Manchester United banter 8

12 Oct 2026 20:15:28
I've supported Manchester United for 35 years, and I've watched some great teams made up of all sorts of players who would run through brick walls, play through pain and fight for every single ball. They understood what wearing that shirt meant.

What frustrates me most about this current team is that it feels like the same rinse-and-repeat cycle every time. New manager comes in, new players arrive, performances improve for a few weeks, everyone gets excited, and then we slowly drift straight back to the same old problems.

We've qualified for the ECL, and now we're back to the norm again. Where's the hunger? Where's the intensity? Where's the pride in chasing down every ball?

Look at other teams in the Premier League. They run, they press, they track back, they fight for second balls. If the ball goes forward, they sprint forward. If they lose it, they sprint back. It's basic effort and desire.

Honestly, watching my United team at the moment is like watching a DoorDash delivery service. They'll sprint for the delivery when there's something in it for them, but if they miss out on a tip, they stroll back and leave massive gaps for everyone else to deal with! ?

And don't get me started on the lack of energy. At this point, maybe we need to introduce a boxer-style ban on sex before matches to preserve some testosterone, because this team looks lethargic, predictable and, at times, painfully boring to watch! ?

The boos ringing around the ground are becoming more common, and fans have every right to expect more. We're not asking for miracles every week. We're asking for effort, intensity, commitment and players who look like they actually care.

I've supported this club for 35 years, through great teams and difficult periods, but what hurts most is watching a team that too often looks like it's going through the motions.

You can lose a football match. It happens. But you should never lose the fight.

This is Manchester United. The shirt should mean something. The standards should mean something. And running yourself into the ground for your teammates should be the bare minimum.

Am I expecting too much?

12 Oct 2026 20:40:06
No it's the least you should expect RDF.

12 Oct 2026 21:19:51
RDF

You should expect that as an absolute minimum and have often talked about playing for the shirt.

Like it or not Amorim identified culprits and kept them separate. Rashford a prime example, who clearly showed he didn't care for the shirt by his actions. He should have been shipped out at whatever cost.

I cannot stress highly enough that Carrick bringing Rashford back and playing him over the others who had put effort in last season was utterly stupid and amateur. If you want to look back at your description "running yourself into the ground for your teammates should be the bare minimum" and then consider Rashford doing the opposite it has to impact the team.

12 Oct 2026 23:35:14
Standards are dropping fast.

13 Oct 2026 04:47:00
Standards dropped years ago but just more rapidly in last 2-3 years, when your signing the likes of Dorgu, Cunha, Tielemans Santos, Martinez, DeLigt, Mount, Maz even Mbuemo and Lammens the standards are too low with the club, but even lower on here when fans are lauding most of those signings when they happened which they were and many still do

United is in serious trouble I said it at the time SJR was the worst thing that could happen to United, more so than the Glazers imo.

We all know the Glazers should be gone but the last thing needed is SJR.

13 Oct 2026 12:08:04
just a tiny snapshot of the lowering of standards -Sesko and Shaw wearing those tiny shinpads -whats Shaw thinking after his awful injury? But where is the manager, the coach, the captain the senior player to say - those shinpads are a joke get them off and get proper ones that will protect you - does my head in that no seems to give a proverbial.

13 Oct 2026 13:01:40
I don't think Carrick 'brought Rashford back'.No-one wanted him, whether due to his transfer fee or most likely his salary. After a few games, he was one of our better players. He wasn't even involved in the last game where there is plenty of viral footage of Mainoo and in particular Tielemann's lack of intensity as being Manchester United's biggest on-field problem at the moment.


Add to that another £50m spent on Santos who doesn't seem to be in favour already, and the failure to spend that money on a leftback or centreforward, which would both have been pretty useful at this moment in time.
It's just a really poor concoction of decisions and their outcomes in the last few months that has quickly snuffed out the crest of a wave feeling Carrick's caretaker spell provided.

13 Oct 2026 13:36:26
I said before we even bought Santos there is clearly a problem with him, for having so many clubs, what is it 5 by 21 years old, clearly the same problem spotted now, how on earth are we so stupid that we don't look at these things and ask questions.

13 Oct 2026 14:36:21
I agree Je suis unite but maybe give him a game rather than sticking with Mainoo and Tielemans which clearly hasn't worked. Santos has played around 80 minutes of football this season, it's hardly enough time to try and win over the manager and the fans is it.


I am not saying he's the answer but try something different, Carrick also now has Beleba has another option.

13 Oct 2026 15:25:03
I agree Sim, you can't keep sticking with something that don't work like Carrick does and we have him so he might as well get some games, but there is a reason he had 5 clubs at only 21 and not really stepped up in any of those so how on earth give 50 million for that pedigree, it's diabolical.
I said from game 1 Tielemans looks like he running in treacle should be nowhere near a United first 11 but certainly not in a two with Mainoo who is not exactly athletic although to be fair he looked like he kicked on a bit from last season.

Bruno looks too tired and carrying an injury, but Carrick gameplay is give the ball to Bruno and cross our fingers he can produce a piece of magic, this is a joke in itself.

I thought we were poor under ETH and RA but this is a new level of poor, but why be surprised when we have a manager and coaches who are all championship level and buying players who are bottom half of EPL on a good day. Maybe you can risk one of them in a team, or 2 in a squad but we have virtually a whole squad of sub par players.

13 Oct 2026 17:41:42
Why appoint a DoF, sack him, chase a great young manager in Amorim. Sack him and not back him.

Appoint a failed Boro manager. And we'll sack him too.

Club is run by clowns.

12 Oct 2026 19:30:35
Luke shaw out of tomorrow's game. Not surprised, for the 100th time.

Remember Arsenal terminating Tomiyasus contract, hope to god we do the same, bin the useless one.

12 Oct 2026 20:41:08
No England tournament to go for this year.

12 Oct 2026 22:07:59
I did say he'd be lucky to make it to the end of September before getting injured. I was wrong tbf but only by a few weeks. To not sign a lb was stupid!

13 Oct 2026 03:43:41
Let's be honest, you can hardly just single out Shaw that's as stupid as keep singling out Dalot, McGuire and Rashford, there are plenty of others who are nowhere near the required level include Cunha Mbuemo and Lammens in that too along with Martinez Maz Yoro Dorgu, Sesko, that's before the two ridiculous signings this summer, then add Carrick Evans and Woodgate to the place and what does anyone expect

Total shambles, but of course everyone lorded Cunha and Mbeumo last season and some fools were even saying that Tielemans was a great signing and all Chelsea fans are up in arms about santos

Where are all those now that questioned when I said Tielemans is mid table player at best, I was wrong he is bottom table player.

13 Oct 2026 09:43:40
Tielemans was a better player when in a tight system with a clear role as was the case under Emery. I think that applies to just about the whole team. Jamie Carragher's assessment of the performance was spot on.

Lack of intensity. Players body language all wrong. They're simply not putting themselves in a position to compete for the ball. As a team they're not compact enough.

13 Oct 2026 15:28:24
Tielemans never been in a team that's expected to be winning every game . Grealish was fantastic at that size club with those expectations step up to big boys and found wanting like Tielemans is just not good enough, but he not alone, I would add Santos, Cunha, Mbuemo and even Lammens to that, none are of the required level we should be aiming for, nice guys don't win leagues.

add those to the crap we already had and you get what we got a terrible club.

12 Oct 2026 14:12:53
We need to talk about the low-mid block, or what used to be known as sitting deep.

Not only is this system fundamentally dated for a top level side, Jose's success with Chelsea and Inter is a long time ago. More importantly, United aren't even implementing this system properly.

The Jose system was to make things tight for the opposition by using a well organised unit to press and harass them before they got the chance to get the ball in the box. Yes, they sat deeper. But this was to make it easier for defenders to press mover effectively.

Carrick's system seems to adopt the shape of a low block without the pressure. United players standing in a line in front of the box. They're not attempting to win the ball or even pressure the player in possession. They just stand around waiting for the opposition to make a mistake. The fact that Carrick refuses to accept this is a passive approach is a huge concern.

After the Fulham game, I assumed we were going to see an evolution. No way that a manager could have watched that and been happy. The brain trust had three weeks to come up with a better plan. But there was nothing different yesterday. Banks of players checking to make sure they were in line, just allowing Spurs to keep the ball. If Spurs made a mistake, the ball was given straight to Bruno who tried to play a quick pass in behind. In the rare moments we had sustained possession the passing was slow and movement non-existent.

If Spurs had a better striker, we could have been battered. Our own goal was the result of their defence switching off, rather than us cutting them open. The most embarrassing thing is that we looked worse after they went down to ten. Same as the city game, like our players haven't a clue how to use the extra possession and space to their advantage.

Honestly, I have no clue what Carrick thinks this system will accomplish. It feels like we have become progressively more passive and deeper as the season has progressed. Does Carrick think that this is the solution to our defensive problems?

12 Oct 2026 15:31:34
This is Carrick ball, all slow no pace find Bruno and fingers crossed we have coaches in Evans And woodgate who would get nowhere near another club on coaching staff, we have become a United retirement home, for 2/3rd rate low rent staff, it's a joke and diabolical way to run what is supposed to be an elite one of the biggest in the world football clubs, we should be hiring elite managers and coaches then maybe buying an elite player or two instead of spending 100s of millions on non elite players
Tielemans and Santos nowhere near level required
Cunha & Mbeumo are not elite level, neither is Lammens not Sesko add that to the crap of Martinez McGuire Dalot and you not got a lot and these are our starting line up players Amad and Yoro can be added to that too .the standards have dropped so low it's not going to change anytime soon.

12 Oct 2026 16:07:37
It's just going over old ground, it won't change.
The club is a complete sh*t show from top to bottom.

12 Oct 2026 16:42:22
I don't think it's really going over old ground. Even during the worst of Ole's McFred era and Amorim's disastrous start last season, there was more energy and purpose.

We've had players clearly throw in the towel before, and stop putting in effort. This feels different, as if the manager has purposely decided upon a way of playing football that requires minimal effort both in attack and defence. It doesn't seem like the players can't be arsed, more a sense that this is what the manager actually wants them to do.

12 Oct 2026 18:21:10
I blame the players for not really working hard enough but I blame theanager for not having them organised better and with patterns of play so that in game they can adapt and implement them as necessary.

13 Oct 2026 15:31:02
I personally don't blame the players, it's the instructions it's the fitness and stamina levels, as good as player as Carrick was he was a laid back player, that's showing in what he is setting up.

He is out his depth, he had same problems at boro and nothing changed.

Welcome to MUF retirement home for ex players.

12 Oct 2026 12:42:31
Who's looking forward to tomorrow's game against Atletico?
I'm going for Man United 4-0 win.

12 Oct 2026 15:31:59
Simeone will be looking forward to it.

12 Oct 2026 15:52:00
Julian Alvarez playing against our defence...

12 Oct 2026 17:32:45
It could be an embarrassing scoreline if the United of the last few games turns up.

12 Oct 2026 18:03:19
Sim, you is funny and I rarf out roud at you ?.

12 Oct 2026 18:22:06
Frankly we are due a thrashing. If Atheltico turn up and cna be bothered theyihbt score five or six.

12 Oct 2026 18:57:30
If its 5 or 6 which i could be, it will be Carricks last game. Lose 2-1, he'll be safe, so if you want Carrick gone, an absolute battering would probably make that happen. Personally, I think he's a dead man walking and he knows it, sadly so do the players. its rinse and repeat the glazer way.

13 Oct 2026 15:32:08
The problem is we good get a win or draw in a one off and will mask all the problems again .

12 Oct 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - MCR has posted a new article entitled, Effort Has to Be Liverpool's Bare Minimum

12 Oct 2026 06:56:06
Reports say "Dead man walking Carrick looked grey and tired" at the post match press conference. Not surprising, Carrick has found that what didn't work at Boro isn't working at United. It isn't a shock to many of us.

He is working with an ordinary standard of players, yet better than last seasons bunch, who he should be able to organise better than this. So there is no excuse.

Who thought Santos, 4th choice Chelsea reserve was good enough? Tielemans at 29 who doesn't run much could run, no left back, no striker. Wilcox has to go at the same time and honestly its time to get rid of Berrada too. Yes big changes at once but they can get much worse. Manager and Wilcox first, this week or its just another example of the club dithering. Its relegation form and i am not surprised.

12 Oct 2026 08:14:59
Looking at our fixtures I wouldn't be shocked if we don't win another game before the next international break. If that's the case then he has to go, Wilcox too. If not then it just proves what we all feared about INEOS and this ownership.

12 Oct 2026 09:50:01
INEOS have already shown through the Nice situation that they couldn't run a bath, let alone the biggest club in England. United should have been sold to the Sheikh. From where things stand today, it's hard to see how anything materially improves under the current ownership.

12 Oct 2026 10:34:31
Remember when Big Sir Jim Brexit said he wouldn't go to watch Nice anymore because the football was boring.

Can't be long before he stops going to Old Trafford then.

12 Oct 2026 10:59:29
I've watched some dreadful performances over the years and that first half was as bad as any I have seen.

It as made worse given there were 3 weeks to think about what needed to chnage, and yet nothing did.

I accept the points about Carrick, but the lack of energy and application from the players is also shocking.

As I have said before, I have no idea how this gets fixed.

12 Oct 2026 11:20:41
Whoever is responsible for ultimately choosing the players and the manager has to go first. Turn we can look at a new manager/head coach.

12 Oct 2026 14:12:47
Berada is making high revenue from a club that is playing hardly any football games. He is fleecing the fans dry and squeezing every last drop. No way the owners fire him.

Wilcox is the guy who has to go. Then let his replacement sort out the rest. He is responsible for the football side. He has made some stinking decisions leading to multiple costly mistakes.

Imagine playing ole's back 4 in 2026-27 season. It has been obvious to anyone with half a brain that we needed open heart surgery. But Wilcox is like a conveyor of a museum.

12 Oct 2026 14:26:33
But you were all so excited about signing Tielemans and Santos! In fact all jumped down my throat when I said Not the required level and Tielemans looks like he running in treacle.

I even go as far as say what you all said was a great window the previous season was not good enough, Cunha and Mbuemo Cunha far too slow what's he done this season 1 assist!

Plus everyone keeps saying what a great CB Martinez is LOL

This is a terrible squad got a poor manager and awful low rent coaching team, led by Wilcox who done what in the game exactly and SJR trying to save every penny

I understand you think this level of players are an improvement but really why have your standards slipped so low, just because United have surely the fans should not just accept this level of player, surely us fans should still want what should be Uniteds level or have we all give up too.

12 Oct 2026 18:27:32
Santos and Tielamans are good players. They are just looking bad becaise we have not had a good manager for years Amorim possibly excepted (I am sorry that Amorim wasn't given more time because I do think he would eventually have got things right)

Overall though look at our past few managers and not one has been at his peak of his profession or near it.

The team needs a strict disciplinarian who won't allow any slacking but also be savvy enough to inspire today's young emotionally insecure young players and he has to be able to give the team a positive identity and ways of playing.

13 Oct 2026 15:34:46
How on earth is Santos a good player or required level, he had 5 +clubs and only 21 and not made it at any Tielemans is average at best and best years behind him .

He was ok at Villa that's it and we should be looking at a different level, if anyone watched Tielemans and says he is good player, must be judging that on yesteryear!

11 Oct 2026 20:16:51
The one potential positive was that Baleba looked like he could improve us, although clearly is not match fit. It'll take some time.

We're also missing a proper CF. Without one we really don't have too many options for changing the point of attack, which makes us more predictable. And because we are predictable we're easy to defend against. Stop Bruno and you stop the team. So, unless we're on a counter attack we look impotent.

Couple all the above with a number of players who really aren't of the quality needed for a champions league team, and are also, damningly, clearly not working hard enough, and things look dire.

The question is whether, whoever is running the club from executives down to manager, there's the capacity to change the dynamic under this ownership model. The debt is so huge, and the club has no way of paying it down without making profits or getting an injection of capital somehow. I just can't see this situation changing for the better in the next 5 years or more. We've just spent £65m on buying land, and that's just a pittance in comparison to the money needed for the new stadium. Wee spent over £100m on land and interest payments last year, and not on players. Thus the debt keeps piling up.

Firing Carrick may give an immediate boost, just as firing Amorim did and replacing him with Carrick, but the plain fact of the matter is we're starting off at a disadvantage with a squad that man for man is simply not good enough.

11 Oct 2026 22:01:33
Although it's hard to disagree that the players are not good enough. That doesn't mean a proper manager, who knows what they are doing, couldn't get more out of this squad.

Everton are sitting in 5th. I don't believe they have 11 better players than United. But they do play with passion and fight and actually run once in a while.

11 Oct 2026 23:15:19
They perhaps don't have better players, but they have a better team.

12 Oct 2026 06:37:34
I agree that a good manager will make 2+2=> 4 but this has been going on for a decade now under numerous managers. Short bursts of success followed by a drop off. So, it maybe be the case that many of our players have more natural talent but what they lack is the mental profile necessary to grind out sustained results in this league.

It keeps coming back to a malign ownership. They are what's responsible for where we are today. We're not going to challenge for titles again while we're saddled with the Glazers and Ineos.

12 Oct 2026 08:07:35
It won't take us long to ruin Baleba though like every other signing that comes through the door.

12 Oct 2026 08:57:52
A managers remit is to build a team and his coaches remit is to coach that team to his instructions, Carrick is clearly failing at both those, yes it don't help because the coaching team he chose are pitiful but the buck stops with him on the field, above that we have idiots that's for sure, but many of you were lauding the signing of Tielemans and Santos and Cunha, Mbuemo and Lammens last year, all of which I don't feel are at the level required for United and expressed that, but of course you all jump on bandwagon of blaming McGuire, Dalot, Rashford even Bruno and try to defend an awful CB in Martinez, poor striker when he is even fit Sesko the list goes on, this is an awful squad with low level manager and even worse coaches and a part owner only interested in one thing and that ain't football.

Many have the romantic idea of a 5 or 10 year plan, that's all pie in the sky in 2026, it's a we want now world and rightly so, so managers every 2 years is fine, long as they are elite top of tree managers, that's the shelf life anyway of the intense atmosphere they creat, so no problem there.
But of course elite managers cost money and want more, that's where we fall down

So we will continue the skin flint attitude all whilst SJR is in situ, I said at the time he was the worst thing that could happen to United and guess what the usual crowd shot that down too

Now look at the mess and getting worse game by game, we may win a big game here or there but that's about it.

11 Oct 2026 17:37:48
I do feel we have good quality players in the squad, we also have some players not good enough, Maguire prime example. I do think a competent Manger who can get these guys working on the pitch, pick the right team will yield good results. Heaven is better that Maguire, Yoro too. Mount will do way more work in midfield than Tilemans who is really the same type as Bruno but not at his level. It's about getting to right balance and work rare for me, quality is there that was evident at the end of last season from these same players and manager.

The entire tempo of our play and work rate has dropped off a cliff donce last year. Really need to look at the formation for me especially without a number 9. Maybe a 4-4-2 or 4-5-1. He needs to change things ASAP. Or change the manager, Conte would make changes, has the experience but volatile and probably won't suit or board. Naglesman is another option and has worked with Vitell before in Germany. Another season of frustrated fans l fear.

11 Oct 2026 19:33:05
Redcon1,

There are rumours that Vivell might end up at BM. However, if Nagelsmann was appointed, I'd imagine he would stay.

My gut feeling is that Berrada and Wilcox are two peas in a pod. Wilcox in my opinion is quite supercilious. I'd imagine that behind the scenes, is quite an disruptive influence.

11 Oct 2026 10:30:41
6 points from 6 games which have included:

1.) 2 promoted teams
2.) 2 games where we played 11 vs 10
3.) 2 teams which started the game bottom of the table.

The rest of the fixtures in October/November look tough and being back in the champions league means we don't have the benefit of those misleading Europa league wins that used to trick fans that we were having an okay-ish season.

11 Oct 2026 11:31:54
DSG if we break down all our games we've been awful in all of them bar the second half against Ipswich.

Hull lost and completely outplayed
Ipswich poor first half should have been 2 down but blew them away 2nd half
Everton poor
City woeful against 10 men for over 1 hour
Fulham totally outplayed us, lucky to get 1 point
Spurs should have been out of sight at half time so 1 point was least they deserved.

We could be bottom on 2 points, it's been shocking. No tactics, no plan, no energy, no fight, no clue.

11 Oct 2026 14:44:33
When you buy mid table or lower players what you expect

Tielemans or Santos never the required level
Cunha lack of pace, Mbuemo probably good squad player
Lammens not recovered from disaster World Cup

No striker

Carrick never elite or even close manager

Evans & Woodgate not good enough coaches

It's a ExPlayer retirement home, because they are cheap!

We are run on a shoestring by Ineos, SJR tries to do everything on the cheap, look at Nice FC, look at Grenadier vehicles, heaven knows who he will find to build the stadium.

11 Oct 2026 14:59:34
Mr O'Reilly?

11 Oct 2026 15:36:52
Problem is that is a never ending cycle. We don't qualify for UCL This season then our big defensive overhaul will consist of buying players who aren't good enough because we can't attract the top talent. Then we r back here again with the same issue.

11 Oct 2026 16:07:02
Very good, Patrick ?.

13 Oct 2026 11:28:02
Brilliant Patrick.

11 Oct 2026 09:41:17
I've said it once and I'll say it again, until our owners prioritise on pitch success then we as a club are destined to remain in this doom loop. It starts at the top and filters down through all levels of the club to the players, u can see it, that lack of drive to be the best.

Berrada and Wilcox throw out buzzwords but they're just that, there to appease the masses. Manchester United are a business entity not a football club, this new stadium is solely to increase revenue and expand our portfolio rather than be the home of Europes elite football club.

City's owners cheated that's been clear but at least they did it to win, they wanted to be the best, win it all and become the best. They did it the wrong way but at least that was their ambition. United are sadly happy to meander along living off past glories while raking in money to clear the owners debt. I'm not sure how it changes or if it will but what's clear is that it needs to start with a clear focus and unwavering aim WIN!

11 Oct 2026 10:09:50
The last window and the appointment of carrick tells you everything you need to know about the ambition of the club.
It will be interesting when they sack carrick who they go for, conte - history of winning at the top. But most likely will go for a mckenna or a Southgate.