Manchester United banter 7

07 Sep 2026 20:46:27
Sesko has to start for me, with Rashford on the left and Mbeumo on right. Rotate Bruno and Cunha at 10. Unfair to drop Cunha but he has been s**** so far this season so probably needs that fire in his belly.
Mainoo will keep learning, not his best game against Everton, but not going to get on his back.


Defence is going to be a consistent discussion point this season.
I hope they don't kill Lammens confidence as he is going to be busy.
Carrick has to take blame for setup and not inspiring them with a voice and also tactical changes.

08 Sep 2026 06:53:26
Dropping Cunha, especially when he has been played out of position, for Rashford would be a terrible managerial decision. It would flag that Carrick is not a leader and a poor manager. Anyone who has managed a team would tell you that to give preference to someone like Rashford, a malcontent who openly didn't want to play for the club, over someone who was here trying and getting us to 3rd, is a huge mistake.

It will cause resentment and trouble.

08 Sep 2026 08:12:22
RM,

Regardless of what has happened, it is down to the past. Players need to be picked on their current form and how they are in training.

Having Cunha coming off the bench isn't a bad option at all. Likewise with Rashford. From what I have seen over the last 3 games, Rashford has been our best player. I also think Rashford actually complements Sesko more than Cunha.

What I have found disappointing is Lacey being dropped from the bench for Mount.

Lacey had a very good pre-season and plays with fire in his belly, similar to a younger Rooney in some ways. Lacey will hopefully be the future, whereas Mount will likely be injured.

Carrick's in-game management is poor. The defence needs to be left alone unless a player becomes injured. It is in desperate need of stability. I do believe, had the defence not been changed and Mainoo had stayed on, Utd would have beaten Everton.

08 Sep 2026 08:22:20
Well, I took Shappy's advice and digested the performance before posting. I don't get the Rashford and Shaw abuse, they actually played quite well. My concerns again were Martinez, whose touch is awful; the second goal was his miscontrol again, and as I have banged on about for ages, the defence is far too slow.

Cunha or Mbeumo can't play the CF role. Tielemans, for me, is a bang-average midfielder; he looks like he runs in treacle. Santos is another mid-table, at-best midfielder. These two in midfield will never get us where we want to be.
Lammens had a really poor game all round. I said we won't know what Lammens we get this season after a dreadful World Cup for the lad. I hope he gets his mind right soon, because even goals going in that ain't his fault will be on his mind.



Sesko, that everyone is calling for mainly because our only CF, that's a joke in itself. He still has so much to learn, though.
Carrick seems a bit lost to me too, and poor substitutions cost that game; they were ridiculous.

We have played OK in short spells, but woeful at the back, and I am not so impressed with midfield or attack either. I honestly think this is a weaker team than last season.

The back 4 and our midfield must be, combined, the slowest players in the league, and the football we play is over-exaggerated, slow-paced too. What's with all this 5 yards back and forth to each other crap too!

08 Sep 2026 08:41:41
Mad Hatter

It's management 101 and understanding how a team functions. It's what made SAF the greatest, the team was everything, not the individual. If Carrick doesn't get that, he just shows what he is.

08 Sep 2026 10:45:27
Play your best team, Rashford is currently our best performing player. Let it go. He is our player again. Get behind him.

08 Sep 2026 16:28:25
JBR,
Do you know anything about managing people or teams?

08 Sep 2026 18:23:22
Yes Redman, I do.
Do you?

Further to that, do you KNOW what has been said behind closed doors? Do you KNOW how Rashford has been reintegrated into the squad? Do you KNOW if Marcus has walked back into that dressng room and offered his apologies for his actions?

You haven't got the foggiest, but you sure as hell will profess to know everything about anything.

We get it, you don't like the glazers, you don't like Ineos, you definitely don't like Rashford. We love your hatred every single time we log on.

Have you ever taken a step off your high horse and considered it from there angles, or are you so long in the tooth that such advanced concepts are alien to your prehistoric mindset.

08 Sep 2026 20:11:20
JBR,

Yup, I have 40 years managing people and teams experience. But, hey, you carry on with supporting Rashford over player or players that got us to 3rd whilst he was begging Barca to have him. No problem.

08 Sep 2026 19:35:29
Best post in ages jbr.
Redman only likes what he wants, one of the most narrow minded self obsessed fans I've ever come across.
We have seen his rhetoric and to me he is completely an anti fan
Claims he wants the team to be successful but desperately wants the gazers and ineos and rashford to fail and you can't have success for the team without success for them. They are not mutually exclusive.
The glazers own the club none of us want that but most want the team to win under those circumstances redman does not as he does not want the glzers or ineos or rashford to be successful at old trafford.


I don't like rashford but I'll support him while he plays and I'll recognise when he does well. Redman preaches his managerial business exposure but contradicts himself at every turn when it comes to the glazers and makes little sense a complete emtional supporter that let's his emotions dictate his practical thoughts in fact i don't see any practical thoughts at all.

09 Sep 2026 00:54:28
Agreed Ken.
RM, I feel for anyone you have managed over that 40year period.
May I suggest a refresher course in managerial skills, or perhaps more appropriate would be retirement.
I'm sure your 40yeara worth of subordinates will give you a proper send off

09 Sep 2026 07:12:24
Ho Ho Ho

Ken is off on his personal comments rant again, "narrow minded self obsessed fans I've ever come across." "anti fan". Apparently I want the "gazers" and ineos and rashford to fail. Ooh er. Supporting nearly 60 years desperate for success makes me an anti fan.

Yep, I want the blood sucking Glazers out and they can take the Glazer enablers INEOS with them. Oh I want success all right but I believe that necessitates the Glazers going and having no debt from them. I also don't want Rashford to "fail", don't put words in my mouth that I never said. I don't think he should be selected over other players in the circumstances I have outlined a number of times. I believe it's bad for team morale. It's my opinion. I also believe SAF would never have stood for Rashford and this situation is just another example of our drop in standards.

Anyway, Ken there really is no need to be so personal, it just looks like you rant because for once in your life you can't control something and someone or what they think or believe. You also don't like any pressure on the Glazers, you have made that clear to the point where many will wonder if you are indeed connected or on the payroll of the club.

JBR
Don't be like Ken!

09 Sep 2026 08:47:15
You make personal comments all the time but to people who are not in this forum to defend themselves. There is zero doubt that you make personal slights on lots of people.

09 Sep 2026 11:00:55
Oh no, I call the Glazers out.

09 Sep 2026 12:03:14
Oh no I call you out

09 Sep 2026 13:15:10
Oh no you don't. It's not panto time yet Ken

09 Sep 2026 15:19:13
I do and i will continue to call you out when if my opinion is your being inane and irrational and letting your emotions cloud any pragmatism.
BTW.
'Don't be like ken' = personal dig or insult.
No issue with it until you give out to others for making personal digs or insults. Just another double standard emotional outburst.

09 Sep 2026 16:40:41
Humour Ken, unlike your insults

09 Sep 2026 19:41:01
Not funny. You mean my opinions, not my insults. You can have derogatory opinions about people, but I can't have one about you?

07 Sep 2026 19:16:31
Always remember the strongest part of any team is its spine. We are not great down our spine, our keeper, young with potential, current playing CB's are poor, CM waiting on Baleba to get fit and back to his best, CAM Bruno World class, CF young Sesko, lots of potential.

It was strange that the owners decided to build from the front and not start from the back.

07 Sep 2026 19:57:27
I suppose, it doesn't really matter if you start at the front or back when all you are able to buy is mid table level players.

07 Sep 2026 20:50:25
cm waiting for Baleba, yet we blabbed £35m on Tielemans and £50m on Santos. Bargain basement recruitment.

{Ed0666's Note - I’m gonna go on record and say Baleba will be a dud signing

07 Sep 2026 21:48:50
Baleba had one good season and one fault poor season in comparison. A 50% success rate is not great odds for that type of money.

Who knows, he could be one of those players that ups their game once he gets the shirt on.

Time will tell. But at this rate, by the time he's fit enough to play, he will have to be superhuman to live up to what he needs to be.

08 Sep 2026 01:03:13
I think Baleba will be a great signing, has all of the attributes to be brilliant for us. I remember reading Ed001s write up on him on here around 18 months ago and thinking there and then that I wanted him in our midfield, an average season in his development doesn't change that for me.

08 Sep 2026 07:02:05
Ed666

I am not sure how good Baleba will be but I don't think he will be a dud. He is a runner and will add energy to the midfield. However, as I have said on here a number of times I don't think he has the defensive qualities in a midfielder we needed, he isn't the No6 destroyer, nor does he create, not sure he links attack. I openly said I would have gone for Alex Scott who I think was a better fit. Suspect Chelsea will get him in summer and we will regret it.

I think the recruitment at the club is disjointed. I don't understand the Santos or Tielemans decisions with the only explanation that they were looking for bargains. I have a feeling that we will have to look at a midfield player again next summer, not because of Baleba but because Tielemans or more likely Santos won't be good enough.

{Ed0666's Note - I think Camara would be ideal for you guys. He ticks a lot of boxes and you get a lot of bang for your buck for £50 million

09 Sep 2026 07:42:12
Hi Ed
Am guessing you mean Lamine Camara at Monaco who Chelsea were looking at for circa £47m? Not seen him unfortunately.
Noted you said Santos could actually be good so respect that and looking to see how he develops.

It was that midfield destroyer I was interested in and not sure any of them are that.
I wondered if Sangare would have been a good choice.

{Ed0666's Note - Sangare does look like he’s got his feet under the table straight away and I rate Camara better than him. A slightly different profile but better all round. The Moroccan kid city bought is gonna be a real gem but you probably had no chance of getting him with the transfer fee and wages city offered. It amazes me how many top 6 teams have spent incredible amounts of money and are still lacking in certain positions. What are these sporting directors doing?

07 Sep 2026 16:17:22
Cheer up everyone… If PSG continue their current form then Enrique might be available by Christmas. ??

07 Sep 2026 19:58:05
Would be nice!

I think PSG started pretty slow last year too. But they get better and better.

07 Sep 2026 20:39:15
We can dream.

{Ed0666's Note - Theatre of dreams no?

08 Sep 2026 14:34:54
Due to lack of investment in the stadium from our beloved owners, it's become the theatre of streams.

08 Sep 2026 17:57:32
Wilcox would tell Enrique what tactics to use.

09 Sep 2026 08:13:24
So would you.

07 Sep 2026 10:24:30
I think we should all calm down as a fanbase.

We have always been terrible at first games of the season. Hull actually deserved to win as they did play well. We are not up to our races and our captain missed a penalty. We defended horribly.

Yesterday again, we defended horribly, Carrick did make attacking subs bring Sesko and Dorgu on. But the team just gets back to old routines. Have we not seen this before?

Do you ever notice how Bruno never slows the tempo of the game and always wants that flashy line breaking pass. We get counters after counters. And we have been poor defensively. Shaw gets sucked in and then chases the winger. Maz made a stupid pass when he should have just hoofed the ball.

It was 95 mins.

We score 1-0 and our intent is to just sit back and absorb. Amongst a lot of players, I feel we need to stop starting Maguire and Shaw.
Let Amass play and let Yoro play. We are conceding 2 goals on average anyway. At least we can play a high line.

Rashford has not scored a goal yet but he is actually playing well as a forward.

We have to also understand that a lot of players are not fully fit yet. Bruno was extremely rusty, Sesko has barely had any mins.

We also have to factor in we have lost Casemiro who was papering over the cracks and was a leader and formerly world class.

Give this time. The United shirt is heavy for new signings.

07 Sep 2026 11:09:14
Agreed, I think the first 3 games have confirmed what we already knew deep down.

1.) Not good enough to compete at the top with Arsenal and City.
2.) In a battle for top 5 with Chelsea, Liverpool and others.
3.) I think we should be okay, considering Champions League-aspiring clubs like Newcastle, Villa and Spurs all seem to have issues as well.



The bigger worry for me is the Champions League. After Sabah, every game looks tough on paper, and if we get into a negative momentum cycle, as we did under ETH and Amorim, I think we could struggle to make the 24 team cut.

07 Sep 2026 11:47:09
We should have won yesterday. Carrick cannot keep making these substitution mistakes. There was absolutely no need to bring on Mazraoui, and if he couldn't trust a lot to avoid a red card for 14 minutes, what the hell is he doing wt the club? Ridiculous changing the back four. Amorim and Ten Hag did this almost every game, and it drove me insane. So stupid, no wonder we aren't organised and structured during the final moments of a game.

Changing the back line is nothing but a disruption. An injury, fair enough, but refreshing them? Get them fit instead, and stop making stupid, obvious, and predictable decisions that only serve to encourage the other team. I was fuming and could see it coming, and what happens? Mazraoui not up to speed, wrong position, and passes it to Maitland-Niles. Bloody clown.

07 Sep 2026 11:50:33
This team actually brings their performances up against the big team.
It is the teams like Hull away and Everton away we become pants.

07 Sep 2026 12:50:10
Shaw has cost us 2 games.
Not strengthening the backline and delaying Baleba transfer has already backfired.

07 Sep 2026 13:47:22
I support the idea of waiting for your preferred target. But I am not convinced that's true. We are painting Baleba as if we waited a year and got a discount. But we did the same with Sancho after he had a worse season.

So it's not that we were waiting because we were chasing Anderson and Fernandez instead at the beginning, not Baleba. I just think that the Glazers were happy to put the whole club in massive debt to serve their dividends, but they're not prepared to go into debt that doesn't deliver dividends to actually get the whole squad urgently into the right shape.



We need these owners out, and a Chelsea or a City-type owner with no debt and a long-term plan, where we get immediate success also. This lot just aren't good enough owners. I think Wilco and Barrada and the recruitment team are good enough, but they're being undermined by tightwad economics that doesn't work against the competition, either here or abroad. We're saddled with debt that's never been reduced. That is PE-type governance, not venture funding or something like foreign funding. The model is never going to outperform them.

07 Sep 2026 13:59:45
I don't know how anyone can point to Bruno as a reason for us not picking up more points. His job is not to control the tempo of games. He's a play maker, and will always be looking to create chances. Tielemans is the one that was brought in to dictate play, and he hasn't done that.

However, the main reason why we're sitting on 4 points after 3 very winnable games is the defence. We have created chances and played decent attacking football in spells. The issue is that the moment any pressure is applied against us, the defence crumbles.

Dropping Shaw and Maguire won't fix this. Amass is nowhere near ready and Yoro has looked lightweight as a central defender.

Playing him with Martinez makes us even more vulnerable to crosses.

The clear solution was to bring in a better left back during the window. As others have highlighted, Shaw has been the weakest link in our defence. He looks to have lost a bit more pace, and doesn't have the positional intelligence to compensate.

I'm not fully on the doom train. I think we should have a good shot at finishing in the top 5. Still, this season was an opportunity to push closer to the top 2, and our lack of ambition in the market has left us fighting to make the Champions League instead.

07 Sep 2026 15:53:46
Rohan,
How many excuses do you want to type in one OP?

Sometimes it is better not to make excuses. Fans used to get on Giggs' back, Beckham's, Rooney's, Fergie's.

Demanding more and voicing that it is not good enough is part of being a supporter.

Work hard and play well, and the fans will love you. Play poorly and give up poor goals against weaker opposition, and the fans will voice their anger. Welcome to Man Utd.

07 Sep 2026 16:39:55
I think the fan reaction will change if we beat Man City, which could very well be possible.

07 Sep 2026 17:51:12
Rohan,
Agreed, we could best City but then we would likely lose to a relegation candidate and back to where we were.

07 Sep 2026 18:23:07
Well I feel better after reading all those posts. ? Blimey, it's real doom and gloom. But when was the last time Utd actually started well? Seems to be every season: poor, not ready, unfit, stupid, sloppy play, etc. Anyway, beat City and we'll all feel better. Be typical Utd, awful 3 games then beat City.

07 Sep 2026 18:56:17
Two chances to beat City. Slim and virtually nil, and Slim has left town. They will boss midfield and our defence couldn't stop Hull or Everton, so what chance against Haaland and Cherki.

07 Sep 2026 19:58:02
Tbf, they said that last season, Utd will just counter attack, which suits them fine... Im more hopeful against City than Everton, tbh.

07 Sep 2026 20:00:36
Coventry only conceded one against City, so there's some hope United won't get a battering.

If City get the first goal early, it could get ugly.

But United have shown they can up their game when needed, which is partly what makes the Hull and Everton games so annoying.

07 Sep 2026 20:44:30
Carrick at the wheel!!

{Ed0666's Note - with the handbreak on

08 Sep 2026 10:46:37
You could swap Carrick for another guy, but that would not make the players smarter.
Bruno will still, at 87 min, try stupid, risky balls that lead to counter attacks, rather than holding and slowing the play and then attacking. Maz would still try to pass the ball, and Martinez would as well. Last game, when we conceded the second, it should just have been out for a throw.



I feel we need a new fullback, maybe 2. Dalot and Maz are backups, Shaw is backup. None of these are starters. Last year all we invested was in forwards and GK was a gamble that worked, but I'd be wary of the second season syndrome and we have a terrible backup if Lammens regresses. Is Lammens ready for 2 games a week? This year was the year of midfield, and next year will be fullbacks.

07 Sep 2026 07:21:15
You have to think Sesko was fully fit, but Carrick likes Rashford despite what he has done. Looks to me like Carrick is sacrificing Sesko, changing our formation to suit Rashford and even playing other players out of position to get him in.

Sesko won the game at Everton last year, outpaced them to get it. He also scored important goals yet is now sitting on the bench so Carrick can get Rashford on the pitch. Carrick also gave him the No9 shirt and, say what you like, that is symbolic.

Carrick dare not bench Cunha for Rashford because there will be a big reaction so he plays Cunha up front and out of position at the expense of Sesko just to get Rashford in.

We clearly lack a striker because of it.

If I was Sesko I would be fuming, bust a gut for the team last season, work hard in preseason to be usurped by a guy who didn’t want to be here, wanted to be elsewhere, insulted the shirt with his behaviour, earns so much and won’t take a cut to play elsewhere. How lucky for Rashford that he has a mate in the manager's office.

Sesko benched so the wayward disgrace that is Marcus Rashford can play is a huge, huge mistake for me by the manager.

07 Sep 2026 08:20:36
Sesko was returning from an injury. He has been building his fitness up. I think the club are just ensuring that he is fully fit, rather than rushing him back.

07 Sep 2026 08:32:59
Mad Hatter

I think it is more than that, it isn't just easing him back. It looks very like yesterday was a preference for Rashford. I think it's a huge mistake. I would have let him go on a free to get rid, quite honestly. Instead he is given preference by his mate.

07 Sep 2026 08:34:01
Rashford aside, surely you put a fully fit Sesko in instead of Cunha up top.
And you could argue Rashford has had more about him, so, other than not liking him (which Carrick obviously does), why bench him?

07 Sep 2026 09:43:22
Not sure why you are trying to create a one or the other narrative with Sesko and Rashford lol.

Rashford is playing on the left because he can actually hold his position and give us some width, plus he connects well with Shaw. We had a pretty clear problem last season with Cunha on the left because he naturally drifts in and congests the middle, not his fault, it's just his game.



Sesko missed the whole of pre season and is being managed into the season sensibly. He will probably start on Thursday, and then return to the bench for City when we will need a different type of forward up top.

Also, watching the start of the season, I don't think the issue with the team is the midfield or attack, tbh. We are conceding 2 goals a game atm.

07 Sep 2026 09:57:27
Redman,

I understand your frustrations. I am equally peeved off. Hopefully on Thursday Sesko starts. Utd need to start off their CL campaign with a win. Ideally, we should look to qualify before the BM and AM games.

Cunha isn't particularly effective up front.

He almost plays in a similar position to Bruno, as a sort of false 9, with Bruno being a 10. Sesko will always look to press and bully CBs.

Credit is due to Rashford, as he has been one of our better players so far. I think Sesko will thrive playing with him.

07 Sep 2026 10:37:32
Mad Hatter

For Sesko to play with Rashford, does that mean drop Cunha?

The summer should have been where the shape of the team was designed and worked on. We have a CF in Sesko, yet Carrick seems to want to play without one. They should have been working on the system with a CF, and bought a second striker to fit in the system when Sesko wasn’t fit. Instead, the manager has reintegrated the bad apple, changed shape, and it’s costing us.

Two goals a game conceded is a big problem, especially given the opposition, and we have to worry given City coming up.
Thing is, even with our defence, that isn’t good. Defend from the front has been around since I was a kid, a very long time, so when you have our defence, you need to keep the ball up front more and attack, but Carrick football is more poundshop Southgate.

07 Sep 2026 11:21:02
Based on current form, albeit only 3 games, I'd bench Cunha and start Sesko up top with Rashford on the left.

People may hate Rashford, but he's here and starting to play well.

07 Sep 2026 11:46:17
I don't hate Rashford, but I'm not sure it's great to have a guy who doesn't want to be there starting every game ahead of players who do want to be there.

07 Sep 2026 12:10:45
I'm not sure I understand the logic behind this. It feels a bit like a tinfoil hat conspiracy.

Sesko has been injured and is only just returning. Cunha played as Brazil's centre-forward in pretty much every game at the World Cup and is playing the same role for us at the start of the season.

Rashford has played well and looked threatening, arguably more threatening than Cunha.

Even if Sesko comes into the side, nothing Cunha has shown so far suggests he should be picked ahead of Rashford on the left.

I expect Cunha and Rashford will be rested against Sabah, with Dorgu and Sesko coming in. It will then be interesting to see who starts against Man City. However, if Sesko scores again, I think the front three will be Rashford, Sesko and Mbeumo.

07 Sep 2026 14:01:49
To me Sesko looks like an impact player.

{Ed025's Note - i was thinking a Championship player myself Sim0..

07 Sep 2026 15:37:04
I'm pretty sure Carrick has started with this formation in every game (front 3 with 2 wingers), so not sure the suggestion that Rashford is dictating a new shape stacks up.
However, I do see a few problems with the personnel.
1. Cunha was purchased as one of two no.10s for Amorim's system. He's perfect for that. Maybe Chelsea will be watching him!
2.

In a line of incredible centre-forwards over the past 30 years, we now have just one to choose from, Sesko, who is way off the level we need. He's young(ish), but feels like he's been around for much longer. I get no sense there's a great player in there, but hope to be proved wrong and see even a very good one as the season goes on.

07 Sep 2026 15:47:08
I suggested Osimhen but hey the idiots think 1 CF is ok.

Bilko, you get it. Anyone who has managed a team will tell you that putting in a Rashford, a malcontent who doesn't want to be there, ahead of a committed player is madness and bad for team spirit.

If Carrick drops Cunha (after playing him out of position) for Rashford then I will openly say Carrick Out and loudly.

08 Sep 2026 18:28:02
You're a weird one Redman. You actively hate Rashford for his own/off field antics from two seasons ago and in the next breath suggest osimhen.

08 Sep 2026 20:15:40
JBR,

I don't hate anyone.

However, in a team I recognise, you support the team members who got you here, the ones that got Carrick the job, not the one who sat in an Irish nightclub and couldn't make training and openly wanted to be somewhere else. You want Rashford, fine, Carrick, fine. Let's see where it goes.

06 Sep 2026 22:37:26
I was never Carrick in. A man of his experience should not be anywhere near the United job.

I expect us to finish between 10th and 7th.

{Ed0666's Note - or you could just add 10 and 7 together to get the correct answer to where you’ll finish. Do you really think you will finish as low as 10th? Name 9 clubs that will finish above you? I think Carrick will be replaced by Eddie Howe quite soon.

06 Sep 2026 23:52:54
It is way too early for that talk. I, as others here will testify, am firmly of the belief that Wilcox should've backed Amorim and managed that situation terribly. However, that is done now, and plenty felt that there weren't obviously better options than Carrick.

As it is, he deserves and should get a proper backing. He has a completely new midfield and was a minute away from many of the same people calling for his head, saying he's a genius. Nobody should be evaluated on a sample size of 3 games.

07 Sep 2026 01:32:47
3 games in, and apparently we are in danger of getting relegated.
Give your head a wobble, mate. ?

07 Sep 2026 01:35:20
But seriously, we'll be fine once our defenders remember how to defend. ?

07 Sep 2026 06:06:02
Very few teams are playing consistently well just yet.

Lots of teams have had a lot of change over the summer, while it is fairly common for teams to have a slower start after an international tournament.

Players are back late, new players having less time to bed in, players not fully rested, and some still trying to get over disappointment from the World Cup.

For ourselves, you can see that our new midfield is still trying to work out its own identity.

Our attack is a little disjointed and not flowing like it did last season. Both of those issues will solve themselves with a little time. Our defence has looked a little porous, and it is our weakest part of the team. That said, with the midfield and attack not fully settled in front of the defence, that is leaving them too exposed at times.

07 Sep 2026 07:29:05
Don,

I would not be calling Carrick a genius if he won yesterday. I was also a strong believer that we should have stayed with Amorim. I was also very clear that Carrick is the wrong man for us, but the idiots put him in charge, and we are stuck with him until they wake up. No point calling for his head at this time. It's only 3 games in, they won't do anything anyway.

There are also too many sheep saying Carrick is one of our own, understands the club, and gives them a nice warm glow. Ridiculous, he is the manager of what once was the biggest club and now accepts mediocrity as per his post-match comment.
As to where we will finish, probably around 6th if everything stays as is. Would not surprise me to see a surprise like Newcastle or Brighton get 5th.

07 Sep 2026 07:52:19
Red Man, how can you defend Amorim, who showed absolutely nothing while he was here, and did not deserve the job and almost got us relegated, but yet Carrick isn't the man for the job? Is CV the only thing you look at?

07 Sep 2026 08:08:04
Lung Park

They brought Amorim, who had an excellent CV, to change the style, then, in transition, before he could finish, they told him to play the way Wilcox wanted. The club needed change, like Rangnick said. Instead, we went backwards to our comfortable slippers. The Amorim discussion is over now, but like Don, I would have stayed with Amorim.

Carrick is manager, and we have to see where it goes.

I openly said it was a huge mistake, but we just watch it play out now. CV is what is always looked at for every job. Carrick has a very poor one, bar a few games last season. That's a fact.

It will play out how it plays out. I think we need to beat City next week, or the grumbles will grow very much louder.

07 Sep 2026 08:33:39
Completely agree, Amorim was the change the club needed. A chance to push out rotten eggs, reset the dressing room culture, and build a long term, sustainable style.

We all know the first season with Amorim was a tough watch, but many forget that we were 5th when he left, with much needed reinforcements returning from the African Cup of Nations. Those returns conveniently landed on Carrick's plate.



Amad, Mbuemo, Cunha, and a number of others have not shown the form they showed under Amorim.

Mainoo has returned a better player, but can we not also thank Amorim for that with his tough love?

Like it or not, the comfy slippers description couldn't be a better one, and in my opinion, we are well and truly back on the merrigoround, when we had one foot of it with Amorim.

07 Sep 2026 08:37:28
On the same page as you on that, Red Man, but I'm more optimistic about where I think we'll finish.

07 Sep 2026 08:52:49
Don

5th or 6th for me, but that could improve if there is a managerial change.

07 Sep 2026 06:43:05
Ed0666,

I was saying to my mate who's a Newcastle fan, that Howe will end up replacing Carrick before the end of the season.

{Ed0666's Note - agreed mate. Not sure if Howe is the answer for you either

07 Sep 2026 09:42:08
The Amorim situation was an interesting one. When he was sacked we were 6th on equal points with 5th. There were so many things coming out in the press about player power and dressing room issues. Amorim came in and did a lot of the 'bad guy' work, getting players out of the dressing room to reset the culture. We, as a club, did something very dangerous when going through change. We panicked and reverted back to what we know. Three of yesterday's back four have seen off Ole, Erik ten Hag and Amorim. The club actively tried to remove Rashford, but completely fumbled getting him out. Carrick now has to deal with the situation.

Amorim demanded players, and fell on his sword for it. We brought a manager in who plays a specific type of football and didn't give him the tools to play it.

We got him to do the dirty work to start rebuilding the dressing room culture, and pulled the plug at the start of the project because the board were weak.

It's not Carrick's fault that he's got the defence he has, or that Rashford is still in the squad. It's on Wilcox. As a club, we are essentially hoping that the midfield signings are all a success (which is statistically improbable), and the defence can do a half decent job, when we have multiple years of evidence this probably isn't going to happen.

I'm hoping it all goes well for Carrick and we have a great season. I just think he's been let down and is going to take the flack for not sorting the glaring issues in the squad.

07 Sep 2026 10:45:42
Rewz

You said it's not Carrick's fault that Rashford is still there. Well, actually it is. If he had put his foot down in summer and done what Amorim did, banished him to the train alone, they would have found a deal to get rid.

Instead, we have a yes man puppet manager who has undone the work and allowed someone who disrespected the shirt and openly wanted to be somewhere else, back in.

It's poor, weak management on the back of the tough decisions Amorim made. It reflects very badly on Wilcox, who frankly needs sacking. Berrada may hold on a little longer, but that thread is weak for me.

We have to live with the ups and downs of Carrick until they wake up, and realise he won't win big prizes, but the only issue now is the pain that Amorim started will have to be done again.

07 Sep 2026 12:41:57
Red Man, that's a fair point.

07 Sep 2026 14:02:07
Too dramatic for me. Not the manager's fault, the glaring issues were advertised all summer and not addressed.

Is it any wonder teams are exploiting Shaw when his own employers allowed it to be known he was a weak link and then did sod all about it.

We are the only club at the top who only reinforced a single position in the squad. That's ownership negligence, not managers or players.

The players wanted a striker to help Sesko and the squad. Instead, we play players out of position.



Sheer incompetence for me. I said I would judge at the end of the window, and now I want the owners out, all of them. By all means, wait if you must for your preferred lb, but I think it's a smoke screen, and I also think that we could have signed any one of three top lb on loan.

They pulled the Champions League stunt yet again. Lost my trust permanently. All of them. I want them all gone and a new operating model with no debt.

07 Sep 2026 15:49:41
Captain,

I think more have now seen what I have said all summer and before about the owners.

Thing is, that whilst a LB was needed and a CF, we absolutely had enough to beat Hull and Everton if properly coached and managed.

07 Sep 2026 09:59:26
Ed0666,

Neither am I. However i did like how he got Newcastle playing.

{Ed0666's Note - if you had a choice would you have Amorim back or want Howe to be your coach for the next United game?

07 Sep 2026 20:18:02
Ed0666,

Amorim was stubborn, but the injury to MdL was a game changer last season. Amorims lack of adaptability means I'd go with Howe.

One thing I will add, RA never got the players he needed to implement his style of football.

{Ed0666's Note - My mate who’s an AC Milan fan loves him. But then again the football Milan played last year anyone would improve it.

07 Sep 2026 23:03:14
If people are unhappy with Carrick's defensive qualities as a manager, I don't think Eddie Howe is the answer. lol.

08 Sep 2026 00:33:14
It just gets worse.
Seriously.
6 months ago most of you were calling for Amorim to go, calling him clueless, etc.
Now, all of a sudden he was the messiah and should have been given time.
Some of the United fans are actually laughable. ?

08 Sep 2026 07:15:15
Mrlee

Many could not see that, to get the change needed, we had to go through pain. Amorim knew what was needed, but Wilcox overruled him. It became a decision for the club between Wilcox and Amorim, and they made the wrong decision. We have slipped backwards by not continuing to deal with the issues.

Our Director of Football, Wilcox, wielding what seems to be all the power, is the ex-Man City Academy Director who left them to go to Southampton.

For me, time is up for Wilcox. He is an issue because I am not seeing innovation, and, after allegedly instructing Amorim to change the way he played, after this summer's mess, I think he has to go.

06 Sep 2026 18:44:48
A lot of negativity. Football we're playing is good at times. New players still get to know each other's game, a few still to come back. We were never going to be title contenders with our current defence. Still think we will click and start scoring more goals. DeLigt coming back will improve the organisation of our defence and conceded less goals. Long season ahead.

06 Sep 2026 21:13:21
Not sure what game you watched, but we were poor again.

No tempo, easy simple passes not being made, the full backs were so I start for 10 years Dalot and Shaw have been our full backs and they still do not understand the simple thing of getting out to your man and closing down to stop the shot or the cross.

Shaw again at fault for the first, his position for the first game is shocking, he is playing as another cb, then he is slow to get across, lets the player take a touch and set and shoot.

The second goal we are 2-1 up late in the game with over a minute to go. You keep the ball and game management comes into play.

We get a warning with a corner that Yoro clears to Santos, who has two United players inside of him to his left.

He instead hoofs the ball 40 yards.

We are then slow to get out and sit too deep, invite the pressure on, no one makes a tackle and lets Grealish dance his way into the box again from the flank and then there is a player free again outside the box while the whole team sits inside our own box.



Give the guy credit for his effort, a quality strike, but lets be real, top quality players don't concede the two goals we have conceded.

It's every week we concede these types of goals.

Shocking defending yet again and shocking game management.

Carrick also needs to take blame yet again for his wrong team selection.

Why is a player who wanted to leave, who was told he wouldn't play for the club again, the same player who had his number taken off, but yet is straight back into the team and Sesko, who is fit, is sat on the bench?

Cunha and Mbeumo are not strikers.

Then you have a cb coming on to play rb and a rb coming on at left back, plugging holes.

An easy start to the season and we've dropped 5 points.

We now start a difficult run of, I think, 9 games.

We have been poor for ages, even at the end of last season we were scraping wins playing poor.

A lot to do, but it's worrying how slow we are and how badly we are at defending.

06 Sep 2026 21:44:04
New players? Only one new player in the starting 11.

I wish it was as simple as new players learning. It's far worse than that.

If you try and look at it from the outside, as a neutral, it's a club with poor leadership, and a bunch of average players being led by an average coach. Now, knowing that, you'd think others and I wouldn't get so annoyed by what happens, but I still want the team to play well and win, and get disappointed when they lose.

We were never going to be title contenders, not sure anybody really believed that, but we amateur fans who love the club can see so many errors and issues; why can't the so-called professionals running the club see them? Only an idiot would think going into the season with the same back 4 would be a good idea.



No doubt, when Carrick goes at some point this season, they will find another ex player to give it a go, they'll get a few good results and we start all over again.

06 Sep 2026 16:30:59
Having played Hull Ipswich and Everton we sit 11th, conceding an average 2 goals a game. Now already 5 points behind City making the derby rather important even at this very early time of the season.


Yes, very early. How is the confidence level of finishing top 5 under Carrick?
I think we will have to struggle to get 5th but it won’t be a surprise to some of us.

06 Sep 2026 16:37:51
Defence is shaky, attack creates hardly any clear-cut chances, and our expensive new midfield can't control games, subs are poor, in-game management poor.
Shaping up to be a loooong season.

06 Sep 2026 16:57:36
Continue to concede 2 goals a game, and we aren't winning many. Each time we score, we seem to sit back and invite pressure, with an inevitable result. We are architects of our own demise.

06 Sep 2026 16:59:12
I disagree, Cantona. Our midfield has had a lot of control in the last two games. But I agree that game management has been shocking. Our team wasn't prepared well for Hull, and making a defensive substitution late on today was idiotic. We have a good enough squad, but this nonsense of trying to hold onto single goal leads with the defence we have will kill us.
Really eager for the return of De Ligt.

Martinez today distributed the ball really sharply, but Maguire was incredibly slow in releasing the ball on the other side. It's destroying our tempo as teams are covering just one side.

We have the ingredients to have a good season, but today irritated me greatly as we'd have won with reasonable management. An entirely avoidable dropping of points.

06 Sep 2026 17:10:12
I personally said that mid table would be a good result this season. We haven't even started the two games a week period yet...

06 Sep 2026 17:28:58
Midtable would be a good result? On what planet? This squad isn't good enough to challenge for a title, but it should be finishing 3-6.

06 Sep 2026 17:30:50
Mid table looks accurate. Baleba needs to be 1 hell of a player if we are pinning our hopes of improvement on him.

Be interesting to see what calibre of defenders we can attract/afford if we don't qualify for Europe.

Considering most top players want Europe, and our finances are seemingly so bad we can't afford them this season. Not getting Europe will further cripple our spending power.

Long way to go, of course, but early signs are worrying.

06 Sep 2026 17:36:11
Ah lads, ease off the negativity. Had we seen it out a minute longer we'd have been 4th or 5th. I am as irritated by this result as I've been in a while, but this ambulance chasing way of viewing everything is a real downer. Keep it a bit level.

06 Sep 2026 18:07:55
"We haven't started the season that bad, to be honest."

That's his quote. Being level is fine, but this isn't Middlesbrough. I expect the United manager to say that it must improve, and, let's be honest, without being disrespectful, the three teams should not have resulted in only 4 points.

06 Sep 2026 19:06:53
I don't mean I'd be happy with mid table, and I agree, the squad should be delivering better. But 3 games and 4 points... Extrapolate that to the end of the season, and we would finish the season with 50 points. That would have been good enough for 12th place last season...

So, on this very real planet, mid table is a real possibility.



I've been negative for more than just this season. We got very lucky in a number of games during Carrick's tenure last season. Carrick continually shows the inability to:

1. Prepare a team to approach a game in any other way than plan A, which is the same every game.
2. Deliver solid in game management, or demonstrate any plan B.

06 Sep 2026 19:38:36
Groan. This page is getting to be almost at Everton fans' level of moaning.

06 Sep 2026 20:34:58
Eric,
Everton standard of points is something to moan about.

06 Sep 2026 21:15:27
Maguire is ruining the development of Yoro, who is being shipped out to play rb. ?

Yoro, whilst de Ligt is stealing a living in the medical room, should be starting alongside Martinez.

We have no pace at the back and can’t play a high line.

06 Sep 2026 21:42:20
Shaw and Dalot are as fast as any fullbacks, with Shaw regularly hitting 34kph, which is amongst the fastest fullbacks. Our left side, with Shaw and Martinez, played very well today.

06 Sep 2026 22:05:03
Let's forget about Shaw's positioning for Everton's first goal.

And Dalot's lack of positioning every game.

He was loaned to AC Milan years ago, who didn't want him on a permanent deal.

Yet here he is, 10 years later, still starting.

If anyone thinks Dalot and Shaw are players that don't need replacing, then standards have dropped much lower than I thought.

06 Sep 2026 23:54:21
Nobody has said that, Bolger.

07 Sep 2026 04:11:37
Tend to agree with that, Redman. No need to panic after 3 games, but I would prefer our young and inexperienced manager to be saying that we have not met the required standard. Pointing out the silver linings around our storm cloud is not the way to engage the fans.

He clearly didn't get what he needed in the summer. The players are undercooked, some had an extended break from the WC.

But one message he can send is that this is not okay. He is not happy. The team will stick together, but they have to be better. The fans do not need gaslighting.

We need Carrick to be the manager, not the interim manager, friend to everybody. He needs to remember that he has to be in charge, and the performance of his team is a representation of him on the pitch.

07 Sep 2026 07:11:12
What Carrick says to his Swiss and what he says to the press/public are very different things. He's managing it how he sees fit. Our fan base would pick apart any performance. If we'd have won 2-1, it would be the same.

07 Sep 2026 08:22:56
Dodgy

Agree. Carrick being friendly, like Ole was, will not get us anywhere again.

It's a shocking quote for a United manager. I cannot imagine SAF saying that or any of the top managers. Ok at Boro, but not here.

06 Sep 2026 16:28:56
I thought some of our players today was very good. Shaw was good and battling performance. The ref today was very poor, real home town guy, gave up nothing. Could have blown up on the 5 mins too and he let Everton start the attack again and they scored from it.

06 Sep 2026 16:38:55
Mainoo was good, and I will admit, despite my wanting Rashford gone, he was our best player. Not sure any others played well.

06 Sep 2026 16:42:34
And what exactly is Santos good at? No idea why we spunked 50 mil on him.

All he had to do is kick the ball into the stand at the end, and the ref would have blown it up.

06 Sep 2026 17:29:42
Santos is good at a lot of things. Is he the new scapegoat?

06 Sep 2026 17:57:07
Santos, who came on in the 84th min, hmm, not sure what he is supposed to do with a few mins at the end of games, although we've probably had our pants pulled down once more!!! Re his price.

Cunha through the middle up top is not happening. That cross Rashford (who again played well) curled into the box in the 1st half. It should be a dream for any striker, but not one red shirt was anywhere near getting onto it.



Defence, Carrick has to somehow sort and sort very quickly. I thought Shaw had a decent game and offered a bit going forward, but the rest, including the keeper, were dog s***.

Can't really blame anyone for their 2nd, no one was stopping that, although I would like to point out we seem to concede quite a lot of them throughout the season.

06 Sep 2026 19:21:53
Jred3,

Utd are slow to come out and close the opposition down. There is a distinct lack of intensity and real desire to be in control of the game.

06 Sep 2026 20:26:18
MH, I do agree about the lack of intensity, mate. Long way to go, but somehow we have to improve defensively or another manager will be gone and we'll start all over again, which I certainly don't want, and probably most others don't either.

06 Sep 2026 21:17:44
Need, let's not forget we cleared the corner to Santos, who, instead of keeping the play, decided to hoof the ball.

We then didn't get out, and sat all 11 back, to concede to a shot on the edge with no one close to closing the ball down.



Every week is the same problems, and we concede easy chances.

It's no coincidence it's the same back 4 that's still here after years and years and years of shocking performances.

06 Sep 2026 16:11:56
Another dodgy performance from United. At least it wasn’t a loss!

Average of 2 goals conceded a game so far, won’t get far doing that.

So many of the players are bang average. No idea how Dalot keeps getting picked, shocking. Nice cross from Shaw. But both full backs drive me made, they never want to rush out to a winger and stop a shot or cross. And with how our back line and keeper deal with crossed they should maybe try and stop a few.

Playing with no striker and instea Cunha floating about doesn’t work. Cunha is usually everywhere apart from inside the box.

The keeper wasn’t great today. Clueless as to why he punched that easy shot away instead of catching. I was never on the band wagon of him being the answer in goal. He gets away with a lot due to being fairly cheap and not a complete idiot like Onana.

But if you’re honest, he’s not a top level keeper. You rarely win anything without a world class keeper, and he’s not that. Maybe he will be in 4-5 years, but not yet. However, he’s not helped by the headless chickens playing right in front of him. Conceding 18 shots to Everton is a disgrace.

No kind of any plan. Slow, slow and slow just like all the other games. The only time you see any kind of urgency from United is when they are behind, which we are likely to see quite often this season based on the first 3 games.

They need to get it together, and soon, or some of the better teams will have a field day against them.

Fingers crossed they put in a better performance in mid week.

06 Sep 2026 16:30:32
Was screaming all game for fullbacks to overlap. Shaw did a handful of times, and got a really good assist. Dalot is pure s****! Didn't do anything all game, as usual. Poor management after taking the lead twice, did not take control and kill the game at all. Cunha was poor today too. Very disappointing result.

06 Sep 2026 16:31:43
You can add how the full backs don't make overlapping runs to support our wingers.

I think 4-3-3 would work better. One thing that is concerning is a lack of plan B. It's like watching Southgate's England team today.

06 Sep 2026 16:32:17
That's another game where we have failed to hold on to a lead... It's happened a lot over the past few years, so it's no surprise. The common theme is that back 4! Just no composure, and they just look panicked at the end of games.

But, hey ho, the board don't think it's a necessity to invest in that area. Lots of work to do. PS Sesko has to start now, Cunha doesn't work upfront.

06 Sep 2026 16:33:33
Conceding 2 a game is a big worry for the season ahead. We're so poor out of possession. Teams harass us, get in our face... we just stand off relative to the effort the opposition show.

Subs were poor, just hold onto possession rather than defending deep and lumping it long.


Thought the whole point of our midfield rebuild was so we could control games with press resistant pass masters. So far 3 dross teams have scored 2 against us, and we've failed to control the game. Ipswich was a deceiving scoreline.

City up next, which I'm really not looking forward to.

06 Sep 2026 16:36:13
Lose to City next week, and we are 8 points off the pace after 4 games, but it's ok. Shappy says we are over reacting.

06 Sep 2026 17:18:41
The results and performances need to get better. And soon. Watching the Arsenal and Chelsea game, when United play these, it could be a cricket score.

06 Sep 2026 17:21:52
Agree, Fallguy, I'm genuinely worried about playing the big teams.

06 Sep 2026 17:32:48
Well, we won at the Emirates last season, so not sure why it would be a cricket score this season. This Arsenal game is manic because there was an early goal and Chelsea are good this season. We will get better. We were pretty unlucky today.

06 Sep 2026 21:20:11
Maybe because we look worse than last season so far, GDS2.

06 Sep 2026 23:07:03
Damn, now we are blaming Lammens. ? This fan base gives me the ick.