335: Give It To CARRICK! Palmer AND Wharton TRANSFER Update!

0:00Hello everybody, welcome to the United Stands. I'm Mark Goldbridge and welcome to another week. And we've got a midweek game as well, so there's lots to get into as always. Fabrizio Romano talking about the likelihood of Michael Carrick getting the permanent job at Manchester United. Are you for or against that? I suppose we should probably do a poll. Also, the£100m game on Wednesday that doesn't even include us that could lead to Cole Palmer joining Manchester United. We've got some interesting comments coming out from Bruno Fernandes about his frustration at Manchester United this season and how Champions League football is so important.

0:33We've also got a little bit on Sesco and a few other bits as well. But look, let's get into it. I suppose the best place to start this Monday morning is for you to smash a like on the video and for me to do the poll. Would you give Carrick the job? I should have set it up before. Would you give Carrick the job? Yes or no? Get your comments in. For me, it's a big no. It's absolutely fine to have that opinion. When many of you said sack Jose, I said no. When many of you sacked, said sack Ten Hag really early, I said no. So look, sometimes I back managers. Sometimes I think they're not the right person.

1:08I don't think Carrick's the right guy. I'm sorry. And the great thing is, I love Michael Carrick. I've been saying it for years. One of the most underrated players we've ever had. Fantastic player. Really, really liked him. Same as Solskjaer. Wouldn't want him getting the Man United job. What I will say is it's not like he's rubbish. I mean, if you look this morning, nine games unbeaten in his first nine games, obviously, is the joint best record. What they've done is they've took his two other games because he's only managed seven, but he won two as an interim and then left. And now he's won six and drawn one this time.

1:46So they put them together. I suppose you can do that. It's a fantastic start. It really is a fantastic start and a lot of people are buzzing off it. I'm actually over the moon with it because I want to get Champions League football. Fabrizio Romano basically saying this, and I'll read it out to you because it's better to do it that way. Basically saying that when it comes to Michael Carrick, nothing has been decided yet. The feeling surrounding Michael Carrick is becoming increasingly positive week by week. The players are very happy with him. Everyone at the club believes he's got a good chance of staying.

2:20I would just say here, I couldn't give a toss what the players think. I mean, it's almost like an echo chamber. I mean, are we literally back with Oli three years ago or five years ago? I mean, who listens to the players? I mean, if that's the ownership, again, we've got no chance. Don't listen to the players. Wouldn't trust these players as far as could bloody throw them. And that's not very far. I've got a bad shoulder. But no, I don't care what the players say, because I don't actually think there is a Man United fan in the world that doesn't think we need a major rebuild in the summer. So why would I trust players?

2:54I don't trust these players. I don't trust their opinions. Some of them have only been here a year. Some of them have been here too long. And some of them are going to leave in the summer. So I don't really care what they think. And would those players that are happy, would they be the players that are starting games? Have we asked the players that aren't starting games, who aren't getting minutes? So look, I couldn't give a toss what players think. Everyone at the club believes he has a good chance of staying, according to Fabrizio Romano. But this is...

3:23Claire, I will answer your super chat. It's a very interesting thing from Claire. But I think that... I think for me, it's way too early to give it to Carrick. And we're also being... This is an opinion part, right? This is my opinion. The results are fantastic. Getting Champions League football is really good. And he should certainly be in the equation. Am I impressed? Well, let's go back to Amrim. PRV, performance, results, vision. And I would actually ask people about the S as well. PRBS, standards. What are your standards? Performance, results, vision. I don't know what the vision is at the moment.

4:06I don't think we're playing stylistically in a way that I go, oh, I get it. Results, fantastic. Performance, hit and miss. So we've got results. Now, look at Arsenal. They're probably going to win the league on results. Performance, vision. But they have got a vision. They've built a vision. But performance from Arsenal is not great and they're going to win the league. You can be successful on results. But are these results sustainable? I don't think they are. I genuinely don't think they are. I mean, that red card yesterday, Claire Jones says, are you not doing a video on the VAR robbing Palace?

4:45I've seen it again this morning. I just, I think Kunja deserves a medal because there's no way that's a foul. It's not even a foul and it's definitely outside the box. So we beat Crystal Palace on a dodgy decision. We got a draw against West Ham on a last minute equaliser. Everton, I'm not going to moan about. We didn't play well, but we scored a goal. And obviously against Fulham, we got a last minute goal as well. we're winning games on fine margins. That's what I would say. The performance isn't there for me. So the results are fantastic. But look, people are going, oh, you're so negative. It's not negative to have an opinion that's not the same as you.

5:21You can't change my opinion. And there's nothing wrong with my opinion. And there's nothing wrong with your opinion that you want to give him the job. I'm telling you why I don't want to give him the job, because it's way too early. I've always said not till the end of the season will I judge this. What I'm hoping we're going to see on Wednesday is us go to Newcastle, beat them 4-0 and play really well. And then on Thursday morning, I'll say, that's what I want. Results and performance show me a bit of a vision. That's what I want. My concern at the moment is that we're getting results, but where's the performance and the vision?

5:53And I actually saw some United fans today say, well, I think it's unfair to judge him on performance and vision because he hasn't had a transfer window in a summer, but we were judging Amorim on performance and vision this season when he didn't get midfielders. So what is it? What is it? It doesn't matter now, but also it's a fair point. He hasn't had a transfer window and he hasn't had a pre-season, but what if this is all he can do? What if this is the best Carrick can do? What if he can't take us to another level of performance? What happens when the goals dry up, the moments dry up? And also, people who look at stats and go, well, he's had the best ever Premier League start with seven wins and a draw or whatever it is.

6:38Yeah, he's not had the best. He's had the joint best. Do you know who he shares it with? Ange Postacoglu at Spurs. How did that go? So he's had the joint best start by any manager ever in the Premier League with Ange Postacoglu at Spurs. And you know who's behind that? Oli at Man United. And you know who the best interim manager in history is in the Premier League? Roberto Di Matteo. What happened there as well? So I don't... There's no part of me at the moment that is going, give the job to Michael Carrick. I respect everybody that's saying do, but there's absolutely no part of me doing it. I'm not.

7:20I woke up this morning. I went, would I give it to Carrick now? No, absolutely not. And I feel a little bit mean because the results are really good. But I also look at the results and I say, if you take Bruno Fernandes out of this team, have we won all those games? No. How sustainable is this? If we went into next season like this, I don't think it's very sustainable. And it also comes down to standards. I think that, I think most of you understand that a lot of my frustration, all of my frustration comes from the ownership, which I think is a joke. They're an absolute joke. I mean, we're hot on the heels of Mr Stupid's comments publicly two weeks ago, Sir Jim Radcliffe.

8:00We're hot on the heels of Wilcox's absolute disaster class over the last 12 months, and we've still got the Glazers here. And I think that what terrifies me about Carrick is they don't really care about the club. They just care about money. They just care about protecting themselves. My standards are I want Man United to compete. I think Liverpool might get Alise in the summer I think Arsenal might get Alvarez in the summer What are we going to do in the summer? Give Michael Carrick and Steve Holland the job And say let's see what we can do in the transfer market With Jason who wanted us to sign Liam De Lape last summer So I think that for me My standards are a little bit higher Than taking a punt on Michael Carrick at the moment It might work I've seen people saying he could be the next Pep It might work But it's a punt It's an absolute punt.

8:48And the last three games for me, I don't think we've played very well. Seven points from nine when you're not playing well is fantastic, but I don't think we've played very well. And my standards are a lot higher than that. If we go and win against Villa, Newcastle and Bournemouth and play well, it will change. And that's why I've always said, for me, at the end of May, I'll assess it. But I'm not assessing it in early March. And results are good, but where's the performance? Where's the vision? I don't see. Also, can I just add this as well? Why in the last three games have we started like a dead snail?

9:25Why are we starting games with no intensity as well? Look, we're winning. We're winning. But it's Bristol Palace. It's Everton. It's West Ham. They're not actually that good. Why are we starting so slow in games as well? So if this is an audition, I want to see more intensity and I want to see more performance. And you know what? Somebody said to me last night, it was very, very true. What would you do if a United player came up to you and said, why are you moaning when we're winning? I'd say, you know why I'm moaning? Well, I'm not moaning, actually. I'm really happy with the winning, but I'm looking long term, mate.

10:02And every time we give you a lot of chance, you fuck it up. So get yourself on Instagram, do all your pictures, start telling everybody how great you are. But when you've done it for six months, I will give you, I will start to believe in the project. But the problem is with this fan base sometimes is we get overexcited about short term results and it lets people off the hook. And we need to be on them. We need to be on the club. We need to be on these players. And we need to demand more because we're Manchester United and my standards are a lot higher than winning a few games with an interim coach where the players decide to turn the light on.

10:37Longer term, this needs to be happening every week. That's what used to happen at Manchester United. That's where we need to go. And the people on the board need to think with that mentality. Too soon for me, way too soon. But it worries me that Fabrizio Romano is doing little video clips about the players love Carrick and the club love Carrick and he's getting closer to getting to the job on March 1st. That's a standards issue. Man United should be putting a statement out going, Michael Carrick's not in contention for the job. We've always said we will assess things at the end of the season. Talking about Michael Carrick is irrelevant.

11:13So I don't know why the club are putting stuff out to Romano about Michael Carrick getting close to the job. That frustrates and pisses me off because it's the same as Oli again. You sack Mourinho, you bring Oli in, you say you're going to go a best-in-class recruitment and then after a few results, Oli's at the wheel and it's giving him a contract. Same thing again. You sack Amirim, you say it's going to be a best-in-class, high-standard recruitment process. We get a few wins. Oh, we're surprised. We're so surprised that he's won all these games. We're going to give him the job with no thought about interim success history across Manchester United and many other clubs as well.

11:48So look, right here, right now, I want to see more performance. I want to see more vision before I even consider it. And that's where I am with it. And look, but what I will say is that's just my opinion. And you might want to give him the contract now. And I wouldn't actually sit here and say you're an idiot or a moron. I wouldn't do that. That's absolutely fine. The results are good. And some people just go, well, maybe this will carry on. Maybe this is the new Pep and maybe you're going to be right. All I'm saying is right here, right now. No, absolutely not. And I look at the game yesterday.

12:20I think we were lucky. I look at the game against Everton. It was, I don't think we were lucky. I think we deserve to win, but I don't think we were very convincing. And against West Ham, I thought we were lucky as well. So look, let's see what we do against Newcastle. If we go to Newcastle and win and play well, it changes the story. I just think we're walking a path at the moment and we don't know what the destination is. Lee says you're not wrong we're playing poorly our midfield is dead and obviously certain clowns like our right back who can't pass and then there's Luke Shaw says Lee real test is how Carrick bounce back if we lose says Amit and I think the problem is the board and the players not the manager even Enrique wouldn't get these players playing beautiful entertaining football says Oli makes sense when performance and result are correlated says Amit and thoughts on Ricky's opinion on Bruno yesterday says Rajav I haven't seen it because I don't think was Ricky on the fan forum yesterday I don't know whether he was

13:14Apostle says your opinion is nonsense and yet you are here watching, mate and this is the biggest and best Man United fan community in the world that's been going on for a decade based on opinion I don't care whether you think my opinion's nonsense I've expressed it I'm entitled to it and you're entitled to yours I'm over the moon about the results but if we step back how does United see Carrick? Does he have the input into our transfer targets? Why does squad objectives says United 777? He'd be a puppet, mate Michael Carrick will be a puppet at Man United he'll bow down to Wilcox because that's what the next manager's got to do.

13:43And that's why I don't think we'll go for a good coach anyway. Patrick Lynch has shown that Carrick has shown that he is at least capable of managing the team. However, we need more than just capable. Other managers are a risk. But when looking for someone to take charge for a few seasons, pedigree has to be a factor. And yeah, I would always concede that, Patrick. It depends who's available as well. As I've always said, if it's De Zerbe, I'd probably want to give it to Carrick. If it's Glasner, I'd probably want to give it to Carrick. If it's Iriola, I'd want to give it to Carrick. if it's Pochettino, Nogelsmann, Enrique, people like that, I'd give it to them.

14:16Yeah, that's how I'd look at it. Ruud says, manager choice means nothing without a new midfield and fullbacks. A rebuild has to happen. This squad will never play good football, says consistently, says Ruud. And I'm afraid we want to be England heavy team. When was the last time we signed a good English player? We can find better players outside of England. No Parmas is reality. Thank you very much for that. So just on the poll, quite interestingly, would you give Carrick the job? 43 % of you would and 57 % wouldn't. That is big though. 43 % on the 1st of March when he's only been here for a month is a lot.

14:54So I have to acknowledge it is moving in the direction of giving him the job. For me, absolutely not. But maybe that will change over the coming weeks and months. But that's where I am. We've spoken about that. Get your comments in, of course. Right, let's give you the Cole Palmer and Adam Wharton latest. There is a game of football on Wednesday night, which is a£100 million game of football. And I did a video on Saturday night and was ahead of the game. And I expect the mainstream are going to start talking about it a lot. But Chelsea are in big trouble, very big trouble. Financially, they're on the edge of a cliff.

15:32They have sold hotels. They have sold their women's team. They are probably£400 to£500 million away from winning a Premier League, maybe more. So for all that expenditure, they're nowhere near. They're absolutely nowhere near. And in March, to be sixth, based on the money they've spent over the last two years, is absolutely appalling. They are on the edge of oblivion. They're on the edge of no Champions League football when they desperately, desperately need it. They need to keep building. They need to keep spending and no Champions League football will kill them. They are sixth. They are six points behind us.

16:10They are three points behind Liverpool and they are six points behind Aston Villa. If we beat Newcastle and they lose to Villa and Liverpool beat Wolves, there'll be nine points behind us and Villa and six behind Liverpool. It's over. They play Villa on Wednesday night. If Villa beat them at Villa Park, Champions League football for Chelsea is gone. And at that point, Cole Palmer, who wants to come to Manchester United, becomes very viable for Manchester United. So look, that's just a reminder of what we spoke about on Saturday night. There is a£100 million game on Wednesday night for Chelsea Villa.

16:49Unfortunately, we will be able to keep an eye on it, but it goes on at the same time as us, so we can't really watch it. But it's a huge game and I'm just going to reiterate it because it's going to be back in the mainstream. He and his, well, his mates and him apparently want to come to Manchester. Chelsea are in massive trouble. Man United might need a number 10 in the summer and it wouldn't be£150 million if they're not in the Champions League, let's be honest. So look, I think just keep a watching brief on that. I don't sense when I watch Cole Palmer at Chelsea, he doesn't look the same player.

17:25And when I look at Chelsea, I think they're in trouble. And when I look at Man United, if Bruno goes, you need to fill that void. And here's a player that wants to come back to Manchester. So just keep an eye on that one because I guarantee you it's going to start hitting again, maybe today, but certainly this week. On Adam Wharton, the reason I wanted to talk about Adam Wharton is he's definitely in our five candidates for being a Manchester United midfielder. Now, I've seen different assessments of Adam Wharton and I'd be interested to know what your thoughts are this morning. I was very impressed with Adam Wharton yesterday.

18:01Very, very impressed. I think in the second half, admittedly, he did fade, but so did Palace. Remember, they did play Thursday night. It's hard. It's very hard when you're not used to that to play. Well, we found it hard. How many Europa League games did we play really well and then lose it on the Sunday? So it's difficult. And I think it was always inevitable that they were going to fall off physically in the second half. But in the first half, I was really impressed with Adam Morton. And I saw a tweet actually this morning saying something along the lines of, I wasn't impressed with Adam Wharton.

18:33He never stands out to me when I watch him. And I thought, this is almost like what people used to say about Michael Carrick. I thought in the first half, they kept breaking on us. And most of the time, the passes were coming from him from deep. He was shielding the back four, breaking it up. I do think he's a decent player. And the only reason I'm mentioning him is because we've had these auditions. We've had Elliot Anderson. We've had Balaba. We've had Adam Wharton. And you know what? I think he had a much better game than Maynou. I do. I think he had a much better game than Maynou. He's more mobile.

19:11He moves the ball a little bit quicker. But Maynou wasn't at his best yesterday. And Maynou will be here next year. So it's not about kicking Maynou out of the team. But I thought, you know what? Would Wharton complement Maynou quite well? And I thought, you know what? I think they would work quite well in a midfield too. So look, I like Wharton. I was quite impressed with him yesterday. My big issue is price. Price. JW says we need a six. We might not get a six this summer.

19:41Got a bit of a runny nose this morning. We might not get a six this summer. I don't know who this number six is going to be. It's highly unlikely to be Tonali by the sounds of it. So I don't know who the six is going to be. I think we might have to play a double pivot, which you can do. So, Manu and Casemiro have almost been doing it the last two games anyway. When you look at the Everton game and you look at the Palace game, Manu and Casemiro were basically playing as a double pivot anyway. So, I think that might be the way that we go. But I liked Wharton's performance. It doesn't have to be rock and roll.

20:20I've always said he's a jack of all trades and a master of none, but that doesn't mean he's crap of all trades. I think he makes the tackles. He's very energetic. He gets up and down the pitch. His passing range is, you know, is decent. I think Elliot Anderson's better. Elliot Anderson's the player you've got to get. But I wasn't, I thought I did quite like the performance of Adam Wharton yesterday, if I'm being honest. Ricky said, Shaw plays better crosses and passes than Bruno and we would play five times better without him. Also said, we need a backup for Shaw next season. It's mad. Look, I love Ricky.

20:55I haven't seen the video, but if there is any truth in that statement, Naveen, Luke Shaw had a stinker yesterday. Now, apparently he wasn't feeling very well, but he was definitely clutching his foot as well. So which is it? I think Luke Shaw at left back has been shit for a month. I thought he played reasonably well against Arsenal and Man City, but I think it started against Spurs and it's kept on going. he's been crap at left back and he averages 1.3 crosses per 90 Anthony Robinson at Fulham's putting in 5 Lewis Hall's putting in 3 so how can he be a better crosser than Bruno when he doesn't actually factually statistically cross the ball he doesn't cross the ball so how can he be better than Bruno who literally won us the game yesterday with a cross our fullbacks don't cross so look Bruno, world-class yesterday.

21:56I actually think our tactics are questionable. I don't really know what we're doing at the moment. I don't even know how we're playing at the moment. I would love a tactical to just drop a chat and explain what we're playing at the moment because it seemed to matter a lot under Ten Hag and Amrind, but under Carrick, it seems it doesn't matter. I don't know what our style of play is. I don't know what we're doing. I said this at half-time yesterday, I don't actually know what we're trying to do. Admittedly, most people were missing their first pass, but I don't actually know what our style of play is.

22:30I don't know what we're trying to do. Sometimes we hit a long diagonal. Sometimes it's a little bit like we're trying to go into the feet of the forwards. 25 minutes, we hadn't even put a cross into Sesco at Old Trafford yesterday. I would have wanted five in the first 10. Well, the only tactic I see Man United do is get the ball to Bruno and hope he produces something. So how can Bruno be a problem? I mean, if you don't pick Bruno, I don't know what we do. For most of this season, get the ball to Bruno and hope he produces something. That's why he's got more assists than anybody else in the Premier League.

23:03Our tactic seems to be this season, get the ball to Bruno and see what he can do. So you take him out of the team. I don't know what happens. Plum it, I think. Steve says, imagine if you put Anderson, Stiller, Frimpong and Grimaldo in this team. Also, So at what point does Bruno become a United legend? He's been so good for such a long time in some very ordinary teams. I don't think Bruno Fernandes can be a Man United legend, mate. I don't think he's good enough to be a Man United legend. And I don't think he can be a Man United legend because I think a legend at this great club has to win big things.

23:34I think that's the barrier. I don't think he can be a legend from winning an FA Cup or a Carabao Cup. Unfortunately, I just don't think he's going to play in the era. I think Brian Robson is probably somebody that superseded that. But Brian Robson was on a different level to Bruno Fernandes. So I think Bruno will be a United great. I think he could have been a legend if he'd played in a better team. But I don't think you become a legend playing in this last 10 years for Man United. I don't think anyone's going to come out of this last 10 years as a legend, in my opinion. But that's just my opinion.

24:08Some of you are young and you have to have a legend because you're young. I get that. May 2023 was the last time United was in the top three, says Michael Murray Maynard and Wharton weren't that far apart yesterday Eye test and stats In my opinion, Maynard played better whilst not at his best, says Vagaband I think Wharton was way better than Maynard yesterday But that's, again, my opinion I thought Maynard was poor yesterday That's why I gave him a 5.5 I thought Casemiro was poor yesterday And I think they've been poor for the last three games Warton, Stilla and Meecher. There's your three midfielders, says Jared.

24:43Thank you very much. And Naveen says, Ricky says, sure, I've done that one. Manager choice means nothing without a new midfield. Done that one as well. OK, let's move on because we've got some other bits to get into this morning. There was also a comment from Bruno Fernandes. This interests me after the game yesterday. A couple of quotes from Bruno that are very interesting. He says, today, Palace were very good defensively in their shape. Five at the back is very, very difficult to play against. We played in that system for a while, so we know that it's very difficult to attack that back line.

25:15I think absolutely spot on by Bruno. We were so bad against that three centre-back system. And he is right. I think when we played three centre-backs, teams, we defended a lot better as well. So look, I think Palace away from home are defensively very good. And I think we do have to acknowledge that. I thought this was quite interesting as well from Ruben Amrim's assistant he's done an interview in Portugal and he basically said in Manchester I really liked the city and the way the fans experience football more focused on the project than on the immediate result what I liked least was without doubt feeling that our ideas weren't being fully implemented there is a big whole interview but I think that is just a sentence I would take and apply it to the past the present and the next manager, because that is not a dig at the players.

26:08That is a dig at the board. He said, really liked it in Manchester, really positive experience, liked working with the players. But without doubt, what I liked the least was the feeling that our ideas weren't fully implemented. And I think that some people might take that he's talking about the players there. Obviously, there's going to be a low IQ in the players that they can't implement ideas. But I think that goes back to the board. and that's Amrim's assistant saying the frustration was that they felt that their ideas weren't being fully implemented that'll be the board that'll be we want this we're not getting it and unfortunately that's something that does worry me going into next season and the next few years is that Mourinho said this Van Gaal said this Oli said this Ten Hag said this Amrim hasn't said it it's his assistant coach but we're never going to achieve anything without that drip football says amarin was crap that's fine mate we're not actually talking about that we're talking about his assistant coach saying that they felt that their ideas weren't being implemented it doesn't matter whether you think he's crap or not i might think you're crap at your job you might you might build walls and i might think you're shit at building walls but if i don't buy your bricks you can still say i didn't give you the materials so that's the comment mate just to explain it to you um bruno equals cult hero more than legend in my opinion says Patrick.

27:29I think he's a United great, but I mean, look, honestly, I think those conversations belong on Sky Sports on a Saturday morning on the show they do. I find it a little bit lowbrow, to be honest, to be talking about what a legend or a great is. I want Man United to get back where they need to be, as I'm sure Bruno does. And I had something else interesting to say from Bruno as well, which I wanted to bring into the show this morning because I thought it was really interesting what he said. He was asked about Champions League qualification. He said it has to be huge because it's been a struggle a lot this season playing one game a week.

28:07And I think that that is really big because we've spoken about this and it was being spoken about on the watch along yesterday. Is it a positive or a negative that we're playing one game a week? And I think it's both. I do think it's both. I think it's obviously a positive when you look at Newcastle and Villa and Liverpool and the volume of injuries and fatigue they've got because they've played loads of games more than us. So we're fresher, definitely fresher, and we've probably got less injuries. And I think if we'd been playing in the Champions League, we wouldn't be third. So I don't think you can say one game a week is a negative because I think if we'd been in Europe, we wouldn't be where we are.

28:50With this squad, we'd have more injuries, we'd drop more points, so we wouldn't be where we are. So it is a positive. But then I think the negative is, I think the players do struggle with it a little bit. I think there's no rotation. And I think some of the players really aren't playing enough football. And I think sometimes that is apparent as well in the concentration levels. So it is a positive, but it's also a negative as well. I don't think it's been the huge positive we all thought it was going to be, But I think there are positives and negatives to it. But it's interesting when the captain, Bruno Fernandes, says, look, it has been a struggle playing just one game a week.

29:26And that's from the captain. That's from our best player. That's from our player of the year admitting that one game a week has been a struggle. He said, I'm pretty sure that also the players that have played less means it's more difficult to rotate. I think everybody needs to have a chance to play. but obviously when you have a game every week it's more difficult for the managers to make a lot of changes to give us a lot of opportunities so look I think he's talking there about the broader question around rotation but I think in general he's talking about the frustration himself I think when you're Bruno Fernandes you don't want to play on a Saturday and wait till the next Saturday you know you're an elite player some of you think he's an United legend he that means he's an elite player so you expect to be playing midweek not sitting on your ass watching Champions League football.

30:12So I think mentally it probably has to be a consideration in that sense.

30:23There's a comment coming in here. I think this is coming in from Spain. Manchester United are ready to spend£200 million to find a successor for Casemiro. The club has identified five targets. Bruno Guamerez, Sandro Tonali, Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton or Jao Gomez. I don't know whether, I don't think we'll be spending 200 million on one player somehow. I'd be very surprised about that.

30:56Oh, I've seen this a lot. I've seen this a lot today. Tim Sherwood and The Athletic are getting a lot of stick. So there was an article in October last year where The Athletic ran an article about the best and worst deals of the summer transfer window. And they asked the game's deal makers. So they spoke to agents about who they believed was the worst deal of the window. And But Sesco was resoundingly number one. James Trafford was number two. And Wizza, number three. And Sancho, number four. And Bonatta at Chelsea was number five. So to be fair, they weren't wrong on some of them. I mean, Wizza's not done very well.

31:47Sancho's not done very well. And Trafford doesn't play. But Sesco got most votes. But look, I've seen a lot about Sesco and this is what Michael Carrick had to say. It's not a headache with Sesco. I think it's great to be in a position where we've got a choice and to rotate things and change things depending on the game, where we see the strengths in our game on a certain team. I'm absolutely delighted. It's a fantastic headache to have. Big moment again for us, you know, so it will do them the world of good and get them in a good spot. I think, look, if I was Michael Carrick, I would be walking into training every morning with a present for Sesco.

32:25Well, that's not what a present would be. I don't know. You don't want to give him a cake. He's a professional footballer. But Benjamin Sesco is a huge reason why you're talking about giving Michael Carrick the job. When you break it down, the winner against Fulham when we were going to draw in stoppage time, the equaliser against West Ham when we were going to lose in stoppage time, the winner against Everton when we were going to draw, and then yesterday, the winner against Palace when we weren't playing well. So he's given him like four goals, which have basically swung it. I mean, look at that league table.

33:03We're third with 51. Without Sesco, you're definitely taking two points off the Fulham game to 49. You're losing another point against West Ham, which takes us to 48. And obviously Palace, it's definitely three points off without Sesco. And that's not even counting Everton and the Palace game. So, yeah, he has single-handedly put us in a very good position, Sesko. And I think anybody who thought he was a flop or a bad signing, just what he's done in the last month alone makes him a success because he might have scored goals at the start of the season and we could be seventh. but in a way scoring these goals in the last month to put us into third that's the most important thing the goal I would rather he'd scored the goals he scored in the last month than score another eight goals at the start of the season when we were flying because that's what you spend 70 million pounds on and those goals he scored in the what I like about Sesco's goals are is that you can pinpoint the goals and go, well, that won as that game.

34:20That saved as that game. That won as that game. The goals he's scoring, it's not, I don't really, he could have scored a hat trick against bloody Burnley in a 5-0 win and he's got three goals. And then he could have scored another two in a 6-0 win against Wolves and he's got five goals in two games. Those goals are great, but they don't mean as much as what, the brilliance of Sesco in the last month is that every goal, you can pinpoint what it does, wins us that game, saves us that game. And I think that's the importance of Sesko, is that he's actually game-changed it for us in the last month, which means he's got the potential to be a big game player.

35:01And he'll have the reputation to be a big game player as well. So yeah, I mean, look, I don't really get it. Maybe it's naivety, Maybe it's a lack of knowledge. But I don't really get why people were sort of calling Sesko to be a flop. I don't get it. Obviously, didn't know much about him at Leipzig. And he can get better and better and better. I don't know that he'll become Erling Haaland. What I would say is he's more prolific, certainly in the last few weeks, than he ever was at Leipzig. He wasn't actually prolific at Leipzig. I think he was like a one goal every three game striker. So, but then again, I've said it before, Isaac at Sociedad wasn't prolific.

35:43And then he came to Newcastle and became prolific. So, and look at who tried to sign Sesco. So that might be a hint. Maybe Newcastle scouting is very good and they see these strikers that aren't as prolific as they could be. But look, in a Man United team, he has got a lot of strengths. And it surprises me that we don't put more crosses into the box when he's on the pitch because he's massive. I think 45 % of the voters accidentally clicked yes, says Wesley. Yeah, 45 % of you would give Carrick the job. Mad, madness, madness. But there you go. Results drive opinion and respect. Another concern I have about Carrick is he's a yes man.

36:26Yes to the board and the owners, but more worrying for me. Seems to be a yes man to the players, says Andy. There must be a hidden level to Carrick because I think in his interviews and on the touchline, he comes across as very reserved. So there must be hidden depths because the results have been fantastic and the board are clearly thinking about giving him the job. So I don't think it will be totally because he's a puppet. But for me, the new manager bounce was City and Arsenal. What I mean by that is honestly, don't think we've played well since then. Thanks, Michael Carrick. But it's a no, this is Andy Atherton.

37:00Bruno, I've done that one. Amit says sensible transfer would be Bruno out, Palmer or Rogers in. Casemiro out. Anderson in. Agate out. Stiller in. Shaw out. Diamande in. And we'd be lethal, says Amat. Tactics was past Bruno the ball and Insula, says Naveen. And hi, Mark. Imagine if you put Stiller, Anderson, Frimpont. I've done that one, haven't I? Well, there was a comment, actually. Let me just go back to this. I saw Beth tweet this out earlier, and I thought it would definitely be worth bringing into the show. I doubt she was going to bring it into the show later. So let me have a look where it was.

37:43This is what Beth said on Twitter a few hours ago. In the summer for United, who would be your top targets? Mine would be midfield times two, full backs left and right, and then a left winger. So in order of priority, Beth would go midfield two signings, full backs left and right, and then a left winger.

38:05I don't actually have an argument with that. I mean, I think that I might have thought a couple of weeks ago that left wing is more of a priority than the fullbacks. But having watched our last three games, I think the fullbacks are crap. And I say that bluntly because I think it's abysmal to be watching us, the last three games especially. Look, West Ham might get relegated. Everton are brilliant away from home, as we saw, but at home the crap. And Crystal Palace have been dead on their arse for about four months. So there's just no energy down the flanks. I look at people like Evra and Wes Brown and Gary Neville and John O'Shea and Dennis Irwin and all the Valencia, even Ashley Young, even Luke Shaw a few years ago.

39:02Man United fullbacks, they're like wingers. It's up and down. It's up and down. It's up. They're so bloody lazy over the last few games. They've been so lazy. They don't go forward. And when they are forward, they pass it back. Now, maybe that's tactical. Maybe if we had Luke Shaw on the show, he'd say, I want to get forward and put crosses in, but I'm told not to. I don't think that is the case. I very much doubt Michael Carrick, who is, you know, a dyed red and knows everything about how Man United used to play and played in those teams. I very much doubt Michael Carrick saying to his fullbacks, don't push forward and get crosses in the box.

39:34I don't think so. I might be wrong, but I'd be very surprised if Michael Carrick, who played in a team with fullbacks that got forward and put crosses in, suddenly said, don't get forward, don't go forward, don't put crosses in. So our fullbacks are dead. And that's an identity thing. You know, there is a united way and a united way is to put crosses into the box. And when you've got a six foot five striker, you put more crosses into the box. And as I said, in the first 25 minutes against Crystal Palace, we didn't put one cross in the box. So I sort of do agree with Beth. I think left back and right back has become priorities more than a left winger.

40:08We do need a left winger, but people can play there. Kunja can play there. You could put Ahmad there. Mason Mount, when he's fit, could probably play there. It's not ideal, but you can put good players on the left wing who aren't wingers. we haven't got anybody at left back and right back. So I'm starting to think left back and right back might actually be more of a priority than left winger. Obviously, I still think midfield is the number one and two priority. Personally, I'd like it to be one, two and three. I still think we need three midfielders. Casemiro's gone. Agate can't get on the pitch.

40:43And Maynou, I thought there's a brilliant comment from somebody yesterday. And this is why I love doing this because you get somebody who'll drop a comment and you'll go, wow, because you can't think of everything. And they basically said, Mainu, in the last three games, is playing like he knows he'll never get dropped. He's had half a season where it doesn't matter how well he did in training, he wouldn't start. And now he's starting and it doesn't matter how bad he plays, he won't get dropped. And it's sort of like, in a way, it's probably true. Mainu desperately needs competition for places.

41:14He needs to be a first team player who's got competition. For the first half of the season, he was a first team player who wasn't allowed to play. And for the second half of the season, he's a first team player who has got no chance of being dropped. So I think that I would like to see three midfielders brought in because we've got Maynou and no one else next year. So I'd like two for both positions. I also think that Liam makes a great point. We must never forget Dorgou. Dorgou is here. Like Dorgou can play left wing. so if you've got Dorgue who can play left wing and Kunja can play left wing then that makes fullbacks even more of a priority to me 100 % so yeah I sort of do agree with that I'd probably say I want three midfielders two fullbacks and a left winger I'd like a backup striker and I would like a goalkeeper to back up to Le Mans but I mean again you're talking about seven eight players there I think we'll do well to get four or five.

42:16I'm stranded. Simon said, Simran says, I'm stranded in Dubai at the moment. And this channel has really helped bring some sense of normality. Thank you for what you do. Well, if you are, thoughts are with you. There's also the Mark Goldbridge channel. There's loads of content on there if you're bored. And there's probably loads of content on here as well. And that's football. But I hope you're all safe. And it's interesting because I was doing a video this morning with Robbie for Premier League predictions. and he was meant to be going out to Dubai this week and he said he's had to cancel it because he can't get flights out there.

42:45So stay safe, Simran, and anybody else who's in those areas of the world at the moment. Chris Jackson says, this board will only ever hire a yes man. Carrick, lesser of two evils, maybe. Him or another start with another new system and time needed to embed. I think this is a great point as well. Like, I think that whilst I would not give the job to Carrick, I think it's incredible. The only thing I would just say, Obviously, I get why people might want to give it to Carrick because of the results. But is there anything to the 45 % of you that want to give him the job? Why? What is it? What's the reason?

43:26Because it can't be anything other than results. So do you think that these results are sustainable? Do you think that these poor performance wins are going to just carry on forever? Or do you think we're suddenly going to start playing well and we're going to start to see a style of play? Do you think we're going to see a vision and performance? What's that vision and performance you think is going to happen? Because apart from Arsenal, Man City, I don't think we've played that well. So what is it? Why do you want to give him the job? Is it just simply results? I'm not judging. I'm just asking the question.

43:57What is the reason? Because I think probably Beth and Ricky agree with you. I don't know if that's a good thing. I'm joking. But no, is it just results and vibes? Because that's exactly why we gave Oli the job, results and vibes. What is it about Carrick that makes you think this is any different from Oli? Yes, you can argue back and go, well, we can't judge him the same as Oli because he's called Michael Carrick. I know, but he was also Oli's assistant. What is it that you think justifies wasting potentially another three years on a punt? That's my question. Oh, he's an ex-player. What is it?

44:37That's the question because I can't see. I can see the results, but I can't see the performance and the vision at this stage. So for me, it's way too early to jump on that. But there we go. Staffmeister says we've been starved the results for so long that we're grabbing the first chance. We think we've got to continue it, which is fine. At least it's a reason. Maynew says, well, switch it. Do you think we would play any better with this under anyone else? right here right now probably not but in the summer yes I think if we recruit someone like Nagelsmann in the summer we'll be playing better next season than we will be under Carrick I think right here right now you can't knock the results but this is a short-term fix I'm thinking about next season I'm not talking about you're basically giving the job to an interim coach you're giving it to De Matteo you're giving it to Solskjaer you're giving it to an interim and if you don't learn the lessons of interim managers, it's a risk.

45:32Interim managers get players together who work together happily for a few months and then owners go, oh, let's give them the job and then it all falls apart. Not all the time, but a lot of the time. So right here, right now, you probably wouldn't want anyone else to be the manager. It's a great point. You couldn't give... Who else could do a better job than Carrick as an interim at the moment? Maybe Solskjaer. I don't know. But I'm talking about giving the guy the job permanently. No one's knocking what's going on at the moment. The results are fantastic. Absolutely. But what I'm saying is, I've seen this before with interims.

46:10What's the performance and what's the vision? I wouldn't give him the job. So Edgun says, we don't need a goalkeeper. We've got an honour as goalkeeper sub. He's joking. Eric Ice, thank you very much. Welcome to the Members Club. Thank you very much. Sully says, I wouldn't take a risk unless it's Enrique. And the only reason is because I really don't believe we'll appoint anyone better, says M364. Yeah. Well, look, I wanted to come back to that. I think one of the biggest factor here is we can discuss it and agree and disagree and have different reasons, et cetera. But why it probably will be Carrick.

46:54And remember, I said, I think it will be Carrick in January. I said at the end of January, I'm 90 % sure they'll give it to Carrick. That was like four or five weeks ago. I said, I'm 90 % sure they'll give it to Carrick. And the reason for that is we don't decide. He doesn't decide. The board decides. And they definitely want a head coach. They don't want a manager. So whoever we appoint, we know we're pissing in a small pool. we're not pissing in the ocean so it has to be somebody that will abide by Wilcox's rules which will limit who we can get anyway so

47:40look my ideal world is we sack Wilcox Favell becomes the director of football and we give the job to Nagelsmann I think we're cooking I think we're cooking but the reality is we'll keep Wilcox and we'll get a puppet that's what will happen and it won't be the manager's fault it will be the board's fault but we have an opportunity to remove Wilcox give Faval more power and get Nagelsmann to come to Manchester United we have an opportunity to do that he's right in front of us much the same as a few years ago we had the opportunity to give Ranić the director of football job and build something very very special United Rules says Mark just wants a new toy then United stand get more attention when we're losing I mean, I don't know why I'm biting on this one, but I will answer it.

48:28You clearly haven't watched the United stand. I was very late saying Mourinho out. I was very late saying Ten Hag out. And I was very late saying Amrim out. So if we're all about attention from losing, we're not actually the ones that scream manager out and haven't been. Van Gaal was the last manager where I was screaming manager out early. So at least do your research. instead of talking shit because we've not been that channel for about 10 years. So after yesterday, just sat Ricky, says Dairyman. Just sat Ricky. Okay. Golden Devils, Gold Devils FC. Yeah, mate, I'm so excited. It's transfer deadline day, actually.

49:11So check out, if you're not followed Gold Devils FC on Instagram, do give us a follow. Tickets are out today as well. It actually starts two weeks today. So every Monday from two weeks till the end of the season, the Gold Devils will be playing in the Borla League, live on Sky and live on YouTube. Our kit should be coming out this week. We've got some signings to announce today and the draft is next week where we'll be getting some players in from the draft as well. So very excited, very excited about it. Yeah, be a nice little bit of release, It's a bit of midweek football that United can't provide.

49:48Quint says, I love Michael Carey. He brought so much excitement back, just like Oli. He brings the morality up top, but I don't feel he has the tenacity needed during hard times, says Quint. There seems to be a lot of people that question what will happen when we lose. I don't know when we will lose, though. I sort of look at it and go, Newcastle are playing crap. Villa are playing crap. Bournemouth away. I don't know I don't know that I see us losing until at least Chelsea away which is April he will lose at some point because when you know unless we start playing really really well I think the way we've performed in the last few weeks I don't think there's a loss that far away but I don't think I don't see us losing to Newcastle their crap I don't see us losing to Villa at home and I don't think we'd lose to Bournemouth so look you know maybe he might not get there Matic was bought in 2018 Casimiro was then bought in 2022 Four years without a six All in presence of Oli, Carrick, Chiumini, Camavinga Were available, says Tech Empire Thank you very much Okay, well look Appreciate everybody as always Thank you so much for tuning in today We have got the 8 o 'clock show tonight It's Monday night, isn't it?

50:58Yeah, 8 o 'clock tonight But we've also got a match on Wednesday Oh, how it'll be You know what I would say this morning Put a smile on your face and get happy because this week is a glimpse of what we'll get nearly every week next season and what we should have had every week this season. We've actually got, I get really buzzed and excited when we've got a midweek game. It's sad. It's sad that we've been deprived of midweek games so much this season. But when I woke up this morning and I saw that we had a game on Wednesday, I was like, get in, get the fuck in. I was like so excited. And it's literally like it should be coming as a standard.

51:34But yes, we've got a midweek game. The Reckon guy says, we can't know the direction of this team until the summer when we've a confirmed manager and hopefully some signings. So until then, we've just got to stick it. I think this is a great way to end the show. No matter who gets the job, in some ways, the manager is immaterial. Obviously, it's not. It's very, very important. But whoever gets the job, it's almost like if they give it to Carrick or they give it to Nagelsmann, you go, great, I'm happy with that. Right, let's get to work. You can't dwell on it. You know, like we can't, it's not, the manager's not the thing.

52:07The manager's massively important, but it's not the thing. You get the manager and you go, right, rebuild. Whatever happens in the summer with the manager, the rebuild, I think we'd all agree, smash a like or do a thumb in the live chat or put something in the comments. Whatever happens with the manager, it's almost got to be, okay, they've done that. Let's get to work. There ain't no way that this current team is doing anything next year. what it's doing at the moment is like flat out. It's totally focused around Bruno and it's totally focused around certain players. There's loads of holes in that team.

52:42Some of these players are going to leave. We're going to be playing double the amount of games. The build in the summer is massive. You are talking six to 10 players have got to come in. It's massive. So if they think, oh, a manager and then three or four players, we're fucked. I don't care who the manager is, in a sense that whoever the manager is, the rebuild has to be massive. If they think the manager is the story of the summer, God, no. It's get the manager in and let's get the rebuild on. Would Real Madrid appoint Abelhoa at the end of the season? Of course not. So why should we appoint Carrick?

53:18Says Steve. But some people would say, what if Carrick's Pep? I suppose that's the answer to that one. Azam says Newcastle are going to be hard Normally I'd agree But they're not doing very well Let's have to wait and see Thank you everybody this morning Really enjoyed the conversation Really like the fact that Actually it's not a dictatorship It never has been There's some really good opinions on both sides And I like the fact that the poll is 46 % would give Carrick the job 54 % wouldn't give Carrick the job What I would like to do Is if you didn't watch live and you do want to give Carrick the job, please get in the comments because I'd be very interested to read what it is that would give you...

54:01Why? I want to understand why you'd give him the job. Because beyond results, I don't see the vision and I don't see the performance. So why would you go... Why would you take that chance? That's just a genuine question. What is it that you've seen that I haven't seen in this first six weeks other than results? Because Ange did this. And look what happened at Spurs. De Matteo won a Champions League. Look what happened there. Oli won eight games in a row. Look at what happened there. Is it really just results? Or are you seeing something else that we're not seeing? Let us know. Take care. Stay safe.

54:36I'll speak to you on the next one.