481: Lewis-Skelly BID? Hall LATEST! NEW JJ Gabriel DEAL?

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1:32Hello everybody, good morning. Welcome to the United Stands. I'm Mark Goldbridge. This is your latest Manchester United transfer news. As United move for Lewis Skelly, could a bid go there? And how does that impact Lewis Hall? Is it Lewis Skelly or is it Lewis Hall? We will talk about that, of course. Also, new deal for JJ. There's talk about this morning, a little bit of confusion around that actually, but we will talk about that. What's going on with the striker situation, what's going on in the midfield, also what's going on with Lewis Hall. Also, I saw a comment last night, which I think is the comment of the summer from one of you.

2:06I want to delve into that. Fantastic. Talking about Man United's transfer window and how this fan base just falls into the same trap all the time where, you know, you win a preseason game and everything's fine and the Glazers are off the hook. I think there's a large element of truth to that. The standards continue to fall, I suppose. But look, there are positives. And before I get into the Lewis Skelly story, I just want to say as well, I think with JJ yesterday, it was very exciting because he's 15 and everyone talks about him. I just didn't think I'd, I don't think I did really talk about Thwaites enough.

2:39And I just want to say right at the start of the show, just to give it a bit of a profile, everything I've been told about Thwaites sort of came to pass yesterday quite literally I don't spend a lot of time watching youth football because I just I've seen so many players in youth football that don't look like they're going to make it and they do and I've seen so many players in youth football that look like they're going to make it and they don't so it's always about what happens when they mix it with the first team and from that little cameo from Thwaites exactly what I'd been told did happen he is a press resistant player who moves the ball so quickly he's really hard to deal with and I think we saw that in the 10 minutes every time he got the ball, he moves it before a player can get near him.

3:18That's an incredibly good asset to have if he can continue that through his career. Now, I'm not saying Thwaites is going to be a Man United starter and the next Paul Scholes or anything like that. But I do think that amongst the excitement of what happened yesterday, that was a very interesting start for Thwaites. And if we didn't have JJ, we'd all be talking about Thwaites. And I have been talking about Thwaites and you have been talking about Thwaites for a few weeks now. So it was good to see him. I'd like to see him build on it. And I do think he's going to be a player that Michael Carrick really likes because Michael Carrick was that type of player as well, who played the pass, the right pass, pick quickly and was very press resistant because he would move the ball quickly.

3:54So I thought he did very, very well. Okay, let's get into the transfer news. We're going to talk about Lewis Skelly this morning. So lots and lots of stories about Arsenal looking to sell a few players to generate funds. We've seen Trozard go. We know that they're going to try and move Martinelli on. Lewis Skelly is back on that list again. Man United are therefore being linked with Myles Lewis Skelly this morning. He is seen as a viable option for United and one that they will explore if Arsenal are looking to sell at the right price. Look, I can see this being another Andre Santos. If we sign Lewis Skelly, it's not the one we want, but I can see people going, oh, you know, it's a good signing.

4:36It could be a good signing. So I'm not going to sit here and say Lewis Skelly would be the worst signing in the world. But this is sort of what I've been talking about the last 48 hours. There's a lot of talk around Lewis Hall and he wants to join Man United and Man United want him. But I just feel, is this not the story of the summer? Mateus Fernandes wants Man United. Man United want him, but we sign Andre Santos. Man United want Elliot Anderson. They want Cermini, but they sign Tillemans. Not to say that Tillemans and Santos aren't good players, but we run this story of we want this player and we end up with this player and I don't think this is acceptable because if we sign Lewis Skelly what are we doing killing two birds with one stone he can play midfield he can be the third midfielder and he can also be the left back and that to me is cheap like we need a specialist midfielder and a specialist left back and I don't think Lewis Skelly is either of those things I also think that buying a player from Arsenal why has he not made at Arsenal?

5:34Why would Arsenal be willing to sell him? If he's so good, why are Arsenal willing to sell him? Now, you could say the same thing about Santos. Why have Chelsea done it? And he could still be a really good player for us. But also, I think the final thing for me is, why have we become a football club that wants to fund Arsenal signing players we should be signing like Bruno Gimenez, like maybe Vinicius Junior? So I don't want... Sorry, there's somebody in the chat here. Thank you, Gems. You're an absolute legend. Get rid of idiots like that. We're not even talking about Real Madrid. I just think that with regards to Luis Skelly, I don't want to fund Arsenal.

6:14I don't mind funding Newcastle. I think they're on the way down, but I don't want to fund Arsenal. I don't want to take players from Arsenal. and I think he is a good player and I think he could come to United and be a good player but it just screams to me of he can play left back and midfield and we just save money and I'm never going to applaud the club for saving money when they put us into debt and they need to save money you know if Man United do something noble and we need to save money I'd go you know we need to save money but you know it was a very interesting comment from Andy Mitton actually yesterday after the game he was being interviewed And he said that he was talking about Lewis Hall and he was saying that Man United are interested, Lewis Hall is interested, you know, all the stuff we've already heard.

6:59But he said, you know, the difficulty is going to be the fee that Newcastle demand. And we've seen already this summer players that probably would like to come to Manchester United, but Man United just can't pay those prices. Elliot Anderson, Mateus Fernandes. And maybe that'll be the same with Lewis Hall. and you know I don't want to can some people are okay with it but I don't want to go oh it's okay to miss out on Lewis Hall and get Lewis Skelly because he can play two positions um why can't Man United afford Elliot Anderson by the way you know Andy Mitten saying it in an interview and he wasn't you know patting the glazes on the back by any means he was saying you know that there's mixed feelings about that he did acknowledge it but why can't why have we got people on the news now saying Man United can't afford Elliot Anderson, Man United can't afford Mateus Fernandes, Man United can't afford Lewis Hall.

7:48Have we ever been given an explanation for that? Or is it now just part of the Manchester United fan base psyche that some of us resist it and say, hold on a minute, I don't find that acceptable. But there are people in the fan base who just go, well, we can't afford it. And we're all meant to go, oh, that's all. Why can't we afford it? Why can't we afford£116 million? Why can't we afford£85 million? There is an answer. I'm just, I'm throwing it out there. Why is it okay for Man United fans to be so unambitious and lower the standards and actually use it as a way to argue with other United fans?

8:20Well, we can't afford those sort of players. Have you ever thought why we can't afford that? Have you ever thought why Real Madrid, PSG, Arsenal can afford it and Man United can't? Have you ever, have you ever remembered that Man United is meant to be the Real Madrid of England? We are meant to be the PSG of England. We are meant to be the Bayern Munich of England. Why are people talking on national news about Man United can't afford Elliot Anderson, can't afford Matias Fernandes? Why can't we afford it? Why has it become the norm now to just say United can't afford it? Why is it the norm to accept that Man United's transfer budget is that of a mid-table club?

8:56How have the Glazers and Ineos managed to get that into our fan base where some of our fans are so unambitious, they actually sit there and go, but we can't buy these good players because we can't afford it. I think that's disgusting. Do you want to know why we can't afford it? We can afford it. We can afford it. That's the bottom line. We can't afford it because the Glazers say so. But we can actually afford it. We do make the money. We have got the means to make it happen. You look, you speak to Newcastle, you speak to Villa. They would love our situation. if we were owned by the Saudis and they owned Man United they would find ways to spend the money same at Villa they can't do it because their revenues are low FFP fucks them Man United can spend the money we are allowed to spend the money FFP probably allows us to spend about 300 million this summer we don't spend the money because the owners don't want to spend the money so when you hear people going Man United can't afford Elliot Anderson you do need to call it out because we can we just won't.

9:57So we can't afford is not actually correct. We can afford it. If you scrutinise the financials at Man United and the revenue, you can actually find a way to spend£300 million this summer. We don't do it because of our owners. And that's a very different thing. Saying we can't afford it makes us sound like Everton or Newcastle. We can afford it. We just don't want to pay it, which is a very different thing. And it's probably unacceptable that that has entered our fan base. I hear a lot of people saying it on the mainstream. I was talking to a player the other day and I hear a lot of you saying it.

10:35Man United can't afford those wages. Man United can't afford those transfer fees. We can. We just don't want to. And that comes down to the ownership 100%. But back on Lewis Skelly, I just want to run... Actually, I don't want to run... I don't want to run Hall versus Lewis Skelly because I think that's stupid. But would you sign Lewis Skelly? Look, I don't mind the player. I watch a lot of Arsenal because of that football, as I'm sure you do. He is a decent player. He is only 19. But I'm going to die on this hill, I suppose. No Elliot Anderson. No Tonali. No Matez Fernandez. No Trumini as of today.

11:17I can't sit back and go for another inferior signing. and I'm not slagging off Tillemans or Santos or anybody else. You know, I like Kone. I like Tillemans. Santos is looking good. But it ain't Elliot Anderson. It ain't Chimini and it ain't Tonali. So I'm not going to sit here and say it's okay to go for another plan D. If Lewis Hall really is interested in Man United and we really are interested in him, you've got to go and get a player like that. You know, if we've got Lewis Hall next season, it's a very different world to Lewis Skelly. you can play centre-back, sorry, you can play centre-midfield and left-back.

11:51You know, jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none. We actually need specialists. So I, and also, just before we move on, with Lewis Skelly, how much would we actually pay? I mean, Dave Walker says Lewis Skelly's the future. Why is he not Arsenal's future, Dave? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, three years ago, Arsenal were no better than us. I know they're better than us now, but the Arsenal journey has gone from ridicule to champions. so I don't look at Arsenal like Real Madrid and go well they're probably getting rid of Luis Skelly because he's not quite good enough for them why are we taking a player Arsenal don't want why would you give him 50 million as well because that's apparently what they want 50 million pounds of pure profit into a club that we're trying to catch so they can buy the likes of Vinicius Junior and Bruno Gameres and we buy Plan D no I think we've got to act like a big club Lewis Hall is where we need to go if we're serious we don't fund Arsenal for players they don't want we go for Lewis Hall that's my stance on it absolutely few bits to get into this morning we will talk about the striker situation the midfield situation I want to get into that comment from one of you but we'll leave it for the moment because it's a very very good one I want to talk about this very very quickly because I think it's very very important that as a community thanks everyone who's tuning in this morning by the way please do share the video get your comments in as always you may have seen it this morning and I have already replied to it I think it was on UTD Exclusive.

13:18They basically took it was. So Martin Tyler and Neil Barnett on the Joy of Football podcast are stating that JJ Gabriel has committed to a five year deal with the club, which involves a guarantee of a professional contract. Now, this sort of stuff is really dangerous if you don't know what you're talking about. So I think that basically, BB, yeah, OK. So basically I replied and went, look, unfortunately, it's just an offer. PSG, Madrid, et cetera, can all do the same next summer. So no guarantees. To which the top reply is, here he goes once again with bullshit negativity. I mean, this is the problem.

14:01you've got absolute morons in this fan base who know nothing. And when you say something that's true that they don't like, they call it negativity. Right, let me explain it to the simpletons. JJ Gabriel is 15. Martin Tyler is saying that Man United have put an offer on the table of a five-year deal. So that, you know, basically he's got a professional contract at least 20, which is amazing for a 15-year-old, but it happens a lot. so what I replied and said is this is an offer it's illegal for him to sign it you cannot sign your first professional contract or you're 16 so Man United may well have said to JJ there is a contract here for five years and this is the wage and we we never normally do this but here it is we normally only give a two-year contract it is there we want you at the football club I don't dispute that.

14:56I don't know whether it's true or not, but it may well be there. The problem is people go, we've got JJ for five years and we haven't. We haven't because we have no control over a 15 year old when he's 16. He is free to sign wherever he wants. Now, a lot of clubs, a lot of players who are 15 who've been at a club for five years will stay at the club they are. You know, look at Jamal at Barcelona, you know, look at Messi and all these players that have done it. Kyrooney's just signed one, hasn't he? But what people need to understand, and you know, you either educate yourself or you don't, you can call it negativity, but you look like a moron.

15:31When a player is 16 and they sign their first professional contract, it doesn't matter whether you've been at Man United since you were seven or not. There is a window of time where you can sign for anybody and Man United can't do anything about it. So Man United may have an offer on the table for JJ for five years and there may be an indication from him and his agent that he will sign it. But in the summer, PSG could come along and go, we'll give you a 10-year contract and we'll pay you double the wages and he could sign it. That's what intelligent people are saying. That's what I'm saying. So you can call it negativity or not.

16:06It's got nothing to do with I don't like the Glazers. It's got nothing to do with I wouldn't have given Carrick the job. It's got nothing to do with I found our summer pathetic. It's a fact. There is no contract signed by JJ because he can't sign it. It's illegal. There may well be an offer from Man United, but there may well be offers from Real Madrid, PSG, and everybody else next summer. Now, nobody's saying he's going to sign for PSG or Real Madrid. I think there's a very big chance he'll stay at Manchester United. But you have to understand the process. There's people running around this morning saying he's signing a five-year contract.

16:37Well, one, he can't do it till next summer anyway. And two, he can leave if he wants to. So you just need to understand that, and look, it's there to protect young players. because if you didn't have that rule, Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal could sign 14-year-olds on 10-year deals on five grand a week, and they're stuck there till the 26th. They're kids. Their first professional contract is meant to be one of freedom. And that's why when you sign your first professional contract, sometimes players can be part of a youth set up for many years and then they leave. I think we did exactly the same with Obi and Heben, actually.

17:13We took them from Arsenal. Arsenal wanted to keep Heben and we took him. so look I agree with Freddie it would be silly of JJ to leave and there is no indication that he's going to leave at all but we must report it truthfully he hasn't signed a five-year deal because he can't and I'm sure Man United will have a very big offer for him and Man United is the right place for him to be and I'm very very confident that he'll stay at Manchester United but any offer we make could be replicated by PSG, Real Madrid, Barcelona so it's very important that But we see, well, we have to wait till next summer.

17:51We have to wait till next summer, don't we? Emily Derry says the JJ situation is very much like the OB situation at Arsenal. And we got OB from Arsenal in a very similar situation to great fanfare. Yeah. And look, it's not something to worry about because we've got a whole year and we're in control. and if Real Madrid had a 15-year-old called JJ Samuel and we liked him and he was going to sign his first professional contract next summer and we could make an offer to him, I'd still say it's very slim because he's already at Real Madrid with Bruno Fernandes, not Bruno Fernandes, with Bellingham and Mbappe.

18:29I think there is a 95 % chance that he'll be a Man United player for the next few years but you know it's people when you people see five-year deal because i wouldn't expect a lot of you to understand the the the complexities of a of your first professional contract because it's not something we normally talk about but that is the fact what we've just given you there um doesn't make sense to sign lewis skelly for a relatively big fee yet sell amas for six million that was from Sam Brocks thought we were financially smart and we had money for Belaber and Semenyu without Champions League and they wanted to push last season midfield spending to this window where has the money gone says Marlow I think this is a good comment Marlow look I want to just get through a bit more news because there are some interesting points to get through on the show today but let's go through some of the news a little bit first but you know Marlow makes a great point we were willing to spend£70 million on Balaba a year ago and a year later we've only spent that on two midfielders.

19:39So if we had that£70 million a year ago, where's the extra money from being in the Champions League, not spending in January, another summer transfer window? There is surely, and what I'm saying is we haven't bought a striker and a left-back. Like we had already spent 70 on Sesco, 60 on Cunha, 65 on Embermo, and then we offered 70 for Belaba. That was a year ago. So what's that? On the top of my head, 130 Sesco in Cunha, 195 Embermo. We were willing to go to£260 million spend this time last year if we got Belaba. £260 million spend. this summer we've spent about 80 is it about 80 on Tillemans and on it's a low it's a very very low spend and that's in 12 months so last year we were willing to go to 250 and we went to about 190 this year we're at about 80 there's a hell of a lot of spend left or we're not spending on Carrick And look, I would urge everybody to keep those numbers in mind.

20:51They didn't want to keep Ten Hag. They kept him for three months, but they still gave him 300 million in those three months. Amorim got 200 million and was sacked six months later. Carrick is their guy and they've given him 80 million so far. That needs to hit. This is his first summer transfer window. This is what I'm talking about when we're talking about backing a manager. and there are people out there who still defend this football club and I find it incredible how you can defend this board but look, that's a different conversation. Michael Carrick's had£80 million in his first summer transfer window.

21:26De Zerbi's had about£250 already and he's going to have more. God knows what Liverpool are going to do for Iriala and Chelsea are going to do for Alonso but£80 million for Carrick is shit. I have to believe and I do believe there's at least another£120 million of expenditure to come. And that's quite a positive because£120 million would surely get you a really, really, well, surely it would maybe get you Lewis Hall. So we'll have to wait and see. Just on the striker situation, though, I mean, probably what we're expecting. This was in the Manchester Evening News this morning. If Xerxes goes, another forward coming in is probably likely, but it is down the list of priorities at the moment.

22:09United expect Sesco to play a bigger role this season and Embermo and Cunha can both play through the middle. So they've also got options there. Plus, obviously, I'm just adding this in. Remember Rashford? It feels like a risk not to bring someone else in, but even if it happens, it'll be a low-key signing, someone with a bit of experience to support Sesco. I think yesterday's pre-season game and the last few months of last season already give us the answer to the question that we probably don't want. We're not looking at a striker. and it's also as jammy plays says if seska xerxi goes it's if xerxi goes now look i personally don't think pre-season is a is worth anything because if you if if a player plays well in pre-season but then gets injured in the first game of the season and is out for three months or plays shit for three months, what does preseason mean?

23:06It's an indicator, but, you know, it's like... Preseason's like training, isn't it? Preseason's like sparring for a boxer. Oh, he looks good in sparring. He's knocked someone else out. Oh, look at his bag work. It's about the real thing. When we're talking about strikers, I don't think Xerxes looks very good as a striker. I don't. We can have a separate conversation about what Xerxes' position is, But as a striker, I just don't think he looks very good. I think he's a bit of a problem, actually, as a striker. But that's up to him. Why we've not moved him on, it's up to him. I'd be very worried if I was Xerxe because I think if Sesco's fit, Sesco starts.

23:52And if Sesco's not fit, Embermo starts ahead of him. I don't even think Xerxe is the backup striker. I think it's Embermo. And I think Kunja can play there.

24:04we probably do need a striker. I'm not convinced we're signing a striker. I think the striker could be the midfielder of last year. I do believe we'll get a left back and I do believe we'll get a midfielder. And I know there's a lot of people saying, oh, we won't do this, we won't do that. Read what I said a minute ago. Carrick's spend is 80 million. It's about 40 % of what Amrim had last year. 40 % less than half. it's about a third of what ten hog had the summer before the spend on carrick is fucking awful so i do believe we'll sign a left back and another midfielder i don't think we're signing a striker i think a striker is um is a problem um craig brooks says jj can sign his contract on the 6th of october i don't know whether that's true um i don't know whether that's true or not craig And I don't know, it would be useful if you told us where you've read that and how you know that, because everyone's saying it's next summer.

25:05So, yeah, I don't think we'll sign a striker, if I'm being honest. But in relation to the midfielder in the same article, it says that it's likely that United will sign another midfielder. But the reality is there's been no real movement in the last week. United's view is that they could even stop at two signings, although it's unlikely. They are taking stock of the market after signing Santos and Tillemans and by waiting they can see how situations develop elsewhere, notably Chumini at Real Madrid. But this still feels a very difficult deal to do and it's more likely they'll go for another player in the 30 to 50 million Paris range rather than a big name, big money arrival.

25:45It's interesting that that's in the Manchester Evening News this morning because we literally spoke about it on Friday night. The three reasons United have gone quiet on the midfield. One of the reasons was that we were working on a deal no one knows about, which is bullshit because Man United can't keep secrets. Another reason was, is it to do with the Amazon documentary, which again feels a little bit far-fetched? And the third reason was the one that I said is that they're waiting. And there's that word waiting in the Manchester Evening News this morning. I think we are waiting. I think we have deals ready to go.

26:17you know Kone is ready to go the talks are there he wants to come we know the wages we can pay all that we've just got to get in contact with Roma and go here's the fee so Kone could happen next week the week after as long as he doesn't sign for anyone else Kone can sign and also So he did and is part of the France, England, Argentina, Spain quad who aren't back in training for another week and a half. So there is time with Kone that United can wait a little bit. And I do think we are waiting. And if I'm being honest, and this stings a little bit, are we not wrong to wait? Are we not right to wait?

27:05If there was an opportunity to sign, let's say, Kamavinga in a week and a half, or you can sign Kone now, would you not wait a week and a half if you could and then find out if you can get Kamavinga and if you can't sign Kone? And I think that's what United are doing. And I'm just using two players as an example. You could replace those with lots of players, Sander Berg, whoever else, right? There are still options left in the shop. And I feel like United might be waiting to see if an opportunity arises for somebody better. However, the pull of spending low wages and a low transfer fee against a marquee signing with this ownership, I think we will, I agree, I think we will probably sign somebody who's 30 to 50 million pounds on cheaper wages.

27:56But it feels like we are waiting at the moment, but we have to sign a midfielder. There's absolutely nothing I've seen so far that suggests that we don't need a midfielder because I'm not looking at individual performances. you know Santos has looked good we haven't seen Tillemans yet we know that Maynew's good some people think that Mason mounts a solution in the midfield but that's only four players in a season where two of those are new signings one of them is very injury prone and effectively playing out of position you can't just look at a season and go I like that player you also have to look at a season and go what if something happens to that player and that's where United's problem is we're weak in the midfield for numbers and there's a lot of uncertainties there so I absolutely think we will sign a midfielder absolutely I do um what else did I want to talk to you about this morning um I'll come back to those in a moment

28:57uh Manchester United ran back grand checks on Chumini a number of months ago and are very interested in a deal if he becomes available as is their dream target in the midfield yeah but you know what we can't we can't um we can't dwell on stuff like that i i think i think gone are the days where united leak their dream target and you go we're going to sign them i think there was a time where if united leaked their dream target you'd go yeah we're going to sign them but i think we learned i think we've learned that with some menu and anderson and even belaba last summer united will leak to ornstein who their dream target is and not sign them so i don't think dream target means anything anymore.

29:36I think it's about... Look, the Lewis Hall deal. I heard somebody... There's so many fake quotes out there as well. There's so many bullshitters out there. I saw something this morning and I can't find it anywhere, so it can't be true. There was somebody putting a post out saying that Romano says Man United are bidding for Lewis Hall or have put a bid in for Lewis Hall. Well, we clearly haven't. But the update on Lewis Hall is, are we interested? Does he want to join Man United? I mean, to be honest with you, yes or no, we don't know. But the universal update from everybody is that Newcastle will make it very hard.

30:17And those of us who consume football away from Man United as well, because we love it, Newcastle can be bloody arseholes. I mean, Bruno Gimérez to Arsenal has been seven weeks. I was speaking to an Arsenal fan yesterday about Bruno Gamera and they said this has been going on for seven weeks and this is a player that Newcastle know they're going to sell this is a player that Newcastle accept they're going to sell seven weeks of negotiations we've only got four weeks left in the window and they don't want to sell Lewis Hall so you sort of do the maths and you go so Newcastle don't want to sell Lewis Hall and we've only got four weeks to do a deal you can do it I think the last 48 hours of a transfer window is almost like two weeks.

30:59Things start to happen a lot quicker, but it's certainly not going to be here for the start of the season. And we're certainly going to have to pay a lot of money. I mean, look, I think Newcastle journalists and fans would say, if you slap 70 million pounds on the table, you probably get him. If you think you're getting him for 60 or less, you're having a laugh because they don't want to sell. So percentage wise, Lewis Hall to Man United, I'd still say 20 % chance. Very, very low. Very, very low. But unfortunately, got a lot of people getting very excited about it. But, you know, let them do it.

31:33Let me get into some of your comments. And then I want to read you this best comment I've read in a long time, which was from the comment section last night. Dan says, is it all about saving for the stadium or is Carrick on trial for a year to be swapped next year by who they really want? And this is why they're not going to spend. I think it's really important please share the video by the way we've nearly got 10 ,000 watching I think Dan raises a really good point and I think it's really important that you know I think we've got people who think like me who cannot stand the board cannot stand the way the club's been run but desperately want us to do well and can you know almost operate in the amber zone when I see good things I'll say it's good and when I see bad things I'll say it's bad and because of how we're run we see more bad than good as I say Carrick wasn't my choice but I said when we got him I'd back him and I do not want to see him getting sacked in the next 12 months I just can't be arsed with the chaos I want to see us back in the Champions League next summer I want to see us having that consistency I feel we deserve it but it's positive to say what I'm going to say and as I said sometimes I can be positive if I see things that they'd be positive about.

32:45In defense of Carrick, how can you spend£300 million on Ten Hag and then sack him three months later? How can you spend£200 million on Amrim and sack him six months later? And then how can you bring Michael Carrick in and give him£80 million? And this is the long-term manager. It makes no fucking sense. You weren't sure about Ten Hag, but you gave him£300 million. You weren't sure about Amrim, but you gave him£200 million. You are sure about Carrick and you give him£80. It's like having three kids and the one that you don't like, you give him a load of money. The one that you're not in the middle, you give him quite a lot of money.

33:20And the one you really do like, you don't give him anything. It's madness to me. Surely Carrick's the guy that should be getting the 300 million. And the spend on him at the moment is atrocious. Now, there will be people out there going, I'm stop moaning. I mean, to those people, I would say you really are Glazer Rimmers. I'm literally defending the fans, the players and the manager saying it's pathetic how they've backed Carrick this summer and the facts back it up. If you call that negativity, you are boss. Because I do think it's disgusting so far the way that Carrick's been backed. There is still time, but you're talking about another£120 million spend in four weeks just to get him where Amarin was last year.

34:04and they also tried to get Belaber which would have took Amory and Spence to 270 so we're miles off what Carrick should be getting and they've only got four weeks to do it now if you do bring in a Lewis Hall and a top class midfielder you're going to get where you need to be but let's see, let's see Main, I'm removing you from the chat go and find somewhere else there we go did you watch the Odyssey? says Big, I haven't seen the Odyssey it's all about saving for the stadium says Dan we've done that I have no idea how they can think we can stop at two players but how long do we need to take to stop of a situation we could move on a left back or pushing players out says Emily thank you very much well look the reality is I think the reason we're hearing about Lewis Hall a lot at the moment is because the feeling is that he wants to resolve his future and because there is an openness potentially to sign for Man United, Man United may have moved away from a midfielder to go after Lewis Hall.

35:07Now, to me, that's ridiculous. We should be able to do two things at once, but we don't normally do that. Mark, I just want to know that Savage put me in timeout for saying JJ will leave once he turns 16, says she loves Cal Gilt. Well, we shouldn't be putting people into timeout mods, and I'm sure Gems and Savage are not doing that. We shouldn't be putting people in timeout for saying JJ will leave once he turns 16 because there's really not much of a problem with that opinion. but even though I don't like it. Signings Hall won't be the saviour of this window, says Sound Dog. Louis Skelly is a big no at this current moment.

35:40He's a versatile player. We need an expert left-back and an expert DM, not a Swiss army knife. I like that comment, Connie. I feel like we need a right-back a little bit more than left-back. Deleuze frustrates me. Oh, Pablo, well done. Absolutely, you know, the problems we're solving this summer and we're discussing this summer is because we know that's what the club are doing. We are not the complete article with a left back and a midfielder. We still need 100 % a right back. Right back's a massive problem for United. Some people feel we need another centre back. Time will tell. I definitely think we need another striker.

36:14You could argue that maybe we need to start looking at another attacker. But ultimately, we are only going to get a midfielder and a left back for Shaw in the next four weeks. I don't mean Luke Shaw. I mean, like certain. We had money for Belayv... Done that one from Marlowe. Very good comment. The JJ situation, we've done that. Doesn't make sense to sign Lewis Skelly for a relatively... Done that one from Sam. Do you remember the days? Says nobody that matters. Who is a new member as well. Welcome to the members club. Oh God, I tell you what. It's that. I can't promise what Man United are going to do this week.

36:53But I can almost promise what United stand are going to do this week. And it will be a very big week for the United stand and for you this week. We're in the 90 % club. Let's put it that way. We're in the 90 % club. And if it doesn't happen, I'll tell you anyway. But 90%, we're going to announce something big later on this week. So very excited about that. Hopefully United do something as well and make it an amazing week. But yeah, you should get something exciting as a United fan this week. Maybe you'll get more if United get their arse in gear as well. Nobody that matters who is a new member says, Mark, do you remember the days of waiting for a morning paper to confirm transfers?

37:31Do you think social media and the ease of rumours have affected clubs with the fans expecting transfers not in the pipeline? I used to deliver those morning papers. If anybody's read my book, Football According to Mark Goldbridge, there's a section in there's a chapter in there about my paper round between the age of 12 and 16. I was literally the original Fabrizio Romano on my school bus because I'd read all the papers by the time everyone was just getting on the bus. page 312 on teletext but to be honest with you mate I'm not going to sit here and say that that was a better time than now because even in the papers even on teletext there'd still be bollocks stories Man United are about to sign Arsenal star you know transfer news has always been throughout my whole life what it is today there's there's there's credibility and there's bullshit and it always has been that so you know no I'm not going to say that it was better back in the 90s There's a lot of things I think were better.

38:25But transfer news from the day I fell in love with it to today has always been the same. You know, they used to have hotlines that you could call up and they used to charge you a pound a minute. And it would say things like Man United are in secret talks with Real Madrid's best player. And that absolutely used to happen. And obviously we weren't. Emily Derry says we signed Lewis Skelly. what stops Arsenal signing Hall when they decide they want to upgrade, which they might be in the next season. Well, I like that, Emily, because that's exactly what I'm saying. Lewis Skelly over Lewis Hall isn't good.

39:01He's also going to, if we sign him, it covers off two positions and he's not a master of either. But you're right, you're actually funding Arsenal who are already miles ahead of us. It's like going into the pits in a Formula One race and as you go in, Arsenal come in as well. They're a lap ahead and then you say to them, oh, I've heard you've got a problem with your fuel. You use our fuel and then we'll fuel up afterwards. You're letting them go further ahead. I don't want to fund Arsenal. I don't want to fund Man City. It's debatable whether you want to fund Chelsea, but they are behind us. Newcastle, I think, at the end of the day, they're falling apart.

39:42Hunzi, thank you very much. Welcome to the Members Club. Thank you. Right, I'm going to read you this comment because I think this is so good. I think this is so good and we have got a little bit of time in the show. So let me find it for you. This was in our comments section last night from Kelly.

40:00Basically said, this is why I want United to sign players early in the transfer window. This fan base can't be trusted not to overreact in pre-season. Few games and Santos is the next Casemiro and Mount's a fan favourite. it, less pressure on the board now to actually make signings. And I thought, you know what? When I first read it, I was like, is it anti-Santos? Is it anti-Mount? Is it antagonistic to the fan base? And then the second time I read it, I was like, no, this is one of the best comments I've read all summer. It's not anti-Santos. It's not anti-Mount. It's just the way of the world.

40:34So what they're saying is the reason they want Man United to make new signings quick is because when the pre-season hits, a lot of our fan base fall into this optimism and the pressure goes off the club. So Mason Mount has done well. Santos does look good. And suddenly the pressure that was there before pre-season disappears and it's off the board now. And pre-season, as we know, can be a little bit of a pantomime. It's not real. So I thought it's a very, very good comment because essentially what they're saying is, is that the clubs sort of get away with it, don't they? Because pre-season is not real, but people play well in pre-season and people start going, well, he can do a job.

41:18He can do a job. We don't need this. We're all right. You can literally see it online. People are going, well, you know what? It's not as bad as people think. I actually think we might be all right with what we've got. And it's true. I think that this is exactly why I'd love United to get their business done early. One, Carrick gets them on the training ground, but two, we know what we've got so that when the pre-season hype hits, we know what we've got. But we still need to do a lot of business and the pressure has gone off the club a little bit because we've done well in pre-season and it's probably a tactic of United, really.

41:54It's probably why they push their business late into August in the hope that pre-season hype will alleviate the pressure and they'll go, well, we don't need to do much. But I still do think we'll sign a couple of players. I really do. which leads me on to another comment which I had which I sort of I didn't really understand this one but I will bring it in if I can find it

42:17where was it

42:24oh yeah Bruno Fernandes Deleuze and Cunha are anticipated to return to pre-season training next week so that's a big three players obviously Deleuze is going to be our starting right back. So the right back comes back. Bruno and Kunja, very big players for us. So they're going to be back this week for training. So we should see them involved in the PSG game next Sunday, which should be another win for United when you think about the volume of players that PSG will have missing. Rashford, Mainu, Martinez will be the following week because they played a week later, didn't they? Because they had to play all the way till the final weekend of the World Cup.

43:03So, yeah, good news on that. Are you going to apologise to Santos?

43:13You see, I read a comment about this last night, and I can summarise it like this. I suspect there'll be people trying to get retweets this morning by saying things along the lines as, Goldbridge said Santos was an underwhelming signing. Eat that, hater.

43:36But, I'll just say it. It was an underwhelming signing. A£48 million player from Chelsea who's barely played any football is not the same as signing Elliot Anderson or Tonali, is it? It was underwhelming because it wasn't what we were promised. But it's a little bit like Carrick. I didn't want Carrick to get the job. But, you know, the evidence is there. I said, if they give Carrick the job, I'm not going to say Carrick out. I'm going to back him and hope he does well, which I am doing. And when we signed Santos, I gave an honest reaction, but now I hope he does well. The dangerous thing is, is that I hope he does well.

44:17I've said what I said. I thought it was underwhelming compared to what they were trying to do. I hope he does do well, but let's see what these people are saying if he doesn't do well when it matters. Let's see what happens if he plays against Everton in the third game and gets overrun by Garner and Gay. Let's see what happens if he's shitting the Manchester derby. I mean, it's one thing to do well in pre-season. I would not be judging any player until the season starts. But if people want to do that and try and say, I mean, I find it hilarious actually that people are trying to point score on pre-season but look patience is a virtue isn't it we'll wait and see what happens I hope he does do really really well but where I would flip that if I wanted to and I don't is what's the point scoring actually about then because you're not the CEO you're not the director of football if you're telling me that if you're underwhelmed by Man United's summer, you look an idiot now, is that not just being pro the board?

45:20I'd love to have a sit down and have a chat with these people, actually. What is it that they're cheering and chanting about? So points scoring against those of us who say it's been a pathetic transfer window basically means that you're a Glazer fan. What's the angle on this? Apart from jealousy and bitterness to try and undermine somebody, what's your actual angle? Because to defend and cheer and champion this summer transfer window is surely defending and cheering the ownership who have done a hell of a lot wrong. I don't really get the angle on it, really. I absolutely would swap Santos for Tonali or Chumini or Anderson right now if I could.

46:03But he's a Man United player. I hope he does well. I would absolutely swap Tillemans for Elliot Anderson or Chumini right now if I could. But he's a Man United player, so I hope he does well. so I still stand by it's been an underwhelming transfer window the proof will be in the pudding what you do against Atletico Madrid and Rosenberg is not the same as what you do at Anfield and the Etihad in a real game but what I would say about Santos is is what a lot of people have said I think that he does look like he can play the the six he does look like somebody that can get hold of the ball and play a forward pass.

46:41And I don't think Maynou and Tillemans can do that. So at the moment, that is quite a positive. And as I said, I saw a lot of people last night picking up on what I said in the match reaction straight away. The press in both games has been very good. The determination to go and get the ball when the opposition have got the ball reminds me of Amarim's first four months. Carrick wasn't doing this in the last four months. So I think there's a real potential positive there that if we can do what we were trying to do under Amorim and defend well, because what Amorim couldn't do is defend well. We pressed well.

47:18We were averaging two goals a game, but we're also averaging conceding. We drew a lot of games under Amorim that we should have won. Carrick went more defensive and countered, and we won a lot of games by one goal. If he's now going to try and be a little bit more offensive with the press, but we can keep the clean sheets, we'll be way more entertained. So look, that press has been picked up by a lot of people. That was the impressive thing about yesterday. Ray says, this is why I don't take pre-season very seriously because games don't matter winning or how you're playing after August the 26th.

47:51Second, the real thing is when you see, says Ray. Look, and I've said for a long time, Ray, and people who watch the show regularly will know this, I expect Man United to be top two or three by the end of September. I think the start to the season is so good for us. You know, two newly promoted teams in your first two games, it's got to be six points. Everton away, I think you've got to win. Man City at home, it's a derby. I wouldn't expect us to lose. So I think first four games, we could be top of the league. Now look, imagine, imagine what it's going to be like if we're top of the league after four games oh you know in the mud everybody you know we're going to win the league but look i've seen i've seen aston biller top of the league after four games it's it's a long hard season but we have got an opportunity to have a lot of positivity around the team in the first few weeks whether we're there at christmas we'll have to wait and see i think that's where the next four weeks is really important because anybody can be top of the league with an easy start after four games when you're only using 11 players but when you're like into the Christmas period and you've had four months of playing twice a week and you've had a few injuries I think that's where we're weak at the moment I've got no issue with what we're like as a team when everybody's fit in the first few weeks where we are in the middle of the season I think we'll struggle unless everybody stays fit so look the next four weeks are really important and I'll end where I started Carrick's had£80 million Spent on him this summer With four weeks to go Amrim had£200 last year And they also tried to sign Belaber Which would have took it to£270 Ten Hag had£300 the year before The spend on Carrick is abysmal That has to go up Because if we hit the end of the window And we go Carrick had£120 million Amrim had£200 And Ten Hag had£300 what the fuck's going on so they have to go and spend some money in the next four weeks and this is probably why United rarely sign anyone during the pre-season vibes and feel good factor does the minutes we get down to business says Emily Derry we rarely do sign anyone in pre-season you're right there is a period before pre-season where we normally buy people and then there's August can Dorgue play as a left back you know what TK watched last night's show about Dorgue I said enough Dorgue has a bad pre-season game and he's no longer a left winger Dorgou plays brilliant against Man City and Arsenal in two of the hardest games of the season and he's the next Gareth Bale I know what I trust more and I suppose that's what I was just saying pre-season, who gives a shit?

50:36Real games, that's where you are judged so we've got evidence that Dorgou can do it against the best teams in the league but he has a bad game against Atletico Madrid and he's a problem is that not the problem with modern football? people overhype pre-season and ignore reality I haven't been able to watch the friendlies has Santos been playing as a six or a box to box as Godzilla he's been sitting more deeper than Mason Mount and Lacey definitely yeah you know I'd spent 30 million on Shaw which was a record deal for a teenager so Lewis Hall for 65 is probably right if he's supposedly the next Shaw yeah I agree you know it's a long term signing if you do it let's just hope we sell a few more players and then the board might justify a bigger spend says Rhys Dad thank you very much for that.

51:22Okay. Interestingly, this is really interesting, actually. Would you sign Lewis Skelly? 52 % say yes, 48 % say no. I wouldn't say it surprises me. That's democracy, people. For me, why would you sign Lewis Skelly? Why? I'm stunned by that, but I respect it. We should have spent longer on that. Why do over half of you want to sign Lewis Skelly? Very, very quickly Can we get some comments on that? Why would you want to sign Louis Skelly? Why would you want to fund Arsenal? Why would you want to buy a player That Arsenal don't want? Why would you want to buy a player That basically plays left-back and midfield And saves the club money?

52:03Why would you not want a specialist In each of those positions? And I suppose that's the comment to kill it all It's better than nothing Welcome to the new Manchester United Where we actually have fan bases Fans in the fan base who have lowered the standard so much that it's better than nothing. Thank you, everyone. Take care. I'm out of time.

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