242: Amorim Wants Anderson Now! Munoz Transfer Plea!

0:00102 miles ago, the oil light came on. 100 miles ago, you noticed. Now, it's time to head to Take 5. This oil change, fall in love with your car all over again. In just 10 minutes, your dream technician will check your tire pressure, top off fluids, change your oil, and verify with Carfax exactly what your car really needs, all while keeping you in the driver's seat. Take 5, the stay-in-your-car 10-minute oil change. Save up to 30 % on your next oil change to Take 5. $15 value, valid at participating locations, terms and conditions apply. From Taco Night in Tulum to Sushi in Tokyo, Make every bite rewarding with gold from Amex.

0:35Wherever you dine, four times the membership rewards points at restaurants worldwide are piling up. Learn more at americanexpress.com slash explore-gold. Terms and points cap apply. Hello, everybody. Welcome to the United Stands. I'm Mark Goldbridge, and this is your latest Manchester United news and transfer news this Sunday morning. One week and the Premier League's back, but there's lots to get into this morning. As I've said to you many years, the UK press on a Sunday is very different. We get different journalists, different outlets. We're going to be talking about how Elliot Anderson is now the number one target for Ruben Amrim.

1:08We've got a very interesting quote coming in from the Crystal Palace fullback Munoz, who wants to join Manchester United. Would that be a good deal? On the face of it, it could be, but I suppose you're looking at the age. I've also got a little bit on Belaba as well. Sir Alex Ferguson's been talking about the progress of Manchester United. Lots of Casemiro glow up after what he did yesterday for Brazil. and a few other bits to get into this morning. So lots to get into. Apologies for being a little bit late this morning, but we did have an all-day charity stream yesterday that ran from 11 a.m.

1:41until about half past midnight. So it wasn't that I wasn't up to do the show. I'm just a little bit slower than normal and everything seems to be taking a lot longer. You know, I was in the shower at half nine and the next thing I know it's 10 o 'clock and I'm like, I've still got to set the bloody, I've got a bit of breakfast. But if you want to donate to that, we're only a hundred pounds away at the moment from 37 ,000, which is what we raised yesterday. We're on 36 ,830. So if you didn't get involved yesterday and you want to donate to this fantastic charity that we do money for every year, the Marie Curie Centre, which is for end of life care for people with terminal illness and supporting their family, please do.

2:16It makes a massive difference. And we're only£100 away from 37K. So the link's in the live chat for that. But let's get into the show here on the United Stand. We're back on the normal schedule. So we'll have an eight o 'clock show for you tonight to get involved in as well. I want to talk straight away about the Mirror. The Sunday Mirror have come out with a story today. Now, there is a bit of a mixed message in there. And I've got to say, even on BBC transfer gossip, they're quoting the Mirror saying January sweep. I've read the article. I've read it multiple times and I can't see anything about January in there.

2:46So just be wary of that today. People saying that Man United are moving for Anderson in January as per the Mirror. This article doesn't reference anything about January. It doesn't mean it couldn't happen in January, but we'll talk about it in a moment. What it says is Elliot Anderson is Man United's first midfield target next summer. He's likely to cost less than Balaba, less than 100 million. Man United are in the market for two midfielders. Balaba is the other big deal in the frame. The club remain keen on him and the player wants to join. It also goes on to say that in relation to a January transfer window, somebody like Conor Gallagher would be most likely because he's available and wants to play football ahead of the World Cup for England.

3:29So I read it that it's not for January. I read it that it's for the summer. And I read it that Anderson's the priority for the big deal. And Balaba is the second priority for the big deal. I don't read it that we're getting both. I read it that we will have a significant outlay on a midfielder. And then the other midfielder might be a little bit cheaper, i.e. somebody like Gallagher, Gomez, Stilla, etc. So I think you could probably look at it and go Anderson, Balaba, Wharton in priority of big signing. And then probably Gallagher, Stila, Gomez for the other player as well. So, yeah, be very interested to see how that goes.

4:09And look, I did a video yesterday. I hope many of you watched it. I give you my top five midfielders so you can check that out. Anderson wasn't my number one. and I'm not going to spoil the video. I'm sure someone in the chat will be. But I think it's interesting that Amory may well be prioritising Elliot Anderson now. And I'm not here to, it's a new show, so I'm not here to repeat what we went through yesterday. But you can understand why he's looking at Anderson now. You can understand that why Anderson is the priority. I don't think it's as easy as saying he's the player that we want. We're going to get him.

4:41I expect there to be competition, certainly from Newcastle, because that's where Forrest bought him from. And there may well be something there. And he's a local lad. But if Newcastle had continued to have the season they're having, We might be able to discount them because he's going to be coming off a World Cup looking to progress his career. Newcastle could be seen as a step backwards if they finish outside of European spots, which they are at the moment, and they're not in Europe. So he might not fancy that. But obviously, you've still got to consider Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City if they decide to enter that race.

5:11because the age profile of Anderson and what he's doing, he's not Declan Rice, but you can almost mirror what Declan Rice was doing at West Ham and go, look, he was a very good player for West Ham. He was playing for England at West Ham. He was ready to take the step up. And I think Elliot Anderson's in the same case. So it's encouraging that that's the player we're probably looking at. I'd certainly say between Belaber and Anderson, I can pop a poll in here and we can see what you would say. Let's just call it either or Anderson or Belaber I think where we are today In mid-November Exactly in mid-November That's where I would be going I would be going Elliot Anderson over Belaber At the moment That doesn't mean it can't change But that's where I would be going Definitely Robert McCormack's in the house Hope you're doing well Robert He's given us a super chat this morning He says Is Conor Gallagher going to get More game time here?

6:05I think this is a great point Because I saw a lot of what People were talking about the midfield and it's irrelevant. I mean, I want to talk about this Muniz story from Palace. I think it's very interesting and it ticks a lot of boxes. We've also been linked to Nathaniel Brown of Eintracht Frankfurt as well today from Bild, which I think is interesting as a left back. Obviously, Bundesliga bridge. Some of you watch it on That's Football With Me. You'll know who Brown is. They've got another centre back. They've got a centre back there or quite like as well. But to be fair, Frankfurt's defence is not very good this year, But he's obviously an attacking fullback at 22.

6:38We'll talk about that in a moment. And Munoz as well. Wingback positions, you could say. But in relation to the midfield, obviously, we've spoken about Elliot Anderson there. Is he ahead of Baleba? I think that with regards to what we have at the moment, there was a lot of people yesterday talking about Casemiro. Oh, he's a boss. He's this, that and the other. Ancelotti was saying after the game, he's the most important player for the team's balance. He's very tactically intelligent and he shows great leadership. He's an important player for us. And a lot of people yesterday, oh, sign him up, sign him up, Casemiro this, Casemiro that.

7:14And I'm like, look, the guy's 34 in February. He's on 300k a week. I'm told he's gone in the summer anyway. So I'm not even going to stress about this anymore. That's just what I've been told. We'll see what happens in the summer. And that's very recent information from somebody very good, they're saying this deal won't happen. Amarim can want it to happen. The club don't want it to happen. And Casemiro is not going to take a 50 % pay cut. And Man United probably wouldn't want to give him 150k a week anyway. So I'm quite relaxed about this Casemiro thing. This whole, oh, let's give him another contract.

7:48I mean, I'd be tearing my hair out if we did it. I think he might get through this season. He might not. He's doing well at the moment, but I don't want another season of Casemiro and our midfield. So to answer Robert McCormack's question, I think the problem we have in our midfield at the moment is that we're forced to see the positives of a Bruno Casemiro midfield, which basically makes no sense because one of them is going to be 34 in February and his legs are going. And the other one is a number 10. And we're forced to see the positives of that because Agathe and Maynou, for whatever reason, are not trusted by this manager.

8:22So to answer Robert McCormack's question, would Conor Gallagher get game time here? Well, I'd seriously question the manager and the recruitment team if we went and got Conor Gallagher and didn't give him game time. I mean, what's the point in bringing Conor Gallagher in or Jao Gomez in or any midfielder in in January and then them being sat on the bench like Maino and Agate? It'd be a waste of time. What I think would happen, Robert, is that this would be a player, whether it's Conor Gallagher or someone else that Ruben Amrum says, I really like them and I will use them. And I expect that January midfielder to come in and get game time straight away.

8:57Now, they might not start every game, but I expect them to be trusted for half an hour. I expect them to be trusted to start a game when, you know, Casemiro or Bruno has a bad game. I think that is something he doesn't have at the moment. It's like having a striker that's way better than your backup. So you overplay your striker because you don't trust the backup. And we've seen that in all levels of football. It's like your goalkeeper, isn't it? You know, I've got Biinder on the bench, but I ain't bloody using him. And I think that's what, unfortunately, to be blunt, I think that's Amrim's perception of Manu and Agate.

9:28They're a bit like Biinder. I don't want to use them. So if you bring someone else in that he does want to use, they will get used. And that's the way I look at it. Seriously. And look, can I just say, in relation to Casemiro, you can look at his stats this season. I was looking at them today. You know, passes per 90, he's up at 48 passes per 90, which is, you know, it's more than Jao Gomez. It's way more than Baleba. So he's passing the ball more. His accuracy may not be as good, but he is passing the ball more. And you look at the defensive side of his game, successful defensive actions per 90.

10:00He's up at 10. And he's not doing as many defensive jewels as Jao Gomez or Baleba. But obviously he's very good in the air, aerial jewels. He wins way more than anybody else. He's winning 4.2, sorry, he's in 4.2 aerial duels per 90 compared to two for Belaber and Gael Gomez. So statistically, he is doing, you know, very well for Manchester United. But the interesting thing about Casemiro is, is you compare him to somebody like Idrissa Gueye at Everton, and their stats are very similar in relation to passing, in relation to tackling, in relation to interceptions. Obviously Casemiro is better in the air But I'm not running away on Casemiro's season Because I don't think it's Well there's no long term longevity in it And he is doing well in an area that's shit You know there is no competition actually I don't rate our midfield as highly as some people want to rate it I'm hoping it's going to be enough to get us where we need to be in the summer But if we don't invest in it heavily, which is why we're being linked to loads of midfielders, then I think we've got a big, big problem.

11:14And he scored a good goal yesterday. I was watching on the charity stream. He scored a very good goal. But let's not forget, it's international football. I mean, I score Eketike's goal. If that had been a Man United player, trust me, there'd be people in the chat this morning saying we've got the next Messi. And it was a good goal for Eketike, but it's international football, you know. and ultimately it's about what we do between now and next summer on the field and off the field and that midfield in my opinion needs major investment. Island Boy says I wish I knew more about Stilla. Balaba moving down the pecking order but I think he's still on the list.

11:50He needs to turn it around quickly. Hey you know what Balaba will still be on the list and 85 % of you have gone for Anderson over Balaba and I completely understand that and I agree with you because Anderson is a better all-rounder. He's exceeding Baleba in every level, whether it's passing, tackling. He's way better than him in everything. But Baleba is underachieving. You would expect him to hopefully move up in the next few months and maybe he'll become Manganat's priority again. But I do think he's had a bad start to the season. Save big money on everything you need at Menards. Your roof is the first line of defense against the elements, and it enhances the appearance of your home's exterior.

12:34Owens Corning Duration Shingles offer ultimate protection. Choose from 26 stylish colors and transform your home today. Shop our selection of roofing products on Menards.com. Plus, check out our weekly flyer for all the great deals happening now. Save big money at Menards. there's nothing like the american express platinum card find out your welcome offer after you apply which could be as high as 175 000 points learn more and find out your offer at american express dot com slash explorer dash platinum terms apply uh rob always united says epic job yesterday mark love what you do think we can realistically think about in january um conor gallagher i think is what we can realistically look at and rob always united you made some very big donations yesterday so big up to you thank you very much you're a legend Chip says it's risky to completely overhaul your entire midfield in one summer there usually is a settling in period and we can't have three midfielders going throughout the same time one in January is essential says Chip I agree I think to bring somebody in in January like Man City have done in the past with Mamouche and is it Nico Ganchalbez I think he came in in January we've seen Chelsea do it before it makes total sense you can do it in one summer Liverpool did it in one summer They brought in McAllister, Graven Birch and Sir Bosley in one summer.

13:53But where we are at the moment, we're not Liverpool under Klopp. So we need to be, we can't wait. We've got to move now because we're so far behind. Jack Brassy, welcome to the Members Club. Thank you very much for getting your badge in. Love that. Thank you very much for your support. And as I say, we really appreciate our members. Man United Fan for Life says, Hi Mark, well done on raising so much for the charity. Hope my contribution helped. Also, I want Anderson and Stiller to keep up the good job. thank you very much for being a member for 22 months mate thank you very much do you see Munoz as a United player we're about to talk about him Rajaf and well done for yesterday says Slow Sports News well thank you pal you were our first ever donation as well this year so thank you very much Emily Derry says with a super chat thank you Emily and good morning we don't have a complete first team even in Amrim's view he's having to put stopgaps in there midfield is an urgent concern both his first choice players are coming to the end of their careers says Emily thank you and just before we move on to Munez um somebody said there what have you heard obviously you hear little bits um we had very good information ahead of the summer around Inanna and a couple of other things and throughout the summer and I've been told that Casemiro staying at Man United is just bluster at the moment um Amorim may well want it to happen but Amorim doesn't have the final say um and effectively Man United have been trying to remove Casemiro's wage for two years and they don't expect him to stay anyway and they don't expect to be offering him a wage that he would want so we'll see how that develops I'm pretty sure the media and Amrim will keep saying we want to keep him we want to keep him because Amrim has a track record of keeping players that you wouldn't expect to be kept but the reality is he's on 300 grand a week he'll be 34 in the summer and for Manganata to keep him they're probably only gonna give him max maximum 150 grand a week he can go to a club in Europe and get more than that because he can go to Turkey and get way more than that he can go to MLS he can go to Saudi I don't see Casemiro taking a huge pay cut to stay in Manchester I don't and that's what I was told and also I don't think the club are going to look at that and go that's a good use of funds if they bring two midfielders in, Casemiro's barely going to start.

16:14But we'll see. We'll see because some people aren't going to like that update, but I'm quite comfortable with it. Let's talk about this fullback situation. So very interesting story coming out yesterday. Two stories about fullbacks, but we'll start off with the Premier League one first. So Crystal Palace wingback Daniel Munez has said playing for Man United would be a dream come true. He said, first of all, I think there's a lot of talk about one club or another. If you ask me, it would be a dream move to come to play for one of these clubs, whether it's Barcelona, PSG, Real Madrid or Manchester United.

16:48I think I'm working towards that. I strive every day to one day attract the attention of one of these clubs because it's a dream of mine to get there. But right now I'm focused on my club, on doing things well at Crystal Palace. If you ask me, I don't have any concrete information that any of these clubs are interested me, my focus is on Crystal Palace. We'll see when the winter transfer window gets closer. I mean, you've got to admire the openness and honesty of the player, first of all, because he's basically putting himself in the shop window, isn't he? And saying, I would love to play for Manchester United.

17:25Let's see what happens in the January transfer window, which is very, very close. There is no doubt that he has been a fantastic player over the last 18 months in the Premier League in that right wingback position. Let's not forget, not right back, right wingback, because Crystal Palace do play with three centre-backs. So in many ways, he is probably the best right-sided player in the Premier League on form over the last 18 months that plays the system we play because Ahmad's only just started there and you know he has been absolutely brilliant for Crystal Palace the issue you've got is he's 30 in May and that goes way beyond what Ineos's barrier is which is 27 so I don't see how Manchester United would go near this but it does sort of make you think well could it could there be something in it I mean he's got a contract till 2028.

18:24We're 2025. So there is no end of year free transfer or last 18 months of your contract. In fact, he signed a new contract in April. So I don't really get the logic of it other than it might be a player that's doing really, really well, who thinks he could play at a higher level and is sort of just putting it out there to see if anyone takes the bait because he's not going to go for cheap.

18:52And he's not a player that Crystal Palace will be looking into. So I think it's going to be out of our parameters. But I do like the player, but I think it's going to be out of our parameters. And also, he would fit our system like a glove. He is very good going forward and he's very good defensively. And if he was 25, I think you'd be going, this is worth a look at. This is worth the outlay. But as I say, 30 in May.

19:26Ahmad's first choice in that position. We've also got Deleuze and Masraoui. We're not going to make a move for him in January. And I can't see us making a move for him in the summer. It's a difficult one because I think in football, you shouldn't be age specific because a 30 year old could play at the highest level for three years um but they might always they might also fade massively in in between 30 and 33 um so for me this is a no as much as i think he's good and it's also a no i think from man united i don't think they'll go in i don't think they'll do it but it's interesting and i always say this in the international break loose lips sink ships and what that means is on the international break these players are away from their club they're liberated and they speak more freely we've seen it for years at man united with the likes of luke shaw paul pogba harry mcguire they're in a comfortable environment they're not in the under the scrutiny of man united and they speak a little bit more openly um and that's a very open thing to say i mean i don't know what crystal palace fans will think about it because ultimately he's locked in on a contract i don't think he'll be going anywhere um let's have a quick look at what everyone else is saying i'm hoping and looking forward to the front three of bruno and burmo and kunya if he decides to try it in the next game what do you think says mark um well thanks very much for your super chat pal um and thanks everyone is tuning in this morning i think with regards to sesko the nonsense that people were talking about him you know should have staying on the pitch etc obviously that was medical advice to take him off and we saw that with Bergvold the previous week with the concussion um players can't overrule medical staff and that just doesn't happen these days I know we we talk about Wayne Rooney saying let me play on but those days are gone we know those those are gone but the indication is that Sesco's injury is not bad um and with us playing Everton uh next weekend um I would not be surprised if Sesco is available um what I would be surprised is if Amrim actually starts him because based on his last two starts, and he didn't start against Spurs, he's hardly setting the world on fire.

21:32So I wouldn't be surprised against Everton if we saw Mount Cunha and Embermo with Bruno in the midfield with Casemiro. I don't think he's going to use Bruno in the number 10, which is, you know, an indication, if we want to be harsh, that Bruno is not rated by Amrim as a number 10 in his system. And I've not heard many people say that, but let's be honest, that's where I'd be using Bruno. That's where maybe some of you would be using Bruno. And the reality is, as good as he is and as creative as he is and as many chances he creates, Amman would rather stick him in the midfield and have him creating chances from there.

22:03So I don't think he'll use him as a tent as much as I would like to see it. Many thanks for getting me through it all, says Finlay. My mum has been battling cancer and I've been trying to get through exams. I listen every day for five years. Stay strong, Finlay. And it's great that you're applying yourself in your studies. And thanks for being part of this fantastic community. Thank you so much. And Connor says, I hope Ireland win today. Come on, you boys in green. Thank you, Connor. I appreciate you. And the second story this morning that came in about a fullback, and I'm quite interested in this, is that there are some fantastic talents in the Bundesliga.

22:36As we saw in the summer, there was a lot of people coming in from the Premier League and there will be a lot again. I think, as I said on the watch along yesterday, you've got Nusser at Leipzig, you've got Diamande at Leipzig, you've certainly got Uzzan at Frankfurt, you've got Stille obviously at Stuttgart. There's some interesting players at Union Berlin, Cologne But Frankfurt do have a lot Hugo Larson, the career mode legend Is a very interesting player in their midfield Nathaniel Brown, left back, 22 Man United can be added to the list of admirers For Eintracht Frankfurt's rising star Nathaniel Brown They have him on their radar As do Arsenal, Man City and Real Madrid The question now is not whether Brown will leave But when and Frankfurt know this and expect to receive a transfer fee of a big proportion for the 22-year-old.

23:27They're aware of interest from Man United and others and they've set their sights on a big deal. Indeed, they think he's worth at least the£63.5 million Chelsea paid for Marc Cucarella and sporting director Marcus Krus is willing to accept that. So look, it's interesting, isn't it? Eintracht Frankfurt have done very very well in recent years in selling players we've seen it with Eketike in the summer we saw it with Mamouche in January and there are others that have followed indeed and it's interesting that they use Cucurella because Cucurella obviously went from Brighton to Chelsea not from Frankfurt to Chelsea so I don't know why they'd be thinking about Premier League prices because we all know that comes with the tax the thing there's a few things I'd say about this is one, I'd be initially encouraged that we're looking at left wing backs because I'm not so sure that we are as strong as we need to be at left wing back and right wing back.

24:25I think you could argue that we need to make a signing in both of those positions. I would say at left wing back though, does Nathaniel Brown make sense? He's still a prospect and we've already got Dorgou and Leon. So I'd argue that maybe you'd be looking at somebody who's maybe more mid twenties, maybe like Kunja Mbamo, a player for now rather than another prospect. I also think where it's very unlikely we're going to spend£50 million on our left wing back because I don't know where that money is going to come from when we need to prioritise the big money on the midfield. So there's positives and negatives about it.

24:57The reality is that Frankfurt defensively are all over the place this season. That doesn't mean that he as an individual is a bad player, but it's not like Frankfurt defensively are on fire. But he is an interesting player. And as I've said before, Roy Keane got relegated playing at centre-back for Nottingham Forest. And we still broke the British transfer record and he became one of our greatest ever players. So you can't judge one player on the inability of the team. So he's an interesting profile of player. But what I would say is it's from Bild, it's in Germany. And that to me does read a little bit like you can add Man united to the list of real madrid and whoever else was linked to him um and in the five strands of a transfer which i said at the start of this this international break we would reference quite a few times because it's busy there's a lot of agents there's a lot of clubs there's a lot of players doing having conversations preparing for this january transfer window primarily but also preparing for the summer transfer window now so conversations are taking place and i think in relation to this story I would file it probably under Frankfurt generating interest in their player by utilizing Man United's name and the agent of the player utilizing Manchester United to increase interest in the player so I think that that's probably where I would be with that story um doesn't mean that we're not going to be looking at a left wing back at some point but I think it's unlikely that we're gonna go for a prospect at that value um but look it's always it's an interesting uh name to add isn't it it's like the last few days talking about Adiemi I wouldn't be opposed to that far from it but where where the money comes for that when let's put it this way if we went and spent 70 million pounds on Adiemi or 45 million pounds on Nathaniel Brown and bought one midfielder, I'd be there going, what are you doing?

26:53Because there is a fantastic theory, and it's a theory, it doesn't make it right, that when you look at it, would we not have been better keeping Rasmus this season with Embermo and Kunja behind him, which would have been a different environment, and using the Sesko money for a midfielder? It's a theory. The interesting thing about that theory is We actually tried to get Balaba when we already had Sesko So you don't even need to create that scenario That we shouldn't have got Sesko and we should have got a midfielder Because we actually did have 60 million that we tried to spend on Balaba We just didn't obviously agree a deal with Brighton And we didn't have enough time to go and do anything else So congratulations on yesterday pal You should be very proud, says Andy Atherton Well thank you very much for your contributions Andy I've got an itchy nose at the moment I think I've got a nasal hair that needs trimming.

27:45Man problems? Don't think women get nasal hair, do you? I don't want to know. Sesco staying on the pitch at Spurs may have made the injury worse and it would not have won as the game. His chance to score came before the injury, says Emily Derry. Thank you very much, Emily. Right, let's move on. I think Sesco is going to be back very, very soon anyway. That's my theory, but we will see. We will see. So we're talking about the fullback, spoke about Munez. There was a couple of other things I wanted to get into this morning uh sir alex ferguson i want to talk about what he's had to say uh i'm just hoping that in these final games of the uh of the international break that we don't pick up any injuries because you talk about the international break and it's sort of like oh i can't wait for the football to come back the next one's next international break it's not till march the january transfer window is really close we've got a good run of games but then you actually start thinking about injury now we don't have a problem with that with england because we don't have anyone bloody playing for them but casemiro did go down for a little bit yesterday and it was sort of a little bit for 30 seconds a bit of panic in the live chat on the watch along um he's okay he scored his goal afterwards but gabriel went down for arsenal so i'm just hoping we can get through these next uh fixtures that are going to be played without picking up any injuries as well i think that's a really really uh important thing as well so let's have a look at what uh sir alex ferguson has had to say in an interview.

29:07He said that Manchester United have had some good signings, particularly the goalkeeper has been outstanding. He's only played three or four games and he's looked really good. Mbermo and Kunya, new players from Wolves and Brentford, they're adding to it. I hope the manager gets a bit of success because at United, you need to have success and the signs are getting better. Back-to-back wins is something... Oh, there it is, the morning sneeze. If I could figure out what did that after half an hour of a morning show. Well, I wouldn't be a millionaire, but I would stop sneezing. He says, back-to-back wins is something a team like Man United should always expect.

29:44Having gone through a cycle where improvement has to come by waiting and being patient, they'll enjoy that now. So look, positive words from Sir Alex about Ruben Amrim. Obviously, this is a legend of the football club who's been, you know, he's there most days watching Manchester United in his well-deserved retirement. and some encouraging words for him, from him, for Ruben Amirim about the signings of Kunyurin Bermot and Lemens especially. And also how signs are getting better. I think a little bit of reality there, but the back-to-back wins is something that we should be expecting at Man United and we haven't had that for a while, but hopefully now that they've done that, they can enjoy that and they can build upon it.

30:28But I think it's just had this conversation a few times over the weekend about where we are as a football club and what we're expecting over the next coming weeks. And I think that, you know, generally there is this consensus that we are in a good situation and we can kick on from here and hopefully put ourselves in a strong position to get top five. And as I said the other day, I look at fifth place, I'm comfortable ignoring Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City because over 38 games, they should be finishing above us. If we finished above one of them, it's incredible, but let's leave them out of it.

31:12I look at fifth place I look at Spurs Who we played last week And I think I really don't see Spurs As better than us Aston Villa look very good At the moment But they're going to get done By Thursday night football From March Till the end of the season And they're going to drop points Like we did last season Newcastle are out of it And I don't see them coming back So who's the team That's finishing fifth I don't see it I mean alright You might get a major shock Like a Bournemouth or a Sunderland or a Crystal Palace. But in reality, I think fifth place is there. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but I think it is there more than it probably was at the start of the season.

31:57I think the responsibility and the repetition point is this, is that whilst it's there at the moment, there are a number of factors with this squad that could cause a problem with that. Obviously injuries, loss of form, you know, inconsistency. All those things could rear their head and derail what should be a really good opportunity of finishing fifth, which is why signing a midfielder in January is absolutely essential because I think you look at that Man United side and you go, okay, we are taking a punt saying that the most inconsistent United side we've ever had in our history is going to go and win this title, is going to go and get fifth place.

32:44But also every man and his dog knows that Man United need a midfielder. And if we go and buy it in January, it just gives us that shot in the arm for the second half of the season and a bit more confidence. Because I do think that some of our rivals will go out and spend in January. And I think a lot of them will also look at what we're looking at and go fifth place is up for grabs because it is um let me just have a quick look at what people are saying uh amrim either playing awesome 4d chess or winging it don't care as long as we get champions league but he has to be back with something in january he's got to be backed with something in january says island boy thank you very much um uh tarik says the only way we don't get top five is if inios don't do anything you won't get Anderson in January and he will cost you easily 100 million says Sam PJ thanks for being a member for 52 months I don't think anybody's saying that we're going to get Anderson in January mate I mean never say never because we've seen incredible deals like Enzo Fernandez happen in January never say never I don't think United will want to do that deal in January if I'm being honest with you and certainly I don't think Nottingham Forest or Elliot Anderson will either so I think any prospect of it happening in January is unrealistic I like Maynou but he is a master is he a master at six eight or ten says Andy Atherton I think I don't think Cobby is a master at any of those positions I wouldn't expect him to be at 20 we had a period last year where there was sort of like this I told you so nonsense that Maynou was a number 10 because he had a good game there and then he played there the following week and he didn't have a good game there and he wasn't a number 10 anymore he started his career as a six at man united and then in the euros he was sort of a pivot eight so i think to me main is an eight i think ruben amram knows that and i think bruno fernandez is preferred in that position and the reason he prefers bruno over mainu is because he wants long balls he wants transitional vertical football and um mainu's not that.

34:51Manu is not the sort of player I see getting the ball and pinging that diagonal into Mbamo's run. I don't see that. I think Manu is the sort of player that plays it into the feet of Cunha and is more technical. I think Manu is the sort of player that, you know, plays it into the feet of Mbamo, runs on to receive the number, the one-two. I think Manu is a more technical number eight. You know, he wants to be on the ball. He wants to dribble. He wants to play passes. He wants to play possession. I actually prefer Manu, what I'm describing there, to what I'm just about to describe, which is this, you know, risk taker who wants to constantly hit the long ball and transition.

35:31But you've got to say, in fairness to Amrim, we are a long ball transition team and we are on touching distance of fifth place. So it just verifies again, it's not even about whether Maynou's training well or not, because apparently he's training really well. So if we take Amrim's word is the truth and I think he does speak the truth. Maynou is training well. He just doesn't suit the way Amrim wants him to play. So I say Maynou is an eight but he prefers the long balls of Bruno to the more technical abilities of Maynou. Personally I think when you're 1-0 up at half time I'd sub Bruno and put Maynou on and try and keep a bit of possession so we can control the game a little bit and probe into you know the spaces that are there that you can't necessarily hit from a long ball, but I'm not the manager.

36:16I think we need a mix of the two. I'd like to see more minutes. But then again, Manu wasn't on the bench against Forrest, was he? Cameron says 10 teams are on the verge of fifth. It's up for grabs. It's up for grabs. And we would have took that at the start of the summer, I think. Absolutely. So it's definitely up for grabs, Dad. Anyway, look, thanks everyone this morning. I'm not going to dwell forever because my nose is now starting to run, which is just incredibly frustrating. I struggle, as you know, every couple of months, it seems with bloody runny noses. I've got some sort of allergy and it pisses me off every morning and I'm very tired from the charity stream.

36:53And now I'm getting a runny nose at the start of the week. So that's just bloody brilliant, isn't it? So I'm going to go and do some nasal irrigation and try and stop that, you know, living the dream. But thanks everyone this morning so much. Actually, just before I go, I just want to just check where we are on the charity stream. We have got a couple of contributions that have come in oh my god actually i'm ending the stream oh my god that's disgusting uh thanks everyone for watching the charity link is there we're on 800 8 000 um sorry it's 30 36 855 so 150 pounds away if you could donate through the chat that would be great uh take care i'll speak to you in a bit