Manchester United rumours 2

13 Apr 2025 09:33:58
Reports that onana is out of the squad today. RA made the right call, let's just hope altay doesn't drop a stinker now too lol.

13 Apr 2025 13:04:24
100% the correct decision. Little surprised he’s not in the bench. Although RA is playing it as rotation and not him being dropped.

Fingers crossed that’s the last time we see him playing for the club.

13 Apr 2025 13:24:15
He's not in matchday squad.

13 Apr 2025 13:30:33
Byindir starts with Tom Heaton on the bench.

13 Apr 2025 23:20:47
So he had a stinker too. is it the keeper or the players in front, or both.

14 Apr 2025 05:43:34
Onana will be back in for Thursday, mores the pity, but these days number 2 don’t look great and not been used enough over the season, to get to any level.

Plus RA needs to sell Onana that’s much easier with him not sitting on the bench….

15 Apr 2025 18:40:21
Did he have a stinker? He made one mistake that I could see, Onana has made about 30 mistakes, Altay should be number one for the rest of the season.

16 Apr 2025 07:04:44
Some would say that statistically Altay has a 100% stinker per EPL game ratio.

09 Apr 2025 22:26:12
I'm sure everybody has seen the Liam Delap links over the past couple of weeks. Well, the latest update is United are likely to miss out on Delap unless they win the Europa as he wants European football. The rumours are saying Delap prefers a move to Chelsea instead.

{Ed007's Note - I never buy this "wants CL/European football" mantra, come up to Celtic for £30k a week and play in the CL, what they mean is they want the £250k a week type wages top CL teams pay.

10 Apr 2025 07:57:06
In some cases I can understand these stories especially with players of a certain age or if they have been competing on the CL with there current club (someone like Osihmen maybe its an influence) . Players should also consider the life of their contract they sign, if not year 1 what is it likely to be in year 2/ 3.
However, for someone like Delap he needs to be considering what is the best place for his next development not what European football that team will be in. If the two points align great, but being second/ third fiddle for a CL team would not be the right move.
Plus as Ed says, quite often wages can appease players!

10 Apr 2025 08:44:41
Playing second fiddle to a more established striker is exactly what the lad needs. He still has a lot to learn, and could do without the pressure and expectation that being first choice at a club like ours would bring. Likewise, we need a proven goalscorer, not another young player with a lot of potential. I think Chelsea would be a much better fit for him.

10 Apr 2025 09:59:03
We have to accept that currently we are not a top side that everyone just wants to join like we were under SAF.

We will have to sell the club and the project to players to get them to join us.

It's about what we can offer them as much as what they offer us. Maybe we can't offer European football maybe we can. But that isn't the only reason a player joins a club. Money is another factor, but we have to be careful here not to overstretch ourselves like we have done in the past. Being able to offer higher wages doesn't mean that you should.

For us however the real selling point over a club like Chelsea has to be our record of developing young players.

We can point to Mainoo and Garnacho who have come up through the academy, and to Yoro, Dorgu and Heaven who we have signed recently and given plenty of opportunities to them.

While Chelsea have gained a reputation of stockpiling young players in recent seasons. Signing many of them and giving very few a real chance to play regularly. Chelsea have signed 41 players in the last three seasons, of which maybe 7 can be considered regular starters for them. That means only 17% of the players they sign become regular first team players.

Would Delap be first choice at Chelsea or will it be Jackson once he's back from injury?

Sow the seed of doubt, several young and promising players have joined Chelsea recently to see their career stall.

If the rumours of his release clause are true and he could be available for as little as 30m then it would be an absolute no brainer for us to do what we can to sign him this summer. Young, talented, English, EPL proven and with potential to become a genuine top player.

He is a player who could join us and with better players around him could easily score 15-20 league goals next season (he has 12 for Ipswich this season already) .

While if bought for 30m then even if he doesn't step up to the level we need he'd either be a solid squad option or we could sell him without making a loss, we might even make a profit.

This is the kind of sensible transfer that we have been crying out for over the past decade. Normally we spend twice as much on either a declining or unproven player who ultimately doesn't live up to the hype. We have to accept that the fee paid can both weigh heavily on the player and raises the expectations of fans to often unreasonable and ultimately unattainable levels. Meaning the player is often considered a flop even when they've been okay. Take Maguire for example, he's an average player who is fine in the right set up. If we paid 35m for him he wouldn't be considered the flop he is often referred to.

Højlund I think is suffering from the fee paid for him. He is a decent player with a lot of potential. His finishing is elite, and his channel runs are great, his hold up and link play is poor. But he was 20 years old when we signed him, he was always at least 3 or 4 years away from being the finished article. Yet for the fee paid and due to a lack of other options he became the first choice and expected to be able to carry the goalscoring burden (for a team that in recent times have really struggled to create good chances for our strikers) .

He's not a bad player, he's just young and has a lot of developing to do.

Delap ticks pretty much all the boxes for what we need both on the pitch and in terms of financial restrictions. The only box he doesn't tick is experience. He doesn't have 3 or 4 seasons of performing at a high level. Yet if he did he'd probably cost 80-100m given that he'd be 24/ 25 years old and English. The kind of money we don't have to spend on a striker this summer.

I've said before, I think the ideal solution to our striker issue this summer is to sign both Delap and Jonathan David which we can do for around 30-40m apparently (with David being on a free) . That gives us two strikers to rotate around up front, one young but with EPL experience, the other entering their peak and with a track record of scoring 20 goals a season for the past 4 years. I'd then loan out Højlund so the he can develop and improve without the spotlight of playing for United. Then we have options the following summer of maybe selling him if we can find a buyer or bringing him back and rotating him up front if he's ready. I'd probably also send Chido out on loan to the championship to play regularly at senior level. He's too good for youth football, but not ready to play regularly for us. Give him a loan and he might come back ready to be a squad option for us.

10 Apr 2025 10:18:19
Maguire would be considered a flop if we paid 50p for him! And to be fair Hoijlund isn’t elite in his finishing. That’s a stretch of the imagination.

10 Apr 2025 11:09:58
Keefy, Maguire is an average EPL defender, he'd be first choice for most teams outside of the ECL places. He has some strengths and some obvious weaknesses, if you have the right set up/ partner for him then that limits those issues.

He's not a player I'd have ever signed and I was strongly against it when we were linked with him, and not happy when we signed him.

However, while he hasn't been a great player for us, I think the criticism that he receives at times is over the top. Because we paid a ridiculous fee for him he was expected to be our saviour, and he was never capable of being that.

As for Højlund's finishing last season he had the highest shot conversion rate in Europe's top five leagues. At one point he was scoring with over 60% of his shots. Most elite strikers rarely get above 30%.

So I think it's fair to say his finishing is elite. The problem has always been the fact that he gets so few shots.

Elite goalscorers tend to have around 4 shots a game on average, typically scoring around 1 goal a game, with a shot conversion rate of around 25%.

Højlund was averaging 1 shot a game, and scored 7 in 10 games where he had a total of 12 shots across those 10 games, giving him a conversion rate of above 60%. This dropped a little by the end of the season, but he still finished with a conversion rate of above 40%.

If he can get his shot numbers up to 3 or 4 shots a game then he'll likely start scoring a goal a game, which would make him an elite goalscorer.

Last season I put the issue down to a lack of chances being made for him. With players like Rashford, Antony and Garnacho all looking to shoot first and only looking to pass as a last resort when they cannot shoot. While I still feel that as a team we don't create enough shooting opportunities for our strikers, I have seen issues in Højlund's game where he isn't consistently in the best positions to get shooting opportunities.

Now however much of that is down to him and an area of his game he needs to develop and how much is down to how he is being asked to play in Amorim's system who knows.

Højlund's current skill set is very much suited to playing on the shoulder of the last man and making runs into the channels, using his pace to get away from his man and finishing well past the keeper.

Yet a Amorim's system demands his striker to both be able to do that but to also drop a little deeper, hold up the ball and link play. These are things that Højlund currently struggles with. His touch is inconsistent when under pressure, his passing is average and despite being a big guy he loses most of his physical battles even though he does it shy away from them.

This has led to him dropping deeper than his natural game would have him, getting involved in battles with defenders and unfortunately losing them either due to a poor touch under pressure or being out muscled. This has also meant that he has often been too deep when we have a breakaway opportunity and he hasn't been as effective at running the channels.

I also think the pressure and spotlight on him this season has been too much, and that seems to have impacted his confidence. He certainly doesn't look as happy or comfortable playing this season as he did last.

In a different team with a different set up he'd be a great young player. The question now is whether he can develop his game to the level needed to fit into Amorim's system or not. It's a tricky juncture, does he try and round out his skill set to become a more complete striker, or does he focus on what he's good at to become truly elite within a specific role. Lots of young players have tired to become more rounded but ended up as a jack of all trades but master of none type player.

That's why I'd loan him out. Send him to a team that suits his natural game, let him build up his confidence and form again. Allow him to develop his strengths as clearly trying to improve his weaknesses hasn't really worked. Allow him to become that great counter attacking striker.

Then he can either come back and be an option off the bench later in games when we need a goal and the game has become more open and end to end, or we could sell him and recoup all of his book value meaning we don't make a loss. You also never know who might be in charge by that point. I expect Amorim to have a much stronger season next year with a full pre-season and a much more suited squad, but if he doesn't he might well be sacked and the new manager might set up his team in a way that more suits Højlund.

10 Apr 2025 11:30:04
Nah. Elite strikers do it consistently. Not even close. Again skewed statistics based on a very very low sample rate can make anyone look elite.

If he has the same conversion rate in a few years time, then fair enough.

But don't hold your breath.

10 Apr 2025 13:50:50
Hojlund has regressed since Ruud and Macarthy departed. No one is developing him now and his positional sense has deserted him as its not being reinforced week in week out. I wouldn't sell, but I would get someone he can learn from, so in that sense ypu need a proven top player, Osimhen or Kane are the only options who can cut ot straight away, Delay is only learning himself whilst David if available is only French proven and that's a worry for me.

The crux of our problems are in transition and creation. Sort out the spine in the centre, and upfront, don't meddle too much (this constant need for rebuilding is a smoke screen, it's 4 players away from being a squad thay fits Ruben's system and it's time to deliver next season.

By the way, anyone else notice Rashford lose the ball for PSGs second last night, and then amble back without a care in the world. If he had done that at United as he always did we would be be crucified in the press but at Villa, not so much a murmur.

I wonder when Amorim is going to create a siege mentality around all the negativity and get into the players heads that the media and the Premier League are all ABUs and leverage that to our advantage.

I hope when he gets the right players for his setup he puts the hammer down and really sets our stall out. I've seen some great fast passing link up play in transition fail due to poor creativity, poor vision of obvious passes and really poor movement by the forwards.

Get that right and we will be properly dangerous as a unit.

10 Apr 2025 18:52:03
Delap more suited for Chamionship, than Champions league.

11 Apr 2025 05:16:03
That’s a real stretch Rasmus finishing is elite! Your skewed figures are from games against very very lowly teams in europa league!
Plus he is useless with his head, he got delayed reaction always on his heels, reacts a split second late on everything, certainly can’t hold the ball up and the elite finishing you mention, he misses the target more than hits it!
Moans and groans at everyone else always there fault, never gambles
Very poor striker, I don’t buy this young crap either and will develop, he shows no signs of anything to develop!
Another play with stats I’m afraid.

11 Apr 2025 07:24:30
Rasmus is not elite at anything. His touch is dreadful.

13 Apr 2025 08:01:26
Shappy

Hojland elite and great, words I don’t associate with the player I see.
Then you say “his current skill set is very much suited to playing on the shoulder of the last man and making runs into the channels, using his pace to get away from his man and finishing well past the keeper. ”. That sounds like fantasy description from a computer game to be quite frank. We never see him doing it.

Hojland lacks confidence right now but has glaring inadequacies and we are not seeing improvements. It was said he had a very big ego when he arrived, maybe he reads that it isn’t his fault, just the way he being asked to play, so it’s not him. Oh woe is me the rest of the team are not putting chances on a plate for me. That said they did on Thursday and he totally fluffed it, miss hit it didn’t even put it on target.

Fact is Shappy, Harry came on up front and looked more dangerous in 10 minutes than Hojland looked all season. Even Zirkzee created more space for himself. I think we have to face it that Hojland may not be United standard, the shirt maybe too much and he may do better in a different league.

15 Apr 2025 00:08:05
So Shappy, Utd can point out that Chelsea have bought 41 players but only 7 have become regulars. But United have bought 2 young ST’s in Hojlund and Zirkzee and both are complete flops. Both get zero service from your attacking players which is unlikely to change next year. Utd’s ’success’ with young players is Garnacho who the club want to flog, Mainoo who’s fallen off completely this year (and doesn’t seem to have a place in RA’s system), Yoro and Dorgu have been mixed performances and Hayden has played twice. Hardly a ringing endorsement for ‘record of developing young players’.

15 Apr 2025 14:23:40
Hoijlund and elite don't belong in the same sentence pure fantasy Shappy not only is he the worst striker in the prem i'd say he's comfortably the worst overall player inthe league.

24 Mar 2025 00:19:39
Ed001,

A quick question for you, can Chelsea play Utd a fee for terminating their obligation to buy Sancho?

I wouldn't have thought it would be that easy or straight forward.

{Ed001's Note - yes.}

24 Mar 2025 01:49:49
Cheers Ed001.

{Ed001's Note - very welcome.}

24 Mar 2025 05:46:54
Don’t worry about Sancho, sign up Pirlo……. you either got it or you not!

24 Mar 2025 08:19:53
Sounds like they can pay £5m to break the clause, there does seem to be a danger then for them on clubs doing future similar deals with them though but they probably won’t care as there is no way they will want to keep Sancho. Hopefully we can still sell him this summer though.

24 Mar 2025 09:49:36
The irony is that technically, Sancho would work very well in Amorim’s system as one of the No10s. However, he’s very much burned his bridges with the club and fans and needs to be shifted asap, and the fact Chelsea want rid too speaks volumes. Just doesn’t have the mental strength to be a top level pro sadly. that's not a criticism, just fact. he's 25 now, so time to grow up and be an example to others.

24 Mar 2025 11:22:22
Eric, no he's not. Sure he can play as a no 10, but remember the training video which RA asked every player to run back all their might when they lost the ball? No way sancho's going to run like that.

24 Mar 2025 11:23:07
GDS2 yeah The Athletic had a report in the last couple of days that Chelsea could pay 5m to break the clause. It also did say that their intention is to keep him and that it's Mudryk that they want to ship on, but then again they would say that now wouldn't they. His output for them has been poor, but ultimately I think it'll depend on what wages he's willing to accept to play for them. There's a talented player there. He just doesn't seem to want to put in the effort.

24 Mar 2025 14:32:09
If Chelsea don't want him I would rather we paid up the final year of his contract and sent him on his way.

Surely Sancho realises that the gravy train is about to end for him.

24 Mar 2025 15:57:20
Not got the physicality or intensity for PL.

Hopefully will do well in European club.

24 Mar 2025 21:29:22
If we get 5m from Chelsea and his book value is 15m i think we will easily find a taker that will risk 15 m. Bd and bayer leverkusen are both said to be interested.
He imo is not a problem anymore. No matter how it shakes up we shouldn't incur a loss on his book value which is key.

24 Mar 2025 21:41:40
Maybe an e-sports team will sign him to play fifa from his sofa?

24 Mar 2025 21:49:27
Imagine the insult, Sancho would literally be the first player in history a club has paid not to sign 🤦‍♂️.

24 Mar 2025 23:27:24
On the something here, maybe a lot of clubs would pay us not to seel them our dross.

25 Mar 2025 12:36:49
I think we should move forward with the idea of the Sancho Cup.

Heard it somewhere online. One off match between United and Chelsea at Wembley after the season ends. Loser gets Sancho. It’s the fairest way. Imagine how hard players would fight to win?

23 Mar 2025 19:12:47
If attainable, both from budget and desire from player, who would consider Frimpong from Leverkusen?
Would retaining Dalot as his understudy be the worst thing in the world for another season?
Mazraoui can fill one of the 2-3 CB roles that will need filling this summer.

We upgrade a crucial position and fill a CB roles for a smallish outlay (34m)

23 Mar 2025 21:55:00
I would imagine there’s very little chance of the player wanting the move.

From what I’ve seen, the RWB spot is way down the list of priorities.

24 Mar 2025 00:16:29
Frimpong would be a brilliant signing. Utd would be way down his list of clubs this summer.

Id imagine that he may end up at Liverpool should TAA leave.

24 Mar 2025 00:28:02
Appreciate that Fallguy, but look at it as solving one of the CB roles instead.
I think Mazraoui is a bit of a utility player to be honest.

24 Mar 2025 05:48:07
Agree jimbo, Mazzouri in any decent team, is not a starter but back up, it just shows how far we fallen.

24 Mar 2025 07:30:54
Lots of stories/ runours around that the reason why RWB has been pushed down the list of priorities is because RA sees Amad as playing at RWB, or at least an option there.

With so many new players needed, might have to go another season with what we’ve already got in that spot.

24 Mar 2025 08:23:56
Amad has definitely been our best right wing back this season, I think he is much better there than in either of the 10 roles so I would be fine with him there next season and probably Dalot as cover for both left and right although I’d prefer that to be someone else. Mazraoui has proved to be a very good player, unfortunately his best role is at right back which we don’t need in this system but he can comfortably play on either side of the back 3 and has had a very good first season, a bargain at the price we paid. Unfortunately I don’t think he’s a good enough right wing back but not really his fault, his attacking numbers have never been phenomenal. I really like him as a player though, very comfortable on the ball and so can be a good asset moving forward.

24 Mar 2025 10:41:46
Agree on a few points here, I really like Frimpong and think he'd be great, can play pretty much anywhere on the right. However, I think he'll be off to a CL team, and secondly I feel we've already got a cracking similar player in Diallo. The trouble is you can't legislate for injuries. I feel any of our players can be injured and out of action for months on end at any point.

24 Mar 2025 21:40:03
Personally I believe Diallo is wasted at RWB. He was only playing there to plug a hole. He needs to go further forward, to be a constant threat. He is not a defender, so will end up being exposed and then disliked by the United faithful who turn on players.

25 Mar 2025 04:46:52
Have to agree yes Amad can fill in at right wing back, but he is not a defender by any means and once up against much higher level teams, they will tear him apart…… he needs to be further up the pitch to use his tenacious and full of running never give up attitude, yes that’s ok for wing back but you also need to be able to defend, which I feel is a tool he don’t really possess at an high level and very lightweight too.

He is great let’s not squeeze him in a position that does not really get the best out of him.

25 Mar 2025 10:22:04
I think Amad was superb in the RWB when he played there and definitely best option as a rounded performer from the current squad.
I imagine we will retain Dalot as an option for next year.
Looking at other options we do have Diego Leon joining in the summer so along with Dorgu we have the start of a good group.
I have read that Mantato is well thought of in the u18's and is viewed as a potential RWB in a similar switch that Amorim did with Quenda.
Priorities may be elsewhere first.

25 Mar 2025 19:03:21
Sorry Brad, I disagree, he wasn't the best option. We had no left sided players fit, so the better options were played out of position and he filled a hole. He played brilliantly when asked to do so, and I think because he was so good there, it the rest of the team was so disjointed, people are accepting he is a solution for that position. My opinion is he is not to be played there as a preferred position within the team, he would be a weakness and his positive attributes would be restricted compared to if he were played further forward.

A good solution to get through periods of injuries and suspensions, but not a go to.

25 Mar 2025 20:49:17
I’d be surprised if we don’t see him play there fairly often. If we sign a decent new no.10 to play alongside Bruno it might even be the only way he gets in the team.
Of course, it’s good to have a few players who can play multiple positions, he’s been great wherever he’s put but agree 10 is his best position but all I’m trying to get at is the original post, like Frimpong his adaptability gives lots of options.

26 Mar 2025 08:08:52
Agreed spenno. Just feel we'd be missing a beat at least not trying for a player like Frimpong.

16 Mar 2025 15:28:08
It seems very likely Onana will be out injured tonight, he's having very late fitness test.

Altay Bayindir is also out, with no return date known.

Tom Heaton also out of action.

If Onana fails test then down to an Academy player, Dermot Mee probably favourite. Other option is Elyh Harrison, seen him quite a few times and always been impressed, only just 19 though.

We'll find out all in a few hours.

16 Mar 2025 16:04:00
From what I’m seeing it’s looking like Mee if Onana doesn’t make it. I’ve not really seen much of the youth keepers, but many are saying Harrison is the better keeper.

16 Mar 2025 16:28:12
Think I would agree Fallguy, think Harrison is better but can see Mee getting the gig as he is a bit more experienced. Hopefully, whoever is picked will not be over extended but must not dismiss Leicester too readily as strange thing's can happen.
Do however expect a pretty convincing win.

16 Mar 2025 18:32:16
Never mind. Onana starts.

Was kind of looking forward to seeing one of the youngsters in goal though.

17 Mar 2025 18:57:40
What’s wrong with Bayindir and when is he back?

18 Mar 2025 15:39:50
Eric, the issue with Bayindir is unknown and also his return date is unknown, a bit strange really.

14 Mar 2025 07:19:45
All the reports of a deal being ready to go for Sporting's right wing back Geovany Quenda were way off. He's just signed for Chelsea.

14 Mar 2025 09:48:08
Unless Chelsea are going to 4-4-2 he makes little sense for them. He's either an out-and-out winger or a RWB. I don't think he'll play RB and wouldn't get in ahead of Gusto anyway. It's a pity for us, but I also struggle to understand it from the player's perspective.

14 Mar 2025 11:23:45
Read that he wants to play as a winger. And I think Chelsea just like collecting wingers. They seem to have loads of them.

14 Mar 2025 16:21:12
They seem to collect wingers with patchy performances. Thought they were after Jesus Rodriguez.

15 Mar 2025 15:06:37
Oddly I think another year in Portugal is best for him, he is very young being just 17.

I'd imagine Chelsea see him as a winger, which is where he played most of his youth career. It was Amorim who played him as a wingback, and since he left he's played quite a bit as a winger for Sporting.

Hugely talented player, and depending on how he continues to develop at Sporting over the next 18 months he could be a real hit at Chelsea.

It's a shame as he looked like one of those players who seemed a great fit for us with Amorim and the clubs seemingly new transfer strategy.

But we move. If Yoro and/ or Heaven becomes a regular starter and top player for us will we really be that worried about missing out on Branthwaite last summer? Probably not.

We don't get Quenda this summer, maybe we sign someone else who becomes a top start. Maybe it gives a youth player a chance in the first team and they become a star.

16 Mar 2025 19:35:21
I genuinely believe that Amorim sees Amad as the RWB, therefore I’d expect a 10 to be purchased before a RWB in the summer.

23 Mar 2025 10:10:47
Downsie, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest to see Amad start as our first choice RWB next season.

Personally I think his best performances have actually come from the wingback position rather than inside forward position. The only slight concern I'd have with him as a wingback is whether he has the athleticism to play the position for 90 minutes twice a week for an extended period of time. He's a hard worker, an intelligent presser, good defensively and one of our most creative players going forward. But sometimes in games when he's played as a wingback when he's bombed forward 50 yards with the ball he looks a little out of breath. He's phenomenal over short distances, but over those longer distances I wonder if he has the stamina. Although this is something he can work on and build up.

After missing out on Quenda I highly doubt we'll sign a RWB this summer. Quenda was too big of a talent to pass up on, but with Amad, Dalot, Mazraoui and even Dorgu able to play RWB it's not a position of dier need. Plus we have young players like Kamason and Mantato in our academy who could well step up soon. I know they are young, but Amorim gave Quenda his chance when he was 16, and he was a regular by the age of 17.

I know a lot of people will be unhappy with Dalot potentially being a regular next season. Yet he has all the attributes to be a very good RWB. I think he has suffered this season by playing at a LWB. He can cover as a LB, but he isn't a naturally attacking player which I think you need to be to play on the opposite side to your stronger foot. The fact that he has done so without complaining and has always given his best shows he is a great character and certainly not a player we should be looking to move on.

Personally, I think we probably need another LWB more than a RWB right now. Neither Malacia or Shaw are suited or likely to be fit. Leaving only Dorgu in our current squad. We've signed Diego Leon for the summer, but it's a big step up from South American football to the EPL and he is very young. He will likely need time to adapt. Harry Amass is the only player in our Academy who looks likely to be able to step up into the first team in the LWB position. Yet he does seem more suited to LB than LWB, so might take a little time to adapt to the position as well as step up to that higher level.

LWB having one first teamer an academy player and a young signing who has never played in Europe looks pretty slim compared to Amad, Dalot, Mazraoui, Dorgu if needed and two academy players at RWB. Although I highly doubt we'll see another LWB this summer also.

I wonder if there is a left footed CB out there that is capable of playing LB/ LWB that we could sign for back up/ rotation. With Martinez's injury, and with Evans and Lindelof certain to leave, along with possibly Maguire (unlikely I think), we need another CB, ideally one suited to playing as LCB. Heaven has looked good there but is very young and will have ups and downs, while there is no guarantee that Martinez will come back the same player. Even if he does can he stay fit in the EPL playing the way he does? With MdL, Maguire, Yoro and Mazraoui we have plenty of options for CB and RCB. Is there a player in a similar mould to Luke Shaw (able to play CB and LB/ LWB, not fat) who can stay fit and could come in to add quality in depth and competition for places. Personally that's what I'd be looking for in defence this summer. I feel that we actually need to focus most of the money on a striker, a creative midfielder and a box to box, high energy midfielder.

26 Feb 2025 14:52:46
Headline on Goal:
"Manchester United cult hero Federico Macheda has sensationally offered his services to Ruben Amorim amid the Red Devils' goalscoring woes. " 😂.

26 Feb 2025 15:26:24
🤣🤣🤣

First Pogba, now Macheda.
I'm just waiting for Fellaini to come out of retirement to save us.

26 Feb 2025 15:59:34
🤣🤣🤣.

26 Feb 2025 17:39:30
Haha give him his dues, scored a few at Birmingham and is banging in a few this year in Greece 😂.

27 Feb 2025 16:38:04
Has more goal contributions than Hojlund and Zirkzee combined this year.

27 Feb 2025 18:25:33
OG has more goals than Hojlund this season. I have to say he looked woeful last night.

27 Feb 2025 23:48:40
Hoijlund should be a lesson well learned. Not to buy potential at inflated prices when we need the finished article.

04 Mar 2025 18:36:31
Højlund has ability, and isn't an awful player by any stretch.

The issue mostly seems to be his confidence is totally shot to pieces right now.

He isn't the finished article, and there are clearly parts of his game he needs to work on. But you have to expect that when you sign a 20 year old. The problem is that he should be learning off of a top level, experienced player not having to lead the line every single game.

05 Mar 2025 08:23:48
100%. Personally love the lad, the energy he puts in. Zirkzee too, lots of potential, but there’s that word again. I think 3-4-3 is too isolating for a young striker, 3-5-2 has always been my preferred formation, but that won’t change it seems so let’s back the team instead of bagging the kids before they’ve had a chance.

26 Feb 2025 12:01:53
So the club are planning 2 lucrative friendly post season in Asia. Aren't we also going on preseason to America again in the summer? I'm sure the glazers are just rubbing their hands at all the extra revenue coming into their pockets.

26 Feb 2025 13:12:28
Think it’s needed going off what’s happening with the club and tbh the players could do with the extra games

They don’t need a rest they haven’t worked hard enough all enough to warrant one

Not a big fan of what Jim and that are doing atm with the club in terms of the finances but I feel there being made the score goats for the poor running of the club by the glazers

How we have let the finances get like this is ridiculous.

26 Feb 2025 14:14:33
With the finances as there are it is not a surprise they are doing this and would expect to generate millions off the back of it as well as future fans etc.

No international tournaments and we are not part of the club world cup so of all the years this is the one to tap into.

26 Feb 2025 14:22:19
Sjr hasn’t been great in a number of things but the current financial mess is totally on the glazers. They must be loving it, taking a back seat, raking in their dividends and getting zero backlash. No wonder they have zero intention to sell.

26 Feb 2025 15:50:36
They are not taking dividends at the moment. The family were all assuaged by the partial sale of shares to SJR.

28 Feb 2025 01:52:06
shawthing

They are prohibited from taking dividends at the moment because of accounting rules. It is not because the Glazers got all that money from SJR share purchase and feel they don’t need the money.
Question is with SJR cuts to bring the club back to profit, whether, at the first moment when the leeches can take dividends, will they take them and will SJR take them?

28 Feb 2025 15:12:58
They have let the club pay out £1billion in interest payments, they should pay that back to the club if they had any sense of feeling for the club.

Trouble is we all know they don’t and will leach off the club until nothing is left and then walk away.

It still boggles the mind how owners are allowed to do this to clubs.

02 Mar 2025 10:18:51
No business man/ woman would do that and pay back dividends why should they, SJR will be doing exactly same soon as he can!
You seem to be confusing a business with a charity!

25 Feb 2025 17:41:14
Christopher Vivell has been appointed permanent Director of Recruitment and has signed a multi-year deal, (on a reduced wage apparently) . He joined last summer on a short term contract.

The 38-year-old will lead United's global recruitment operation, scouting structure, and emerging talent.

He played a part in bringing Sekou Kone to the club and he is doing very well, so more like this needed.

25 Feb 2025 18:30:39
What's is salary? Are we sure he is not being overpaid? Do we really need him? Could someone else not take on his role ensuring that we are not needlessly overspending as we have some many cutbacks to make.

And what would we have to pay him if we needed to terminate his contract? All things to consider considering SJRs track record.

25 Feb 2025 19:09:28
He'll chip in in the canteen too, don't worry.

25 Feb 2025 21:58:26
I think the aim is to hire a recruitment special-ist who has links and connections to help identify and bring talent to the squad rather than have an additional 60 scouts paid to be working around the world.

26 Feb 2025 06:05:43
Biggest thing in is favour is he brings a packed lunch everyday apparently, doesn't need a desk and chair quite happy to work from his own laptop from local Starbucks. Obviously Sir Skint said he s the very man we need.

26 Feb 2025 07:33:15
Positive news and a footballing man being hired with a decent track record.

The club is clearly going down the route of bringing in young potential stars rather than big money wasted those wanting a pay cheque. It’s what we all wanted wasn’t it?

26 Feb 2025 09:15:02
It is Eric and I’m happy about that. Hopefully we can remove a lot of the current squad so they don’t bring down the new players with their poor attitudes and methods. Just watch the outrage though if we sign 3-4 young players who the online mafia have never heard off, they will go nuts.

26 Feb 2025 12:45:13
Tim

In a nutshell, that's the problem with too many United fans - we were spoilt so much by the Fergie era that, for so many, buying lesser-known names is something of a trigger.

There were many discontented murmurings about Dorgu, but he's arrived and made his presence known through his performances - actually matching his talent with effort - that's a much more common theme amongst the lesser-known.

Yet, you watch, when he has a bad game, which will happen, out will come the nodules of foolishness bleating on about how we should have gone for Mendes, should have gone for Davies, should have gone for Theo. These people need to finally peel their desperate fingertips away from the backs of chairs surrounding the top table.

For those on here who do really struggle to understand the point -
WE ARE NOT AT THE TOP TABLE AND HAVEN'T BEEN FOR QUITE SOME TIME, STOP EMBARRASSING YOURSELVES!

As for the redundancies, it's a horrible course of action because the human factor of such decision-making has to, ultimately, be succeeded by operational needs. Not for a second though do I think that SJR will be anywhere near the rooms hosting these conversations because the human factor is simply not a legit concern for him.

My view is rather a simple one. Restructuring a business to survive a financial maelstrom will always demand the loss of operational Jetsam. The club is in massive debt that needs to be addressed. It is unfortunate that the Glasers have taken the p*** to such an extent, but it is what it is. Beyond the debt, the facilities are a joke now and the ticks that were present in the boxes have long since faded. We need fresh ink, but we must declutter the office to find it.

I know people want the executive employees to be dealt with in similar fashion, but let's be real - a modern workforce for any sized business requires a strategy for progress and, when wading through the wash, excess weight needs to be shed sensibly.

I don't like the redundancies, but I don't know the full picture of this restructuring process so I don't know where exactly we are on the scale. Therefore, I concede that a businessperson with greater in-depth knowledge of the needs and the must will have identified the need for this course of action.

It's crap, it's terrible, it's all the things people are saying, but maybe, just maybe, it's a necessary measure.

26 Feb 2025 15:56:39
Questions should be asked to the glazers, where is all the money they got from selling there shares, why haven’t they reinvested it into the club

Instead ineos are getting the brunt of it. some is probably right no one likes to see people lose there jobs espically when we have the likes of rashford, sancho casimro still on the wages they are on

But again that’s no fault of the club for giving them the wages

The debt is a joke, should not be allowed to continue to let it build and build and just pay of interest payments they should be make to clear the debt

Imagine the uproar if they were taking dividends still.

Won’t be long till they are taking those again.

27 Feb 2025 13:39:26
SJR was stupid enough to invest for minority share that’s not down to glazers nor should it be and why would they reinvest inunited.

28 Feb 2025 01:58:27
Bolger
You said ask the Glazers where all the money is from the SJR share purchase. In their bank accounts along with every other cent they made and every other cent from before their father bought the club. They have never put one single cent into the club and are not going to now. The SJR deal brokering cost £30m so the Glazers could pocket over £1Bn, the leeches didn’t even pay that, they stuck it on the club, so the club paid for the transaction. £30m.

19 Feb 2025 12:45:06
Figures out. 10 mill total comp to eth and his staff and 4 mill to ashworth. its better than i thought and lot less than what ole and his staff got paid.

19 Feb 2025 14:36:14
£14m. Totally wasted.

And we still don’t know who’s in charge at Utd doing what behind the scenes.

19 Feb 2025 16:15:06
Wilcox and Barrada, ex-city guys running the show. Brailford also very involved.

Believe it or not eth going was inevitable. But paying to get Ashworth in and then dismissing him is a bit of head scratcher. By all accounts he is a top guy in that type of job given his track record.

19 Feb 2025 16:57:57
It’s clear they ignored his expertise over the manager situation making his role untenable. Pretty fundamental part of the scope of responsibility for a DoF.

I have zero faith in Wilcox or Berrada to make the righ calls. Or Ratcliffe or the Glazers for that matter.

This is not our club.

19 Feb 2025 17:52:17
Was ashworth responsible for Ten Hag staying? and the subsequent 200m investment. Considering our current plight I’d imagine we had high hopes for that money.

20 Feb 2025 08:32:17
Ashworth did not want Amorim. I agree with him. he will get sacked.

20 Feb 2025 09:42:01
Nothing surprising in the accounts, nothing we didn’t already know if you look at the accounts every quarter and read the news.

20 Feb 2025 17:43:49
Rumours going round today that utd are seriously considering sacking Ruben. I mean wtf 😳 listen I'm at an all time low with utd at present but this would be bewildering madness after 2 months in charge. having said that it wouldn't surprise me the way it's being ran. surely this is a sky sports made up rumour.

20 Feb 2025 19:20:26
Where’s it coming from mate? Ratcliffe has shown he has an itchy trigger finger. Don’t be shocked if we don’t win in the next 3, RA might be gone.

20 Feb 2025 21:28:15
Surely whether we sacked EtH in July or in November we would have still have had to pay out the same amount of compensation?

So I'm not sure how that's money down the drain 🤷🏻‍♂️

Ashworth is frustrating, but it is what it is. You can't be sure every new hire will work out. That's one that didn't. Probably a case of trying to do too much too quickly. Hiring a new CEO and a DoF at the same time when they've never worked together will always carry a risk.

Yeah it's a kick in the balls, but would you rather have an extra 4m in the bank but with tension and opposing ideas amongst the key people running the club?

21 Feb 2025 08:42:09
Tension and disagreement is fine Shappy as it can lead to better decision making. Right now it feels like it’s Ratcliffe/ Berrada’s way or the highway, neither of whom are experts in the footballing side of football.

21 Feb 2025 10:26:58
As I’ve just posted on the other page, people will believe anything and the press are aware of that so it’s worth it for them to post it. The club will stick with Amorim but it gets the clicks and engagement to say the club are going to sack him.

The ‘rumour’ you’ve posted about Nick came from Richard Keys, he said he thinks the club will be thinking about sacking him and then the headline was “United thinking about sacking Amorim”. People believing the nonsense is how they get clicks, as I’ve just written on the other page this club is doomed to failure because of stuff like this, if it was any other club would this happen? I doubt it.

21 Feb 2025 13:11:36
Eric, there should always be space for disagreement within any business. You need people to challenge the ideas to make sure they have been properly thought through. If the idea doesn't stand up to rigorous challenge then it's probably not the best thing to do.

Yet ultimately everyone needs to be on the same page and pulling in the same direction. The fact that Ashworth was let go suggests that it wasn't the case. It isn't a decision that will have been taken lightly.

I'm not sure it's fair to suggest Barrada knows as much about running a club as Ratcliffe. He worked within Man City for many years and was being groomed for the job he now holds at United. You can maybe make an argument that it could be a little too soon for him, or he lacks a wealth of experience in the specific role he is in now. But I think it's safe to say that he is an expert in running a football club.

The issue I think is more that normally a CEO would be integral in the process of hiring a DoF, they would be looking to bring someone in who they gel with and has similar thoughts about how a club should be run. Obviously Barrada was not part of the process of hiring Ashworth. Ashworth was someone that Dave Brailsford knew well and thought highly of. Maybe the process to hire Ashworth was a little rushed and not as robust as it should have been.

We also hired Jason Wilcox for the technical director role. There is a lot of cross over between what a technical director and a DoF would normally do at a club and it's rare that a club has BOTH roles.

Wilcox has worked with Barrada before at City and it's probably safe to assume they have shared ideas about how to make a club successful.

Given how they worked together to help make Man City's youth academy one of the best in the country, with players like Palmer, Delap, Foden, Sancho, Rodgers, Lewis, Lavia, Bobb, McAtee and Trafford all proving to to excellent EPL players and have either found success at City or been sold for a huge profit to be successful at other clubs.

Lets be honest Trafford, Lewis, Lavia, Foden, Rodgers, Palmer and Delap would all arguably be starting players for us.

Maybe that is a big part of what Barrada and Wilcox are looking to repeat at United, and maybe Ashworth had a different idea.

We know there was disagreement over EtH and potential replacements for him. As there was disagreement over potential transfer targets. Supposedly Ashworth wanted to almost exclusively focus on managers and players who had played in the EPL. Which to be honest I don't entirely disagree with. I think you reduce the risk of failure when you bring in people who know and are proven in the EPL. Yet you pay a massive premium for that.

Ultimately we don't know what happened, just that it became clear that a parting of the ways was for the best.

We need to give it chance, many of the changes that have been and are being made will take several years to fully come to fruition. We absolutely are not in any position currently to judge how successful they have been. We just need to be patient.

21 Feb 2025 13:18:16
Amorim has a great opportunity to get the squad united in a Fergie style us against the rest of the world siege mentality scenario I think. I hope he can pull it off/ is given a chance to.

21 Feb 2025 14:17:04
Gds2.richard keys, say no more. That guy hates utd with a passion, it came up in my phone 'Rubens position under threat' oh well. I'm glad it's just utter nonsense because I'm fed up of sacking managers.

21 Feb 2025 17:10:39
Just the 1 billion in debt now.

21 Feb 2025 18:26:30
Shappy, they gave ETH a 1 year extension (adding to his compensation), sacked some of his coaching staff in the summer (compensation), hired new coaches on multi-year contracts and sacked them after a few months (more compensation) . Then sacked the sporting director because he thought hiring Amorim was the wrong decision (even more compensation) . Sticking with ETH was the first mistake that triggered all the rest. It was a flagrant waste of money.

21 Feb 2025 18:29:38
I think amorim will get sacked because you don't hire managers for formations and tactical bs, you hire mangers for playing a certain style of football and we have none.

We have not moved forward one inch by changing managers but gone backwards. if someone wants to argue with me we have a style now, please feel free to humor me. Idiots running the place imo.

21 Feb 2025 21:26:39
I think a couple more defeats and he's toast. All the talk of formations doesn't excuse that we are worse now than before he took over. He also looks like a rabbit in the headlights and some of his statements are a bit worrying too.

21 Feb 2025 21:42:07
Are these the same idiots that 12 months ago many were saying know what they are doing and trust the process 😂.

22 Feb 2025 08:39:04
I think he’ll certainly get to the end of the season but they’ll make a call on it then. Invest another £200m+ on the manager, or be more pragmatic and bring someone in more suited to the bulk of the current squad and look to make 3-4 additions.

That being said, if there are absolutely no green shoots of improvement showing, then he may well be in serious trouble.

23 Feb 2025 00:33:52
Nothing is remotely improving.