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17 Oct 2026 23:47:46
According to sky Rashford has been playing with an injury. Might explain his ineffectiveness. There were lots of positive comments pre season from the camp about him.
But if it is true then it's stupid to play him. Move Cuenha back to that side Mbwuemo as the number 9 and play Lacey or Amad on the right
17 Oct 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Liverpool v Manchester City - A Quick Liverpool Perspective
17 Oct 2026 07:01:17
I keep seeing posts saying it doesn't matter who the manager is or we can't keep sacking managers, should just leave Carrick in place, its not the Manager its above him, we must ignore everything and just giving someone years will work.
It always matters who the manager is. They represent the image of Manchester United, they need to be a leader not a follower. They should be getting a tune out if what they have. We have to get away from the idea we appoint someone and it doesn't matter what track record they have, that the only answer is more and more time.
The club made a brave decision with Amorim then bottled it. The problem is emotion, they let emotion form part of the decision to appoint Carrick permanently, they didn't believe in him because it was only a 2 year contract but now he is hard for them to shift because he is Michael Carrick, the ex player.
We need a real leader, someone who impresses with their strength of belief, vision and direction, who we see can make the team play again. The manager or coach matters, but the club keep getting decisions wrong. 26 years was a generational period not to win the league, now it will be at least 14. The club has to get a grip now, or as before success skips a generation. Where i once had to talk about Charlton, Best Law, in reverence as ex players now we make them manager. What a basket case and laughing stock it has made us.
The manager matters, keeping the wrong one in place on the false premise time will make him the right one is frankly misguided nonsense.
17 Oct 2026 10:30:25
Good post RM.
Reading your other posts in regards to the reintegration of Rashford being detrimental, looks true. I do remember both of us discussing Rashford back in August. I distinctly remember you talking about management 101 as well. The club needs a manager who understands that leadership requires task, team and the individual, failing to support an individual or build the team will eventually ruin task.
Carrick needs to gain more experience at another club, where he is under less pressure to perform. It would have been much easier if he had walked into a fine tuned machine.
I recently watched a video interview with Toto Wolf, where he said you can't blame an individual for poor performance, it is the process that has failed. I think that perfectly sums up Utd.
Come 16.00 tomorrow, it might spell the end of Carricks reign. United are stuck in a cycle of eat, sleep, sack, repeat.
17 Oct 2026 09:30:52
Manchester United under its current executives have done away with a "manager" and appointed a head coach instead. They've tried to move away from a system that's failed ever since SAF and Gill left at the same time, the club's first disastrous mistake.
The facts speak for themselves. We've had Moyes, LVG, Mourinho, Ole, Rangnick, ETH, Amorim and Carrick plus 3 other interims in 13 years. None of them have worked. Why? Because the club is rotten at its core. So, while you are of course right - the manager matters - it can also be true to say given the way our club is run, with its fiscal constraints, and vital cash flows being used for interest and land acquisitions, it's highly likely even the ideal manager will fail to give us what we think we should have, a title wining team.
I think there's a reason we didn't get Pep, Klopp, Ancelotti etc. The owners of this club are seen by the footballing world for what they are, people using the club primarily for money making by means of financial manipulation, rather than to win titles. If there was no relegation and no European riches this crowd wouldn't care if we were permanent bottom feeders if it was in their financial interests.
Best, Law and Charlton? Each of them would be £100m+ players today and we couldn't afford them and they wouldn't want to come to us. So, fire Carrick, pay the compensation (another £100m spent in the last dozen years) and try to find someone who will paper over the cracks. They may get us playing better. They may even get us challenging for a European place, but odds are they will not be able to get us where we think we ought to be. The club's owners are a cancer. Don't expect a sick man to run as hard or as long as his healthy opponents.
17 Oct 2026 10:59:14
One more thing related to the manager v head coach situation. Maybe the club wants to persevere with a head coach and that's a non-starter for many top managers. If we're going to go back to a dominant manager model then the club will then have to think about both Carrick and Wilcox going. What's really difficult to know is to what extent Wilcox's ambitions and wants were themselves constrained by the owners and the club's limited funds. He may be as frustrated as the rest of us.
All we can say is that what looked like the fairly straightforward task of replacing Casemiro, finding a secondary midfielder and then stiffening the defense and a back up CF, has been botched badly, although maybe Baleba will improve things.
17 Oct 2026 12:01:15
Mad Hatter
Thanks. In terms of walking into a finely tuned machine, that's what Moyes did.
Part of the problem is the structure has changed at the same time as a manager. They take the coaching staff with them. We lurch.
On here about 13 years ago, I think when SAF was about to retire I posted about the Barca model, having a head coach, a way of playing defined. In fact I recall writing a post on here during LVG reign about how LvG actually wrote down Cruyffs whole method for Barca, when before it was just an idea in Cruffs head. I am open to a Head Coach structure, but we have no definition of what United is, what football we play. We lurch around and have players from different coaches.
Often people talk of Ralf Rangnick yet LvG was a missed opportunity not as Manager but perhaps as DoF. Rangnick was another who could have given us an identity, yet the club didn't like what he said, it didn't suit an ownership having to spend in a different way.
Now we put Wilcox in that role, said to be firmly behind Carrick. Yet what experience does Wilcox have, what is his experience judging a coach or manager at this level? He is rooted in what he knows. We should have an experienced visionary DoF yet have Wilcox. That visionary should lead to a structure behind the Coach. We can see it is an issue because there is no path from youth to first team. At Barca there is a route.
Maybe they think Carrick might do that, however, even that has failed. He is clearly averse to playing youth, Lacey has been ignored, Heaven and Yoro sidelined, to prioritise experience like Maguire, and Rashford. At least Maguire is committed.
That is why Wilcox has to go, and why we need to have that defined structure, a coach who is replaceable. Yet we are stuck in the past, not buying for a structure but for a 20 year out of date championship sacked coach, lacking vision, lacking inspiration, who is too nervous of playing his youth. Too scared seemingly to deal with playing issues like Rashford.
We have no vision from either Wilcox or Carrick, just silence. Yet we knew Ralf and LvGs vision almost instantly. That's why both Wilcox and Carrick need replacing and take the bad influence of Rashford with them.
17 Oct 2026 14:51:34
Redman,
Hopefully that will happen. If only they had listened to RR. Sadly, the truth hurts.
I do believe that the club should allow Vivell to do all the recruitment, including selecting a new manager. There is clearly conflict between Vivell and Wilxox.
The manager/head coach has to suit the structure or the structure is amended accordingly.
17 Oct 2026 17:52:26
Red Man; " In terms of walking into a finely tuned machine, that's what Moyes did." Really? My view is that SAF left us shoddy with an ageing squad and a shed load of issues.
17 Oct 2026 19:00:30
Not defending carrick, it is inevitable he goes unless there is a huge change in hiw he carried himself and how he managers the team.
But sack the DOF, bring in a new one and then let them choose how to fix this mess.
17 Oct 2026 21:16:52
Red Man, Moyes should never have been the one to replace Fergie but what he walked into was far from a well oiled machine.
17 Oct 2026 22:35:43
Bilko Fizz
In terms of the operation, Moyes walked into a coaching team that had won multiple honours, but Moyes wanted his own Everton team so got rid of the coaching team. That's what I refer to. The team, the first team was shockingly poor because of the Glazers. Made no secret of that opinion and said so on here at the time.
I thought Moyes was a terrible horrendous choice. Said on here st the time in 2013 I was at OT when SAF made that speech about supporting the new manager. I felt sick to my stomach because I knew it was an utterly disastrous appointment.
17 Oct 2026 06:05:39
Reading throuth various posts, it seems we have a good chunk of us that put mote blame on the hierarchy than Carrick and the players. I get that the point that the club is ran horrendously, and I completely agree. But I don't understand how that excuses these players and this manager. Looking at our results this season, can we honestly say we have a worse squad than Hull, Everton or Fulham? We dropped points to all of those teams.
Everton have owners who have put the club up for sale and criminally under invested in the squad this summer. They have Barry as their only recognised striker. Thierno Barry!
Everton are 5th in the table. Why do their players and manager seem to be able to over perform?
Blaming the ownership for all of our problems and performances - even if they are toxic leaches - is just lazy. There's no way this squad shouldn't comfortably be a top 6 team with the right manager.
17 Oct 2026 06:30:29
Jd123
There will still be some posters who think cosy thoughts about an ex player, same thing happened with Ole. Driven by emotions, Carrick is eulogised for being a beloved ex player.
Once appointed there is nothing anyone could do, but the decisions, poor game management and terrible tactics are there for all to see.
Personally I said Carrick permanently was a huge mistake and he is. I still cannot believe we have a manager who couldn't hack it for a short period at Middlesbrough, it's beyond me.
It's not the only concern, Wilcox in particular needs to go and Berrada has huge question marks. As to the owners no comment needed.
17 Oct 2026 07:41:03
We do not truely know the circumstances of Carrick getting the gig. We do not know what other managers were realistically and I mean REALISTICALLY available and/or wanted to come to the mess that is United.
I am not banging the drum for Carrick, but unless we can genuinely bring someone in who can change things then we are between a rock and a hard place. As you say RM we need a real leader.
I wish I knew the answer because clearly the management don't!
17 Oct 2026 07:41:30
We should get that Moyes fella in.
16 Oct 2026 15:17:29
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Liverpool v Manchester City - A Quick Liverpool Perspective
16 Oct 2026 18:44:17
Kavanah does seem to have no love you lot.
16 Oct 2026 19:05:03
While the EPL may be after the cheaters, it seems the refs are still in their back pocket. Along wth the non offside against us they seem consistently to get vital decisions go their way.
15 Oct 2026 22:52:47
Again, to remind you, Carrick is not the Manager, he's the Head Coach. He had no say in whether Rashford returned or not. It was a fait accompli because the club couldn't sell him. So, what would you expect him to do when the club forces Rashford, or indeed any player on him?. Throw a hissy fit? Send him to the reserves? Or try to make the best of it? And, if the last of these 3 options - which is the only realistic one for someone making £300k+ per week - then why start out by telling the player, or indeed the press, that he's unwelcome.
The blame goes to the club, and if players are downing tools because of Rashford then they're a load of unprofessional t****, who don't deserve to wear the shirt.
16 Oct 2026 01:20:55
I think option is you force him out by telling him you won't be playing and will be with the youth team. Will his ego have taken it, probably a no. Or maybe just have taken the 10 million Barca wanted to negotiate to. I would have sold him for free just to get him
Out and wages off the books.
Remember we only want players who want to play for United, we keep getting reminded of this whenever we are interested in a player.
Rashord made clear he does not want to play for us anymore.
100% blame goes to the Wilcox and co, I don't think as a player I would want rashford in the squad and I'm sure after publicly saying I want to leave the club he's back in with the number 9 shirt and starting games straight away. I can understand if squad harmony was affected.
16 Oct 2026 03:08:22
If he isn't good enough and/ or interested enough he doesn't play. End of!
I don't care if he is on a million a week.
16 Oct 2026 07:59:48
That's fine Keefy, I agree.. but you can't start out assuming that before the season has started.
My point is that people are blaming Carrick for welcoming Rashford back. He had no choice. The club left him with that as the only viable option.
16 Oct 2026 10:16:33
Carrick most certainly did have
He also had the choice to put Rashford on the bench and not put him on.
Or do what Amorim did
Instead he put other players noses out who got us to 3rd. He put Cunha on the bench to play Rashford in Europe.
Frankly Carrick is a weak coach and this just proves it.
16 Oct 2026 11:41:39
agree red man, a player who has his number taken walks straight back into the team without having to earn his spot.
alot of questions were asked why barca haven't bought him, some were saying they were stupid to send him back to us. how wrong they were
players playing 90 minutes every week while not performing
only a matter of time before carrick is gone anyway, maybe after the beating we get sunday will make it sooner. and the Sunday league backroom staff along with him but whoever signed off on making him the perm manager after saying they were not going to needs to be sacked also.
whys it only the managers getting sacked.
16 Oct 2026 13:04:55
B0lg
I watched the Madrid forward leave Rashford jogging, it was everything he did before. Then Rashford jumped out of the way in the 2 man wall, an absolute basic do not do and they hit the bar.
I cannot fathom how people see Rashford in the team and if Carrick had any cohones, which he doesn't clearly, in summer he would have said I am not prepared to integrate him back in so you better sell him now. The fact Carrick is pushing other players out of position and even benching them for this Fraud and utter disgrace to the shirt is a symbol of how poor and weak Carrick is and of the issues at the club. I called for Wilcox to go and if he thinks Rashford could easily be reintegrated then he is every bit as bad as everyone thinks.
{Ed025's Note - im with you Red Man..
16 Oct 2026 13:35:03
100% agree, it was Carrick's decision to start Rashford.
If i was Cuhna, Mbeumo, and Sesko i would be properly pi**ed off with Carick. Between the three of them they hit over 30 goals last season, then Rashford walks back into the the club he wanted to leave and immediatley gets a starting place, it's a f**ing joke!
I would bench him end of!
16 Oct 2026 15:52:58
Start him on bench. Or at a push, start him at 9 until sesko is fit. The club kept him in lieu of another striker, so play him there.
But to start the season, he should have started bench and then come on to prove himself. Beginning the season with a starting spot, push out cuhna from the left, was crazy and sent the wrong message to the squad.
Carrick is weak and clearly will not be the manager for long.
But change to DOF first and let them fix the mess.
16 Oct 2026 17:53:10
But how do you know if that in training he was looking fantastic and warranted a starting place, was miles ahead of the rest and Carrick see that, hence put him in . We won't never ever know. of course the haters can summise.
17 Oct 2026 00:26:15
I think the past tells us he doesn't train well.
17 Oct 2026 10:34:08
JSU
He clearly wasn't training well at Barca or Villa. Barca rather spent an extra 50m they didn't have on Gordon. Villa preferred Garnacho. Enough said.
17 Oct 2026 10:41:34
I would have been fine with leaving him on the bench at the beginning of the season but maybe he was simply showing more in training than Cunha, who had a tougher summer. Fact is Rashford worked hard at the beginning of the season and played reasonably well up to the final pass or shot. Cunha has been bang average.
15 Oct 2026 19:56:50
So, how about if every supporter of every EPL club sued Shamchester Citeh for pain and suffering caused as a direct result of their cheating.
16 Oct 2026 07:49:06
Can we sue Glineos for the pain and suffering they've caused us?
16 Oct 2026 19:44:23
We could sue glinoes but they would pass the debt onto the club. We will be in year 2037 with debt of well over 4 billion, in a relegation battle and these see you next Tuesdays will still be in charge of the club.
I'm telling you as fans we need to raise the funds to get this club fan owned. I have heard mr Beckham and his mates are going to try make a move In the next few years 🙏.
15 Oct 2026 18:12:23
We have a good squad, not a great one, we are short on some areas, but we should still be much better than we are. Team and tactics being leaked again is shocking. We need to get the right players in the right positions and working hard, that will be a huge step forward straight away. Win a few games, confidence grows, look at last season.
We don't know the extent of our finances or what players they tried and failed to sign in the summer either. Hopefully that outburst by Martinez galvanised the players and fans and gives the board the wake up call they need, l'd love to see a few more agree with him. I can see Martinez getting great support at our next home game.
15 Oct 2026 20:54:58
I am truly shocked by these leaks as I didn't think we had any tactics.
16 Oct 2026 08:02:22
We have a singular tactic.
15 Oct 2026 16:02:40
As much as I agree that Wilcox is not fit to be Director of Football at this club based on what we've seen so far, I also don't think Carrick is good enough to be Head Coach, nor are the coaches around him.
We're supposedly trying to compete at the top end of the table, yet we have a coaching setup made up of failed Middlesbrough coaches and former players. Honestly, it's hard to take seriously. What coaching or management credentials do Carrick, Woodgate and Evans have that justify them leading a club the size of Manchester United?
Having played football for 25 years, I can say from experience that being in an environment with poor coaching absolutely affects performances. You can have talented players, but there's nothing more frustrating than working under coaches who aren't good enough.
Wilcox certainly isn't innocent in any of this, but there has to be accountability throughout the football structure. The old saying goes: there are no bad students, only bad teachers. Before people respond by saying, "Amorim was a good coach", I'd challenge that as well. On what basis did he have the credentials to come in and coach Manchester United players?
For me, the problems at the club go far deeper than recruitment. The quality of leadership, coaching and football direction all need to be questioned if Manchester United genuinely want to get back to competing at the highest level.
15 Oct 2026 18:09:27
Exactly Curtis it's all low rent . But that sums up Ineos.
15 Oct 2026 18:13:01
Wilcox put the current coaching team in place. So he is accountable. We have huge holes in the squad. He is accountable. We can't sell players who need to be moved on. He is accountable. He chose to stick with amorim, but them failed to get him the right players and then fell out with him and pushed him out the door. Runours were that it was Wilcox that was going to go instead of amorim, before amorim blew up and made it clear he was leaving.
This is not a big deal. Man in charge of all football matters at club gets sacked because the team is not performing. They thought nothing of sacking hundreds of employees who cost relatively little. He is expensive. He is costing the club a fortune with his poor decisions and we are no closer to success than when he joined.
Best in class my ar3e.
15 Oct 2026 15:26:04
I don't have great knowledge on world football and I rarely know much about our new signings until they play for us, but I had seen a lot of Sesko before he signed. I was excited, he was quick, powerful, great height when heading, scored great goals left and right footed and bullied defences.
Then he puts on our jersey and I have seen none of what he was doing before. What on earth happens to players when they get here. I know he's not getting great service but he hasn't shown much either.
15 Oct 2026 15:40:47
Sesko was never in the EPL when you see him, but in inferior leagues. So many can't hack it and he is certainly one of those.
15 Oct 2026 18:16:55
Banjoe ray wilkins once told me that playing in the epl is like playing a different sport to playing football in Italy or spain member minds the really weak ladies like Germany or portugal.
Of course some come to uk and make the transition seemlessly and take it in their stride.
But others never cope with the change.
Veron player of year in Italy useless in England at Chelsea and United.
Wirtz not coping well kagawa sancho and miki were player of year in Germant before we signed them like wirtz was goykerez is struggling too to get a game now.
Very few replicate their form from abroad certainly initially.
How long are Arsenal united spurs chelsea looking for a top striker? They are hard to come by and there are very few haalands or close to it.
Plus coming into a struggling team is even harder. Sesko could be on his 4th manager at united since he signed last year in a couple of weeks. (Including fletcher). What chance had he got plus he can't stay fit And available. So even if he was the real deal its impossible to show it in that sort of environment and circumstances.
Carricks style of play doesn't suit him either even if he was fit. All too slow and nobody running off and beyond him or crossing. It's been painful to watch. Our lack of control, cohesion and movement is criminal.
There is a dating i use frequently that's that's KISS keep it simple stupid.
We just need to keep it simple work hard stay organised and see where it takes us.
15 Oct 2026 23:39:01
Thanks for that TW, Good points there. Sometimes the big move is the wrong move for some players.
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