153: NO! Baleba TRANSFER Latest! Calvert-Lewin Rumours Grow!

0:01Hello, everybody. Good morning. Welcome to the United Stand. I'm Mark Goldbridge. This is your latest Manchester United news and transfer news now on the United Stand. Welcome to another week. Lots to get into. We've got big updates around Belieber sales going out of Manchester United. A big now Dominic Calvert-Lewin talks grow. We've got a little bit of inside info on that one as well. Also, some inside info that we gave you two days ago that's come true again. So big shout out to that. We've got, obviously, it's Premier League Predictions Day as well. I'm very excited. If you've not watched it on That's Football yet, the link's in the description or it's pinned in the live chat or just go to That's Football.

0:40My big Premier League Predictions video has dropped. I may have had a couple. I just think it makes it better content. Not now, not at 10 o 'clock in the morning. But yeah, we can talk about that because I've just seen that The Athletic have done their journalistic piece on Premier League predictions and they've put Man United in an eighth place. So we'll talk about that towards the end of the show. Is that fair? And we can talk about where I've put us as well and where you think we're going to finish. But let's get straight into the news. First of all, just a quick bit of verification. I spoke about this to you on Saturday, that obviously Benjamin Sesko, there's a few quotes we can give you from his interview, his first interview as a Manchester United player.

1:17But remember on Saturday, I said that Man United were planning to play a behind closed doors game to get Sesko a bit of time ahead of the game against Arsenal on Sunday. That's been verified this morning. So again, we're early on that and good information from our source yet again. So Man United looking to do that behind closed door game that we said on Saturday. That's coming out on the press today, this morning. I think it was in the Times, which is good news because, yeah, we want to, training's fine, but he needs a bit of game time. So that'd be good. The downside to that is that Anana's going to play in it and they expect Anana to be back on Sunday.

1:55I mean, honestly, I would probably rather have a Narnah in goal than Beinda. And we're not going to have a new goalkeeper for that game. And I want to talk about that a little bit later as well. But let's hit the news. First of all, I'm going to talk about the Belieber latest. Because I think, again, look, the Calvert-Lewin story is interesting because it's actually coming in from our source, in a sense that Man United are interested. And we'll give you that detail in a moment. It was in the times. Inanna has resumed training with his team. The club is considering a closed-door friendly to allow Inanna and Cescou to have a rehearsal in real conditions.

2:36So Inanna back on Sunday is looking likely as well, which we sort of know. On Belieber, some people have sort of misconstrued what Fabrizio's latest update is. So he basically said that this weekend was really important for Manchester United to understand more about the deal for Belieber and whether to move on to other targets or not. They remain in contact with the agents and are still thinking about a deal. So some people have gone, oh, it's not as advanced as we thought. You know, Fabrizio's talking about us walking away and going for other targets. We're still thinking about it, this, that and the other.

3:15I'd just say keep calm. Keep calm. This is what I mean. Like, I think people just, they live in the moment on transfers way too much. I see it with like Newcastle and Isak. It's like, that's clearly going to take a couple of weeks. And it's like, they're just losing their head about it. I don't see anything in that Fabrizio Romano update this morning that causes me any concern. Yes, it says Man United needed to understand more about it and whether they want to move on to other targets or not. But the most important piece is that for the last five days, we've remained in contact and are working on a deal.

3:54So I'm not concerned about that. I would suspect a bid will go in this week. I mean, look, again, I don't want to get lost in conspiracy theories. Otherwise, we'll open up our website and start talking about how flat the earth is. But we have got a few conspiracy theories running around Bruno, know, Emi Martinez, but may as well throw a Belieba one in there. I just have a feeling this will get done quick. And it's not logical to get this deal done quick, but I have a feeling that we're going to get this deal done quite quickly. I'm not saying by the end of the week, but I just feel that it's moving really quickly.

4:29And there's obviously a reason for that, whether it's the urgency of Man United, whether Brighton don't really want to start the season with a player that's going to go, which you can understand. Whether United think another club might come in. I don't know. It just feels like it will move quite quickly. I feel like this will be a big week. Terry was messaging me this morning about it, basically saying that as well. Look, just stay calm. Trust me on this one. We were doing this a week ago with Cesc and people, he's going to go to Newcastle. It's 90 million, walk away. He's now a Man United player.

5:00So I think that we will end up with a very good end to this Belieber story. And I'm not going to panic about options or anything like that. It's all part of the game. We've played the game. Fabrizio talking about whether Man United want to go for other targets. I mean, we have to go for another target if we can't get this deal done. But I think we've put a lot of work into this and I think we'll be fine. So I expect big updates on that this week for Manchester United. but we will have to just be patient as per transfers because as we know with Manchester United they can take a very long time to get things to get things done right let me talk to you about the striker situation because there are a few bits to talk about this morning first and foremost let's hit well look let me just talk about this because a few people are talking about it in the live chat.

5:53Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News is basically saying that Rasmus Hoyland is open to joining AC Milan. Samuel Luckhurst has systematically deconstructed Rasmus Hoyland over the last 18 months and constantly disliked him since he did an interview with us. There is next to no chance. There's more chance of Gary Neville ringing me up and giving me news than Rasmus Hoyland ringing up Samuel Luckhurst and giving him news. So it's complete and utter bollocks. It's guesswork. Rasmus may well be leaving. The club certainly are pushing him towards the exit door, but he is not open to a move to AC Milan as per this morning.

6:35I was speaking to somebody at United, was it yesterday morning? The feedback was, it's football, isn't it? It's one of those situations. It's a bit of a shame because he's well-liked, But obviously, Man United have got their own ideas and they desperately need to bring money in. Rasmus represents some money coming in. So at the moment, as per many updates, AC Milan are interested. Man United would like to do a deal, but Rasmus is not open to a deal at the moment. He doesn't want to leave Man United. And I suspect if he is going to leave Man United, he's not just going to go to the first club. Like, you know, if you're working somewhere and somebody says, we don't want you here anymore and we found you a job at McDonald's and you've been working at a Michelin star restaurant, you might not want to go to McDonald's.

7:22You know, you might go, well, OK, I'll go on my own terms. And I think that's where we are with that. So there's a very big chance Rasmus might not be here in September, but AC Milan is not where he wants to go at the moment. and that's coming out from the club as well. The club are very open about it and the club are very, very, very insistent that this is not the same as Ganacho or Inan or not even Inan, and Ganana's not in it either. Ganacho or Sancho or anyone else like this, this is just seen as football. It's like, we want to sell you, but the relationship is good between Amrim and Rasmus and the club.

7:59It's just, obviously, he doesn't want to go. The club want him to go. So we'll have to wait and see. But Luckhurst hasn't got the drop on this at all. It's pure guesswork. I mean, he might end up at AC Milan at the end of the window, but as per now, no. More interestingly, though, that sort of fits into that is that what I was told yesterday is that the Calvert-Lewin stuff, you can't rule it out because we've been looking at Calvert-Lewin since the day INEOS came in. We were looking at, I think it was Sam C who reported it, March 2024, Calvert-Lewin. I don't know why. I don't know why Calvert-Lewin's on Man United's radar, but he's been on Man United's radar for about 18 months.

8:38This predates Barada. This predates Wilcox. This was March 2024. So I don't know who it is at Man United that likes Calvert-Lewin, but it's definitely still there. and what we were told is that if they move Rasmus off and they get 8 million loan and potentially 40 million in a year's time, then Calvert-Lewin on a cheap free deal, he've only got to pay his wages, he's just got rid of his agent, this is a really cheap deal that Man United can do for Calvert-Lewin and have him as the sub-striker. It's scary. It's scary, isn't it? I mean, God, you know, I don't know. I don't know why people would want that compared to having Rasmus, Serksy and what we've got at the moment and Obi.

9:30But, you know, Calvert-Lewin, who's going to be 29 this season and has an injury record like a series synopsis for casualty. Let me just go through that. I mean, look, I don't want it. It's a bit like when we were told that Liam DeLatte was our priority striker in April. I mean, I don't want to say it, but you can't just hide the news you don't want to talk about. Yeah, I mean, Calvert-Lewin's injury history, it's hamstrings as well. It's like one, two, three, four, five, six hamstring injuries in the last two and a half years. Not even two and a half years. Well, yeah, let's be generous. Six hamstring injuries in the last two and a half years.

10:14so from the age of basically 27 he's had six hamstring injuries so as he gets older his hamstrings are fucked um yeah i mean this is just and his last hamstring injury was 100 days january to may and if you've ever had a hamstring and i've only ever had my first hamstring injury at 45 when i was playing five a side it fucking hurts but i was only out for a week i thought i'd torn it and I hadn't. I just tweaked it. So you can get different grades of hamstring injuries. A hundred days. That's the worst hamstring injuries he's had of the six and it's his most recent one. So I don't know what this is all about.

11:01And as I say, it says stay calm on the thumbnail. So we're going to stay calm. Well, I am. But look, you can only deliver the news. United apparently are very interested. Well, not very interested. That's a lie. I'm not saying that. Man United have him on the radar. He would love to come to Man United. Apparently he has sacked his agent. He hasn't got another club and Man United are looking at that if and when they move Rasmus on. And all I'm saying is, please Rasmus, dig your feet in and don't go because Calvert Lewin at Man United is depressing. It really is. But look, we'll have to wait and see what happens with that.

11:39But look, yeah, obviously I can't see a positive. I saw somebody in the chat before we went live saying I'd take him on a loan. Sorry, you can't take him on loan. He's a free agent. I wouldn't mind him being on the bench. I mean, the only bench he's going to be on is a bloody hospital bench, isn't it? I mean, it's just not like, you know what? He's just not that good. I watched Everton play against Man United, was it last season? And I thought they played quite well, but had nothing up front and he was up front. So I don't even think he's that good either. I really don't. But look, we just have to see where that goes.

12:15I'm not going to say anything more other than he would love to come to Man United and Man United are considering it. Crazy after the window we're having, but you know, not everything's great, I suppose. Matt Casey, welcome to Members Club. Thank you very much. Seth says, rebuild ain't happening with one transfer window. It takes time to get the right players. Great start. Belieber is great, but Fernandes running around frustrated and his Hollywood pass, as you put it, is a concern. I just want to see Bruno playing as a 10, Seth. I've said it before. That's where I want to see him play. Do you think Belieber will be our new most expensive signing?

12:51And if you do, what's the guaranteed price without add-ons? Hayden, this is the United stand. It's a fan community-led YouTube channel. I do not negotiate the deals, so I can't answer that question, to be honest. But he probably would be, well, he might not be our most expensive signing. Pogba was£89 million, wasn't he? So it might not go over that, to be fair, if you include the add-ons. Please be our transfer chief and commander at United's Garfield. I mean, I'd like to make the decision on Calvert-Lewin. No. Christopher M has got a goalkeeper conspiracy. Laments to challenger Nana was the plan with emi to replace an honor if available but that's on pause with donnarumma now in the mix yeah i mean i wouldn't disagree with that i think the goalkeeper um we're clearly undecided on the goalkeeper at the moment i mean i've got an update on sales which feeds into everything as well but yeah i think you're right i think the goalkeeper it feels like we've got um something going on i mean just just on calvert lewin i did a bit of digging the only other club that's linked to Calvert-Lewin is Sunderland.

13:55Can you say hello to Michael Devine, please? He watches your show every day, says Sam. Hello to Michael. And is United Stand doing an FPL this season? I have said SA. I'm going to look at it this week. So we will have a look at it this week. Love from Malaysia. It's 5pm, says Mukheriz. Hello, everybody, wherever you're watching around the world. Thank you for tuning in this morning. And David says, Calvert-Lewin, like Luke Shaw and Mason Mount, are going to be selling more merchandise for the club. Sounds like Glazenomics to me. says David. I mean, I don't think... I mean, who... If we buy Calvert-Lewin and somebody puts that on the back of their shirt, I'd seriously use that as a...

14:31If I saw someone walking around with Calvert-Lewin on the back of the shirt at Man United, I mean, that says one thing to me. Steer clear that they're not... There's something not quite right. We get, Belieber, how you rate our transfer windows, says Wayne. Why are people obsessed with rating this transfer window when it closes on the 31st of August. We rate it at the end of the window. I'm not rating a transfer window now because what if we get Calvert-Lewin? That brings it down by five. So, you know, I'll rate it at the end of the window. Remember Veg Horse, Nightmare says Vaughn. Okay, right.

15:04We're going a bit silly here. Let's just remember it's a news show. We're here to talk about the news and some of you are behaving a little bit silly this morning. So let's get back to what we're talking about. So other bits I wanted to talk to you about this morning on the news show is that... Not that bit. What was it? What was it? What was it? OK, so it's coming in from The Standard this morning, but after signing Benjamin Sesko, Manchester United have shifted focus to selling Sancho, Anthony and Ganacho. They're almost like... I mean, no one even mentions Malassia now, so I don't know what that's all about.

15:42But also I've got a couple of comments to bring you in from Benjamin Sesko, which I'll speak about in a moment. But look, it is incredibly August the 11th. And I think that when you get back into it, I mean, we're playing a game in six days. The Premier League starts on Friday. Like, I can't believe how quickly it's gone from like that nonsense tour in Asia to today. I mean, I always say this as well. I don't think people realise you click your fingers June and July and August. Well, June, July are gone. It's great that the Premier League season is about to start, but it's another warning. And the morning sneeze is back.

16:31Bloody hell. We need to study this morning sneeze because is it something to do with a time of year? Do they happen like from August till May? And then the summer they disappear. Is this a cry for help? Are these sneezes actually an allergic reaction to Man United playing games? Because I always used to, if you know, you know, I always used to get a morning sneeze about 20 minutes in to the 10 o 'clock show. I haven't had it for months. Not had it for months. It's happened the last two days and there's nothing changed. Weird. But anyway, going back to what I was saying there, we need to almost do a calendar reminder for May the 1st, 2026.

17:13you know, get a notification on your phone. The transfer window goes really quick because I think when the season ends, we go, oh, I've got loads of time. And it feels like what we've done. Kunia was basically being worked on in April and Bermot, we started at the start of June and Sesco. We signed three players in three months and we've sold nobody and it's August the 11th. So I'm not necessarily criticising that. I'm criticising how quick the time goes. It goes so, so fast, doesn't it? So the Premier League season is basically going to start. Preseason is over. It's August the 11th and we're still talking Ganacho, Sancho and Anthony.

17:51I think that's incredible on their part. I mean, what I was told a couple of weeks ago is that Man United are very relaxed about this. All Amrim wanted was for them not to be involved. And what a masterstroke that was. If they're willing to sit on their arse when they're not involved in pre-season. Imagine what they would have done if they had been. Imagine the minutes we would have had to give in to Sancho, Anthony and Ganacho on the tour that other people wouldn't have got. Like they'd have had to have had 45 minutes and stuff like that. So I think it's, I think we've made the right choice in freezing them out.

18:26And it says more about them than it does about us. I mean, the lack of ambition from these three players is incredible, really. You know, to be sat there, you know, down your local gym, that's your pre-season. It's shocking. it's really shocking and look Anthony will say well I only want Betis Man United would say you're our player and you're not fucking going on loan um Danacho saying he only wants Chelsea I mean that's laughable mate it's absolutely laughable they don't need you for a start um but you know fair play and Jadon Sancho I mean god you know what do you expect I mean he's not he's not not used to sitting on his ass is he so I think that you know obviously it would be nice to remove these players, but I don't really know what more Manchester United could do apart from building a time machine and going back to the point that we signed them and not bothering.

19:17I mean, look, Anthony was a warning at Ajax. He went on strike and he's basically on strike with us. Sancho, there was a little bit at Dortmund that he was a bit, you know, late for training and stuff like that. But, you know, I wanted that deal. And yeah, look, it is what it is, This is what I'm saying. I don't think we could have, in defence of Manchester United, I don't want to say that, I don't think we could have done anything better with any of these players. They've basically behaved really lazily. You know, they've sacrificed pre-season to sit on their arse. So, you know, they're acting like players in June who do extra training in Dubai, but this is pre-season.

19:56So I'm sure Man United do want to progress it. I mean, let's call a spade a spade here. every single one of these players thinks they're in control and are waiting for the end of the window because they think they're going to get what they want. Anthony thinks we will loan him to Betis and we won't take a transfer fee and we'll cover his wages. Ganaccio thinks that we will lower the price to a cheap price for Chelsea. And Sancho thinks, well, you know, I can run my contract down. And ultimately, they might all be right. And ultimately, what do you want to do? I just want them out of the club. The one that I think we should dig our feet in a bit is Ganacho.

20:35He's going to Chelsea. He is a talented player. Chelsea play in the same league as us. I don't think we should be giving up a player ridiculously cheap to help them out. But if we can lock them in then to add-ons and sell-on clauses, then maybe there's something in it. But look, I've got to say, never have I known a time where somebody just said, have you seen Ganacho's latest post? Is it the one where he's in the gym? I am blocked, but I think you can look on Ganacho. Let me have a look.

21:10Alex Ganacho. Oh, he's in the gym doing weights with his hand on his head.

21:25fascinating absolutely fascinating stuff

21:31yeah um yeah i forgot what i was going to say because they're just so irrelevant i feel like i've wasted the last five minutes but no i i think with ganacho and sancho and anthony i mean there's there's the thing is there's about 500 000 pounds a week in wages there Half a million pounds a week in wages If we got rid of them before August That's two million pounds saved in August So you just need to move them on Yeah, we just need to move them on, really Oh, he had a time thing on his picture I mean, look, there legitimately is a Ganache fan club out there So I have to respect the fact that some people will find it quite exciting seeing a Ganache picture with an hourglass on it.

22:21But, I mean, the irony of it is hilarious. He's there going, oh, it's not long till I play for Chelsea. And then on the other hand, you're going, you've missed all of preseason, you knobhead. Like, you know, the countdown to Chelsea starts. Yeah, Premier League season starts on Friday, mate. You've not even had a preseason. So, you know, it's embarrassing that you think, ooh, timeline. But look, I don't know. He's vaping as well, apparently. I don't know. I don't know. Let's move on to more positive things. So we've got a quote coming in. Well, there's a few quotes coming in from Sesco because you can check out his interview.

23:00He says, I just want to tell Man United fans that big things are ahead. I can promise you that in every match, I'll give my maximum. him. Look, I was having this conversation with somebody yesterday about, and I think I sort of brought it into a show I did yesterday, but it's very, very true. I live in a real world. And I think that as much as it's always going to be exciting to buy a Paul Pogba or a Bruno Fernandes or a Benjamin Sesco or a Jadon Sancho or an Alexi Sanchez or anybody else, they're always going to be really exciting to buy because the great thing about transfers is you can live in a fantasy world.

23:38You can make up what's going to happen. You can just live on excitement. Nobody signs Benjamin Sesko and goes, oh, I bet he's going to flop. You imagine the best. You imagine 20 goals a season. You imagine Champions League football. You imagine getting him back into title races. That's what we do. That's what we do. My biggest concern is that, and shout out, he's not been here for years, Paul Robinson, but he was one of our moderators and the mods will remember him and i remember when we signed bruno and he said how long before we drag him down to our level and i think that's something that it's not individualistic to the players it's the club culture every signing we make we drag them down there isn't that many players in the last 10 years that you would say that we've bought and have and have gone up a level um i think bruno did for a period and there's one or two others but generally everybody we sign drops we don't get the player we thought we were buying we don't get the Sanchez from Arsenal we don't get the Sancho from Dortmund and that's something that we as a football club have got to look and study now partly I think that's because of the personality of the players I think sometimes we bring players in with the wrong attitudes.

24:56Sometimes we bring players in with the wrong injury history. Sometimes we bring players that aren't good enough in. I think when you look at Cunha and Embermo and Sesko, I don't sense that they're not good enough. I don't sense that they've got the bad attitudes. So maybe it will be as simple as that. It's just about the right profile of player. But even when I watched the game against West Ham last week and, sorry, Everton last week and Fiorentina this week and Cunha's sort of playing as a false nine, I'm sort of like, that's not what he did at Wolves. And we're bypassing him with a long ball.

25:32You can't just buy Cunha from Wolves and get the goals and the assists if you bypass him or you play him out of position. So we have got to feed these players. Now, Sesco, you've got to feed him chances very, very easy. We've not have been very good at that for five years. But Embermo and Kunya, you've also got to give them ball that they're good at dealing with. You've got to get the ball into Kunya's feet. You've got to get it into his feet quickly. He needs the ball to feet to turn into space and progress. With Embermo, you've got to find him quickly to give him the space to cause the damage, to run into it, to put the cross in, to get the shot off.

26:13So look, what's my point? My point is I'm not going to sit here and guarantee any player that we've bought this summer is going to be a success because the last 10 years is littered with this player is going to be a success and then they're not. And they get dragged down to the level of Man United. There are huge expectations at Manchester United. There are huge pressures. There is huge disruption. And I'm not defending players, but how many managers do you play under? Like you can be bought by one and playing for another within six months. This is a regular occurrence. We need stability. we need to cancel the culture that's in the dressing room for the last decade and we need to get the best out of the players that we bring in if you buy kunya because he did good things at wolves providing the platform to do those things at man united the same with imbermo and the same with seska we've got to play to these players strengths yes they've got to fit the system but we've also there's no point in buying erling harland and then playing with it you know playing playing as a false nine.

27:10We've got to play to our options here. So that's my big thing, is how quickly can we get to the strengths of these new signings? Because what Kunja, Sesko and Mbreml have offered at Leipzig, Brentford and Wolves makes us a better team, but we've got to get the best out of them, 100%. I think Garnaccio should have gone to Italy or Spain as so many players go there and do well. Chelsea don't need him, says Michael. He's got a point to prove though. He's got a point to prove. How good are you on the ball, says Luckman. And it's pointless wasting time speaking on these players. The situation wasn't created by them.

27:44And these are legal contracts in place. Actions are limited. This is class of 99. Could you give us more context? Because I don't know who you're actually talking about. Ganacho got caught with a vape as well. It's been going around Twitter, says Jacob. I don't know about that. I don't know about that. I mean, Chelsea want to buy him. He comes with baggage you know um we all know that there's a lot of things i know about ganacho rumors wise that um you know there's a lot of things i know about other players as well i mean it's just not worth commenting on but um i'm sure there's a footballer that smokes maybe they've maybe they've stopped now um there was there was a good footballer who smoked it's not chesney is it does chesney smoke the goalkeeper um at barcelona i'm sure there i'm sure there are players that do smoke or have smoked mctominy smokes apparently so it's just danny i'm not i mean that might have just been a celebratory cigar um at the end of the season um so look the thing about vaping is it's each to their own but there is absolutely no medical analysis on that so you know it's uh i wouldn't advise people do it, but you're free to do what you want.

29:00Before facing against the top six, always gave me a feeling that we are subpar and would take a miracle to win. Now feeling we can go toe to toe. Seth, it's half past 10 on a Monday morning and you think we can go toe to toe with the top six. Can I have whatever you're smoking? Forget vapes, cigars. I want to smoke what Seth's smoking because he thinks we can go toe to toe with the top six. I want to hear more from Seth. I want to hear more. I mean, Seth is top of the chart as well. I mean, I don't look at this enough, but our top fans today is Seth, Michael and the Six. So there we go. Shout out to Seth, top of the fans.

29:39Sesko versus Yoko Resh, Clash of the Titans, is prank football. And Zina has gifted a membership as well. Jackin says, you sneezed because you mentioned Calvert-Lewin. Well, I'm definitely allergic to that. Let's do a cheeky swap. PSG, they get Inanna, we get Donnarumma. Yeah, they're not thick though, are they, Sale, unfortunately. I've watched other channels and no other channel presents news or info as accurate as you. Any new old collab like Robbie or football filling in this year? Yeah, I'm back with Robbie, Sean O 'Neill, on That's Football, on Friday. Yeah, and we've got a proper forfeit this year as well because we only started halfway through last season.

30:16So we're from the start this year, Premier League predictions weekly. So that's, yeah, we're looking forward to that.

30:25Michael says, Lomens and Belieba or Donnarumma and Yulman? I've been asked this before. I'd go with Donnarumma and Yulman. Emily Derry says, Calvert-Lewin, if we're going there, what was the point of getting rid of Martial then, says Emily? Yeah, good point. Hope you're doing well. JCHMUFC has gifted five memberships this morning. Thank you very much. Absolute legend. Just turned 26. Any advice, Mark? I think Kunja would be a better centre midfielder than Bruno with his ball carrying. maybe swapping them could be a solution says caleb interesting um any advice for a 26 year old yeah it's all downhill from here your life's over mate yeah may as well just you know take up knitting uh buy yourself a bag of worth as originals and uh get some just for men because you're gonna go gray no i mean look bloody hell 26 you've got 20 years on me mate you've got a whole life ahead of you uh don't waste it a bit like the transfer window it's over before you know it.

31:19And, you know, life's the same. Not saying it's over, but I mean, I don't know. I sometimes look at the last 20 years and I go, where did that go? So just grab every moment. And also, it's a privilege to get old. People panic about getting old and you do think, well, where's the time gone? Some people don't get that time. So never moan about getting older because some people don't. And I'm not talking about Benjamin Button. I'm talking about, you know, obviously death um mark remember done that one appreciate that also uh i think that one of my co-workers did sport science and she says vaping is worse than smoking says harry sinclair i'm not here it's not it's not the late late show it's not the after show i'm not here to say anything but all i would say is what i say to my uh daughters um i mean seb's not old enough yet um don't vape because i don't think there's enough scientific research around it i mean they used to say smoking was good for you in the 50s.

32:14They did. It was encouraged. I wasn't alive in the 50s, by the way. That's anecdotal. I mean, it could be a myth. Do you think we are light anywhere in defence, says Isaac? I had a very good point just talking about Belieber for a moment, and I'm going to throw James under the bus. James messaged me about this yesterday, and he said, his concern going into the season is that loads of people are predicting Man United might get fifth, But when you look at the team, it's great that we've got Cunyat and Bermot and Sesko, and that solves a problem in the front three. I mean, last season, there wasn't enough service into the strikers, but also you've got Ganacho, Rashford for a little bit, Anthony for a little bit, even Ahmad, selfish, you know, shooting all the time.

32:59So we've solved that problem on paper. but the midfield is still wide open and teams are going to run through it the defense at times is bad on the back post and teams are going to exploit that and the goalkeeper is better at volleyball than goalkeeping and teams are going to exploit that so I think you can walk into this season like James says and go there is improvement but there are also holes in this team we're going to need to average over two goals a game to get anywhere near the top six because we're clearly going to concede goals. We're not going to get many clean sheets. I mean, look, we might get a clean sheet against Arsenal on Sunday, but I guarantee you it will be because Arsenal missed a couple of sitters.

33:43We can keep a clean sheet, but it won't be because we're watertight defensively. it will be because chances are missed by the opposition. So, so many games as well. I think James said this as well. So many games in the Premier League are won by the odd goal or a late goal or this, that and the other. So look, we've always had the ability to do that under Jose, Ten Hag, Oli. We are quite good at finding goals from set pieces or moments. So we've always got that in our locker if we can concede less. But to answer the question, do I worry about holes in the team? I think we're a little bit slow in the defence at times.

34:25I think there's certain players that are a little bit slow for this team. I think it's very obvious to me that, and I keep talking about it, but I think it's the most symbolic goal that we conceded in pre-season was the West Ham goal, where the front would have been, I mean, maybe it was the front, I don't know whether it was the wing-backs, but it was certainly the midfield too. we pressed, we got bypassed, Sushek's got acres in the midfield, runs into space, they end up scoring. Our defence should be higher there. If our midfield presses, our defence should press too. Our defence should be on the halfway line.

34:59If you've got a midfield two of Agathe and Bruno and they press and leave the midfield space, then two of those defenders should be stepping into that space because there's a spare one anyway for the long ball. But we don't. We stay back as a three and then Sushek's got it running into space. So the defence, people have a go at the midfield. Bruno and Beliba could technically both be number eights in that midfield. And it could work if your defence steps into the midfield. But at the moment, we haven't learned to move into the midfield. Got three centre-backs and they can be quite static at times.

35:37In certain situations, look at Arsenal in the FA Cup in January. they couldn't break us down because you just sit there with a back five and you're hard to break down but in a normal game when it's nil nil and you've or you've got nothing to hold on to i think we need to be more proactive in the midfield and the goalkeeper is problematic look i don't see belieber as a six i even saw it described i even described i saw him described as a six or a holding midfielder yesterday in a in one particular um news article i don't see him as a six i think you're killing him as a six it's like putting mainu as a six you're killing his attacking instincts so look maybe the plan is to play him as a six but we don't really play with a six we play with two a midfield pivot um and he's so good going forward that would be a waste if you spend 100 million pounds on believer and put him as a holding midfielder you've just lost 50 million pounds of his value so do you think we're light anywhere in defense is either well i think that covers that what you've just said there uh crocodile man thanks very much for your super chat uh calvert lewin is just to fill the english quota on the cheap the likes of mount shaw mcguire are expensive not good enough and waste of space sarvish i i've been thinking about this for a while i think our english quota is shit comparable to the rest of the squad i think our homegrown quota is awful to the point where i think we keep players who aren't good enough just because of their passport i mean look tom heaton's third choice goalkeeper lovely lad never gonna get any game time, British passport.

37:11Luke Shaw, lovely lad, I don't know, injured for two years, British passport. I mean, Harry Maguire has a purpose. He's only got a year left, but he's got a purpose. Maynou obviously has a future, but can't get in the team at the moment, British passport. Calvert-Lewin, Rasmus out, Calvert-Lewin in, 22-year-old with potential out, 29-year-old injury-prone crap in British passport. So it just feels like we need, that's something, I mean, look, it's not for now, but we need to improve our homegrown quota. Like we're Manchester United, we're an English club. Our English representation in that squad is shit, really.

37:54I'm not saying Maguire's shit or Manu's shit. I'm just saying overall for an English club, if this was in Italy, that go mad. Like, you know, you're an Italian club. You want a selection of good Italian players. We're a Manchester United. We're an English club and our English players just aren't anywhere near our top five players, are they? They're not. They're nowhere near the top five. Our top five players, not one of them's English. When was the last time you would say that? When was the last time in our history you would say, out of the top five players at Man United, none of them are English.

38:30I mean, could you make an argument that out of our top 10 players, none of them are English? I mean, I'm going Bruno, Konya, Embermo, Sesko, Ahmad,

38:43Dalit, Yoro, Masraoui.

38:53It's close, isn't it? It's close I mean, I'm starting to think now I might throw in a Maynou Or a Maguire But, you know, it's close It's close that Martinez fits in there as well You could make a case You could genuinely make a case That not one of Man United's top 10 current players are English That's a disgrace it's not a it's not something i'm going to scream and shout it's a gym or joel you know i'm not going to shout it because there's bigger things to solve but that does need to get solved you can't have manchester united football club with not one english player in their top five players i mean you look at over the years skulls beckham rooney you know carrick it's not good enough it's not good enough um but um yeah somebody just said um mainu hates mate i'm one of mainu's biggest fans i don't want him to leave man united but if you think he's in our top five players can i have what you're smoking seth you've been i don't want your smoking i want to smoke what you're smoking so maguire's in our top five players and mainu's in our top five players you might want to look at what happened last season and realize that they're definitely not they're definitely not in there Manu could be but if you can't even get in a Man United side that's shit, how can you be in the top five players, you know he could be, you could argue he should be, but you're having a laugh if you think he is Roll on Saturday I think we pick up a draw, we'll be interesting how we line up at the back and in centre mid says Gargo our best player is English, ask Barcelona this is Robert McCormack I should have seen that one come in I believe United has cracked the Belieber deal And is working through it But briefing that it's difficult To come out looking good and competent Says Sojourn I hope so I like Heaven But his performance has dropped Says Luckman Garner vape fake anyway Chelsea flipping him for 80 Says Roosh Roll on Saturday Welcome to the members club English Mike Would Calvert-Lewin be a decent third choice striker?

41:05Harrison I wouldn't get him to sweep up Carrington. He's a busted flush. He's serially injury prone and he ain't actually that good. You know, if Man United are looking at players like this just because they've got a British pass point, it's sad. I'd rather pick out a 16. I'd rather use Rooney's kid, who's what, 15, than use Calvert-Lewin. I don't see the point. I think we should really be patient with the new signings like Mbermo and Sesko. patience is the hardest word muck it really is um john united says it's going to be a roller coaster of a season let's not get it twisted new signings will help but they won't fix everything and uh thank you very much for that uh do you think arsenal do you think sesco starts against that was from john united miles says do you think sesco starts against uh arsenal yeah i mean i can't see a reason why he wouldn't um yeah i can't see a reason why he wouldn't i mean logically he might but um he might not he might be on the bench but if we can get that behind closed doors game in i mean look as robert mcormack says if we don't start sesco we're going to play mount as a false nine so i hope we're going to start sesco but i think we'll play defensive against arsenal anyway i think we will play but i'd play sesco because of the set piece threats if arsenal are going to have most of the ball, which they will, and we're going to play counter-attack, then, you know, he is tall.

42:35He gives you some physicality, doesn't he? Mount is the next one anyway. Oh, I forgot about Mason Mount. Put my hand up. I forgot about Mason Mount. Mason Mount might slip into the top 10. That's the problem with Mount. I just don't see him as a Man United player. I still see a Chelsea shirt. I think Mason Mount's had such an unlucky two years. I just still don't see him as a Man United player. Apologies, I completely forgot about Mason Mount and that's the problem. It feels like he doesn't exist sometimes, says Ladios. Yeah. So the Athletic have put us in. Right. First things first, we're coming towards the end of the show anyway.

43:11Make sure you smash the like and subscribe. We've got... My Premier League predictions video must be watched. Recorded yesterday after a couple of tipples, I basically did top six, who gets relegated, who wins the Prem, obviously that's in top six. Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, obviously some of that features Manchester United. The Athletic today have put it out there that Man United finished eighth. Just whack a few comments in whether you're live or not. Do you think eighth is a fair representation of Manchester United? Because some people have reacted badly to this. Honestly, I'm always up for challenging media because I don't think it's very good.

43:54I don't think journalism exists anymore. I think it's client journalism and it's not very good. But actually, I think eighth place, I would say, is quite a low risk prediction. They're not putting us in 12th, taking the piss, and they're not putting us in the top for taking the piss. So I actually think eighth place is probably the value bet on Man United, if you take into account the reality of last season and the unknown of this season. So I think eighth is not disrespectful. It's not positive. I think eighth place is probably the sort of safe bet. You know, it's the boring bet. Just go for eighth place.

44:36They had a shit season last year. They're going to improve. Let's go eighth. It's not where I've gone. Robert says the bookies have got us in fifth. You see, if you watch Premier League predictions, I've put us into fifth and the explanation is there. But what I will say is that's optimistic. I'm going slightly, some would say very, on the positive side. So I'm not guaranteeing you fifth and I'm not saying if we finish sixth, Amram needs to go. If we finish eighth, Amram can stay. That's ridiculous to sack him if we finish eighth, having finished 15th last year. But I'll be disappointed with eighth.

45:17But I've always said, I think we're trajecting somewhere between fifth and 10th. And there's six places there and they're very different. Eighth place won't get us Europe, by the way. So it just shows you the challenge. And also, I think you've got to pick off every team that finished above you. So yeah, Brentford are weak. I'd expect to go above them. Bournemouth are weaker. I'd expect to go above them. Brighton, the big unknown, don't know. Newcastle, much better midfield than us. Villa, Spurs, you know, there's a lot of teams you've got to move out the way to take fifth place. So yeah, we can, as I say, it's a bit like the transfer window.

46:00We can all be optimistic and, you know, live in fantasy when a ball's not being kicked. I think the reality is going to kick in after the first five games when people see how many points we've got. And that's why I think it's always, you can't rate a transfer window until the transfer window is over. And yet you have to do your Premier League predictions before a ball's been kicked. I actually think Premier League predictions are a lot easier when you've watched the first three games, which we don't get to do. I'm going with an optimistic fifth I haven't got a problem with anybody who says eighth I think ninth or tenth Is unacceptable I think eighth Is the limit of what's acceptable for United This season and it's not good And there'll be plenty of moaning but what I mean About sackable it's not sackable Eighth place it'll be shit but it won't be sackable Anything below that And I think You know it starts to get dodgy For me But fifth is what I'm going to go for.

47:00It's very, very optimistic, but we're Manchester United fans. Why can't we be optimistic? I'd rather go into a season with a bit of positivity than negativity. What do you think about Forest? It's hard, isn't it? Because are they a one-season wonder under Nuno? Alanga's a loss, but I like Endoy. I think they've bought a couple of good Brazilians and they've kept Gibbs white. Having said that, they've got European football. So this is where we've got to look to make points. As I said last night, our season's not about the first 10 games. It's about every game after that. First 10 games, everyone plays much the same.

47:42Everyone's got a fully fit squad. It's competitive. Game 10 to game 30 is when people start getting tired. They start playing more games. Injuries start to hit. And I think that's where I liken United's season to a marathon. As long as we start okay and we can see the runners, I think the final two thirds of the season is where we can catch up. But we've got the AFCON as well. That's going to hurt us, but we have got a big squad. I put a better Man United to win the leagues as Alberto. I mean, you've just wasted your money. Chelsea have been good with transfers. If they take Ganacho at 40, they'll sell him in two years for 80.

48:21We need to stop that with players, says Protect Emperor. It'll be Mount and Cunha against Arsenal and one other, says Robert. Robert's obsessed with Mason Mount these days. Robert, do you ever like players that haven't got a British passport? It just occurred to me. Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount. I really think you like Terry Maguire as well. I just would love to know non-British players that Robert McCormack likes. just out of interest. Anyway, look, thanks everyone for watching this morning. Please do go and check my Premier League predictions. I'm almost finishing a few minutes earlier so you can check it.

49:01The link's in the live chat or just type That's Football on YouTube. Please do go and give it a watch this morning. That would be absolutely fantastic. We are back at two o 'clock. I think it's Beth at two o 'clock today. I'm back with you at eight o 'clock, but obviously it could be a big week so if anything breaks we will go live with regards to that as well thank you everybody for watching this morning absolute legends start of another week the premier league is about to start premier league predictions go and give it a watch and i will speak to you on the next one take care