11 Oct 2026 20:16:51
The one potential positive was that Baleba looked like he could improve us, although clearly is not match fit. It'll take some time.
We're also missing a proper CF. Without one we really don't have too many options for changing the point of attack, which makes us more predictable. And because we are predictable we're easy to defend against. Stop Bruno and you stop the team. So, unless we're on a counter attack we look impotent.
Couple all the above with a number of players who really aren't of the quality needed for a champions league team, and are also, damningly, clearly not working hard enough, and things look dire.
The question is whether, whoever is running the club from executives down to manager, there's the capacity to change the dynamic under this ownership model. The debt is so huge, and the club has no way of paying it down without making profits or getting an injection of capital somehow. I just can't see this situation changing for the better in the next 5 years or more. We've just spent £65m on buying land, and that's just a pittance in comparison to the money needed for the new stadium. Wee spent over £100m on land and interest payments last year, and not on players. Thus the debt keeps piling up.
Firing Carrick may give an immediate boost, just as firing Amorim did and replacing him with Carrick, but the plain fact of the matter is we're starting off at a disadvantage with a squad that man for man is simply not good enough.
11 Oct 2026 22:01:33
Although it's hard to disagree that the players are not good enough. That doesn't mean a proper manager, who knows what they are doing, couldn't get more out of this squad.
Everton are sitting in 5th. I don't believe they have 11 better players than United. But they do play with passion and fight and actually run once in a while.
11 Oct 2026 23:15:19
They perhaps don't have better players, but they have a better team.
12 Oct 2026 06:37:34
I agree that a good manager will make 2+2=> 4 but this has been going on for a decade now under numerous managers. Short bursts of success followed by a drop off. So, it maybe be the case that many of our players have more natural talent but what they lack is the mental profile necessary to grind out sustained results in this league.
It keeps coming back to a malign ownership. They are what's responsible for where we are today. We're not going to challenge for titles again while we're saddled with the Glazers and Ineos.
12 Oct 2026 08:07:35
It won't take us long to ruin Baleba though like every other signing that comes through the door.
12 Oct 2026 08:57:52
A managers remit is to build a team and his coaches remit is to coach that team to his instructions, Carrick is clearly failing at both those, yes it don't help because the coaching team he chose are pitiful but the buck stops with him on the field, above that we have idiots that's for sure, but many of you were lauding the signing of Tielemans and Santos and Cunha, Mbuemo and Lammens last year, all of which I don't feel are at the level required for United and expressed that, but of course you all jump on bandwagon of blaming McGuire, Dalot, Rashford even Bruno and try to defend an awful CB in Martinez, poor striker when he is even fit Sesko the list goes on, this is an awful squad with low level manager and even worse coaches and a part owner only interested in one thing and that ain't football.
Many have the romantic idea of a 5 or 10 year plan, that's all pie in the sky in 2026, it's a we want now world and rightly so, so managers every 2 years is fine, long as they are elite top of tree managers, that's the shelf life anyway of the intense atmosphere they creat, so no problem there.
But of course elite managers cost money and want more, that's where we fall down
So we will continue the skin flint attitude all whilst SJR is in situ, I said at the time he was the worst thing that could happen to United and guess what the usual crowd shot that down too
Now look at the mess and getting worse game by game, we may win a big game here or there but that's about it.