Manchester United Banter Mobile

15 Dec 2025 07:39:04
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

14 Dec 2025 20:31:58
Scary to think the club still owe, 1 Billion, hopefully behind the scenes they are getting this sorted. Plenty of great young players coming through and hopefully a new stadium in the pipeline.

14 Dec 2025 21:08:52
Absolute disgrace to still owe £1 billion and I don’t believe the stadium will happen in the next 10 years. Until the Glazers are totally gone and we have no debt I don’t see much progress.

14 Dec 2025 21:46:54
The glazers purchase of our club is the greatest con job, fleecing, daylight robbery, call it what you want! in modern football. There’s no way it would be allowed now, many financial commentators have said so. Just sad that after this long time the club is still severely hamstrung by them and their ownership.

Absolute scum the lot of them. If we didn’t have the name and history we could have gone bust a long time ago. Thankfully that and some clever commercial deal have kept us right, just really angers me and I’m sure many others.

14 Dec 2025 23:07:42
Blackpool,

The club, like most businesses will always have debt, you’re never going to be happy if you think the club will be debt free any time soon. Without the sports washing bank roll it won’t happen. There has never been any suggestion that the club has ever been close to missing a payment on the debt, we can service it pretty easily, so it’s not worth worrying about. Also hearing now we are £1b in debt, we aren’t, we are $1b, so not that much more than we were before, doesn’t make a great story though.

15 Dec 2025 05:58:35
It's scary to think we still owe 1bn on an initial loan of around 550m, after spending nearly 20 years and over 1bn in repayments.

I thought the Glazers were supposed to be savvy investors, but by the looks of it they bought the club with one of those dodgy payday loans.

15 Dec 2025 10:41:38
After United went public the debt was down to £400m. Still high but manageable. The Glazers may be greedy and the LBO should never have been allowed, but the fact that total debt is now >£1bn is as a result of incompetent management since the company went public and not the initial loan. The Glazers main sin was appointing a non-football person to run the club and then failing to rectify the situation when it became clear that, beyond selling the club's image, he had no effing idea what he was doing. If, as a result of the money we've spent on transfers we had been winning trophies every season, most of us would not be complaining about the owners and their greed.

As far as being bad businessmen is concerned, the Glazers have already made £1bn + their dividends having invested virtually nothing. They still own nearly 70% of the club and, if I rumour is correct, they have been buying up land around the stadium and now own maybe 40 acres which will be ripe for development. If the stadium investment takes pace along with the rebuilding of the Trafford Park area they will cash in on a big scale.

43-50 years I used to work in a foundry and engineering business on a part of Trafford Park Road that no longer exists. The development around there since then, including of course the Salford Quays, has been incredible. I could not have imagined going back there and visiting the Lowry to see an art exhibition rather than an industrial wasteland. The Glazers may not know anything about how to run a football club - they now have Ineos and its appointees to do that for them - but as far as investing in property and using debt to their advantage they're no mugs.

15 Dec 2025 13:17:59
As per my previous message the debt is not over £1b but the fact people think that shows they have got what they wanted from the story.

15 Dec 2025 18:31:17
Total debt including monies owed to other clubs for transfers is over £1bn. Bank debt was something over £700m at the end of the first Q.

13 Dec 2025 10:11:51
I was watching a Paul Scholes diatribe about how Ruben Amorim doesn't get Man Utd and its history of entertaining football. Whether or not RA is the man to return us to the glory days remains to be seen, but I disagree with Scholesy. We're on pace to score 65 goals this season. A big improvement. We have the highest xG in the league which suggests it's not the style but the execution. We're also shipping goals so, from a neutral point of view our games have been more entertaining and competitive, even though it's been extremely frustrating for us fans. United at its best in his playing days always conceded chances. We all know, as does Scholes, that we have still not addressed our midfield issues. Amorim has yet to acquire anyone he wants there. It's simply too early to judge. Scholes knows that it took SAF time to succeed fully but he's clearly not prepared to give Amorim the same. What would he prefer? That we continue to chop and change?

I'm not defending Amorim here. He's a young manager who still has a lot to learn. The EPL is a tough league. I just think Scholes the pundit is a very poor shadow of Scholes the player, maybe trying to stay relevant by being controversial. I say give Amorim the midfield he needs. Let's see how the young defenders like Yoro and Heaven mature behind a solid defensive midfield as opposed to one #6 who can no longer play 90 minutes, and who has no one effective to sub for him. Then it will be fair to judge.

13 Dec 2025 13:34:01
I think all the ex United players should just talk a little less about it all starting to get annoying now.
Not one of them has been a good manager but yet every week they comment on something the club doesn't need that type of noise.


Neville is the absolute worst of them all I detest his commentary when he's on.
Only one I respect is Keane because he just says it as it is.

13 Dec 2025 13:34:32
The only thing Scholes is doing right now is damaging his own legacy.

13 Dec 2025 15:42:57
It seems to be the ex Utd players that talk more than any other club.

Amorim can be questioned on things I understand but it ain’t helping the situation.

Funny how he’s criticised every Utd manager but ole….

13 Dec 2025 17:06:25
Have to say most of them in punditry roles are abysmal aswell Neville and caragher are horrendous.
I watched the palace game against us and ally mccoist was brilliant.

13 Dec 2025 19:50:09
Imagine how good we could be with top level wing backs and CM pivot who controlled games and had the high energy he has said is lacking from our team.

If our front 7 players were all action pacey monsters and pressing high up the pitch then we had 3 solid quick centre backs to control the space behind this system can be very effective. But we are several players away from that, and to be honest, RA is already slightly damaged goods so, so we may never see it.

13 Dec 2025 21:15:41
We’ve had two successful managers in our history. Sir Matt and Sir Alex.

The rest have been largely ineffective.

Feels pointless ex United players piling in.

13 Dec 2025 21:35:30
Neither of them hit the ground running either. Same can be said of a lot of managers.

14 Dec 2025 20:39:29
There is nothing wrong with ex players having opinions, we just have to remember that opinions are like butt holes. Everyone has one and most of them stink.

Scholes did himself a great service during his playing career by not opening his mouth and letting his football do the talking. Unfortunately he can't do that now.

He was a genius on the pitch, but he comes across far less intelligent when he talks. Like many people I think he tries to make life fit his opinions. He spoke about his friend and former colleague getting United to to play the United way, while Ole spoke well at times, his football was not reminiscent of the United of old.

Of course Amorim doesn't play football like the United of old. But then no one else is likely to be able to get us playing like that while also being successful. Football moves on and evolves, and you can either evolve with it or go extinct.

The United way should be about playing a front foot offensive style of play. It should be about giving youth a chance, and ideally it should be entertaining. However, all of those should also some with caveats. SAF didn't play offensive football in every minute of every game. Sometimes we were on the back foot and had to dig in, sometimes we had to win ugly. He gave youth a chance when they deserved it, he also brought back a 38 year old Scholes out of retirement rather than play academy players who weren't good enough.

Of course I'd like to see more youth players get chances, but they have to earn them, I don't want LvG tokenism, giving a random youth player a debut every other week to try and gain good faith with the fans and keep them off his back.

We have plenty of young players the manager gives chances to, Yoro, Amad, Sesko, Dorgu, and Heaven are all young players the manager trusts and gives regular chances to. He also gave Mainoo plenty of game time last season when he was fit to prove himself, and to be frank he didn't set the world alight. I like Mainoo and I want him to be successful, but like Ken has said on here recently, if he wasn't an academy player there wouldn't be half the fuss made about him not starting as there is. Sometimes players performances are elevated in their absence. Mainoo was great at times in his breakout season, patchy at best last season, and poor when he's had chances this year. He hasn't grabbed his chances or staked a claim. The majority of his claim to start more games is based on his form two years ago. Rather than complain about his lack of game time he needs to get his head down and prove in training and in the minutes he gets that he should be starting.

15 Dec 2025 00:02:19
Scholes is a fan. Just like the rest of us. He's not saying anything about our footballing style and ethos, that we don't all think ourselves.

12 Dec 2025 19:17:51
With it all in the media at the minute, what’s everyone’s view on the Mainoo situation?

He’s gone from breaking into the first team, scoring important goals including the FA cup final and playing for England in the euros and starting the final to 20 odd minutes here and there.

He hasn’t become a bad or mediocre player over night. To me it seems this is purely down to Amorim and his system.

Mainoo is the best midfielder we’ve produced from the academy for a long time and he’s not getting a sniff. I find this worrying.

12 Dec 2025 20:03:30
I don’t believe RA trusts the youth players that much. Mainoo will leave in January and you can’t blame him. If the boss sees Ugarte as a better option then it’s clear he has no faith in Mainoo.

12 Dec 2025 21:57:09
Mainoo can't play alongside any of our current midfielders. Our current midfield isn't an Amorim midfield. I think Bruno and Casemiro will be gone at the end of the year and the profiles of the 2 in midfield will change.

Mainoo will fit one of those very well. It's the other one that desperately needs sorting. I think if we had got Beleba in the summer. Baleba - Mainoo would be our starting midfield.

12 Dec 2025 22:24:20
I'm not convinced he's got the legs for it. Mainoo was great when he broke through but there's always the additional love because you're an academy player. If he had cost 50, 60 or 70 million, would there be the same continual questions about why he's not in the team? I don't think so.

Has he taken his chance during his limited minutes this season? Also no. If you look at Mason Mount then you have totally different answers and opinions.

13 Dec 2025 07:59:25
Mainoo runs forward with the ball through lines in midfield. It isn’t the style the manager wants when moving the ball is key rather than moving with it. I also think Mainoo is not that good defensively from midfield, better than Bruno, but that’s another discussion. Hence why he is on the bench.

13 Dec 2025 10:53:31
'Not convinced he's got the legs for it', not sure where and when this was first stated but I keep seeing people repeat it. I think its nonsense. He was a stand out player for us but RA simply doesn't fancy him, his first midfield change is usually bringing Ugarte on.

I think he's been treated poorly.

13 Dec 2025 14:24:56
Yh treated poorly in my opinion, you don't break into this current England team in a major tournament without having a lot of useful ability.

Just for context the other two midfielders in Englands first choice team and Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham. The player most likely now to play with them is Elliot Anderson who everyone wants to sign now so that's telling you something.

Lastly if we were playing really well and top of the table this would be a mute point, we have played poorly in a lot of games this season and midfield is a glaring issue in the team. For Mainoo to have less minutes than Ugarte is strange and leads one to assume he is being treated poorly.

Remind me when ETH kept starting Antony instead of Amad and everyone said its because Amad is not that good and not doing enough in training. Sure enough ETH gets sacked and Amad starts and is one of our better players now.

13 Dec 2025 16:20:59
Lots of players play well under one manager and don't under another its not rocket science. Mainoo and ugarte have made same amount of appearances this season with ugarte playing 10mins more per appearance. Neither have registered an assist or shot on target. Neither are 1st choice and are used sparingly. 1 game a week so opportunities are hard to come by. Both played at Grimsby. Casimero and bruno both have goals and assists and are 1st choice. I don't see the problem. If mainoo want an academy player there would be no noise. I don't think he is being treated any worse than anybody else not in the 1st 11. If he can't hack the competition then its a poor look out lmo .

At the moment he can't claim he should be in the 1st 11 ahead of bruno or casimero for that matter. So what's the issue?
I think he is a really good player i'd rate him higher than garnacho personally I think technically he is really good and I think he will go on to have a stellar career and hopefully that's at united. But if he wants to leave indeed if any player wants to leave i think if the club can find a suitable set of circumstances to facilitate that then they should leave.
Finding the suitable set of circumstances is the difficulty. Perhaps a straight loan can be agreed if we can get a replacement in.

11 Dec 2025 22:13:02
Here's my 2026 wish list:

1. Onana will be on the books for just £20m at the end of the season. Hopefully he can be sold and a small profit made. If so, we will also save £10m a year in amortization costs.

2. Vitek, who is doing very well at Bristol City, returns and Bayandir is sold. Not a big salary, so not much saving there. Should be easy to move on.

3. Casemiro stays another year at a reduced salary. He'll be out of contract so the amortization savings will be £15m and maybe a £5m reduction in salary. No one else is going to pay him more than £200k a week.

4. Ugarte. I think he's going to be hard to sell, but probably worth taking a loss to get his £8-9m in amortization and £6m wages off our books.

5. With the end of the current PSR system at the end of the season we should be able to spend around £250m a year going forward and stay within the 70% UEFA spending limits. I've no idea what our accounts are looking like for 2025/6 but spending £100m on a top class midfield in January would probably cost us £17-18m this year. If it can be done without falling afoul of PSR, then it should be done. If that one purchase gets us into Europe it will be more than worth it.

6. We do make it into Europe because between the loss of European mid week games in causing me serious withdrawal symptoms.

7. Amorim - with a decent midfield (which we haven't had since the departures of the like of Scholes, Keane, Carrick etc) - actually proves himself to be a great manager and justifies the patience and faith placed in him by the Ineos team.

8. The Republicans get trounced in the midterms.

9. Gianni In"fawn"tino is awarded the best arse licker cup for most embarrassing moment in sport.

12 Dec 2025 00:03:22
On the last point, at least Blatter tried to pretend FIFA wasn’t corrupt.

12 Dec 2025 10:06:04
3. Casemiro - No way he stays, he's going to Saudi. I believe he already has the offer and is just running his ridiculous contract down.

The fact we are linked to Baleba, Stiller and Wharton who all play on the left of central midfield tells you the club are planning for his exit.

He's been decent since he arrived and at times has look brilliant. We should never have signed him though especially on those wages.

4. Ugarte - Linked to Turkey in Jan, we are so light in midfield i can't see it happening.

Don't be surprised to see both Casemiro and Bruno leave in the summer. I personally think its best for all to part ways. We need to completely overhaul this midfield, we've lost a couple of games and drawn a couple this season by not tracking midfield runners. Improving tactical discipline and brining in higher intensity players will give us more control. in an ideal world you bring in Wharton and Anderson, with those two you have a super high intensity 8 in Anderson and a scanning regista passing type 6 in Wharton. Getting both is highly unlikely though.

12 Dec 2025 10:39:12
Point 3 - I'd let Casemeiro go. Get his wages off the books and invest in a younger, better player who has the legs to last 90 plus minutes 3 times a week.

Additionally, I'd let Maguire leave aswell. High wages, and has started to become injury prone over the past couple of seasons. I've never rated him either. I find him rather ponderous.

12 Dec 2025 12:27:54
I would also let Bruno go.
Square pegs in round holes comes to mind, whilst Amorin is in charge he will never be played further forward.
We should get some money in for him and invest in two top central midfielders in the summer.

12 Dec 2025 14:59:58
Great investing in two midfielders but still not got a striker or wing backs……. Easier just to send RA on his way, because even with the extra players I don’t see him winning much, in game management is diabolical and the stubbornness is utter ridiculous other than that he is nice guy, but always got an excuse, I don’t see that changing.

12 Dec 2025 15:50:39
Amorim, won’t be a great manager.
Shown nothing to indicate he will be.

12 Dec 2025 16:11:24
Je suis unite - get used to it because he's going to be here at least until the end of the season.
By the looks of it we are going to finish a lot higher than we did last season and you never know he may win a cup so the likes of SJR and Wilcox will probably see that as a positive and if that's the case he will be backed again in the summer.

12 Dec 2025 17:02:35
I don't necessarily think bruno should be sold. He has a release clause for 57m for European teams. So i'd rather keep him. If he wants to go to Saudi and they want to pay 100m then its a very different conversation.
He is playing well at the moment generally imo and has improved as the season has gone on. With the right partner we could see better and more from him in that deeper role.


I agree we need 2 signings for that deeper role is love to see Anderson belaba and bruno fighting it out for the 2 starting spots. Bruno can also play higher up of course so as long as he is contributing positively I wouldn't sell him unless its a move he asks for.

12 Dec 2025 21:27:17
Bruno has to go, I know that upsets some people but we've got to turn the page and move forward.

Bruno, Dalot, Casemiro, Harry, Shaw all part of our past. Not our future. I don't believe we will ever be back until these guys are all gone.

13 Dec 2025 06:54:33
I be very surprised Sim he makes the end of the season, even if he does he is gone then without doubt, they took a gamble and it clearly ain’t worked…. nice guy talks a good game but far too stubborn and is very naive, even we are a year in and let’s be honest we look mid table, we still not got a decent striker we got no wing backs no midfield, but even if we magic these all in, I just don’t see RA being good enough, is that all of a sudden going to make his in game management any good, is that going to stop him subbing defenders for defenders or falling out with people who don’t want to be robots in his rigid system….

Be honest if you were a top player would you want to play for RA? The honest answer would have to be NO.

13 Dec 2025 16:27:55
Dodgy i don't disagree with that at all. However bruno is still making a very positive contribution so another year unless we get an offer we can't refuse makes sense. The other 4 you mention i'd be happy see them leave in the summer.

13 Dec 2025 19:56:58
Yeah, bruno is having a bit of a tour de force season. But as a centre mid he is a liability and has cost us points. I also dint like that he says he will never stop playing the risky pass and how he throws young players under the bus a bit.

I feel bruno is a bit of a right of passage for us. Our modern day van nistelrooy. When he left we wondered how we would score goals. But as a team we played better and score more goals all around the team (if I remember correctly) . It is a statement of a new team to remove the star player and build the next dynasty. I don't think we will let him go Tbh. Maybe even extend cassemiro. But I think we will get better more quickly, and I mean back to challenging for the epl, if they all move out.

Cunha and mbueno are ready to be the stars, de ligt can be the captain. Let's get on with it!