Manchester United banter 10

12 Jan 2026 20:15:16
Good podcast again by The Athletics 'Talk of the Devils'.

Interesting from Andy Mitten on the players view on Amorims departure, Mitten of course a journalist well known for his close ties to past and present United players.

12 Jan 2026 21:45:50
Good lord man. "The players were annoyed after the Wolves game. " Is that the white hot evidence of dressing room turmoil you're looking for? Even the confirmation bias you've sought out is weak. In the last two games you've gone on about how much better we seem. Smh.

12 Jan 2026 22:09:29
If you have posted that no doubt it will say they all wanted rid. Amorim has gone, the club is a shambolic mess and the players look shell shocked. I asked Grok, “the outpouring of thanks post sacking suggests he was more liked personally than his results might suggest” . I posted Amads comment the other day.

I continue to see posts by people who have no idea what change management is about, what Amorim had to do to turn this mess around. Little hint, you can’t please all the people all the time.

13 Jan 2026 00:53:06
Caught a big one there donred ?.

13 Jan 2026 03:16:58
These journos are in utd's pocket these days. Never the fault of the Glazers or upper management. Lame duck identified and they all roll out the stories.

Regeneration money is getting so close they can all smell it now, one more interim and maybe a summer appointment and roll it out till then.

13 Jan 2026 08:58:51
The Athletic podcasts are OK, but they do seem to give the leadership a free pass.

13 Jan 2026 10:50:02
The athletic are a joke. Everytime the board make a dumb decision they are there to spin the truth into oblivion. Literally every time they come out with crap article that is the opposite of the truth. I can't believe they are still a thing.

13 Jan 2026 11:53:49
The Athletic has some good journalists and some mixed ones. Ornstein really knows his stuff. But since they were acquired by NYT they've dropped a lot of the standards that made them popular. That podcast is a good example. Really short on insider information, and lacking in any analysis of tactics etc. Basically just more of the same we get anywhere else.

13 Jan 2026 12:07:28
Look at their readership amd listenership tells you all you need to know.
I mean who could take any notice of anything they publish?

12 Jan 2026 18:40:47
Xabi alonso has obviously seen the bright lights of OT and thought, who needs Madrid and sunshine…take me home united road!

13 Jan 2026 08:08:46
???.

12 Jan 2026 18:39:55
Don't call Carrick xavi alonso is free.

12 Jan 2026 19:32:16
Yes please.

12 Jan 2026 20:20:20
Maybe they could start in midfield for us surely. ve better than what we got.

12 Jan 2026 18:02:24
Xabi Alonso for head coach anybody?

12 Jan 2026 18:34:47
You know what formation he's renowned for right.

12 Jan 2026 18:48:18
Absolutely. Busby played for City and for Liverpool. He's an excellent coach. Whether he'd swap one toxic environment for another is the question for him.

12 Jan 2026 19:29:57
Another young coach to ruin? I saw the odds have been slashed for Hoeness. Didn't we go in for him before?

12 Jan 2026 19:42:04
amorim ruined himself.

12 Jan 2026 20:07:30
We did Sepp. I posted here a couple of days ago that he's my favoured choice but then people got me thinking Luis Enrique might be possible! As I recall we went for him to succeed ETH in the summer before deciding on continuity, but he decided he needed to develop more.

12 Jan 2026 20:30:52
I’ve read that Vivell’s long term choice is Hoeness. But not sure they will take a gamble on another younger coach with no premier league experience.

I’d be ok giving him a go. Rather do that then go with Glasner, Tuchel or most of the other premier league experienced coaches being mentioned. Going with premier league experience does not guarantee anything.

12 Jan 2026 21:40:58
Fallguy there are only a couple of coaches i'd rather it not be tbh.
Other than southgate and however I am open to anybody at all with much reservation.
When it comes down to 2 or 3 names i'd be happy to pick my preference.

But at the moment any name brought up has just as good as chance as the next guy.
Im very indifferent at the moment.
The one thing i'm pretty sure of is that he will need time to build a team.

12 Jan 2026 22:03:17
Just really hope it’s not Glasner who sadly seems to be the favourite.

If it was me, my shortlist would be in no particular order:

Alonso
Enrique
Nagelsmann
Xavi
Hoeness

And if you want premier league experience it would be Emery.

12 Jan 2026 22:55:24
How about tuchel fallguy? I think he sorts the crap out still.

13 Jan 2026 06:34:22
Not sure about Tuchel. He hasn’t blown me away for England. From what I remember at Chelsea he tends to play boring football, but it was a while ago so I could be wrong.

Doesn’t he have a habit of falling out with the higher ups?

13 Jan 2026 12:22:51
How about Pep. He's leaving at the end of the season? After all we have everyone above him in already from Citeh.

12 Jan 2026 17:47:02
Alonso is available!

Once the hottest property in European football, now cast aside by Madrid, shows how fickle football can be.

At least this shows that managerial appointments are difficult, I imagine Slot might be looking over his shoulder now.

12 Jan 2026 18:46:20
Grim ill give you an interesting stat, he has the highest win % of any Madrid manager for the last 10 seasons. Shows you how irrelevant a stat like that can be in isolation and the relevance of his stat taken over just the one season which is the correct way to look at it so it makes sense to contextualise his performance this season.


Call me cynical but he might be earmarked for Liverpool if the device to part ways with slot.

12 Jan 2026 19:18:41
I’d take him at United. But he is always going to end up at Liverpool.

12 Jan 2026 19:55:13
T…. Madrid are a different proposition, it’s not just the results, you try to coach the superstars and they show you who has the real power at that club.

12 Jan 2026 20:31:51
Different beast alright grim.

13 Jan 2026 10:32:16
Seeing as Liverpool opted against Amorim as they didn't feel his system fit their squad, would they go for another 3 at the back merchant? Would Alonso's history with them be enough to see them go back on that?

{Ed001's Note - he only played a back 3 at Leverkusen because the squad he had suited that. He usually plays a back 4, but is flexible and will change it.}

13 Jan 2026 16:43:50
Liverpool have 2 good wbs already but don't have 2 top cbs never mind 3. The rest of their squad could easily fit into the shape he played at leverkusen. So if they spend money on cbs he could adapt that squad into the shape he played in Germany.


Its another matter if Liverpool want to do that or if they would prefer to play with 4 at the back.
Alinso is comfortable with either and has done both so that flexibility would be great for them.

12 Jan 2026 15:10:08
Good afternoon 033 can you put up another poll.
Should new coach coming in the summer keep bruno and build the team around him or sell and start fresh?
Thanks ed.

{Ed033's Note -


Bruno poll

12 Jan 2026 16:06:20
Keep him, the team doesn't necessarily need to be built around him, excellent player, considerably better than the rest. i'd give up if he goes before most of these rubbishbags.

12 Jan 2026 17:20:22
I would only say sell if we reinvest. I think at the moment Bruno is playing in a position that isn’t really his best or you get the best out of him. I would also say that it comes down to price if we are selling for 40 mil then I would keep if it’s an offer that’s 70-90 mil you have to sell.

Having said that if I was Bruno I would go the clubs a mess why would you want to stay, there is no project here even if they keep labelling it as one.

12 Jan 2026 17:32:52
I don’t think there is any other player at United that you can currently build a team around, unless of course they plan to bring in those type of players in the summer.

12 Jan 2026 17:33:52
Be very interested in how this poll turns out. Difficult one with Bruno, he is our best player but I guess much of it will depend on how much we were offered. 60-70m and I can’t see us turning that down. Also if u look at Bruno’s body language lately he might want to go himself this time.

12 Jan 2026 18:23:43
What if he wants to leave. irrespective of how the club value him.

12 Jan 2026 18:28:41
They're is no right or wrong on this one at all tim is just opinions.
There are arguments that are equally as compelling on both sides.
I think his contract expires at the end of next season so its either extend or sell this summer.


I would imagine bruno will want to see who the new manager is and what signings we make before he commits to an extention.
There is no doubt he will feel like this is a wasted year.

12 Jan 2026 18:45:09
I think the club want to build the club around Wilcox.

12 Jan 2026 18:47:50
Then you sell him jimbob if he doesn't want to stay then there is no debate to be had.

12 Jan 2026 19:03:00
Sell, i think with a new manager coming in the summer, would be good to have as much money at his disposal to reshape the squad as quickly as possible.

Bruno obviously is not getting any younger but still has a good reputation and could be willing to go saudi post world cup so we could still get a decent fee for him.

12 Jan 2026 20:22:26
Totally Ken, valid arguments on both sides. Part of it from the fans is the fact that if we did sell him i’m not sure we trust that money to be invested wisely to improve the team as a whole.

13 Jan 2026 08:14:39
To build a team around a man of his age is, I think, folly.
The result of the poll thus far is interesting.

12 Jan 2026 15:03:54
From next Aug it will be a new beginning with bodily a new coach.
So do people think this summer is the time to get rid of and sell bruno?
No doubt bruno has done well for himself at united.

Scored and assisted plenty of goals. But in all his time here as our chief play maker the team has never been consistent. We have had our worst league finishes and not qualified for the cl in 4 of his 7 seasons. So while bruno has got himself a few nice personal stats the team have not worked well with him on it for the main part. He will be 32 next season I think its time to cash in.

Maybe a year later than we should have but I think it's time to say thanks bruno but you've not been quite able to be successful or to help the team be successful go try somewhere else.

No point the new coach trying to build using bruno as the playmaker.
We have had 4 managers try that and fail.
So I think the summer would be a great time to part ways with him.
He will go down as one of our best players not to win a league medal.
Hopefully we can get someone who has good personal stats like bruno did but can also galvanise the team to win more.

12 Jan 2026 15:48:38
If we sell Bruno we best replace his numbers, regardless of his antics and somtimes he does try the killer balls to often maybe loses with ball to much but that it just what player he is as he can do the impossible compared to most players

And in another team with those numbers he throws out he would have won a hell of a lot

Love him or hate him he has been exceptional in a very poor Manchester United era and he is unappreciated by some of the fan base

Players come and go but we should be getting rid of a hell of a lot more before we think about selling Bruno, but money talks and he’s our biggest assess and as you say given age and where we are at it’s probably the best and right time to sell him now

He deserves to go somewhere and win some trophies before he retires.

12 Jan 2026 16:08:23
Bruno plays with his heart and cares about the club, has been our best player for years (wilderness years but if we had more like him it would have been a good period) . However, if we can get decent money for him then I think it is good for the club to move on.

Sentiment says that he has a lot of value still to offer but that will diminish as his value does and the position we are in it is better to replace a year early (even if it could be argued it would be a year late than hold on.

This summer will be key in the next stage of the team the club want to create and it will need at least 4/5 players brought in and we will need to generate some good money. Hopefully we will sell Rashford and Hojlund, rid ourselves of the Sancho salary and Onana still on loan. We can then look at some additional sales that could include Zirkzee, Dalot and Ugarte.

12 Jan 2026 16:15:26
I agree bolger he has been a very good player and he gives his all in every game.
I also agree he deserves to win the biggest trophies.
I never agreed he should go to Saudi unless he just wanted more money I think bayern or Madrid or the likes would be a great spot for a couple of seasons. But they haven't offered his release clause which they could have at any time over past 2 seasons.
His numbers will get split across the team just like Ronaldo or Messi or ruud or lampard at chelsea or torres at Liverpool or suarez or Gerrard before him.
The facts are we have not competed in the league for most of his time here. No cf has excelled in front of him. No midfielders have excelled alongside him. No cb have excelled behind him and no wingers have done great alongside him.


We can point to plenty who have gone on to do ok or better since they left. So despite his great play its not worked out for the team at all.
That's not brunos fault as I say his ability is not in question but neither is the fact that as a team we have not excelled under lots of managers lots of playing partners its never quite gelled to be successful and consistent.
At 32 I don't think there is any improvement to come so it maybe that we get decent money for him in the summer, the alternative is that the new manager thinks he can get the right results and we give him a new contract and sign him up until he is 34/35 he is a fit lad. I suppose it will be up to bruno himself to decide.

12 Jan 2026 16:45:21
But then do you trust the club to use the money to get the team better

I’m not so sure

Look at now, rumours Amorim fell out with Wilcox as they said as semeyo has gone city they wouldn’t be getting anyone

At this moment we can’t trust anyone at the club to do anything right.

12 Jan 2026 16:51:18
I tend to agree with most of that Brad.
Its a tough one. If someone offers his release closure the club have no power at all. Nobody has done that to date.
I wonder if it will happen this summer if it does I hope its to a European club where he will got a shot at the cl.


I really would like to see how he gets on in a top team and how would adapt his game to fit in.

12 Jan 2026 17:35:25
Been enjoying his recent tweets.

12 Jan 2026 18:24:53
Don't have to build a team around him, but he's the last piece of the puzzle I'd be looking at fixing.

12 Jan 2026 18:36:02
last guy we need to sell. plenty to do and he is so durable will give us another 5 top years. we will not need to sell him to buy and spend a lot this summer.

12 Jan 2026 19:02:06
I understand that noucamp.
Im Just suggesting we might be better of with a new puzzle instead of keep trying to make the old pieces fit .

12 Jan 2026 13:51:21
Oh, come on. Amorim's been angling for a way out since last season. It has to have been incredibly frustrating for him to leave a title winning team in a minor league to come to OT and find that the players and mangers in the EPL are way better and could easily exploit the holes his system left, particularly with the limited squad he had at his disposal. I think the problem was that he himself had far less confidence in his much vaunted system and that's why he engineered his own demise. Let's face it everybody could see that, having invested well in the forwards and goalkeeper, we still needed a major refurbishment in midfield. So, he had an excuse. He could have played for results for the rest of this season, maybe got into Europe and the club would have spent to fill those serious deficiencies. But, no, he decided to throw his toys out the pram. That's the action of someone who, despite all the protestations to the contrary, doesn't really believe in himself.

Yes, there has been some improvement since last season at least in the attack, but it's been made up for by an event worse defensive record. His results have been abysmal. My guess is ETH would have done better last season, and he would quite possibly have put a side out to beat Spurs in the Europa final (if he'd got us there) . I actually liked Amorim. He had a chance to make a name for himself as the coach of one f the most famous clubs in world football. but he bottled it.

One wonders if we hadn't lost players to Afcon and we had won those drawn games against bottom clubs, whether all of this would have gone down in the same way.

12 Jan 2026 14:31:17
Your interpretation of this appears to me to be wildly wide of the mark. My reading - which could also be very far off - is that they decided to replace RA several weeks ago, but to do so in the summer. That then led to a change of approach towards the winter transfer window, and that RA would not get reinforcements to ensure better balance to the team - as we because limited owing to how bad our left side has been. This created tension, and this was compounded by then being told he needed to play a different formation. Wilcox also addressing the squad to tell them they were underperforming was another straw. Amorim was too emotional but I put very little of this whole debacle on him.

Wilcox, Berrada and Ratcliffe should have shown more patience and backed the manager. Amorim had a paper thin squad and when multiple players from the 7 or 8 good players he has were missing then things didn't look good, but when he had those players available we looked like a really really good side. The posters on here that are suggesting otherwise are talking crap. Numerous metrics demonstrated this improvement.

12 Jan 2026 15:22:21
One also wonders if Wilcox hadn't interfered as he has admitted to and supplied Amorim with a midfield without moving the goal posts after engaging him if Amorim would have reacted as he did.
It's all conjecture. All very bizarre.

12 Jan 2026 13:08:48
We could spend days discussing Managers, ownership etc. Truthfully, we all know the problem and we all know the solution but sadly, that doesn't look like changing anytime soon.

I'd rather just focus on the football and what we pay to watch each week. For me, the biggest issue with this Manchester United team right now isn’t tactics, personnel, or even effort — it’s confidence. This team looks mentally fragile, and once doubt creeps in, performances dip almost instantly. What makes it more frustrating is that the underlying numbers tell a very different story to the results we’re seeing on the pitch.

Statistically, United are doing a lot right. We’re top of the table for shots per 90 minutes, top for shots on target per 90, and second only to Manchester City for expected goals. Those are the numbers of a team creating chances consistently. But football is decided in the boxes, and that’s where United are falling short. We’re 15th for goals per shot and 15th for goals per shot on target — a huge gap between creation and conversion.

Goals change games, and timing matters. United have to be more clinical in the first 15 minutes. When chances go begging early, you can almost feel the confidence drain away. Heads drop, the crowd gets tense, and that “fragile” mentality kicks in. Instead of controlling games, we start reacting to them. Fix the ruthlessness in front of goal, especially early on, and everything else — belief, tempo, and control — starts to follow. I've lost count how many games now we have created big chances early on but not scored. Dalot scores 1 of his 2 chances in first 5 minutes and we are having a different discussion today.

The foundations are there with this team IMO. Now it’s about mentality, composure, and being ruthless when it matters most. I hope whoever comes in can just generate some confidence in the team to help us get Europe next season then this will at least give us a platform for the the new manager to come in a take it forward as best they can within the environment Ratcliffe, Wilcox, Berradar and the Glazers have created.

12 Jan 2026 14:16:37
You've hit the nail on the head ports with the fragile mentality we've had it all season that's why we have dropped so many points in games we should have won.

12 Jan 2026 15:51:53
The same issues coming up with the same group of players which another manager has failed to get a tune out of.

Isn’t it strange that.

Every season the excuses come in, lack of confidence, players are fragile, poor them yet us fans who folk out thousands a season are the ones suffering.

It’s just a constant circle you could go back 14 months and I have probably posted this exact reply.

12 Jan 2026 18:30:44
I've been saying this group of players (so come some go) has been mentally weak for a very long time. That is in part why most of them need to leave. We need to churn out the dross, now. Have a season of laying younger players if necessary. I said exactly that in the summer, just promote the youth and literally carve up the entire squad.

It was a golden opportunity in a world cup year to get rid of all the hangers on, every last one of them. The board bottled that too.
I said recently with the names we all know remaining in the squad we will be lucky to win many of the remaining game let alone a trophy.

12 Jan 2026 10:40:16
The club hopes to have a manager in place by Wednesday when the players return to training.

- BBC website

Wednesday! Players return to training Wednesday. WTF did they do to get two days off?

12 Jan 2026 11:29:23
They are fragile atm BRD.

They need time to rest and recover for all the running and sprints they made during the game against Brighton reserves.

12 Jan 2026 11:38:37
Think you’ve taken that the wrong way. Final decision by tomorrow so prep can start in weds for the derby.

12 Jan 2026 11:45:41
Nrd there had been major upheaval for the players. A couple of days off while they sort an appointment is understandable imo.
Its not like they can prep anything for the weekend until the new coach sets them up. So it makes sense to me.

12 Jan 2026 12:03:24
Remember when Jim preached about having the best in class


Ridiculous decision to sack Amorim when we were still fighting for European spots and the fa cup.

What happened to putting the club first and no your egos.

12 Jan 2026 12:48:23
Bolger, Amorim got himself sacked. They put them in an untenable position.

12 Jan 2026 12:56:50
Agree Bolger. Madness.

12 Jan 2026 13:09:19
Angel

I know your agenda and yes Amorim did push the position but he was put in an untenable position, almost constructive dismissal.

I appreciate you will be cheering yet the bigger picture is that Wilcox has caused an utter shambolic disaster.

12 Jan 2026 13:41:08
I would assume Amorim wanted January reinforcements and was told to "coach" the players he's given. Wilcox and Barrera leaked this sour interaction to the press, Amorim knew the writing was on the wall so went out swinging.

All this shows is the new board room are willing to make decisions based on emotion and not logic. I wasnt a huge fan of Amorim but 5th/6th in the league with 6 or 7 first team players coming back into the fold, I think we would have had a shot at Champions League qualification.

Sacking him with the back up plan of Ole or Carrick is essentially flushing the season down the toilet. The light is now shining directly on them and with the club having no prospect of a trophy on 10th January is going to be a rough few months if the wheels come off.

Maybe Carrick can turn it around slightly and we can at least enjoy watching the team again.

12 Jan 2026 13:46:55
Good to see you mumbles.
All we have is hope mumbles.
No reason why6t Carrick can't do as well as amorim and keep us in the euro spots.

12 Jan 2026 14:10:41
Red man, It's not an agenda, it's literally what happened.

I'm hoping now that the decline can be reversed but the players confidence is on the floor and I'm not sure that it can be reversed quickly. What we will get is a lot of 'i told you sos' in the group because this is going to be a long road to recovery. After a 32% win rate in the league, it's going to take time.

12 Jan 2026 14:32:34
The decline eth took us into has been reversed angel. He took us into 7th then to 15th and amorim has clawed us out of that hole to joint 5th. I know you have difficulty grasping that. Now all we need is for our interim to maintain that and not let us slump in the league again like we did under eth.
Thankfully amorim arrested the slide after he got to pick the confidence off the floor and put some posting structure in.


It was a far from perfect work inmprogress but giving best results and goal difference for past 3 seasons.
Im backing Carrick to do well and to keep us in the el spots. As you said yourself this squad should be getting 6th place I'm sure they will they are bang on target for it anyhow.

12 Jan 2026 15:54:17
Confidence is on the floor through the likes of Wilcox sacking the manager because he called them out after they have been leaking snips to the press

Failed promises.