261: Amorim's MAINOO Frustration! Amazing TRANSFER Talent Link!

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1:27Visit SpinQuest.com for more details. Transform your home in one weekend and save big money at Menards. Protect and enjoy your outdoor living space with Thompson's Semi-Transparent Wood Sealer. It maintains wood's natural color and provides durable year-round protection from water and sun damage in just one coat. Save big money on Thompson's Water Seal products. Our knowledgeable team is ready to help bring your dreams to life one gallon at a time. Stop by your local Menards today. Save big money at Menards. Hello everybody, good morning and welcome to the United Stands. I'm Mark Goldbridge, it's match day.

2:06I've got lots of news for you this morning. Embargoed section of Ruben Amrim's press conference coming out. He's frustrated at the May New Talk. We'll talk about what he's got to say about that. He's called Luke Shaw, world class. We'll be going to Dataman Dean in a minute to understand what that's all about. And also, Man United have been linked to Cologne wonderkid Almala, who, I'll tell you what, if this is true, Bundesliga bridge on That's Football, we're very excited. And that's me. So I'm very excited that we might be looking at him. I don't know where he'd fit in at United, but I mean, I think he's special.

2:41I do. I mean, I've seen him a couple of times for Cologne and he reminds me a little bit of a young Rooney. But, you know, you can't say that, but you can. We'll talk about that as well. Also, Martinez, a little bit coming out about Martinez this morning. A huge boost for the Wolves game as well, because Jao Gomez got a yellow card last night. He can't play on Monday and they are already crap. I mean, they could not score. They can't score. They've scored seven goals in the Premier League. They're crap. They're absolutely crap. But that's a positive for us as well. Is Bruno going to play, says Steph?

3:13I'm not really worried about this injury stuff. What will be will be. Que sera.

3:20You can get one of these. This is a Christmas jumper you can get. We re-released it and it's one of my favourites. It's on United Stand Shopify. It's a Christmas treble winners jumper. But as you can see, all the baubles have got the numbers and names of all the players. Bloody love that. Beckham, Kane, Neville, York, Cole, Scholes. They're all there. Check it out. Check it out. Right. I want to get into the show straight away. I want to talk about this Mainu frustration that clearly you can see Amrim is now getting more and more blunt about Mainu when he gets asked I mean even I think it's a it's a wasteless exercise but we know what the journalists are like they're lazy they ask the same thing every week and they've been asking him about Mainu and it's yeah K.

4:13Sarar is not a player that we're looking at it's from a song what will be will be Mr Brainfree K. Sarar Sarar wherever will be will be We're going to Wembley Que sera, sera I probably got the words wrong But look, I think Let me just Before we start talking about Maynu I want to talk about Let me just ban Jon Tan Let me get rid of them There we go Always good to get rid of the trolls Early on Love that So yeah Before I talk about this Maynu frustration That Amrim clearly has You know, he's very blunt In his interview last night I want to just go to Data Dean because we've had a quote, which we'll get into in a minute, about Luke Shaw and some amazing stats that I think Data Dean wants to talk about as well.

4:59But Amrim did. It's not a troll. Amrim described Luke Shaw as world class. Now, we're going to go to Data Dean to see what he meant by that. Well, at the end of the day, Mark, I think what's happened is the United PR team wants a bit of positivity around Luke Shaw. So they basically said to Amrim when he's not listening, Luke Shaw's doing really well in the World Cup year. And he's heard Luke Shaw's world class. So what he really should have said is that it's the World Cup year and Luke Shaw's doing well because of the World Cup. Because world class is talking out of me that. Thank you very much, Dean.

5:38We'll talk about more stats around Luke Shaw in a moment. But world class, I mean, come on. It ain't bloody world. He's not world class. He might have been world-class two and a half years ago as a left-back, but he ain't bloody world-class now, is he? Come on. He's blowing out his arse in the second half. How can you go from waste of space, according to Gary Neville, to world-class in a week? Come on. Come on. No moaning Myrtle tonight, Bruno. Let's see, says Ray. I'm not convinced about that. Not convinced about that. Anyway, let me talk about this frustration. I think it's really obvious now that Reuben Amrim is just getting very, very frustrated about the Maynou situation and the constant questions.

6:17And this is what he had to say about it when he was asked about Maynou again. He said, look, on whether Maynou will get a chance before January, he said, we will see. We could talk about Kobe. We could talk about Agathe. They're also not playing. Xerxes playing because we've had injuries. Football is like that. You need to be ready when the opportunity comes. I just want to win. I don't look at faces. I don't look at names or faces. I just want to win. And I pick the players who give us the best chance. If you're ready and you're performing well, you stay in the team. I won't remove anyone without a reason.

6:55It's the same for Kobe as it is for everyone else. I choose the best 11 for each game. And I think he's becoming more and more, as I said, irritated by the main new question. And I think it's becoming more and more obvious that there is a major issue there because you could detect it in the interview with Amrim that, you know, he's just so belligerent to it now. He's actually sort of backing himself into a bit of a corner. I mean, there's a new kit release from United today. I think it's to do with commemorating the youth and Jimmy Murphy and Manu's all over that. And you sort of look at that and go, OK, you want us to buy something that's about the youth.

7:35and that's absolutely fantastic and it commemorates a legend of this football club. But you're using Manu who doesn't even play. There's sort of a contradiction there. This football club's built on youth and this, that and the other and you're using Manu and we can't even get him minutes in the team. Now I've got a problem with that. I've got a problem with that. The manager's got to manage, but he's been asked about it every week and it's very, very clear that he's getting more and more frustrated. and I think that, look, the trouble is last week he said Maynou deserves to play. You know, he's so good in training, he deserves to play.

8:09Two weeks ago he said, oh, it's so hard leaving Maynou out because he's training so well, he's a first team player. So you're going to keep getting those questions asked when you're saying that a player is doing really well and then you don't use them. He's now saying, he's basically flipped now, he's now saying he's not good enough to play because what he's saying is, you know, you've got to give me a reason to remove somebody. And I choose the best 11 for each game. So he's basically saying, look, Manu's not good enough. I mean, that's the big statement, isn't it? I choose the best 11 for each game.

8:42So he's not good enough to start for Manchester United. He said that you stay in the team if you're ready and you're performing well. And I won't remove anyone without a reason. And look, we can all have our own opinions. But in my opinion, the midfield, and I'll be generous here, has been shit for 50 % of the season. I think we've won games when our midfield's been shit. Primarily, Crystal Palace last week, I thought the midfield was shit. I thought the midfield was shit against Everton. So let's take the Everton game. So this is where the contradiction is for me. In the week of the Everton game, last week, he said that Manu's playing so well in training, it's so hard to leave him out.

9:26That's hot on the heels of an Everton shit fest, right? He still leaves him out. He's now saying, I can't get Maynard into the team because I picked the best 11. And if you're ready and performing well, you stay in the team. I won't remove anyone without a reason. Mate, I mean, I don't really know what he's talking about here. I think honesty is the best policy on this because you're basically saying, I picked the best team to win the game and I won't remove people without a reason. and if you're performing well, you'll play. But after the Everton game, you said Manu was brilliant in training and we've just played absolutely shite against Everton and you still didn't pick him.

10:05So you're contradicting yourself. You're acting like we're winning 4-0 every week. We just lost to Everton. You're saying about you'll only remove people if you've got a reason and I won't remove people who are playing well. Casemiro and Bruno were shite against Everton and you still don't remove them. So look, I'd rather have the truth on this because I'm tired of it as well. And you can see Amrim's frustrated. Don't say things in interviews like, well, I can't put him in the team because the team's doing really well. And I won't remove people from the team when they're doing really well. You didn't do it for Everton.

10:37You didn't do it for Brentford. You've not done it loads of times. So just tell the truth. It doesn't matter how badly Casemiro or Bruno play. You don't want to pick Manu or Agate because you don't trust them. So that's sort of where I am with it. So the press can keep asking him about it. He's going to get more and more frustrated about it. In honesty, he probably can't tell the truth because if he tells the truth, he devalues the players ahead of the January transfer window. But look, if I was a journalist, why would I keep asking him about Mainou? We were festering, steaming turd against Everton in the midfield and then he still didn't change it for Palace.

11:15So he's just not going to change it, is he? He's not going to change it. So I think he is. I agree with Pete. I think Amram is talking shit. But I think part of it is because he keeps getting asked. Realistically, how would you answer it, though, Pete? If I was asked a question, if I was asked a question about Mainu, and I know that I'm probably looking to get rid of him, I do have to be slightly positive and say, look, you know, I'm picking my best team and, you know, the competition's good. But the problem is in the midfield, it's crap most games. So, you know, and he's not being and look I will concede my opinion here I back the manager he's allowed to pick whatever team he wants and if he doesn't want Maynou we should move him on that's very very sad but from my point of view certainly after that Everton game if I'm not changing my midfield after that game there's no point having Maynou and Agate I mean that that's sort of like that was like an up yours to the Man United shirt from Casemiro and Bruno and every other player they're very lucky that they got picked for the next game so look we just need to get to January, we 100 % need to let Maynou go and get somebody else in.

12:22That's what needs to happen. Amram is a bullshitter riding on luck, says Kiel. Hi, Mark. I watch the shows all the time, but never catch you live. I lost my mum last week and you've kept me going. Hopefully we win tonight. Thank you, says Shay. Well, thank you, sir. And I'm very, you know, very touched by your message, super chat. And also, obviously, that's a very recent loss of somebody I presume is very, very close to you. So thank you for sharing that with the community. And I'm sure you'll get a lot of comments in the chat in this great community as well. And I'm glad that you found something that you feel part of.

12:58And long may that continue. Thank you for being part of our community, Shane. We're live every day. So, you know, when you're going through your difficult times, we are here for you in whatever small way that is. Which reminds me, YouTube have started something and I'm very frustrated by this. I've seen a lot of, I've had a few messages from our American viewers. Apparently, you know, on Spotify, like they do your year in review, YouTube are doing year in review this year. But you go onto YouTube and you go to your You tab and it will give you your year in review. And a lot of people have got United Stand as their number one viewed channel.

13:31But I don't think we've had it rolled out in Europe yet. But if you're in North America, apparently you can get your year in review now on YouTube. WJ Barrett says, Mark, what if Maynou just ain't that good? Standards are on the floor and Amram is frustrating, but I can't judge this team without two world class midfielders. I completely agree with you. I completely agree with you. I personally don't think Maynou's shit, but if Amram thinks he's shit, then he's got to move him on. But where I agree with you is that we do need two class midfielders, 100%. Simply Red says he doesn't look at names.

14:07What a crock of shite. Bruno plays regardless of performance. Also comments on Josh so unfair and really exposing of Amrin. On Xerxes, really unfair. Let me just go back to that.

14:20Xerxes only playing because of injuries. Football is like that. I mean, I know what you're saying. To be honest, I hadn't really picked up on that. I suppose that is quite derogatory to Xerxes. but I don't think he meant it in that way and I don't think he meant like Xerxes wouldn't be playing if we didn't have injuries well I think he does mean it in that way but I don't think he means it in the way that oh fucking hell Xerxes is playing because we're injuries I mean I'm anywhere near the team in normal circumstances I think what he meant is there's been injuries in areas that have allowed Xerxes to play and then he gets his opportunity I think that's what he meant I don't think he meant Xerxes is a load of shit and he's only playing because we've got injuries because to be honest with you If Sesko was fit and Kunja had been fit, he probably wouldn't have played.

15:05That's how far he is down the pecking order. So you've got to sometimes injuries present an opportunity because I don't think he was going to get anywhere near the team without it. John says, good morning, Mark. Morning, sir. When the AFCON comes along, could you put Martinez left centre back, Shaw left wing and Dorghu on right wing as Masraoui, Ahmad and Mbemo are gone, says John. Well, Amrim did speak about Luke Shaw. And Old Trafford Malik says, the more questions about Kobe, the less he'll play. Look, Amrim's stubborn. Amrim is stubborn. And, you know, I've never thought about it like that.

15:40And again, this is why the community is so good, because you raise interesting questions. Is, and this is a rhetorical question. I'm asking the question without knowing the answer. Do you think, and it's very obvious if you watch that interview, that Amrim is getting frustrated about Maynou questions. Do you think that the more Amram is asked about Maynard, the less likely he's going to pick him because of stubbornness? Question mark. I don't know. I don't know. I know my... You know me. You know me probably better than I know myself sometimes. You know, sometimes if somebody says, you've missed my super chat, read it, it's really good.

16:18I will read it, but I'm not a bloody clapping seal. I'm not going to do it on demand. I'll do it when I'm ready. I won't do it when you tell me to. And that's stubbornness. So some people would go, oh, I'm going to go and read it right now because they want to please. Whereas I'll go, I will read it, but I will do it when I'm ready. And I think, you know, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that Amarim could be like that. I mean, he's very stubborn about formation system, picking Bruno in the midfield. So, you know, maybe, you know, maybe is. Prod says, isn't a rhetorical question a question you ask while knowing the answer to it?

16:56Maybe. You're more intelligent than me. Morning, Mark. As an academy coach, there's a huge difference between what you do in training and what you do in games. This is Slow Sports News. And Tyrus has gifted a membership as well. Thank you very much. Appreciate that. Let's talk. We've got, well, we've got, we've got Data Mandin ready to come back in here. And I know a lot of you like Data Mandin. he basically you know he's the data guy you know he loves long throw-ins and all that shit but somebody did just ask about Luke Shaw playing as a left wing back for Manchester United this is what Amrim said he said it's different you have to train in that position before considering putting another player in that position you have to train or he's got to play a few minutes there but he could do it if we need him and we might need him in this system he can play in that position.

17:46I call absolute bullshit on that. Absolute bullshit. I do not think for one minute that Luke Shaw can play as a left wing back or a left back anymore. I think it's total horseshit. I don't know why United are playing the PR game for Luke Shaw. I mean, I don't know whether he's paying them or whether they're just, I don't know, whether there's a new contract. Maybe they're worried he's going to get injured again. I don't know why we're on this luke shaw pr train at the moment i mean it's quite nauseating but there's no way he can play at left wing back no way absolutely none i watch him you know i was having this chat with ricky last week and you know he loves luke shaw so you know this is brilliant you know i don't love luke shaw ricky does love luke shaw and you know we're both on the united stand so you get both slices of the pie um ricky thinks bloody luke shaw could play in the treble winning side ricky thinks luke Shaw could bloody play up front for Real Madrid.

18:41I think Ricky Luke thinks Luke Shaw could run the bloody, could do a better job than Trump and Starmer combined. Probably could do a better job than Keir Starmer. But the reality is he can't play left wing back anymore. He's factually blowing out his arse in the last half an hour of games. Even Palace. I've figured Luke Shaw out this season. He's always good in the first half. And in the second half, he drops off. Second half was where he got that stupid yellow card against Palace. Second half against Everton was where Gary Neville called him a waste of space. He is blowing out of his arse in the second half of one game a week.

19:17One game a week. And people think he can play left wing back, one of the most challenging positions in football. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. He can't do that anymore. If he had the fitness, he'd be very good at it. And that's where I'd play him. But you know why I know Luke Shaw can't play left wing back? because if he could, you'd play him there. You're telling me Luke Shaw's not better than Deleu and Dorgou? 100 %! Luke Shaw of three years ago would be one of the best left wing backs in the league. He's very good at it. Very, very good at it. And if he could do it, we'd play him there.

19:54We don't need him at left centre-back. You could easily put Masraoui there. You could put Yoroui there. We could have played Maguire there. Luke Shaw's playing left centre-back because he can't play left wing back anymore because his body won't allow it. So that's complete and utter horseshit that that's going to happen. Absolutely not. But also, I mean, I don't know what it was. Again, we've had so many clips of Luke Shaw over the week on the Man United page and so many articles written about him. And now Amrim was, you know, fucking basically did a monologue. He said he adapts to the position playing in a back three really well because sometimes he's playing with the ball like a fullback.

20:30He's defending deeper. He's smart. And for me, I already said, I think he's a world-class player. He needs more continuity. Playing one game a week helps a lot. So Luke Shaw is a world-class player, according to Ruben Amrum. I think he's got confused. I think he's got confused with Luke Shaw's playing well because it's World Cup year and somehow he's turned it into Luke Shaw is a world-class player. But there ain't no way he's... I said about three years ago, I think Luke Shaw was one of the best left-backs in the world. And I've got absolute pelters. He ain't fucking world-class now. He can't even get an England team as a left-sided centre-back.

21:10He's not world-class. He's not a world-class left centre-back. I mean, Ricky's going mad this morning. I've ruined his day, but he's not world-class. I think he was one of the best left-backs in the world around when he was Schuberto Carlos, but he's not a left-cent... No, he's not world-class. He's not a world-class centre-back. No way. I look at people like Gabriel at Arsenal. He's probably bordering on being one of the best centre-backs in the world as a left-sided centre-back. Is he world-class? You could have that debate, but Luke Shaw's nowhere near him. Nowhere near him. Not a world-class club playing once a week, though, is he?

21:48Says Steve. Oh, this is where... Oh, let me go through this. Data Dean. Right, Dean, one of you lot yesterday said that I'd love to know the stats for Luke Shaw's availability when it's an international tournament year. So I've set data Dean a task here and it is quite interesting. So. Well, thanks, Mark. Basically, what I've done is I've looked at every year Premier League appearances for Luke Shaw. And interestingly, straight away, World Cup year this year, he's already played 13 games for Manchester United. Last season, he played seven. So he's nearly played. If he plays tonight for Manchester United, he's basically played double the games already than he did last year.

22:38Now, what's the difference between last year and this year? Well, there's a World Cup at the end of it. and he's already played double the amount of games this season than he did an entire season last year. Well, there's something a little bit fishy about that, Mark, but it gets better. So the year before that, 23-24, Euros year, Euros year, he played 12 games. Now that does seem quite low, but then again, he did go to the Euros injured as well. He didn't discriminate. He was injured a lot for Manchester United and he was also injured for England, but still turned up to play in the final. In the 22-23 year, some people might think, well, that's not a Euros or World Cup year, Dean.

23:22What are you talking about? He played 31 games in the 22-23 season. But the geniuses and data people and geeks will know that the 22-23 season was actually a World Cup year because Qatar World Cup was played in winter 22 and he played 31 games in that season. Hmm, it's getting a little bit fishy because the previous season, there was no international tournament and he only played 20 games. And then the year before that, in the 2021 season, he played 32 games, which was also a Euros season. So statistically, when you look at the last few years for Luke Shaw, he has a tendency to play a lot more games for Manchester United when there's an England tournament at the end of it.

24:11Thank you very much. Thank you very much to Data Dean. So yeah, look, effectively, there is a correlation between Luke Shaw's increased Manchester United output of appearances when there is a Euros or a World Cup. The Euros at the end of 21, he played 32 games. The following season, he only played 20. The season after that, there was a World Cup. He played 31 games. and the season after that, he only played 12. Last season, he only played seven times. This season, World Cup year, he's already played 13. So there is, somebody raised the question yesterday, there is a direct correlation between a World Cup or Euros year and Luke Shaw playing a lot more games.

25:00It's factual. So thank you very much to the person who asked that. And thank you very much to Data Dean. That's not my normal voice. If you tuned in there, you're probably going, what the hell's happened to him? Is he having a fit? No, that's just Data Dean, who was on the show last night talking about why long throw-ins are such a good thing. Artak says, Morning, Mark. Put it on a tweet. It's a match day. I don't think I'm going to put it on a tweet, but there is a direct correlation between increased appearances from Luke Shaw when it's a World Cup or Euros year. You can't move away from that.

25:32There you go. Morning, Mark. What do you think about Chelsea and Arsenal going in for the Ecuadorian wonder kid while we fall for prejudice and end up going for average signings like the Colombian kid. I don't know what you're talking about there, Artak, but you've done a super chat and I really don't get the context. Nick P says it's so grim having to discuss Luke bloody sure in 2025. Chelsea would have retired him four years ago and turned him into a pundit. We're still dreaming, says Nick P. I actually think, Nick, you've just sparked an instantaneous opinion of mine that wasn't premeditated at all.

26:05I think you make a great point. You know, what's this show about so far? We're talking about 20-year-old Mainu who can't get in the team even when midfielders are playing shit. We're talking about Yoro that's probably going to get dropped again. We're talking about Dorgou that gets dropped for Deleuze. So effectively, we've got young players who are really struggling under this manager, who won't give them opportunities or drops them a lot. And then we've got people like Luke Shaw, Deleu, who are in the team as often as you can get them in there. And what message does that send out? Because realistically, United aren't going to win the league this year.

26:42We're not going to win the league next year. We might not be in Europe next year. So it's not like we're in a strong position. We desperately need to build a future that is sustainable and successful. And I would say the likes of Dorgue, Yoro, Mainu are a better bet than people like Dolo and Shaw. And yet it's people like Dolo and Shaw that Amrim is building with and he is, you know, neglecting the players that you would think might be part of the future. That's even more incredible when you consider that Yoro, Meynou and Dorgu have had nothing to do with the Solskjaer era, even the Ten Hag era, really.

27:21You know, they've had nothing to do with past failures. But world-class Luke Shaw has been here for 11 years. He was bought by Van Gaal. Van Gaal, Jose. I mean, Jose couldn't fucking stand him, could he? Oli, Ranić, Ten Hag, Amrim. He's been here for the whole lot. Deleuze's been here since... Jose? Did Deleu buy Jose? Or was it Oli? Anyway, some of these players have been here for bloody ages. And what... I don't know whether this was your point, Nick, but why it sparked a point in me is why have we got another manager who is making the same mistake as Ten Hag, the same mistake as Oli, utilising players?

28:04I almost feel like I'm watching UK Gold. I feel like I've seen this before. I've seen managers come in and turn their back on what a real future is to rely on players that have already fucked it up in the past. And I find that strange. I find it strange that we have a manager sat there talking about a player being world class, who's played 300 games in 11 years, when Bruno Fernandes has played 309 games in five, talking about him being world class like he's part of the future. And he's, what, 30 years of age. It's strange. It's strange. And I think most United fans I talk to, like me, one is to win, one is to progress, but there's a bit of a confusion about what the actual model is because there's winning and building and there's winning and surviving.

28:54And at the moment, I feel like winning is the most important thing, but how sustainable is it? To me, it feels like it's winning to survive rather than winning to thrive. I don't know what the future plan is. Apparently Jose bought Delo in 2018. Now it's time for a little word from today's podcast sponsor and as a preview they have a great discount for you. It's been a long season so far and after a year of grinding you've earned a little something special for yourself. This upcoming festive season is all about taking a break, recharging and actually enjoying the things you want and that's where Air Up comes in.

29:35Air Up lets you drink plain water that tastes full of flavour through scents alone. No sugar, no additives, just simple hydration made better. And for someone who spends as much time talking football as I do, it's been a great addition to the routine. If you want to try it for yourself, hit the link in the show notes or visit airup.link slash the United Stand and of course you can use the code GOLD and you get an amazing 10 % off at checkout. So what are you waiting for? Smash the link in the show notes or visit airup.link slash theunitedstand and elevate your hydration game today. Could the Arteta relied on youth, he's relying on failures, says Old Trafford Malik.

30:19And Glenn says, could the answer be that when Shaw has played more football, he pays for it with more injuries the next season, says Glenn. Yeah, could be. I mean, as I said, there's a direct correlation between Luke Shaw playing a lot more games in an England international year and playing less games the year after. Thank you very much. Have they hired Amrin because he can bullshit, says Kiel, and not a world-class club playing once a week. I've done that one as well. Game day is constant anxiety, still never knowing how the players will show up, similar to how we all felt with back passes to Ananas, says Raphael.

30:54I mean, I'm very excited about the game tonight. I really am. I think there's such a great opportunity. and look, as I said, I will always speak honestly about the ownership of this football club, the manager of this football club, the players of this football club. I don't trust these players. I'm not going to wait for them to fail again to tell you that. I don't trust them. I don't trust them at all. If they win, fair play. If they lose, what a surprise. I do not trust them at all. They cannot be trusted. I walk into this West Ham game going, we should win this, but we walked into the Everton game and we walked out with nothing.

31:33So if that can happen, it can happen again. Of course it can. Surely it won't happen again. I mean, you know, it doesn't seem to happen. It shouldn't happen every game. So hopefully it'll be a convincing win tonight. But what an opportunity it is. You win the game, you go to 24 points, you're level with Chelsea. Obviously we haven't got their goal difference, but you're fifth in the league on merit. I mean, what a great opportunity that is. It's up for grabs. It's up for grabs because everybody's beating everybody. You know, Sunderland getting that point at Anfield last night, Villa winning at Brighton.

32:05You know, it's completely and utterly for grabs. And look, you know what? I sort of look at that league table and I go, OK, we go up to fifth by beating West Ham. Then we've got Wolves who, I mean, I think I'm right in saying Burnley have scored 14 goals this season, which is crap. Wolves have scored seven. I had my eye on the Wolves game last night. It's not that they're a terribly bad, you know, they're competitive Wolves, but they can't score goals. And Jao Gomez got himself suspended. So you'd look at that fifth place. Wolves should be a win. You know, never know. You never know. But it should be a win.

32:38And then you've got Bournemouth at home who are terrible. So, I mean, I know we've got to go to Villa after that. But, you know, if you put nine points on the board, by the time we go to Villa, I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if we were above Villa. Villa have got Arsenal at the weekend. So that would put us through. We could be above Villa by the time we play Villa. So what a great opportunity it is. But what I would say is I think some people don't have the mental capacity to understand this. We can win and be in fourth place and I can still sit here and say, I don't know what the plan is. We've all seen teams get into the top four and go, that's not sustainable.

33:19Of course we have. You know, you give me a team that's, look at Nottingham Forest last year. They were in the top four all season. They didn't finish in the top four. And it was never going to be sustainable because the style of play of Nuno was basically park the bus and get a goal on the break. And when it got to the business end of the season, people woke up and went, well, we're not just going to attack you and let you counter us. How's about you do something? And it's not a dropping point. So I do look at United and go, what a great opportunity to get into the top five or four, but I don't think it's sustainable.

33:47I really don't. I don't think there's a lot of things that are sustainable about this team at the moment. I think that's just my take on it at the moment. Kapoor Dai says, do you trust Amarin?

34:02I mean, that's a great question. I don't trust the players. I definitely don't trust the owners. Do I trust Amarin? Well, I think in the world of trust, do we know enough about Arum to trust him I mean I like him I like him but I wouldn't say he doesn't do things that I don't agree with so trust is a big thing I don't know enough about him to trust him I mean where's the style of play why are you playing Bruno in the midfield why are you coming out with statements like Luke Shaw's world class I mean is it just because behind the scenes he's desperately trying to paper over the cracks. It could be that.

34:45I think Amrim is somebody I want to trust. Whereas the players, as a collective, I don't trust this squad. I do trust some of the players, but I don't trust them as a squad. I mean, look, Amrim did say something about the top five race. This is what he said on being close to fifth and its realistic expectation. I think you'll find this one really interesting. So, you know, he was asked, we're close to fifth place. Is it a realistic expectation? Now, first of all, I've got to say, in light of what we said yesterday, and we have still got to talk about this Cologne player as well. Why would a journalist say to a Man United manager, you're close to fifth place, is that a realistic expectation?

35:30I mean, why has the standards at this football club been lowered so much that a journalist would ask a Man United manager, is fifth place a realistic expectation? This is Manchester United Football Club, and we're contemplating and debating whether fifth place is a realistic expectation. Now, you might say, hey, hold on a minute, you said fifth place would be a good season for United. Looking at the players I don't trust, yeah, I think fifth place would be a good season. But looking at the wage bill, we basically have the fourth best paid squad in the league. Looking at the midfield, we have the second most expensive midfield in the league.

36:12So you're telling me that fifth place is an aspirational target that might not be achievable. Come on, we're Manchester United and we pay a lot of money to these players. So it should be a demand. But this is what Amrim said. I understand the question. If the table is there and you have the opportunity with one game a week, you need to go for it. But when you look at the table and everyone is like two points behind, everything can change. That is a manager that does not have the courage of his convictions in his team. And I think it's a very political answer. But that is a manager who will not commit to saying fifth place is a realistic expectation.

36:48What he's basically saying is you look at the league, you look at the fact that we've got one game a week. And it's, you know, I understand why people would say we should be going for fifth place. But look at how close people are. You know, things can change. So again, I think he's clever in the sense that he refuses to say that this team is even fifth place ready because it might not be, which is a scary proposition from an honest manager. Like whether you think we should be fifth or not, our manager really doesn't agree that we're a fifth place team at the moment. He thinks we might be, but also realizes that we might not be.

37:25And I think that's an honest answer. That's what I said at the start of the season. I don't think that fifth place is guaranteed, but I think we should be going for it. The question comes down to, can you trust the players? But 100 % we should be getting fifth based on what we pay them, based on their reputation, based on the squad. Like, you know, if Luke Shaw's world class and Bruno, I mean, if Luke Shaw's world class, how many world class players have we got? and I think that's you know this is where you need to be very careful when you class people as world class because if Amirim thinks Luke Shaw's world class then he surely thinks Dalit's world class he definitely thinks Bruno's world class does he think Casemiro's world class as well and Burmo if we've got five or six or four world class players we shouldn't be fighting for fifth so this is what I mean about you know sometimes the answers will be bullshit it really.

38:24And we've got to be very, very careful around that. Right. Let me talk to you about Almala. This story was in court offside today coming in from, I think it was Adam Brassel, who's a European correspondent it came from, basically saying that you look at where Almala might end up from Cologne and Manchester United does look like a good fit. Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal Chelsea aren't really looking for that type of a player at the moment he's like a wide forward and effectively Man United's name has been mentioned also another story coming in this morning that Brighton could be interested in him as well in January with a deal that could go up to£30 million the club's renowned recruitment department has placed Almala firmly at the top of their wish list and believe he's destined for a move to a big European club I've also heard I mean look we covered the Bundesliga on that football highlight shows later on this afternoon I'm doing that live and then we've got our Friday night match tomorrow he's a really interesting player really interesting player at Cologne newly promoted I think he's I get the feeling he's 19 I thought he was 17 but I get the feeling he's 19 he is he has got similar traits to Rooney I mean I'm not saying he's Rooney by any shape or form but very interesting player.

39:54That's the sort of teenager Man United should be buying. Players like Rooney at Everton who are already playing first-team football, not teenagers who look like they might be the next Caicedo but have never really played any football yet and need total nurturing. Those players like Almala that are playing first-team football already as teenagers that can go straight into your setup, now those profiler players are different. I've seen United recruiting a lot of teenagers that are, you know, prospects. They need a lot of nurturing. But players like that, I think they're very, very interesting. It's a bit like Yoro, isn't it?

40:31You know, Yoro, ready-made teenager, still got a lot to grow, but ready to play. So look, you know, it might be one worth keeping an eye on because I think he's an interesting player. and if you've been watching the Bundesliga, you'll know who I'm talking about. But Bayern Munich have been sniffing around that one. I mean, whether United have got£30 million to go for a player like that and whether he suits our system as well. I mean, this is what annoys me a little bit sometimes. Our system is so fucking rigid that it doesn't really work if you're a winger. But having said that, Amrim did have a lot of wingers at Sporting and he'd use them as a 10.

41:13or he'd use them as a wingback. So it doesn't necessarily negate buying a winger at Man United, especially if there are somebody like Al Mahler who can play more centrally. So, you know, maybe there is something in it. I certainly hope there is. Kiel Robinson says, this is the blueprint of Ashworth's plan. Yeah, but you know what? I think Dan Ashworth is one of the most overrated names in English football. You know, worked under Southgate for England at a time where we had a golden generation of players coming through anyway. Went to Newcastle and people wrongly associated him with a lot of Newcastle signings that were good, that he actually wasn't responsible for.

41:55And then came to Man United and by all accounts, were suggested we got Southgate. So I don't actually think Ashworth's anything to write home about, Keel, if I'm being honest. Arteta, we've done that one as well. Thank you very much. Match day today. Yes, very excited about it. oh also Amorim spoke about Martinez a little bit about Martinez coming back into the team as well this is from The Athletic saying that Martinez is Amorim's type of player and character as shown by being named in United's six-man leadership group even when he was injured Martinez can be snappy at Carrington when he sees situations he feels fall below the standard that appeals to Amorim who has more than once shown his pain or offered brutal critique at bad performances.

42:43Martinez has been known to order younger players out of areas he deems the domain of senior professionals. That edge keeps people on their toes. He was also vocal over the summer, lobbying figures in the hierarchy for Martinez as a goalkeeper to join the club from Aston Villa. Well, look, I think I'd be very surprised if we saw any negativity towards the butcher. I think he's a very welcome addition back to the team. I know there's a lot of talk about Luke Shaw being world class and all that bollocks, but realistically, as soon as Martinez can play 90 minutes, Luke Shaw should be sat on his arse.

43:22Martinez is, I think, exactly the right sort of character we need in that team. I also think he's exactly the right sort of player you want to play left centre-back because he can stand into the midfield. So the sooner the better on that one. I don't need a character profiling article to tell me that Martinez is massively important. I just think with Martinez, we're all sort of sat there going, please don't pick up another serious injury because we know that these things can happen again. So look, he'd be a breath of fresh air, says Garfield, absolutely. And hopefully this is the sign of him coming back because I think he's such an important player.

44:03G-Man says Martinez is highly overrated. Look, I don't know whether that's because you don't rate Martinez. What I would say is he's not world class. Lissandro Martinez has never been world class. He's never been without his weaknesses. I've seen him outpaced. I've seen him beaten in the air. I've seen him out of position. Let's not pretend that Lissandro Martinez was world class before his injury. it's not about that I think Lissandro Martinez reminds me a little bit like Ander Herrera in the sense that what they lack in ability they make up in personality I think I would say that Lissandro Martinez if you were marking him out of 10 as a player he's probably a 7.58 but then with his personality and leadership and warrior type you know approach to it that pushes him up to an 8.59 and I think that's a fair assessment.

44:59I'm not going to sit here and say Lissandro Martinez when he's fit is one of the best centre-backs in the world. I don't think he is that. And I don't think every player needs to be that. I think sometimes it's about... I remember like Nicky Book for Manchester United. We've had loads of players over the years that may not be as talented as other players but they bring an aura and a mentality that becomes really important and lifts other players. I mean, he's probably more of a captain than Bruno, if we're being completely honest, in the way that people speak about him. So, yeah, I don't totally disagree with you, G-Man.

45:36I'm not saying Martinez back is like the best player in the world, but I think he brings, you know, like Ander Herrera was so important for us. I think Martinez is so important as well. Stroll says, we always focus on individuals and Bermot Cunha didn't fix us. A midfielder won't either. The issue is team play. We need to fix passing, movement and mentality, says Strull. And I think, you know, you're not necessarily wrong about that. And I do think that somebody like Lissandro does feed into that, certainly. Also, another thing coming out from James Ducker saying that in the summer, Ruben Amrim sat down with his staff, including his principal assistant and key lieutenant Carlos Fernandes.

46:16And together they spelt out the importance of Manchester United getting their act together at set pieces. I mean, look, we did need to sort that out. We absolutely did need to sort that out because it was something that had been a problem for Manchester United.

46:38You know, without a shadow of a doubt.

46:47So, yeah, I think we did need to sort that one out. And we have, haven't we? But what also worries me is that when he says Deleu is good at set pieces and I'm thinking, well, he can't take free kicks. He's crap at marking the back post. And then I realise he's talking about throw-ins. That makes me want to vomit. So, look, Data Dean's gone off to play on his computer. Otherwise, he'd be back talking about, you know well at the end of the day you know long throw-ins to the back post statistically cause problems more than a pass um i don't i don't like long throw-ins and you know watching the low run from one side of the pitch to the other to launch a throw-in into the box you know what you know what it is i'm not going to get wound up it's too early in the morning however when i grew up watching manchester united under sir alex ferguson and I'm watching this quick movement and I'm watching chips by Cantona and free kicks from Beckham and volleys from Scholes.

47:55I'm not being satisfied by, oh, it's hit his arse and gone in. I mean, I know it's a results business, but God, I just don't. And true tellers is I like what wins, but that's because you're basic, mate. You're basic. Some people like a slice of toast because it fills them up. Some people like a lasagna because it tastes nice and it fills them up. I want the lasagna. I don't want the toast. I don't want basic football. If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor. I had a massive period of my life watching players like this lot, play brilliant football and win the lot. And when you've seen that, you don't want to watch that.

48:49And that's my point. And, you know, maybe it is an age thing. Maybe it's a class thing. But I've seen that and I know it can happen. I don't want to win with that. You know, I don't want DeLoe to be one of our most important players because he can throw a fucking football far. You know, I don't want that. So I accept we're not the only ones doing it. I watched the Brentford Arsenal game last night. I had to have a sick bucket there. I couldn't believe the volume of Brentford long throw-ins into the box. And I'm so fucking glad they didn't score any of them. And the longer that goes on, the better.

49:24I actually want teams to stop throwing the long ball into the box. And I want teams to stop conceding from it because it's repulsive. But that's an area that he's talking about when he says that DeLoe's good at set pieces. but we have improved we have improved on corners and corners have always been a big part of the game and I think we've improved on defending corners as well because if you think about well we conceded against Arsenal on the opening game of the season and how we didn't concede a corner against Fulham I'll never know I mean they nearly scored multiple corners so you know it could be but look you know what in fairness what did I say to you about half an hour ago I think we're going to win a few games now And I think we're going to get ourselves into the top five.

50:08And I think people are going to get very excited. But are we winning to survive or are we winning to thrive? And I think I don't know what the long term vision is at the moment. Like the style of football has been pretty poor. The games have been pretty poor, but we're finding a way to win. Now, is that going to be sustainable for the next three years? Or are we actually going to transition into a team that, you know, looks quite scary? because our biggest result of the season at Anfield doesn't actually look that big when you see that Forrest and Sunderland have gone there and beat them and drawn against them.

50:43And also Liverpool could have won that game, Gakpo at the post twice. So are we actually going to transition into a team that starts to play good football at some point? Could that start tonight? Could that start tonight? I hope so. Javine says, I always wondered who the next target would be for these crap journalists after Rashford and fortunate for Maynou. No, I don't get that really. I think a lot of the media were obsessed with Rashford in a positive way. And I think they're obsessed with Maynou in a positive way. I think it's more about they're using Maynou as a, like Rashford was used, as a tool.

51:31They're using Me dissding You Maynu as, why aren't you picking Me dissding You Maynu? Why aren't you picking Me dissding? Just the same as with Ten Hogg. Why aren't you picking Maguire? Why aren't you picking Maguire? Or Rashford, why aren't you picking Rashford? That's what's being used. I don't think the media disliked Rashford. I don't think the media dislikes Me disslining. I think they're just using them as a tool to go, why aren't you picking them? Why aren't you picking them? Why aren't you playing them? It's like John says, it's like player versus manager, isn't it? And if we've got a manager that's stubborn, I don't think that works well for Maney.

52:01Playing for throw-ins and then it's NFL for 10 yards, says Garfield. I understand Amrum needs the right players for his system, but is this venture worth dismantling our heritage to achieve it, says Kiel. It's a shame we don't have an eight o 'clock show tonight, Kiel, because I think that's an interesting question. We're on a pathway to something that every day takes us away from the last 50 years. We've always been a back four. We've always had wingers. We've always played a certain way, whether it's gone well or not. We've always tried to play a certain way. And this Amrim system is something that's completely not part of our history.

52:44So the further we continue down that road, the harder it is to go back. But they made that choice. and I think there's no point making that choice and then not backing it up, you know? Okay, so match day tonight. Is it eight o 'clock kickoff tonight? Well, there's no other game, so I presume it's an eight o 'clock kickoff. It is eight o 'clock. Some of them were quarter past eight, weren't they? So eight o 'clock kickoff tonight, which means countdown to kickoff will be around six, something like that. Team news will be interesting. I mean, I've not brought anything about injuries because it's match day, But I personally think it's a load of bollocks, by the way.

53:24I don't think anybody's injured. I think it's smokescreen. I reckon maybe Bruno was one of the risks, but he won't miss out. There's no way Bruno will miss this game. And, you know, God knows who the other player is. But I don't think it will be as significant as we were maybe led to believe yesterday. But looking forward to it. We've got to win these next two. I mean, look, Bournemouth could be different. Like Bournemouth aren't a bad side. they're just going through a bad run. But West Ham and Wolves, this has got to be six points. Got to be six points. And you know what we said in the international break, out of our next 10 games, we've got to get 22 points.

54:03There's still a possibility. The best we can do is 27 at the moment. So we've still got five points leeway to get that minimum of 22. I mean, 22 is a minimum. Anything above that is really good. And we're still on course for that, even though we lost to Everton because we beat Palace. And look, you know, that Palace result. I mean, look at Chelsea last night. It just shows you how tired teams are when they're having to play every three days. And we caught Palace having to play two and a half days after a game against France. And lucky or not, two ones are tight result. But look at Palace, what they went and did last night against Burnley.

54:45Like, they're a good side and we've got an opportunity to go above them. Anyway, absolutely brilliant show this morning. As always, thank you, everybody, for tuning in. Really enjoyed it with you. And I'm looking forward to the watch along tonight. Take care. C says, can you say we're going to lose? So we jinx it. Yeah, we're going to lose 2-0 tonight. I mean, I don't actually believe that. But for the point of a jinx, yeah, we're going to play absolutely rubbish. And we're going to lose 2-0. Absolutely, definitely going to happen. It's going to be hammer time for the hammers, not us. take care everyone speak to you in a bit

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