314: Casemiro REPLACEMENT! INEOS Long Term Plan Revealed!

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0:35With the Gold Card, we can get up to$120 a year in statement credits. Are you feeling the Cheesecake Factory? Five Guys? Either of those sound good? Yes. Which one? Both. Pay with the Gold Card to receive up to$10 a month in statement credits at participating partners. Uncover more ways to reward yourself at AmericanExpress.com slash Explore-Gold. Enrollment required. Terms apply. 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 talk Tonali, Manu Kone and two others in the Casemiro replacement race.

1:12Who will it be? Also, we've got the Ineos long term transfer plan. Yeah, get ready for that. Also, the low comes out supporting Carrick and Holland. Some people are saying, is that a bit traitorous considering he was right up the arse of Amorim? not in that way but you know he's one of Amrim's pets and here he is singing the praises of Carrick and Holland personally I just think that's the modern footballer they're not fans they go they do what's best for them they might be one player one manager's favourite they get sacked see you later hello I'm here with a banana so again to gift as a fruit nothing else we'll also be talking about a few other bits around United obviously get your questions in as well also an interesting tweet from Beth she's off today so she won't be watching, so don't worry.

1:58She might be. It doesn't matter if she is. She basically said, Harry Kane in the summer for two seasons, who's with me? I'm not. And I explain why that is a fantasy and not a reality. But I'll tell you who will be with you, Beth, Robert McCormack, and he will be there with the posters and the t-shirts and the tissues probably as well. Don't go near him if the tissues are there. Last to get into on the show this morning, as I said, and we're going to start off with a story from Fabrizio Romano, actually, talking about Sandro Tonali, who there was some reports on Monday involving Arsenal and a little bit involving us.

2:35Now, look, this is the latest on Tonali and this is coming in from Fabrizio. He says, Sandro Tonali was never planning an exit in January. It was also impossible on the side of Newcastle for a deal to be done in January. However, the summer transfer window plans could be very different with several clubs keen. Decision time on player side will be ahead of that window. Now, obviously, he's Italian. So there could be... Oh, Carrick. We've got a little bit on Carrick as well because Ramos just reminded me about Iriola in the summer, who I think is an interesting... We'll talk about that in a bit because there's a bit of an update on Carrick from Rob Dawson that I forgot to talk about last night.

3:15So we'll talk about that too. But look, I think in relation to Tonali, if he's going to be on the move in the summer, then Arsenal probably would be ahead of us in that race if they went for him. However, however, if you've got Champions League football and you're Manchester United and you're saying the number six is yours, that's not something Arsenal can say. It's not something Man City can say. Like we can offer that sentiment. Robert McCormack's in here already. Always like Beth. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, record time for Robert. He's always lurking in the shadows with his boxer tissues and his Harry Kane poster.

3:52But look, we will be talking about it, Robert, so get excited. But look, as was said about Tonali, if he's going to go in the summer, the interesting thing is, and although it's a news show, and there is a bit of news about Manu Kone, we have to, there's a little bit of a topical stuff here. because the number six is not Wharton, Balab, Belieber or Anderson. And I think this is almost like you could accuse the club of being sensationalists because we know we need two midfielders. I think we need three, but we need a specialist six. We don't play with a midfield pivot and three centre-backs anymore.

4:33We play with a midfield three and somebody has got to hold that midfield. In a midfield three, you can play two pivots, but it's a bit defensive when you've got a back four playing a high line. So somebody has to hold the midfield, which is Casemiro at the moment. Now, Adam Wharton doesn't play that role. He's more box to box. Anderson definitely doesn't play that role. He's more box to box. And Balaba, I don't think he's got the discipline at that age to do that role. He'd have to learn it. And who's he going to learn it from? One of the great comments I saw yesterday from one of you was that if we bring in Balaba to be the number six, Casemiro's going, who would be the person who could teach him that role.

5:14So the interesting thing about Balaba, Wharton and Anderson is that these are the three players that United keep pushing out there for clicks. but they don't actually fit the biggest issue, which is the replacement for Casemiro. None of them do. So who is going to be the number six? This is clearly a huge priority now with Casemiro going. Manu's not really a six. I think he can do it, but most people don't like it. Are we going to go into next season basically saying that the number six that we're going to play after Casemiro goes will have no heading ability, which will be a big loss, and also no experience?

5:52I mean, that's an accident waiting to happen. And also, who's the other one then? You see what I mean? We were sort of talking about this last night. This whole, we're going to get two midfielders and one of them is going to be Anderson, Belaber or Wharton. None of those are a number six. So if you bring a number six in and they're inexperienced, well, who's the other one then? Because there needs to be two. If you're going to have an inexperienced one, there needs to be two, which leads me to believe, well, who is it then? Who is the replacement for Casemiro that the club are looking at? because the media sometimes are too bloody lazy to even figure this out.

6:25But we as fans will. The midfielders we're being linked to aren't number sixers by trade. They're not. None of them are. They might be adapted into it. But again, I'd say, well, they're going to learn the role then, haven't they? So it's interesting. Surely we are looking at number sixers, in which case Tonali becomes very interesting. Now, as I said, looks like he's going to be available in the summer, according to Romano. Certainly wasn't available in January. is a Premier League proven player, can do that role very, very well, would fit the club like a glove and would go straight into the first team.

7:00Arsenal's probably more attractive, but won't go into the first team, will he? So I think it's interesting. We're getting relegated, says Wharton is definitely a six mark. I mean, tell me you don't watch Crystal Palace without telling me you don't watch Crystal Palace. I'm not wasting minutes on telling you that Wharton plays more box to box. I don't think he's a number six. I don't think he's a specialist number six. I think he could be, but I think it's a big job for him to do that. And I think he's more box to box. What about Hjomland, a six? Again, he could do it. Look, it's a very specialist role.

7:30And I think if you're going to bring somebody in, then they've got to be somebody that can do that role. Now, Manu Kone is very interesting at Roma. Now, I'm not saying that that's going to be the player that we go for. But I just think that if we're going to go for somebody, it needs to be somebody that can play that role. because if you're going to try somebody out, then if they don't work, where do you go? So it will be worth the investment to go for somebody that's already doing it week in, week out at the highest level possible, which is why I think Tonali would be quite interesting. Manu Kone at Roma, is that a double pivot?

8:05Is it a number six? I mean, he can do it. He's more energetic, but he's also coming in from Roma. I think there's an element of risk. Angelo Stiller at Stuttgart, again, is that a double pivot or is that a number six? It's more of a double pivot, if I'm being honest, and the creativity. I think he could do the role, but would he want to do the role? And also the question is, who wants to do this role? I mean, if you're Warton, Anderson, Belaber, and you've got license to get forward, and then you come to Man United and you've just got to sit, it's a very different role, is it, as well? So look, I don't have all the answers.

8:39Tonali is very interesting, but I do think we need to start having the conversation that we can't just continue like the last five months being fooled by the club saying Anderson, Wharton, Belaber. And then we're all sat there going, Casemiro's the player going. He's a specialist six. Where's the specialist six that you're bringing in? You're getting rid of a massively experienced number six, regardless of whether he's the player he was or not. You're getting rid of a ridiculously experienced number six, who is very good in the air. and you're going to bring somebody in that's never done the role properly and try and teach the role in a season where we're going to need to get in the top five and do well in the Champions League.

9:20Surely that's where the investment goes from Manchester United, certainly. What about Sander Berg, says Laura? I mean, I'm not going to say it's a bad idea. I'm not. I think two years ago I would have said so, but I'm not going to say it's a bad idea. I thought he was very impressive against us. I think he's been very impressive this season. I think he knows how to do the role. What I would say about Sander Berg is what if the shoes are too big to fill? I mean, I wouldn't mind Sander Berg and Tonali. I wouldn't mind going for two because that gives you the ability. What I would like to do is get a specialist six and somebody that can play six and eight.

10:02That's what I would like to do. now whether that's Tonali and Berg or Tonali and Kone I don't mind but I would go for a specialist six and somebody else that can play that role as well who can play that role definitely definitely okay lots of people putting their names in Serg Sanderberg would be a good backup says Gaz United Flock says definitely Mark Tonali would be the dream says Joob look I don't think it's impossible Arsenal obviously feel that they can get those types of deals done and I understand why and there'd be other clubs but when you can offer somebody first team football I think that's really good.

10:40I'm just going to drift into something a little bit topical for a moment because Robert McCormack is our first super chat of the morning and he loves Harry Kane and he likes what Beth has said. So this is what Beth said on Twitter. I think it was last night. Harry Kane to mentor Sesco for two seasons if we get the Champions League. Now she's gone dot, dot, dot, dot next to it so it could be a little bit of rage bait But look, it had a lot of interaction, 425 ,000 impressions. So it certainly got a lot of people talking. Some of the replies to the tweet were heaven from Robert McCormack, and he's not talking about the player.

11:15If we can get the same deal Barcelona's got with Lewandowski, I'd be all over it, says Trust Fund Baby. The guy's going to be 33, says Red Devil Girl. And Nick Shepperton says, good God, no, there's nothing wrong with Sesco. We don't play to his biggest strengths. Heading the ball, we don't cross the ball. Why are we looking at fixing something that's not even in our top five problems? Well, look, if you watched our video this morning, hopefully we'll be able to do more of those sit down videos. Incredible stuff about how we are servicing Sesco better this year than we've serviced any striker in the last five years, which is a testament to the changes we made in the summer and the more attacking output that we're putting in.

11:53Harry Kane in a Man United shirt next season would be tremendous. I mean, he's one of the best strikers in the world. But look, let's get real. Harry Kane to Manchester United for two years. I would seriously question the long term vision of Ineos if they did that deal. Because when you look at it, his release clause is, I think, 50 million pounds and his wage is about 350k a week. so for a 33 year old striker we're going to give Bayern Munich 50 million quid and then pay him 350 grand a week you'd sort of go to if you were one of those sacked people by INEOS you'd sort of look at them and go what the fuck are you doing I'd do that what is the vision then because I think it was in the Manchester Evening News last night what was it where was it it was I saw this quote Carrick is getting a tune out of this current squad but that does not necessarily mean he would have chosen not to purchase anyone given the option the Reds were happy to stick to the long-term plan and not sign anyone this January and that is exactly what played out I mean the long-term plan for Man United was to not buy players in January I mean I don't know whether that's long-term or stupidity but I mean if you sign somebody like Harry Kane at 33 for£50 million and pay 350 grand a week, that's a hell of a lot of outlay.

13:25I think, look, we're not going to do it, are we? But I think certain clubs might do it. People, Man City might do it if they felt like it was a cherry on the cake that they can afford. But for Manchester United, where we're trying to build relevancy and consistency, that would be a huge proportion of a limited, sorry, of a limited budget. So it just can't happen. would I do it? no would I like Harry Kane at Man United? yes I just wouldn't pay that amount of money I think we've got I think as somebody said I'd love Harry Kane at Man United I think he's absolutely brilliant but not for that money I wouldn't spend that money on a problem that's not a problem it's not a problem that's in our top five problems as somebody said it'd be funny if Ineos signed one of Dan Ashworth's most successful signings says Goldfridge and we need a natural six says Slaze not someone who can transition into the role.

14:21We've tried that too many times recently with Agathe, Amrabat, Fred and McTominay. I completely agree with this. I think it's so important, whoever it's going to be. And I want that conversation over the next few months. I'm tired of Anderson, Wharton and Belaber. I don't see any of them as specialist number sixes. And we're going to lose a specialist number six. And you're absolutely spot on, Slazy. So many times United get excited about square pegs in round holes oh we can do this role this role this role jack of all trades master of none we need an absolute master of the number six if we're going to replace Casemiro which we have to do I completely agree with you on that one this may have been said before but I've realized that another season the club targets young players is to fill the homegrown quota without having to buy a good English homegrown player then pay inflated prices to get once is daniel um yeah very good point i was just thinking it through what you're saying yeah so if you buy players that are under basically 18 it doesn't matter what nationality they are by the time they're 21 they're classed as homegrown because they've been at the club for three years before their age of the before their 21st birthday so yeah you're absolutely spot on with that as a strategy it could well be one in there uh danny ester says is it me or agate doesn't really look part of the group feels like he isolate isolates himself a lot on and off the pitch more like he's got no pals i mean i don't know about that i would i would suggest he probably does have pals there are south american players that he probably does get on with um i think he isolates himself on the pitch um as somebody that has never looked confident in a Man United shirt.

16:01I mean, I remember saying this a few months ago. Every time he comes on the pitch, he looks like he's shitting himself. He's chewing the gum. He just looks like a rabbit in the headlights. He always looks like he's got the world's problems on his shoulders. He's never looked confident at Manchester United at all. And I suppose that's a blame of the Ineos, really, because it was a matter. I mean, it's difficult when you're brought in and you know the manager doesn't want you and he treats you like he doesn't want you. Ten Hag didn't want him. So that's really, this is a great point and it's probably for another day, but this is where it goes wrong when the board choose the transfers, because if you're signed by a manager that doesn't rate you and they don't pick you, you sort of come in really excited that you've signed for Man United and then you go training and you realise the coach didn't want you.

16:50It's weird, but many clubs are doing this now. They're like, oh, we're in charge of the transfers and we say this? And then you've got a manager going, well, are they actually rating? Is anyone else concerned on getting Belayba having another AFCON player considering how much we missed this year? Says Dan Harding Comedy. Well, I think I'm right in saying this, that the AFCON doesn't happen in January anymore. I think this was the last AFCON where it plays in January. So maybe someone in the chat can confirm that. Sean says, Bayern paid£100 million for Kane, so I can't see him going other than the release clause.

17:26Also, if we're going to hijack more Bayern players, Gretzka and Karl, says Sean. I wouldn't go near Gretzka again. I think he's another player in his 30s that has never played in the Premier League and you're asking him to go into the midfield. I think it's a mistake. But some people agree with you on Sean about Gretzka. Karl, I think, will struggle very hard to get through, hold off, because he's a teenage sensation at Bayern Munich. Patrick Lynch says, a DM that is at the same level of experience of Kunja and Bermot that can also handle the physicality of the Premier League is needed. Youth is fantastic, but look at the difference of having a 25, 26-year-old up front have made, says Patrick.

18:02Well, look, I'm not really ruining the video I did this morning, so watch it. It was very informative, but I would have added in if it was doing that as a 20-minute video that the removal of Garnaccio, Anthony and Rashford and the inclusion of Cunha and Embermo also has had a big impact on our output attacking-wise because they're intelligent, experienced players who know when to pass and shoot, whereas before I think we had a lot of inexperienced players who just wanted to shoot so yeah I agree with you if you're going to go and replace Casemiro which we have to do I don't want a project I don't want a prospect I don't want somebody that's learning a new role experience counts as we've seen this season it'd be funny if any I've done that one thank you very much anyway I wanted to just move on to something else as well because lots of people are getting their thoughts in and we're moving quite through just talking about the midfield by the way did you see this from Chris Wheeler yesterday.

18:54Lezorn Sport, who are owned by Ineos and are a Swiss mid-table club, I think, are absolutely over the moon signing Kone on loan for the remainder of the season. Coaches have been blown away by his technical level on the ball and there is real excitement in the building at his ball-winning ability. I mean, again, I'll repeat what I said yesterday. I just don't get it. I just do not get it. I mean, it's like sending him to bloody Notts County in League 3, in League 2. Like, he shouldn't be there. I'm sure Luzon are over the bloody moon. I mean, is this just Sir Jim Radcliffe now doing his other projects a big favour?

19:37Like, I don't get the relevancy of Kone going to Luzon. other than Sir Jim Radcliffe owns it and is using our players to his advantage for his other clubs. It clearly benefits them more than it benefits us and Kone. And if they're going, they can't believe they've got him, he's so good. Well, he shouldn't fucking be there then, should he? If Lozorne are over the moon with him and they can't believe they've got him, he shouldn't bloody be there then, should he? He should be somewhere else. He should be at the bloody championship. I still don't get that loan deal. I don't really get that loan deal at all.

20:14To me, it feels like it's Sir Jim Radcliffe trying to, you know, pimp up his other clubs by throwing players over there that shouldn't be there because they're too good to be there. But I'd already said yesterday, I don't know why we haven't loaned him to a championship club. It makes no sense to me. Rob Dawson says, Man United sources say it would take something exceptional for Carrick to get the job permanently, and it's highly unlikely they repeat the Solskjaer situation. Well, look, I can play both sides here. I can play devil's advocate easily. Highly unlikely, exceptional circumstances that Carrick gets the job.

20:54Good, good. I would not want to hear anything else in bloody February. Middle of April is when this conversation should start to be happening. I don't care whether he wins the next eight. Oli won the first eight. So in my mind, I'm like, even if he wins the first eight games, doesn't change anything. Oli Gunnar Solskjaer won his first eight games. So for Carrick to get this job, he's got to do something Solskjaer didn't do. Solskjaer took the job in December and it fell apart in April. So Carrick takes the job in January. that would be the equivalent of April so let's see where we are in April I can't I can't disagree more with people saying let's give him the job I think it's ridiculous and I'm not going to be fooled by eight wins either so let's get to April and let's see where we are because if we get to end of April and we've won what would equivalently probably be 10 games which I always said let's have the conversation but until we're in april i'm not it's too early it's too much of a manager bounce at the moment it's like three games everybody's excited fans players carrick you know let's see where we are in april and let's keep winning all i'm all i want to do at the moment whether it was amram in charge or carrick is keep winning and i don't really care how like we've got to get champions league football every conversation we have feeds back to transfers which will be massively supported by champions league football so we've got to get champions league football that that's all that matters and let's not forget as well if we start getting bad results we're going to lose bruno as well i think the winning to get in the champions league is great but bruno fernandez is gone if we don't get champions league football as well he might be gone even if we do so there's so much resting on keeping winning anyway and that's what we need to keep doing um and i'm confident that we will i think we'll win every game in february i've said that before i think this bounce will continue like solskjaer's for at least eight games and then i think when we hit sort of mid-march it's going to start to get interesting into april but for now let's just keep enjoying it and let's not put a label on it you know apparently apparently the youngsters of today when they're going out with each other they don't put a label on it for ages like i did when my day was like if you went out with a girl she's going out with me she's not going out with anyone else none of this open relationship bollocks but uh let's not put a label on it um i don't think we need to um and i'm quite comfortable with that because i don't actually want to even think about the next manager at the moment that's not my job what if the next manager's southgate what if the next manager's glasner not happy with that anyway what if it's deservey not happy with that so i don't even run i don't even really want to think about the next manager at the moment because you don't know what the club's planning and if i start if i knew the club were going to go for someone like Deserby now, I'll be like praying that Carrick just wins every game till the end of the season so he gets the job.

23:58So I'll rather just enjoy the moment, see what happens. Because if there's one thing I've learned over the last two years, do not trust this ownership. You might wish it's going to be a Tuchel or an Enrique or an Ancelotti. the reality is it's probably going to be an areola a glasner or a southgate because they're all free in the summer and i think free is what i'll lay a little bet with you i think it's going to be carrick that gets the job anyway but and i'm i'm convinced we'll sign belabor but i'll lay a little bet with you i guarantee the coach we go for will be free i.e they're out of contract so areola Glasner Southgate Tuchel I think they're all out of contract this summer so I guarantee you they'll go for somebody who's free Newcastle midfield to United Joel Linton Bruno G and Tonali they can keep Joel Linton Hexa Hexo I'm not bothered about Joel Linton but I will take Bruno G and Tonali definitely definitely never going to happen but I would happily take those two is anyone else concerned on getting belabor having another africa don't know from dan harding as well appreciate that from sean and patrick lynch thanks right we're caught up on that now i wanted to bring this in because it fits in nicely as a segue from the manager into this obviously get your thoughts in a little bit of talk about uh marnie from wolves uh we'll come back to that one um that was in the manchester evening news a little bit about rashford as well but there was a quote here something out of Adam Wharton as well.

25:38So this was from Deleu. Now I've seen a bit of reaction to this both ways, but this is what Deleu had to say about Michael Carrick and Steve Holland. Really, really impressed with them. I think the experience that they bought and they came with the right approach. I mean, Steve was in this position a lot of times during his coaching career. So he knew what to say. He knew the right energy to pass to the players, but this is the interesting bit. So I think the club and Michael did really well to bring them in. So look, a few people have been saying, what a turncoat. Like he played way too many games under Amrim because Amrim treated him too well.

26:15And here he is gobbing off about the club, making good decisions, bringing in Carrick and Holland in. What a turncoat. But I don't read it like that. I mean, I think Deleuze has done quite well in the last few games. He's played better under... The weird thing about Deleuze is he played better under Ten Hag and Carrick than he did under Amrim, and Amrim treated him really, really well. So it just goes to show you that even if a player is perceived as a favourite, it doesn't mean that they play well. But Deleuze is just a modern footballer. He's not... I think that, I don't know whether it's an age thing or whatever, but I don't look at any Man United player and think they are a fan like you.

27:01They're not. They're paid players. And when they wear their shirt and they're paid for it, I'm sure they try, but they don't see the things we do and react like us. I mean, no player would be sat there on 31st of January saying it's a bloody disgrace. We've not bought anyone. Maybe Bruno, but like only because Bruno's involved in everything. But that's not how players work. So when Amrim got sacked, even though Deleuze was riffing off Amrim like he was getting way too many minutes. He would still be there gobbling off about how good the club is and how good Carrick and Holland is because he knows which side his bread is buttered on.

27:43he wants to play football there's a World Cup coming along there's no problem with him doing that interview because that's what players do they're out for themselves you can support a manager when he's gone oh well, here's the next one that's just what they do I wouldn't call them mercenaries some people would but they're paid they're not fans if Deleuze was sold in the summer to AC Milan or Juventus or Real Madrid he'd be one of them players I'm sure he'd still talk nicely about Man United but they're never going to get, look, they don't talk about the protests. They're not interested in the protests.

28:18They're not interested in lack of transfer activity. As long as they're earning their money and they're playing football, that's their number one priority because that's their career. So I don't have a problem with that. I don't have a problem with it at all. It doesn't really bother me. Carrick is different. Under Oli, we were winning, but playing crap. No, we weren't. Jim, you know what? Right. I'm going to read your super chat and then I'm going to respond to it. right so let me just do this Carrick is different under Oli we were winning but playing crap playing good football with Carrick this is not an endorsement but I'm happy right now well Jim you're going to upset a lot of Oli fans of which he has a cult but in the first eight games he wasn't playing crap he wasn't we would we destroyed teams like we weren't on an amazing run we're talking about the first interim era of Oli we're not talking about the three years the three years is a conversation if and when they give the job to Carrick.

29:15We're judging Carrick compared to Solskjaer's interim period or De Matteo's interim period where he won the Champions League and the FA Cup. The interim, I agree with you. I didn't like Solskjaer's football when he got the job permanently, but we're surely here talking about the interim period, which is effectively a holiday. Everybody gets on. Everybody's excited. Everything's short term. Just enjoy yourselves. Nothing's happening to any of you until the summer. We're not talking about anything. So everybody's just living in this. It's like being on holiday. It's like two weeks away with your mates.

29:57You leave everything behind. Don't think about it, right? That's what an interim does. There is no conversation with Carrick about Luke Shaw, you're gone in the summer or Maguire, you're gone in the summer. He doesn't make those decisions. It's for somebody else. So this is the problem with an interim. It's like, it's a false reality and you don't understand the reality until you give them the job. And then that's when you can judge the manager because the players act accordingly. Look about Ten Hag, he wasn't an interim. Look at Amrim, he wasn't an interim. Look at Jose, he wasn't an interim.

30:29It was like, let's go to work. Let's see what it's all about. We're judging a manager on being an interim where it's not real. So it's a holiday. So in making the decision to give it to Carrick, you're taking a massive leap of faith because it will be very different if you give him the job full time. And that's, I think, what many of us are saying. It's like it's a huge leap of faith to make. And it's certainly one that shouldn't be being discussed, in my opinion, until at least April. Give us Tonali, Anderson and Wharton in the summer. says, it's me. I mean, that would be an incredible, incredible summer transfer window.

31:11Talking of which, the Mirror this morning have had a couple of stories around Manchester United and, funnily enough, Crystal Palace. The first one is that Liverpool could rival Manchester United and Real Madrid for the 80 million signing of Crystal Palace and England midfielder Adam Wharton in the summer well we've heard about that um we have heard about that we've heard about Liverpool and Wharton because it was last week where apparently there was talk of a deal being completed for the summer and I think it was Ben Jacobs saying it's highly unlikely um that that that that will happen um so I think that that's yeah Wharton's there I mean there's another bit here from an athletic journalist saying that other names will come into the frame only if those names aren't available.

32:04There's going to be a lot of competition for Wharton, Anderson and Belieber because they're young, talented players, Man City especially. I mean, look, the Athletic's got to eat, hasn't it? And the Manchester Evening News has got to eat and they've got to protect their sources. But if I was a journalist of any credibility, every time the club told me Wharton, Anderson and Belaber, I'd be like, but you've told everybody this for five months. Is that all you've got? Is that literally all you've got? Like Anderson, Wharton and Belaber. Is that it? Is that the depth of your scouting ability? three most obvious signings in the fucking world who are going to cost north of£70 million each.

32:55I mean, your scouting department ain't winning any awards, is it? We need midfielders and your three targets for the last six months are Adam Wharton, Anderson and Belaber. I mean, where did you find that? Who scouted that for you? The Sun. I mean, and also, as I said before, they're all good players, but none of them are a specialist number six. Again, it's like, I just want this football club for once to do something where I go, wow, actually, they finally scored an open goal. They finally done something that we fans wouldn't have thought of that's really good. Can I just say, they've shocked me.

33:36They've done something really exciting and really positive. I mean, if somebody said to me in October, you know, I'd need to buy a midfielder and their three targets are Wharton, Balaba and Anderson, had I said, you're fired. Whoever's come up with that is fired. That's the most unexcitingly obvious midfield three targets you could go for. And I like all three, but I like what Brighton do. I like what Bournemouth do. I like what Real Madrid do. I like clubs that do get obvious players, but also go and find hidden gems for like a third of that price. You're telling me there's not a player like Adam Wharton in Germany or Italy or Portugal or South America.

34:18Like, he's had a couple of decent seasons at Crystal Palace. He's not tearing it up for fucking Arsenal, is he? And we're going to pay£80 million for him. We need to spend more money. We need to buy more players. And we're targeting the most fucking obvious players in the world that are going to cost a lot of money and are going to be very competitive. I bloody hope it's a smokescreen. And I really hope beyond Wharton, Baleba and Anderson, we've actually done some scouting because if we don't get those three players, where are we going? And none of them are especially six. It worries me that they put this out there like they're doing a good job.

34:55They're good players, but they're fucking obvious. Everything you do is obvious. Mbamo, Cunha, obvious. Sesco, when you missed out on four other strikers, obvious. Why don't you do more Le Mans? Why don't you do more of those? Why can't you scout players before they're obvious? Do you just not have the ability to find Wharton before he goes to Palace? Do you not have the ability to buy a player over 26 that would deliver now instead of a kid that's going to take three years to deliver? It's just, it has to come down to the boardroom because I don't for one minute believe that we haven't got scouts saying this player would come straight into the team, he's 27.

35:39No, he's over 26, you know? But look, as I was saying, there will be competition for Wharton, there will be competition for Anderson. I don't think there'll be competition for Belaber. I think that deal's going to happen very, very easy.

35:59something about may news wages there from the manchester evening news all the performance related bonuses in may news contracts have been triggered increasing his salary however his camp still believe his wages do not fairly reflect his role in the squad well no i mean the thing about may news wages and contract is that if he's not playing he can't do anything we said this a couple of months ago but the minute he starts starting every game again if you're on 50 grand a week or 80 grand a week and you're looking at casemiro next to you on 300 and bruno next to you on 300 and maguire behind you on 200 and you can't be starting in man united's midfield on 80 grand a week i think we'd all agree with that i predict these five says neil curran truffett from rennes beleba gomez and dia and lakaba of leipzig probably for 250 million providing rashford maguire go So, mate, I think those types of signings are too intelligent for our board.

36:58But I don't mind a summer like that. I mean, there's a lot of... You need more than five, but there is a lot of coverage there. A left-back, two midfielders, a winger and a centre-back. So, do you reckon Martinez could cover midfield injuries, says Amit? Look, I'm a massive fan of Lissandro Martinez, but I will warn you with this. He's had two, three, two major injuries in the last two years, and he's only been back two months. To think that Martinez is going to stay fit till the end of the season is a big, big ask. To think that he's not going to get a major injury in the next six months is still something we should be very wary of.

37:40So I think we've got to be very careful with Alessandro Martinez. I think sometimes people think, oh, a player's had a bad injury in their back. I'd give him what Luke Shaw's drinking, basically. I think whatever has happened to Luke Shaw this season is a miracle. If we sign two top midfielders who walk straight into the team, where does that leave Maynou? Because apparently he's not allowed to sit on the bench, says Dent. I mean, I honestly couldn't give a shit. And it's not just about Maynou. I want Man United to sign first team players. So it's like if we did sign Harry Kane, some people would say, well, what's going to happen to Sesco?

38:12Don't care. We play twice a week. We play 90 minutes. There'll be plenty of minutes for everybody. the problem we have at the moment is we're playing once a week and we can't give people like Xerxi etc game time but look are you telling me if we bring a player in and they're better than Mainu you've got a problem with Mainu being back on the bench I ain't got a problem with that I think with two games a week if you bring two starting midfielders and Mainu goes to the bench you've got Carabao Cup FA Cup Champions League Premier League as a midfielder you're probably still going to play about an hour a week even if you come in on twice for half an hour you're still going to play a lot of football rest in peace to John Virgo says Solid Blake yes if you know you know very very sad news in the world of snooker also got a couple of other bits I want to bring in as well here let's have a quick look thanks for your super chats this morning I would like Trufford Neil I think he's done a great job yeah I mean just Just on the manager's job, I forgot to say it when we were talking about Carrick.

39:18Iriola's a manager that sort of, I don't know. I wouldn't completely rule him out. I think we're probably all going to do this over the next few months. There's going to be managers that we don't want and then there's managers that we do want. As I said, I was very impressed with Marco Silva at the weekend. That doesn't mean I want him as Man United manager. I just like the way his team plays. I like the way that they use the width. I like the way that they play through the press. I like the way that they pass. I think if you gave Marco Silva better players, he'd be a very, very good coach. Iriola's done very well at Bournemouth considering how many players they've lost and they're still playing good football.

39:58But again, I just look at these types of managers, excuse me, like Iriola, Glasner, De Zerbe, I suppose Marco Silva. I look at those types of managers. Michael Carrick and I think like all right the honeymoon might be okay but when the going gets tough can they handle the enormity of the pressure that you get what you're going to fall back on I think having an experienced coach really does matter and we haven't had an experienced coach since Jose Mourinho like Ten Hag can't really fall back on Ajax and couldn't fall back on Ajax Amrim couldn't fall back on sporting Oli can't fall back on Cardiff like I do think we need an experienced coach and I think in the profile of a manager it's one of the things that people don't talk about because when you're dealing with our fan base and our press and our ex-players I think one thing you need to walk through the door with is respect and look Oli Gunnar Solskjaer has respect, Michael Carrick has respect as ex-players, but it doesn't take long when it goes wrong to say, well, they might be a good ex-player, but they've got no coaching ability.

41:12Whereas I think if you're Jose Mourinho, you can point at your CV, you can point at what you've done. And when these people start having a go, you sort of like go, well, what have you ever done? What have you ever done? And you've got the experience. So I think an experienced coach is why I look at people like Luis Enrique, Conte, Simeone, Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel. And there probably are a couple of others. I don't want Simeone, by the way. But I do think we need an experienced coach. I think we've tried so many things. We've had ex-players, we've had hipsters, we've had the next big thing, we've had the Premier League coach.

41:53I think the best period we had at United was Mourinho. Mourinho was the best period we've had since Sir Alex Ferguson left. And you've got to look at that. I mean, surely there's somebody at the club going, right, since Sir Alex Ferguson left, we've spent all this money and we've had all these managers. Let's analyse those mistakes and learn from them. Let's not be the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again so i'd look at it and i'd go well to be fair the mourinho era was probably the best era we've had where why did it go wrong and why did it go right um morning mark would you class jau gomez as a six i don't want this but i could see united just buying two midfielders and they're belabor and gomez says james I don't think he's more of a pivot, isn't he, again But we don't know what the next manager's going to do We don't know what Michael Carrick's going to do Michael Carrick might be playing the 4-3-3 with Casemiro Holding Because he knows the players suit this system If Michael Carrick gets the job He might go to a double pivot The next manager might play a double pivot In which case, the double pivot shares the role There is no sitter So you could have Belaber and Anderson You could have Belaber and Wharton.

43:17But in the absence of that knowledge, we have to look at it and go, well, Casemiro is the sitter. He needs replacing. We've had experience. We've had niche. We've had interim. We've had the next big thing. It doesn't really matter with these owners. Well, I think that's a great point, Lee, as well. We can be number three, but all contingent upon midfield injuries, says Amit. Thank you. I think that, man, I don't really. Obviously, I think it's nice to finish third instead of fifth, but I don't care. I really don't. every single third fourth fifth second will get you champions league football i don't really care i'm not bothered obviously it'd be nicer to finish higher but i'm not that bothered united aren't getting champions league sixth place ain't sixth place place ain't the champions league says claire oh there she goes boring claire with a boring name is back again um yeah you're just a rage baiter claire with a boring name like we're not finishing sixth we might finish sixth but the chances of us finishing sixth at the moment are probably less than 15 percent we'll be somewhere between fifth fourth third second um when's the next cooking and driving with gold which is i don't know mate i might not get one out this week because um i've got lots and lots of things on this week and i lost a day in london on monday but i will try we'll see um marlo it'll be friday if it is marlo says if bruno is staying and we want to build the team around Maynou, why would we buy Anderson or Wharton who both would push Maynou out of the team, says Marlow.

44:46Well, that's what I mean. It's like if you're buying Anderson or Wharton, they literally play in Maynou's position in a midfield three. But if you're going to change your midfield and go with two pivot, then you could play Maynou and Anderson. So it just depends. But you've got to have defensive capability. it's my look we're getting we're getting we're getting too in depth here but if you brought belabor in and played him next to mainu i don't think either of those two players have got particularly brilliant defensive discipline if you're playing three at the back doesn't matter as much this was amram's plan i don't think amram really massively was worried about playing bruno in the midfield because he had three center backs behind him i hated it but i don't think amram was that bothered but if you're playing four at the back and your full backs are going forward and you've only got two center backs you can't have two midfielders that have got no defensive discipline because you haven't got the numbers behind them so i think we need a defensive discipline player uh richard rios says reggie um i like richard rios um and um i'll certainly be keeping an eye on them in the Champions League.

45:57But I feel that the boat might have... I'd be annoyed if we went in for him because we could have gone for him in the summer and we didn't, if you know what I mean. Final bit as well from the mirror was that Manchester United could make a move for long-term striker target Jean-Philippe Mateta in the summer after the Frenchman's proposed deadline day from Crystal Palace to Arsenal, AC Milan fell through. Well, look, he didn't go to AC Milan, did he? and who's to say that Man United wouldn't go back in and do that? I personally think that it would be a little bit strange to go back in or to go in for Mateta when he was that close to going to Milan.

46:44But maybe we will. Maybe we will. I don't know. I think it is an area I would improve. I would improve the attack because I think it's an area that does need looking at. And he is experienced. But as a lot of people are saying in the chat, like Kin and Jim, he failed a medical. He failed a medical. So that's surely a red flag. I don't, look, we're all old enough to know that out of 10 players the press leak is two, we might be in for two. Eight of them is going to be completing up the bollocks. Mateta, if he was a target of ours, we could have moved in on him in January as an opportunity. So I think we've got to start to learn the incompetence of this board.

47:36If a player becomes available that they want, they will move. Well, they didn't move on Mateta. he's also over 27 so i don't see man united going anywhere near et cetera to be honest they might not even bother bringing a striker in but they'll find out very quickly next season what they found out when they only had rasmus up front that when you're playing twice a week and you start to pick up those injuries then you will really regret only having one striker somebody somebody in the club said to me about two months ago we're talking about injuries talking about mason mountain stuff and they said the interesting thing is going to be next season this season there's a lot of things that have gone their way like luke shaw staying fit all season is incredible and nobody will say how um obviously not playing in europe has meant that people like Maino and Agate had just been sat on their arse fit, but they're fit to cover Bruno and Casemiro if they need to.

48:40But there's no illusion in the club that whatever happens injury-wise this season, they can't predict what's going to happen next season because it's double the workload. And this squad looks good when it's only playing one game a week, but it only takes two or three injuries and the squad's in trouble again and you but you'd be playing two games a week and in trouble so i think the club are fully aware that next well the fitness department is fully aware that next season they don't know what's going to happen you could start next season with this squad and be in the middle of october with maguire out the lit out and burmo out, Ahmad out, Casemiro out, just five players and that squad's in tatters.

49:30So it's not just about buying three, four players for the first team. I think it's about buying six to eight so that you can cover off the problems of next season. Because I fully expect our injury problems to come back next season. I don't think we've changed anything ridiculously at the club or drastically in relation to that. We've still picked up injuries anyway, haven't we? I mean, De Ligt's been out for nearly three months. Maguire was out for two months.

49:58Dorgou, obviously. We had a few injuries at the start of the season to people like Zerksi. Yeah, we still had a few injuries, even playing one game a week. It kills me playing one game a week, says Jeans. I mean, I never thought I'd say this, but I do miss the Europa League. At least, like, I know there's no Europe this week, but those weeks where it's a European week, even when you play on a Sunday and then you're playing on a Saturday, it's still a drag. It's embarrassing. Sean says, what about Alex Scott? I like Alex Scott at Bournemouth. I really like Alex Scott. I think this is a great shout.

50:36I think he's got Carrick vibes, Sanderberg vibes, whatever you want to call it, that big physical conductor. I like it. I do like Alex Scott. It could be a good supplement for our main targets. He's 22. He's Premier League proven and his sister is in the club. Also hits our local quota for Europe. I really like that recommend. Sean, I've heard nothing about it, but I really do like that name, Alex Scott, as a shout. A lot of people have mentioned Hayden Hackney as well. I think Forrest tried to sign Hayden Hackney in January and it got rejected. So, yeah, I do like Alex Scott, but is he playing in a midfield pivot as well?

51:15Is he playing a little bit more advanced?

51:21as I say, I do see sort of Carrick vibes with him, but he does seem to play a little bit further forward. Great show this morning. Thank you so much for watching. I am on seven o 'clock tonight because eight o 'clock is Man City, Newcastle, which I'm sure will be better than that shit I watched last night. What a load of crap that was. Lee Galdot says, we've had experience. We've had, I've done that one. Sorry. Thank you very much. Please do smash a like and subscribe. Don't forget to watch the 7am video this morning. bonus video very interesting i'm going to do a few more of these over the season um because i've backed up a few topics that i wanted to talk about there's sort of little 10 minute videos where you could discuss it on an eight o 'clock show but we never sort of get the time to do it um a little bit around players the way we're playing this is focusing on the thing that we've been talking about five years the graveyard shift and how we've retired the graveyard shift this season with a little bit of stats and analysis as a bit of a spoiler and it's not the main thing basically three years ago our average shot distance was 18 meters from goal it's now 16 so in the space of two years we're shooting close to the goal which is sounds very basic but if you think our average every one of our shots two years ago was on average 18 meters away from the goal and this season it's 16, that means every one of our shots is two metres closer to the goal.

52:48So there's a lot of things that changed from the start of this season to now and has continued with Carrick around our attacking output. We always flirted with goal difference of negative or even and we've comfortably been in plus for a long time. So not many positives about this season but the attacking output has changed And it's interesting, that video, how it's supported Sesco and iForwards. Take care, everyone. Stay safe. I'll speak to you on in a bit.