Manchester United Banter

30 Jul 2026 15:25:45
In his first interview since being sacked by Newcastle, Eddie Howe says he will be sorry to leave, but it will be nice to be able to wear a coat in winter without being called a poofter.

30 Jul 2026 20:16:07
If he can crack funnies like that, he should stop being a coach and be on the stage.

Thinking about it, he is. It's the first stagecoach out of town!

30 Jul 2026 20:21:44
You think that he actually said that? 🙄😂😂😂

30 Jul 2026 21:43:46
I'm pretty convinced he will leave. Whatever is being said, I don't see a way back for him. I think there will be plenty of teams move for him, and I would be mwking it clear to him h3 isn't first choice at United.

30 Jul 2026 10:04:30
Howe's gone at Newcastle. Would guess Arsenal will get Bruno G. Will they then sell Lewis Hall? And are Utd seriously interested in him anyway.

Got to feel for the toon supporters who see their best players and a gd manager going.

30 Jul 2026 12:09:37
The rumoured new manager is an underwhelming choice, too. I remember the fans all celebrating the change of ownership. Not looking too special now, is it?

30 Jul 2026 12:46:41
Ajh,

Judge them at the end of the season. They still might surprise a few teams.

30 Jul 2026 12:49:54
It's got the vibes of when Rosenior was appointed at Chelsea, with the club opting for a younger hip manager from a sister club. If Bruno G leaves, they've literally ripped up years of good work and will look like a mid-table team very quickly.

30 Jul 2026 12:52:45
I really don't see the Eddie Howe hype, other than the fact that he is English. He had a couple of good seasons with Newcastle, but overall, his tenure has been underwhelming - especially given the massive financial backing he received.

For a bit of perspective, look at the managers we have moved on from. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jose Mourinho, and Erik Ten Hag all outperformed Howe on paper, yet they were sacked for less.



We were completely right to move on from our previous managers, but if their records weren't deemed good enough for a top club, Howe's record certainly shouldn't be hyped up as elite. When you strip away the 'tactical mastermind' media narrative, his underlying numbers just don't match the heavy investment.

30 Jul 2026 13:49:23
Thank Christ Tuchel extended his contract. :D

30 Jul 2026 19:40:18
I think he did well. You could argue it was the best spell since Keegan, and a stint a bit like Keegan, although he did win a trophy. They had good times with him. He then gave them hope, and a first trophy for decades. That's a great achievement.

A bit like Spurs with the Bale money, they bought badly after selling star players. He should sit tight and wait for his next role, as I think his stock is still high enough for a tilt at one of the bigger clubs.

30 Jul 2026 07:06:03
Three weeks on Saturday it all starts. We ended the last season knowing we needed a top LB, top quality CM and a second CF.

We still need that.

Shopped in bargain corner, done ok so far. Yet it just looks like we are waiting for the “big boys” to do their business and hope that it might free up someone at the level we want to trade at. Like it or not, that’s how it looks.

That’s what United are now.

Just waiting for “Wilcox flying home for important transfer business” to hit the headlines, to find we are signing some Fellaini level player again.

Yes, still time but getting a player integrated as soon as possible helps. Very uninspiring window so far. No excuses for them anymore. Must improve soon.

30 Jul 2026 08:57:16
Redman,

I've been quite pleased with Utd's transfer dealings this summer. Although, I do partially agree with parts of your post.

Utd are quietly moving in the background, with little or no information on transfers being leaked. Santos and Tielemans are solid signings, with Santos only 22, and Tielemans brings the EPL and European experience as well. Darlow is a brilliant backup signing. He played well for Leeds last season. An improvement on Bayindar and Heaton.

The Rashford conundrum hasn't helped, coupled with Ugarte's serious injury, which has hindered the club.

If Amass is surplus to requirements, then a LB is definitely needed, along with a CB, as Maguire isn't particularly mobile. Martinez and MDL have injury problems, and Yoro and Heaven lack experience.

Mazraoui is fairly injury prone too.

Hall would be a great signing at LB, however I feel Newcastle will ask for a lot, since they've lost Tonali and Gordon, and potentially Bruno. CB, I can't honestly think of a CB that Utd would go for that would make financial sense. Given how things are, signing Maguire for this additional season makes sense.

I would sign Watkins, especially since Villa reportedly want £40 million for him. This is far too much for a player who was hit and miss last season.

Finally, I'm hoping Vivell and Wilcox pull off 2-3 transfers. I think selling some youth players for pure profit would help, providing we add sell on clause and buy back clauses.

30 Jul 2026 09:13:19
Agreed in parts with both above.

We all knew that we needed a LB, a Casemiro replacement and a better option than Zirkzee. We still do.

However, we have recruited a better second choice keeper than we had before, an elite Mainoo rotational option in Tielemans for an absolute bargain, and Santos, who is certainly an upgrade in possession to Ugarte. Plus I'm firmly in the camp of Rashford being a better LW than some of the other names we were linked with - N'Diaye etc., so I'm fairly pleased overall.



If (huge if!) we can spend the next couple of weeks bringing in a top LB who can share the role with Shaw all season, an elite midfielder (Tchouameni or Camavinga are the only options here, imo) and a better backup striker than what we currently have, all whilst moving on some of the kids who clearly will never be good enough, as well as Bayindir and Zirkzee, then I'll be ecstatic. Don't forget that Shaw and Mazraoui can competently fill in at CB if required, as could Tchouameni or Camavinga.

30 Jul 2026 10:02:05
I will follow the trend set by MH and Down,
I agree with some and disagree with other parts of RM's post.
Agree - season starts soon, and we ended last season knowing what we need - although we didn't know Ugarte would have that injury or that Rashford will be returning.
Not sure if that 50m for Santos is a bargain or not, but Youri certainly is. I think we have done more than just okay.
It may seem that we are waiting for the 'big boys', but a lot of transfers these days can set a domino effect.

Eg, if City sign Bouaddi and R. Madrid get Rodri, they may want to sell Tchouamani, and that could be where we come in. Is that what you mean by a level where we want to trade?
As for the window being uninspiring for you, and needing improvements without excuses feels like a comment coming out of frustration. I really hope that we do not sign players out of frustration but rather have a proper plan in place with contingencies.

30 Jul 2026 11:03:34
Jesus Red Man, who sh4t your bed last night?

The club are working on deals, there was a little tournament played over the summer called the World cup, have you heard of it? Well it made it difficult to sign players as many were away with their national teams, it's why very few big deals have been done so far for any club.

We needed to rebuild the midfield, and we've brought in Tielemans (a top class midfielder with EPL experience and in their prime) and we've signed Andrey Santos, a top young prospect who also has EPL experience.

So we've gone a long way to rebuilding that midfield. We also have Mainoo, one of the best young English midfielder players in the country.

I disagree that we need another "top-quality" midfielder, what we need is someone with a different profile to what we have, someone physical and athletic. The same people who are crying out for Tchouameni, are the same ones who were crying out for Mainoo to be starting under Amorim. Do you really think Mainoo starts most weeks if we have Tchouameni and Tielemans in the squad?

Personally I think spending a huge amount of our remaining budget on a midfielder is a false economy, as I don't see that position being the one that needs a the most reinforcement right now. We need a 4th midfield option who offers something different for when we need that.

I'd argue that a LB is a bigger issue, as I don't trust Shaw to be fit, and any LB we sign now will likely start more games than any midfielder we sign now.

I'd also argue that a back up striker is needed more than another midfielder right now. Sesko hasn't played since May due to injury, and in truth he needed someone to compete with him last season when we only played 40 odd games, this season with 50-60 games likely we 100% need someone experienced to rotate with him.

While there is a strong argument to be made for us signing a CB as well given the injury prone nature of our key CB's and the lack of experience with the others.

I'd imagine that we have around 150m or so left to spend at most, having already spent 90m on Tielemans, Santos, Thompson and Darlow. If we spend around two thirds of that on another midfielder then that probably means we miss out on either a ST or a LB. Both of which are needed more for the first team squad than having a second midfield option on the bench.

To be honest you could even make a decent argument that we need a CB now more than another midfielder given the options we have.

CB - MdL, Martinez, Maguire, Yoro, and Heaven.

Vs.

CM - Tielemans, Mainoo, Santos, Mount, Ugarte.

I expect to see us push to get a LB and a ST next, possibly, maybe even probably, Lewis Hall and Ollie Watkins (although personally I'd prefer Adrien Truffert over Hall). That will eat up the majority of our remaining budget (Hall - 60-70m, and Watkins - 35-40m). At that point the club will have spent the best part of 200m, hardly penny pinching. With hopefully 40-50m potentially left in the kitty to sign either a midfielder or a CB. Maybe someone like Sander Berge or Ezri Konsa to add more experience and leadership.

Here you are complaining, but if the club end the transfer window having spent 250m on:

Darlow
Thompson
Tielemans
Santos
Hall
Watkins
and either Berge or Konsa

Will that really represent a bad window, or probably one the of the best ones we've had over the last decade?

Imagine our squad options of:

GK - Lammens, Darlow, Heaton, Vitek.
RB - Dalot, Mazraoui, Kamason.
CB - MdL, Maguire, Martinez, Heaven, Yoro, (Konsa? ).
LB - Hall, Shaw, Leon.
CM - Tielemans, Mainoo, Santos, Bruno, Ugarte, Mount, Fletcher, (Berge? ).
RW - Mbeumo, Amad, Lacey.
CF - Sesko, Watkins, Zirkzee/Obi.
LW - Cunha, Dorgu, Thompson, Rashford?

That's a really solid squad with lots of potential littered throughout. What does it really need added next summer? Another CB depending on injuries and development of Yoro/Heaven, or another midfielder (probably the position you don't add to this summer), then it's about upgrading quality, RB probably, another attacking player (LW? ), possibly finding the long term replacement for Bruno. Really if we manage to do what I suggest this summer then it's about tweaking and adding the cherry on top next summer and beyond. That will be the point where we can actually decide to spend 100m+ on a player if we want as we will only need to be adding 2 or 3 players to the first team squad, rather than 5 or 6.

That's the problem the fans seem to be having right now. They want to eat their cake and still have it.

No club can afford to sign 5 or 6 players to their first team while also competing for the most expensive and biggest named players that are typically close to or exceeding 100m mark.

It's one of the other, do want us to bring in the number of players this squad needs to maintain a challenge on all fronts this season (6-7 players).

Or do you want us to spend big on 2 or 3 flashy big names which gives us the appearance of competing with the big boys off the pitch. But leaves our squad lacking depth to be able to actually challenge on all fronts.

You can't have it both ways.

30 Jul 2026 10:51:28
Realistically, who do people think td should sign as a CF for Utd?

EDs what are your options on this?

{Ed001's Note - maybe it would be a good time to move for Kane?}

30 Jul 2026 11:42:30
Ed001,

Do you think that is a possibility?

{Ed001's Note - yes, Bayern love him but they know they need something else in Europe.}

30 Jul 2026 11:59:13
By the way, Shappy, Ugarte is out all season. Crap, so count him out.
Mount is constantly injured and cannot be relied on. We will be lucky if we get 10-15 games a season out of him.
This leaves us with 3 fit midfielders, so say if one gets injured we are down to two.

30 Jul 2026 13:27:41
I don't think the question is who the club are targeting or if we end the window with the hypothesis that the essay has stated, it's now becoming a question of when. As Red Man has said, it's 3 weeks or so until we play our first game, and we are not in a better situation than we ended last season. The executives must have numb fingers by now, having been sitting on their hands for so long. It's clear that we won't be competing with the big boys in the market, so might as well get the second-grade, cheaper options in early, and give them time to settle in and gel with the team.

I don't think people are actually understanding the impact of the loss of Casemiro to the team yet. We still need improvements in several other positions, and all of us have known that for a year or so, and yet the club isn't prepared for that. When does the panic button go off for us?

30 Jul 2026 13:57:08
Shappy,

Tielemans (a top class midfielder with EPL experience and in their prime).

Top class? In his prime at 29?

City have Anderson, Arsenal Rice, Chelsea two £100m CM, Liverpool Wirtz, Spurs Tonali, and you are crowing about.

Seriously, do you think Tielemans is top class?

I would bet Tielemans will have a run at the beginning, maybe 8 games of the season, and then fade or get injured.



We absolutely need a top class CM, and Tielemans is not it.

We still have the same deficiencies we had at the end of the season, but with a better back up in midfield.

We don’t need squad players, we need top first team players who take us up a notch. The players they push out can be squad players. Others like Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea will not be fretting about Tielemans.

30 Jul 2026 14:24:15
Casemiro won't be missed 1 iota, and the 2 we bought offer more imo. Time will tell.

30 Jul 2026 14:28:52
Ken,

I agree with you.

30 Jul 2026 14:37:47
That's your opinion, Ken, and I respect that. I don't agree with it, though. If Bruno has an off season, we will lack any sort of leadership on the pitch, and that's what Casemiro brought. If the season started tomorrow, are you happy with what we have?

30 Jul 2026 17:04:35
Ua, no, I think we need more, that's no secret.
The season didn't start tomorrow.
I'll give my opinion on the window when it's closed.
The stupidness of commenting on things we've no idea about is incredible.

I don't know the plans. I don't know what they're working on, so I can't comment.
I'm delighted with our business so far.
Keeper well covered.

2 good signings in midfield. imo that makes us substantially better than last season.
imo we need a rb, lb, cb, cm, st all as a priority.
We won't get them all.
I'm happy to go with whatever we get and see how we do.
Ideally for me cm, lb, st, cb come on, but if they don't it's not the end of the world. We go with what we have and support that.

30 Jul 2026 17:55:24
What I will say to some of the above is that if Tchouameni does arrive, then he and Tielemans are 100% our best midfield duo.

Tielemans is a far better all-round midfielder than Mainoo. But many United fans won't like hearing that!

30 Jul 2026 18:00:16
TW

Supported us when far worse than now, yet when we get an opportunity with CL football, we don't move forward. The thing that continues to gnaw away is what they have done before when getting in this position.

Sat off as if we had made it.

I don't trust the Glazers, and nor yet do I trust SJR as the Glazer enabler.

This gives us all every reason to distrust them.

30 Jul 2026 18:19:00
Red Man, you are posting almost exclusively about how unimpressed you are with our transfer dealings. We all get it. For your own sake, try putting a positive view against something.

30 Jul 2026 18:41:37
I'd like to offer my congratulations to Angel for not commenting on this post!

30 Jul 2026 18:50:34
Redman has a bias he really admits.
Redman you say you were a business leader your acting like a schoolboy on the shop floor.
In your experience in business does idle chit chat and gossip mongering without most of the facts helpful to the business or is employees?
Your bias is overriding your role logical thought process.
You don't like hearing that but it's fact.
They own the company none of us agree with the way they run it.
But your sniping and moaning about things you don't know about or can't control are ridiculous and very immature.


We all know who owns the company.
We all agree we would like them to run it differently. But they don't. Now build a bridge and get over it. You can't change that.
There are positives take what you can.
Moaning and crying like a spoilt child that's list their rattler from their pram is silly.
They own the club deal with the facts and live in the reality. All you do is look over the neighbours fence wanting what they have.
As Roy Keane would say stop being a baby

30 Jul 2026 21:07:26
TW

In answer "does idle chit chat and gossip mongering without most of the facts helpful to the business or is employees? "

Irrelevant, it happens in every single workplace. You hear it far less as a boss, staff don't level with you unless you are receptive, when if they did, the business might improve. Can't be stamped out no more than it can on here.

My bias? I am allowed to comment on the goings on at the club and this is a banter site set up to do it. I am not an employee who will talk about it, nor am I a manager at United who should tow the company line but likely talks in hushed tones about it. I am a fan

What's this, I don't like hearing about it, could not care less. I come on here to express an opinion, without us the Ed's wouldn't be too happy.

Expressing an opinion is nothing about being a baby, no I won't shut up, no I won't kow tow to Glazer apologists and I will criticise them when right as it is now.

30 Jul 2026 23:07:43
I feel like this is the 12th season in a row that we have had the same squad breakdown essay from Shappy, with the tag line that this summer we will have fixed the squad, and from next summer we will only have to add 1 or 2 high value players directly into our first team.

Maniana, maniana.

30 Jul 2026 23:50:37
Dodgy, that's what fans always do, they live in hope. This time there is the argument that we are finally well run and have a better squad. Things look much better, the mood of the team is high, and we have some good characters. I would say we have the best group of players in years, and a lot of leaders. Santos may surprise a lot of people. I think he is the closest in character to Casemiro. We have a lot of grafters too.
Time will tell how good the team is, but it feels that we are building something, slowly of course, but we are on the right path.

29 Jul 2026 19:04:31
100m players or close enough are now becoming regular enough.
I saw a list of the top 20 transfers where only 5 were deemed a success, with the jury out on all the ones from this season.
Wirtz and Isak, you would think, will improve with their new coach.
But it goes to show that no matter who you sign, even players at the top of their game in a previous club, that there is so many variables that contribute to a player's form, it's not always transferable.


It's not easy getting them right unless you are a strong, settled, established, winning side.
That due diligence around the player's character, personality, life outside of the game, family life, habits, hobbies, etc. is key and a huge focus I'd imagine.

29 Jul 2026 19:25:10
Plus, it's almost a gamble at times, Ken. Sometimes, it may work for a player at a certain club, in a certain environment, etc., and moving may not suit them.

But, I also believe that the price tag shouldn't dictate the immediate.

Players like Wirtz and Isak may hit the ground running next season, and that 100m looks like a good price.

And, yes, it seems to becoming the norm too.

29 Jul 2026 19:27:11
It must bring a level of pressure, too. Expectations are sky-high when those sort of fees are being paid.

Great point about due diligence. This was always a strength of SAF, who was very interested in what the person, not just the player, was like.

In recent years we've had a few that seemed to not be the best characters, which will have a real impact on the team dynamic.

I think we might spend big on the right player, but it's more likely we will continue to shop in the £50M to £70M bracket.

29 Jul 2026 21:24:07
I'm surprised that we haven't yet stepped in for someone in the £70m+ category yet. We are surely in a better financial position than last year at this time, when we bought Mbuemo, Cunha, and Sesko for more than 2 1/2x what we've forked over so far. The amortization costs + salaries are less than the savings on Cas's wages and amortization, and Sancho's amortization. Maybe they simply believe we've already acquired the right players to at least compete for European places and to put together a decent Champions League run.

And maybe, indeed, hopefully, there's a few good surprises to come. While it's important to get the wages structure right after more than a decade of foolhardiness, I simply don't believe the money isn't there for the right players.

29 Jul 2026 22:13:56
I'd be happy if we spent large amounts on left, right, and centre backs this window.

30 Jul 2026 01:00:27
£90m 20 years ago is not equal to £90m today. If you want to win things, you better be prepared to pay your players like top players in Europe. You also will need to bring in the very best to supplement those players you got in early and developed.

If you fail to pay your players, they will all look to leave.

If you don't bring in top players, your squad will never reach its potential.

Maybe our plan is to win in a few more years. It seems a more realistic timeline. Our squad still needs a hell of a lot of work. I mean, who would have thought we would still have McGuire, Dalot and Shaw playing in the back line?!

30 Jul 2026 07:01:57
I don't think we have the money. I believe there were significant payments due on old deals this close season, so whilst it looks like we haven't spent much, the money leaving our account has been much higher.

We continue to be constrained by the incompetence of previous years.

28 Jul 2026 00:10:00
Watched the Milk Cup game tonight at my local club. Jaice Dore and Ben Lyne (spelling) very impressive.

Look to have a good squad over. Got chatting to a lad involved with a League of Ireland side and he says Lyne will go far. He’s a direct young winger and can play through the middle, Irish.

{Ed001's Note - my little cousin is taking part in that this year. First year Liverpool have sent a girl's team and she is in it. She's only 13 so great experience for her.}

28 Jul 2026 09:21:54
Been played in my local area as far as I can remember. It and the Foyle Cup are brilliantly well organised and great experiences for younger kids. Not only do they get to play in a tournament, but they get to experience being away as a group, see a different part of the world, and get to play against various styles of opposition.

Valuable for all of them, and great to see their enthusiasm.

{Ed001's Note - my auntie (my cousin's gran) wasn't happy with her for showing enthusiasm during YNWA. They are bluenoses in that branch of the family, as is Ems, but she seems to have forgotten that in the excitement!}

28 Jul 2026 09:57:03
Ah what an experience for her Ed! I hope she takes in every minute of it, wishing her all the best!

{Ed001's Note - she is loving it mate.}

28 Jul 2026 21:55:42
Ditto, it's something she will never forget. Brilliant.