Manchester United Rumours

03 May 2024 11:17:37
Morning Ed,
Do you think EtH will be manager of the club come the start of next season?

{Ed002's Note - I don't think he should be and there are good options available.

Erik ten Hag (C) Possible return to Ajax - else perhaps a year off. Would be way down the list for Bayern Munich but after losing Thomas Tuchel and being rejected by Alonso, Nagelsmann and failing with their Plan B one year solution with Rangnick before making their preferred appointment, they are running out of options. A wildcard at best for Bayern Munich.}

03 May 2024 12:25:16
Ed may ask want bayern plan to do now.

{Ed002's Note - I suspect they will wait until the end of the season and see who else is available.}

03 May 2024 13:32:28
Who would you think Ed would be best suited to replace ten hag if he were to leave

I remember years ago you
Said the plan was to replace a manager with allegri?

Would they look at that route again

I’m just hoping if they do sack ten hag they don’t go for Southgate. Think that would be worse than the moyes appointment imo.

{Ed002's Note - Thomas Tuchel is a good fit and Jim Ratcliffe knows him well.}

03 May 2024 15:00:57
Ed, if you don't mind me asking what do you think makes Tuchel a better fit?

{Ed002's Note - He has won the Champions League, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, cups in France and Germany, club World Cup, knows Jim Ratcliffe very well, is a polyglot, really nice guy and is very experienced.}

03 May 2024 16:12:04
Thank you Ed.
I’m not sure who my preference would be if EtH were to leave.

You’ve spoken before about the club lacking a structure, don’t think come the Summer, the club will be in a better place regarding this?

{Ed002's Note - It will be better now.}

01 May 2024 13:36:39
Ed002.
Good afternoon.
You have said that a keeper was on our list with Onana not quite working out.
Given the expenditure on Onana last summer do you see anyway that he might leave this summer?
Do you know if there is interest him from elsewhere?
I agree with the view that it's not worked out but I do fear being 'stuck with him for a bit due to the finances.
Have you any comfort to share?
Thanks.

{Ed002's Note - Andre Onana (G) Not worked out particularly well and could be offered to Michael Emanalo as Manchester United look to upgrade - but my feeling is that he will stay with competition from a new GK as Bayindir wants out and Heaton will be out of contract.}

01 May 2024 16:03:37
Thanks. I think the same. Hopefully we can get someone in to provide meaningful competition.
Heaton may get 1 more year I'm thinking with someone coming in to compete with Onana and not just play 2nd fiddle.
Cheers.

01 May 2024 17:28:07
I don't see him going. He's made some bad errors but I don't think he's anywhere near the top of the list of this year's incompetencies and ill fortune. His mistakes are just more glaringly obvious.

01 May 2024 18:43:31
Shaw there is an argument that he didn't have a solid line in front of him.
I still think the amount of basic positional or fundamental goalkeeping errors are too many.
Umo he cost us more goals through bad errors than he has saved us through saves he was not favourite to make.
But I think we are stick with him for at least next season unless a mad offer came in from Saudi.

01 May 2024 21:36:30
It may be a small point, but at the recent games I went to Heaton and Bayandir came out to warm up and did the usual goalkeeping warm ups. However Onana spent time controlling balls hit back to him and then he was hitting passes out to coaches on the halfway line. Strange that we don’t have a consistent method through all the keepers and Onana had such a warm up session, then gives goals away by doing this.

02 May 2024 08:40:24
Hard for any keeper to provide competition if they are not getting games to prove their worth. Any keeper coming in is just going to warm the bench for ETH mate. Cannot see anyone decent wanting to do that.

02 May 2024 09:20:42
With all the transition I can't see goalkeeper being high up the list of priorities this season meaning Onana will stay (unless they get a strong bid for him) with the club looking at back ups.

I have not been convinced and he has definitely gone through both good and bad patches. Unfortunately his mechanics are not what you would expect from a top goalkeeper, however you do not achieve what he has without being very good.

If he stays next season we could see a completely different player with a different approach and hopefully better more ball playing defenders. The defence this year has not helped him.

30 Apr 2024 21:09:57
Hi Ed002, hope you're well. I notice over on the Liverpool page you mention you think MU can get something completed for Antonio Silva the CB at Benfica, did you mean for this coming summer? Thanks in advance.

{Ed002's Note - Possibly.}

30 Apr 2024 23:01:32
Very interesting Ed.

If I could choose someone from benfica it would be neves. A double deal would be nice lol.

{Ed002's Note - He is not a CB.}

01 May 2024 10:53:14
Thanks Ed, one to watch out for.

01 May 2024 12:03:24
United agreeing terms with Silvia’s agent picking up traction on Twitter.

As it’s X, who knows what truth is but reckon someone’s aggregating Ed002’s info and passing it off as their own!

01 May 2024 16:28:03
Seems to happen quite a bit Wallace!

Seen more and more stuff getting posted that I’m pretty sure I’ve read well in advance on here.

26 Apr 2024 19:10:21
Ed002 - If you've got time please, even if Utd wanted to sell Rashford or he wanted to leave is there any genuine interest in taking him? Given his current form and massive wages I wouldn't suspect there is a big queue? Thanks in advance.

{Ed002's Note - I am getting sick of answering the same quesions over and over. It is a complete waste of my time.

Marcus Rashford (LW/F) Much will depend on what happens in the summer regarding a new coach, but I am sure Manchester United will be regretting the new long-term contract. A third-party has spoken to clubs, including Juventus and Arsenal about him on behalf of Manchester United, but I am not aware of any serious interest. Suggestion that he could be a Mbappe replacement at PSG seem far-fetched given they have other clear targets in mind.}

26 Apr 2024 20:38:07
My apologies thanks for your reply.

26 Apr 2024 21:05:11
More or less our biggest star/ face off our marketing. Can't see us letting him go for a fee that would be anywhere near realistic. Think he will stay and stink up the place ala Martial for the foreseeable.

27 Apr 2024 08:16:28
His wages too high to be sold.

Maybe short term loan to help him get form back away from spotlight.

27 Apr 2024 13:17:13
Quite a few contracts on reduced terms have been signed at the likes of Barcelona recently. Maybe de Jong this summer. Most have done so. True measure of love for a club.

27 Apr 2024 13:18:23
There were rumours he didn’t get on with Greenwood at all and cannot work with him.

Now that’s a tough choice. A lazy and out of form Rashford or Greenwood back?!

27 Apr 2024 22:07:56
That's not a choice Eric.

28 Apr 2024 00:20:58
Why not choose between Messi in his prime or Rashford? 😂.

28 Apr 2024 11:08:36
Generally I tend to find it hard to judge players on things beyond their performance on the pitch. Frankly I just don't know enough about them personally or what is going on in their lives to feel like I know enough to draw a sensible conclusion.

With Rashford he seems like he has a decent moral core based on his efforts to make sure kids didn't go hungry. He used his position of fame to help others and that should be commended, on the most part that has been.

On the pitch he has at times carried us, and has shown genuine world class form at times. Consistency has been a problem, but a fully fit and on form Rashford starts for pretty much every side in the league.

The question is why is he so inconsistent. In the past the excuses of youth and being moved around position have been valid potential reasons.

While he has carried the goalscoring burden for us in the past he isn't the kind of player who can drag his teammates performance up. To be fair very few forwards tend to have that quality. They are goal scorers and by nature that tends to make players selfish and more focused on themselves in their efforts to score. Midfielders and defenders tend to be more team focused and as such there are far more examples of players from those positions who can elevate the performance of those around them.

As such for a player like Rashford his form will be more dependent on that of the team, he needs his teammates to provide him with good quality chances for him to be able to play at his best. So maybe his form and inconsistency can be partially explained by the team's own inconsistent performances.

There have also been rumours and suggestions that his form might be connected to his private life. Again something that shouldn't be too surprising. Most of us will see a downturn in our performance at work when we are dealing with turmoil or difficulties in our private lives. Very few people can block out those troubles while at work, and I think the ones that can tend to be able to do so because their work is an escape. I wonder how that might change if you're work is examined under the microscope of the print and online media. Can work be an escape when you are put under that much pressure.

This brings me to the crux of this whole situation for me. What support should the club offer a player like Rashford and are they giving him that support.

If a player, particularly a current or former academy player has issues in their private life to what extent do the club have a responsibility to support them with that?

We as a club take kids who are not emotionally or mentally mature and start training them to become top players. Part of that process puts them in situations that most teenagers never experience. They are exposed to pressures that many fully mature adults would struggle with, and they are expected to make good decisions and are disproportionately judged when they make mistakes common for most teenagers.

Most of them don't come from homes or backgrounds that have experience or the knowledge of how to support and advise them. They are picked out by agents and hanger-on's looking to make money on the back of these young players talent. People who will use manipulation on these kids to further their own ends.

The club looks to benefit from producing these young players, either making money on the back of selling them on, or by producing a top level player for a fraction of what it would cost to buy a similar player. Academy players on the whole tend to earn less at their clubs than players signed by the club. Their attachment to the club being taken advantage of by the club to have higher quality players on lower wages than they would potentially earn elsewhere.

Which for me personally means that the club does have more responsibility to support it's players, particularly it's academy and former academy players, far more than that of a traditional employer.

The club, while providing these young players with a fantastic opportunity, have exposed these young people to experiences and challenges they are not for the most part equipped to deal with.

Rather than throw a player like Rashford to the dogs, the club should be doing everything they can to support him and help him deal with whatever issues he has and work with him to get him back to his best form.

Maybe they are, I hope they are. Maybe playing most games is part of that support, maybe he needs the distraction of playing to give him a rest bite from whatever is happening off the pitch. Maybe the club is offering the support and the player isn't accepting it. Or maybe they aren't offering any support at all.

The point for me is that I don't know which of the above is happening. Which makes it very hard for me to judge Rashford currently beyond that his form (for whatever reason) isn't good enough and that needs to be addressed. His on pitch body language and his perceived effort is difficult to judge as I don't know why it's changed. As previously he has always been a hard working and committed player.

His body language, the rumours, the speculation, his tweets or response to questions in the press, and everything else is something I find it difficult to judge him on as I'm only seeing less than 10% of what is happening.

Is Rashford's form a problem? Absolutely. How best to fix that? Well without seeing the whole picture it's impossible to say.

28 Apr 2024 11:08:59
Why not ship out both and completely remove Ole's first choice attacking line from the club in one fell swoop. None of them have lived up to what we had hoped they would be for different reasons.

28 Apr 2024 22:23:47
Why not bring back Greenwood, since the charges were dropped, he has a child with that girl and also married her?

29 Apr 2024 04:27:22
Quite simple Trololo. The club doesn't need the circus that will come from bringing him back. They are trying to turn the page and move forwards with positivity, and bringing Greenwood back would not help to deliver that.

29 Apr 2024 06:25:29
Sell Greenwood to whichever Spanish side want him and use the money to fund a bid for Olise, then move Garnacho back to is favoured position on the left, move Mount up to attacking midfield, Bruno as the box2box midfielder and let Mainoo keep learning the DM role.
With Licha back next season with Shaw we only need a new CB, maybe Braithwaite or the kid from Nice and we are good to go.
Easy being a manger isn't it.

29 Apr 2024 12:59:13
I understand that Dodgy, the problem is with the fans, who are, imo, hilarious, that is why I posted that.

29 Apr 2024 13:23:55
She is so lucky eh Trololo?

29 Apr 2024 14:00:56
Taking Greenwood back is not an option. Rushford is in poor form and clearly struggling with his mentality. Greenwood is a scumbag who doesn't deserve the talent, platform or career ahead of him.

29 Apr 2024 16:33:14
What is your point patrick?

James, that is only your opinion. If he is or isn't a scumbag should be irrelevant. He wasn't convicted and that should be enough.

29 Apr 2024 19:23:58
Are you really asking Trololo?

30 Apr 2024 16:02:20
For some reason, my comment didn't go through.

Anyway, yes, I am really asking.

30 Apr 2024 17:45:58
Trololo, Domestic violence. Not a good image for the club to be associated with. Most victims stay / withdraw from cases. Does that make him innocent? What about women, both players and fans of Man Utd? Move on from Greenwood.

25 Apr 2024 19:17:18
Ed it has been reported that Dan Ashworth is taking Newcastle to arbitration to try and resolve the issue of moving onto his new job.

To me this is a very bad look and may not reflect well on them when they replace Ashworth or maybe even when they try to buy players would clubs/ players see it this way?

Or am I looking at it wrongly, I'm not trying to absolve united they may not have acted right in this either.

{Ed002's Note - It is a case of someone signing a contract they wish to break and the compensation that is goining to be required to be negotiated. In terms of transfers, it won't be a huge issue, but it needs resolving.}

28 Apr 2024 11:40:17
I don't blame Newcastle at all, they've worked hard to create a set up that can help build them into a top side. Then an already established top side (that is currently in a slump) look to come and take a key part from them.

Ultimately they know they can't stop someone looking to move on and it makes no sense trying to keep someone who wants to be somewhere else.

Yet why roll over and get their tummy tickled. They will fight and they are well within their rights to demand that anything written in a legally binding contract is fulfilled.

If we, and/ or Ashworth want some of those legally binding conditions lifted or not enforced then we need to negotiate that.

While Newcastle will know that ultimately they can't stop Ashworth leaving, they will look to protect their beat interests. They almost certainly don't want him working for a rival club at a time where he could impact their plans, particularly in terms of summer transfer plans/ targets. While the longer until he can start working for a rival the longer before he can start making their rival stronger.

The club would have understood and knew this before they made him their No.1 target. They will be thinking long term and appreciate it's better to have a turbulent or at least tricky first summer as they don't have all their key people in place, but actually have the right people coming in. Than it is to bring in the wrong people just because they are available right away.

That sort of short term thinking has been everything that has been wrong with our club over the past decade.

From not being able to get our first choice target (FdJ) to then move to signing an older player on a massive contract (Casemiro) to fill the gap. When a younger player with potential to become a top player would have been a better alternative. They would have been cheaper and have more longevity. But the focus was on the here and now, so we got the expensive, decking, older, short term option.

Ashworth will join, as will Berrada, while Wilcox is already in. Others will no doubt join over the next 18 months in various roles across the club.

This was never going to be a quick fix, a 500m summer to bring in all the key players and to challenge for the title next season. This is a 3-5 year rebuilding project. Something we won't really be in a position to judge it's success or failure probably much before 2030.

We just need to let them get on with it.