Ruben Amorim: we are the worst team in Man United history

13 Jan 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 29 chapters

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In short

Post-mortem of Ruben Amorim’s 14-month Manchester United spell, framed as a slide into “the worst Man United team in history,” with chaos in results, media relations, club culture, and player management.

Guest backgrounds

Jack and Zach (podcast hosts). They discuss Amorim’s career and United’s internal turmoil, referencing pundits like Roy Keane and Gary Neville and events reported in the media.

Key claims

Amorim never got a “new manager bounce”; he publicly said United were “the worst team in Man United history”; he alienated players by humiliating them and “crushing” youth value; British media/punditry intensified pressure; off-pitch cost cutting (Jim Ratcliffe) worsened the atmosphere; the club’s season ended trophyless and with a record-worst league finish (15th).

Notable examples

Ipswich 1-1 draw; Man City away win; Brighton 3-1 loss with a leaked dressing-room TV smash; Rashford dropped for Fulham; Europa League final loss to Tottenham (1-0); end-of-season Kuala Lumpur tour with empty streets; Carabao Cup exit vs League Two Grimsby (lost on pens) and “force with the board” tactics-board meme; United Strand hair challenge.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

The State of Manchester United

1:15 to 2:12

Analyzing the aftermath of Ruben Amorim's appointment at Manchester United.

“In September 2024, the world was a very different place.”

Ruben Amorim's Early Career

2:12 to 4:23

A look into Ruben Amorim's journey from player to manager.

“Obviously Ruben took over straight from him and it was a shit show.”

Amorim's Tactical Breakthrough

4:23 to 6:24

Discussing Ruben's early managerial tactics and successes.

“Are we going to talk about Ruben Amarim's early years?”

Rise at Sporting Lisbon

6:24 to 8:06

Exploring Amorim's significant achievements at Sporting Lisbon.

“I think he's after three games in management, he's just like, I've cracked it.”

United's Turmoil Before Amorim

8:06 to 10:09

Examining the chaotic environment at Manchester United before Amorim's arrival.

“they were pretty desperate at that point for a good coach.”

Amorim's Arrival and Challenges

10:09 to 14:01

Describing the circumstances surrounding Amorim's appointment at Manchester United.

“swinging the sigh that anything in the club that people once held dear.”

Press Challenges and Early Impressions

14:22 to 16:20

Explore the challenges Amorim faced with the press, particularly during his first press conference.

“So naturally, he's speaking in Portuguese.”

First Game and Initial Reactions

16:20 to 17:14

Discuss Amorim's first game, the expectations, and pundits' critiques, including Roy Keane's comments.

“in English, pleases Gary, and his first game is Ipswich Town, who not a top side in the Premier League.”

Media Circus and Celebrity Encounters

17:14 to 18:35

Delve into the media circus surrounding Amorim, including an unexpected encounter with Ed Sheeran.

“You need some grace at the beginning to just like try stuff.”

Early Successes and Ongoing Issues

18:35 to 21:48

Analyze Amorim's early successes on the pitch, juxtaposed with off-pitch controversies and player performances.

“It's got real just like fobbing off someone who's trying to, like you're on holiday at a meal and someone's trying to sell you some like friendship bracelets.”
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Struggles and Deteriorating Performance

21:48 to 24:08

Examine the decline in performance, media scrutiny, and the impact of off-field issues on Amorim's tenure.

“to announce that Ruben Amarim has made the worst start of any Man United boss since 1931 when club secretary Walter Crickmer was forced to take the reins as temporary manager.”

The 'Worst Team' Declaration

24:08 to 26:18

Hear Amorim's shocking admission about the team's performance and the reaction it garnered from fans and media.

“Ruben smashed up a TV while screaming at his players, which I was thinking about this.”

Ruben's Management Style and Player Relations

26:18 to 28:00

Discuss Amorim's management style, including controversial decisions regarding player selections and their implications.

“You know, you know that the third January, third Monday of January, I think that's supposedly the most miserable day of the year.”

Ruben Amorim's Management Style

28:00 to 30:02

Explore the brutal management tactics of Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.

“Let's not get lost in Peter Sutcliffe's eyes.”

The Toxic Environment at United

30:02 to 32:21

Discuss the toxic culture at Manchester United during Amorim's tenure.

“Anyway, Rashford subsequently joins Aston Villa and the£86 million man Anthony is shipped out to Real Betis.”

February Struggles and Player Issues

32:21 to 34:28

Examine the struggles faced by Amorim and the players in February.

“They lose to Tottenham, at which point Amarim tells the press, my job is so hard.”

Europa League Aspirations

34:28 to 36:50

Analyze the team's aspirations in the Europa League amid poor league performance.

“all that, they do put together a bit of a run in the Europa League where they smash Real Sociedad in the last 16 and get into the quarterfinals.”

End of Season Reflections

36:50 to 40:06

Reflect on the disastrous end to the season for Manchester United.

“He's climbing up, yeah, like a scaffolding.”

Man United's Young Stars: A Troubling Trend

43:01 to 44:18

Explore the recurring issues with young talent at Man United.

“falling out with their, like, young stars thing, because it's not like he's the first.”

Garnaccio and the Open Top Bus Tour

44:19 to 45:50

Discuss Garnaccio's attitude and the team's open-top bus tour experience.

“And there's someone in the comments said that Bruno Fernandes looks like the bloke who gives you a nod to tell you you can go down a water slide.”

The Bomb Squad and Ruben Amarin's Decisions

45:51 to 47:19

Learn about the fallout from Amarin’s decisions with the squad.

“Once Amarim and the senior players have left.”

Ruben's Struggles and Poor Performances

47:20 to 48:53

Analyze the struggles faced by Amarin and the team's performance.

“It's like they've got leprosy or something.”

The Grimsby Cup Loss: A Low Point

48:54 to 51:05

Recount the devastating loss to Grimsby in the Carabao Cup.

“they're very good players sadly the new season kicked off with a defeat at home to Arsenal.”

Ruben's Tactics and Player Reactions

51:06 to 52:52

Discuss Ruben's tactical decisions and the responses from players.

“All this dead wood that Ruben had cleared out over the summer that had given United fans all this optimism.”

Ruben Amarin's Departure from Man United

52:53 to 56:01

Examine the circumstances leading to Amarin's departure from the club.

“So I mentioned Andre Anand as man of the match on his first game.”

Ruben Amarine's Departure from Man United

56:01 to 56:40

Discussing the factors leading to Ruben Amarine's departure as head coach.

“yeah and it worked and it worked so naturally the next game against Wolves he went back to three at the back and drew against a team who were on course at the time to be the worst Premier League team ever.”

Statistics Show Amarine's Struggles

56:41 to 57:29

Analyzing the poor statistics of Ruben Amarine's tenure at Man United.

Fans' Reactions and Future Prospects

57:30 to 58:36

Exploring fan reactions to Amarine's departure and the club's future.

“pointing and there's that video of him high-fiving a paparazzi Yeah, he looks over the moon.”

Reflecting on the Worst Team in Man United History

58:37 to 1:00:34

Discussing if this current team is the worst in Man United history and comparing managerial eras.

“Yeah, like you look at the stats like that, there was never any time that they looked good, really.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

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0:45Rúben Amorim:So good, so good, so good. Spring Styles are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. And they're up to 60 % off. Stock up and save on Rag & Bone, Madewell, Vince, All Saints, and more of your favorites. How did I not know Rack has Adidas? Why do we Rack? For the hottest deals. Just so many good brands. Join the Nordiclub to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite Rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you Rack. In September 2024, the world was a very different place. Sleepy Joe was in the White House, the United Strand had a short back and sides, and Ruben Amarim was the most vaunted young coach in Europe.

1:29But 14 months on, United's latest saviour left a familiar mess in his wake. Seething fans, mutinous players and Gary Neville banging on about the club DNA. From naked fans to nightmares in Grimsby, this is the story of the worst Manchester United team in history. Welcome back to The Upshot. I'm Jack. Hello, Zach. Hi Jack, how we doing? Good, excited. Excited for this one, the post-mortem. It's a traditional United post-mortem. We did one after Ten Hag, the Ten Hag era episode. The biannual post-manager post-mortem really. They're getting a bit more frequent. I do recommend the Ten Hag episode if you haven't heard that one, that's a fun couple of years.

2:13Obviously Ruben took over straight from him and it was a shit show. It was a shit show basically from start to finish really. Often when managers come in you get this new manager bounce there's a lot of positivity around the club results will pick up for a while and then slowly decline but that just never even really happened with Ruben it was just it was just miserable from the start and the results were bad from the start yeah no bounce no joy worst Manchester manager in history in his own words he literally said that himself quite early on actually yeah weirdly though like the fans kind of gave him less shit than they did to like Mourinho and Solskjaer and Ten Hag.

2:57It was weird because I don't know if it's just because he said it how it was. He just said very early on, this is the worst Manchester United team in history. And I don't know, you kind of as a fan who's probably endured lots of managers coming in and making excuses about trying to draw the positives from a 1-1 draw with Everton. Just having someone who comes in and just says, we're shit. is refreshing. But then it quickly stops being refreshing when that manager does nothing to stop you from being shit. It becomes quite depressing. Obviously, the other thing that has made this 14-month spell so much fun is the comic farce of the United Strand.

3:40The guy who's not cutting his hair until United win five in a row. Yeah. We tried to get him on, actually. I think he's got too big for us, sadly. So we've got our own wigs. Yeah, so we are a character. For the listeners' benefit, if you can switch to video to see it, I encourage you. We've grown our hair out quite quickly. T-noted strand length. We've got the famous specs on. Yeah, it has been a great sort of sideshow to this whole Reuben and Marie era. It's just the visual representation of Man United's perpetual decline. And for anyone who's not a fan, it's a great sight, really. Yeah, it's been fun.

4:21Should we get into it? Should we kick off back at the start? Are we going to talk about Ruben Amarim's early years? Yeah, I got a bit on his early career pre-United before we get into the main event. So Ruben Amarim's playing career actually only ended in April 2017. Sort of passed me by that he was a player, but he had a decent career. He played nearly 100 games in midfield for Benfica, 14 caps for Portugal, but ended up retiring early with a knee injury. And very quickly went into management. So at 32, he got his first gig at Man United. So he did a week-long internship under Jose Mourinho, which I just love the image of.

5:04Jose Mourinho is definitely the sort of boss who would treat his interns like shit. What's sending him to get some tartan paint? Yeah, it's, oh, Ruben, ring Sir Alex. Ring Sir Alex and ask for a long wait, will you? Can you ask Bobby Charlton for a reach around? He'll know what I mean. yeah he's definitely he's he's making the tease yeah and yeah you're not getting to do much hands-on practical stuff no no a week that's that's work experience yeah a week's work experience is really something that your mom sorts up it's getting travel expenses we'll go with uncle jose for a week he'll show you the ropes um but apparently he he has a good time and it manages to bag him the manager's job at Portuguese fourth tier side Casa Pia for that 2018-19 season.

5:56And already at this point, there are signs that he's got quite an emotional streak. So he loses his first two games in charge and announces that if he loses the third, he will quit on the spot. But then in training that week, he has a brainwave and decides to switch to three at the back, which works. And they win that game and then they go on a six game winning streak and Ruben never looked back after that. Never changed again. He was literally three at the back from then on. Yeah, that was it. I think he's after three games in management, he's just like, I've cracked it. Yeah, it's quite like...

6:31Why is nobody else thinking about it? You know, in football manager, like you just one tactic works and you're like, this is easy. It's 9-0 every time. There's a bit of the, you know, like they say, it's not healthy to get a big gambling win too early on. Otherwise, you're always chasing that again. You think, yeah, I can win. It does work, honestly. Trust me. It's a bit of that. Also, he was playing this fourth tier side and the players that he was working with were part-time. He had a policeman and a plumber on the team and they picked up three of the pack pretty easily, which does make you wonder why Lissandro Martinez and his stuff struggled so much.

7:10Anyway, after that, he moves on to Braga in the Portuguese top flight. does a very short stint as their reserve team manager before being promoted to the first team and actually only stays there for a very short time period as well. So he takes charge at the start of January 2020 and wins 10 out of 13 games for Braga and then leaves for Sporting on the 4th of March. Farks it very quickly. It's pretty much exactly two months. And Sporting actually, they pay 10 million euros to get him, which makes him the third most expensive coach in history. Yeah. um well like because it's a fee a transfer yeah it's like essentially a transfer fee they bought him out of his braga contract um but third most expensive manager in history he only he'd only had like two months in the top flight um so yeah he did have that week of work he did have the week yeah yeah master microsoft excel jose's endorsed him on linkedin so um and to be fair to sporting they were pretty desperate at that point for a good coach.

8:15And you can't blame some of the bigger names in football for turning them down. Because 18 months earlier, we've talked about this story before, 15 masked ultras broke into their training ground and attacked the players with belts and sticks. And they ended up injuring Bastos, who was their top scorer that season, so badly that they ruled him out of the Portuguese Cup final. It's quite a rogue time to turn violent on your top scorer the week before the Cup's final. They can't have been having that much of a bad season. I'm pretty sure they were third in the table, which in Portugal, there's sort of three big clubs traditionally.

8:52At least let Baz play the final before you give him the belt. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And obviously, bad vibes at Sporting after that. Eight players, including Bruno Fernandes, ripped up their contracts. But in-swept Ruben picks up this poison chalice and sort of turns it around, really. brings the good vibes back to sporting and in his first full season in charge wins their first league title in 19 years um ends up doing three or four years there where he wins three consecutive league cups and then wins the league again in the 23-24 season at which point man united come calling yeah so you can see what you man united saw they were like you know look at where sporting lisbon were at yeah fans were hitting the players with sticks and before he joined man united there was talk of him getting the city job um which i reckon if he'd stuck around it i mean obviously pep did end up staying another year another season another season yeah um well alas it didn't pan out like that man united are in a right old state in the autumn of 2024 so eric ten hagg regime has has just turned sour after a few promising signs it all went very wrong covered that in our pod on that era.

10:07Meanwhile, in the background, Jim Ratcliffe is just swinging the sigh that anything in the club that people once held dear. He's just sacked the club historian. Various other cost cuts have followed. Meanwhile, Gary Neville in the media is just slacking the club off constantly. The vibes are terrible. Feels like rock bottom. And, to make matters worse, a fella named Frank Illitt has stopped cutting his hair until Man United win five in a row. here's his post on day one of the challenge where he's i mean he's even shorter than we've we've got ours down to now he's basically shaved his head weirdly has got the goatee from day one yeah so i guess he trims that uh let's let's hear him announcing it day one of not cutting my hair until man united win five games in a row as to villa later today i'm not feeling that confident yeah i'd like to know the origin story of how he started this whole project was it i don't know was it just like a conversation with mates yeah it's genius i would say because it's tempting to be like oh it's actually really hard five in a row but eric tenhag had done it in february that year eight months earlier so it wasn't like unheard of eight months of growth a lot yeah but yeah it's really like top teams do that every season even not not top teams will go on a good run um thing is there are for every united strand there are literally hundreds of people online who are like Not cutting my hair until Ronaldo watches my trick video.

11:38Yeah, yeah. You do need to get pick up on them quite early, I guess. Especially because he lives in Valencia or somewhere like that, where it's hot. So I imagine last summer in particular, because his barnet was pretty substantial by that point, that must have been a tough period for him. Obviously, that becomes the backdrop to the whole era. It's like the music is just Frank's hair. Anyway, despite all of that, all those warning signs, those bad omens, Ruben is keen for the job. And you can understand, I mean, it's still a massive gig. It's Manchester United we're talking about. Yeah, I mean, how could you not want it?

12:12According to his biographer, yes, Ruben Amarim has a biographer. He's a biographer already. Yep. According to his biographer, Ruben was particularly keen to join United because he's a massive fan of Peaky Blinders, which my first thought was Peaky Blinders is set in Birmingham. But apparently a lot of it is filmed in the greater Manchester area. Yeah, I guess that or possibly he was just like, well, it's in England. It's close enough. It's near Birmingham. But yeah, he's one of those Peaky Blinders guys. Apparently he watched three seasons back to back in a few days, just binging. It is good. Yeah.

12:46I don't know if he does the dress up. Yeah, I can picture it. Yeah. I mean, most people who are in football seem to do the Peaky Blinders dress up these days. Yeah. Show's got a lot to answer for. Did you say you saw someone in a cafe? I was in a cafe in my house recently. This bloke came in, like in the Peaky Blinders outfit. And the guy behind the counter was like, oh, Peaky Blinders, you must be a massive fan. And the guy was like, what's Peaky Blinders? Never heard of it. And the guy was like, you're dressed as it. It's a TV show. And he goes, oh, I don't watch TV. I read books. He's like, mate, fuck off.

13:17You've literally copied them. Yeah, that is what someone who dresses like that would say as well. I read books. Yeah, he buys his books by the meter just for his bookshelf. Never opened them. anyway Ruben is keen maybe it's the Peaky Blinders thing I read also that he when he was announced as manager that same day like a few hours later he went and visited his hometown and like went and visited his old school and stuff because I think it must have been a bit of a like look everyone I've made it moment it's quite sweet was that also why he took the sporting job his Peaky Blinders obsession he just loves criminal gangs or because of the ultras yeah yeah he just likes to go and face down some hard dudes.

13:59So he's the man for it. 1st of November, 2024. Ruben Amarim becomes the latest sacrificial lamb at Man United's slaughterhouse. He totters in. Although, even before he left Portugal, he gets a crash course in the horrible British media from none other than Sky Sports hack, Gary Cottrell. So Ruben is basically doing his last press conference as sporting manager in Lisbon. So naturally, he's speaking in Portuguese. when Gary pops up among the throngs of Portuguese journalists and repeatedly demands that Ruben answers questions in English. Here he is. I wondered if you were aware that obviously to win tomorrow night will be brilliant for your current club, but also brilliant for your new club.

14:45You could be a hero even before you get on a plane to Manchester. Has that crossed your mind? In English, please. Sorry, I cannot speak in English now. Why? Sorry. Why? Just leave the guy alone. In Portuguese. So I have to speak Portuguese. They've had about 25 minutes in Portuguese. I know, I know. We will proceed in Portuguese. Next week, you can hear him talking English. Yes. More basic English. It's like a cold shoulder to all your English fans. Sorry. It's like an English tourist bollocking a flustered waiter in the Algarve. when he goes, in English, please. In English, it's in a cold shoulder.

15:28Yeah. Do me a proper fry-up, will you? None of this cod shit. Yeah, it really is welcome to the British press, isn't it? Yeah. I mean, it does end up being quite farcical because Ruben Amaroom can clearly speak English and he's having to say in English, no, I'm not going to speak English. He makes it farcical. But I just, yeah. Does Gary Cottrell have some theory that United have been like, don't speak English, it'll look bad or something? I don't know. I'd have thought it was more on sporting side that they would, you know, they don't want to give the impression that his head's already in Manchester type thing, but I just like you've got your inner Portuguese news conference with, surrounded by all Portuguese journalists that surely like the language before it was set as Portuguese.

16:14He's a bit of a bad hand. Anyway, Ruben comes to Manchester, he starts speaking in English, pleases Gary, and his first game is Ipswich Town, who not a top side in the Premier League. But he gets a one-all draw. There's no shame in that. It was away. It's his first game. Although Roy Keane sees it a bit differently. He basically writes off Ruben Amarim straight away. He says, Do I believe that they have the quality to get them back to the top four? Absolutely not. It's the same old stuff. Predictable and a real lack of quality. Yeah. We've talked about this before, but I think that Roy Keane, Gary Neville, these pundits who have so much airtime are a massive part of the entire problem.

17:00Like, he's the guy's first game in charge and you're already shooting him down. Yeah. I don't know. And they have such an impact on what the fans think. Yeah. Inevitably, like the talking points are what they say. And it just gives him no room to really like experiment or set. You know what I mean? You need some grace at the beginning to just like try stuff. Yeah. Yeah, it's tough. So he's already getting a pretty rough taste of the British media. And there is a further experience of just how vapid the Premier League media circus can be when during his post-match interview, Ed Sheeran rocks up and hugs Jamie Redknapp.

17:36We're watching a clip of it here, which I'll link to. Ed Sheeran's come to join us. We're just chatting to Ruben Amorim, who may not want to talk to an English fan. But from an English point of view, it was almost perfect. I loved it I loved being back at the Brenner League we're really glad to hear from you so it's this classic Super Sunday thing the pundits are all on the pitch and it's just become a thing now that people just gatecrash those interiors and I don't know Ruben Emery's there he's just like he just looks confused and like they're trying to ask me about like the new formation and suddenly Ed Sheeran is popping up yeah as you know Zach I actually quite like the whole like random it's normally Ronaldo or someone, but just like anyone popping up, I think it's quite fun.

18:22But in that instance, it's quite awkward because the presenter is obviously trying to be like, do you mind fucking off? She's like, we're just talking to Ruben here, but thanks so much. Thank you. Thanks. It's got real just like fobbing off someone who's trying to, like you're on holiday at a meal and someone's trying to sell you some like friendship bracelets. Yeah, no, thanks so much. We're just eating. Thanks. Thanks. um Sheeran did apologize I should say he said obs feel a bit of a bell end but life goes on I think Redknapp had said to him come have a chat after the game on tv okay because he didn't know it was a mix-up yeah it is very funny um anyway Ruben Ruben's not loving this baptism of fire with the media he complains this week I spoke more to the media than I did than I did in four years at sporting I just want to work with my players nothing more I don't want to I don't I want to hear shape of you mouthed by Jamie Redknapp.

19:16Surely, like, given how fucking in awe of Peaky Blinders he is, the idea of meeting, like, Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran's the sort of pop star that football managers like. Do you not think he'd be quite excited? Yeah, yeah. He didn't look it. Yeah, he would. He looked baffled. Yeah. Anyway, on the pitch, he does have an all right early run. I wouldn't call it a new manager bounce because they don't even win back-to-back games, but they beat a couple of decent teams, including Man City away, which is probably his finest result of the entire spell as manager. That was a bit of an odd one, like, amid it all.

19:47Yeah, I mean, I think that maybe having that result early on is what got fans onside and made them think that maybe there are some green shoots of recovery going on. Yeah. Quickly trampled, sadly. And in a way, he had quite helpful stuff happening off the pitch at United. Jim Ratcliffe sort of became the supporter's punching bag because Jim Ratcliffe's doing more of his cost cutting. Around this time, he slashes the Disabled Supporters Association budget. Why? I think it saves about 20 grand, which is, you know. It's just, surely you know that that is going to bring bad vibes, really. It's just not a good look.

20:25What's a 20 grand? It's like a day of Marcus Rashford's salary. Yeah, it's less. Yeah, it's less. But anyway, that's going on in the background. And then there's this whole drama with Dan Ashworth. Do you remember this? So Dan Ashworth was this transfer guru. he'd been football director at Newcastle and United had this long saga poaching him they'd spent 3 million quid getting him which is you know that would have sorted the Disabled Supporters Association out for a while and he also had to go on gardening leave for ages it was like a proper saga it was weird it was like a transfer saga I remember joking at the time that there were going to be kids in the playground with their Dan Ashworth briefcase just practicing excel formulas in front of their friends it was a bit like during when city hired that top barrister to defend themselves against all those charges from the fa lord panic and they had they unfurled like a tifo that was called like panic on the streets of london quite a good pun yeah it's just like what are you doing is your barrister selling wigs in the club shop um anyway so that that's all going away going on off the pitch and in a way, Sully's Ruben's positive vibes too.

21:37But what's worse is form starts to dip in the autumn of 2024 quite quickly. They lose four games on the bounce, at which point those fucking clean shirts at Opta pop up to announce that Ruben Amarim has made the worst start of any Man United boss since 1931 when club secretary Walter Crickmer was forced to take the reins as temporary manager. Couldn't be more comic. Walter Crickmer. You don't get people called Walter Crickmer anymore. Yeah, it's quite a like Charles Dickens name, isn't it? It's quite like pointy. Charity. Walter! Yeah. Crickmer! Get in my office! It's quite charity pecksmith. Yeah, he's definitely got like a curled moustache, Walter Crickmer.

22:24Yeah, it's the name of the man who has to go and inform the street urchins that there will be no free Christmas lunch this year. It's actually very fitting with Radcliffe. Yeah, he's got, he's definitely got, He smokes a pipe, doesn't he? What's a Krikmer? He's running some sort of workhouse. Or he's like a bit of a, like, Waylon Smithers figure, isn't he? It's such a good name for him. So Ruben's matched. He's gone beyond the dark days of Krikmer. Krikmer out! Krikmer out, fam! There was no fatter goose for the street children this year. Oh, God. that is low yeah it really was and actually yeah in Ruben's era the Victorian workhouse vibes are alive and well because in the same week that he slumps below Crickmer's win ratio food inspectors visit Old Trafford and they find mice droppings at which point they strip the stadium of its food hygiene rating they downgrade it to a 2 out of 5 and fans then also post videos of mice on the pitch during a match oh wow okay yeah yeah not a good look it's all getting quiet yeah they they've swapped out the um the chicken and penne pasta for just gruel yeah club canteen yeah it's all it's Walter Crickman's DNA

23:48um so this is sort of end of uh end of 2024 that we're at and if Ruben is hoping that the new year will bring about a bit of a change in fortunes for him and United he is sorely disappointed because mid-January 2025, United get hammered 3-1 at home by Brighton. And after the game, it leaks out that in the dressing room, Ruben smashed up a TV while screaming at his players, which I was thinking about this. And at what level does smashing up a TV in the dressing room become acceptable? Because surely, like League 2, you're not getting away with that. The directors come in and you've got to pay for the TV.

24:27Because like Premier League managers smashing up a TV, I think it's seen as like, we had to do this to motivate the players, to get the message across. But like, championship? That's a good question. I think championship, it'd be legit. Championship, I think. Yeah, you're right. Then League One. League One, I think. That was 600 quid. We can't fix that broken uriner with the toilet. Yeah, exactly. Got Rob Club Bingo in here on Tuesday night. Yeah, you're paying for it. I actually think symbolically he should pay for it. at a time when Jim Ratcliffe is fucking... Yeah, the disabled supporters club would have left that TV.

25:06Start by selling the TV. You see it quite a lot in American sport, like NFL. You know, they always have iPads because they're doing loads of tactical changes. Yeah. And quite often you see a player just smash one on the floor in anger. Yeah. Yeah, you're not getting away with that at Creighton Stanley, are you? No, but I think Ruben Amarim is. Well, he did. He did. People kind of liked it, didn't they? It was like passion. Yeah, exactly. That's, yeah. there are actually later reports came out that during that rant in the dressing room after the Brighton game Ruben was actually in tears oh really possibly because he realised he'd have to flog out for a new Sony Bravia I'm not sure in tears what because he's so upset at the performance yeah just yeah at his wits end I think is that what fans and players want to see crying I don't think so yeah I think it's I don't know it doesn't instil a lot of faith that he's sort of got a plan to get you out.

26:00Yeah, exactly. It looks like he's out of ideas. And actually the day after that match, he gives one of his most famous interviews at Man United when he declares, we are the worst team maybe in the history of Man United. Everyone here is underperforming. Wow. So that story actually came out on Blue Monday. You know, you know that the third January, third Monday of January, I think that's supposedly the most miserable day of the year. Because it's like, that was when it came out. Because it's like, obviously it's January and then you're, you haven't been paid yet. Your credit card bill for the Christmas spending has come in.

26:39Yeah. I guess the weather's fucking shit. It's just, it's miserable. Yeah. And that's when he decides to deliver that. Can you imagine Joshua Zerkesy peeling himself out of bed, trudging into training. It's miserable enough as it is. And then picks up a copy of the Manchester Evening News. You're literally your boss. your manager saying we are the worst money like a team in history knock advice I still remember United fans at this point being like I think it's really good that he's talking like this for once we've got someone who's being honest about the problems yeah but you've got if you've just been in tears you've got you can't if you're going to say that you need a solution yeah which do you imagine if like coming into work one of us was just smashing up the TV this is the worst fucking podcast in history fuck off then as for the United Strand he's up to 113 days now this was when we pointed out that he started to look like Peter Sutcliffe the Yorkshire Ripper he's sort of like look at a picture of Peter Sutcliffe it's the sort of sort of square boxy frizzy yeah fuzz frizzy and then you've got the goatee as well yeah Sutcliffe's is more designer I would say yeah thicker yeah Decent beard.

27:56His eyebrows are very sort of almost drawn on as well. Let's not get lost in Peter Sutcliffe's eyes. Yeah. Not the first ones to do that. What are you referring to? Those mental people who like marry serial killers in prison. Send their knickers into him. I'm sending mine to United Strand. To Frank. Anyway, it wasn't just short-term morale that Amarim was ruining at this point. because he also set about salting the earth at Old Trafford by crushing the value of their young players and their homegrown heroes too. So obviously, Cobby-Meno, Garnaccio would later feel Amarim's wrath, but it all started famously with Marcus Rashford.

28:39So Ruben leaves him out of a matchday squad to face Fulham around this time and tells the press that he'd rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach. So he said, I would put out Vital before a player who doesn't give the maximum every day. He really does know how to make someone feel like absolute shit, doesn't he? Like there's a way to be like he's not selectable at the moment that's harsh and then there's going like well beyond that. Yeah, I would rather pick the 63-year-old goalkeeping coach. I feel like he's not that far off being like, and you know, Harry Maguire, his breath fucking stinks.

29:17It's just like you hear so much about modern football management being about like man management and like looking after these sort of pampered egos and looking after the relationships. And Amarim is just, he's got none of that. It's just, just brutal. It publicly just humiliate them. Which again, United fans like, there's definitely an element of like, sort of like people, you know, the people who sort of like love the brutality of Margaret Thatcher because it was sort of like, give me my painful medicine. Do you know what I mean? There's an element of that with United fans that like they do just want someone to come in and be quite severe and matronly about it.

29:55Yeah, I mean, well, that's definitely what they were getting. Because they tried kind with Solskjaer. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now they're potentially going back to it. Anyway, Rashford subsequently joins Aston Villa and the£86 million man Anthony is shipped out to Real Betis. Both of them have quite a big upturn in fortunes after that. But still at this point, United fans aren't really blaming Amarim. I think basically because the club is just so toxic from top to bottom. So around this time, the fans start a new chant, just like the Glazers, Jim Ratcliffe's a cunt. Which didn't take long. Because you remember when he took over, there was just so much positivity.

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30:35He was seen as this revolutionary who was going to bring United back to where they belong. And it took, what, two years? 18 months. Yeah. Yeah, they've turned against him. There's also a story in Pop Bitch around this time about Dave Brailsford, who's Ratcliffe's sort of weirdo sports guru. He brought him with him from Team Sky, the cycling team. He's basically a bit of a yes man for Ratcliffe. But this story comes out that apparently Brailsford would potter around Carrington telling people, I don't need to be here. I live in Monaco. I'm just here for you guys. Fuck. Which, yeah. He's got quite sinister energy of that thing of like, walks into a room and everyone falls silent and he's like, no, I'm just, just carry on.

31:20I'm just watching. Yeah. And then we'll suddenly just start screaming at everyone. Supposedly, I think it was Team Sky when he was the head of the cycling team. He used to lock them on the team bus for bollockings that lasted hours. Yeah. Wasn't there, there was a story when he was at Nice that he was living in a caravan on the training ground. Yeah. As well. He's an intense character. Yeah. It's nice to know he's upgraded to Monaco. Yeah. anyway Amarim rounds off the month by turning 40 I think it might be a bit of respite he's not really getting in the birthday spirit though he tells the media it's not 40 it's 50 after two months at Manchester United I'm 50 he's just hating it yeah he's like openly being like this is shit he's not having a naughty 40 birthday party is he it's weird actually he's so young as well yeah Like Tom Heaton, the third choice goalkeeper, same age.

32:15So it must add to the strangeness of it. Anyway, we are into February at this point and the defeats keep on coming. They lose to Tottenham, at which point Amarim tells the press, my job is so hard. And then reports surface of a familiar problem with overseas recruits to Manchester United. The press say that Ruben's wife is sick of the wind, rain and dark nights in northwest England. To be honest, I think when you move there from Lisbon, you sort of know what you're signing up for. Surely you could have a little Google on the weather conditions. Well, I think it's almost like infamous in southern Europe anyway, being like, you know, in England, it's like dark at 3 p.m.

33:04in the winter. So I think you know to expect it just like we do, but it doesn't stop it. The reality hits. A bit like joining Man United. Yeah, apparently she's just pining for a move back to those sun-dappled cobbles of Lisbon. It can be like 20 degrees in February there. To be fair, that is a rich tradition, as I alluded to. I mean, most famously, Angel Di Maria's wife described it as a shithole, Manchester. And David de Gea's girlfriend said, Manchester looks like the back of a fridge. That's a really good one. I like it. My other favourite was Nolito, the Man City, winger who said that he was like my daughter's turned grey it's like she's been living in a cave she's literally Chernobyl style like we need to get her out of here she's got a scurvy rickets

34:01not since the dark days of Walter Crickmer's regime of Manchester ball base players and rickets yeah living in a cave i mean it's if you're not used to it the english winter can be quite bleak on the pitch united are slipping down the table so they're sort of hovering around 15th 16th there's annoyingly there's not much feeling they're going to go down because the three teams in the relegation zone are proper way off the pace but united are the next worst and despite all that, they do put together a bit of a run in the Europa League where they smash Real Sociedad in the last 16 and get into the quarterfinals.

34:42So, you know, that's more than something to play for. You know, it's a major European trophy. It's a Champions League spot. Like that would be a pretty good result, you would think, if they won that. So what inspiring words would Ruben use to rouse his squad before the quarterfinals? He told the press, people look at this competition as the only competition that can save our season. I don't see it like that nothing can save our season just before you're about to go into battle just even if we do yeah you're still fucking shit I won't respect you no one respects you I don't know why you bother this is the moment I think where the candid tough talk starts tipping into just plain depressing yeah you've got to give them something to be excited and also I still maintain that had they won the Europa League that season it would have been a successful season yeah it's a major trophy yeah I mean Tottenham fans they finished below United they did sack the manager but still I think Tottenham fans probably look back fondly-ish on that season just because they hadn't won a trophy in such a long time maybe I'm wrong it is a very confusing scenario because as you say the final is Man United v Tottenham who occupy the 16th and 17th spots in the table the lowest non-relegation places I mean they are the two shittest teams outside relegation spots.

36:02Even Sean Dyche shawns the pylon against Man United, against Ruben Amarim at this point. He says, I reckon if I went there and played my way, we'd win more games. Just 4-4-2. Because it's, that's the talk throughout this. It's like, stop the three at the back. Yeah. Maybe it's right. I think he probably would win more. Yeah, I think, I mean, it's tried and tested really, isn't it? Yeah. Anyway, so this final comes around. It's branded as Bilbao or Bust. These two teams who can only save their season with a win. They both jet out there and United proceed to lose 1-0 in one of the worst European finals of all time.

36:38So there's nothing to salvage from the season, which must have been a hell of a hangover for the United fan who earlier that day had stripped naked and danced on some scaffolding in a town square in Bilbao. We're looking at a clip of it now. I'll link to it.

36:55Yeah, he's got socks on. He's climbing up, yeah, like a scaffolding. and he's sort of posing that's someone's dad someone filming it just goes that's someone's dad I yeah I feel like at these European finals someone's got to do it yeah I've got absolutely no no issue with it it's great more of that if anything it's better than fucking throwing plastic furniture at some poor cafe owner who's done nothing wrong victimless crime that apart from for his kids yeah apart from for his kids and any other kids to go to school the next day without going around social media so United finished the season 15th without winning a back-to-back league game for the first time in premier league history so it's comfortably their worst season we i've been for a while sort of saying you know i didn't need to go down and that was the season where i actually looked like maybe it would become a reality they this was a properly we've had seasons where they're 10th and where it's all been quite bad but this is next level yeah i yeah i i do love saying this to many United fans that you just can't go down.

37:59It's such an annoying, they do patronizing thing that big club fans say to you. But it's true because they need to wipe the decks clear and have a season where there's zero expectation. The expectation is part of the problem. Needs a reset. Anyway, the relegation doesn't pan out, but it's a fucking shit show. And I think he should have gone there. I think they should have just been like, this clearly doesn't work. To not win back. No United manager has had it that bad where they haven't even had like the brief flickers of positivity yeah not even correct me to make matters worse United have to pay Adidas 10 million pounds Adidas are their kit provider and because Man United have missed out on Champions League football for two seasons they owe a kickback to Adidas that is bleak because obviously like they've they've lost out on a lot of money by not being not qualifying for European competition so not only that but they're also getting fined for it yeah it's painful stuff and at this point United Strand looks like this we're looking at a picture of him it's day 227 he's no longer the Yorkshire Ripper it's really grown out sort of full on microphone yeah sort of is it Bee Gees sort of I would say at this point that anyone with hair that long walking down the street people will be staring you'd notice yeah you're going to be getting looks sadly though at the end of that season there was no break from the hamster wheel for Ruben and the gang because they jet off straight after the end of the season to Kuala Lumpur for a miserable post-season tour of the Far East.

39:32So the whole thing starts off with this 1-0 loss to ASEAN All-Stars. They're then dragged over to Mumbai to promote their official tyre partner. It's just all this bullshit. The tyre partner. If you want, in microcosm, the slight misery and soullessness of modern football, is in that sense. Yeah. Yeah, being a professional footballer is so glamorous until you've been playing twice a week for the entire year and then it finally gets to the end. It's like, oh, it's the holidays. Now you go to Mumbai. 14 hour flight. You've got to go and shake hands with some continental execs. The tour definitely takes its toll on winger Ahmad Diallo.

40:15So he's filmed coming off their team bus and there's hundreds of fans clamouring to get a sight of their players. we've got shirts up to sign getting their phones out for selfies and Ahmad just gets off the bus gives them all the middle finger and just walks off I rate it yeah can you imagine they've been waiting in the rain for like four hours to see them I think it's quite rock and roll to be fair Ahmad Diallo is probably not the one you're waiting for yeah I think did it not transpire that he'd been insulted in some way I think there was a reason maybe it's fair enough then surprisingly uh alejandro garnacho was on this trip despite having a big bust up with amarim after the europa league final so he got subbed off and i think through a bit of a hissy fit and apparently after the game amarim screamed at garnacho in front of the whole squad you better pray you can find a club to sign you oh so it was over there and then yeah yeah but just still decided to bring him to malaysia before you do that do you mind meeting our official time.

41:19He might have just decided that bringing Garnaccio to Malaysia and sticking him on a 15-hour economy flight sat next to Rasmus Hoyland was punishment enough. I'd rather be next to Hoyland than Garnaccio. The world moves fast. Your work day, even faster. Pitching products, drafting reports, analyzing data. Microsoft 365 Copilot is your AI assistant for work. built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft 365 apps you use, helping you quickly write, analyze, create, and summarize so you can cut through clutter and clear a path to your best work. Learn more at Microsoft.com slash M365 Copilot.

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42:38Like wrinkling your toddler into their car seat. That was fun. Coaching your sixth-grader soccer team. Go girls! And carrying all the groceries in one trip. Try Quaker Protein instant oatmeal, granola, and bars. Great taste and a good source of protein. Quaker. Bring out the good. I think now's a good moment to ask about this thing with Man United falling out with their, like, young stars thing, because it's not like he's the first. No. like I mean famously Jadon Sancho would be the most obvious example with Ten Hag but like there's just been ever since Fergie this thing of these young players come through it's exciting and then it just goes fucking sour but I feel like for years United more than any other club will have a young player who comes through and will play well for five games or something and they literally put them on a pedestal like they're going to be the next Ronaldo and Yana Zay was the only one yeah but I feel it feels like basically every year one of them comes three so i don't know if that like sort of goes to the player's head a bit or you're blaming the players no i'm not blaming i'm not blaming the teenager no i'm blaming i'm blaming the the culture yeah i just yeah i don't i don't know the answer but um i think united fans always seem like they they really know and they'll be like yeah these players don't want to play for the club and i just think someone like marcus rashford that is not true yeah like it's possible that he's like got some other stuff on his mind or is falling out with the manager but like you don't know it's just funny because they're always like true United DNA is like all about promoting young players but actually for the last 15 years the DNA has been all about like trashing them yeah over promoting them like you said yeah but yeah Garnaccio I mean Garnaccio is evidently a bit of a bell end so I don't you can't blame it but he was really good for them he was I always think he was a bit overrated there was a spell where after Bruno he was their best player early Ruben yeah yeah but anyway there's actually another good clip of Garnaccio on that tour doing some kind of meet and greet and he looks bored out of his mind he's just yawning and yeah he looks like he'd rather be anywhere else yeah they all look look pretty bored yeah I saw really I just saw Bruno Fernandes in the background there and it's just reminded me that guy Rufus Rice his podcast they I saw a clip from it on Instagram they were talking about what Premier League footballers like look like their real job is.

45:08And there's someone in the comments said that Bruno Fernandes looks like the bloke who gives you a nod to tell you you can go down a water slide.

45:21That's very good. The clip was really good. I can't remember. They were saying some really funny ones in there. Mainly that Florian Verts look like a crackhead. But there were a few other really well-observed ones. Yeah. What does Garnaccio look like? he looks like Garnacho works in Game Station yeah yeah they actually went for similar they said Garnacho looks like the guy who repairs your vape it's the same Game Station similar font yeah anyway as the misery tour rolled on the players they got made to do this open top bus tour through Kuala Lumpur which it's got to be the first time that a team has finished 15th and trophy-less and done an open top bus tour there's a good clip of it so they're going through basically empty streets blasting out Glory Glory Man United and the bloke filming the video is just laughing there's no crowd there's nobody there there's no one there I mean I guess there would be sections where there were more fans it's an empty street he's the guy the best part of that video is the guy just pissing himself yeah that's amazing yeah god that must that must have felt really shit why are they making them do open top bus parades if no one's even there yeah um anyway they do eventually get home at which point ruben wastes no time with falling out with even more stars generally just tanking his squad's value so rashford anthony jayden sancho returned from their respective loan spells and amory puts them along with garnacho and tyron molassia in his so-called bomb squad so the five of them get segregated from the rest of the squad they're instructed to report for training only after 5 p.m.

47:09Once Amarim and the senior players have left. So you're not allowed to see them. Yeah. Not even allowed to. I wasn't noticing that they're not even allowed to pass them in the training complex or anything. Mental. It's like they've got leprosy or something. Yeah. Although quite a nice life. No nothing till five and then probably just come in and use the gym or something. Yeah. I suppose. Yeah. But I don't know it's really just like once you fall out with him you are dead yeah you're just yeah you're either in his good books or that's it um you gotta feel especially bad for tyro malasia who was the only member of the bomb squad who didn't manage to get a summer move he's still there still there yeah yeah um brutal yeah still though out with the old and in with the new and united give ruben 216 million to spend on new players, including Mateus Cunha and Brian Mbwemo.

48:04Who's been good? He has, yeah. Sesko. Sesko less so. Bit of a mixed bag. That's a lot of money. Yeah, but you've got to back him, haven't you? Yeah. I mean, they sort of signed three players in the same position though. Like Sesko, I know that Serksy and Hoyland didn't do well last season, but just bought, yeah. one of my mates who's a big United fan in a WhatsApp group said we've now got the best front three in the league it's like why do you guys always do this this hubris yeah but like I remember thinking that at the time the way they were hyping up these players it's like Kunio and Buonamo are good but like they were playing for Wolves and Brentford it's not it's not like signing someone from like Barcelona or yeah you could see there was some optimism they're very good players sadly the new season kicked off with a defeat at home to Arsenal.

48:59So it felt like more of the same. That left Ruben with a Premier League win percentage of 24.1%, which is the exact same percentage as Neil Warnock, who got relegated twice from the Prem. That is low. That is terrible. So actually, his Premier League form is worse than his overall form. But still, there was room for United to fall further. And on the 27th of August, they reached possibly their lowest ebb since Alex Ferguson left. Possibly their lowest ebb ever when they crashed out of the Carabao Cup to League Two Grimsby. They were 2-0 down. They came back to 2-2, showed a bit of fight, and then they lost on pens.

49:37I can believe that this happened on the 27th of August because I was watching back some clips of it the other day. Do you remember it was just in driving rain? It looked absolutely miserable. It looked like a cold January day. It was 27th of August. I think that was when Ruben Amaroop's wife decided this life ain't for her. Is this technically summer? But it certainly wasn't an Indian summer for Ruben. So yeah, they lost that game on pens. It was a bit of a shit show from poor old Andre Inanna, who that was the final straw for him. He was shipped out to Trav's Onspor after that, where he won man of the match on debut.

50:11Real kick in the teeth. Although probably the lowest point of the whole thing was the image of Ruben Amarim fiddling around with his magnetic tactics board in the drizzle. We're looking at a picture of it, which I'll link to. This is kind of the iconic pick, isn't it? It's iconic, yeah. It drew comparisons to Steve McLaren with his umbrella. Yeah. They called this the force with the board. It's difficult to come back from that really, isn't it? Yeah. I mean, it's Grimsby. Don't be seen panicking about tactics. There are some really good memes of it though where they swapped out the tactics board and he's playing Operation Battleships.

50:45I think there's one where he's doing United Strand's hair as well, isn't there? He's like cutting it or something. It's proper lowest ebb stuff now. It's like not even Walter Crickman is getting knocked out of the League Cup. yeah yeah by Grimsby so we've reached rock bottom pretty much at this point I think they should have just sacked him there and then and to be fair Amarim's not exactly doing himself any favours in the press he gives an interview saying sometimes I hate my players and sometimes I love my players sometimes I want to quit and I don't love my players I sometimes hate my kids right what are his kids coming into well I've is he just trying to justify it I've slightly taken it out of context where he basically says like yeah I'll sometimes I'll say I hate my players and something you're going to hear both from me like that's the kind of guy I am so like you know some days are good some days are bad but it's just like don't turn on your kids as well don't bring them into this um back in the league he's replaced Andre Onana with Altai Bayandir who also struggles in goal just nothing nothing seems to go right they do then get Serge Le Mans who's who's actually been pretty good right yeah yeah one of their better players um but at the point where Bayandir hasn't worked out reports leak out that senior players have taken Ruben to one side and begged him to pick 39 year old third choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton now Tom Heaton's had a long and kind of interesting career as mainly as a sort of replacement goalkeeper but at this point he hasn't played since letting in two goals for Man United's under 21s against Barnsley and that was a year before so it's not I mean he's just mascot really he's doing the Scott Carson role at Man City yeah at least Carson's getting some medals but yeah it is that role you're almost a coach I guess yeah you can see why the players might think that's probably a safer pair of hands although Ruben it's safe to say isn't keen on the idea so he's asked about it in a press conference and his face just immediately crumples into a look of shock when when he's asked it and he rules out that idea so no no role on the pitch for Tom Heaton but yeah meanwhile all of these guys who hadn't worked out Old Trafford.

52:48All this dead wood that Ruben had cleared out over the summer that had given United fans all this optimism. These guys are thriving at other clubs. So I mentioned Andre Anand as man of the match on his first game. Rasmus Hoyland and Scott McTominay are at Napoli. McTominay's just been named player of the season at Napoli. They've won the league. Hoyland scores on his debut, I think. He's done pretty well there, I think. And then Marcus Rashford starts banging them into Barcelona. Do you remember? but he scores a screamer against Newcastle. It's just all of these players who left, it was like they're just not up to the Manchester United standard.

53:23Yeah. And then, like Scott McTominay, now they'd buy him back for like 100 million now. And Rashford's clearly good enough and loves United. It's a tragedy. And as for Ruben, in September, he achieves another accolade. It's announced that he has the worst record of any non-relegated team in the Premier League since he joined. So it's, yeah. I mean, the Optus stats, I have to say, really, really do add something to the whole saga. To be fair, they do then experience a bit of an uptick in form. This is autumn 2025, so only a few months ago. Ruben is sticking to his 343 rigidly, despite everyone saying, look, have you just considered tweaking this tactic?

54:06It has not worked. Surely a year's time is enough to say, okay, let's just try it. Also, he's now had like, what, two transfer windows to get in players. Yeah, to make the system work. And also, it's pretty rare that anyone makes three at the back work in the Premier League, right? That's why everyone's so allergic to the idea from the start. But he is resolute. He announces that not even the Pope could change his approach to the game. Which is quite a serious promise. And to be fair, it does actually look like it might pay off at that point. Because for the first time since Amarim took over, United win three in a row.

54:42it's actually the first time they've won back to back but he actually does three on the bounce in October 2025 they beat Sunderland Liverpool and Brighton good teams yeah yeah yeah and that's all looking quite good but then everyone starts saying fuck United Strand yeah yeah there was there was talk then about who's he gonna get to cut his hair when when it happens because we were saying would it be it would be really fun if Amarim cut his hair yeah which I think he's not up for that sort of joke I don't think he would have taken well to it but yeah he was genuinely talking people were saying like oh what's he going to do next he's got to cut his hair his beautiful locks but fortunately one thing you can rely on is man united to deliver and in their next game they drew with sean dyche's forest so the street was over and frank illett was back do you think sean dyche introduced 442 to ruben amarin after the game have you seen this yeah well funny you mentioned that because come december ruben finally caved boxing day Newcastle not Ruben Amarine promised not even the Pope could make me change my mind but it turns out Nick Pope could actually not sure if Nick Pope was playing but Lewis Miley could and he switched to a back four and it worked 1-0 that's a good win was there ever a justification for it no did they have injuries I don't know yeah no but it was quite sudden yeah and it worked and it worked so naturally the next game against Wolves he went back to three at the back and drew against a team who were on course at the time to be the worst Premier League team ever.

56:11They only had two points at that point. So yeah, I mean, anyway, three at the back doesn't work against Wolves, but he sticks with it against Leeds, who they draw with. Meanwhile, he's sounding off in the press. He starts making announcements like, you know, I would only change my formation for good if the board backed me with transfer funds and I've realised that's not going to happen, which is a bit rich when you've had 200 million in the summer. And then he says, I'm here for the next 18 months that's when my contract runs up and then I'm out of here basically that's the gist of what he's saying so it wasn't a huge surprise when on Monday the 5th of January Man United announced that Ruben Amarine had departed as head coach he left with the worst win ratio of any Man United manager ever 32 % 32 % what was Walter Crickmer?

57:00Walter Crickmer managed 39 % even he even Walter and he fed the urchins at Christmas every year meanwhile Ruben's gone 32 he's also got the lowest clean sheet ratio of any United manager in the Premier League era 15 % 15 % is so low that is terrible yeah does happen when you only have three defenders safe to say that Ruben's not that bothered despite all that this we're looking at a picture of him when he left he basically he was pictured for the first time after the setting leaving his house in Manchester with his wife he's got sunglasses on huge grin he looks like the fonts he's like pointing and there's that video of him high-fiving a paparazzi Yeah, he looks over the moon.

57:36Yeah. Also, I think, like, is it snowy or just frosty? He's dreaming of, he's going to be back on the streets of Lisbon any second, isn't he? Yeah, and to be fair, he's trousered a 10 million payout, which is not bad. Yeah. Like, you're set for life. That means the total cost of hiring and firing Ruben Amarim was nearly 27 million pounds. God, the disabled support is... association could be off in a yacht around the Mediterranean right now. Yeah, the club historian, Cliff Thorburn, could be re-hired. I'm pretty sure the Disabled Supporters Association figure that they cut was like 30k or something.

58:15Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's mental. Yeah, and he's moved on. It's become a bit of a tradition that these United managers leave smiling. Yeah. Which is, it does just have something to love. Just a relief, yeah. Weirdly though, I still feel like he left with some goodwill from United fans. maybe that's credit to them I suppose for sort of sticking by the manager in a way because you're like you look at Thomas Frank at Tottenham and they're getting booed off the pitch every week he's only been there for like what's less than half a year yeah I mean maybe United fans listening can let us know but it seems like the sense is he isn't the problem it's the club and he gave it a good go he tried to do it differently so yeah it's odd but you've got to pick your villain each time was he the worst Man United manager ever?

59:02I mean, yeah. Yeah, like you look at the stats like that, there was never any time that they looked good, really. Europa League run? Yeah, maybe, I suppose. I don't know who they played on that run, but I don't think they were, yeah. I don't know if they were particularly impressive, really. As a, I say neutral, someone with quite a lot of schadenfreude towards Man United, was this the most enjoyable managerial stint in the post-Vergia era? the end of Ted Haag also was pretty enjoyable this is the thing it keeps on every time you think it's hit rock bottom they get their pickaxe out and dig even deeper the sort of Mourinho van Gaal ones ended I didn't find it that fun it was obviously I was enjoying the Man Utd falling down the league but it wasn't as fun whereas the Oli and a Solskjaer one the Oli's at the wheel era where fans was taunting them by singing it was very funny but I liked him and I think they should have kept him yeah Ted Haag was funny but I think Ruben Amaroum it was like every time he opens his mouth it's going to be funny yeah yeah yeah it's just we are the worst team ever yeah and they were yeah it's great alright well bring on much more yeah join us in about six to nine months when we'll bring you the story of Darren Fletcher's ugly stint I'm looking forward to our episode in 2074 when Kai Rooney's just stepped down the United Strand is there his hair's down to the floor when Kobe Maynou Jr.

1:00:29is in line for the role. Yeah. Yeah. It's been a while. Right. When do you think Frank Illitt is going to cut his hair? What day? United Strand, that is. I think December 2026. You think this year? Yeah. I think it's going to be two, three years. Do you think? Yeah. But who knows? I think they could get some kind of new manager. I don't know. To be fair, they'll be in the championship in December 2026. So it is more plausible. Will they be playing in the Papa John's trophy. So it's going to be easier. All right. I think that's all there is to say on it. Apologies to any United fans, but hopefully you could enjoy the humorous side of it all.

1:01:12We will see you next time. If you enjoyed this and you still can't get enough and you want to hear the rundown of all the funny goings on around the appointment of the caretaker manager at Man United, will it be Solskjaer or Darren Fletcher, plus all the other funnier stories in sport this week, then you can listen to extra shot on thursday by joining the upshots patreon go to patreon.com forward slash upshot towers pretty excited for that because we've got a story about some people injecting their penis for doping purposes we've got a tale of neymar's latest bond villain move it's basically it's all the it's all the it's all the best stories from this week yeah so if you fancy that join our patreon uh and otherwise we'll see you next time thanks a lot Cheers

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From the publisher

In September 2024 the world was a very different place. 

Sleepy Joe was in the White House, The United Strand had a short back and sides, and Ruben Amorim was the most vaunted young coach in Europe.

But 14 months on, United’s latest saviour left a familiar mess in his wake: seething fans, mutinous players and Gary Neville harping on about the Club’s DNA.

From naked fans to nightmares in Grimsby, this is the story of the Worst Manchester United team in history…

LINKS FROM THE POD:

Day one for United Strand: https://www.instagram.com/p/DAx2tTEISrB/

Gary Cotterill demands Ruben speaks English: https://x.com/Footballtweet/status/1853503399402393680

Ed Sheeran gatecrashes his interview: https://x.com/AshMeppers/status/1860759173715071084

Naked fan in Bilbao: https://x.com/turkishphysio/status/1925514123195957743

Sad open top bus parade: https://www.tiktok.com/@livescore/video/7509524698829425942?lang=en 

Ruben dancing his way out: https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1q4s4oq/amorim_daps_up_a_paparazzo_after_leaving_his/
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