely.

07 Jan 2026 07:35:23
Red man, no ones 'got their wish'. I believed he was out of his depth and handled things badly during his time there. Not sure what you're on about with Ole as I didn't want him to take the job full time in the first place, I'd be happy with him as interim until they can make the right appointment.

Not sure if it's all a shambles at the top as it's made out. I think they tried to do something different with Amorim and it didn't work out. What matters now is how they react going forward and who they appoint.

The hyperbole from fans on here is incredible. They just got a manager appointment wrong. Their first managerial appointment, it happens, this is the first time that they are doing this as a collective. Let's see if they can learn their lesson. They've been sorting out the academy, recruitment and financial issues.

Comparing Sir Alex to Amorim is laughable. The things SAF had to endure and the deep rooted problems within the dressing room, mainly the drinking habits of some wee crippling and he had to root it all out. But as you ask, SAF took over in November and through the season he had a win rate of 38%. The following season he had a win rate of 60%. So there's no comparison there either ? ?.

07 Jan 2026 07:49:05
Excellent posts above by Jim and Red Man.

07 Jan 2026 08:11:12
Well said dodgy and redman.

07 Jan 2026 09:28:10
Jimbored,

I agree with everything you said, except the mainoo part.

DonRed,

I agree with your post.

I do think these ex players i.e class of 92 should wind their necks in. Scholes and Neville failed as managers, Butt only managed Youth teams. They constantly criticised RA, when he was the only one who actually dealt with the negative, toxic players, Garnacho, Sancho and Rashford.

I do feel that RA was developing the team, but his rant after the Leeds match was one step too far. The decision to sack would have been easier had Utd been sar much further down the table.

Lastly, RA main failure was his inability to adapt his tactics to other than 3 at the back. It became his obsession to make it worth. Unfortunately his time has ended, we all must move on and back whoever comes in as interim manager, whether we link them or not.

07 Jan 2026 09:40:08
Mainoo is a child and still proving to be with his actions. How can we be ok with a player behaving this way thinking he just had the right to play. If he’s acting how he is and also his agents/family can you imagine him at 26 when another manager sidelines him we will have another rashford, player power cannot and should not win.

The fact is he wasn’t played because he doesn’t have the stamina or the speed. Not a united player and with the pass few months I hope he’s next out the door with Wilcox berrada glazers and INEOS.

07 Jan 2026 17:26:42
Let's not forget that Mainly wants something silly like $180k/week too guys, that is still not solved as I understand it. Watch Ole sanction a 10x payrise for him ?.

08 Jan 2026 07:55:11
Perfect paots Jumbo and Red an, nothing more to say you guys nailed every single salient point including the references to SAF. I was around then and I remember the rhetoric against him. But thank god we had Martin Edwards and no social media.

06 Jan 2026 16:35:00
The only manager since SAF not to "lose the dressing room" and yet Ahmad says his man management skills were poor.

The only manager since SAF to leave the club in a higher league position than he took over at and yet Ahmad says we are poor.

Ahmad says utter rubbish to watch. Have you actually seen us play this season or did you just type this as soon as Amorim was hired and then just used it now. 4th highest goals scored, highest xg, shots on target etc. all metrics pointing to a highly attacking style of play.

Ahmad asks which club would buy you 15 players to compete. Mate look out your window and you may see the Etihad. Ask Pep this question. Or perhaps drive down the road to Anfield and may be your questions will be answered or even drive to London and speak to Chelsea or Arsenal. All of them have delivered and all of them have bought the players to suit the system. You need to slither out of your hole before making such a statement.

I assume you are one of those instant coffee lover who needs immediate results rather than having a bit of patience to see long term betterment of the club.

If anything you need to admire Amorim to come out and speak out on what he felt was injustice.

06 Jan 2026 16:47:42
Good post UA, that could also apply to angel.

06 Jan 2026 16:49:15
UA worst win rate since the 70s. He was a poor appointment and his record speaks for itself.

He said some of the most bizarre things. Had a go at squad players, academy players, and then the hierarchy. None from a place of strength.

I don't think he ever really had the dressing room, if he had, he would have a higher win rate than 38%. Very poor 14 months and I hope they get the next appointment right.

06 Jan 2026 17:07:00
UA - we have been utter rubbish to watch apart for a handful of games.

06 Jan 2026 17:27:08
As soon as you said it Fizz, angelred justified it ?.

Angelred, let me ask you a question. You say worst win rate since 70s. Take SAF out of the equation and tell me which manager do you fondly remember as being a success? There is a reason that the answer is NONE. The hierarchy is rotten and that flows all the way down. Few have had the guts to come out and question- Jose, Rangnick and Amorim. All outlined the problem and wanted to correct it but the toxicity in and around the club simply allow it and hence the state of the club we are in. The sorry likes of Scholes, Neville can't come out of the time that they played in where we were the big guns. They don't want the club to succeed because that then degrades their time. Jealousy plays a big factor. Out of work pundits they call themselves. Shut them up and half the problem disappears. What have they achieved in management to be telling anyone about it. Until the time, we are likely to remain where we are - "also rans".

06 Jan 2026 17:34:23
Amorim was doing what others didn’t have the bottle to do, dealing with the attitude and culture prevalent through the club. It is now lost and we are back several years again. Next will be the bleating to bring back Rashford.

This is a disaster in that the likes of Wilcox survive, the Glazers don’t have to spend any big money.

This has been a terrible period that SJR should be ashamed of, he sacked the wrong man, Wilcox should have gone.

06 Jan 2026 18:03:53
UA ? couldn’t make it up ?
Spot on RM. It’s a sorry state of affairs for sure.

06 Jan 2026 18:42:33
Why does disagreeing have to be so personal?

06 Jan 2026 18:58:11
for people who are hanging their hat we are tied 6th and xg and all the useless stats, if they don't translate into points who cares. we are 3 points from 12th. Given how he sets us up, his selections, subs, the city and arsenal games coming up were losses and we would be midtable.

I am so indifferent to what's happened and better managers out there and quite a few imo.

06 Jan 2026 18:59:50
I agree Red Man, but only up to a point. We are in a much better position than last year, but, frankly we should be even better off.

I also like the fact that Amorim was not afraid to speak out, but surely he must have been aware how important it is for the club to get back into Europe. We are not in a strong cash position. PSR may be on the way out, but we're still seriously over-leveraged. So extra revenues are essential for the club's finances if we want to be in competition to sign the best players, the ones he needed The fact that he would not modify his approach seemed to me to be a case of cutting off his nose to spite his face, an extremely arrogant approach full of an excess of self-importance. And then to criticize his employers publicly was completely out of order, whether or not what he said was true or not.

I think most of us fans have been realistic and didn't expect us to be competing for the title in year 1. We are prepared to be patient. to a degree. The coach/manager should be thinking the same way, and not having a public hissy fit because he can't get his own way immediately. It's unfortunate, but he had to go.

06 Jan 2026 19:06:17
Tony

That's why i don't post much, people here who are bullies and make everything personal. Athletic article paints a poor picture of him as being inexperienced and one dimensional, showing zero flexibility, add the results and you lose all the equity you have with the ownership even if they wanted it to work out.

06 Jan 2026 19:24:46
It's a bit odd Ahmad, I have a good craic with some posters and then suddenly I am an idiot or a fool ?‍♂️

The Times and Guardian were also quite scathing about him today, I am sure more will come out in the coming weeks. The latest is that he always said he would adapt his system, but then doubled down on his preferred formation. Also that he and Wilcox regularly discussed performance, but this time he blew a fuse. It does sound like he engineered a way out, but hey, that's just my opinion.

06 Jan 2026 19:49:45
Ajh, seems to be a common trend on here and in the chat, posters getting personal and flinging insults.

I think Amorim was the wrong man, his stats speak for themselves. I'm not sad, or gobsmacked or whatever adjectives people want to use.

The man wasn't right for the club, that's why he is no longer here.

I hope they make a good appointment next.

06 Jan 2026 19:56:01
Well said Ahmad and AJH.

That athletic article is about as good as insight into what has been going on.

Reflects poorly on amorim. Not surprising though.

06 Jan 2026 20:21:49
I think the athletic piece highlights a number of serous deficiencies with our club and those running it, including Amorim and Wilcox.

I liked his style, but hated his tactics and football….

06 Jan 2026 20:34:19
UA - no need for this post and single out and individual. Key board warrior behaviour.

I’m glad you have managed to enjoy the last 14 months of football. Personally I know I enjoyed the Everton game last year and Bournemouth this year but that’s it.

As angel says the truth will come out about Ruben Interim.

06 Jan 2026 21:18:21
A lot of over the top reactions to a manager losing his job. And one who deliberately got himself canned by the look of it.

06 Jan 2026 13:08:55
Oles at the wheel ????.

06 Jan 2026 14:45:39
I want this to happen just to see Ken spontaneously combust.

06 Jan 2026 15:16:00
Why I posted it ???.

06 Jan 2026 16:01:05
His record as an interim manager, is second to none ?.

06 Jan 2026 16:16:05
Have we thought of hiring None if he is better than Ole?

06 Jan 2026 16:36:38
I’d happily see OGS back as interim. Played some good football under him.

Went wrong at the end, but a lot of it was good.

06 Jan 2026 17:36:03
I despair at what may happen, 6 months of love in and never ending demands to make him permanent. If they want to make us the utter joke club, put Ole in charge.

06 Jan 2026 17:52:47
But as an interim, Red Man?

Record second to none? ?.

06 Jan 2026 18:18:20
Record 2nd to none because not many clubs hire interim managers?

06 Jan 2026 18:18:46
Grim, that made me laugh, thanks.

06 Jan 2026 19:36:01
Nou

Ole had a losing run to Villa, Leicester Liverpool 5 nil, yes 5 nil, City Watford.
People have short fuzzy memories blurred by a goal in 99.

06 Jan 2026 22:55:24
As interim. 14 wins and 2 draws in 19 games. Goal difference of over 2 to 1.
Fuzzy memories, indeed.

06 Jan 2026 23:07:18
Or by the 14 wins in 19 games as an interim manager which would be his role this time? Amorim won 15 in 47 remember.

07 Jan 2026 13:15:08
I'll be buzzing if he comes back, the only time I've felt like I was watching a united side since sir alex left.

06 Jan 2026 10:44:30
Amorim wasn't wrong when he said things will be getting a lot worse before they get better. Genuinely, I don't see what direction the club go now. It feels like the leadership team want a yes man but any top Manager/Head Coach that is worth their weight in gold is not going to be this character.

Time and time again I hear people say we need the best in class but with that you have to allow them to do what they did to get to best in class. The next couple of appointments are really going to show what this board is all about.

For what it's worth, I'd be going all out for Luis Enrique. Yes he's on a good gig at PSG and everyone will ask why would he leave them for United but for me, he has achieved everything at PSG, he has been successful in Spain and France, I am sure every top Manager/Coach would want a crack at the Premier League and there is still that ''What if'' question Managers will ask themselves about being the one to succeed at United. Certainly worth testing the waters anyway IMO.

Til the end of season, I'd genuinely look at Solskjaer but get maybe Rene Meulensteen back in alongside him. Not sure what other options there are to be honest.

06 Jan 2026 11:20:45
Agree its a mess and the reality is over the next 4 games it could get a lot messier.

If we don't get 3 points tomorrow and get knocked out of the cup and then face Arsenal and City back to back.

The season could pretty much be over when it comes to trophies and the “lofty goal” of returning to the champions league.

06 Jan 2026 11:48:25
I'm still in shock. Almost grief-stricken. If those who were calling for RA to be sacked think that we are now in a better place because they got their wish, then you are fools. I cannot believe WTAF the club has just done.

We will be in the outback without a compass for years to come at this rate, and the only change will be a different manager with the same folk baying for his blood. Sickening.

06 Jan 2026 12:00:29
Fizz

Am the same. I am actually furious at this, it puts the change and any serious culture change back for a long time. The club got rid of Rangnick and now Amorim, the clear message is we don’t want change. (underlying it seems as long as the money keeps coming in)

He may not have got every selection right but there was a clear direction and change in mentality. Utterly appalled.

06 Jan 2026 12:42:07
I don't think it will be quite as tragic as being made out :D
Ok, things are a mess at the top, anyone can see that and I imagine there will be more hiring and firing to come.
On the pitch we'll more than likely get spanked by the two top teams in the coming weeks - anything at all from those games would be gratefully received, hell I'd settle for 2 points there.


But, I do expect a win on weds, hopefully to still be in the cup sunday evening, and I am looking forward to whoever the caretaker is for the remainder of the season to make a go of it. It's still a great opportunity for someone and one of those CL spots is there for the taking IMO. Whoever it is will be thinking the job could be there for the taking if they lift the place.

06 Jan 2026 13:26:05
No to OGS.

06 Jan 2026 13:36:53
I disagree with some of this. From what ed001 has said, the club had decided to back Amorim and replace Wilcox. The press conference outburst was unnecessary because Amorim had won the power struggle. As such, he wanted to go and put the club in a position where they had to sack him.

06 Jan 2026 13:49:59
I'm with Fizz and Redman, not so much from a 'results on the pitch perspective' but for what it means for our club. I had sensed the culture change - the collaborative direction, the rotten eggs being removed from the club, a positive dressing room who are aligned with the manager, a manager who is young, developing and building a long-term playing style and approach.

All of that has been destroyed in one fell swoop. This puts us back on the merry go round of manager in, manager out with no clear direction and no end goal in sight. Are we as stupid as Chelsea to seek short term success and then not actually deliver against it? That's exactly what is going to happen. again.

As crazy as it might sound, when I look at the list of managers we are being linked with, I see nothing inspiring and candidly nothing that makes me excited to go to every game. I'd actually found that again for the first time since 2012 even though the results weren't good. I felt I was watching a journey and the club re-finding itself and the principles that it was built on.

I'd take Amorim back in a heartbeat - at least we had a direction and a vision to get behind.

06 Jan 2026 14:05:18
Red Man / Fizz - I appreciate your loyalty and inputs, but let's not pretend RA didn't orchestrate his own sacking.

I don't think Wilcox or Berrada are not to blame in all of this, but he didn't need to come out and say what he did, he knew what the consequences would be by saying it, and I'm sure he got a nice healthy payout to go with it. The comments were ridiculous, he was Head Coach, with a structure above him set to determine the identity of Manchester United, which all fans screamed for. RA was too stubborn to make changes on a system, that regardless of your views of the squad, resulted in him being the worst United manager since Ferguson.

I also don't know what change in mentality you're referring to. The player mentality was appalling at times if we are going by some of their performances.

06 Jan 2026 14:18:59
Excellent post jd123. In a nutshell.

06 Jan 2026 14:19:28
I liked him as a person but its not a loss as a coach. not sure why everyone is freaking out. we are generally utter sh. t to watch mostly with a sprinkle of hope here and there and been that way for so long.

His results are the worst of any manager I have seen. If the idea was he wanted 15 more players before it clicked, good luck to the man finding a club that would put up with that at the top level.

Decent lengthy article by athletic which is unbiased. Barada and sjr wanted him and wilcox was on the fence about his system and came around and ashworth was not onboard with it.

It paints a poor picture of him and his man management skills of players and a his coaching staff being young and inexperienced and how he refused to make adjustments and even not happy with lemmens signing or sesko as he wanted martinez and watkins. I actually back the club on the signings can't be signing older players with high wages and then we are stuck with them and everyone complains in the fan base.

Our results will improve and we will have a much better second half of the season imo.

06 Jan 2026 15:21:29
“I’m a COACH at heart, ” Jason Wilcox told the Manchester United former players’ association in September.

“That’s a strength in my role now, but also causes me a bit of a problem because I always want to INTERFERE in what the managers are doing. ”

Can't think why Amorim might have been pi$$ed off and became ever more stubborn.

06 Jan 2026 15:30:49
Amorim should've done better then. He wouldn't have been sacked. He was rubbish.

06 Jan 2026 15:48:11
Angel, I'm often accused of being unable to suffer fools gladly and refusing to engage with buffoons. I don't defend myself from those allegations; indeed, I agree with them. So, if it's okay with you, I shall not be engaging with you in the future.

06 Jan 2026 16:03:29
I genuinely thought we were turning a corner. I know we had some dubious performances lately, but with a full strength team back, I was quite optimistic for the rest of the season.

Has to be Ole now, doesn't it? . ?.

06 Jan 2026 16:44:11
Nou, he just wasn't good enough, there's no getting away from it. The club made a mistake with his appointment. I'm sure he is a fine coach, but his style, his formation, tactics, none aligned with this club and I wish him all the best at whatever club he ends up at. But there's no getting away from the fact that he has the worse stats as a man united manager since the 70s. He was really poor.

Haha ole as interim, as long as he isn't appointed full time again, I'm not opposed to it.

06 Jan 2026 17:43:55
Someone needed to do the open heart surgery, but sadly there are at least three posters in this section that can’t see what was happening. The change the club desperately needed to move forward has been cancelled for another season. SAF first few years were tough but he sorted it out, this is modern people, impatient and can’t see a bigger picture.
The quiet beneficiaries will likely be the financial side, another yacht for the Glazers.


Now the Ole cheerleaders start, win a couple of games and all the problems are forgotten. Pathetic.
Sack Wilcox and Berada should be on borrowed time. Those old social media anti United posts don’t do him any favours at all.
Where was the leadership in dealing with this. Someone abdicated responsibility for sorting Wilcox out and ensuring the manager had what he needed. SJR sacked the wrong person.

06 Jan 2026 18:52:29
they got fed up with our results and his stubbornness of not willing to change. They questioned it, he reacted like a child and said stuff publicly he should have not and got sacked. if i owned it i would sack him too. get over it and we move on.

06 Jan 2026 21:22:54
Ahmad

Let’s quote Amorims now former boss, Wilcox. “I’m a coach at heart. That’s a strength in my role now but also causes me a bit of a problem because I always want to interfere in what the managers are doing”

Tell us all honestly, if your boss interfered with your decisions and told you to change them what would you do?

His stubbornness or not willing to change you say, well that was the strength we were looking for, conviction. If there is an error it was whoever hired him and thought they could change his principles. We are lucky to have had a manager with principles. Terrible mess we are in. Again.

06 Jan 2026 22:06:56
Red man, 38% win rate. They gave him so much rope and his insistence on his style of play was just not working.

Ed001 says they were actually going to sack Wilcox.

The athletic article paints a much different story than what you want to believe.

He performed appalling and was let go after he shot himself in his last press conference.

The mistake was in allowing him 14 months to do something that clearly wasn't working.

Had he been doing a good job, no one would have said anything.

07 Jan 2026 13:55:35
Red Man, no-one is a cheerleader. You always come across as quite a serious chap, so I've no idea why you have to throw these childish little comments just because someone disagrees with you.

Part of me is just on the wind-up with Ole, but part of me genuinely does think, as an interim, we could do much worse than him.

06 Jan 2026 07:39:03
{Ed's Note - Red Man has posted a new article entitled, Time to Reflect on Manchester United

06 Jan 2026 09:55:42
The board mainly Wilcox have to take a lot of the blame red man.
Dan ashworth a highly regarded experience dog was pushed out and basically replaced by Wilcox.

We have bought 5 players: 2 first teamers and 3 youngsters who should never have had the responsibility put on them.

Amorim wanted Watkins, Martinez, estupien he got sesko lammens and dorgu what does that tell you. Added to that dalot, Shaw and Maguire are all vital parts of our team these guys weren't good enough under Jose and ole.

06 Jan 2026 10:59:15
As much as I agree with us being in shambles in terms of proper structure, your article makes it sound as if Amorim is a victim here. He is a good up and coming coach but he has his flaws as well.
He did bring some positive and refreshing aspects to the club but his stubbornness and entrenched position had the whole club suffering.
I do not think the club left him without mfs, he had a say in: Collyer's loan move, in not trying Kone in the 1st team after his recovery, his fallout with Mainoo etc.


Look at what Howe has done with Miley at Newcastle, Nico O'Rieley at City, Skelly and Nwaneri at Arsenal, Wharton at Palace, etc When we are struggling for mfs, I am sure we have at least one who could step up.

06 Jan 2026 00:19:10
Just bizarre.

Utd doing well in 6th, 3 points from top 4 and Amorim shoots himself in the head.

06 Jan 2026 06:49:45
It’s something that looks like it has been building for a while and Amorim has had enough.

The fault lies with the management, they have let the situation get out of control and it should have been settled and resolved a long time ago than fester as it has.

06 Jan 2026 07:20:15
The last few Amorim press conferences sounds like a man who’s not getting what was agreed. Since the summer Amorim has mentioned the wingbacks and midfield quite a few times. Reading between the likes it looks like he was annoyed he didn’t get a wingback and more importantly a CM in the summer. Now the window is open he was expecting additions in these positions but was told no, on top of that it looks like Wilcox put pressure on to change his system.

Essentially they told RA no new players, you change your system……. They had a big fall out, RA takes the can.

The club signed RA knowing full well they had a very inadequate squad, certainly not a 3-4-2-1 squad. This is on the board, the outgoings have been slow. The incomings we negotiated Mbeumo for months only to pay the original fee. Sesko was 5th choice and late in the window. Lammens looks a great signing but again very late in the window. We apparently tried for Belaba which shows the club know there is a midfield issue.

This season looks a right off, we might get top 5, who knows. It’s a shame as I think with a new midfielder or two top 4 was easily achievable for RA. Even a couple of loans. Top 4 changes your summer transfer window significantly.

It will be telling what type of manager we go for in the summer and if Wilcox is still here. It looks like we’ll go the Chelsea route at the moment with the board dictating the squad and the Manager just being a head coach. That takes all the big names off the table as they won’t work in that system.

05 Jan 2026 23:31:31
Any chance of someone at United doing a performance review on Wilcox and berrada? Maybe hold them to account for the sh1t show that they’ve overseen?

Kept eth and gave new contract
Signed players for eth costing £200m
Fired eth 4 months later costing 10m

Hired ashworth
Paid Newcastle £2m compensation
Fired ashworth 4 months later costing 6-8m in compensation

Hired Amorim mid season knowing full well his philosophy and mentality didn’t match our squad. Signed decent players in the summer (mbeumo, cunha) but again left midfield with a massive deficiency and now sacked RA, not because of performances but because of a personality clash.

I didn’t think RA was the right man however the 2 above him are a massive problem and I’ve zero trust in them getting any decision right. We seem to have replaced the old regime with a new one just as incompetent and full of ego. Brilliant.

06 Jan 2026 00:30:24
Agree with the negatives above Tim.

For balance should also add that they (along with Amorim) moved on Rashford, Sancho, Garna and possibly the worst goalkeeper in our history.

The club is a mess. We have taken half a stride forward and stumbled along the way. We desperately need another few good signings of the class of Mbueno, Cunha, De Ligt, Lammens.

Yoro, Heaven, Dorgu all look like they could be good players, but we need to remove the old guard and bring in a few more first team ready players. I think both the strikers they have signed could have been good, but they needed to have another striker to compete against and work with so the pressure is not quite so much. We need wingers (or wingbacks) who are more dangerous and we need midfielders who can control a game.

Not all signings have to be 10/10. I think a Gallagher could be a great signing for midfield homegrown depth. Maybe a backup striker who can support sesko and pick up a few late game points. A dangerous wide player who can cross and works hard. We can dream.

06 Jan 2026 07:47:04
Agree dodgy that the signings have been pretty good, it’s more their general decision making that I’ve an issue with. Seems to be very muddled.

06 Jan 2026 09:30:52
Careful Tim, there are people here who would never allow you to question the world‑class structure we’ve been told to support – because they know more than us lowly peasants.

If you want a preview of what’s coming, just look at INEOS handling of OGC Nice.

Frequent changes in coaches, sporting directors and senior executives, with budgets and authority shifting season to season as focus drifted elsewhere - Check.

A clear swing from initial heavy spending to aggressive cost control, including budget reductions - Check.

You can own a bigger and better car as many times as you like. If the same bad driver is the one at the wheel, we already know how the journey ends - in a ditch.

I don't think we will truly progress until we rid ourselves of the plague of the Glazers and INEOS.

05 Jan 2026 23:17:53
Anyone think Mainoo will be fit and available on Wednesday? ??.

06 Jan 2026 06:22:28
It would be a dreadful look for him if he is.

06 Jan 2026 10:27:25
Think there might be a Fletcher or two in midfield ?.

05 Jan 2026 23:11:31


Red Man has written an article entitled, Time to Reflect on Manchester United

06 Jan 2026 11:24:38
Perhaps the Glazers didn't want to sell the whole business, unless someone was going to come up with their asking price of £6bn, which no one was. Perhaps they wanted to stay in to ensure that their property investments in the surrounding area were not jeopardized by a new United owner going in a direction that did not advantage them.

Whether its true or not, I read that United were extremely close to breaching PSR in ETH's last full season and that the cost of firing him at the end of it would have put them over the limit. Before he came on board ETH was rated extremely highly by a number of contributors to this site. And, despite everything else he did actually manage to win a couple of trophies. Even at the end of his last season there were people who felt he'd done enough to get an extra year, despite the fact that during his period in charge the club made some disastrous purchases, which I think is why SJR tried to set up a new regime that would have a coach rather than a manager at the head of the team, i.e someone who had an advisory role but no ultimate say on incomings and outgoings.

The way the club had been run up until SJR's team took over has been well documented and needs no further elaboration. Clearly Berada and his team did not do as much due diligence as they should have done before hiring Amorim. I think they believed him to be the new Mourinho. Unfortunately after years of wasteful spending United no longer has the financial strength to undertake a full squad restructuring in a. single season - choices had to be made - Cunha and Mbuemo were doable deals and were completed. The amount of time it took is neither here nor there. None of us know why it took as long as it did. Lammens looks like a good signing. Dorgu has improved. Sesko looks like a bit of a clunker. We managed to get rid of all our dead wood at least for a season. It wasn't a perfect summer window but it was an improvement on the last decade.

So, Amorim had been given half of what he needed. We all know he needed a midfield fix. We haven't bought a top class long term DM since Carrick. In the end, however, football is a cooperative venture from owners, down through the manager/coach, the players and staff. What is glaringly apparent now is that Amorim is an extremely arrogant and rather immature man who has little to no ability to compromise, or to hold his tongue. The fact that he was prepared to call out his employers in public even though he must surely have known well in advance that few if any funds would be available this January, and that management was dead set on not buying over priced long term second best players to fill a short term need, which is to say, not repeating the sins of the past decade or more, was appallingly injudicious.

Clearly Berada and his team believe that this squad, without additions, and with a light program should be capable of being in the top 5/6, but to do that the coach needs to be flexible and not demand the team play the same system even when its clearly exposing certain players' weaknesses. Yoro is a good example. He's a CB, but he's not the quickest of players. Leaving him to mark speedy wingers is a mistake and it's cost us points.

Now personally I don't think switching to a back 4 will create too many if any problems. Shaw, Dalot and Mazraoui are natural full backs. Shaw is actually quite good going forward and has a decent cross but playing in a back 3 has removed that potential from his game. Even without any new signings with Cas, Bruno, Mainoo, maybe Mount and Ugarte we should have enough to cope for the rest of this season. And then we have Cunha, Mbuemo and Amad all of whom are capable of creating and scoring goals. and have been doing so. If this is obvious to me then it will have been obvious to the board and it should have been obvious to Amorim too, which brings us back to the two main problems. The board failed to do due diligence and Amorim's inflexibility and arrogance. If a coach is so wedded to his system that he's prepared to risk success and the profits that come with that, making the acquisition of the players he needs as the team evolves less likely due to lack of funds, then his arrogance is a major flaw. and one that the club could no longer afford to humor.

06 Jan 2026 13:26:35
Couldn't agree more.

06 Jan 2026 16:13:29
I agree with 99% of that New name. HIS arrogance and naivety have been big problems.

But you say we have enough to cope with the rest of the season. What is coping for you?

I still think when we're in the position we are and with our best players all to return, that it was a bit short-termist to get rid of our manager when we're currently sitting in the European places.

Any manager, not just RA.

05 Jan 2026 18:04:31
Congratulations to the GW20 winner of FOOTBALL RUMORS FPL mini-league :

Real Magid ( More points on the bench )