Manchester United banter 7

24 Feb 2026 12:33:25
I thought Mbuemo was very disappointing last night. His real strength seems to be in counter attacking football. It was perhaps not surprising that we scored when Everton were pressing. Had they been content to sit back I doubt we would have broken them down. Brilliant pass by Cunha.

This whole corner kick melee thing is a really ridiculous spectacle. We need a one yard box into which no attacking player can go until after the corner is taken.

24 Feb 2026 13:31:46
I'm more than happy if our 'very disappointing' players get the assist for the only goal of the game. I'll be honest. He was playing out of position and never stopped running. It wasn't his best game, but I thought he did fine.

24 Feb 2026 15:50:49
Yes, he works hard. Glad to have him in the team. Great asset. But his assist kind of proves what I'm saying. He is deadly if you give him an open space, which is what he frequently had at Brentford, a counter-attacking team. The move in general was excellent.

Sesko's pass to Cunha, and then his determination to sprint the length of the field, having the defender in his wake, to get into the box to cap it off, was first rate. Without the 4 new signings, we probably lose that game.

24 Feb 2026 16:18:00
Our midfield is very weak, we are not playing well due to that. Attack and defense look good enough, certainly for top 4. Midfield is very, very thin (no depth in case of subs or injuries). We also lack in quality at fullback. Shaw and Dalot are very poor going forward. In these games we need more aggressive overlapping from fullback. Shaw is scared of running forward (covering Maguire? Protecting fitness?).

And Dalot is poor in final ball. I'm sick of the anti-football surrounding the goalkeeper at corners and long throws. I would immediately ban attacking players from the 6 yard box until the ball is kicked. Problem solved. If teams then obstruct the keeper unfairly (pushing over, tripping, etc.) then current laws award free kicks.

24 Feb 2026 18:17:29
Shaw was at his best going forward when he had an actual winger in front of him. He and Rashford did quite well together. We miss Dorgu.

24 Feb 2026 18:58:09
Could've left "And Dalot is poor in final ball" after 4 words.

24 Feb 2026 19:31:48
In fairness to Mbeumo, there were at least two occasions where a very poor through-ball attempt starved him of one-on-one opportunities. He did okay.

24 Feb 2026 22:05:20
Dalot is excellent at getting forward but rubbish at being forward.

25 Feb 2026 00:47:37
RWWD, That's the perfect way to describe him. He's our best player at getting into good positions and our worst player at making the most of good positions. Great high fives though.

25 Feb 2026 01:36:43
Hence the final ball comment. We need attacking fullbacks, and he gets into good positions, but when it is time to do the deed, he is, what's the word, flacid.

25 Feb 2026 13:39:15
Great high gives though. ?

24 Feb 2026 09:20:26
Well that was ugly, but sometimes you have to win ugly games, against ugly teams and my god, Everton are an ugly team to play


The plusses were Lammens who grew in stature last night, and Sesko with another great goal, another player who we can see growing before our eyes.

Apart from that it was poor, misplaced passes, a lack of energy but hey ho, onwards and upwards. I love Mainoo but he needs to get a rocket up him, both he and Cas ambled around all night, showing no real energy or urgency, despite his stellar stats, Bruno was almost anonymous. Maguire suddenly looks like a fixture in the team and deservedly so, Cunha needs to learn to pass the damn ball.

Still, 5 wins out of 6, not playing for 2 weeks is never helpful so hopefully we will see a return to form against Palace.

24 Feb 2026 10:58:23
Yeah, both Mainoo and Cas were out of sorts last night. The game made my eyes bleed, but it was a lovely bit of quality to win it and a great finish. I used to think Everton fans were a bit too moany, but if that's what they do every week, I have a lot of sympathy for their fans.

{Ed025's Note - its like that most weeks Eric, thats what you get when you have a dinosaur like Moyes at the helm mate, he will make you hard to beat but at the cost of any style or substance as im sure you know from his time with you..

24 Feb 2026 11:25:35
Excellent result last night, and it keeps the pressure on for Champions League positions. 5 wins from 6 since Carrick took over, and we would all have taken that. It feels like we have lost some of the early momentum/excitement. However, at this point, we need the wins. Losing Dorgu and his energy has definitely taken something from the team, as did Martinez last night with his progressive passing from the back. There does also seem to be a number of peripheral factors that I think are impacting our performance: - Are we match sharp with so few games? It is great for the recovery, but we do seem to lose something after a break.

- Are we still short on the outside of the first 11, with Carrick relying heavily on the same 11? We have had issues when there is a second game midweek; we are just not used to this, and it hits us. - We seem to be getting games across the whole weekend, from early/late starts, Sunday, Monday! Everything bar 3pm on a Saturday. It should not really matter, but I think it has.

24 Feb 2026 12:06:55
I feel for you and your fellow fans, Ed. I've tried to block Moyes' stint out of my mind. Sadly, when he was in charge, we weren't even hard to beat. ?

{Ed025's Note - hes so pragmatic Eric and his teams are boring to watch, he plays to not get beat rather than win mate and yes hes a safe pair of hands, but my god its hard to watch..

24 Feb 2026 12:08:25
AJH, I'm just going to put it down as a complete off day for us. But most importantly, we came out with the 3 points. What we have seen now is us play both good and bad in 6 games, and we have come out with 16 out of 18 points.

Taking this all day long. 70 points needs to be the aim to get Top 4. I look at the run we have now until Chelsea, and we could really nail this in the coming weeks.

24 Feb 2026 14:51:35
Angel, I hope you're right, but this and the West Ham game were both very poor. We've been lucky in both and could easily have ended up with just one point. I'll take luck all day long. The fear I have is that, whilst Carrick seems better able to set up the team and make changes in the EPL than Amorim, it could be that Amorim's coaching was much better.

I do hope this is wrong, and that Carrick and his staff get the team back on form.

24 Feb 2026 15:38:48
DonRed, nothing to me says that Amorim was a better coach. Literally nothing; I am not sure where you get that. By the way, I'm not saying you're wrong, but nothing has shown me that he is a better coach, based on his time at United.

Carrick has had 6 games now: 4 of those were good wins, 1 was a win but a bad game, and 1 was a draw and a bad game. Amorim's record speaks for itself, I'm afraid.

24 Feb 2026 15:52:47
I really don't want to rehash this. But we have lots of metrics that show what I'm saying. But it's also not logical to think that the players can go from 14 months of poor coaching to suddenly being fantastic because of a couple of sessions, regardless of how good anyone thinks they are. Again, we won't ever agree on Amorim, except that I think he wasn't learning quickly enough how to set up and adapt to changes in EPL games.

Our running metrics, our expected goals for and against, all showed improvement. When we had our best players, we did well under him. I think we saw yesterday that, without Lisandro Martinez, we struggled to progress the ball, and our CMs don't have tempo players. Amorim tried to solve this with Bruno. Carrick has tried with Martinez. The danger in that approach is that it's much more predictable. I hope I'm wrong, but that's what I'm seeing.

24 Feb 2026 17:48:17
Just watched it today, was out late last night, ended up watching pieces in fast forward. Boring, no exciting football. Everton spoil most games, imo, with the way they play, and we don't have the players to counter that tactic effectively. A couple of surprise good performances in Dalot and Yoro, who were decent. Midfield three, Mainoo was best, imo, but not standout.

I'd take another 10 of them till the end of the season. Effort, commitment, and organisation will get us a long way in this league. Keep winning, secure CL, and finish as high as possible; that is all that matters. 3 points will do Carrick's case no harm, but the performance needs to be better from a few of them. Palace at home next, so 3 points there and we are 1 step closer.

23 Feb 2026 22:34:18
What a master stroke the club has made signing Senne Lammens. He could be our number 1 for years to come, I don't see many weaknesses. He's been pretty unlucky with a few of the worldies he's conceded. Maybe it's just because the previous incumbent was one of the worst I've ever seen, but Senne is calm, a great shot stopper, good in the air, rarely palms it back into danger and is quickly coming to terms with commanding his area. Very impressive. Won us the game tonight, we lose that with Onana in net, not even a question about it.

Having a good goalkeeper also makes everyone else calmer, no surprise Maguire looks good with a top keeper behind him.

The other 3 summer signings combined for the goal and have had good seasons. Another summer like the last but for midfield and a couple of other positions and we will really push on next season, no matter who the manager may be.

23 Feb 2026 23:26:32
Glad he brought Sesko on earlier than vs West Ham. We ground out a result. The top 3 is very achievable. We will drop points, but so will Villa. Very, very outside chance of top 2, imo, as City and Arsenal will drop points, albeit it is highly unlikely they'll drop enough to be overtaken by anyone.

But, us winning points will also force whoever is 2nd to look over their shoulder, and not just who is above them.

23 Feb 2026 23:34:00
With Sesko amongst the goals now, come the end of the season, we could be looking at 4/4 successful signings from the summer, all things considered. When was the last time we could say that lol? 2007/08?

24 Feb 2026 00:15:57
Lammens is definitely in the top 10 keepers in the league, easy for me. I could probably name 6 who are better, but he's improving with every game. He is far from the finished article, but I'm glad we have him.

24 Feb 2026 00:30:54
I don't think I could name 6 that are better. At what exactly? He is strong in all areas. I think we've got a great keeper, and he's young enough to improve.

24 Feb 2026 07:38:48
Good result last night. All four mentioned signings have been good ones. Lammens' best years are still a few years away, as keepers traditionally mature later than outfield players. Midfield signings ahead are probably the most crucial ones we will have had to get right for years.

We struggle, even with Bruno, to beat teams who sit back and defend, so we def need more creativity. We also need a strong defensive box-to-box type player, too.

24 Feb 2026 07:43:41
He was the obvious choice for some that believed in the right approach for UTD, long term. Some called for Martinez. Hopefully it is clear now that those signings are yesteryear.

24 Feb 2026 08:05:24
Agree re all four summer signings, but particularly regarding Senne Lammens. Whoever scouted him has done a grand job.

24 Feb 2026 08:55:32
Nobody has scored more non-penalty goals in the EPL this year. No sub has scored more goals this season. Sesko is doing well. Lammens is very tidy, and gives confidence to those around him. Boom Boom is a very good player and is playing well, albeit slightly out of position.

Cunha is my fav player to watch in the squad. If they buy as well this summer and get 4 or 5 1st-team starters, then we will benefit greatly.

24 Feb 2026 09:32:42
Whose Boom Boom lol?

24 Feb 2026 12:22:11
On the goalkeeper front, Lammens is streets ahead of where de Gea was when he first arrived. All in all, if we were going to sign a young goalie then I don't think we could have done better. We also have Vitek on loan at Bristol City, so we could be well-stocked for the foreseeable future. Now, if only we can get rid of Onana.

24 Feb 2026 17:50:19
A keeper that can catch a ball is a big help. He won that game last night, and that's what good keepers do.

25 Feb 2026 12:13:32
newnameoldideas, to be fair, he is 3 years older than De Gea when he signed. But he is definitely looking the part. I love the fact he is trying to catch absolutely everything possible rather than parry or punch away.

23 Feb 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - SystonVilla has posted a new article entitled, Villa Fans Need Perspective and Positivity

22 Feb 2026 16:42:07
Looks like Onana could be on the way back.
Last three games he's been woeful, three shots on goal from Fenerbahce in his last game, and he let in all three. Trabsonspor thus lost at home and the manager has called him in for 'crisis talks'.

22 Feb 2026 17:50:02
Give him away, he's absolutely useless. He couldn't catch a cold.

22 Feb 2026 18:53:01
Useless keeper. An eth matter, stroke that one.

22 Feb 2026 19:37:32
Has easily surpassed Taibi as the worst gk in the club's history. Definitely an eth thing, same management company and all that. Hopefully he'll fumble his Carrington key card and can't get in the gate. ?

23 Feb 2026 13:26:29
Tim, Paddy Roache was clearly before your time. As to Onana, utterly shambolic and a waste of money when we were desperate for strengthening elsewhere. What a shambles this club has been.

23 Feb 2026 14:33:40
Paddy Roche, we used to cheer when he controlled a back pass.

23 Feb 2026 14:39:54
Paddy Roache. Nightmare on Elm Street. ?

23 Feb 2026 15:33:40
Can't comment on his overall form with Trabzonspor, but I saw the three goals. The second was probably the only questionable one, but I'd put money on no other PL keeper saving the other two. Not that I want him back at the club.

23 Feb 2026 16:21:27
Paddy Roche, we used to cheer when he controlled a back pass. ? Paddy Roache. Nightmare on Elm Street. ? Too funny. Total disaster.

23 Feb 2026 16:55:52
You youngsters have no idea the cr4p we had to endure for years before SAF.

23 Feb 2026 20:13:26
With you, Ajh.

23 Feb 2026 22:00:41
Sorry lads, before my time as you say. Onana top 3 though, surely?

22 Feb 2026 09:17:03
What are your unpopular opinions? An opinion that you know would get most on here all fired up. I'm not looking to start an argument, just interested in some opinions. For example. I think Garnacho should have started the Europe final and was right to be annoyed about it and Harry Maguire has been a fantastic signing and our team is always better when he plays.

22 Feb 2026 11:39:49
Disagree strongly on both fronts.

22 Feb 2026 12:18:31
Disagree on both fronts.

22 Feb 2026 12:21:10
Thanks for playing, Don. Here's mine. We should never have sold McTominay, Maguire should sign a new contract, and we would have won more European Cups if SAF was more tactically astute.

22 Feb 2026 12:33:48
Indeed, right to call me out on not playing properly. Good shout on SAF. He had issues in Europe at times. I'll give mine: Pogba was a much better player for us than he is given credit for.

The true confirmation of our demise came when Rooney signed that mega contract. And Neville wouldn't be on my top United XIs in the EPL era (I'd have Irwin and Evra as FBs).

22 Feb 2026 12:49:53
Crazy talk, DonRed. Picking Irwin at right back is clearly cheating. GNev for me, underrated player.

22 Feb 2026 12:57:10
Patrice Evra is the best LB. VDS is a better keeper than Big Pete. Rio is better than Vidic. Scholes is better than Gerrard and Lampard. Rooney is better for us than Ronaldo. Rooney is a United legend and was world class. ?

22 Feb 2026 13:10:32
Irwin played a lot at right back. Maybe not as much for us, but at Oldham and Wolves that was his usual position. Definitely not a cheat to have him there.

22 Feb 2026 13:22:48
We should have stuck with Moyes and we'd have won bundles of trophies.

22 Feb 2026 13:57:16
No Fizz. In my near 60 years of support, the Moyes period was one of the worst, bar Sexton. I have said many times on here that SAF lost us the Barca finals and some of the earlier 90s Euro Cup chances as well. I watched Rio describe how, after getting a run around in the first half against Barca, in which Rooney equalised just before half-time, SAF did not change anything tactically. Rio said he thought the boss felt he had to play a certain way, and that was it. It was pretty obvious we needed three in CM, with one in front of the LB and CB to combat Messi. SAF said he had learned after the first loss, but he hadn't, so yes, I agree with the tactical comment from AJH, and I said so over a decade ago.

As to Garnacho, I liked him initially and gave him support on here, yet when I saw his attitude change to a stinking one, and he believed he was far better than he was showing, I changed my opinion on him. I actually think RA did really well to get him gone, and it was a big plus that we received the fee. My unpopular opinion is well known. We should have taken the £100m last summer for Bruno. But that has been argued for months, so next one. Appoint Diego Simeone as the next manager.

22 Feb 2026 14:09:45
RVP worked out well for SAF's last year, but as far as the long-term health of the club was concerned, he was a terrible signing, symptomatic of the short-term, aging Galacticos thinking that became the norm.

22 Feb 2026 14:37:37
I think it was Ken who said a single player doesn't win titles, or something like that. Whilst true, RVP is as close to doing that as I've seen; he single-handedly dragged us to a title in 2013. I'm not saying others didn't contribute, but without him, we wouldn't have won it.

22 Feb 2026 14:39:45
Lol, Red Man. Surely you realised my post wasn't serious? I agree re Sexton. ?

22 Feb 2026 15:31:16
Ha, Fizz. Lot of distractions atm and fell for that.

22 Feb 2026 16:16:05
Nice post. McT not sold, and Diogo Dalot to be kept.

22 Feb 2026 18:49:57
Probably will go down like the Titanic, but for me Chris Smalling has been the best centre back the club had after Vidic and Ferdinand.

22 Feb 2026 18:51:29
Sesko will score 20 league goals next season. We will sell Martinez in the summer.

22 Feb 2026 18:20:44
Wilf McGuiness and Frank O'Farrell weren't too cool!

22 Feb 2026 19:43:43
Edwin van der Sar was a better goalkeeper than Big Pete. I love Big Pete, and his personality was exactly what we needed when he joined. However, especially for the modern game, I feel that VDS was far more complete and he elevated those around him far more than Big Pete ever did.

22 Feb 2026 20:38:31
I liked Mike Smalling, but he always appeared on the cusp of being a really great player without quite getting there. Another player who did better having left United; he was a star in Italy.

22 Feb 2026 21:54:36
His fitness improved a hell of a lot in Italy, Ajh. I always felt if he and Jonny Evans had stayed fully fit, they were a really good partnership, but that's just my opinion.

22 Feb 2026 22:17:41
I was a fan of Mike and Evans, but neither could stay fit. Add Jones into the mix; all were good players that got injured early in their careers and never reached the heights they could or should have. Shaw, to a lesser extent.

23 Feb 2026 00:31:15
Great post. Carrick will take us to third this season, sign as permanent manager, and get us within ten points of the PL winner next season.

23 Feb 2026 01:29:24
We will win the title this year.

{Ed025's Note - and im dating Emilia Fox Jimbo.. :)

23 Feb 2026 15:15:26
It was Sydney sweeney last time Ed, you get around a bit ? I also don't know who your new fling is.showing my age perhaps

{Ed025's Note - you need to watch Silent Witness Jimbo, although i do have 2 back ups mate in Carol Vorderman and Carol Kirkwood.. :)

23 Feb 2026 18:56:35
I was then mixing up Silent Witness with Prime Suspect, maybe that's another for your bank in Miss Mirren.

{Ed025's Note - Helen would work for me Jimbo..

23 Feb 2026 19:04:09
I don't think Mainoo will succeed at United. Martial had more talent than Rashford. Garnacho was one of the worst youth players to play that amount of games for United. Rooney is United's best ever player. But my favourite one that gets a good debate is Edwin, who cost us the Champions League final by conceding a near-post goal from 20/25 yards out.

23 Feb 2026 22:49:13
Carol Kirkwood. ❤️

23 Feb 2026 23:22:54
Beckham wasn't as good as people think, but his brand made him global.

21 Feb 2026 18:00:58
Dare I say it? With both Chelsea and Villa dropping points today, we have a great chance to go fourth on Monday and within touching distance with Villa. It won't be an easy game. Everton are decent and can defend well. We criticized our players and manager for tying with Wolves, but then Arsenal could manage no better. Can't take anything for granted.

21 Feb 2026 18:56:13
Every time we had this sort of chance under Amorim, we fumbled. Fingers crossed we can find a way to win and keep the momentum. It feels different to our other chances. We are playing better and are more confident. Fingers crossed.

21 Feb 2026 21:37:04
Not to point out the obvious, but we were 4th before this set of rounds. Chelsea's draw put them 4th until we play.

22 Feb 2026 04:04:31
Yes DonRed, but we could be 3 points ahead instead of 1 point. We've had a long time off, and now an evening match on a Monday, where it feels we have underperformed this season. We simply have to get a win. No time for the meek now. A good performance and 3 points is the only acceptable result.

22 Feb 2026 19:49:01
I think the biggest mistake managers and teams make is when they focus too much on what the other clubs around them are doing. It doesn't matter when, where or how we pick up the points to reach our aims; it just matters that, by the final whistle in our final match, we have finished as high as we possibly could. We should have the exact same focus and desire to beat Everton tomorrow, regardless of what happens with our rivals.

If Arsenal do bottle the title, it won't be because they were focusing on themselves, but because they allowed all the outside chatter to get in their heads and affect how they play. I don't care if we play first or last on a weekend; what I care about is that the players have the right preparation, focus and attitude to get the job done.

21 Feb 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - PaghamWolf has posted a new article entitled, Wolves Player Ratings v Arsenal

20 Feb 2026 10:17:40
Thoughts on the all time Premier League CB debate.
What are the criteria used to determine who the best player was?
Does team success really count that much?
Longevity? Eras? Statistics and records?

Personally I think the likes of Vida, Rio and Terry played at a time when you lots of attacking talent in the Premier League. Almost every team had a striker or 2 that will physically dominate 95% of the current defenders. Former Everton striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni alluded to this when he said he'll score more in this era of the Premier League.

That been said, does Van djik get points taken off because he played in a different era where the attacking talent isn't as good as the previous years.
At their peak, I think Vida was the best of them all, however, in terms of longevity he didn't play at that high level as consistently as the others. So for me, the it's a toss up between Rio and Terry, followed closely by Vida and the Van djik.
Stam, Adams, Campbell and Kompany all deserve definitely more than just a mention.

20 Feb 2026 12:21:31
What do you mean, does team come into it? Team is everything. No point in being a great player if the team is not winning. That's useless in a team sport. Team overrides everything. Also, it's impossible to judge players over different eras, especially over 10 years apart. Too many variables. But no player who does well while the team has not performed can lay claim to being a big success It's all about the team.

The new generation of supporters, Gen Zs, go on a lot about individual players and fans follow players now as much as teams. I don't get that personally, and I never will. I can't think of any individual who won a league title on their own.

20 Feb 2026 12:26:11
Vidic was incredible, but Rio had everything. They blended so well as a partnership that it's easy to think of Vidic as the grit, and Rio as the guile, but, just like the Keane and Scholes discussions, that isn't fair on either. I just think that Rio could do more things at a higher level than Vidic. I don't want to be too tribal about it, but I do think Terry is overrated. Makelele was such a protection for that Chelsea defence, and I always thought Carvalho was the best defender that Chelsea had.

Before anyone bites my head off, I do think he was a very good player, just that I don't think he warrants being in a best-ever conversation. Van Dijk has been a great player, and Stam was unbelievable - he only had 3 seasons in the EPL, so that's not enough to include - but the main rival to Rio, in my opinion, is Kompany.

20 Feb 2026 13:40:06
Schmeichel said Stam was the best he'd ever seen.

20 Feb 2026 18:21:55
Stam the best, no questions.

20 Feb 2026 18:45:57
I only posted the other day that Stam is in my top 5 fav players of all time at United. Awesome defender. Also one of my least fav Fergie decisions, and he has said himself it was one of his most regretful. Absolute beast.

When I look at players, I always ask myself if I was a teammate sitting in that dressing room, would I trust them? And, would I want to play with them? And, am I glad he's not in the other dressing room? Stam ticks all those boxes for me.

20 Feb 2026 19:37:44
Paul McGrath. Best I've ever seen.

21 Feb 2026 00:10:37
I too agree that Rio was better than Vida. I also agree that Terry was overrated. I wanted to give Virgil some credit. For me, it is about styles and roles too. We can't compare Virgil with Vidic; Vidic was a fighter, a soldier. Virgil, on the other hand, when he faces attackers, takes a step back. But Virgil is a defender of space. For about five years, when Liverpool were the best (or second best) team in the world under Klopp, he was absolutely vital for them.

Liverpool pressed a lot, with many players forward, and the opposition couldn't get over their own half because of Virgil winning every second ball like a magnet. He was always in the right place at the right time, making defending look effortless. I would definitely count him as one of the best I have seen.

21 Feb 2026 00:23:22
Think it's a bit dismissive to say Terry was only good due to having Makelele in front of him, when Makelele was only there for a 1/3rd of the time and during Terry's younger years, when he wasn't at his peak. Terry was great defensively and is the highest scoring CB in the PL.

VVD is a tough one. Clearly the best CB over the last 5 years, but I can't actually think of any within his age range that have been anything more than good, so there's a lack of contemporaries to compare him to imo.

21 Feb 2026 07:06:13
imo, it is sad to see people thinking Rio was better, when in fact they complemented each other and made the other one better. To me, Vidic was better. He would intimidate opponents.

He was a beast and a more passionate player, which would lead to him jumping from the ground just to make another block. In the end, it depends what you appreciate in a player.

21 Feb 2026 09:18:05
Van D is, or was, a very good CD, but he wasn't the best. I don't think Vidic was the best either. I didn't think he handled pace well. He was very good with the attacker in front of him, very powerful and dominant, yet Torres ran him a bit ragged a couple of times.

Terry was brilliant positionally, not the quickest, but tough as a centre half. Not the best though. Rio, a Rolls Royce of a footballer, had what the other candidates didn't have: the football ability to step forward with the ball. Definitely, as a pair, Rio and Vidic were the best of all time, but what Rio had in style he lacked in Vidic's toughness, for want of a better word.

Now, Stam, wow. SAF's worst decision. I remember hearing he was being sold over the radio and thought SAF had lost the plot. It doesn't matter how long he played in the PL; he was superb for Utd. As a pure CD, he had the toughness of Vidic, coped with pace superbly, and was almost never beaten one-on-one or in the air. No one got past him. Pace never caused him an issue. Individually, Stam was the best, given all-round attributes.

21 Feb 2026 11:45:26
Fuser, I didn't say that. I was quite clear in saying I thought he was a very good player. Maybe in future, you should try digesting the whole post before responding to it.

21 Feb 2026 15:38:51
Vidic was excellent, but one player who often took him apart was Fernando Torres. I can't think of anyone who consistently outplayed Rio.

21 Feb 2026 15:52:05
When Torres was running over Vidic, where was Rio?

21 Feb 2026 16:55:33
Liverpool fan here. Great debate. Always thought Rio was the best, then maybe Terry and then Virgil. One thing Rio and Terry did have was great partners in defence.

21 Feb 2026 17:11:40
Agree, madmax, it is a position that requires a good partnership to look good and be comfortable individually more often than not.

22 Feb 2026 16:17:24
Takes 2 to tango in those positions, as Ken said. If the partnership is strong, both come out looking better. Bruce and Pallister, albeit good defenders, were better together.

22 Feb 2026 20:02:04
It depends entirely on how you want to slice the cake. Are you asking who is the best ever CB to play in the EPL, or are you asking who had the best EPL career? Because you can interpret your question either way, and depending on how you interpret it, that will affect your answer. In terms of the best ever CB to have played in the EPL, you could have good arguments for Stam or Van Dijk. Both had a peak level that was just unreal. However, given that Stam didn't stay in the league all that long, and Van Dijk didn't consistently win enough (along with some dodgy spells of form), I think neither could be considered the CB who had the best EPL career. If it's the best career, then you are looking at players like Rio, Vidic, and Terry. Despite there being many times when Terry wasn't even the best CB at Chelsea, the longevity of his career, what he won, and the fact that he was a key player in Chelsea's most successful period mean he has to be in with a shout.

But when he broke into the Chelsea team, Gallas was a better CB. When Carvalho was alongside him, the Portuguese was the better player. Rio and Vidic, for everything they won, along with the length of time they were in the EPL, mean both have to be considered. Rio had the longer EPL career, but Vidic is the only CB to win the EPL Player of the Year twice. It could be either of them, and it probably comes down to personal choice. I'd probably say Rio, as he was the more complete player, but I'd understand anyone going for Vidic and his warrior style.

23 Feb 2026 17:54:42
Rio. Every time. Had it all. Was smooth and silky on the ball, but he had grit as well, and read the game brilliantly.Just a well-oiled machine.

19 Feb 2026 14:54:04
Multiple updates implemented today:
1. Updated Reply Form

2. Updated Create New Post form

3. Updated Thumbs up

4. My Profile Page - Ignore posters function added

5. My Profile page - Status of posts [last 72 hours] - (Waiting, Waiting for Ed, Deleted, Approved. )

6. Updated Member Posts page to see Posters' previous posts/replies.

19 Feb 2026 16:39:13
Yet more good work, thanks, Ed!

{Ed033's Note - Thanks.

19 Feb 2026 17:34:24
If you're still visiting mobile.manchesterunitedrumours.co.uk, then that's the wrong site to be on. manchesterunitedrumours.co.uk, without mobile in it, is the correct updated site to be visiting.

19 Feb 2026 21:37:05
Can you ignore a poster and all 37 of his previous aliases? Asking for a friend.

19 Feb 2026 22:56:35
You can, but you don't, which is the irrational thing. ?

20 Feb 2026 09:54:17
Great work, Ed033. No doubt that took a lot of time and effort to implement. Thanks to all the Ed's for the time and effort they put into running the sites.

{Ed033's Note - Thanks.

20 Feb 2026 11:29:55
Hahaha Ken!

20 Feb 2026 13:31:35
Over the years a few of us would end up in an individual journalling board if we ignore members every time we fall out with them. ?

20 Feb 2026 16:49:57
Well, that ignore posters option isn't working for me, I can still see everything from them, unless it's new posts only.

{Ed033's Note - You haven't submitted and usernames to 'ignore'. You type the username into the appropriate textarea and tap submit.

20 Feb 2026 18:21:20
Do you have defaulted usernames included in there Eds, there's a distinct lack of trolling on the site since the introduction..

{Ed033's Note - No, no defaulted usernames. If there are 'trolls' the Eds see to it.

if a poster ('ignorer') submits a username ('ignoree') to 'ignore', the 'ignoree's post text comes up as ['ignoree']'s text hidden. But that only appears on the 'ignoror's page they're viewing.

Maybe that isn't explained that well.