276: Semenyo DEAL Close! INEOS Plan SINKING United!

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2:27How does this help Man United get back on top? Also, a few other interesting bits to get into as well. We'll be talking about Xerxe, what the midfield plan is in January and how they may well not be a midfield plan in January. And a few interesting comments coming in from ex-players as well. So lots to get into. But of course, if you were watching the 8 o 'clock show last night, you'll know that Fabrizio Romano dropped a very interesting update around Semenyu at Bournemouth saying that Manchester United had made contact with Bournemouth in the last 48 hours as well as Man City, also Spurs and Liverpool are in that race as well.

3:02Now, we've got Ben Jacobs on the show at two o 'clock and we won't be missing that, will we? Because he is the person who started this all off over the last few weeks, saying that Man United will be there in January expressing firm interest in Semenu and that release clause. So we'll get the latest on that at two. But what I can tell you this morning is that Manchester United and Ruben Amrim feel that if they go on this deal, they will get this deal done. They feel they have done the groundwork publicly and privately to convince Semenyu that Manchester United not only is the right option for him, but is the club that has made the biggest play for him as well.

3:39And I think that this does go back to the summer in some extent where we did express interest, but never really advanced it. And also the constant speculation that United have had over the last few weeks with Amirim even name checking what a special player he was at the weekend. And as per reports, having some conversations with him on the pitch and off the pitch on Monday night as well. So the real question is, well, if Man United are so confident they're going to get the deal done, will they get the deal done? And I think, honestly, what I would say is, is that we were in a very, very similar position with Liam DeLapp last April and early May, where we felt we'd done a lot of work.

4:19We felt we were the right option and we felt we were getting the indication that we were the club that he was going to choose. So we must all be very careful of that, especially when you've got teams like Man City and Liverpool flirting around. I wouldn't be worried about Spurs. I don't think Crystal Palace would be worried about Spurs in a transfer race. So I don't think Manchester United should be. However, I do think that with Man City and Liverpool flirting around, you do have to be a little bit careful. But the issue with Manchester United isn't actually convincing the player. They feel that even with Man United's dodgy last 10 years, you can still say to a player, we're a better club than Man City.

4:57And that might sound stupid and clippable and everything like that, but it does still work. It's worked with Kunja, it's worked with Embermo, there were Champions League clubs that wanted them and they chose Manchester United. That might be a mistake on their part. I'm not saying it isn't, but we do still have that pull of huge club, huge history, huge status, huge brandification if we're going to be cynical and mercenary about it. You know, you sign for Manchester United with a million followers, you're instantly going to be heading towards 10 in a very short period of time. You can monetize that.

5:31You can expand your brand. You can get a bit of bigger boot deals. So that is all part of it as well. And, you know, people don't like it, but it is part of it. But also, you're going to go straight into a Man United side. If Semenyu signs for Man United, he's going straight into a Man United side. If he goes to Man City, you might look at the treatment of Savinho, Grealish, Doku and go, I don't know how much I'm going to play. You might look at Liverpool and go, you know, is that the place to be at the moment? So we have got a pull. Just because we're a bit shit doesn't mean that we don't have a pull.

6:06And also what we're being told is, is that United have done a lot of groundwork. It's not just the public statements from Amorim. United have done a lot of groundwork on this deal and they're confident they can get it done. Otherwise, they wouldn't want themselves publicly associated to this deal like Romano did last night and Ben Jacobs has mentioned as well. So the real quiz, the real question for Manchester United is, do they have the financials to do this deal? Is it the right deal to do when they clearly do need midfielders? So it's not even that there's a massive concern about convincing the player because they think they can do that.

6:43It's more about whether they can financially do the deal or whether it's the right deal to do in January. which in a way I would criticise because I think that's something that we don't want to be hearing. You know, if you want a player and the manager wants the player and the player is, you know, gettable, then football clubs go and get them. They don't then go, hmm, can we afford it? You know, that, that, that, that, but, you know, to be fair, Fabrizio mentioned that last night as well. So look, where we are this morning is not where we were yesterday morning or yesterday evening. We are in a position where Manchester United are a big player in this deal and they feel that they can get the deal done.

7:22The question is, are they going to push forward on it or are they going to say not today? The money's not there or we'd rather spend it elsewhere. And that's something that we were discussing last night. But what we're hearing around the midfield is, is that United and Fabrizio said it himself about Balaba. You know, Amriem is obsessed with Balaba. To the extent that Balaba is higher. Well, I don't believe this, but it's a new show. Balaba is higher than Wharton, Anderson and Stiller in Amrim's mind. He is the obsession that Amrim wants. Brighton aren't going to shift on the price in January. So we think we're going to go back in the summer and have a whole summer at it because he's not in the World Cup.

8:03It's enough to make you want to throw up. But, you know, this is why I think the question is, is he the right man for Man United? because I don't get why Belaber would be the obsession of any manager in the Premier League at the moment when there are better midfielders out there. But that sort of feeds into what this is all about in the sense that we might not buy a midfielder in January because our priority is Belaber and we can't get him. And we definitely have a manager that is stubborn enough to go, I'll get on with what I've got, which could mean keeping Manu against his will until the summer as well.

8:37So it's a bit messy around the midfield. Conor Gallagher is definitely there. And that could be something we could do that allows Manu to go. But long term, I think we're going to go for Belaber. And I think that United don't feel that they can do that in January. So they'll miss the midfield and maybe focus on Semenu. So, yeah, that's sort of where we are at the moment. United 77777 says free cooking with Goldbridge. But seriously, United are fucking crazy if they spend another 65 million on a winger. when we need a midfielder. Fair point. I think Seb can do better at midfield than Bruno, says Maz Rawawawi.

9:12And Michael Doherty says, Merry Christmas to Mark and everyone at the United Stand. At Christmas, slow down, look around and remember what matters. A very, very, very, very true message, Michael. And I'll certainly be doing that. And I've got my Christmas mug here. And I'll tell you what, I was at Sainsbury's this morning. I just dropped Seb at school and went into Sainsbury's to get some wrapping paper. And they had some of these... I don't want to name check. It was a big coffee brand and they do these ready to go. They're never as good as the ones you get from the shop, but it's like a toffee latte where you pour it in.

9:44Milk and not milk, water. And we're ready we go. So this is a taste test.

9:51It's a bit hot. It's nice though. It'll cool down. One week to Christmas. Wishing Mark, the United Stand, the mods and lovely chatters a lovely Christmas. Spill the tea, Lou. And a happy new year. Remember to hit the like button. That's from Spill the Tea, Lou. A lot of people feeling festive this morning. Tony Marcial 5042 says, I think we are preparing life after Bruno with Semenyu. Kunja in the 10, Semenyu on the wing, midfield incoming in the summer. And if we sign Semenyu, they best get us two elite midfielders in the summer, says Luke. I don't even agree with that, Luke. I respect what you're saying, but I don't even agree with that.

10:26That to me is not good enough. there was this article in the mail. I think Mike Keegan wrote it really, really in depth. A lot of it, I've got to be honest, I didn't really care about because it was all about Zlatan, Ronaldo, Ed Woodward. None of that matters to me because it's all in the past. But what did jump out at me was that this bit where they were talking about John Murtagh and they were talking about how um Claire Robson the daughter of Brian Robson was handed a key role ensuring the those of the club were well looked after off the pitch um Woodward liked his blockbuster deals but Sir Jim Radcliffe wants to unearth the next Mbappe he wants to drive down the wage bill and make a profit from the academy by selling off homegrown players something uh encouraged by Premier League profit and sustainability rules.

11:22That terrifies me about United because what you're saying, Luke, sort of fits in with that, even though you're not saying it. If we sign Semenyu, we better get two elite midfielders in the summer. We're always kicking the ball down the road. And the trouble with that is you never catch up with the ball. I don't subscribe to the view that, yeah, I'm happy signing Semenyu if we get two elite midfielders in the summer. Because what are we doing for the next six months, not qualifying for Europe again, which impacts us signing elite midfielders in the summer. We needed a midfielder last summer. We needed the second midfielder this January.

11:57If we walk out of January with no midfielder, I mean, I don't care who you sign. We can't keep kicking the ball down the road. And it terrifies me, and I have mentioned this a few times, it terrifies me that Ineos and Sir Jim Radcliffe are implementing tactics to our football club that don't work in football and certainly will not work in the Premier League. And what I'm talking about is this, we're not going to buy people over 27, we're going to lower the wage bill and we're going to find the next Mbappe. And it makes me want to cry, it seriously makes me want to cry, you know, because we can't nurture players.

12:38Why would you try and buy young players who are going to be the next Mbappe when you can't nurture Mbappe in the first place? We can't nurture young talent. We've not done it in about 20 years. We can't do it. So why have we got an owner that is obsessed with lowering the wage bill and getting young players in that he can either sell or turn into the next Mbappe when we're not capable of producing the next Mbappe. This fan base is so fed up. We're not ready to be patient, Jim. We're not ready to wait five years to watch the next Ronaldo or the next Mbappe. We're just not that club anymore. If you are Sir Alex Ferguson winning Premier League titles year after year and you bring a young teenager in from sporting and he tells you to be patient, you'll do it because you've still got prime skulls, prime keen and everyone else around him.

13:32You know, if you're Sir Alex Ferguson and you've won your first Premier League, won the league for the first time in over two decades with the likes of Cantona and Hughes and Ince, and you bring through some kids from the youth, people are going to be patient and they're going to allow you to build David Beckham and Ryan Giggs, etc. But when United have been shit for 13 years and the football shit and we're in massive debt, this fan base, in fact, no fan base is going to sit there and go, you know what? It's fine. We've been fucking rubbish for years, but let's all sit down and see if we can produce another Beckham over the next five.

14:07We're not. We're not. And that's not, you know, I saw the bits that Rio said. We'll come onto it in a bit. That's not our fault. You can't slag fans off for not being patient when the circumstances answers up the floor. My point is, I think we've been bloody patient over the last 13 years. And for what? So you're asking us to trust you again. I don't agree with this model at all. So when Luke says, you know, if we sign some NU, then get two elite midfielders in the summer. No, I'm not on board with that. For what reason? You're asking me to trust these owners again and write off another season with no midfield.

14:45Get the bloody midfielders yesterday, not tomorrow. But look, this is not speculation. This is something I think United fans should be screaming and shouting about and debating. If you're on board with it, great. Explain why you are. But this is a terrifying... It's not a theory. It's not a theory. It's not a guess. So Jim Radcliffe and Ineos want to lower the wage bill and focus on buying young talent that will hopefully be the next Caicedo, the next Mbappe, etc. It's a flawed system. It won't work. It's not even working at Chelsea. It's not working at Chelsea. They need experience and they haven't got any.

15:24And we won't have the spending power of Chelsea. So we're going to do a BTEC version of Chelsea and it's not even working at Chelsea. So we're getting mugged. I agree with Dayton. We are getting mugged off here. You're still going to be buying the third kit because it looks like something when we were good 20 years ago. You're still going to fill the season. You're still going to fill all the season ticket allocations. you're still going to pump money into that club whilst they save money. And I don't care what anybody says, lowering a wage bill is a headline that for some reason gets a certain section of our fan base heading for the tissue shop, right?

16:03I don't give a shit about lowering the wage bill. In fact, I've got a theory for you. If you have the fifth highest wage bill, there's a very good chance you're not going to finish in the top four because you get what you pay for. If I take you out for a meal at lunchtime and we go to the harvester for a mixed grill and you say it tastes a bit rubbery and then for tea I take you to a really nice steak restaurant and you go this is delicious, I'll go you know why? Because we're paying a lot more here with a better chef. So don't talk to me about lowering fucking wage bills being something to get excited about.

16:37The only thing about our wage bill that's the problem is we've paid stupid money for stupid players. Give me a 300 grand a week player who's worth 300 grand a week. In fact, give me two or three. I don't mind having the biggest wage bill in football if we've got the best players. But we've been sucked into this stupid situation where they use it as sort of like a way to get fucking elected. Oh yeah, bring the wage bill down. You've got United fans going, oh yes, yes, about time, about time. It's about time. Yeah, it's about time. Yes, bring the wage bill down. Brilliant. Yeah, absolutely brilliant.

17:14No, don't bring the bloody wage bill down. I'm basically celebrating you ripping the club off. So all this money is still going into the club. All the debt is still there and you're taking the wage bill down to service the debt. Oh, I'm going to applaud that. I don't want the wage bill to come down. I want four or five players on 300 grand a week who are worth it because then we'll be in the title race. You get what you bloody pay for. And there are fans in our fan base applauding us. Oh, you know what? We used to be second in the league for a wage bill and now we're down to fourth. With a couple of years, we could be down to eighth.

17:48And they think we're going to finish first with a wage bill that's lower than everybody else. Absolute shite. And also, how the hell is this going to work? Cut the wage bill and keep buying young players in the hope that they become good. and then we want to sell them anyway. It's incredibly flawed and it's just not going to work. But also, sorry, Luke, I've sort of used you to go somewhere. Also, Luke, it sort of fits in with what you're saying about it's always down the road, isn't it? The great thing about lowering the wage bill and buying young players is they've got a ready-made excuse to say, well, it's not going to happen overnight.

18:26It's going to take years and they want it to take years because they want to build the stadium without spending any money and they want to keep taking your money out of your pocket And this is just, I can't believe we're not having protests. I can't believe people aren't up in uproar because this club is, this logic is just not going to work. It's just not going to work. Ryan says, I'd like some menu, but where's the midfielders? And Arhan says, morning, Mark, looking handsome today. I hope you've not been drinking. Red Smurf, hope you're doing well. Thank you very much. He says, if we don't buy a midfielder, we'll be cooking a Sunday roast without the veggies.

19:03and Wasteland Kid says Semenyu in left wing back to replace Deleu on long throws and look, I don't like long throw-ins. I'll be very, very clear about that. I don't know whether I've made it clear enough yet. I hate long throws but I'd rather Semenyu who can score goals, take people on and create things, throw the ball long than Deleu whose only skill is to throw the ball long. Michael Lilly says my wife Geraldine and I wish you a new family Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and I wish that back to you as well. and Geraldine too and your family. Merry Christmas, Michael. Hypothetically, would you sell Bruno in January if it meant getting Anderson?

19:41Luke's come back with another good one. 100%. 100%. I don't want the Labour. It terrifies me. I don't want to be wrong. I don't want to be right. I want to be wrong. But the Labour terrifies me. I think there's too many red flags, you know, too many red flags. And you know what? If I see a red flag on a beach, I'm not going in the sea. Could be a shark in there, could be waves. I'm not going in. And United are going in there with this bloody speedos on with a big smile on their face. I ain't going anywhere near Bully because it's a red flag. So I'd love to go for Anderson, but, you know, it's not going to happen.

20:22But hypothetically, I would do it. Yeah. certainly a would. But I don't know what's going to happen with the midfield because there's all this talk about Maynou. Again, again, I saw somebody talking this morning about Maynou knowing about the t-shirt and being part of it and this, that and the other. At the end of the day, Maynou needs to start on Sunday against Villa. T-shirt or not, he needs to start, right? It'd be funny if he started against Villa, scored the winner then pulled his Man United top up and it said free Kobe Mainu on it. Now that would be a headline. Don't get any ideas. But no, he needs to start on Sunday.

21:02That's the only thing I want to talk about with Mainu. You know, we've had the t-shirt competition. Let's file that under whatever we want to file it under. He needs to play on Sunday. But you know what as well? We're all going to pick Bruno on Sunday. I'm going to pick Bruno on Sunday. Did he not say in his interview words to the effect that he works harder than people in the team and he's more dedicated to the team than everybody else as well. I mean, I'm pretty much sure. I mean, you might be taking a little bit of poetic license there, but he certainly mentioned that, you know, I work harder than everybody else.

21:34I'm committed to the club more than anybody else. So, you know, I just think we need to beat Villa on Sunday and all this Bruno talk and Maynou talk, they're both in the team for me on Sunday. So I think that, you know, we've almost had all that conversation is my thought. But look, Luke, hypothetically, of course, I would sell Bruno to bring in Anderson because I think we've already got the number 10s. I mean, if we play a 4-3-3, we don't even need Bruno anymore. I think he'd be the best number 10, but you could play Cunha, you could play Mount, you could play Xerxes, you could use that money to bring two midfielders in.

22:09So look, if Bruno is not going to play as a number 10 for Man United, I'd sell him. Yeah, 100%. I don't think that's breaking news. Patrick Lynch says we need two midfielders now. And if we're lucky enough to get Champions League, we'll need two more. We don't have a squad capable of proper rotation right now. The squad construction is a mess. I think it was Tyrone Marshall in the Manchester Evening News yesterday was talking about how Man United are going to disintegrate their midfield in the summer. You know, it could be wholesale changes with Bruno Casemiro, Manu Agate. And I felt like going, fair play, mate, but come on.

22:45We've been talking about this on this channel for a year. Like we need those wholesale changes. But I agree with Patrick. How the hell are we going to survive next season when we're rebuilding a midfield in one summer? And again, this just comes down to the stupidity of the ownership. You know, we need to rebuild our entire midfield in one summer if we don't do anything in January. that's incredibly stupid and it's a World Cup summer as well so even if you bought two midfielders most of them won't be training until about a week before the Premier League starts so even if we get into Europe next year and we do these wholesale changes I think I think we're in big trouble next season I don't think we can deal with Europe next season at all in fact I always feel with United there's a good season then a bad season I don't know what this season is yet but if it is a good season I wouldn't be surprised if next season was a bad season because unless we're not in Europe again which would make this season the bad season but I don't I don't think we're capable of dealing with that level of football that level that that consistently at the moment because I think there's a hell of a lot of work that needs to be done and that's even if Amrim gets sacked in the summer I still think there's a hell of a lot of work for a new manager Rajaf says given how the season has gone so far it absolutely disgusts me that the owners want to signed Semenyu.

24:07United got 30 goals so far tied with Arsenal. We need at least three proper midfielders, not another forward. I think that's a piece of analytical opinion that deserves a bit of respect, Rajaf. I think it is. I mean, it's not necessarily something I've thought about, but Semenyu is a very exciting attacker and that's why a lot of people are looking at him. But how how many more goals do we want to score before you don't score anymore? If we've scored a lot of goals, then how many more can we score? If you bought Haaland into Man United and we've scored 30 goals, it doesn't mean we would have scored 50.

24:53So I agree with you. It's sort of like, I like Semenu. I like him. He's a good player and there's definitely a place for him in this team. But if you've got£60 million and you're spending it on another forward, I mean, look, you're talking to somebody who thinks it's criminal that we bought two number 10s last summer instead of a midfield. And I like Kunja and I like... It's the same thing. It's exactly the same thing. If we sign to Mennu, I'm saying exactly what I said in the summer. Really excited, very good player, but where's the midfielder? And the same thing in the summer. Kunya and Mbremo, very exciting, like both players, but where's the midfielder?

25:34And it's nothing against the attacker, but it's against the owners and the manager. What are you doing? What are you watching every week that makes you think you should be spending all your money on attackers? Have you watched this game or do you just not understand the importance of having a midfielder at this level? You know? Kai says, Semenyu is such an easy deal for a top player. Crystal Palace and Nottingham will put us through the ringer in the summer before they allow us to get their best player.

26:05Jack Davies says, Semenyu is class, but we could lose four midfielders this summer and we're already struggling. Won't play you, so how can we convince four to join in one window, says Jack. We know it's Nespresso, Mark. Get that sponsor. It's definitely not, Masraou Alawi. Can I just give a big shout out to Josh Squash as well? It is Christmas time and he's just gifted 10 memberships. So if you haven't got a badge in the chat, we have a members section where you get a badge, etc. He's just gifted 10. So thank you very much to Josh. Kiel Robinson says, fine, no point getting worked up anymore.

26:37I don't know what he's talking about. We'll come back to that. Maybe they're hoping Bruno cash in in January to get both, says Luke. I mean, look, imagine if Bruno Fernandes left in January. I mean, you've just got me thinking there. There would be a lot of money, but he won't go in January. I personally think with Bruno and people get very fed up about us talking about Bruno but he has done a big interview this week he is our best player and he is playing out of position and he is our captain so he is going to get spoken about but I think that I think with Bruno I don't really think he wants to go to Saudi 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.

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28:01Smash the link in the show notes or visit airup.link slash the United Stand and elevate your hydration game today. I think he wants to play in the Champions League again. I think he's the sort of person that when he retires, like he said, he'll go and play local football and senior football and you know he'll be playing walking football in his 60s i think you can never knock bruno fernandez's love for the game that's why he's never injured that's why he wants to play um and i think he wants to play in the champions league and i think if united are in the champions league he won't even go in the summer i look i would prepare yourself for that if we get in the champions league bruno won't leave what that means for our midfield next season is quite scary but if we get champions league football i think he stays if we don't get champions league football i think he'll try and find a club that does have Champions League football and if he can't he'll go to Saudi I don't think he wants to go to Saudi I think Saudi is money if you look at his interview he's basically talking about money I don't think he wants to go to Saudi to play in Saudi I think he wants the money if nothing else is on the table and United aren't in Champions League so that that's my that's my interpretation of it to be fair going back to what Jack Davies says about four midfielders in the summer.

29:17I still don't think it needs to be that severe, Jack. I really don't. I still think it's... I mean, look, it might be one voice singing in the darkness here, but I'm absolutely convinced that Maynou can be one of our four midfielders for the next 10 years. I really do think that, all right, he might not be a starter, but he could be a rotational player. I mean, I believe he can be a starter, but I just think it's incredible if he ends up leaving the football club. But, you know, what do I know? Are you ready for Cherky? Says ZJG. I don't know what Cherky's got to do. We're not playing them for a month.

29:52The thing about the wage bill is there was a point half of the total was on players not involved. It needs to be billed back up with a quality instead, says Glenn. I agree with that, Glenn. But the problem is that

30:08that's not the strategy, is it? The strategy is to lower the wage bill and keep it low. They're not looking to lower the wage bill and then take it back up again. That's why they don't want to buy players over 26 because wages are low. I hate the strategy of Manchester United. I can't believe we're doing it. I can't believe we're just going to buy players under the age of 26, lower the wage bill and try and find young gems. I mean, it's just not going to work. It's just not going to work. We can't develop talent and we're going to have one of the lowest wage bills in the top eight. I think it's a disaster, an absolute disaster.

30:47And that's why when people say to me, would you take another season out of Europe if the Glazers and Ineos had to sell? Yeah, 100%. Because actually, you know what? If Ineos' strategy is to lower the wage bill and focus on young talent and nurturing them, if I was the billionaire in charge of Man United, my strategy would be buying the best players I can get as quickly as I can get on the right wages. If I could get Kimmich for a year on 300 grand a week, I'd do it. I'd do it. If I can get a 28-year-old who's going to give me four good years and they're a born leader and a top player, I'll give them 250 grand a week.

31:28I will get the best players into this club today to get this club back. And I tell you what, I tell you what, I'm going to develop young players quicker than Sir Jim with the likes of Kimmich and a 28 year old who's a leader quicker than he's going to do it with the shit that he's got. And that's what makes me laugh. If you want to develop young players. And this is why I always go. If Sir Jim Radcliffe was a lifelong fan, where was he when the class of 92 were being developed? Working in his petrochemicals business on holiday? You know, where were you when we developed Rooney and Ronaldo? I don't know where he's been.

32:07As a lifelong United fan, I don't know where he's been for the last 30 years. Because if you want to develop talent, you better have five or six really good, experienced, consistent players aged between 25 and 30. Because that's how you nurture talent. And we're switching that button off. It makes me laugh. Semenyu has a red flag too poor passes and crosses says Kai and some good comments coming in this morning thank you very much it's got a bit of an eight o 'clock show feel to be fair we have got Ben Jacobs on the show at two o 'clock today so we'll probably get a very very good insight on what's going on with Semenyu so don't miss that show unpopular opinion because he is the person who's been saying it's been going on for weeks Red Smurf says unpopular opinion but I'd sell Bruno regardless of the position and buy two midfielders that can defend and play the ball to Mbermo and Cunha's feet, which is how they prefer to play.

33:06Red Smurf, you've made two great comments today. I think you're absolutely spot on. It's been discussed a lot about the misprofiling of Mbermo and Cunha is scary. I mean, technically, we've bought a right winger who was getting goals and assists every game and turned him into a number 10. So, you know, it's a bit like signing Mata and putting him on the wing. So Mbermo has been given a position change, £65 million to change his position. He can do it, but it wasn't where he was playing last year. And then Cunha is another£65 million to not actually give him the ball at his best, which is back to goal, quick ball into feet to spin and turn.

33:52So we've bought£130 million worth of talent and technically we've misprofiled them because we've changed Embermo's position and we don't give Kunja the ball how he wants it. I mean, way to go. Way to go. By two ridiculously consistent performing players at lower level teams last year, bring them to Man United and then don't play them in the way that they were being played. Semen Yu coming to us in January would be stupid from him as well, says Luke. It would be like catching your grandparents doing the dirty and asking if you could join in. Wow, that took a twist, Luke. That sounds like it's something you thought about.

34:33Bloody hell. JP says, hi, Mark. I wish you a Merry Christmas and New Year. Let's hope 2026 we start playing some good football and the team pull their finger out. JP, I've got a little clip next week. You'll have to keep reminding me about it. I'm going to write it down here because I watched it last week and I just need to record it and play it. On one of our Christmas shows last year I sort of said Where we'll be in a year Oh my god It wasn't a prediction It was just It was more of a hope I'm telling you now If I'd have come in With where we are now A year ago I think it would have been a very Very Different thing Apparently we've had some quotes From Roy Keane on Maynou If someone can point me in the direction I will get onto that It's probably from the overlap, isn't it?

35:27Peace, love, humanity says wire forward while we bloody need midfielders. Chip says signing top Premier League talent in their mid-twenties for 65 million doesn't rhyme with the slow rebuild. I think last season's 15th place scared the shit out of them. No, no, no, no, no, no, Chip. You know, all you. OK. Embermo, Cunha, potentially Semenyu, mid-twenties, 65 million pounds each. Does that fit with a slow rebuild? Well, it does, because where's the midfield? We're still not buying midfielders, are we? It's a halfway house. As per usual, we sort of don't commit to anything. We sort of do it halfway.

36:11We're obsessed with buying attackers at the moment, but we won't buy midfielders, you know? No midfielders, no spine. Known spine means we crumble. Atta, atta, right? You know what? I spoke to Seb had a match last night. So many people there I was talking to and they're not United fans. All I got was what a great game on Monday night. What a great game. It was such a great game to watch. I absolutely loved it. And I went, yeah, but you know what? I'm a Man United fan. I didn't think it was a great game to watch. And they're like, what are you on about? I said, I don't think it's a great game to concede four goals at home to Bournemouth and draw.

36:43I said, I'd rather win 1-0 and play shit. Four all, what do I get for that? A point. I want three. So my big issue is, like you say, no spine is why we're playing out four alls. I saw somebody the other day say, was it game of the season in the Premier League? And I'm like, do I get a fucking trophy for that? Do I get three points for that? I'm glad we entertain so many people, but it's a point. And the reason it was a point and the reason it was entertaining is because we've got no midfield. If we had a midfield, all those people who said what an entertaining game it would be, would be like, that was boring.

37:20United 4 Bournemouth 0. What a boring game that was. Good. I'm enjoying it then. I'm bloody enjoying it then. The only reason it was an entertaining game for the neutral is because we've got no bloody midfield. So we crumbled. The spine crumbled. We should have won that game 4-0, you know. Buying some menu over a midfielder is like wearing the best tux without the pants, says Vib. It's better than the bloody grandparents. What's his name? Wants to get into bed with his grandparents and have a go. What was that? What was that? Seriously. Come on. And it was a super chat as well. How does the brain work?

37:54I mean, I'm all for analogies. And, you know, there's some I regret, but bloody hell. Come on. Semenu in left wing back to replace. Done that one. Thank you very much. Right. I'm going to get you this Roy Keane quotes. I'm sure we can find it. Let's have a quick look here. I'll be surprised if I can't find it in this place. I mean, who knows what Roy Keane said? He's not known for, you know, not saying what he thinks. Here we go. Here we go. OK.

38:34OK, it's good. So Roy Keane on Maynews Brother. We shouldn't even dwell on this kind of thing. Sometimes you're just surrounded by idiots, especially in the family. I love this. never, never. Look, I'm sure we've all got idiots in our family. And, you know, I don't, I definitely think that's a strong start from Roy on his thoughts on May News t-shirt wearing, which is sort of what I said, to be fair, on Tuesday. But I did get a pelters for it. He then says he's 20 years old. What's wrong with being patient and learning the ropes? And even if he doesn't get his chance. We've all had to go through it.

39:16Sometimes a coach isn't convinced and you have to prove him wrong. Every day is an opportunity to prove yourself. He said, Maynou only started against Grimsby. And how did that go? Sometimes it's the only chance you get, so you have to seize it. Were they all rubbish that night? In that case, you make sure to be good because it's easy to be good in a bad team. So look, I think what Roy Keane's saying is nonsense about the t-shirt, but Maynou needs to look at himself and prove Amrim wrong. Where I... I love what he says about the idiots in the family. I absolutely love that. But you know me, it doesn't matter whether...

39:55I mean, Roy Keane's probably one of two of my favourite all-time United players. So I have huge respect for what he's done in a Man United shirt. I've never had the privilege of meeting him, maybe we wouldn't get on. Maybe we would. It doesn't really matter. For me, he would still maintain a massive part of my love for football. And he's one of my favourite players, as I say. But I do disagree with him about the opportunity and you've got to take the Grimsby chance and you've got to wait for your chance. I think this is where, you know, Paul Scholes would disagree with him and Nicky Buck would disagree with him and disagreement's good.

40:31I disagree with him. I don't agree that he's got to wait for his chance because I don't think he's been given fair chance. Look, if Maynew's moaning about not playing and you've got prime Roy Keane and prime Paul Scholes in the midfield, shut up and stop moaning and just wait. Right. I agree with that. And I think that's what Roy Keane is saying. So I agree if he's got two really good midfielders in front of him and he's moaning about game time, shut up and wait for your chance and he didn't take it against Grimsby. I completely agree. But there is context here. Bruno in the midfield doesn't work.

41:05Everything good he does is basically as a number 10. Casemiro in the midfield has had some good games. He's had some absolute stinkers as well. So I think that from that point of view, that concerns me. I've just realised something one minute. Think on that.

41:33so you know i i don't agree with kino on that one i think that look and look i'm not going to dwell on it much because i want to talk about what rio said as well i don't think mainu has been given the chances and i think also what roy keen is saying is wait for your chance and work hard reban amrim twice in the last month has said that mainu's been brilliant in training and deserves to start and then we watch the midfield play shit against Everton and West Ham and he doesn't start him so I think you know that's what I would say about that um I what I what I did find interesting was a couple of things like look Rio's really in with the club at the moment like he's doing a Rio meets because he was at Carrington we saw it in the summer for whatever reason Rio and the club are you know linked in and he's obviously doing a lot of he's you know he's not going to criticise the club because he's got some deal with them.

42:28It's very, very obvious. So he's sort of doing propaganda and some people are agreeing with it. Some of what he says, I don't have a massive problem with, but I saw this yesterday and I thought, you know what? What a stretch this is. He said, I think it's harder for players now. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to play under the scrutiny that they get now. If we had social media in our time, we wouldn't be deemed as good a player as we are now. Trust me, because we all made mistakes. Do you know what I mean? The cameras weren't on us as much. And I thought, what level of bollocks is this?

43:04Because, so what are you saying that, you know, you, Vidic, Rooney, Ronaldo, Scholes weren't as good as I remember because social media wasn't there with TikTokers analysing your game. but De Bruyne has had that Salah's had that so De Bruyne and Salah who've had all the TikTok generation and the social media they're better players than you and Rooney because you didn't have that I'm sorry, I'm 46 I've watched the Premier League from start to finish there ain't no way Rooney and Scholes were overhyped because we didn't have social media scrutiny it's a load of crap And, you know, I think the reason he's saying that is because he's almost trying to throw sympathy at the current United players to say, you know, it's hard to be a Man United player now with all the social media, you know, they're being scrutinised so much.

44:04Mate, I've watched football all my life. They're just not that good. It's got nothing to do with being overanalyzed. They're just not that good. Harry Maguire, Lissandro Martinez, De Ligt, they're just nowhere near as good as Ewan Vidic or Stam. They're just nowhere near. There's nothing to do with social media. They're just nowhere near. So finding excuses because of social media. And hold on a minute. David Beckham in the 99 season used to go away from home and get dog's abuse from thousands of away fans about his kid, about his wife. He won't get that in the ground anymore. So, you know, I just think stop finding excuses for players that ultimately aren't actually that good enough.

44:50They're just not good enough. And finding ways to blame fans or social media for it. Blame the people that actually caused it. Oh, you're not going to do that because now you're on the payroll. The Glazers. The Glazers have caused this, not social media. Last time I checked, it wasn't social media that bought a club that was very successful and wasn't in debt and put it into a billion pounds of debt and bought shit and turned it into a circus where players are more powerful than the club. That's the problem at Man United. Not people saying it's unacceptable to lose to Everton at home. Bullshit.

45:26He also goes on to say that I think his fans were impatient. I mean, we want what we want and we want to see the results immediately. but look at Arsenal it's taken them five, six years and they still haven't won the league but they've seen an improvement it shows you need time to build anything so I think that's why I think Amrim needs time again just flaky pro-glazer bullshit for Sir Jim to push it down the road Rio you're talking out your arse you're talking out your arse we've been waiting 13 years and there's been no improvement in fact it's getting worse and you're saying we need to wait another five or six years because Amrim's a new manager.

46:04What's happened in the last 12 months? Compare that to Arteta's first 12 months. Also, you say Arsenal haven't won anything in five or six years. They've been to a Champions League semi-final and they've finished second three times. Like, you can't compare us to Arsenal. Their owners gave Arteta the job and got rid of two of their best players straight away. They've then backed him every single season in key positions. Patience for what? We've literally had this conversation. Patience for what? What's the patience? We're in debt. We're not buying players over 26. We're trying to buy kids. Patience for what, mate?

46:49Patience is absolutely fine if you have a vision. But we've been patient for 13 years. And people will be patient if they can see a vision and there is no bloody vision. that's the big problem um also just the final bit i thought i'd thrown for a bit of comic comedic effect um i think bruno could have played in our team um you need to be able to run take risks and have imagination and that's bruno if you're describing bruno that would be him do you know what i mean um i think bruno would be able to play in our team um i mean i'm trying to think of what team Rio played in. Probably 08 was the best team he played in.

47:32Bruno in that team. We'll cut to Ricky. Let's cut to Ricky. He'd be on the bench. He might be on the bench. I can't see. I can't see who Bruno... So Bruno's going to bench Tevez, Ronaldo or Rooney? No. he's gonna bench skulls carrick hargreaves gigs no maybe we could play him at right back no i'd still take wes brown gary neville no um no he wouldn't get in an 08 team he'd get on the bench for the 08 team but he wouldn't get in the team and i tell you what he wouldn't be a lad he would again i just feel it's a bit propaganda and you've got to you've got to realize this is a man united and rio synergy working together earning together propaganda together because bruno fernandez wouldn't survive in a sir alex ferguson team playing the way he plays because sir alex would not put up with the indiscipline and the risk taking he wouldn't he wouldn't put up with it so he'd be on the bench and he wouldn't replace owen hargreaves dans because what i will say about owen hargreaves is he was a fucking fantastic player who had injury problems.

48:47You might not like his analysis on wherever he works now, but as a player, very, very good. Very, very good player. Columbus says, Morning, Uncle Mark. You do not look 46 at all. You look like you're in your 30s. Also, do you think we'll get Belaber in January? Well, you can stay. Thank you very much, Columbus. Do I think we'll get Belaber in January? Dreams can come true. Look, I'd take Belaybro over nothing in January. I personally think there's a deal there to be done on loan with Manu going the other way. But it's too logical for Man United. Would you take another Casemiro kind of deal right now, says Jack?

49:25No. No. Casemiro was too expensive and clearly passed it. And we fell for it. Maybe our owners understand that open heart surgery wrong as the midfield is the heartbeat of the team. And the owners thought, let's do something else, says one and only. Thank you very much, pal. Well, morning legends. The longer we do not address the midfield, the longer we will be run through. We won't get into Europe on this form, says Mike JW. Hope you're doing well and you're absolutely spot on. And Red Smurf's back again. He says Glazer mind games and Glazernomics not buying a midfielder. This team can get Europe then not buy once in Europe because we can go with what we've got into Europe.

50:00Look, I think I think you make a great point again. It's the hat trick. If we get Champions League football with what we've got, Bruno will stay. If we get Champions League football with what we've got, our owners are so stupid they'll think we're fine. So are we in a situation now where if you want Bruno to be sold and you want a midfield revamp, do we need to miss out on Europe again? Oh, was that what should have happened last summer? And that's the idiocy of it. I think if we get European football, they won't do anything. They'll go, we don't need to. But if we don't get Europe, they might do it, which is exactly what happened after the Spurs game.

50:38We should have done it then. And this football club, whether it's the Glazers or Ineos, we're always chasing our tail. We're always doing everything too slow. In your heart of hearts, do you believe the midfielders available in January are good enough for permanent moves as gravy on everything? Depends what your class is available. I mean, I think everybody's available at the right price. I do. I definitely believe with Anderson, there's some sort of release clause there. Or there must be something there, I think. I think Brighton will do a deal. I think Conor Gallagher improves our midfield simply because Amarim doesn't like Manu and Agate.

51:17And if he likes Gallagher, that improves our options. If we do get him, do you think the plan could be Semenu at left wing back and then try and mold Diego De Lapp into a centre midfielder, says Mike? I mean, knowing Amarim, he'll play him in goal. He'll shoehorn him in, won't he? Hitton says, That was from Mike Royce, by the way. Hitton says, per Bruno, he stayed because Amrim wanted to keep him, not the club. And now we know the problems in the midfield, but Bruno's still been the most consistent. Who knows where we'd be? What does it say about Ruben, says Hitton, that he made a mistake? I think if it was Amrim's decision to keep Bruno and put him in the midfield, that was a mistake.

51:53And I'm not sure Bruno appreciates it either. I think Bruno would much rather be playing as a 10. uh harv says would you sacrifice starting sesco in order to shoehorn embermo to striker bruno to 10 and start mainly with casimiro see that working in the short term yeah i would i mean i i like sesco but he's not necessarily in my starting 11 he doesn't have to be in my starting 11 i i like him but he doesn't have to be in it um rajaf says bit random but mason mount seems like the most obvious everton signing out there jack greelish jewsbury hall mason mount just fits and Kai says Modric was on the top of his game at 36 why we're in such a hurry to sell Bruno he's the fittest player in the squad and clearly doesn't want to go because he's playing in the midfield Charlie Belcher welcome to the members club thanks very much for joining we are buying players we can get rather than needs as Damien thank you very much for that and media was way worse before remember how the media riled up the public against Beckham after the 98 World Cup I I still remember that Beckham hanging effigy as well, so Slaze.

53:00I lived the 80s, the 90s, the noughties, social media. Social media can be bad, but to pretend it wasn't bad. I mean, God, look at the racism in the 80s. Fans were throwing bananas at black players in the 80s, and it was happening. So, you know, you talk about the David Beckham stuff as well. That was real. the thing about not social media is the abuse was right there in front of you now it's on now it's online um but but my big issue with what rio says is it hints that the fans are responsible for united being crap the glazers are responsible for man united being crap and just because he's on the payroll now don't try and deflect the glazers are why this club's on its arse the fans are not the reason for it.

53:49The fans' frustration and impatience is because of what the Glazers have done to the football club over the last 20 years. You can't point at the fans and say you need to be more patient. You need to stop saying this on social media. It's got nothing to do with us. Nothing to do with us. Absolutely not. If I were the owner, I'd be reprimanding Bruno and Maynou's brother, the Barclay. Maynou needs to stay. Bruno needs to be humbled, says Seth. There we go. okay thank you very much diego de lap is cold says faz people liked that uh thank you very much uh really appreciate it um we have got ben jacobs on the show at two o 'clock big some menu update tune us tune in live for that as well eight o 'clock show tonight with me too fantastic show this morning everybody really appreciate you as always um ray says does some menu improve us or is he overhyped?

54:43I think he improves us, but he doesn't improve the area where we're conceding goals, which is the midfield, in my opinion. Thanks for watching. Take care. Speak to you all in a bit. Stay safe. Hi, Uncle Lazer here. America's built on fast cars, fast food, and even faster women. Photo casinos built in America. You know what they're fast at? Fast cash rise. Redemption. You see, Only Moto is U.S. owned and operated. Moto. It's American-made. That's who we are, and that's who we care about. Play for free at Moto.us. Moto Casino is the social casino. Avoid. We're prohibited. No purchase necessary. Visit Moto.us for more details.

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