LIVE Ruben Amorim Sacked at Man United

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0:34We are live. Rio, Steve, we're live. The big news has come in. Tell the peeps where it is, man. Wow, man. Listen, guys, I want to welcome you back for another episode, obviously, for Rio Ferdinand Presents. But we were going to do a normal show today. We were going to record a normal show. We were talking about how we're structuring the show, etc. What are the topics? There's only one topic right now to talk about, and that is a sacking of Ruben Amarim at Manchester United. They have sacked him. They have sacked him, man. Wow, guys, this is brought to you by Crafted, by the way, one of our trusted partners.

1:06And I know the guys there, I know the Maynard fans as well. They're going to be tuning in. But listen, man, we are live for this one, guys. So make sure you stay tuned. Tell a friend. Send it on. Get people on the live because we're here and we're going to talk to you live and direct. And we're going to ask some questions later on the Q &A while we are on the live. But I think we just need to start and just get through this, man, because I didn't anticipate this when I woke up this morning that Reuben Amarin would be one of the guys that would be getting the sack. He wouldn't have been on my first three or four or five people that I would have put as managers to get the sack right now in the league.

1:35So I am surprised. But when you look at his record in black and white, I'm not surprised, which is weird. And it sounds weird when I say that. But where do we start, man? Joel, help me out here. We've got to go for the stats. You just spoke about his record there, Rio. That's 63 games, 25 wins, 15 draws. But here's the killer, guys. 23 losses. Now, for me, that doesn't look good overall. If you're looking at the Premier League this season, we were talking before our show completely got scrapped. We were saying, but you know what? United are not too far off from a top four position. But overall, I guess this decision is either not made solely on this season, but mostly maybe because he went against the hierarchy, Ria?

2:25Because we've seen two managers this week sacked when they spoke out against the people above. Do you reckon that's the main reason above results? I think that's been the definitive and reason why it's been so sharp and quick overnight. His comments were hours ago. Like you say, two managers now, Maresca at Chelsea and now Amorim at Man Utd have spoken out against the hierarchy and have been sacked immediately. So it tells you that's not the right thing to do. But what I would say is that his record is actually the worst of any manager at Manchester United post Sir Alex Ferguson. I think it's something like 33, 35 % win percentage, which is the lowest.

3:04Yeah, so when you look at it like that, you go, are you really surprised? What I would say is, and I really want to get everyone on the chat and on the live to really throw in all your questions, because we want to get through them and answer as many as we can, right? But I saw his last two press conferences and I was sitting there and I was texting in the group before and I was just thinking, something's not right here. This guy, one of his best traits and most kind of likable things about him have always been his ability to be quite punchy in his press conferences, upbeat. And he had quite a jovial way about himself in those press conferences, right?

3:46And the last two that he'd done looked depressing. And I must say, I didn't say it because I get the ability to go into the training ground and see people and talk and whatnot at times. But when I saw the last time I went there and I interviewed Bruno, I saw the manager when we had a little chat for five, 10 minutes. Like I always do when I see him. He's warm. He spends a lot of time with you and he talks to you and he goes into detail. You were me once, Steve, when we'd done it in preseason. He's open as you like. He's an open book. When I went there the last time, I noticed immediately that there was a coldness about him.

4:21There was a real difference to what I'd seen before. And it was almost like a, now I look back with hindsight, I'm going, things were starting to cook before Christmas. This isn't just an overnight thing, I don't think, in terms of his dialogue with the hierarchy and the way that he's been feeling about things. I felt this coldness that we've seen in the last two press conferences. I saw it in him. Now, the training ground felt good. the vibe in the training ground around the players, but he just felt a little bit distant. And Steele, you know what I mean? Because Steele stood there and spent 10 minutes with me talking to him last time.

4:56He was wide-eyed. He was enjoying the conversation, wanting to talk really open. And when I saw him last time, he was just really just a very different human being. And at the time I thought, right, it's just wear and tear of a long, hard season and loads of pressure. I'd just get into him a little bit and he's woke up on the wrong side of bed. But now, looking back with hindsight, this has been cooking since before Christmas, 100%. Rio, before Steve comes in and gives his opinion, because we really want to hear what, obviously, you have to say, Steve, I just want to say a massive hello to everybody who's joining in right about now.

5:30We will be taking questions at the end of the show. We're seeing all the Super Chats, everything coming in. All of the Rio Ferdinand Presents community is locking in. So please share this video. Steve, are you surprised at what's happened today? And are you happy with him going? These are the two questions I've got for you. No, I'm not happy a manager's gone at all, especially in light of what was a couple of international breaks ago where Jim Ratcliffe came out and was like, let's judge him after three years. Rio's correct in terms of the press conferences. Last night's press conference on my own channel has done three times the views of my post-match review, Showing you just how much interest everyone had In oh my god what's just Gone on here with that press conference Because it was strong And I knew it was going to get Taken a certain way And I don't necessarily think it was meant to be Taken the way that I think a lot of the tabloids Took it But there might have been Some setting out of his stall Some sort of moderation of Responsibility going on from Ruber Amarin With that and he clearly had to be in his bonnet About something Now how that got taken Was anyone's guess Clearly didn't get taken well By the hierarchy And after I've finished here I'm going to get one of you To read the quote out From the club Because the club have clapped back The club have literally just Responded in the statement Of sacking him To what he said In that press conference So that press conference Had a heavy weighing As well as the results Because let's be honest The results have not been good enough In any stretch of the imagination But the press conference that Piqued my interest actually was Saturday's Because the way he was responding On Saturday, for someone that's been very open Very honest When asked about Did you not understand the squad That you had and the signings that you needed to make When you came here, and he kind of shut it down And no commented it, and he was like That's a bit of a weird one And it did feel like something had changed And there was an article from, I think it was the Guardian Last night which said that there'd been friction between Amrim and the hierarchy over playing a back four.

7:41And that had come over the last couple of months. Now, United have started switching to a back four in recent weeks, and we actually look pretty damn good playing in a back four. Yesterday, we went back to a back three. And even though Leeds couldn't get through us, apart from individual errors, a few clangers from a couple of individuals for the goal that Leeds scored. We looked like we were pretty controlling, but we don't look dangerous. And the problem that we've got is, even though we have improved in certain metrics, like we're like the second or third best chance creators in the league, we've had two clean sheets and we're not winning games.

8:22And some of those goals and chances that we've scored, they've come in for all draws. A manager's job is to get the wins. And yes, you can take your time and you can do this, that and the other. And currently right now, the fact is, we sit in sixth place. However, Manchester City, Arsenal coming up next, Burnley Wednesday night, that's nine points across three match weeks. There's only like three points for us down to 12th. So as much as anyone wants to look up and go, if we win a game, we'll be level with Liverpool. Yeah, but if the teams below you win a game, you're 12th. And me and Rio was talking about that either last night or this morning, I think, where we're saying the progress feels like it's been quite tangible in terms of the chance creation.

9:10But at the same time, there hasn't been progress. I personally, and I know Rio disagrees me on this, but I feel like we artificially deflated our league position by concentrating on Europa League last season. So I actually don't think we were 15th. And I know we came 15th, but I don't think we were 15th. I think we might have been 10th to 12th, somewhere in that sort of range. so if we end up being overtaken and end up in 10th or 12th again has there actually been any progress the only thing i'd say like i said earlier when we were chatting and listen guys welcome on guys to the live i'm glad you are guys with us make sure you stay make sure you keep telling mates and friends to come and join in because we're going to be here for a while and we will answer your questions later we'll just go back to your point there steve i get what you're saying right but i would understand when a top team starts saying we're going to take our for our gas and concentrate more on Europe.

9:59Man United are not Man United of old. And we've got to stop thinking like we can actually afford or we have the ability to go, right, guys, we're going to pick and choose our performances and games we're going to play in and give our all for because we are not good enough to do that. So you can sit there on paper. It sounds good when you say that. But in reality, we're not good enough to pick and choose. We have to go full by it, full till every game to have a chance of even getting a point in a game at the moment. That is where we're at. So last season, I feel, is a true reflection of where we are.

10:31And this season, listen, Serge Ferguson always said at the end of the season, the league table never lies. You are where you're meant to be. Like, that is it. We can sit and play around with, we could have got a point here, we should have done there. If we played a better team there, we'd have got a point. It's like the three games coming up, three tough games, Burnley, City and Arsenal. They're going to be tough, right? But we can't sit here and go, well, we're not going to win any games there. No one has ever been able to read games into the future. And the biggest point for me in this, and I look at it, so I don't agree with Ruben Amirim not changing the way that he played or adapting the way that he played, right?

11:09Because he had a unique style of playing football, a unique formation and a unique style of football that wasn't something that everyone played. The majority played differently. Three at the back, five at the back, with wingbacks, however you want to play it. But the club knew what they were signing. The club went for him knowing that that was the way he was going to play. And by the way that he spoke in his press conferences, that was something that would have been reiterated all the time in negotiations. This is who I am. This is what I'm going to be. He said it when he signed. There's going to be a long time, a time of pain here.

11:40It's lasted longer than anyone would have imagined. Right. But what I would say is I understand now and he would, I think he would sit there and go, you know what? This is why I never went and played a back four. this is why I never went away from what I'm known for being successful as because once I do that he said yes I lose the trust of my players because they feel that I don't believe in what I'm doing because I'm changing but two the club will use it against me now I'm not saying the club are wrong by any chance but I'm just saying if you sit in his shoes he's been proven right in that in that case because and listen I know the results haven't been he could have been sacked just on the results but I'm just saying based on how he's gone about everything, he's been stubborn.

12:21He's stuck to what he thought was right because he knew that if he went away from what he was signed for, which is to go and play in a back four, and it done well like it has in recent weeks, even yesterday in the Leeds game, went to a back four, looked much better. He knew that the club would then go, well, why don't we stick to the back four? What's going on? But that doesn't make him right, Rio. I'm not saying, I'm just saying he, I understand why he's sitting, because he's sitting there going, I don't play a back four. That's not the way I play. So I'll be starting from a weaker position than any manager in the league because that is not my game.

12:53That's not my identity. It's like you going and signing as a certain person and a certain way that you carry yourself, then absolutely changing to something differently that everyone else plays, everyone else knows better. You're starting from a weaker position. I think his biggest mistake was he didn't adapt enough. And I think that you have to adapt. that we've seen. I've always said this. Pep Guardiola come into this league as the best manager in the world, right? Had to adapt. Didn't win the league first season. Why? Oh, he mentioned second balls. Didn't know anything about second balls. Saw it, adapted, and worked accordingly.

13:30And he adapts every other year. Do you know what I mean? Inverted wing backs, full backs. He never had that before. He adapts. They know how they play outside. Centre backs playing right and left back. This is all adapting to the league and to the terrain that he's actually going about. So that is my biggest thing with Ruben Amarim. His win rate wasn't good enough, was shocking. The only improvement that we've seen since he's been here is the goals and chances created this year on the back of three new attacking players signed. But he was yet to find the right balance that made us a better team.

14:03Our league position looks much healthier where we are right now. But is it sustainable doing what we do? We still look a bit fragile. We look a bit, you don't know what you're going to get. The worst position for me to be in as a Man United guy is that we go into a game and go, we're more likely probably going to get beat. Or at best, I just don't know what to call on this Saturday afternoon. I don't know where we're at. You want the successful teams are going into it. You're going, we'll win here. We might get a draw away there. But home games, 95 % of the time, we're going to win that. For everyone coming in, massive shout out to you guys.

14:41We're doing some serious numbers here on the live. Don't just be here watching the video. Press the subscribe button with the notifications because you know this is the topic at hand here. And if you're on socials, take this as an opportunity to follow Rio Presents. We're doing some good stuff across the board on socials. Rio, I just want to take it back a little bit and challenge you. You just said that, you know, Manchester United are where they are. They cannot afford to be picking, you know, games to win, etc. So why is it that he can afford to choose the formation he wants? Surely he should do what he has to do because that's 15 losses.

15:17That's 15 wins in 50 games. He shouldn't be in the position to say, oh, you know what? I want to stick to my guns. You got to get the club back to at least a respectable position. Then you can choose to do what you want to do. No, I agree to a certain point, but you have to go back to when he signed. What was that conversation when he signed? When he signed for that football club, well, what formation do you play? When I play a three or five, I play wingbacks. Absolutely, that will never change. I am 100 % sure that would have been the conversation. If you want somebody to come and change his...

15:50He sounds like quite a transparent guy. There's no high-degree areas of him. I am going to play this formation, and during the rough times, I will continue to play this formation because I know that if we get through the rough period and rough times, we will be a team to be reckoned with. That would have been the conversation. And so for him to stay on that and don't deviate from that, means that he's sitting there confident going, you know what? I told these guys this when I signed. When they were negotiating, I told them, this is who I am. This is who I'm going to continue to be through good and bad times, right?

16:21Because I trust to get us through the good times based on what I've done. And by the way, they've watched me coach a team for about probably three, four, five, six months. This has not been any different. So it's not going to be any different when it's a red shirt. That's why I say he has that confidence and that demeanour about, this is who I am and I'm not changing. I agree to a certain point. I don't agree with him wholeheartedly. I do think you need to adapt. The best coaches adapt. And I don't think Ruben Amarin adapted enough. Steve, do you agree with any of these points, this back and forth that me and Rio are having here?

16:54I mean, there's a lot of points being made. I agree with loads of them. The bottom line is you're judged on results and the results weren't good enough. on some levels you can say that there has to be patience this squad's not good enough you're missing a lot of players and they're all valid but how many times over the last 14 months did we see him change something to go and win a game how many times did we see him be brave and try something new and a manager's job is to win games and it's okay being an idealist and it's okay being stuck to your philosophy, but the top and bottom of it is you have to win games.

17:31We sacked David Moyes for finishing twice as high as he finished. We got rid of Louis van Gaal the day he won a trophy just because he didn't get top four and came fifth, which I think was on goal difference even. We sacked Jose Mourinho for not getting into the Champions League. Maybe some of those needed more time because they'd actually... I mean, Oli. Oli came second and third and had a rough spell and got turfed out. Now, you're never going to recreate that with Oli because I think a lot of what Oli was doing also was because of Michael Carrick and Kieran McHenry have obviously gone on and forged their own careers.

18:08So that, as a little team, probably can't get assembled ever again to be Manchester United now. And maybe if that team had been with this recruitment team... I can see the comments here and this recruitment team is also getting a lot of stick. I actually think that this recruitment team has done a pretty good job. People want us to spend a billion and we need it, in all honesty. But it's just not realistic to sign many more players than what we did in the summer. You know, and I just think it's a complicated issue. I think Ineos maybe have gone early on this. Maybe. I mean, time will tell. I think they have because they've seen the signs when the team has gone to a four at the back, especially, when he looks like a conventional four at the back, right?

18:56That's when I think the hierarchy have gone, whoa, whoa, whoa. Do you think this is the crux of the issue, Dan? I do. I just think that there's... Listen, Jason Wilcox is a football guy. Do you know what I mean? And I think he's sitting there. He's one of the decision makers when it comes to football matters as well. Him and Omar will be sitting there going, it's not hard for anyone to see when they go at a four at the back, all the players look more comfortable, right? So I think they're sitting there going, we've got to go with this. we've tried this for this period of time. This guy isn't going to change.

19:25He's not going to deviate. He's stubborn. So we're going to have to go another way. And he's not going to be the guy to do it. So we've got to get rid of him and get someone else who will be, who will do it. Because there's far too many players, I think, in the team. Regardless of how good or bad this team have done, there's far too many players that have underperformed in this team over a long period of time that aren't playing to their maximum. Do you know what I mean? You can't tell me a guy is as bad a player that he's looked in a Man United shirt. Do you know what I mean? It took Casemiro a long time to get to playing some consistent football at times.

19:55You look, Kobe Mayno ain't even had a sniff. Been one of the best players in England's European team. Do you know what I mean? You look at the likes of Maguire, De Litt, Masraoui, Dalo. Like, there's players in there that I know that there's more in a lot of these players. But the formation, I think, and even the formation, the style of play, I don't think has enabled them to go and do that. And one thing I would say is that a line to having no confidence and loads of deep scars of past issues that have gone on also contribute to that. We see your super chats coming in, everyone. Just in case you've joined, this is Rio Presents.

20:36Make sure you keep on subscribing. We're doing good inside the chat here. Great community. I also have to say, we're going to be looking at who we think is going to be the next appointed Manchester United manager. So get those comments in. We will be reading out questions as well from you lot. I want to bring in the intel that's being reported, right? It's official from David Ornstein. He's saying that Darren Fletcher will be the manager till the end of the season. Now, we've seen Man United do this in the past with Ralph Ragnet. I don't know if that's the great solution at the moment, but if Darren Fletcher is in charge, Rio, a man that you played with, a man that you've got relations with, you know, on and off the pitch, we've seen that his sons are doing well in the team as well at the moment.

21:20would you recommend United are going to gain appointing him as the interim manager? I'll tell you what, a penny for a fault for being in that Fletcher household right now. Imagine they've been on the back of the two kids getting in the main United team and squad. Now their dad's the manager of Manchester United. How many people in history would ever have a run like that in one week? It's like a ridiculous... They need to bottle that feeling and put it on the shelves because they'd make a lot of money. But what I would say is I think Darren Fletcher is a Manchester United man. He's been there as a boy growing up.

21:51He's seen the good and the bad times at the football club. He's been a part of the success of one of the most successful times in the club's history. He knows the principles of a Manchester United player. He knows the principles of a Manchester United team of years gone by when it was successful. And he's been there in different roles in the last few years behind the scenes. He's been on the grass with the teams. He's been alongside managers, shadowing coaching staffs, looking at the loans, looking at players that transition from academy to the first team and helping individuals. So he's done a lot of work behind the scenes to get to a point where he's now holding the reins as Manchester United manager as an interim.

22:34One of the things I would say about Darren Fletcher, he's a guy who understands football. He's always been one of the guys in the changing room that you go, he knows the game. and I think anyone who's got any question marks or isn't quite sure go on look at Manchester United's youth team over the last couple of months since he took over the under 18s, he's playing with one of the youngest squads in the academy the under 18s league Premier League and he's actually he's got a team and I've spoken to him at length about this by the way, he's got a team, he says Rio we are relentless even if it's 2 or 3 nil and we're winning we play the same way and we attack We hunt and we get the ball back and we go again.

23:16We want to score our goals and put teams under pressure. It was like listening to the way we played back in the day. He's trying to recreate that with the youth team. And I'm not saying he's going to do that with the first team, but I bet my bottom dollar that he'll be trying to implement that with the first team. You guys are all supreme athletes. You can run for 90 minutes and the ones that can't, you can play 60 and come off after 60 and give someone else a go. But he'll get them, I think, running up against teams and being hard to play against, first and foremost. And then it's down to quality.

23:45It's what you've got in the pitch. But I think that a lot of these players will be playing from a position where they're more comfortable, where they're more aligned to, where their skill sets and profiles are used to playing from, where they'll be seeing pictures and they'll be seeing plays that they're accustomed to seeing more often than not. Because there's no doubt in my mind that a lot of these players have been playing and seeing things that they're not being used to seeing in the way that the formation, but also the style of play that the manager's been trying to implement. So, yeah, I'm really excited to see.

24:18I mean, the main WhatsApp group, as you can imagine, is popping off with congratulations and good luck messages to Fletch. He's in that group, isn't he? Yep, and I think he'll be ejecting himself out or he won't be answering. I don't know. Let me just check and see if he's answered already. Let me have a look. Because he ain't been as active since he's been the under-18s manager. Where is he? Fletch, where are you?

24:42No, yeah, you've got Youngie, Edwin van der Sar, Anders Lingard, myself, all wishing him good luck. So, listen, I think they'll be coming in more and more, I'm sure, over the next couple of minutes. But listen, I wish him well. And Darren Fletcher, listen, he's had some big, big, big, big moments in his career. He's had some turmoil in his life, with his health. He's a wonderful family. He's the right kind of person you'd want to get a chance. And I just hope he goes in there and does himself justice because this is a wonderful opportunity that anyone on this planet, especially someone who's connected to the club, would give their right arm for, to have this opportunity.

25:17And I'm sure he'll give it all he's got. He'll be leaning. One thing he will do is he'll take counsel. He'll lean on people. I'm sure one of his first phone calls will be Sykes-Ferguson, followed by myself. But he will ask those questions. He's got humility. and yeah if I was a betting man I would say that he he's going to do a good enough job he's going to do a good enough and I think he'll put himself I want him to make it difficult for the hierarchy to make a decision on the next manager on the next post because that's obviously the question that everyone's asking Would they make the same mistake that they did with Oli doing that?

25:56I mean it'd be interesting Rio two part question one who's he bringing in as his assistant do you reckon? Well, I think I'll get the call, but I'm living in Dubai now, so I don't think I'll be able to make it. Well, you wouldn't come back? You wouldn't come back if you got the... I'd be the best man for the job, but my kids are not here. They're the most important to me. So my kids and missus are here, so we're too settled. But who would he bring in as his assistant? I don't know. What was I? I don't know. I don't... I actually... I couldn't even... I couldn't even give you a name. Michael Carrick.

26:30Michael Carrick could be one. Carrick, right now? Mike Phelan might be one. Do you know what I mean? If he's not working. Do you know what I mean? Rene's working. Rene's got a contract somewhere. But Fletcher will be... Again, Fletcher isn't one of those guys who's going to do anything crazy. It'll be one of those decisions that gets made and you go, oh, I saw that. Didn't think about it. I can see that. Do you know what I mean? It'll be one of those. It won't be no outlandish mad thing. Do you know what I mean? Retrie said he's coming in. He's number two or something like that. Is he going to stick to...

27:01You said how you've seen him play. Do you reckon he sticks to the back four? Obviously, 100%. Goes to a back four, 100%. Gets players playing in positions that they understand and they know since they were playing as kids and says, right, go. And I don't think he'll overcomplicate things. He'll get people up against people. Darren Fletcher was a player. You've got to remember, we went into a Champions League final. He got a yellow card that put him out of the final when we played against Arsenal away. And if you saw the reaction in our dressing room after, it told you everything about Darren Fletcher.

27:30there was a Fletcher you banned come on man I didn't realise because he was that important to our team at that point and a lot of fans forget that around that time one of our most important players he had the legs he had the energy he had the game understanding game intelligence could get vital goals all of that you watch his youth team that's what they do they're aggressive they're up against you they go for the kill they go for the blood they smell blood and I'm not saying they're the best team in the country by any stretch of the imagination but they started the season, some scored something like, I think it was 18 or 20 goals and conceded zero in the first like five or six games.

28:10He's got on playing a style of football, which is the most important thing for me in that, in that it's something I think that these players, I think would look at and go, that's a bit of me. Now we've got here, obviously for those joining in, we're doing the Amirim has been sacked episode today on Rio Presents. We had a completely different episode. It got scrapped. It was all mad, I'm telling you. But this is it, man. This is what we want to know. You know what? Good things came, though, because otherwise we're going to have to talk about Arsenal in the league. So at least there's that. Don't worry.

28:40You're going to have plenty of time for that, Steve, by the start of May. All right. So Man United, there's the intel that's coming in, guys, right? So we've got here. Manchester United backed the squad to achieve their objectives this season, including getting European football. Manchester United insiders insist Amarim was aligned in adding three forwards over a midfielder last summer, especially knowing they are versatile. Now, if I was to ask you guys, looking at Manchester United's transfer window this summer, where would you rate it as a 10? Seeing how the players have performed as well. Rio, if you can go first, please.

29:16I don't know about rating out a 10, but you've got to say he's brought a whole new front three and we're scoring more goals than we did before. And we're creating more chances than we did before. So, in that sense, you've got to say it's an improvement. But it's like we spoke about on the board before. The art of a good manager is to find the right balance. And we've got new strikers, look more creative, look more of a threat. But there still isn't the balance. We still look fragile at the back. We still look at the moments. The Leeds game was a great example. That situation at Leeds is a... And there's no surprise that this is happening when you're playing with two teenagers at the back, by the way.

29:54You've got two teenagers playing at the back. you can't expect absolute consistency with kids of that age. You can expect stand-up performances. You can expect high ceilings, et cetera. But consistency is one of the things you've got to write off. You've got to accept there's going to be some mistakes. But what I would say is that, again, for as much as we want to create and we look OK going forward, especially in that game, we looked OK going forward, nothing out of this world. But defensively, there are moments there. When you're in possession, the art of good defenders or teams that can defend well is teams that defend well are normally the teams that once they get possession of the ball back, there's someone or there's a couple of players in the team that are thinking, what if we lose it now?

30:31What if we lose the ball? Where are you? And then it's like, right, you, pull it, come in here. You, go push in there. And just that leadership and that understanding of like what concentration levels when we win the ball back is about, for a defender especially, what if we lose the ball? Are we in the best positions to be able to go and win that ball back or stop the counter? and that's where I think we've been absolutely kind of sometimes schoolboyish at times When you search Man United statement online check this, are you with me there? You guys just went quiet for a sec Yeah go on When you search Man United statement the statement was posted at 10-08 but when you see it on Google it says 9 hours ago They prepared this last night They prepared this at 1am this morning.

31:23Is that when Fabrizio and David Orsene got it? Do you reckon they sent a job description to Big Sam or anyone like that? Has he got it? Big Sam's up for a company. I think this is the perfect segue here to talk about names. I want your top three. Top three. We want everyone in the comments getting involved as well, by the way. Top three. Because there's a name I do not want to see anywhere near any list. let's go I'll go first first one that I'd go and get now it could be a bit ropey because he's a bit he can be a bit emotional and he does sometimes say some outlandish stuff my first one will be De Zerbi love the way he plays got a style of play that he implements and he drills into his teams, he would be probably my first name, if Thomas Tukey was available, would I have gone for him but he's not unless Darren Fletcher stays in until the summer That's confirmed by the way Yeah, Thomas Tuchel Is that until the summer?

32:29Yeah, it's Darren Fletcher until the summer So I'd go and speak to Thomas Tuchel now They go and win the World Cup and then come into May United and then my third choice

32:42would be Well, I'd hope Darren Fletcher does that well that they go, you know what, we'll give it to him. Okay. Steve? My number one, and it's been my number one for a minute, is the same thing. Go win the World Cup and then come manage Manchester United. And it's that big German guy, but it's not the one that you're talking about. It's Nagelsmann. That's who I bring in. Nagelsmann's my number one. You had me, I was thinking, I'm me and Steve on the same page. No. No, Nagelsmann. for me I think he's an absolute genius of a coach, I love the way his teams play football always aggressive, always technical I think he's very tactical as well, I think he's very adaptable in game I think he spots things and adapts to things on the fly, I just really like every single thing about him and I think Germany have got a shout and I think if he won it that's the perfect time leave while the party's still going and come and manage the biggest club in the world I wouldn't be mad at Xabi I wouldn't be mad at Xabi Are you guys ready for that, Oste?

33:49I've got him. You what? What? Are you guys ready for that? What do you mean are we ready for it? Look at what he did with that Barcelona team. He played a team for youngsters. And this is what I mean, right? You're next to the former. No, and I hear that. I'm not saying he's not good enough. I'm saying are Manchester United ready for that? Because if you look at the way he's going to come in and he's going to have certain things that he wants to do, ways he wants to play. I don't know if you guys sound like you guys want someone to come in and be a yes man. You know, if I'm honest with you, how much of a yes man can I be?

34:19Who said that? What do you mean he said that? I think he's in between the lines of someone going off in the press conference. I think there's a difference between being a yes man and having a go at him in a press conference. And you can have a go, guess what? You can have a go at a press conference if you're sitting there surrounded by trophies. Yeah, and I think that's a good point. Like, Joel mentioned it earlier and Steve just mentioned it again there. You can be bullshit. You can be stubborn. you can be like chest out and going listen batting stuff off in a press conference when you're flying when you're doing well and doing it when you're you've got the worst win percentage of any Manchester United manager post Sir Alex Ferguson it's quite difficult sometimes to to take in but you know what guys listen the live we've been on 35 minutes now almost so loving having you on guys make sure you stay on we're going to stay on answer your questions and do a Q &A as soon as we can but there's a couple more bits and pieces we've got to get for integer Yeah, there is.

35:15I mean, obviously, just looking down, would any manager with a distinctive style of play want to come to Manchester United after seeing what's just happened to Ruben Amorim? Because it's all well and good saying, we want this person, we want that person. Do they want to come to you? Because I've seen in the past the likes of Zinedine Zidane. No, no, no, no, no, no. I don't want that job, you know? Are you guys in a position where you can attract the guy you actually want?

35:44Hello, I'm Max Rushton. The World Cup is back and Football Weekly is going daily. If you want award-winning soccer coverage from a podcast that's been over-analyzing the game for more than 20 years and still hasn't run out of opinions or just repeats the same ones over and over again, this is where you'll find it. We'll be producing 33 daily episodes across the tournament, breaking down all the action, the results, and of course, the drama. Can the US make it out of the group stage and into the spotlight on the biggest stage? World Cup Daily. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch full episodes on YouTube.

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36:29i can't believe yeah even they're talking like that it's man united mate people people swim the channel to come and be my united manager zinni zidane is a unique case by the way Unique case. The French job's probably the only job that he's looking to take. Do you know what I mean? It's not like he's sitting there going, oh, I'll take that job over there and I'll take that one over there, but Man Utd, no, no, no. That's how you frame that. No way is it like that. Just do not ever forget, no matter how well Arsenal are doing or Chelsea do or City do, Man Utd are the biggest club in this country by far.

37:01Do not forget that. So when a job comes up to be Man Utd manager, there are managers that are sitting in jobs right now going, oh, my God, I wish the timing's so poor for me. I wish I could be out of a job right now and be with a chance for that one. There's no way, every manager feels like that, man. It's a bad time, right, to go to... If you're a top manager, if you're a top manager, right, let's just say you're like Mikel Arteta, right, top manager. I thought you said top managers, make your mind up. There's no way, there's no way he... Are you even... No, I'm not letting you gloss over it.

37:38a fellow who won a single FA Cup, he's a top manager. He's looking envious at Eric Ten Hag's hall in England, and he's been here four times longer. I don't even know if Unai Emery looks at that and he's appealed, you know? He's 16 to 1 at the moment, but I don't know. Unai Emery would be someone who would absolutely jump at a chance. Pep's the only manager in the league that I think will sit there and go, I'm content where I am. I'm happy where I am. I don't need it. No, I don't buy it. Do not buy it. He's never going to say it. He never said it out loud, but I'm telling you, a Mikel Arteta would sit there and go.

38:14Draw it on a whiteboard, though. Okay, so quickly, for those watching and for you guys as well, actually, what should the club learn from this experience with Amarim? Steve, you go first. What would you say they need to learn? I think the hierarchy have to make sure that they're aligned. There was some talk that Jason Wilcox wasn't a big fan of appointing Amarim and it was more Omar Barada-led. I don't know if that's true, But that was the talk Now you've got Veval And I believe Veval is going to be heavily involved So you've got three blokes there And I'm sure Sir Jim Probably sticks his oar in at some point In there in the mix as well And has an opinion Whether they listen to it or not I don't know But I'm sure he has an opinion Those three have to make sure That they're completely aligned That has to be a unanimous appointment Because any friction Anyone that's sitting there going I didn't want him I wanted De Zerbe Or I wanted McKenna Or whatever it is that they wanted when they've appointed someone, they can't have that.

39:09All three of them need to make sure that whoever they go for, they're completely aligned on it and then back him. And it's hopefully, if they're all aligned on the same manager, then they should all be aligned on the same philosophy. And if they're all aligned on the same philosophy, then they should all be thinking about the same profile of players that we need. Now, the good thing is, I'm almost certain the way this has gone down that we are going to someone that's going to play 4-3-3 or a variant of 4-2-3-1. How about the right guy for you? What? Southgate. Joel, I will drive down there and smack the shit out of you.

39:42How does that sound? Southgate. That's the answer. Wait there. Right? If you play Masrowe right back and you play Dorgue or Luke Shaw left back, you play De Ligt and Martinez at centre half, you've got a good defence. Right or wrong? If you play Tobby Mainu, Ugarte, Casemiro, Bruno, three of those four, you've got a good midfield. Right or wrong? and then if you play Mbumo, Cunha, Sesco, you've got a good forward line. Admittedly, Sesco's not quite scoring to the rate that I want him to but that is a pretty good forward line still and then you've got the likes of Mount, Dorghu, Ahmad, etc. That is a squad that should actually be doing better than it is doing and winning some of the games that we've dropped points in.

40:26So whoever comes in goes lads, four at the back, four free free, let's get on the front foot, let's get after it. We are going to see results picking up. I would not want to be Burnley Wednesday night. They're getting dicked down, right? Sitting Arsenal after that, don't know about that. That might be a bit of a different story. But the surprise factor and the confidence factor might help us surprise you a little bit, hopefully. I'll be surprised that if, with the new Fletch coming in and playing that formation and a style of football that I think suits the players more, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a huge upturn in the way our results go over a period of time.

41:05Like the next three games, yeah, they're hard, but beyond that, I'm looking. So listen, I look at this and think to myself, well, if we're led to believe that the style of football and the formation, et cetera, has been a problem because they've seen four at the back and they've gone, that looks like it works. Let's go with that. And the managers decline that and the hierarchy have made the decision on the back of something like that. Then it makes you sit there and go, well, why did they ever go with someone that plays a formation that's so different to what Man Utd have been used to playing?

41:36And what are the players, the profile of players that they have at the football club? Because it's a big ask. And we always said this at the beginning. It's a big ask to come from any other country, no matter how well you've done. He won two titles over there in Portugal. Come here, new formation, new style of play. And a profile of player that didn't seem like they were going to be good adapting to that. And I think they gambled on his coaching. They gambled on that maybe he would adapt a bit more than what he did do. And they gambled maybe that the players would be able to take him what he was giving him a bit more.

42:10And I think it's just all come question down. And the fact that he's gone against them and he said, listen, I'm the manager, I'm not a coach, I'm going to make decisions, I'm going to stick to my guns, I'm not going to be as adaptable as you want me to be. I ain't going to go and play a four and start with a four and finish with a four, no matter how good you think it looks. that's been his undoing. That's what I think has been his undoing. Guys, we're going to be answering questions shortly, so please make sure you stay tuned. Just saying what you're saying there, Rio, I think the answer is you're probably missing Giocares firing goals for United like he did for him.

42:43And also, saying what you've just said then, that means that Glasner's out of the equation, right? Because I did see a lot of chat about him potentially coming in, but he plays the same formation that Amarim does. No way. There's no way, I don't think, I'd be so surprised if Glasner gets an opportunity to be main-night manager, given that he plays free at the back. I just can't, based on how this team has performed and the narrative that has been surrounding the team since Amram has been here, I'll put all my money on it that he doesn't get that job. I think it's good to read out one of these sources, the reporting.

43:18I think sources have told BBC Sport that the club felt there had not been sufficient evidence of evolution or progress this season under Amarim. So that's a big statement from the club, do you know what I mean? In saying that we, again, we've been sitting here, well, I've been sitting here saying we're in sixth position. We could be challenging for Champions League, but like Steve says, we could be back in 10th or 12th or 13th. and the club have obviously gone with what Steve's saying. They're saying, listen, we don't think there's enough improvement. We don't think it's sustainable over a long period of time.

43:51And are we going to be much further ahead, no matter where we finish in the league, than where we were last season, based on performances and the way that we approach them? It's an excuse because they were happy to keep him in until he spoke out. So they can put that out as a statement, but that's a pure excuse. It doesn't have to be one or the other. It can be both. Yeah, it can be both. We know the truth. We know that the performances ain't been good enough in general. I'm looking at it from an outsider looking in. I'm going, it's rubbish. I don't care if you're sixth or seventh or fifth. It's just not good enough, in my opinion, looking in.

44:20But yeah, it sounds like an excuse. Listen, we've promised the viewers, you know, all these people watching, all these guys who have pressed the subscribe button and the notifications and sharing the clips, et cetera. We've said that we're going to be reading out questions. So I know that our producers have been hard at work gathering some questions for us. You're going to have to help me here. I'm waiting for some of them to appear on the screen. Okay, so we've got the first one coming in. I really do not like these mid-season sackings. And this one makes no sense to me, given the progress. Was Ineos expecting to win the league with just four signings?

44:57Mate, that's a tough one. The mad thing is I can understand if someone is saying that and frustrated. Because I think that when you just look at it on the face of it, we're six in the league. We finished 15th or 16th last season. We're now six in the league. where our chances created, if you're looking just from an attacking standpoint, fourth in the table for big chances created. We were 12th last season, third in the table for goals scored per 90, 16th last season, fourth in terms of touches in a position box, ninth last season. So all of those areas we've really improved. And that's on the back of recruitment because we've recruited players to play in there.

45:36But so you could understand when someone's sitting there going, well, what did you expect us to be like third? Like, what are we expecting here? But I think it's been the inconsistencies in performances in recent weeks and not getting certain points on the bottom people would have expected us to. And the fact that the manager isn't going to bend on being more adaptable when the hierarchy and everybody else is seeing that when they go back to a four, even in the game like against Leeds at the weekend, when we go to a four, we look so much more comfortable. The players look like they're more at home and know more what they're doing.

46:11they go back to that. I need to see any more questions popping in because I know that they're coming in the group chat fast. I can see them coming in fast. Can we get another one up, please? Whilst that's happening, there we go. Let's get Unai Emery. Unai had a chance to manage a big club, I think. Yeah. I think he deserves that. He's not managed a big club with all his career. It'd be good if he came and... he's managed a team that's won a European cup in Aston Villa I think we're probably being a little bit unkind on Aston Villa Aston Villa probably the biggest club he's managed PSG and PSG yeah but you don't know what Steve's doing here I know what Steve's doing he's talking about European trophies anyway but you know to be fair would you be mad to see you and I come in Steve nope nope not at all absolutely not knew he was going to turn it around after Rio's mate left Villa that was obvious next one from Brian Simpson I6O we should have sold Bruno before the season started and bought two midfielders big mistake Bruno isn't a midfielder let's not talk shit he's definitely a midfielder have they seen Bruno play this season have they seen what he's been creating the chances created people that talk about Bruno like this they do my head in they just listen to a narrative that is being spouted by idiots.

47:40I look at it like morons. You think to yourself, what are you talking about? The guy's creating as many chances, if not more chances, than he did when he played as an out-and-out number 10. And he's playing deeper. Who does that? Only someone like Kevin De Bruyne could do that. And he actually wasn't forced to do that. He's doing stuff that there's only a handful of people in the last 20, 30 years could even attempt to try and do that. so his output even though he's gone deeper into a more conventional midfield position is actually as good if not better in attacking areas it's crazy to think that people are still sitting there saying Bruno could have been the issue here and do you know what's crazy Bruno's got seven assists this season right from playing deep and he's alongside he's the highest actually alongside Ryan Cherokee Rio I've got a question for you what song did Kami Mane have on his way to Carrington this morning oh

48:37Do you reckon he's done a bit of an Usher U-turn on his transfer request? I think he had Yaz. The only way is up, baby. Windows down. It's minus 10 in town today. And he's had his windows down as he's turned up. Sunglasses on like Joe. He's been doing laps of Manchester City Centre with his hood down and his roof down, man. I'm telling you. Going around like that with a T-shirt on free Kobe menu. That's true. We've got another one here. The Ineos group have no idea of the consequences of their decision. He was the only person that could give a sense of direction to this club, but they couldn't handle the truth he spilled on the press.

49:17Whoa, that's a big one right there. Ria? I think the statement the club put out, something around there's only one. There's a bit like the manager's there to manage your team and no one is going to be bigger than the people that lead the club. I think that's what that's what broke the camels back I think that like we could sit here and talk about style of play formations consistency building confidence building a team that's ready to perform at the highest level but when you start questioning the authority at the club I think that there has to be a stand that's made and I think that we've seen that at Chelsea with Maresca and we've seen that here at Manchester United and I think that there's no way that leadership team can ever look weak at a football club it just can't happen because that that spreads like a like a disease throughout the team uh other members of staff um and if the manager is sitting there and isn't adhering to some of the rules and regulations and everybody else is going to start start splintering off and doing their own thing as well so i understand it um but just to get back to that point about should he or should he not have been sacked what were you all thinking it because i because i sit here and go i can understand why they've sacked him.

50:31When you look at his win percentage of 38%, the lowest since Sir Alex Ferguson of any manager. So when you look at just cold hard stats like that, I can absolutely understand why they've sacked him. Yeah. Rio, we have to quickly read this. This is coming from Fabrizio Romano's YouTube channel, friend of the channel. There were big tensions with Ruben Amirim and the Man United board. While the results weren't good, this is a completely different case. Internally at United, they felt he went too strong with his statement and an emergency meeting took place. Wait, an emergency meeting took place last night where they made the decision to second.

51:11So, again, as Steve said, you know, on Google, it looked as if it was there nine hours ago. And this morning it was only announced. So they obviously spoke about this yesterday. So and it's again, like I said, no matter what they say about the results, it wasn't really based on the results, was it?

51:29Well, obviously Fabio's had a bit of insight from someone.

51:35Listen, we can all sit here and kind of like, we're coming up with reasons as to why this and that happened. I think we've got to get Jason Wilcox on the Rare Presents Real Meat show and start asking some questions and getting to answer some questions here. That would be great. That would be a start and talk direct to the fans. But listen, I go back to my point I was making before you read that out. anybody that, I think Sir Alex Ferguson said this in his book, anybody that questions the authority of the leader at the football club can't accept it, can't have it. Yap Stam was probably the best centre-back in the world at that time when they were talking, when he was at the club and then got let go because he questioned the authority at the football club.

52:18Ruud van Isteroy was the best goal scorer in number nine around at the time. Right, we'll accept a bid from Real Madrid, go on, see you later, because the manager thought that he maybe Roy Keane I mean Roy Keane was at the end of his powers really David Beckham do I mean these these are consistent themes that that the great Sir Alex Ferguson he wouldn't allow these things and I think that the people that are leading the club right now probably thought the same thing and thought you know what we can't accept any type of kind of negativity or someone clapping back at the club and pointing fingers he mentioned Jason Wilcox to the sporting director and the recruitment team in his statement in the press before he left, before he was sacked.

53:00And that's taken a shot, it seemed. And they felt that, I think, leadership group. They felt that he'd taken a shot at them and was pointing blame a little bit at them. And that isn't the way that they want to do business or work. So they made a quick decision. I have to say, Anstey, that's probably where he won't get a lot of credit, though, even though he's kind of been in trouble for the same thing. But his discipline, I would say, is something that he probably won't see the fruits of when the day Man United do bounce back. Because I do think he came in and he set the standard. You're always talking about setting the standard, Rio.

53:34You've done videos about points where Man United, five, six points Man United need to achieve to come back. And I thought he was very good at, you know, saying this is it. This is what we want at the club. This is how it should be. And not tolerating that kind of back clap from his players himself. Just ironic that it's the same reason why he's gone. But yeah, I think... It's universal, Joel. What do you say? It's universal, it's true. Yeah. One thing I would say, I think, Steve, you made a good point there about Kobi Mainu. There's losers in this who are Ruben Amaruni's staff. And again, to reiterate Steve's point, no one's glad to see anyone get the sack.

54:12It's a tough job anyway. And seeing people get the sack is not something to laugh and enjoy. but sometimes it needs to happen for the club to move forward and we'll see if that's the case here. But there are winners in these situations as well. Kobe Maynou, will he be a winner now in this situation? Get back in the team. What happens with Marcus Rashford? Is he someone who the club bring back in now under a new management? Somebody else who comes in and goes, listen, actually one of the reasons I'm signing, I'm signing but I have to have a chance to get Marcus Rashford back on side. There's going to be players in there that weren't playing.

54:48Euro's been a little bit out of the team recently. Is this someone going to come in and build it around him? Or Aiden Heaven? Or who's now going to get the shirts when Darren Fletcher goes in? Everyone will be sitting there and going, right, now I'm going to get an answer to what I think or what Darren Fletcher really thinks about me as a player. For instance, there's no doubt in my mind that Darren Fletcher sat and spoke with Kobe Mainu numerous times. And if he hasn't, I'll be amazed, right? Going, listen, man, you're this. These are your attributes. you get back to this, I'm sure you can get back in the team.

55:19I can't believe he's not playing you. I can't believe the manager's not playing you. If it was my team and I was manager, you'd be in. Kobe Mania's probably sitting there now and thinking, now we'll see if that was the truth, if those conversations happened. Rio, I'm getting some intel coming in here. Jason Wilcox, he's a man that's mentioned a lot. Obviously, you have some sort of relationship with him. You've played with him at Leeds, etc. What's he like as a person? Is he as ruthless as what we think he is at the moment? Or what's his personality like? Well, he's not a knee-jerk guy. Hence why the statement was put.

55:59We see it was done at nine o 'clock last night and it was made public this morning. But he's not a knee-jerk guy. He's somebody who thinks things through. He's a really good communicator, from my experience.

56:20yeah i've never seen him as the ruthless type and there's somebody who's like this is it and the really hard-nosed ruthless type of person but he's someone who we're seeing now who's not scared to make decisions as a collective now this this doesn't this i think this second or the next appointments they don't fall just on his table i think it's like we've seen this it's a it's a committee it's a committee approach of three or four voices that get to a point of making a decision. So it's not all just down to him, but he's obviously got a strong voice in there. He's the guy who really is the football eyes and ears and understanding in that group of people.

56:58And so I look at it and go, yeah, right. Okay. Is this Jason Wilcox now? The real Jason Wilcox who is making big decisions as part of that team who's doing that and just saying, right, this is who we are. I've spoken to him about what he, his idea of a Man United team is what I'm used to hearing. It's just that we haven't seen it in this team yet. We haven't seen it in this team on a consistent basis where you go, that is Man United, guys. We haven't seen it enough. We've seen it sporadically every once in a blue moon. We haven't seen it back-to-back often enough. But the way when I've spoken to Jason, I've come away from every time I've met him, every time I come away from speaking to him, it's like, it's a fresh year, right, it's coming then.

57:43because this is what I can hear what he's saying. This sounds like the Man United that I'm used to seeing and playing in. But we've not got near it. So, again, this next appointment's crucial. Just in case you're joining us, this is Rio Presents. Ruben Emram has been sacked. We went live with this one, people. We didn't even wait for the usual 5pm launch of the show. His record was 63 games, 25 wins, 15 draws, 23 losses. Man United currently 58 points. Man, it's crazy. I'm saying 58 points. Apologies right there. Currently, what points are Man United on at the moment? 31 points. Brentford, 30.

58:26Sunday, 30. Liverpool, 34. Chelsea, 31. Are you making it in the Champions League this year, Rio? I don't know. Ask me in a couple of weeks. Too difficult to say. You've got Fletcher coming in, new team, a load of players away at AFCON. Our bench is like a bunch of toddlers. Got to wait and see. Steve, you'll say it as it is. Go on.

58:58I think we finished fifth, and I don't know where that lands in terms of the coefficients. But I think we can finish the ball in Liverpool, and I'll take that. Finish the ball with the champions after being 15th. Call that a win, right? No. Do you think we would have finished above Liverpool with Emerum? That's a good question. No. I don't think you can say it convincingly, but I don't think it would have been a mad, mad shout. No. I think 10 games ago, with the run that we had in front of us, that we picked up... Well, in 11 games, we picked up 15 points, right? And so many of those games were winnable, and we chose not to win them.

59:40Like we, I mean, even the games we did win, we nearly didn't. Like the Newcastle game, more by luck than judgment, we kept a clean sheet in that. We allowed them 13 shots in the second half. It was mental. So, you know, there was games there where we've come away with a draw and you're like, that was a winnable game. What are we doing? You know, Wolves. I mean, yesterday there was enough there. And, you know, I actually thought the manager did nothing wrong yesterday. I thought we got a great result in terms of what we was able to do. I didn't think the players did anything wrong necessarily. I didn't think the manager, I think he got his tactics right both times, like from when he went to a back three and switched it to a back four.

1:00:24I think he was correct in both of those things that he did. But I think the culmination of the results over a bigger picture And then where we're at in terms of What he's come out and said in the press conference And the press conference and the one on Saturday Friday They didn't happen in isolation They obviously happened on the back of conversations Inside He might have gone and said am I getting a midfielder In January and he was like no And he's seen his ass Something had clearly happened behind the scenes That he wasn't happy with Whether it was they thought he overstepped his mark Or he wasn't doing something that they wanted it to Maybe it was over the back three Maybe it was over the back four Maybe it was integration of the youth Maybe it was the handling of Kobi Menu Like we have no idea Unless someone comes out and tells us Exactly what it was And even that might not be the whole truth I just think there was probably far too much Going on That wasn't going right There wasn't seeing enough Risk in games from him Where we could have pushed on and won There wasn't seeing it Just wasn't seeing enough And then it probably was The straw that brought the camels back It was probably something very, very minor The press conference But it was just enough Do you reckon they consulted Sir Alex about it?

1:01:36No. Do you reckon they'd have worded him up beforehand that, listen, we've made this decision, what's your thoughts? I don't know. I'm not so... Maybe. I think the last... The last regime 100 % wouldn't have spoke to Sir Alex. This regime, I don't know. Maybe they would. Because I think they've spoken to him a bit. So he was there at the game. But again, he would have been... They've had a couple of glasses of red wine and they've been off the microwave going back home. Going off what Steve just said regarding the press conference and stuff like that, he did mention selected information. Does he mean hierarchy leaking when he's using those words?

1:02:19Yeah, that was another point. I thought that, again, if he thinks that to come out and combat that publicly doesn't bode well for keeping your job. If there's an issue where you're suspecting that the club are leaking to the media, then that's surely got to be a conversation that's being had behind the scenes in the office and you call everyone together and go, guys, what the hell's going on here? Because I know for a fact through our contacts that you guys are briefing the media. Where are we? But if that is the case, if they're briefing the media, then it's always going to come out and the manager's going to get wind of it and he's going to be pissed off and then it never ends well for anybody.

1:03:00But he's mistaken that I think he's going public. Oh, you know what? He's a man of morals and principles and just went, you know what? I ain't accepting this. If I am going to get this back, I'm going to go out in an honest manner. I'm going to tell the world what's going on in a way that everyone will understand. What he said was there was no uncertain terms in that. We all knew what he was saying. And I think he just thought, you know what? Whatever comes of this, I'll stand by it because I'm an open, honest person who I think is being done wrong in terms of the way people are communicating with the media.

1:03:32Man, where does this leave Man United going forward, man? First of all, I want to say a massive shout out to everybody who's been handing in Super Chats, has been going throughout the whole episode. You guys have been absolutely terrific. We had live views throughout, et cetera. We've actually said where we think United are going to finish potentially at the end of the season. We've given you the potential managers. Thoughts on Darren Fletcher. We've spoken about the Ineos situation. Go on, Rio. Can I just say something? Do you know what? We haven't thought about what he thinks, Ruben Amarim. If you read into his...

1:04:05After the press conference and that little mini-statement or whatever it was, it does sound like when he name-checks the sporting director and the recruitment team, that is almost alluding to the fact that he feels that he has not been backed enough or they've let him down. They haven't been up to the standard that he expected, it seems. Do you know what I mean? when you're pointing out names, he's not a guy that gives names like that. He's never been a blame man. It's always about him. It's my responsibility. It's about me. I'll take responsibility for this team. In that last press conference, or second to last, whatever one it was, press conference, where he mentioned sporting director and recruitment team, that makes me feel that he's going, you know what?

1:04:48I'm not happy with them. I'm going to get the flack. Everyone's pointing their finger at me, but they've let me down. And this goes back to Steve's point. He must have had a conversation with them where they said, you ain't getting X, Y, or Z. Or he's just gone, you know what? I've heard that you guys are briefing the media and you lot are doing this behind the scenes and you're letting me down. I'm giving everyone everything. And I think that's where we got to. Where's he going next, guys? I mean, he's, you know, it's cool to say that he thinks he's going to be... He says he reckons he's going to be an elite club soon, are the words that have come out.

1:05:20He'll be going to Portugal straight away, get around his family. and then take stock. I just think he'll see what happens. I think he'd be wanting to get into a job. He's a young, hungry manager. He's got a lot of... I think he's got a lot more coaching in him to be given. And I wouldn't be surprised if he's successful somewhere else. Just like we've seen with players that have left Man United and become successful. Are we now going to see that with the manager? It's not really been great for Man United. Managers post the Man United job, though, has it? Really? I'm asking, will that be the case with him?

1:05:56Would he follow suit with the players like I'm up to me? Yeah, no, no. I was just saying. I was just saying on top of what you were saying. Yeah. What's his name? He got sacked the other day, didn't he? Yeah, Ten Hag. You know, obviously, Oli hasn't really gone back in. Jose's been bouncing around. Moyes has probably been the most successful. Yeah, he has. It's been a long time to find his path back, though, didn't it? Yeah, saying that. Listen, man. They don't know about those. I want to give a massive shout out to everybody watching here. I've got a comment here that I'm going to read for everyone who's still in the chat here.

1:06:33United need to abandon free at the back forever. Now, for you guys, Rio, obviously, you're a legend at the club. You've played at the club. What's your thoughts on this back three, man? Do you look at it? Does it strike you for Man United? Do you really care? Do you just want to see a win? What's your thoughts on the whole formation thing? Well, I said when he signed, right, whatever you think about how successful he's been, there's only been one team in the Premier League era that's ever won the championship by playing three at the back, and that was Conte's Chelsea. So that tells you that not many teams can be successful doing it in this league, and there's not many that attempt it anyway.

1:07:10So it was always going to be an uphill struggle in that sense, just based on history and the facts and the stats that tell you that. Should Man Utd go back to it? I would say no and I would strongly push against it. And I just look at the profile of our players and just seeing our players struggle a lot playing from that formation and that style of play. Logic will tell you to stay clear of it. Steve? How can you be so certain to say something forever? So Matt Busby played a back three. Football evolves. If the whole of football evolves and the whole league is playing a back three, then could you imagine saying like we don't play back three you know Barcelona under Cruyff played a three diamond three now that they're known for the fourth free free like you're allowed to change systems things are allowed to evolve I think saying forever and like thinking that you know that's never going to change football changes football evolves I think right now it was difficult to implement with the in the manner that we tried to implement it with the players that we tried to implement it.

1:08:16I think if you'd have got the right players and the right implementation of it, it might have worked. Glasner's showing that this exact system can work in a Premier League. You know, you can say one back three ever has only won the championship, but I bet if you looked at the percentage of teams that play a back three, it's minuscule. I bet almost 100 % of teams that have played a back four have been relegated, or of the relegated teams played a back four. So it's like, you know... We're focusing this on Man United specifically, because obviously... United played a back five, just so you know.

1:08:48It went down. It did also go to a back six at some fucking points as well, which... Do you know one point we haven't touched on, right, is you go to Ruben Alroom, who plays a completely different style of football to anything we've seen at Manchester United, then goes into recruitment mode and brings in five players. I think a lot of people will be sitting there going, well, can those five players adapt? Because have they been bought because they only can play in that formation. I think that's one thing that the recruitment team should take a bit of credit for in that they've gone out there and got players that can be adaptable to another formation.

1:09:23They could go, if we go back to now playing 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 or whatever it is, I think the players that come in like Mbumo, like Kunja, like Sesko, like Dorgou, they still can be adaptable to play in those systems now. So you haven't gone and thrown money at something where you go, oh, them players now are surplus to requirement. Now we're going to change the system. You could assign Semenyo if he was gone a few weeks back because I think the only reason why he's not gone to you lot is because of the system. If I'm honest. I don't know. I think there's probably more to it than that. Steve, what are you up to for the rest of the day, man?

1:09:59I mean, obviously Man United manager's been sacked. Are you going to go and drown your sorrows in the pub? What are you going to do? No, I'll be going live in a minute. So if you look what'll come, I'll do a proper Q &A where I just chat to the comments. I'm going to read the statement out. I'm going to read a bit out of his press conference last night. and I'll probably be making about 10 videos for the rest of the day. I've got a bit of a list in my head of what I'm going to do. How do we get here? Let's have a look at what Fletcher plays. So, busy week for me, I reckon. I'm going to send screenshots in a group of the league table at the moment.

1:10:34Yeah, you do that. Well done on you lot winning the league this week again. Make sure you don't policy up because I'll be there. Give a massive shout out to Declan Rice as well whilst you're at it. Thank you, please. I'm going live anyway if you want to come and join me you lot, we'll see you all over there I probably will, listen we want to give a massive shout out to Crafted who are the sponsors of the show, you guys have been brilliant keep on making me shine massive shout out to you guys and thank you for everybody watching, you guys have been absolutely brilliant even now, can't believe we're going the numbers are mad in the chat at the moment and you guys have been giving super chats throughout, the comments have been brilliant and Rio, this is going to cause you pressure to do more Rio reacts this week.

1:11:12Don't think that you're going to get away from it. They want to hear from you, mate. You know what I mean? And yeah, shout out to everybody watching and obviously shout out to the team that's top of the league at the moment. We will be back soon. Rio presents. Rio meets as well. I wonder who your next Rio meets is going to be though. It's got to be Amaro. Can you get Amaro? Did you do the one that you told me you was going to do in Dubai? Not yet. But we're just pending. Okay, okay. If you guys haven't... Go on, Steve. It's the one I think it is, isn't it? You've not done that yet? Not yet. No, no, no.

1:11:48Pending. Pending. He's over there, you know. We need to fly out for that one. Hey, real, I need to give you a signed shirt, actually, for that one. You've got to come on. Okay. All right. I will. It's fine. It's fine. Just send him in, man. Send him in, bro. Yeah. All right. Have you booked him yet? Is he booked him? Say again. Have you booked him in yet? Have you got a date pending? Yeah. Oh, sorry. Waiting soon. anytime soon. Brilliant. Anyway, massive shout out to everyone. Make sure you like, share, comment and subscribe. This is Rio Presents. Joel Baer here, Stephen Housen, Rio Ferdinand signing out.

1:12:2633 days, 33 episodes, no off switch. From the goals and the glory to the politics and the problems of the World Cup. If you want soccer analysis from a podcast that's been overanalyzing the game for more than 20 years, then this is it. Join me, Max Rushton, and our expert team of soccer journalists every day of the tournament? Can England end 60 years of hurt? Or will this be another year of falling just short? Probably. World Cup Daily, listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch full episodes on YouTube.