Manchester United banter 8

23 Sep 2026 20:16:30
I have a small update on JJ Gabriel.

Kid is a lovely lad, no worries about him as an individual. Also club are really supporting him and supporting him mentally, socialising him with his own age group out of training, preparing him for the media and all over his safeguarding.

From what I hear the club have his best interests at heart and more parental over him than anyone else
Rn.

Parent lead drama. Not great people by the seems of things.

There's an expectation money will solve the issue for now with his dad but this will be repeated in 12 months or so when it comes pro terms.

FWIW I'd encourage him to leave and be done with the family leveraging the club.

23 Sep 2026 23:39:23
Show him the pathway to what his parents believe is his destiny. A destiny that needs to be earnt not handed to him.
Set clear milestones that are both achievable and agreed upon by both parties.
If/when those milestones are achieved, deliver on the promises.

That is how ever after in the academy should be nurtured. Most will fail, but if the club is operated correctly, the said milestones will coincide with players exiting at the end of their United journey.

23 Sep 2026 19:33:05
Interesting take on Rashford by Peter Schmeichel:
Peter Schmeichel: "I watched Rashford at Barcelona and I said, 'Okay, maybe he's finding his feet. Maybe he just needs time.'
Then I watched him play a few games for Manchester United and I thought, 'I still need to understand his game.' I watched him against Manchester City last week and, honestly, I was embarrassed by what I saw. Then I watched him again tonight against Brighton and I finally understood why Hansi Flick never really wanted him at Barcelona. Look at Barcelona. They sign top players, top wingers, top finishers. Players who have a clear understanding of what they want to do when they receive the ball With Rashford, I still don't understand it. He gets the ball, drives forward, goes into the box and then misuses it. He comes back. He gets it again, does the same thing. Drives forward, crosses, loses the ball, comes back again. I want to call Marcus and say, 'Brother, what exactly is your style of play? ' Because this driving-and-crossing routine is clearly not working for Manchester United, and it's certainly not working for him. And the frustrating thing is that Manchester United already have players who were showing us something different. Šeško, Mbeumo, Amad, Cunha last season that attack was tearing teams apart.

Brighton were one of the teams on the receiving end of it. Then one player comes back into the picture and suddenly you see the same old problems. The combinations disappear. The movement becomes predictable. The attack becomes easier to defend. That cannot be normal And this is where I question Carrick.
You have Matheus Cunha sitting on the bench vs Brighton while Rashford is starting again. Why? If you watched the Manchester City game, if you watched Rashford v Brighton, what exactly did you see that convinced you he had to start? Carrick has worked hard to build a team with movement, intensity and different attacking options. You cannot keep changing that balance just because a player has a big name. At some point, you have to select players based on what they are giving you now. Marcus Rashford has ability. Nobody can deny that. But right now, he looks like a player searching for a version of himself that we haven't seen for a long time. And Manchester United cannot keep waiting for that version to return while the team suffers for it. For me, this is no longer about one bad performance. Rashford is simply not giving Manchester United what a top winger or a top finisher should give them. And Carrick has to be brave enough to accept that.".

23 Sep 2026 22:37:37
Rashford is doing better than he was in the run up to his departure. According to one report I saw he's created more chances from open play than any other player. I do believe he's trying, and with a top fullback he might do better, but right now his final product, both passing and shooting, has been woeful. Its seemed for a long while now hat he has little ability to take on a full back on his own and beat them through skill, and whereas he used to be faster than most defenders it no longer seems to be the case.

Other things one might take into account a)Tuchel saw fit to call him up for England duty so perhaps he does not agree with Schmeichel's assessment, b) until his goal one can hardly say that Cunha has been any more effective thus far this season c) we still have 3 competitions in which we have to compete and neither player can play all the games, and d) like many forwards/strikers their form runs in streaks. If he does all of a sudden score a goal or two maybe Rashford will go on one.

In short, it would have been better had we been able to sell him, but that didn't happen, so the club has n choice but to try and make the best of it. I have no doubt that if Cunha starts providing more for the team then he'll get more of the starts.

24 Sep 2026 01:15:58
Newname, he is a liability in most matches. He looks lively, but looks lively running always himself into trouble. He is not a team player, he doesn't play like he is part of a unit, who has a common goal. He always does the same thing running with the ball at defenders without purpose. Chance creation is the most overrated stat in football. You give the ball to your teammates and shoots, that's it.

This stat means nothing, other that you play close to the goal and your teammates shoots a lot when they receive your pass-we are first in shoot in the hole League. But as i said in another post our shoots have low probability. Radford and Bruno are the reasons for that, even if people don't want to hear a bad word for their hero Bruno.

24 Sep 2026 03:54:56
Play cunha left, mbuemu 9, Lacy right, Bruno 10. Sesko is pushing for the 9, but needs to show more. Bring him in at 60 mins.

Wingers need to work back hard and get forward quickly. Lacy, amad, cunha do this well. Rash and mbuemu do not.

24 Sep 2026 07:37:00
Heaven, apart from one single standout season, I've been saying that about Rashford for years. I agree with Schmeichel.

24 Sep 2026 10:15:56
Rashford should be currently on the bench and utilised as the game gets tired, similarly Dorgu. Ideally Sesko is fit and we can start with Cunha, Sesko and Mbeumo with Fernandes behind.

It is a team game and players off the bench are as important so Rashford needs to put a shift in for last 25/30 mins and could be a game changer if he can improve.

Hopefully we will get Amad back, wherever he is! And the club gives Lacey some minutes as he looks like he has something that makes defenders panic.

23 Sep 2026 18:27:14
So, another year of losses on record revenues. Amortization was £211m which was more than the player payroll. Total expenses were £700m. What's in the other £300m+?

The club is projecting between £740-60m next year. That may be enough to eliminate the losses but not much more.

You can see why the club is struggling to buy top quality players. It really doesn't have the money. It's hard to see it improving much I the near future.

Cash flow wasn't helped by them buying a crucial bit of land for the stadium project.

If Man United is to become a true contender again before I'm 80 (5years) I think it's going to require new owners. The problem is who's going to buy the Glazers and Ineos out for what they think it's worth and then put in £600m more to wipe out the long term debt leaving a more manageable level of borrowings. Even more problematic is the suspicion that the club is being mortgaged to fund their property speculation, which, if true, means they're in it for the long haul. And what happens if there's a major economic downturn as a result of all the debt the US and UK etc have assumed? Could be curtains.

23 Sep 2026 03:01:13
Not United related, but some bad news.
Regular poster and forum favourite Shappy has reportedly been found sitting motionless in front of the television, staring blankly at the screen, dribbling and seemingly completely detached from reality.
Family members say they haven't heard from him for several days and believe he has been in this state ever since the Brighton game.
Apparently, they initially thought he was preparing another one of his famously lengthy posts explaining why everything isn't actually as bad as it looks.
But days passed.
Still nothing.
No 5, 000-word essay.
No tactical analysis.
No "to put things into perspective."
Not even a paragraph beginning with "I think people are being overly reactionary."
Concern really began to grow when they found him sitting in front of a blank Word document, repeatedly typing:
"2-0 up "
followed by deleting it.


Then typing:
"3-2 down "
Then deleting that too.
Sources close to the situation believe the Brighton result may have finally pushed Shappy beyond the limits of human reasoning.
Doctors are reportedly unable to determine whether he has suffered from writers' block or simply cannot find a way to explain how conceding three goals after being two goals ahead is actually a positive sign.
The family are asking anyone who sees Shappy to approach with caution.
Especially if he's carrying a keyboard.

22 Sep 2026 22:44:28
Evening all.
There seems to be a growing uprising tonight on all social media. This is what's needed. This is the time to to be together and stay together to get change we all want.
The fans on here and everywhere need to have resolve and boycott the club.


Its happening right now and the groundswell is on the rise. The owners now are in for a true fight rather than a timid response to their corruption!

23 Sep 2026 01:02:08
In what way? Going to make sure they don't have a game for 3 weeks?

23 Sep 2026 03:11:25
lol it's all just noise that will do nothing .

23 Sep 2026 06:46:54
The Glazers sit in America waiting for the next tranche of money and couldn't care less what anyone does, unless it means they lose serious money. I think only relegation would force them out.

23 Sep 2026 09:26:56
Carrick will deliver that this season.

23 Sep 2026 11:43:24
We need the lazio effect.
90% of fans boycotted home games due to poor managing of the club and constant raising of ticket prices, sound familiar?

23 Sep 2026 20:06:30
We need a picket line.

22 Sep 2026 13:57:11
I know there's a few away on international duty but a number have already pulled out of their squads. Any chance we can use this extended period as a mini Pre season to try and build the fitness levels up?

22 Sep 2026 15:04:40
You asking the wrong people. Only 1 man in charge of that decision.
But i'd bet good money on them not over exerting themselves.

22 Sep 2026 15:58:09
Perfect opportunity Ken but you're right that they probably won't.

22 Sep 2026 23:34:18
Bet the players not on international duty are in training but probably not intensively at Utd.

23 Sep 2026 06:14:25
Carrick does not believe in that type of training. I read that Bruno (and this is not a criticism of Bruno it is just an example) only did one sprint of 42.5 metres in the Fulham game, one sprint. It's not Carrick tactics nor training method to do intense.

23 Sep 2026 14:37:39
Ofcourse it must be criticism for Bruno Redman. He is the captain and he must lead, set the bar high. Players have no intensity with Carrick but that has nothing to do with just one sprint.


It was not the only problem, Bruno acted like doesn't even care, even when he hitted the bar acted like doesn't care if it goes in or not. Like it or not Bruno is a big problem right now.

23 Sep 2026 16:31:58
lol, Bruno, he is our only great player, he can't carry a team of hopefuls and potentials every game, and with Carrick playing Cunha through the middle all he does is walk into Bruno territory, Carricks tactics game plans are a total mess.

Last season he did not do much just played every match as it come now he tried to implement some of his own ideas it's all a mess, he is out his depth . saying Bruno is the problem is laughable, you got no striker Mbuemo who can't trap a bag of cement, Cunha been awful a useless slow aging defence and Tielemans who runs in treacle in midfield it's all a joke.

23 Sep 2026 20:16:25
Je Suis, so if he can't carry a team, as your are saying., he must make one sprint. Fair enough.

23 Sep 2026 20:08:33
Carrick defers all fitness to the conditioning team.

They rule over Carrick.

I have on good inside authority they're not a hugely talented group are Clegg and co.

22 Sep 2026 13:37:06
A lot of the posts at the moment seem to be saying: Look, appointing Carrick was probably a mistake, but the real issue is the people who made the mistake of appointing him. The only way to change things is to stick with Carrick, otherwise the people that appointed him will get away with it.

I don't know what kind of 3D chess is being played here, but I'm struggling to see how supporting a bad decision helps hold the people that made it to account.

22 Sep 2026 15:16:37
Carrick can still learn, so give him a chance longer. Those above need to go and then competent people come in and take charge of managing carrick or replacing him.

Carrick should be thinking now about making a statement in his next team selection.

I would play cunha left, lacy right and mbuemo up top. More running and protection in wide areas, and more similar to last season (lacy in for Amad).

The team need to play hungrier for the ball. And the running stats need to improve or you won't play. Basic stuff. Work harder than the other team, or sit on the bench.

22 Sep 2026 17:16:14
We clearly miss Casemiro and so does Bruno. His ability to score at dead ball situations was amazing. Hopefully Baleba will end up being a decent replacement. At the moment we're a bit soft through the middle and, as has been well documented, we're simple not fighting or working hard enough to win back the ball. or maybe set up right to do it.

After last year's run in when we posted pretty much the best record in the EPL the players may have started this season believing their own hype. They need to be disabused of it during the international break.

22 Sep 2026 23:43:13
I wrote end of last season how much we would miss Casemeiro and several posters agreed and a few said he was past his sell by date.

It's clear now how much we do miss him. There is an old saying "you can't buy experience". Even Chelsea recognised this belatedly by signing Welbeck and Henderson (yes I know. thereby actually buying experience) but you get my drift.

We have an inexperienced manager trying to coach youngsters like Sesko, Yoro, Heaven, Dorgu Santos and now Lacey and Belaba.

Expecting Baleba to be our saviour is unrealistic and unhelpful. All the players have to fight more.

23 Sep 2026 03:15:01
I said all along even an aging Cass with no legs is streets ahead of anything we have and certainly miles better than anything we bought thinking Baleba might be the answer is more wishful thinking, it's a really poor team, coached and managed by a poor team what does one expect.

22 Sep 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Davey Sulls has posted a new article entitled, My Thoughts on Liverpool's Start to the Season

21 Sep 2026 21:20:20
If a company provides it's managers with the wrong tools, software, materials and personnel to do a job then it is entirely unreasonable for them to be angry when the final product is not fit for purpose.

Imagine a mechanic being given a 1 inch spanner for a 25mm bolt. Sure it will work to certain extent but eventually it will fail catastrophically. Replacing the spanner with another 1 inch spanner will end up in the same way. If the bits don't match, one or the other or even both will eventually fail.

Sadly it's a fact that many companies work on the theory that as long as sales outweigh returns or customer complaints then all is good in the world.

We are those customers. Not enough people with influence can or will complain enough to make them worry. For every 10, 000 that do not buy tickets or merch another 10,000 will. That is one problem with brand loyalty.

If the manager requests and is provided the correct tools and still provides a poor product then it's fine to let him go.

Until INEOS give their managers meaningful input on players and go and get them then we are on a hiding to nothing. Nearly every manager since SAF has highlited the issue and yet here we still are. I have never understood this trend for the clubs dictating which players are bought.

I am not advocating that Carrick is the man, but until we fix the rot above we will just be going round again and it has to stop!

I personally have dropped my United membership, have not bought shirt in years but do United care? NOT ONE JOT!

We can rant all we like but until the poisonous hierarchy are gone we are royally screwed. But why would they? They're making money regardless of the product. That's business.

21 Sep 2026 22:41:58
⁰this is bs. Ten Hag and Van Gaal were given the say and they spunked 650m quid up the wall.

22 Sep 2026 03:28:19
Not a matter of wrong tools it's a matter of cheap tools, you either buy at the Market or buy Snap on tools. (Top quality for those that don't know) Then of course you have different level Mechanics some are fitters who just can only replace parts, which most are in 2026 and then some are true mechanics that can actually fix a part and make it work.

Sadly with have cheap tools and a 2026 fitter

There lies the problem . If you take it further it's the people who bought the cheap tools and the 2026 fitter they employed.

22 Sep 2026 10:06:32
I said nearly but thank you for your constructive criticism. Eloquent as always.

22 Sep 2026 07:02:41
I said nearly, I also said if a manager is given the tools then he deserves to go. But thanks for your insightful input so eloquently stated.

JSU - fair call. I was assuming capable mechanics. Some would indeed make a mess of it even with the right tools and perhaps Carrick sits in that bracket. However I feel he has potential given the right cattle.

22 Sep 2026 08:43:19
Completely disagree.

If I move to a new company, I would be expected to learn their systems, use the tools at my disposal and adapt to a new way of working.

Do you think people are regularly walking into their CEOs office demanding new software because they can't do their job? No, its a deflection due to incompetence. The scenario is completely incomparable to being a coach at a football club.

22 Sep 2026 13:52:26
United should be too big to keep relying on potential
Nearly every player we buy nowadays is about potential, so you can't have a potential manager trying to teach more potential, it just won't work, or if it does could take years and years United not in that position and football in general don't allow it.


Sesko. potential Yoro Potential, Heaven potential, Santos potential,
Evens Potential coach, Woodgate potential coach, Carrick Potential manager this is a lot of cross your fingers stuff, I honestly don't see 1 of that list of potential even making it big time IMO. Anyway.

22 Sep 2026 21:48:57
I disagree Kurtis. If I am brought in to improve the product and it is clear that the tools and process in place are not fit for purpose then I would definitely be bringing that to the management. Otherwise the product fails again and I get the sack. A yes man would just sit in the corner and comply to keep the peace leaving the management believing that their processes are fine.

It is not a deflection it is professionalism and confidence in your ability to fix the issues.

It was a perfectly reasonable anaolgy.

21 Sep 2026 19:00:57
Mainoo and Rashford have pulled out of the English squad.
Mainoo was not injured at the weekend. Rashford has an injury apparently.
I'm surprised either were selected in the 1st place.

22 Sep 2026 04:30:16
Yep and TT might bring in a 16 year old, so clearly it don't matter what age you are if your good enough maybe a lesson here

Players today think that why bother going on international duty no World Cup for 4 years which probably TT be gone by then and no euros for 2 years so why bother now, it's a sign of the times I'm afraid, but it's no coincidence the likes of Kane, Ronaldo's, Messi's always turn up for majority of internationals even when carrying injuries, it's a totally different mindset of today's pampered players, who think they no need to work there **** off, they think they are all world beaters already.
Cole Palmer tired and he had all summer off too it's all becoming a joke.