277: Bruno EXPOSES Amorim! HUGE January TRANSFER Budget?

0:00Menards is your one-stop shop for all your summer essentials. Whether you're stocking up on everyone's favorite snacks, making a patio perfect for entertaining family and friends, or getting ready to gather around the grill, Menards has everything you need for your get-togethers all summer long. Save big money now at Menards. Plus, don't forget to check out our weekly flyer on menards.com for all the great deals happening now. Save big money at Menards. Hello, everybody. Welcome to the United Stands. I'm Mark Goldbridge, and this is your latest Manchester United news and transfer news this Friday, the 19th of December 2025.

0:42Also, Amrim press conference coming in at lunchtime. But we're going to start off talking about Bruno Fernandes exposing a huge tactical issue that many of us have spoken about before. But Bruno Fernandes basically inadvertently exposing Amrim's biggest mistake this season. We'll going to discuss the budget in January, because if you take it as what we were talking about last night, you're not either going to go all in for Semenyu. They're looking at a midfielder as well. What budget do we have in January? Where is this money come from? Or are we being spun? You know, that's something I think I've seen a few people talking about this morning.

1:16Are we actually being spun here? Because United want two midfielders. They want Semenyu. You're talking 100 million quid. Where's all this coming from? How are we doing this? Because there's a big update around Mainu this morning and how United will not sell him on the cheap and no one's going to have the money for him in January. So what is actually the truth around January and what we're going to do? Also been linked to a Juventus player. Some interesting stuff. Again, I just feel like this filler game on Sunday, it's almost like United are chucking as much distraction as they can away from what could be a disappointing result on Sunday, surrounded by a disappointing result against West Ham, Everton and Bournemouth at home, and then Newcastle on Boxing Day, we could be heading into a bad patch.

2:01So is this why United are throwing up stories from a couple of years ago about Dan Ashworth and Ten Hag and Tuchel, which we'll talk about in a bit anyway. But as always, get your thoughts in. I mean, look, we got linked to Ruben Neves last night. We've actually got a very, you know, we do do the polls on here. Either or, Ruben Neves, Conor Gallagher. It's a live poll at the moment. 53 % are Ruben Neves, 47 % are Conor Gallagher. Both very, very realistic. Both improve our midfield. In fact, I would say those two, well, you know, I'm not even worried about being on TikTok for this. I'd rather have Ruben Neves and Conor Gallagher as our midfield than Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro.

2:40In fact, I would rather have them so much. I think if our midfield too was Ruben Neves and Conor Gallagher, we'd be more disciplined. We'd have better balance. We'd get the ball into the feet of Mbremo and Cunha better, and we would be in the top four. They're a better midfield too than what we have. People get lost on Casemiro's won Champions Leagues and Bruno's a brilliant player, but in the midfield, they would be a better midfield too. They've got more legs, more discipline and they're specialists in that position. So definitely better. But that feeds lovely into where I want to start the show today.

3:14I saw a very interesting quote from Bruno Fernandes from his recent interview. and he was asked about why he takes so many risks on the pitch and he said, if I didn't take risks, no one would say Bruno loses the ball or misses his pass. I could play it safe, make backward or sideway passes, but that's not the player I am. If I did that, I would not be useful to the team. I take risks to help my teammates score goals and I think this completely and utterly vindicates everything we as United fans have been saying for six months and completely and utterly undermines and ridicules Ruben Amrim's decision to shoehorn him into the midfield.

3:53Because the player, I mean, if I was Amrim, I'd be sort of like, cheers for that, Bruno. You've absolutely exposed me because this is the guy that Ruben Amrim has decided to abandon his midfield for. To put Bruno in the midfield, this is what this guy is saying. I could play it safe. I could make backwards or sideways passes, but that's not the player I am. If I did that, I'd not be useful to the team. So he's basically saying I will never be that guy that maintains position, plays with discipline, keeps possession, plays the simple pass. And that's exactly the profile of a midfielder. And to have Bruno Fernandes sat there this week basically saying, I'm not going to stop playing risky balls.

4:36I'm not going to stop people saying Bruno gives the ball away too easily because that's what I do. I'm never going to be that player that just plays the simple pass. And that is incredible when you're looking at games like Monday night and many other games and you're watching Bruno not pick up the runners and you're looking at Man United's possession being crap and an inability to hold on to the lead. It's not just scoring goals because people will go, yeah, but he gets assists. But hold on a minute. When Man United get in front in the game, how many times do we hold on to that lead? If you think about Spurs, you think about Forest, you think about Bournemouth, you think about West Ham, how many times do we not hold on to a lead because we haven't got the players in the midfield to just go, calm it down, let's keep the ball, let's calm the game down.

5:22And it's not, you know, keeping the ball and passing sideways is not just about, you know, I get, look, it's not Bruno's fault. He's a number 10 and he's never going to change. Simple as that. But from a manager perspective, it just exposes the stupidity of what you're doing with Bruno. Like, you know, no wonder you can't hold on to a lead. You've got a player that just will not play with discipline to maintain possession. And that's your biggest mistake. And the player that you're doing it with is even saying it. Now, I've always felt that Bruno doesn't like playing in the midfield. I think he will do it for the team.

5:55I don't think he will like the criticism he gets, but I think he will do it for the team. And he's still putting in the numbers because he takes the free kicks in the corners and he pushes forward. But I don't think he wants to play in the midfield. And I think it's, you know, I think it's a massive, massive mistake. But I think when you've got the player that's playing in the midfield basically saying to the world, I'm not going to play this role the way I should do I am not going to play the simple pass I am not going to play backwards I'm going to keep doing what I do because that's what I do well I'm sorry I don't need to sit here anymore and say Bruno's not a midfielder because he's told us all himself he just doesn't have he just doesn't have it in him and he's not going to have it in him and that to me falls onto the falls onto the manager without 100 % you know sorry it falls onto the manager 100 % Rafe says it just shows what a narcissist he is.

6:49I'll keep doing what I want, even though it's detrimental to the team. This is why I can't wait for him to leave. Well, I mean, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know about that. I mean, if he is being told to do something else and refuses to do it, then why would Amrim not drop him? I presume Amrim is putting him in there and saying, play the way you want. I mean, have you ever known a midfield pivot free player, free Roma? you know have you ever played football manager or anything like that and on your midfield pivot player said have a free roam free roll I mean you know no wonder we concede so many goals we're just we're playing some weird shit at the moment got very good attack I think our defence is okay but our midfield is a you know it's a polo isn't it it's the mint with the hole KC says if Amrim is going to change his formation to four at the back would you play four five one would work as he can still use wingers wing backs in a modified system.

7:44This is Casey Gaming. I mean, look, I have got the preview coming up at eight o 'clock tonight. I don't really know what to say about the changing formation because I just find it crazy. I find it crazy. We sacked Eric Ten Hag playing a 4-3-3. So I'm not one of those people that thinks 4-3-3 is going to solve our problems. We've sacked loads of managers playing 4-3-3. He's still got the same players. And this manager is not a 4-3-3 manager. So I just sort of find it scary on two levels. One, these players will still be shit. And two, Amrim's basically abandoning what he's all about. It's scary.

8:20Scary that he might do that. Am I an honor blind or is Lemens really good? Says Lev. I don't have a problem with Lemens. I don't know why people have a problem with Lemens. I think it's just fashionable in this fan base to build a player up for a few weeks and then knock them down. We've become obsessed with it. and I've seen a lot of criticism for Le Mans and I just didn't see it. I don't see what he did wrong on Monday. In fact, he rescued us in stoppage time. Rio's Bruno glaze was pathetic. Stats and De Bruyne-us as United 7-7-7. A lot. I'm not here to talk about Rio Ferdinand. I think he is up the arse of Amrind, Bruno, Man United and everything else because they're giving him access to the club at the moment.

9:04And that's the only way you're going to get access to Man United, trust me. So, you know, Rio's gone down that path. A lot of people have watched the interview. There's room for everybody, you know, fair play. But you're not going to get anything real from him because he will blow his relationship with United. So he's going to be very positive about everything. As long as you go into that with your eyes wide open, I don't really see a problem with it. Devils says, I think Manu did that T-shirt thing on purpose because he knows that doing something like this would piss Amrim and that's his best way out.

9:37Look, I saw something this morning about Mainou actually. Let me just bring that in. So effectively, where did this come in from about Mainou? So we've got some updates on Semenou and a couple of other bits as well I want to talk about as well. But this, I saw it on the Manchester Evening News. It said Manchester United would need an exceptional offer to part ways with Mainou in the January transfer window. The transfer window is about to open with a host of clubs being linked with a move for Mainu over the last few months. Sky Sports has reported that United are not keen on parting ways with Mainu and would only consider allowing the England international to leave permanently in January rather than on loan.

10:18They claim it would take an exceptional offer to convince Amrim's side to cash in with the likes of Chelsea and Napoli linked with a move for the England international.

10:28I mean, it's interesting, isn't it? So I'll just read that again. Sky Sports are saying that United are only keen on parting ways with Maynou and would only consider allowing him to the England international to leave permanently rather than on loan. I mean, that's the first time I've heard that. I mean, that is on the Manchester Evening News right now. Sky Sports report that Man United would only consider Maynou going permanently in January rather than on loan. I mean, that's just, is that a mistype or what? I mean, that's incredible. That's absolutely incredible. the obvious thing is to loan him out.

11:04I mean, we did this with Rashford. We did it with Anthony. We shouldn't be selling him. What if Amrind fucks this season up and gets sacked and we've sold Manu in January? I mean, that's just incredible to me to do that. I realise some people want to sell him after this week, but I still think, you know, 20 years of age, you know, there is a way back. I did say about Ganaccio and obviously there never was. Just on Ganacho, by the way, what a knobhead. I mean, come on. I've only just remembered this. So he liked a post about something to do with freeing Manu, didn't he, this week? I mean, if I was a Chelsea fan, I'd be like, mate, you play for Chelsea.

11:49Stop being such a beg trying to stick the knife in on Man United every chance you can because they sold you. I just think what a classic knobhead. Somebody was mentioning it to me that Ganaccia would like to post about freeing Mainu. And I thought, you know, it's like Sancho all over again, isn't it? When he left and he was typing freedom. They're obsessed with Man United. You've signed for somebody else. Go on like Rhys James' posts. What are you getting involved in Man United for? Like trying to justify. We sold you, mate. We sold you. Amrim told you to do one. Like deal with it. Move on. You know?

12:27it's incredible I really liked what Scott McTominay said actually just on that for a moment let me read you this comment from Scott McTominay because there is this myth well he said it basically Scott McTominay was asked about players leaving Man United and getting better and he said I disagree it's too easy of an excuse I think it's too easy to say that whenever I was there they helped me with everything tactically, training, nutrition everything is there for you to succeed It's not like they don't give you certain things that other clubs do. It's a myth because the spotlight is directly on you.

12:58It makes it seem a lot worse. In my last year, I did well. I scored 10 goals and we won a trophy. And it's quite refreshing for a player to not use that as an excuse because it was teed up for McTominay to do that. And I think what he was basically saying is, look, it's hard at Man United, but it's not an excuse. You can't just go and play for Napoli or Chelsea and say, well, it's an impossible job at Man United. I think he's saying it's a hard job, but it's a myth that you just go and play somewhere else really well because Man United is a badly run club. Of course it's a badly run club, but I think what McTominay gets is what many of us get.

13:37It takes a certain type of player to succeed at Manchester United and we've recruited the wrong type of player consistently for a very long time, which is why I worry about Balaba, because I think he's displaying traits that may not be the type of player we need at Man United. You know, the inconsistency, the struggles, you know, not being able to deal with pressure. That's the sort of player I think may not be the sort of player that should be coming to Manchester United. So I thought it was quite refreshing of Scott McTominay to say that because I think there is this, you know, ganacheo approach that I'm at Chelsea now and, you know, everything's better.

14:13mate, you probably sat on the bench more at Chelsea than you were at Man United in your last season. That's the funny thing about Gannaccio. He probably technically has sat on the bench more at Chelsea than he ever did at Man United last season. So, you know, oh, I'm in a happier place. I'm cooking and, you know, myth. It's a nonsense. It's a nonsense. I think the problem with Man United is that we create, nurture and purchase the wrong characters. So when you talk about Maynou, to me, I think that, I think selling him in January would be a big, big, big call. And I don't agree with that. I think the loan deal has to happen.

14:53The sale is a bad thing to do. And keeping him, I'm not so sure either. I think it's an interesting one. But I heard, just obviously, we spoke about this in depth last night and through the week about this bloody t-shirt. Ben Jacobs yesterday was saying that as he understands it, Maynou knew about it and was supportive of the t-shirt. I've seen a few people trying to call Ben Jacobs a liar today without actually giving any evidence. I've known Ben Jacobs for quite a while now and he's not the type of journalist that would just make something up. So, you know, I would almost challenge Maynou if he thinks it's a lie to come out, call it a lie and prove it because I think Ben Jacobs has probably got the evidence that Mainu knew about it.

15:40Reading between the lines, I think he knows Mainu knew about it. I think he knows that Mainu supports it. So look, if somebody thinks that Mainu didn't know about it, why hasn't Mainu come out and said something in the last four days? So I'd love him to come out and say he didn't know anything about it, but I think he might get fines that something or a couple of things come out to prove that he did. I also have seen and I've completely forgotten about this because I like the player and I want him to play I want him to play on Sunday I want him to stay I might be in the minority but that's my stance I also remember as well like somebody was online earlier a lot of people are online earlier and they were saying about Mainu he had you know all this nonsense that he's kept his nose clean and not done anything what about the reference to that drumming film where he put a picture of that guy who was the drummer.

16:34I can't remember the name of the film, Whiplash. I remember commenting on that on the time a few months ago and I got a load of shit for it because people were like, are you taking it out of context? If you've watched that film, that's about a guy who's working really, really hard who feels he's being almost bullied by his mentor and not treated very well. Great film, as G-Man says. So look, Maynou hasn't not hinted at his unhappiness. He wanted to go. I'm with you, Brian. I'd forgotten all about the whiplash picture from Maynou. So look, he's not happy. He's not happy. And I think he genuinely feels that Amrim is ruining his career.

17:17Now, if I was in his shoes, I've got to be honest, I'd feel exactly the same. And I would expect most of you to as well. You know, I would look at it and go, So I'd be, look, the only difference is I'd be Maynou. I'd be a 20-year-old player ready to play for Man United, but I'd still have the same opinions. I'd be like, the midfield is shit. I'm not getting any chances. You know, he's ruining my career. It's a World Cup year. I think I could be playing for somebody doing well and they won't let me go. So I would have all those frustrations, 100%. It's just the way you behave with those frustrations.

17:52I don't think anybody's got a problem with Maynou being frustrated. It's just the behaviour this week is just slightly embarrassing, isn't it? More dramas than matches this season. Well done, United, says Seth. And Robert McCormack says he's going to go 4-3-3 to get Kane, Rashford and Scott McTominay. Where would Scott McTominay fit in in a 4-3-3? I mean, it's just interesting on Maynou as well. I think I saw James Dukker talking about it earlier on. he basically was saying that in his article that Ruben Amrim believes Meynou is better suited to playing in a midfield three and does not consider him a natural number six

18:33I mean I don't disagree with that from Amrim's side I think Meynou does work better in a three but I think Bruno Fernandes works better in a midfield three I mean look we can play that game with everybody I think some people would read that and go oh that's why Amrim won't pick Meynou then because he doesn't suit his system, so therefore he's got to sell him. But Bruno doesn't suit his system. Deleuze doesn't suit his system. I think there's a lot of players that I don't necessarily know that Embermo suits his system. I think Embermo plays better in a 4-3-3 wide right. So I think there's a number of players that don't suit his system, if I'm being completely honest.

19:09Rajaf says, McTominay's aura is unreal, proper red mark. Thank you very much for that. Rajaf says, What's your thoughts on Roy Keane's comments on Maynou? Well, it was more on his brother, wouldn't it? wasn't it, where he called him an idiot? And Rajaf also says, I was ecstatic when Mamie broke out. His cool, calm aura was unreal. But when Ben Jacobs broke down on the United stand, it's truly shocked me. Thank you very much for that. Okay, well, interestingly, I'm just going to delve back into transfers for a moment because we have got a comment. Well, we haven't got a comment. We've got a poll here that says, who would you prefer, Ruben Neves or Conor Gallagher?

19:43So I just want to give you a bit of an update on what's going on with these two. fresh this morning from a conversation with somebody who will probably put it out themselves. So I won't be, I won't, I'll leave them to do it. But effectively, Chris Wheeler last night broke that Manchester United may well be in for Ruben Neves. I nearly said Jauneves then. We all got excited. For£20 million, apparently the Saudi league are willing to let him go. And he's looking for a return to the Premier League. He's 28. He'll be 29 in March. £20 million. Portuguese. So you can see how that could work also. But the interesting thing is Ineos do not like spending money on people over 26.

20:35And as I said, he'll be 29 in March. So, you know, who knows with that? Conor Gallagher, 25. We tried to sign him in August. There is the potential that we go back in there. We did hold talks last week again through intermediaries. So very much on the agenda. 54 % of you would go with Ruben Neves. 46 % of you would go with Conor Gallagher. My stance is don't really care. I don't really care. I'd be very, very happy with either. And if we got both and dropped Bruno and Casemiro, I'd be even happier. I think we'd actually finish top four. so I don't mind which we go for there I think the thing that really I wanted to talk about for a moment that's sort of getting into my head is are we being played here are we being spun here because I'm so used to January transfer windows where we don't do anything until really late where we sort of talk about it's not the transfer market that we want to use we will get linked to players but we don't actually go out and do it and what I'm noticing in about the last couple of days is that we're going all out for this.

21:42We're definitely going to do that. And realistically, from the numerous reports we've had over the last couple of days, you could easily interpret it that we're going to really try and sign Semenyu and we're going to really try and sign a midfielder, which could be upwards of£80 million. Now, that's how a football club should be behaving in January when they're as shit as we are. In no way, shape or form, am I going, oh my God, we're going to spend£80 million in January. What's going on? I mean, this is exactly what Man City did last year. It's exactly what Chelsea have done for a few years. Liverpool have done it.

22:18This is what we should be doing with the numerous holes that we have in our team and the numerous bad results we've had this season. We absolutely need to get European football. And it's on a knife edge at the moment. It's very thin ice. We don't have any inclination that we're definitely going to get Europe. We might end up without it. So we need to go and plug those holes. The flip side is how many times have we been played? How many times have we been lied to? How many times have we been spun? It's not a good week for Man United on the pitch because of Bournemouth and Villa on Sunday could be a bad result.

22:53So are we just part of that PR spin that we're fully aware of where we're going to do this, we're going to do that because they're just distracting us from reality. And that's what worries me a little bit. You can go all in for Semenyu, but if he signs for Man City or Liverpool, oh, wow, we did try. Are we actually and do we actually have the funds to get Semenyu and a midfielder or are we going to end up with nothing or a loan deal? In which case, I don't know. I don't know. I'm very encouraged by the Semenyu story, but I do worry about whether we've actually got the money to do it. People think with 4-3-3, Manu will play.

23:32I see a 4-1-4-1 with Casemiro in front of the back four. Mount, Cunha or Xerxi helping Bruno and two wingers. Look how much Ruben Amrum talks about Mount's defence every chance he gets, says Seth. Remember, Casemiro was suspended on Sunday as well. Tom Grant just says, Just thinking about it for Manu, do certain contracts have a thing where they have to play so many games, like how FIFA has crucial, important, etc.? They do exist, Tom. They are like the best kept secret in football. I don't know what NDAs may be, but they don't even get spoken about very much when a player is left. But I categorically know from speaking to a number of ex-players that you do have things in your contract.

24:17I mean, football manager didn't just make them up, let's put it that way. So there will be minimum minutes, expectations, etc. like that. But you've got to be a good player to have that. I don't think Mainu will have it in his contract that he's got to play a certain amount of games because effectively he's still very much on a youth player contract. I mean, I think he's, I say only, but comparable to someone like Deleuze, who's probably on, you know, 70, 80 grand a week. I think Mainu's on about 20, 25, isn't he? Loaning Mainu is the wrong decision, says Dave the Brave. If he goes and has a stinker, he is worth nothing in the summer.

24:51Straight sale or keep, says Dave. personally I think Manu's going to stay I think Manu will stay at Man United I don't think that we will move him on in January and I think that could cause more problems but look I was thinking about this last night if you're Amirim you've not really shown a massive amount of interest in Manu anyway so when this t-shirt stuff happens there's got to be some reaction to it i mean what's that reaction going to be it's 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 air up lets you drink plain water that tastes full of flavour through scents alone.

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26:35I don't think he was, so I don't think he will be, but I think he'll be very much driven by who and what he can get in January. I mean, worst case scenario for Maynou is that United get a Ruben Neves in and Maynou becomes fourth or fifth choice midfielder behind Bruno, Casemiro and Ruben Neves. And we don't let him go. So, you know, I don't I don't necessarily think he will go. Sriram says, I think Maynou will outlast Amirim. I think with Amirim, to be honest, the one good thing about this week is that most of the conversation has been about Semenyu, Maynou, leaking of the formation and Bruno.

27:20And that's been a good week for Amirim because I've said it so many times. I can't believe United fans who are happy with Monday night because it was entertaining. I didn't find that entertaining. I found it very, very stressful, very, very confusing and very, very irritating. I completely agree that for a Monday night game, when you get eight goals, it must be great to watch. But I'm like, we're Manchester United. Why are we conceding four goals? Why do we need two big saves from Le Mans to stop us from losing that game? My eyes are wide open. I know when you have eight goals in a game, it's entertaining.

27:56But we very nearly lost that game. and I think a lot of these stories that have come out this week have been a godsend for Amorim because he's not been spoken about much at all and we've got a very difficult game on Sunday. I'm interested by his press conference though and I'm in a lucky position because I'm doing the press conference reaction at half one today because Beth is off and I don't normally get to do it but I actually think he's going to get asked a lot of questions which are going to be very interesting to hear his response around Maynou, around the formation, around Bruno, around transfers.

28:34So it should be a really good interview because there's four or five questions that are really interesting. But look, I'm not diverting from the question, will Maynou outlast Amarim? Look, there's still a world where Marcus Rashford is playing for Man United next season and Amarim's not here. So I'm not going to sit here and say it's impossible that Maynou couldn't outlast Amarim. I certainly think from Ineos' point of view, they want Amarim to outlast Manu. So the only way I think that would happen is if we absolutely plummet in the second half of the season. Because I actually think, just momentarily moving away, I personally think that if Amarim finishes eighth or above, he'll stay.

29:19Even if we don't get Europe, I think they'll keep him. that's how and that's scary but that's how badly run I think this football club is and how stubborn I think they are I think if he finishes eighth they will keep him even if we're not in Europe they'll give him another chance because you know they're going to look so stupid for sacking him and it's going to cost them money so I think he will stay even if we finish eighth and don't get Europe so Maynou outlasting Amrim I'd probably say Amrim will outlast Maynou if I had to be pushed on it, really. Why do you think that buying a man that chose Saudi instead of having a good...

29:58Sorry, why do we think that buying a man that chose Saudi instead of having a good career, that is a bad mentality and isn't going to change the player culture, says Rayo? I actually completely agree with this, and I didn't even mention it last night, even though I did think it, and I'm sure you've all thought it. Reben Neves went to Saudi in his mid-twenties. He's got every right to do that. I mean, I don't think anybody can knock somebody that just goes, this is going to be generational money for my family for generations to come long after I'm gone. It's an incredible amount of money. But what does that say about the mentality of the player?

30:34Look, he may have gone there and gone, I've earned the money now. I want to come back and really focus on my football and be very focused on it. But I don't think it's an unfair thing to say. Also, Jordan Henderson's come back from Saudi and worked very hard for Brentford. So, look, it might be a consideration, Rao, but it's not necessarily definitive. Gravy on everything says Rashford, Pogba, Sancho, Ganacho all got multiple second chances. Does Maynou not get one? If I was Amrim, I would start him for three games saying prove me wrong. Well, well, well, I've been saying this for a long time.

31:10Half an hour, half a game against bloody Grimsby is not enough. You know, he's 20 years of age. You've got to give people a chance. He's given Casemiro and Bruno enough chances, hasn't he? Damien says, Maynou's sale over loan makes sense as they get cash. And Andy Atherton says, I don't think we will sign a centre midfielder in January. Neves or Gallagher would want 100k plus a week, so United are happy to keep Maynou on 30k until the summer. It's a great point, but it's a depressing point, Andy. And you're probably quite right. if you loan Meynou, you don't really make any money. And his wage is going to be way less than Ruben Neves, who apparently is on 300 grand a week in Saudi, and Conor Gallagher is probably on 150 in Madrid.

32:02So yeah, you make a depressing point, yes. Not to do with a t-shirt, Agate has to play Sunday, says Robert McCormack.

32:15I personally think you might be right anyway

32:22I think there is a way of not starting Manu on Sunday if you don't want to I want to see him start I thought we were better on Monday when he came on I thought Casemiro was quite poor but yeah there is definitely a way that he doesn't need to do it certainly Just talking about the old spin, I don't know whether you saw this, but I'm sort of despairing of this this week. It's predominantly been coming out in the mail, really. But there's loads and loads and loads and loads this week about... I don't even know what the angle is. It's very derogatory to Man United over the last few years. But ultimately, the angle is that Ineos have done good.

33:09and this is what it says in the mail. Sir Jim Radcliffe has definitely made mistakes since taking over from the Glazers, but two big errors stand out, and Sir Jim might even admit them. First, they extended Ten Hag's contract in the summer of 24 and gave him£200 million for players. Secondly, the brief hiring of Ashworth is to blame for the first. Efforts to replace Ten Hag with Thomas Tuchel didn't work out. Sources close to Tuchel, now managing the England national team, say the hiring attempt was poorly handled. There were four interviews with what Tuchel felt were pointless questions and ultimately they parted without any offer being made.

33:48I don't know why we're being subjected to this myth that Ineos have done a good job, but it just seems to be a landslide this week. They're even talking about Carrington and how good Carrington is and it was the first thing that Sir Jim wanted to do and there wasn't enough desks for the workers and all this stuff. And I'm sort of like, so are we now sitting here nearly two years after Ineos got into bed with the Glazers and trying to protect and promote them? You can't blame Dan Ashworth because you didn't sack Ten Hag and get Tuchel. As the boss of a company, I can't blame Beth for anything if I'm the boss.

34:36and so Jim Radcliffe can't blame Dan Ashworth. He must have listened to Dan Ashworth, you know? That's what I'm trying to say. So I also think as well, in hindsight,

34:49Ten Hag had finished eighth and won the FA Cup. Amrim's just finished 15th and, you know, embarrassed us against Spurs. So contextually, there's this myth around Eric Ten Hag that he was actually a failure. I mean when they sacked him wasn't he like three points off fourth or something like that which people would be getting the tissues out for now so I don't think keeping Ten Hag was a mistake I don't I don't and I think the only mistake that really is worth talking about if we're going to go back in the past at the moment is the appointment of Ruben Amrim Eric Ten Hag won two trophies in two years and they sacked him because they didn't like him Reuben Amrim has been here a year has the lowest win ratio out of any manager in our Premier League history we're not playing good football we're ridiculously inconsistent and he's about to abandon the formation they recruited him for so I'm a little bit reluctant to give credit to stories that are trying to go back and rewrite the past to glaze the present I think Jose Mourinho Oli Gunnar Solskjaer Eric Ten Hag they can look at their eras at Man United with a semblance of credibility Oli finished second Mourinho finished second and won a couple of trophies and Ten Hag won two trophies in two years trying to go back and ridicule that because things are better now I don't think things have ever been so bad at Man United I think 15th and losing to Spurs in a final is the lowest it's ever been.

36:33So if we're going to go back to the past to try and glaze Ineos, I would say your biggest mistake at the moment was appointing Amrim. That's not on Amrim, that's on you. You appointed a guy that plays a distinct system and didn't think you needed to give him the players to play it. And right now the jury's out on that decision. and right now that manager is being pressured out of necessity to become something he isn't and that's on you so stop talking about bloody ten hog or dan ashworth you are in charge welcome to well welcome to the real world you're in charge and the only decision i think anybody's interested in at the moment is whether your decision to appoint reuben amrum is going to work out and you can't try and distract us by starting to talk about what happened two years ago in the summer it's about what happens right here right now and that brings me back to the January transfer window are you spinning us or are you actually going to do what needs to be done and get a midfielder and maybe some NU in as well because that would be two statement signings that would give us a massive chance of getting into Europe which is surely a necessity this season and that's what gives me hope that it might not be spin because, you know, I'm not sat in the boardroom looking at the figures, realising that if we're not in Europe again next season, we're fucked.

38:00Because I think we are. I do. And I suppose that's a positive. I think if we're not in Europe next season, we're in massive trouble. Massive trouble. And I think it finally might give them the kick up the arse to actually go out and do something in the January window. Because I'm telling you now, If you think this squad is getting you in the top five, that's like throwing a dice and thinking you're going to throw a six. You might do, but there's a very big chance you won't. So they need to go and spend. Patrick Lynch says, not enough desks. Is that why they sacked half the workforce so they don't have to build less?

38:37The only efficiency fans want to know about is with transfers, managers and players. The rest is just noise, says Patrick. Yeah, and look, I think Dan Ashworth was a bad appointment. I think Ten Hag did need to go. But why are we looking back at that? Why are we looking back at that and then trying to pretend we're in a better position now? Like, the cold, harsh facts are, whatever you think about Eric Ten Hag or Ali Gunnar Solskjaer or anybody else, the cold, harsh facts are that since Ineos came in two years ago, their win ratio is worse than we had under the Glazers. You know, game for game, we are winning less games than we were before.

39:23And that's before you start talking about everything else you don't like. that they're not doing a good job. All they're doing is talking a good job, but they're not doing a good job. Nobody is doing a good job. That's why Ruben Amrim comes out and says, look, you know, Paul Scarl's taking a pop at me. You know, I sort of have to take it on the chin because it is my fault. They're not doing a job. They're not. Few people talking about Semenyu going to Man City, go and get Yildiz. Yildiz has been linked to Manchester United. I just can't remember who did it. I might be able to find it for you. I put a note down somewhere yesterday here it is oh it's Ben Jacobs yesterday says Yildes is another name Manchester United like I mean we've been linked to Yildes a couple of times I do like him but I mean there's an element of risk to that Italian league adjusting to the Premier League at Man United it can be quite difficult so you know maybe we could do a swap deal with Xerxi I mean Xerxi

40:29I mean there was a again there's a very big statement from Ben Jacobs yesterday that was Xerxi wants to leave Man United and Roma sorry Roma feel Xerxi wants to leave Man United and they're active and serious about loaning him in January so that's an outgoing that I think will happen if Semenyu comes in which will leave some of us very very disappointed because I actually like Xerxi. But he will be the make weight, 100%. There's no way that we're not going to move somebody on if we bring somebody in like Semenyu. I think it will be, you know, absolutely nailed on that he will go. I think Agate will be sold before Maynou, says Zaz.

41:12Sorry, I'm yawning a lot this morning because, as you know, if you watch the evening show, I'd add a few.

41:20House of Zom says Daily Mail is a Tory paper and Radcliffe is a Tory funder. Andy Atherton says I'm getting some free Deleu short t-shirts printed. No, no, sell Deleu, sell short. I mean, you know, that is the. I mean, look, that's the idiocy, isn't it? Of wearing a t-shirt saying free menu. Like, what's next? You know, it'll become another theme, like the half and half scarf, where loads of people are turning up with, sell this player, you know, start this player. It's just, it's crazy, really. It really is. Marlo United says that Bruno is missing the point. We love him for creating and taking risks, but he's saying he could be disciplined if he wants.

42:07He needs to know when and when not to take a risk. Look, ultimately, Bruno Fernandes saying that he's not going to change. He's not going to play the simple pass. he's not going to play the back pass, he's going to keep playing the risky ball. It is arrogant, of course it is, but his stats back it up. The issue with it is you can't have that type of player in the midfield. So either Amorim is letting him do that in the midfield or he's not doing his job. Well, if he wasn't doing his job, I'd expect him to have been dropped. So Amorim must be allowing him to play that way in the midfield, which is incredibly naive in the Premier League.

42:45and I'm sorry, he's wrong. And he can sit there in an interview and say he's right, but he's wrong. It's nearly Christmas. Bruno's been in the midfield all season. His assists are great, but most of them happen because he's doing things that a number 10 would do, like running forward, taking free kicks, taking corners. From a midfield perspective, we're conceding way too many goals and that is because you're putting him in the midfield and we have low possession. and when we get in front, we give up the lead because we can't control the ball. And all those things would be solved by having a midfielder that can and is disciplined.

43:22He's not positionally disciplined. He's not disciplined on the ball. He doesn't want to just keep possession for possession's sake. All those things are really important to a midfielder and he can't do them. That's on the manager and he must be willingly doing that. When are you going to sell free and harness shirts, says Robert McCormack? Well, I'm actually thinking, should we start printing some of these T-shirts ourselves? not free menu I mean God no we were a three star sorry Arek Arek Arek Arek CV says we were a three star Michelin star restaurant under Sir Alex we have degraded to a zero star but built us up again is not one chef away it's going to take time we can have standards but standards without realism are just delusion mate I completely agree and I think there's a lot of us out there that are willing to be patient and positive when we see a vision.

44:16There is no vision, in my opinion, at the moment. There is no vision. So look, I think we're desperate to get behind something, but I don't know what we're meant to be getting behind at the moment because it's very, very confusing. I saw a comment, I think it was from James Dukker the other day, about how Amrim's got to make a decision about how and what he's going to do if he goes to a back four. Is Martinez ready to play? Are you going to play Luke Shaw there? There's lots of things, isn't there? This caught my eye a little bit. Manchester United will seek a meeting with Howard Webb in the new year after being left bruised by a series of controversial decisions.

44:56Officials at United feel they've been on the wrong end of major calls on a number of occasions and they will now seek out Webb, who runs PGML for Crunch Talks.

45:07so I don't know I don't know what

45:21I don't know I don't know what I think about that because everybody is a victim of PJMOL and again I just feel like it's I might be completely wrong on this but my perception is we're all being sort of spun around a bit this week to distract us from what happened against Bournemouth because there's so much going out there. You know, just heard about bloody the 10 hog and all this. And you're like, why is that? And it's almost like we're just being bombarded with nonsense to distract us from reality. Why are we speaking to Howard Webb? Does anybody actually feel that we've been robbed or mistreated by the PJMOL this season any more than anybody else.

46:04I mean, I speak to Villa fans quite regularly and I always say to them, I can't believe nothing ever happened based on your last game of the season at Old Trafford where you missed out on Champions League football because a goal you scored that was legitimate didn't get given at 0-0. They needed to win to be in the Champions League. It's 0-0. They scored a legitimate goal and it got overruled. And you missed out on Champions League football because of it. And there was no apology. and nobody did anything about it. And that's one of the biggest fuck-ups I've ever seen. So I'm sure we have been a victim, but everybody else, no more than anybody else.

46:41So why are we asking for a conversation with Howard Webb? Because again, it's almost, I feel like it's a bit of propaganda. Oh, United are going to go and speak to the naughty, bad, crap, shit, PJMOL. Yeah, because we're victims. Well, I don't think we're victims at all. I don't think we're victims at all. I think we've had some bad decisions go against us, but I think a lot of teams have. And again, it's almost like excuses to try and subvert the blame to somebody else. I mean, look, if you're thinking about Monday and Semenyu being sent off at 1-1, we lost to Everton with 10 men. Everton had 10 men.

47:20I didn't want him to get sent off. So if Man United are going to go and moan at the PJMOL because Semenyu wasn't sent off, I don't think we would have won if he had been sent off. So I don't know what we're actually moaning about. I really don't. I don't think... I don't rate the PJMOL. I think they're absolutely terrible. But I don't think we've been unlucky in any game that's cost us... What we're trying to say is we are where we deserve to be. Like, Brentford deserve to beat us. I know Nathan Collins should have been sent off. Absolutely. but again playing against 10 men we still probably would have lost Man City deserved to beat us Fulham deserved a draw Spurs should have beat us we got a draw Forest deserved a draw Everton deserved to beat us and they had a man sent off West Ham deserved to get a draw every point we've dropped I think we've got to look at ourselves really I think you forgot my super chat says Ood I always go back through them I'll go back now Now, I can't see Agate getting sold because I don't think anybody's going to go for him.

48:34Essentially, I don't really understand who would go for Agate. I think Agate would have to be a loan deal. Oud says, regarding Mainu, I'm not saying he's guilty till we've got all the facts. Jacob said to his understanding, which isn't 100 % innocent until guilty. Hey, think what you like. There's still a lot of people out there that like Mainou and want him to start. And I'm one of those players. Sorry, I'm one of those fans. But as I said, he could have come out like Roy Keane was alluding to very, very quickly and said, I'm completely against this. He hasn't done it. And he should have done it.

49:13Marcus, random question, you to the US for the World Cup. I don't know. I don't know what my World Cup plans are at the moment. suffice to say we will be doing stuff on that football but I don't know what my plans are talking about Marcus though good report this morning coming out of Spain that Barcelona are leaning more towards keeping him than letting him go come back so yeah really good I was just looking at Rio Ferdinand's tweet I said it on the Man United tour I felt it again on Saturday the vibes in the dressing room feels together and a good feeling. Mate, mate, I wish you'd just stop working with Man United and go back to talking shit on your own channel.

49:59What are you talking about? I felt the vibes were good in the dressing room. Mate, have you looked at the league table? We've took two points from nine at home. You played for Man United. You know the fucking standards. We're talking about good vibes in the dressing room. For God's sake, when did we stop actually having results as the priority for Manchester United. Good vibes in the dressing room, for fuck's sake. We just finished 15th last season. We lost to Spurs in the final. We're not having a particularly great season this year. It's very up and down, but apparently the dressing room is really pleased.

50:31I mean, fucking hell. Proper propaganda. I tell you what, signing up Rio by Man United was a really good idea because he is just going to spin the positives.

50:46The dressing room vibes are really good. We've just fucked up a 4-0 lead to draw 4-0. I know it wasn't 4-0 at any time, but I couldn't give a... I'd rather they didn't... Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham didn't get on and we won the fucking treble. I couldn't give a shit about good vibes and everybody getting on. I care about results. I'd rather they didn't get in. I'd rather they didn't get on. I'd rather they didn't like each other, but they were professional and they played football for Man United. I couldn't give a shit. could not give a shit whether they're all smiling and laughing and getting on.

51:18The amount of fuck-ups we've seen this season, some of them need to fuck off. Simple as that. But, you know, you just have to take a deep breath and go, look, this is a business transaction between Rio and Man United and it's going to be very, very positive. And occasionally you'll get something interesting from it, like what Bruno said, I'm not going to stop being a risk taker. Well, he shouldn't be anywhere near the midfield where you need discipline and it exposes Amirim, really. What would the vibes be like if Sir Alex Ferguson was in, says Josh. Well, they wouldn't all be walking around with a bloody smile on the face, would they?

51:55Because they're doing shit. Nick P says, I propose a Deleu Christmas jumper for next year if he's still around. Throw, throw, throw with his Adonis figure about to launch one into the box. Throw, throw, ho, ho, ho, ho. I like it. I like it. Very good. Very good. Right. I'm back with you very soon. I think this is going to be a very interesting press conference with Reuben Amrim today there's so many different questions that he's going to get asked and I'm live with you at half past one so I will see you back here at half past one today for Reuben Amrim's press conference have a great day everybody, stay safe, speak to you soon, just think in a week's time Christmas will be over, it'll be Boxing Day we'll be playing Newcastle, it's not over on Boxing Day I'm just trying to be a bit of a twat take care everyone 54 % of you would go for Ruben Neves over Conor Gallagher there we go speak to you in a bit