284: Baleba TRANSFER Talks! No NEVES Deal!

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1:58Getting started is easy. Order a starter kit, fill the bags with hard-to-recycle items, send them back for free, and Ridwell takes care of the rest. Start today at ridwell.com. Hello, everybody. Good morning. Welcome to the United Stands. I'm Mark Goldbridge, and this is your latest Manchester United news and transfer news as we have two updates from the two transfer experts, David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano. So could Belaiba be joining Manchester United in January? Do you want him to join Man United in January or in the summer? We'll talk about that. Also, it appears from both Ornstein and Romano, there will be no deal for Ruben Neves this January.

2:38Man United not in talks with him. What are your thoughts on that as well? We've also got some more reaction to the results against Newcastle on Friday night. Some ex-players putting their two pennies worth in. We'll talk about that as well. So lots to get into. on this show this morning. And look, I saw something this morning from Lenny Yarrow after the game against Newcastle where he said, trust the process. Now, look, for me, that's probably Lenny Yarrow or his admin just coming up with something quickly with a picture that's going to get some interaction because trust the process has to be the three most irritating words in Manchester United's recent history.

3:19Trust the process. Did that not start off with Louis van Gaal? it's irritating but I don't trust the process Lenny I don't blame you but I don't trust the process because the process at Manchester United is basically being on a journey that never gets to the right destination where we get fed bullshits every two or three years and climb back on that journey and trust the process again so I don't trust the process I think trust the process can basically go and live with my Christmas log shit down the sewers. I don't trust the process. I want to see action. I don't want to react to a CEO saying, trust the process, or a player saying, trust the process.

4:02My message is, don't trust the process. Demand more. We can't just live off trust the process anymore. We need to demand more as fans. And trusting the process, why would you trust anything about this football club we need to demand more but um it does get me thinking about this latest news coming out because well what are your thoughts on this um this is what Fabrizio Romano has had to say this morning in relation to Belayba um look interesting comments from Dorgoo to come out as well actually like his because he doesn't say trust the process Manchester United I can guarantee their internal talks at the club have not stopped in relation to Carlos Baleba.

4:46This is from Fabrizio Romano. So Man United have not stopped internal talks about signing Carlos Baleba because Baleba is seen as the ideal solution by Ruben Amrim and other people at the club. So here we are approaching the January transfer window. And again, Fabrizio is saying that Carlos Baleba is the ideal solution for Ruben Amrim as he was in the summer and that those talks haven't stopped. But Labour together with Wharton and Anderson are seen as an ideal midfield for Ruben Amrim. There were rumours in December about Bayern Munich being in talks and being interested in Balaba. I can tell you what I'm told, Bayern at this stage are not working on a deal for Balaba.

5:28They feel the player wants to stay in England. They feel the player really wanted to go to Man United last summer and Bayern had been informed about that. They have not started negotiations with Balaba as of today. But Manchester United, I can guarantee, have not stopped in their talks for Balaba as he is seen as the ideal solution for Ruben Amren. Now, there's more to talk about that. But you know what? I would love Manchester United to sign a player. Would you be happy with Balaba? Let me just get that out there. There we go. There's a poll for you. I would be very happy if Manchester United signed a midfielder in January.

6:11But I mean, honestly, why would I change my opinion from last month? Why would I change my opinion from October or September? He's playing shit. He's playing absolutely shit. I don't get it. For me, I'm allowed to have my opinion. You're allowed to have yours. And please do. You know, absolutely. I think a year ago he was a very exciting player and I was ecstatic when we went for him in the summer. I was very, very excited. I don't know whether we dodged a bullet or not, but looking at him over the last four months, five months, August, September, October, November, December, he's been absolutely shite.

6:53and that's not a myth. He has been absolutely shite for five months. So I'm sort of like, maybe I'm alone on this one, but I don't care. I want to be proved wrong. If we sign him, I want him to be the next Kaiseido 100%. But if we sign him in his shit, I will say, we'll remember what some of us said. He was crap for five months before we bought him and we still went headstrong in on it. And please, somebody explain to me why this is any different to Jadon Sancho, why this is any different to Di Maria or Alexi Sanchez or any other expensive mistake we've made. Ugarte, you know, why is it any different to any other mistake we've made in the last 10 years?

7:38Because the red flags are there. They actually are there. And you know what? Well, Ruben Amrim wants him. Oh, 100%, 100%. If a manager wants a player, you should try and get that player. but I'm still lost on everybody telling me Amrim's not the right guy. So why would you trust his judgments on a player when you don't trust his team selections and his substitutions? So at the very least, I think this is a debatable transfer and it worries me. It worries me that we're so stubborn. We don't listen to anybody in that football club. That's why we keep failing. We don't look at anybody else and look at what anyone else is doing and learn anything else about how every other club is being run.

8:17We're so up our own arse with our own ideas but this is an expensive mistake, a very expensive mistake and also what I would add in is that I'm very tired of Man United putting it out there all the time that Elliot Anderson, Belaba and Wharton are our priorities because it's not worth the paper it's written on Semenyu was a priority, he's signing for Man City Belaba was a priority in the summer, he's still a Brighton player De Lapp was a priority. He plays for Chelsea. Jochores was a priority. He plays for Arsenal. Kenda was a priority. He plays for Chelsea. So I don't... I obviously have huge respect for Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein.

9:02But if I was them, I'd almost be reluctant to keep saying Elliot Anderson is a priority for Man United because I think we're all getting a bit tired of it. It doesn't mean anything. Oh, Elliot Anderson's a priority for Man United. Some of our fans actually think that means we're going to sign him. I don't think he's signing for Man United. I think he's an ambitious player who wants to play for a big club. We're not a big club. People were arguing about this last night. We're not a big club. We're a big club in the sense of we have a big fan base and we're Manchester United, yes. But we're not a big club in the European stage.

9:34We hardly ever qualify for the Champions League. We're not a big club when it comes to winning our national domestic league. We've been nowhere near it for over 10 years. So I think that is dying. We've seen it with Semenya this week. That big club draw is dying. I think unless you are in love with Man United or you're a Man United fan or you really want to boost your socials, I don't really see why you sign for Man United at the moment if you're a very good, up-and-coming, talented player. So I think Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton, I don't acknowledge it. It would be a fantasy. It would be, you know, it would be unreal if we sign them.

10:13And I don't think it's going to happen. I think the Labour will happen because nobody else wants him and he's desperate to sign for us. And we're going to polish this signing like it's, you know, the best signing ever. And also he's not going to be in the World Cup because Cameroon didn't qualify for the World Cup. And he's obviously friends with Mbamo. And we're going to we're going to milk this again for the next six months. And then we're going to sign him and we're going to pretend he's something he's not. and he's going to be coming off a bad year at Brighton and we're meant to believe, Belieber, we're meant to believe that he is going to solve our midfield problems.

10:47And I find it very concerning. I find it very concerning because, and the reason I mentioned Lenny Oro's Instagram of trust the process is because that is all United have as a tagline, is trust the process. And if you trust the process, great, but I don't trust the process. I don't think there's any evidence to trust the process. So it worries me. It worries me that Amirim is so headstrong on Balaba. It worries me that Wilcox and Barada and Sajim are so willing to write a check for Balaba because Brighton are not lowering that price either. They're not going to let him go for anything less than 60.

11:24In fact, they want more than that. And I don't think he's worth any more than 50 at the moment. And he might not even be worth that. One good season in the Premier League and one bad season in the Premier League doesn't make you a£60m midfielder. he's not even got a British passport. So I don't know where this price is coming from. I think the Labour should be£50 million max and we're going to be negotiating around£70. So I don't like this deal. And look, I'm not doing it to cause arguments. You've got time to come in and tell me why you do like the deal. And I promise you, I will not ridicule it.

12:00I've said my bit. I don't need to say any more. I do not like this deal. I think he's massively overpriced. I think he's displayed really bad footballing performance at a time where he knows everybody's looking at him. And if he's thrown his toys out the pram with Brighton because he didn't get the move he wanted, that shows a very, very, very questionable mentality that you can down tools when you don't get what you want, which I don't want at United either. So for me, he's a red flag. I think it's an absolutely ridiculous deal, but it's a very familiar deal. Man United do this. Remember Jadon Sancho, we waited a year after not having not got him.

12:39It really worries me. It really worries me. And also, let's not forget the third bit I would say about Belaber, and it's probably the most underreported one, and it's probably the fairest one because it's got nothing to do with his mentality or his performance. He's only going to be 22 next week. Or he's 22 next week. Depends whether you think 22 is young or not. He's 22 next week. So even if Man United sign him, he has to be categorised as a prospect. Tell me how it works with prospects at Man United who are inconsistent. I mean, he is not going to come to Man United and be consistent. Even if he does well, he's going to come in.

13:17He's going to have good games. He's going to have bad games. And when he has those bad games in the first few months, people are going to say shit. People are going to say he is shit. So I don't like this deal. I don't like it at all. but I'm happy to be proved wrong. And look, honestly, do I think we could sign Belaber in January? I have to say, and this is not being a hypocrite, because I want us to sign a midfield in January and people will say this is hypocritical because their brain doesn't work in the right way. If you're hungry and you don't like lasagna and you're saying, I don't want lasagna, I'm not eating lasagna, and then it gets to the day before you're going to die because you're starving, you're going to eat lasagna.

14:01You're not a hypocrite. You're going to eat the lasagna because you need to eat. But if you've got a choice, you're not going to eat lasagna. So if it gets to January the 31st and United have an opportunity to sign the Labour, I'm not going to say, no, let's wait till the summer because I believe we desperately need a midfielder now. So I take that chance. I'd be worried about the price but I'd take that chance that's not being a hypocrite that's about we need to eat in January or we're going to starve and we need a midfielder so if Balaba's the only deal we can do then I would do it because we're going to do it in the summer anyway as well I'm a realist we're going to do this deal like if Balaba's not wearing a Man United shirt with a load of pianos playing and everything else in early July I'll eat my socks I'm at In fact, let's just say that.

14:58I'll put the socks on the shelf when I take the tree down. He's going to be wearing a Man United shirt. It's so obvious. I would say 90 % sure he's going to wear a Man United shirt. It's just so predictably Man United. We're even hyping him up when he's playing shit because we know this is the deal we're going to do this summer. So he will be wearing a Man United shirt. So of course I'd rather do it in January than the summer. And the question has to be, why can't we do it in January? Why can't we do a deal in January for Blaber? Like he's not playing well for Brighton. We have£60 million. Why can't we start negotiating again?

15:39There's actually no reason why we couldn't negotiate for him in January. But we won't. We won't. We'll wait until the summer so we can spend six weeks negotiating but still give Brighton what they want. but we could go for him in January and a lot of people in the chat have said do you think we could do it in January? We could but we won't. We definitely could do it in January but we won't because we're clearly pushing the whole let's do it in the summer argument. Anyway that's what Fabrizio had to say so no Bayern Munich interested as well still the talks continue but this is what David Ornstein had to say the primary he said well first of all this is what he had to say about Semenyu he said with Semenyu I think it was more a market opportunity.

16:22So this is David Ornstein. With Semenyu, I think it was more a market opportunity. They wanted to sign him rather than focusing immediately on that position. So what he's saying is with Semenyu is we're probably not going to go for another attacker now. It was more about the player opportunity than the actual position opportunity. So that's scary in itself, but I'll come back to that. He then says it doesn't mean they'll definitely go for an alternative for the wide attacking role now or in the summer. but I do think it's on the agenda to fill at some point. So again, you're about to spend£60 million,£65 million on Semenu because it's an opportunity.

16:59But now that you haven't got him, you're not interested in doing it now or in the summer in that position. Their primary focus in the midfield and that number six position, says David Ornstein, never say never, but I'm not sure that's going to happen in January either. I think the summer is far more likely. Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Carlos Belaiba. I think they'd be among the five to six options that Man United will be studying. Outbound possibilities in terms of likes of Amenu or maybe more plausible Xerxi. Nothing advanced on that. We've seen Neves and Garner linked, but I'm not aware of anything concrete on that.

17:39So a quite depressing update from David Ornstein. But look, David Ornstein can only report what he can. He's not the CEO. He's not Sir Jim Radcliffe. He's not in control of transfers. As much as it's a depressing update, it's, you know, he's the guy who's going to give it. Tim Phillips says Mark's talking crap. Tony Bloom wants 100 million. End of story. It's amazing how somebody can accuse somebody of talking crap and then literally spew total shit. I mean, as if Brighton are going to get 100 million pounds for Blaber. He's shit, mate. in the summer, you can put that price tag on him. You can't put a price tag.

18:19It's like Newcastle saying they want 80 million for Alanga. It's just not their value, mate. Anyway, I digress from a totally rubbish comment. Going back to what David Ornstein said, look, he can only report what he's being told. It's very clear that Man United are trying to avoid signing players in January. Obviously, they were going to go for Semenyu as an opportunity, but that's such an opportunity. They're not even looking to buy a wide player in the summer now, let alone January. So mixed messaging again, but trust the process. And with regards to midfielders, it's the same three players again that just keep pushing.

18:59I actually think David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano and every other journalist, whether it's The Athletic or The Mail, are being told by somebody at Man United, Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton and Carlos Belaiba remain players of interest. because we've been getting this shit for five months now and it doesn't actually mean anything. It really doesn't. It's like going out with your mate who never pulls and him going, walking into a bar and seeing three very attractive women and going, they're on my list. And you laugh at him and go, well, they can be on your list, but they're out your league, mate.

19:28You're not going to get them. I just find, I find it slightly concerning that Elliot Sanderson and Adam Wharton and summer transfers keeps being the message from Manchester United because you've just literally had your pants pulled down by Man City for Semenyu, who he went publicly for and got absolutely embarrassed by. He's chosen Man City, your city rivals, because they're better than you, because they're in Europe, and he wants to win things. I mean, where we've gone from 2012 to 2026 is abysmal. You know, we actually swallow that nonsense now that it's acceptable that our city rival can sign a player and that player can sign for them because he wants to win things and play in Europe.

20:15How embarrassing is that? Forget the debt, forget formations, forget systems. We've got players choosing Man City on I want to win things and play in Europe. How pitiful is that for Manchester United Football Club? And it's the norm. It's the norm. I actually agree with Semenu. I said it on Christmas Eve. And United just swallow it because that's what we are. We are a club now that's just not able to offer Champions League football or major trophies. And yet we want to be associated with Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton, who strike me as quite ambitious people who want to play for England and want to play in the Champions League.

21:00We can't offer it. So, you know, we'll sign the Labour. We will sign the Labour. I think that's absolutely going to happen. But what I would say is what I found interesting from David Ornstein as well was when he was talking about Semenyu and he said, I think it was a market opportunity. They wanted to sign him rather than the position. It doesn't mean they'll definitely go for an alternative now, whether it's now or in the summer. so I think that that that's quite alarming as well because we would have had to pay 65 million it's a release clause there's competition for him Bournemouth would not let him go in January without the release clause being hit so United were going to find 65 million pounds probably more than that because we want to pay in installments so we'd probably do what we did with Xerxi where it was a 33 million pound release clause, but we paid 36 so we could spread it out over a couple of years or three years or whatever it was.

21:58So we had over 65 million pounds to spend on Semenu. We're now not spending that money, but even better, we're not going to get an alternative. How does that even work? How does that even work that you see a player, you publicly go for them, you don't get them, but then you go, we're not going to look for a player in that position or an alternative, we only wanted him. And you sort of like go, that doesn't make sense. That's like your front door getting blown down in the wind. You go to a door shop, you see the door you want, and you go, I'll buy that door. And the door salesman says, that's my last one.

22:35I haven't got any more. And you go, oh, don't worry. If I can't have that one, I won't worry. And then you've got no door. Like you've just exposed an issue in the team, an issue that you were going to ignore midfield for, and now you're not going to get him, but you're not going to go for an alternative. And this is the second time this has happened in 12 months. Kenda, David Ornstein, a year ago, Kenda, United are in talks. They're looking at him for the summer. Wasn't a deal they could do in January, but they really liked Kenda and they're in talks with Kenda. A month later, he signs for Chelsea.

23:09Man United aren't looking at a player in that position anymore. And we didn't. We didn't buy anybody in that position in the summer. So we're all in for Kenda a year ago and David Ornstein's reporting it and United are going, let them know, let them know, David. We're looking at Kenda. Yeah, another brilliant young player is going to be the next Roberto Carlos. David Ornstein's reporting it. We don't sign him. We're not interested now. We're not interested in a wide player anymore and we haven't. We didn't buy anybody in the summer. So we're in for Kenda last January. We miss out on him to Chelsea and then we ignore the position again.

23:41And then a year later, we're in for Semenyu. We don't get him. Oh, yeah, we're not bothered anymore. I mean, if somebody can explain that one to me, please do. In the space of a year, we've gone after two wide players. We've not got them. And then we don't go for anybody else. So it's strange. But what it does mean is that there is 65 million pounds there and it's there. And what I find baffling is, is that football is so simple. It's so logical. It's so straightforward. And so many people overcomplicate it. We have got 65 million pounds. Don't listen to Barada or Wilcox or some bloody Glazer Rimmer on social media telling us that it's a challenging market.

24:26we have£65 million. The club have absolutely exposed that twice. They went for the labour and they wouldn't pay any more than£60. They didn't get him and the£60 is still there. They've gone for Semenyu with a£65 million release clause. They didn't get him. The money's still there. So the money's there. We know we've got about£65 million and it's there. And the club can say, oh, it's challenging, but we know you can do it because you've tried to do it last week and you didn't do it. So there's£65 million there. And let's not forget, this is not midfield money in the summer, because if we got Semenyu, we're still going for Wharton and Anderson and Balaber in the summer, apparently.

25:05So this is money there now. And the amazing thing about this is, is that whether you like any of these players or not, Angelo Stiller has a release clause and will definitely go for less than 50 million pounds we know that conor gallagher is available for 25 million pounds so there's two midfielders there that can instantly improve us overnight um he could still try for the labor because you've got 65 million pounds and i reckon if you said to brighton we'll replicate what we were going to do with some enu we were going to give brighton 70 and pay it off over three or four years, I think Brighton would negotiate at that.

25:49I really do. So we have got money and we have got opportunities, but it feels like we're that club that doesn't behave like a football club, behaves like a business and decides to abandon what they're actually all about to work on the principle that we'll wait till the summer to buy players and we need now. So let me read some of your comments. Chip says, the Belaba saga is way worse than the Sancho saga. Sancho stayed at Dortmund and played great. Belaba stayed at Brighton and he's playing shit. If we sign Belaba, it'll be the defining moment for Ineos, Chip. But if we sign Belaba, I will back the player.

26:31I backed Fellaini. I didn't want him. I backed Lukaku. I didn't want him. I backed Matic. I didn't want him. I will back Belaba because I actually thought he was a brilliant player a year ago, so maybe that can happen again. But you can't lie, he's overpriced and he's playing shit. And United shouldn't be paying any more than£50 million. And the day we pay more than£50 million for him is an embarrassment. This just more spin from the club says, MJ, look at what we can do, then oh, someone else got them, then it will be market isn't right, bullshit. Andy Atherton says, if we wait until the summer and Bruno stays and continues as a CM in a 3-4-3, it doesn't matter who we sign.

27:11Give me Stille and Anderson and please not Belaber, says Andy. Andy, if I was a betting person, I would say game one, next season, Bruno and Belaber is your midfield two. I don't think Bruno's going anywhere and I think Belaber is nailed on Man United player and that might be it. We might not buy another midfielder. So I think Bruno stays, Belaber and then you've got Agate Who knows what will happen with Casemiro. Promote a young player and that will probably be it. My West Highland Terrier can run this club better, says Rajaf. Can you give a birthday shout out to my son Finn, who's 17 today? You've made us both laugh so many times over the years.

27:52Can't believe he's now old enough to cut the grass to make the yard bigger. Oh, Justin. That bit's... I thought you meant really cut the grass in the garden. Can you give a shout out to Finn? Happy birthday to Finn. Hope you have a very good day. 28th of December one of my favourite days of the year equidistance between Christmas Day and New Year always have a traditional roast goose dinner with all the trimmings just tuning in now says Rory do we have any idea what price Brighton will be looking at but Labour does worry me he's not very technical well according to our previous amazing comment Brighton won't let him go for anything less than 100 million which is hilarious because he's not a 100 million pound player so I don't know how that's going to work out They'll be waiting a long time.

28:36I mean, look, I know Man United aren't necessarily great at negotiations, but how do you hold out for£100 million when there's only one offer on the table and no one else is interested? I mean, say what you like about Chelsea or Arsenal or Manchester City. They're not stupid. They're not going to be there with us bidding for Belayba. They're going to be going for Anderson. They're going to go for Wharton. They're going to go for good players. Then there won't be£100 million for Brighton because there won't be a transfer race because no one's looking at him. The only people looking at him are Manchester United.

29:13So that price needs to be negotiated down. That price that Man United negotiate needs to have multiple add-ons. 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 flavor through scent alone no sugar no additives just simple hydration made better and for someone who spends as much time talking football as i do it's been a great addition to the routine if you want to try it for yourself hit the link in the show notes or visit air up dot link slash the united stand and of course you can use the code gold and you get an amazing 10 off at checkout so what are you waiting for Smash the link in the show notes or visit airup.link slash the United Stand and elevate your hydration game today.

30:20Because that's the only way Brighton are going to achieve what they want to achieve. You don't give it. You don't go anywhere. I think the Labour's top line price at the moment is£50 million. When you consider the signings in the summer of João Pedro, Alanga, Mbemo, Cunha, you're ranging between 50 and 65 million. Ganacho, like 40. There are attackers, exciting attackers, whose price range was 50 to 65 million pounds. And you're telling me Belaba's worth 100? He's not worth 70, mate. He's worth 50 max in this market. that's what he's worth and United shouldn't go anywhere near above that but we will Brett has gifted a membership thank you very much I mean if you think by all means get in the comments I'll read some of the evaluations out on why Amrin was a good manager 12 months ago not so much now the same goes for Belaber says Clell Man United is the definition of insanity isn't Sancho, Anthony, Pogba enough examples to see attitude causes problems want to be wrong now new set reset with a 4-3-3 says Seth.

31:34F Boogle says, as a Cameroonian and a United fan, this is going to be interesting. Thank you very much. Belaber is 100 % playing crap on purpose for Brighton. He was very good before being taken off in our opening game in the AFCON. I believe he would be good for us. Mate, I love that comment and I really appreciate it and good luck to Cameroonian in the AFCON. I love that comment and I haven't got a problem with that. But I wouldn't sign him because if that's true and he's downing tools to get a move to United, he ain't very clever, is he? And Man United aren't very clever because we've said we don't want to recruit.

32:17What's the term? Is it knobheads? I can't remember what it is. basically Man United don't want to recruit more knobheads you know and that's knobhead behaviour you know I like Brighton but even if it was Sunderland who I like I'm trying to think of a club I don't like even if that's like Man City who I don't like I still think it's a knobhead move to down tools to get a move so you might be right Boogie but if you are right I don't want that at Man United because all that happens there is is he comes to Man United and he's already proven that he's a light switch player. Now, you know, I don't want a player that can switch it off.

33:05What sort of knobhead behaviour is that? You don't, you play, you're in a privileged position, you play football, you play football to your best ability, whether it's training or not. You don't turn it off because you don't get what you want. And also, what if he comes to United, turns the light switch on for a couple of years, we don't get in the Champions League and then Real Madrid come along and we say no and he turns it off for us. It's exactly what Anthony did. People celebrated Anthony when he was on strike at Ajax. Two years later, he's doing the same to get a move to Betis. So it's always great when they're on strike to come to your club, but then when they come to your club and they behave the same way, they're knobheads.

33:42So we can't have players like that. We can't. And I hope you're wrong about it, but you might be right. I don't know. Anderson going to Man City and Belayba going to Man United is symbolic tragic that that is our current situation Stilla and Anderson please says Rajaf I tell you what I think we've got no chance of signing Elliot Anderson but if you haven't been watching football away from Man United this season every game I watch whether he's playing Man City yesterday us or whoever it is he is consistent against very good midfields that are better than the one he's playing in and he is the answer you know he's the guy that is auditioning this season to such a high level that's why he's playing for England that's why he's keeping good players out of that England team he is absolutely the best midfielder that's going to be available in the Premier League in the summer and we won't get him we won't get him we won't because we won't be able to offer him what we need the only chance we've got is if we've got Champions League football but what I what I find really irritating and I'll I'll make this very, very concise.

34:49We keep putting it out there to Ornstein and Romano that Elliot Anderson is a priority. Now, if you have a priority in life, like if you want a Ferrari, yeah, and every time you get a bonus, you go out and spend it on, you know, holidays and stuff like that. You're never going to buy a Ferrari, are you? Because you're not saving for the Ferrari. Every time you get money that could go towards the Ferrari, you're spending it. so it's idiotic to have a priority that you don't put the groundwork in for so if elliot anderson is our priority in the summer why are we not bringing a midfielder in in january to help us get champions league football which helps us get elliot anderson it's like we're going elliot anderson's the priority in the summer we're not going to do anything in january we won't qualify for the champions league and then we'll try and sign elliot anderson i mean maybe maybe man united's board is so stupid that they haven't figured this out but message to man united board if you've got Champions League football, you've got a better chance of getting your priority, Elliot Anderson.

35:48If you haven't got Champions League football, you've got no chance of getting Elliot Anderson. And if you don't bring a midfielder in in January, you've got no chance of getting Champions League football. So, you know, it's literally a pathway to your priority that you need to listen to, you stubborn idiots, you know? If Elliot Anderson's our priority, put the things in place to make sure that you've got a good chance. not prepared says belaborate for me if we sign him and he suddenly starts playing well he's just another light switch player how long until the switch turns off mark coming into the season what was your expectations um i'm allowed to change my expectations by the way i mean i i find this absolutely incredible that just because you had an expectation before a ball was kicked you have to hold it halfway through a season absolutely not my expectations before the start of the season were low.

36:41It's the first season in my Manchester United life, I think, certainly Premier League, that I've ever put us outside the top four. I didn't put us in the top four. I think I said fifth was what was the dream to go for, but I'll put us somewhere between fifth and tenth. I would now say with evidence anything below 7th is an embarrassment and we're somewhere between 5th and 7th. So there's three spots now. And that's what evidence does. You know, I had quite a wide parameter there. I said between 5th and 10th. I think if we finish below 7th, you've got to sack the manager. I think if we finish below 7th, we need protests.

37:28I think it's disgusting. I think at the moment halfway through the season I would say somewhere between 5th and 7th

37:39with a big focus on 6th I don't think we're going to get 5th but I think 6th is probably where we're going to end up which would still be Europa League football and then you've got a question about whether that's enough or not I think it will be enough I think Amram will be here next year with Europa League football OBTD says Hello from the US are you ready for the World Cup? I mean, I'm not ready for the World Cup, no. It's not even 2026 yet, but I'm looking forward to the World Cup, but it's a long way off. What if we buy a midfielder this January and he does so well to the point that the board don't go for Anderson and co, what then?

38:16Good.

38:22I feel that's a trick question. Good. So we buy a midfielder in January and he does really well and we don't buy Anderson. Well, if he's doing really well, I presume we're all on board with that and go, well, he's doing really well. But we need at least two midfielders anyway. Difficult to do, but why are we not going for Anderson in January? Any other club with top four credentials would go for targets at any opportunity, says Sam Brox, because we're not Chelsea. We're not that club. We don't try and do things that are possible. Anderson is leaps better than Belaiba, says Caps. The question is, who is the second midfielder we bring in?

38:53It should not be Belaiba, cannot handle the badge. and Enchanted Engel says Xerxes is actually worse than Veghorst oh I tell you what I again maybe this is where I don't care you know forget formations forget Belaber right I am going to say this and I might be apologising at 8 o 'clock but I firmly believe this I watched Xerxes on Friday night and he was absolutely terrible right But I saw him in the tunnel talking to Volta Meda and he looked depressed. He looks like a player that has been shat on by this football club and is confused. He saw Fletcher come on before him. He then has to go on for Cesco.

39:45We're trying to sell him because we want Semenu and then we don't get Semenu and now we want to keep him. I think his head is like a roller coaster. I don't think you know I think sometimes we forget that these players are human beings and Xerxes to be fair from January last year to this January to this December when he's been used has made a difference has put the effort in I think what happened on Friday is it was very very very very clear that he wasn't up to the pace of the game and I would agree with that he looked really off it But should we not have some sympathy for the fact that he has been messed around a lot?

40:28And only because he's not British did the press not talk about it. I mean, Xerxes is on a par with Mainu when it comes to being ignored and not being used. And he wants to leave in January. And the club are now saying you can't go because we've messed up the Semenu deal. So I'd say he's like, oh, great. You know, if I go to Roma, I've got an outside chance of being called up for the World Cup. If I stay at Man United, I've got no chance and I'm going to be sat on the bench, not being used like I haven't been for the last five months. So he is a human being. And I like Xerxes. I don't think he's a knobhead.

41:02I don't think he's got a bad attitude. I actually think the opposite of that. He's actually very well liked. He's very professional. He's kept a smile on his face for the last five months. And guess what? Maybe that smile is broken. maybe he actually just feels a little bit fed up and it was a bad performance against Newcastle but you know what he might start against Wolves and he might play really really well but I'm not jumping on Xerxes who I think has been treated really badly over the last five months

41:34and you know what it was a bad performance but you know he's not bloody Rashford he's not doing interviews is he you know he's not Anthony he's not on strike Like, he's a player that's been available, who isn't being used, and did play really bad, uncharacteristically bad against Newcastle, but maybe is just thinking, I want to go to fucking Rome. You know, let me go, and they won't let him go. Who knows? Maybe he's doing a bit of a belabor. You know, maybe he's like, you know what? They're still in for belabor, aren't they? And he ain't fucking trying. I don't know. But I'm not in for that, really, because I like Xerxes, and I think it's the least of our problems, to be fair.

42:13What happened to signing the best in the class, says Andy Atherton. Also, our policy is now either signing prospects under 22 and no one over 26. So if you're 23 to 25 with a great attitude and better clubs don't want you, then come on down. Look, Roy Keane said it after the Villa loss last week. And we've been talking about this for years. What Roy Keane basically said was that, you know, United seem to have this policy of buying young players. but I don't see any players on that pitch that are going to nurture and lead them. People talk about class of 92 but when they came through you've got a team full of leaders and winners who've won titles.

42:54You know, the Mark Hughes, the Eric Cantona's the Peter Schmeichel's, the Paul Inces, the Roy Keane's I don't see that on a Man United's pitch. Now that's all Roy Keane said but we've been talking about this and I would add to that The scary thing is that that's from the top. That's coming from the top of the club. That's coming from Sir Jim. That's coming from the Glazers. That's coming from Barada. They relentlessly are buying young players because they think that's the way to make Man United great again. but it won't work because you don't have leaders and winners in the team to create winners so it won't work and look look at Chelsea who we seem to be obsessed with you look at Chelsea right Chelsea have been buying players under 24 for two years a year ago people were saying at Christmas are they in a title race they fucked it up this year just before Christmas are they in a title race they fucked it up they don't have leaders in that team they don't have experience in that team and that is why they can dominate Villa for an hour and end up being dominated in the last half an hour because it's about the marathon not the sprint and they don't know how to be consistent for 90 minutes let alone 38 games we need to look at what Chelsea are doing and go what are Chelsea missing an experienced centre back an experienced striker and probably an experienced goalkeeper.

44:26And they won't do it because their policy is to buy players under 25. So you're not going to get that. Man United are doing the same thing. Oh, let's buy another 21-year-old. Let's buy another 22-year-old. Let's buy another 18-year-old. But there is nobody that's going to nurture those players. Because Casemiro is probably the most experienced player. He's gone in a year. So, look, I completely agree with Roy Keane on that one. I think our model is ridiculous. And we have a policy of not buying players over 25 as well. So it's not going to work. You can't develop winners without teaching people how to win.

45:02You can't. This won't work. It doesn't happen. I'll tell you what I did want to add in very, very quickly. I'm just going to drop this rod in the water and leave it to rest. I know it was only one game, but I think the team responded to Martinez's captaincy much better than they've ever done to Bruno's. See you later. Bye.

45:34We'll move on. We'll move on. No, look, I know things that go on in Old Trafford and Carrington because I get told it. And Martinez, Martinez is ridiculously respected in that squad. He's an authoritarian. He's very big on the principles of Manchester United and how young players should behave. And he demands respect.

46:04And you could see the game on Friday. He leads by example. There's none of this flapping his arms around. There's none of this chasing the referee. if there's a mistake and he makes it, he owns it and he demands better. He's not going to be our captain, but having him back helps us because it's another leader in the team. And we need a lot more players like that. We need a lot more players like that. Don says, aren't you scared with our upcoming games where we can get a lot of points and then the club won't make signings in January? Says Don. Yeah, 100%. I think United's owners will be hoping that we beat Wolves, Leeds and Burnley so they can say we don't need to buy any players because we've got the AFCON players and Bruno coming back halfway through.

46:52You know, mate, we all know that. We win our next three Premier League games and then halfway through the month, you've got Bruno and the AFCON lads coming back. They're going to be like new signings. And then we're going to play Man City and Arsenal and have a reality bite, aren't we? So, and then we might be rushing at the end of the month. But if they don't buy a midfielder in January, then I hope a few people wake up to where I and many of us are already. This ownership is going to sink this football club. It might take a while. It might be a slow leak. It might be a quick leak. But they're not taking us anywhere we want to go.

47:28We'll be here next Christmas and the Christmas after and the Christmas after. We're not going anywhere near a Premier League title with this type of ownership because it's not. And it's really simple to explain this. And I don't want to pop anybody's dream that thinks we're going to get better with Ineos. We're not. Because they don't behave any differently to the Glazers. They're a wolf in sheep's clothing. Any owner, whether it's Todd Bowley, Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, this January with this team would be spending money. But not Man United. We hum and ah about it. We go, hmm, ah, ah. But any of those big clubs that finish in the top four all the time would be looking at that squad and going, I need Champions League football.

48:10Let's do it. Look at Aston Villa last January. I know they didn't get Champions League football because of the dodgy goal that wasn't given at Old Trafford, but they very nearly did. And they very nearly knocked PSG out of the Champions League. What did Villa do last January? They needed European football desperately. Rashford on loan, Asensio on loan, signed Mallon. I think they bought five players in in January and they went for it. that's Aston Villa Man United desperately need players nah we're going to wait till the summer it's what we like to do we don't like signing anyone until we've got our speedos on you know what happened to signing done that one from Andy shame the demon Casedo is at Chelsea should be a red says Rajaf but the thing about Caicedo is the only he wouldn't be that player at Man United I know we got offered him as a as a kid but we would not have developed him into what he is.

49:08Credit to Brighton, credit to Chelsea. We wouldn't have got any... We would not have developed him like that. We wouldn't. Same as if Bellingham had chosen us over Dortmund, he wouldn't be the player he is today. Not at all. One other thing I wanted to bring in. I just want to catch up... Oh, two things I actually want to bring in. First of all, love this from Dorgoo. I like Dorgoo. We all have our Ricky-isms, as I call it. You know, players we like and players we don't like. and sometimes people are like, I can't believe you don't like them and I can't believe you do like them. I like Dorgoo.

49:41I don't know how many of you do, but I always stick up for him. I like him. Same with Yoro, same with Heaven, same with Sesko. I believe in them in the long term and I have sympathy for them because they're at clubs that don't develop very well. But I like Dorgoo. He was one of those hipster players that I think I signed on my career mode a couple of years ago. So I like him. I was excited when we bought him. It's been up and down, but you would expect that for a young player in an environment like this with no leaders. He's spoken about his criticism and he said, look, getting criticism is never pleasant, but it's part of being a footballer.

50:18What matters is how you respond to it. And I think I've handled it well over the last few games. I tell you what, if you could bottle that and put it out to every player at Man United, those are only, they're all the only words that matter. instead of social media is really difficult oh it's really hard to operate with the social media hate oh yeah it's it's i'll be a better player if people didn't tell me i was crap you know instead of having to listen to that violin bullshit that normally comes out why can't people speak like that absolutely spot on and he has had criticism that's over the top like he's had unfair criticism he's only just 21 and there he is fronting up saying look it's not nice but it's part of being a footballer.

50:58It's what you do in response to that that matters. That's mentality. So look, I hope that this guy can turn it into something good. As I said, Patrice Evra, who is one of the best left backs we've ever had in the Premier League, wasn't even at the club we bought him from at Dorgou's age. He wasn't even at Monaco at 21. So sometimes you've got to think like that. Patrice Evra struggled at United for the first six months. And he wasn't even this age. So we sometimes need to remember, what was Nicky Butt doing at 21? What was Paul Scholes doing at 21? What was David Beckham doing at 21? They weren't all playing for England, the best players in our team.

51:42We forget the journey of young players. And that's a bit of research for you, because go and look at what these great United players were doing at 21. Some of them weren't even playing for the club we bought them from. so we do need to remember that also these players came into teams that had leaders in as well so they were older more mature they started off badly and they were nurtured by better players and we are burning 21 year olds 20 year olds saying this shit but look maybe Dorghu won't succeed at Man United maybe he isn't good enough maybe he is but I like that mentality I like that you know I like that the mirror I call it the mirror where you're criticised, but you don't look anywhere else.

52:25You just look in the mirror and go, OK, what can I do to change this? Forget the negativity, forget the noise, forget blaming others. What do I do? And we've been saying this for years. Man United players need to buy a load of mirrors for Christmas because the only person who can change it is you. Stop looking for blame. Stop looking for reasons. Look in the mirror and go, the only way I deal with this is by being better. You know, you look at Matic. you look at Harry Maguire there are others they've had their criticism but if they start playing better they'll get praise Harry Maguire didn't score that goal against Liverpool the other week or Lyon last season and everyone would go well he's shit everyone was like get in because what really frustrates me about the way United fans are spoken about sometimes by certain people is that we're the problem.

53:24And yet I've never seen a United fan that doesn't give praise when a player is to the standard that we expect. I've seen plenty of criticism because people aren't to the standard we expect, but when they hit it, I see praise. So the message is hit it, hit it on a regular and you won't get criticised. Seth says, finally, someone sharing my view about martinez as captain thank you seth i believe the best captains are center backs they see the whole pitch and can command from the back says big well look i think i mean i may as well just say it i think martinez is a better captain than bruno i don't want amram to give the captaincy to martinez because that will cause uproar but i still think that martinez is a better leader than bruno and that's based not only on what i saw on friday but also what i hear from people at carrington you don't need to throw your arms around in the air to demand respect some people demand respect just because of the way they are and the way they speak to people and I think Martinez gives off a more

54:29it just gives off a better captaincy vibe but Bruno's our captain but maybe next season and also remember Martinez has got to stay fit final point here this was from Gary Neville on United's performance against Newcastle He said the shape, the players on the pitch got even more bizarre, but they hung on. Hebbin was outstanding. He was absolutely brilliant. He headed everything clear and he rightly gets a hug from the coaching staff.

54:59Yeah, I mean, I just like the fact that Aidan Hebbin's getting some, you know, much deserved praise. I thought he was very, very good on Friday. I think he's been very good for a few weeks now. and it just shows you as well like it just I've been saying this the reason I wanted to mention this is because I wanted to focus in on Aidan Heaven just for a minute Lenny Yoro is going to cost us about 50 million pounds Aidan Heaven isn't going to cost us anywhere near that and he's younger a player is not about the value the value of a player is based upon many things it can be talent but it can almost be how difficult it is to get it out of a scenario that you want to get it out of like sometimes you pay a lot of money to get a player out of a club not because they're good not because they're worth it sorry but because that's how much it takes to get them out of that club or this competition for that player there are bargains out there and it goes back to what we were talking about at the start the obsession with belabor wharton and anderson Anderson was at Newcastle a couple of years ago Wharton was at Blackburn Belay was only had one good year so he's probably not a good example but these players didn't just walk into Brighton or Palace or Forest and be 70, 80 million pound players they were somewhere and is our scouting so bad that we can't find more Aidan Heavens because every player we've bought, if we're being completely honest, I could have done it.

56:36I could have done it on my holiday. I could have stayed up an hour later every night and just sent the names in. I like all these players, but what I'm saying is, if you look at heaven and you look at Yoro, one was very obvious and very expensive and the other one came from nowhere. Mbermo, very good player, £65 million. Cunha,£65 million. Sesko,£68 million. Yoro,£50 million. Semenyu would have been£65 million. I'm talking about the midfield. Are you telling me that Anderson, Baleba and Wharton are the only three midfielders that we can sign? I mean, come on. Like, what is our scouting doing? And I'm not talking about kids.

57:21There will be players out there that are 23, 24 that are going to come to the Premier League to another club in the next 12 months. And we're going to go, how did we miss out on that? I guarantee you there are players out there that are going to cost 30, 40 million pounds now that are going to go to other Premier League clubs. And in a year or two, they will be the next Elliot Anderson. Why don't we know about this? And why don't we do something about this? Because we're sort of locked in this situation at the moment where we're desperate for midfielders. and we're going, we're desperate for midfielders, but we're not going to buy anyone until January because we really want these good midfielders.

57:59But if we don't get them, what happens then? What happens then? And I think the heaven story is a good example of that there, that you can spend£50 million on a centre-back and you can spend next to nothing on a centre-back and the next to nothing player can be better. Look, Nottingham Forest signed Roy Keane from Cobra Amblers for£16 ,000. A few years later, the British transfer record was broken for him. You can find good players if you have good scouts. But United just seem to want to put headlines out about priorities when we need players now. Anyway, great show this morning. Thanks, everybody, for tuning in.

58:41Eight o 'clock show tonight as standard. Obviously, if anything else happens, we'll go live. I hope you have a fantastic day today. Orozco could be good scouting, says Rajaf. He's 17, mate. That's exactly what I'm not talking about.

58:58Yeah, I don't want teenagers. I know Aidan Heaven is a teenager, but what I'm saying is we need midfielders that can come in and play right now. We don't need a 17 or 18-year-old unless they can come in and play right now. But there will be players who are 23, 24, 25. I mean, look, just to add to that point, what's the problem with a 28-year-old midfielder? Apart from the fact that we don't buy people over 25. I mean, how stupid is that? There's probably a 28-year-old who we can get for£30 million who would make us better now and for the next three years, but we won't buy him because he's over 25.

59:34Even I'm in that mindset. Why are we in that mindset? Why are we looking for players between 18 and 24? Why can we not buy a midfielder that's 27 or 28? They'll be cheap as well. Oh, because we don't want to buy players under 25. But you could play... You've got a 33-year-old and a 31-year-old that you pick every week over a 25-year-old and a 20-year-old. So why couldn't you buy a 27 or 28-year-old? It's mad. I don't know why. Reba Neves, news, Lin. We're not in for him. David Ornstein and Fabrizio. Romano both reporting in the last 24 hours there are no talks with Ruben Neves and Manchester United so that is not a deal that is moving right now also look just on that Ruben Neves one as Luigia says instant impact too you drop Ruben Neves in your midfield there's no messing about there's no prospect you straight into midfield away we go but we seem to be following the Chelsea model of let's not buy players over 25 and I find it incredible because they'll be cheaper They're ready to go and they can give you three or four years.

1:00:42And they're experienced. It's a weird policy. It's a very strange policy. And I'm surprised it's not being called out by more experts because it's madness. Thanks everybody for watching. Stay safe. Take care. And I'll speak to you on the next one. 63 % of you would be happy with Belaber. I would be in the 37%. For me, it's a firm no as of today. That doesn't mean I couldn't change my mind, but it's a no. Too many red flags. it's like a beach with big waves too many red flags take care stay safe i'll speak to you in a bit

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