Manchester United banter 3

25 Jan 2026 20:42:40
Gooner here in peace.
Qudos guys, congrats on a great win. Carrick has certainly got you firing on all cylinders.

It's going to be an interesting few months!

25 Jan 2026 22:27:26
Ty for being so gracious in defeat. I would prefer your team over City or Liverpool to win the title but do wonder if you have the mental strength to do so. Your saving grace may be the others are so inconsistent.

25 Jan 2026 23:15:39
Salford I would agree on preferring Arsenal based on how they've built up their club and that they're not Liverpool (! ) . But really and truly Arteta is so negative. Arsenal have so many good players. They're 17th in open play goals. They should be walking this league.

By far the best squad. But as much and all as I respect the posters from them that join here, I find them difficult to watch. I hope they open up a bit and start playing the football they are more than capable of as I think City will win the league otherwise.

25 Jan 2026 23:47:12
Thanks Sally. I too prefer Aesenal for title, hope this year you have the edge.

26 Jan 2026 00:19:00
As a Liverpool fan, if they don't have the mental strength to win the title over us this year, god help them.

26 Jan 2026 01:23:30
Kudos.

26 Jan 2026 03:47:29
Davey sills. are Liverpool even considered title contenders this season.

26 Jan 2026 03:53:48
If it's not us then I'll go for Villa. It would be great of the league if there was a champion outside the so called big 6.

26 Jan 2026 06:54:20
Thanks Sally
Before the game we knew there would be nerves in the Arsenal team, especially as the game progressed, so it proved. Looks like it transmits to the team from the crowd as well.
Far rather you win the title than City, but unless you get over the uncertainty and nerves in games you could miss out.

26 Jan 2026 08:18:35
Arteta woud frustrate out of me if I was a Gooner. He’s done a brilliant job to get them back to the level they should be at, and put together a fine squad. But he is so negative, and I have a niggling feeling he’s taken them as far as he can go. Let’s see - football often proves me very wrong!

26 Jan 2026 09:12:57
Arteta's style to how Arsenal are set up is quite similar to England under Southgate.

26 Jan 2026 19:14:38
Apologies for my typo (they are legendary! ) I meant kudos not qudos lol.

{Ed025's Note - its ok Sally we are not the English language police..

25 Jan 2026 19:44:46
Super performance again, great watching us now. Still can't understand how Arsenal keep getting away with just pushing every player in on top of the goal line at corners, they have been given goals in our last 3 visits to emirates. I was off my seat for our second and third goals, like the 90s again.

Great credit to Carrick and his staff, we said these players were under performing, but what a difference now. Confidence is high now hopefully we can keep this high level and workrate in our remaining games.

25 Jan 2026 20:47:33
Football is about balance. Keeping players behind the ball and more balance in midfield is what has made the difference. Bruno still gives the ball away, but he is less of a liability further forwards and his passes and play have more impact. The guy is one of the best 10s around, not one of the best 8s.

Last 2 games have been great. Perfect team selection. We played with a plan and executed perfectly. At arsenal the team really played well across the game. Weathered the early arsenal pressure and slowly took over the game. Players like McGuire, Dalot, Shaw, Martinez, casemiro, mainoo all performed exactly how we needed for the whole game. Martinez was exposed for the two fairly lucky goals for the gunners - but with the ball he was fantastic and really impacts our team. I remember a mainoo give away that put us on the back foot and had me cursing - but all game he and casemiro worked well together to shield the back four and launch our play forwards.

This was an eth team resurrected. The additions of lamens, dorgu, amad and mbueno made all the difference. Solid unit at the back and more assurity with the ball in the front line.

So now to the real challenge, Fulham and other teams lying in wait, will not be so naive to play high lines against us. We will be expected to have possession and create chances against a set defense. Can this team, this squad do enough to breakdown deep lying teams? Can casemiro, mainoo, McGuire and co press the play high and close the space without leaking goals on the break?

Very interesting week's ahead. Hope they can keep this run going.

25 Jan 2026 20:51:03
Incredible scenes. Brilliant performance, again.

Literally more progress in 2 games than the last 14 months under Amorim’s regime.

Let’s see how we handle Fulham up next.

It’d be travesty if Arsenal win the title playing that type of football.

25 Jan 2026 21:29:04
I think that's a bit unfair Eric and actually vastly off the mark in terms of progress. We would have won both games with or without Amorim IMO.
We have been making progress from the Eth days and the days before him and the days before that manager prior etc etc.

As the OP quite rightly states, how we handle the Fulham and Spurs and West ham games next is the real test for me, then we can see more progress.

We may even switch out a couple of players to allow us to play a more pressing game, i. e. bring heaven back in for instance.

25 Jan 2026 22:33:50
Jim,

You think we would have won both of those games under Amorim? We rarely won one game, we won 2 in a row once in 15 months. I liked Amorim but we would not have won both of those games under him, not in a million years. We lost against both teams earlier in the season under him.

25 Jan 2026 23:01:21
Alright jimbo ?

We would have not won those with Amorim. What we are seeing is a completely different team.

25 Jan 2026 23:17:21
Utter nonsense Jim.

No way Amorim is bringing on Sesko and Cunha looking to win that game. His record was appalling, and players regressed under him.

Glad he’s gone. Terrible manager for us.

25 Jan 2026 23:18:17
Ah give it up GDS. Can you not just see that we clearly had improved under Amorim and were very well coached. You can equally then say that Carrick seems to be a better motivator and seems to make better lineup and substitution decisions. You can credit Carrick without tearing down Amorim.

26 Jan 2026 00:18:48
That’s a cracker Jimbob.

We may have beaten a weakened City but I very much doubt the Amorim team selection and/or formation would beat Arsenal.

26 Jan 2026 00:59:35
Yes I think we would have won both games under Amorim.
I also believed we would win them both under Carrick, and backed him to the hilt at the bookies too.
My point is we had been making progress, irrespective of the manager, to the point I felt we would have won both games.
So to that end, yes, we probably are. looking at different games, as I had seen the progress during the latter months of Amorim tenure.


Maybe that progress is being accelerated now that we are aying a formation suited to the cattle. Will the club continue the trend towards a 3 at the back approach as they churn through the crap we still have on our books, who knows, that's outside of our hands.

26 Jan 2026 03:16:22
we lose both games under amorim in my opinion. he would select a different team, different formation and players being asked to play in positions that does not suit them. Its a bit rich to make that statement when we were second best against 10 man Everton, westham, wolves etc etc and just so so poor to watch game after game with the occasional decent performance. I liked the man but the pl is a step too far too soon for him. got tired of listening to him telling the world how the players were no good.

We are not too far and a good summer window will make this team very good. Kudos to Shaw and whatever the club did to get him back from his injury, he is just an excellent footballer in all aspects of the game.

26 Jan 2026 03:51:11
Keefy we very nearly and probably should have beaten arsenal early in the season, under Amorim.
I really don't know why people cannot give credit where it is due to a manager who ripped the bad blood out of our terrible squad.


What we are seeing now is the fruits of his mental strength to stop the rot.
More work needed. Is Carrick the man, maybe his motivational skills are enough to get him through to the main gig.

26 Jan 2026 07:20:01
Donred, his record speaks volumes as manager, it was shocking.

Jimbo it was not progress, we failed to beat 6 of the 7 teams in the bottom positions during the months leading to his sacking.

He is gone now, and the team already look like a weight has lifted.

The next 5 games are really winnable and we could find ourselves in an incredible position after this run. I'm extremely optimistic.

26 Jan 2026 08:23:03
Angel you are utterly simplistic. Your way of viewing things is so myopic. I can't engage with any more on this as you are determined to rewrite history and continue in this ridiculous binary view. You need to grow up fella.

26 Jan 2026 09:33:08
Don, Jim, you will not change the mind of Mr 32%, but you have read him correctly, I think. Unfortunately, some feel the need for instant gratification, so they fail to see progress and that a complete rebuild takes time. God help Carrick if it all falls apart because the wolves will be circling very quickly.

26 Jan 2026 15:35:20
Don,

Are you the one that wrote the bit on xG and tried to school everyone who disagreed? Yet won’t just look at facts, we won 2 in a row once in the whole time he was here, we would not have beaten City and Arsenal with him as manager, it’s as simple as that, nobody is bashing him, it’s just facts. your reaction to this is crazy.

26 Jan 2026 18:21:47
Guys, our squad was littered with oxygen thieves. A lot have since departed, more to go. That was down to Amorim, that is a fact, he did not suffer fools and it was a refreshing change. But he was too stubborn and rigid, I accept that. But to say we did not make progress is idiotic.
Yu can say what you want about the results, and football is a results driven business, he got the boot because he called out the management team, and he was right to do that, Wilcox is a fraud.


He would still be manager if he hadn't had his outburst, that is a fact.
I think he would have won both games, others don't, neither of us know and to state it as a fact is being stupid.
I for one hope that Carrick win the next 15 games, I have stated from the start of the season that we will win the league and believe we are still in with a shout.

{Ed025's Note - say no to drugs..

25 Jan 2026 19:11:18
Great performance. Great result. Some out of this world goals.

Arsenal are really boring to watch, all they seem to have is a few big guys and some good set piece takers. Hope they don’t win the league.

I really don’t want to out a dampener on things, but we’ve seen this team life themselves for the big games, especially when they can use counter attacks. What will really impress me is if the put in the same performance, fight and result against Fulham next week.

Fingers crossed this really is the start of something.

25 Jan 2026 19:54:48
I'll also want to see a handful of our next run of games before I judge Carrick. We have at some point turned, Arsenal, City and Liverpool over with most of our managers. The proper test is when we play teams that keep more men behind the ball. We can counter the big teams no problem. Our issue is playing with teams that counter on us.

25 Jan 2026 20:31:00
Great performance again today.
Great goals, great effort, great set up, great substitutions.
Lots of positives.
Hopefully dorgu won't be out for long.
I won't even consider the next manger until these 15 games are over.


All that matters is that we continue to ride this eve. Momentum and confidence are at an all time high the longer that bubble stays afloat the more robust it comes when they take a knock.
Heads down until the next game and move from there.

25 Jan 2026 23:33:34
This and more Ken. We cannot just Carrick and team on such a small sample. Obviously - and it should be bloody obvious - Carrick and co are focused mainly on setup right now rather than coaching. The majority of the coaching benefits from Amorim's team.

We need to see both how well we do against other styles of play, but also how organised we remain as the coaching becomes dominated by Carrick's group. I'm very encouraged so far.

25 Jan 2026 18:57:31
Wow what a game and result. That took me back to Arsenal v United fixtures of old, fully if attacking flair and excitement. I’m absolutely buzzing with that and to do it with a late winner is ? not even the most optimistic of us would have saw 6 points against city and Arsenal so to do that is brilliant.

Long may it continue. Have a great week fellow reds ??.

25 Jan 2026 19:31:55
I never thought Dorgu would be the player that made me so happy. When that one went in, I jumped up and shouted "TONY YEBOAHHHH" and I hope that all of South Liverpool heard me!

25 Jan 2026 20:29:46
He’s been really good In the last few games since he’s been moved further forward. Even in the Burnley game he did well. Fair play to him he’s taking a lot of stick but has been excellent.

25 Jan 2026 18:33:40
Yeeees, another excellent performance, fully deserved win.

25 Jan 2026 18:44:24
Couple of worldies, solid performance. Need to kick on.
2 out of 17 cup finals won, 15 to go, title still on.

25 Jan 2026 18:58:53
Loved it. Aftv and chill tonight ?.

25 Jan 2026 18:58:59
Nice irony to see the Arsenal fans complaining about our time wasting.

25 Jan 2026 19:32:20
Super stuff. Balance of game was probably more like a draw but we've been unlucky in other games and the positivity of the changes got their deserved reward. Thrilled. The recruitment in attack has been excellent. Unselfish players making good decisions, really good technique. We've plenty to work on but, when we've our best players available, we're a serious side.

25 Jan 2026 18:28:54
Wonder what all those Arsenal fans that thanked us last week are thinking.

25 Jan 2026 18:21:37
Saw something here the other day about who we’re going to sign to replace Bruno, seems to me we’ve already got the replacement in Cunha.

25 Jan 2026 18:39:14
He doesn’t score that goal without Bruno though.

25 Jan 2026 18:59:41
Think that was the idea, maybe a bit of forward planning for once. Excellent player and at that price a no brainer.

25 Jan 2026 19:06:41
In fairness it’s not like Bruno put it on a plate for him.

25 Jan 2026 20:15:43
Mainoo passed it to Cunha.
Perhaps there is a mix up with the interplay between Bruno and Dorgu for his goal.

Dorgu definitely has to play further up the field and not occupy the defensive positions, he is a liability in those positions.

25 Jan 2026 22:35:01
No, there is no mix up, watch it again, Cunha does not score his goal without the play from Bruno. I know who played the final pass, but Bruno creates it, like he creates everything.

25 Jan 2026 07:39:04
{Ed's Note - Shappy has posted a new article entitled, Manchester United's Next Manager: Why This Rebuild Needs Time

25 Jan 2026 05:54:29
I think that Wolves nr7 Andre i think his name is if correct. I watched him against city and he was doing everything in his abilities to help out the defence nicking the ball back playing out to gomez etc

I think he would be a a great buy if Anderson is not attainable.

25 Jan 2026 12:19:47


Shappy has written an article entitled, Manchester United Should Target Relagation Team's Players

24 Jan 2026 22:56:35
Come the summer, obviously if we've qualified for Europe, in particular the ECL, we should be better placed to spend big on midfield. I'm wondering though who else in England is going to be thinking of midfield as their priority?

Liverpool? I think they're going to be looking at replacing VVD, Salah and Robertson. They have conceded as many goals as we have. They already have a good midfield grouping even if Slot can't get them functioning at the top-level.

City, again, I think they're going to be seeing defense as a priority. Presumably Rodri will continue as holding midfielder. Bernardo will need to be replaced perhaps and arguably they still haven't found anyone yet to fill de Bruyne's shoes.

Chelsea have a pretty deep midfield with Palmer, Caicedo and Enzo. Will they be up for spending another £80-£100m on another midfielder.

Arsenal, maybe, but they are already stacked everywhere, and may be looking to consolidate for a season.

Villa? Can they afford it and remain within the EUFA 70% squad cost to revenues ratio? They will at least no longer have to pay Sancho.

Anyway, I'm going to remain hopeful that this summer will see us finally acquire a couple of long term midfield stars who will help us return to the top table. Bruno was a good signing, but other than him there hasn't been a top long term signing since well before SAF retired.

25 Jan 2026 01:19:29
No disrespect but i don't think Villa can compete with us newname. Liverpool may go for Wharton, City i think the links were with Anderson and maybe they are favourites. Arsenal with Rice and Zubimedi are well stocked there and Chelsea too. But i think Elliot Anderson is too good to not be involved and maybe Arsenal try for him, Chelsea i am not so sure because i think these days they buy player in 50-70 million bracket and Anderson will go well above these numpers.

We have our chances and Baleba seems willing to come, i would say we are the favourites, but who knows.

25 Jan 2026 01:59:36
I think it is Wharton and Baleba to utd
Anderson to city
Liverpool have a few names and may need to focus elsewhere as you noted.

25 Jan 2026 10:58:10
Anderson is the best one available and we 100% need to push as hard as we can to get him. If we don't have UCL that will be hard. Rumours are City want him and if they do go for him then it'll be hard to win that battle. Our best chance is if Pep leaves City this summer then maybe that might play into Anderson's thoughts when making a decision.

That said if Anderson does go to City and we managed to get both Wharton and Baleba (both of which are rumoured to have their prices dropped from the 100m previously linked to around 70m) then we will have massively upgraded our midfield. While we could still go for someone like Noah Sadiki if we wanted that dynamic and physical box to box player.

If we start next season with midfield options of Mainoo, Baleba, Wharton, and Sadiki then we will have potentially one of the best midfield selections in the league.

25 Jan 2026 17:29:25
Don't discount Kone for next season too, even as a bit part role.
I think we will, and should, sell Collyer this summer.