Manchester United banter 5

05 Mar 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - KeeDal has posted a new article entitled, Liverpool Concerns Over Slot, Standards and Squad Attitude

05 Mar 2026 06:49:13
What we saw last night and increasingly over the last two or three games was Gareth Southgate's England, I suspect tactically driven by Steve Holland. The lack of any drive cannot be fatigue, yet when playing against 10 there was no urgency, no Manchester United way of going at a team, little width or crossing a ball. The Carrick honeymoon is over, he can either continue setting us up like Southgate with Steve Holland in his ear, or be the manager who wants a chance at the job, attack with more energy, urgency. Last night has been coming, same set up over the last two or three and settled into don't lose Southgate football.

Great advert for why Southgate should never ever be considered as well.

05 Mar 2026 08:00:13
I could have put more energy into that midfield last night and I'm 50 years old. My issue is the same thing as always. The players can do it, they showed it against Arsenal. They hammered City, but the same effort has not been there for the last few games.

Sometimes they just don't show up, regardless of who the manager is. Trippier was racing forward yesterday, with Cunha following at a light jog, and the same with other players.

05 Mar 2026 08:32:34
Absolutely awful. There is something intrinsically wrong with the attitude in the club. No matter the manager, they revert to walk ball. Don't get me started, re Mainoo. I will bet that if the club decide to offload him, he will insist on his new club having European football.

Yet, whilst the chance is there right now, right in front of him, he can't be bothered to fight for it. Strolls around like an entitled nob!
Watching this dirge sickens me.

05 Mar 2026 08:42:17
Banjoe, every team could say this. People here have pushed yet again to make things player centred. We saw a clear pattern and improving trajectory under Amorim. It derailed due to AFCON and his feeling of being undermined. But we've thrown away a lot. The results have papered over a clear regression. But the main thing that's clear is we have two ways to reliably progress the ball: Martinez and Bruno.

Amorim had Bruno in CM, and he had no option otherwise. Carrick used Martinez, but with him out, we're clueless. The formation also has to either play Mbeumo out of position or sideline Amad. It's a more defensive set up now. Hopefully Carrick gets a grip of it. Ultimately, I think we're reliant on Licha getting back quickly and Casemiro lighting it up.

05 Mar 2026 09:04:38
That's a mental frailty the squad has had for years, not a physical one. We simply don't turn up mentally against the "lesser" teams.

The Geordies were excellent last night - energy, aggression, pace, desire. We showed none of that.

05 Mar 2026 09:30:13
I'm not reading too much into the game.

We've played eight games under Carrick: won six, drawn one, and lost one. Were we realistically going to go unbeaten until the end of the season? Absolutely not. Playing against ten men is always tough, and St James' Park is a difficult place to go at the best of times.



It is what it is. Overall, it's been relatively positive so far. People just tend to read far more into things than they need to, often without any credible basis. Sometimes teams just have bad games - it's happened all season to lots of teams.

Let's just get to the end of the season before making assumptions.

04 Mar 2026 23:57:44
Carrick just failed his interview.
That was Eth 2.0 at its finest.
What a shower of crap that was.

Amorim ball finishes that game off in the second half.
Where was the HT rocket up their behinds?
Nothing.
Pathetic.
Get rid of half that squad, asap.

You can say overreaction, I don't care anymore.

All bets cashed in.

I'll switch these flogs back on after the summer window.

Simply wasting my precious time otherwise.

Apologies if this offends anyone, but there is no defending this group anymore.

05 Mar 2026 08:33:47
No apologies necessary for me, Jimbo. You speak the truth. Awful.

05 Mar 2026 18:25:56
Amorim's ball finishes the game off in the 2nd half, like against Everton at home?

06 Mar 2026 05:37:35
That's ludicrous to say RA wins that; he was diabolical. Yes, we have some poor players and slow paced build up, and Carrick has done well so far. Now is the chance for him to prove himself. I'm not convinced he is the man for the job, never have been, but he is ok as interim; if he gets 4th he has done brilliantly. Let's see now, the work really begins on how he does.


It's a poor squad, poor team. Average manager. We all know that.
Some need a reality check, thinking we would get 2nd, some even better on winning the league... lol... I would take 4th all day long.
Reality is we have got no CBs. Where are all the ones now who said him being injured most of his career is a myth!!

04 Mar 2026 22:31:21
Long time member, posting just to vent my frustration (4am here in Nepal). I reckon the honeymoon period has ended and it just feel like watching football from Ole's days. There is no cohesive plan or structure, players are running like headless chicken. Newcastle showed great spirit that was sorely lacking on our side. Absolute shambles!

04 Mar 2026 22:57:58
Or, alternatively, our squad isn't good enough to play 2 games in 3 days. Casemiro can't play twice, and our backup player wouldn't get in a League 2 side. No coincidence the 2 games we've not won under Carrick were away midweek games. Our subs tonight included Dalot, Ugarte, Zirkzee and Malacia; that's just a lack of quality, not a lack of spirit.

Newcastle deserved it. They played well, and we didn't. No need to panic or overreact. We have bigger breaks between every other game, and hopefully we can beat Villa next up.

04 Mar 2026 23:13:33
A top side playing against ten men would have run ragged. Utd aren't a top side. This has been coming. Utd are bang average.

04 Mar 2026 23:49:45
We've had more than enough rest to be able to play 2 games.
GDS, it's now 4 games where performances have been nowhere near what is needed.
Our play lacks any direction. I think work rate was a bit better today, but again there was no structure in our play and the tempo was slow. There is no pattern of play. We don't control games, and we rely on moments to counter-attack.


If we go on a poor run now, G Nev or any of the other ex-player idiots who are dying for attention on social media, it won't be Carrick, it will be the players who are blamed.
As I've said before, we were playing better with Amorim in intensity, work rate, and pattern of play.

04 Mar 2026 23:50:20
See previous posts/replies. The players.

05 Mar 2026 06:57:39
It's funny how Amorim was getting pelted for a lack of flexibility. The way we are playing now is even less flexible, with almost the same starting 11 picked every game. If Amorim wasn't playing 5 at the back, then would it have even been a thing? That was just an easy narrative.

Amorim was also pelted for his in-game management.

Why did we wait until after 70 minutes to see Amad against a 10 man Newcastle and Dan Burn at left back?

This loss has been coming after 4 or 5 poor performances with lucky wins. The honeymoon is over, and we are back into the mess of no plan, no change, and another 18 months until we are back to square one.

04 Mar 2026 22:25:51
Well that's been coming. Not being negative at all but we've been bang average since the Arsenal game. Every game since has been slow, slow paced passing, far too many sideways and backwards passes. What makes me rage is the lack of overlapping when the wide players have the ball.

Dont know why we he took Casemiro off when we aren't playing for another 11 days, our record without him is terrible.

Lost all of the intensity since the first two games and I wouldn't keep him, get top 4 and replace him. Very reminiscent of when Ole took interim charge, progressively got worse but kept on winning and then reality hit.

04 Mar 2026 22:58:52
Because Casemiro played on Sunday and can't play 2 90-minute games in a week, it's pretty obvious why he took him off. The replacement wouldn't get a game in League Two.

04 Mar 2026 23:53:56
These players are a disgrace. Do they not think we can see their lack of energy and effort? Pathetic performance. We just got outrun by 10 men of Newcastle, and I am not even surprised.

I thought the red card would be unlikely to benefit us, and I was right.

Lack of central midfielders was on full display today. Heaven help us if one or two get injured.

05 Mar 2026 04:55:31
I think that's a ridiculous statement that Casemiro can't play 2 games a week. Stupid of Ra, thinking he could only play 60 minutes.
The loss was always coming. We should be grateful the unbeaten run lasted so long. Strange how I got blasted when I said Ugarte, de Ligt, Yoro, Martinez, Mazzouri, to name a few, were not good enough, and there is a problem with our pedestrian-paced play. Now it seems we are agreeing! Funny that.
I remember saying de Ligt is injured far too much in his career. Oh bang, here come all the usual crowd saying, "oh no, he is not", well, actually how is that looking.


This is not a great team, some poor players and an inexperienced manager. We just need to be grateful the winning run lasted. We now need to see how we respond; it's not the end of the world. Oh, maybe for the ones who thought we would win every game and win the league!
But one thing: Carrick ain't no world beater, but he is a damn sight better than Ra. That's for sure.
Don't be surprised if Martinez appears come summer, Carrick as number 2.

05 Mar 2026 04:37:31
No chance GDS, we've been playing 1 game a week and Casemiro did not look knackered at all! Baffling to take him off and put the poor Uruguayan on!

05 Mar 2026 18:28:19
I'm just explaining why he took Casemiro off, it's pretty obvious. Whether it was the right decision or not is a different matter. His replacement isn't good enough, but that is the reason why.

04 Mar 2026 19:38:50
Whilst it would be great to put in a fabulous performance tonight and win the match, ultimately I don't really care if it is a naff performance as long as we win. An own goal from a shot hitting the bar and going in off the back of their goalkeeper will do me nicely.

For the rest of the season it is not about style but substance. Nothing else matters but winning. This notion that a new manager should instantly create a side, 2/3rds of the way down the league table, into a attacking, winning side overnight is just a fantasy.

Creating a winning mentality is the absolute priority, once that has been achieved the quality of play can be worked upon, indeed the more you win the more the style will automatically improve through natural evolution.

For now it's WIN, WIN, WIN.

Let's keep it going tonight!

04 Mar 2026 21:11:43
Except we were 5th when Carrick took over.

04 Mar 2026 22:24:39
Well, that was an absolute farce. What a woeful performance by all. What got me most is how unfit they looked. They deserve to lose without doubt. A last season pathetic performance.

04 Mar 2026 22:33:02
Notice a lot of our poor performances have come when we've had to play a midweek game. It's just not the squad depth or quality, and nights like tonight show some players' age.

04 Mar 2026 22:41:44
Just like Villa, we have massively overachieved. I was dreaming of finishing in the top two, and a proper performance today would've put pressure on City. Not sure what's going on if these players, in their prime, can't play twice a week, yet they talk about CL football.

Newcastle should've been there for the taking in the second half - they should've been pinned back and their box should've been assaulted with balls to Sesko. Cunha, imo, needs to be rested - he's a great player, but the boy needs to pass the ball a lot sooner.

05 Mar 2026 05:04:01
Top 2 is a pipe dream, 3rd place is a push, I'd be happy with 4th.
Reality, this is not a great team. We have zero CBs who are anything above average, 2 full backs who are not that great, Sesko still has loads to learn, Cunha still needs to learn he is not playing for Wolves anymore and that his build-up play is still too slow.

Don't be surprised if Martinez comes in after the World Cup and Carrick goes to number 2. That way we can still plan and buy players Martinez wants.



We need an experienced CB along with 2 midfielders and still need an experienced striker and hopefully a full back or 2.

I don't buy this; we can't play 2 games a week. That's ridiculous, plus you need a few experienced players in a team. With our lack of defenders, you're always likely to have problems and get found out. I would not keep any of our CBs, maybe McGuire at a push, but that's about it.

05 Mar 2026 18:28:51
We lost, Maze is back. Trololol.

04 Mar 2026 09:46:42
St. James Park. Always a tough place to go, despite Newcastle not playing well recently, I'm sure that they will try and fly out in our faces and be as aggressive as usual.

But, there are some big players out for Newcastle at the minute and I do believe we will score 2/3 tonight. Big Ben to continue his good form. 2-1 win.

Really looking forward to it tonight.

How's everyone feeling? Any score predictions?

04 Mar 2026 10:05:53
I'm a bit nervous about tonight. Gordon, up against Dalot, worries me. I'm hoping we start fast and take the game away from Newcastle early on with a goal.

This will be controversial, I expect, but I think I'd take Mbuemo out and go Cunha - Fernandes - Diallo and Sesko up top.

I feel like Mbuemo needs a break, and Diallo, up against Burn, would have an uncomfortable night, imo.

I'm going for a hopeful 2-0.

04 Mar 2026 10:11:55
Not a bad shout, Ports. Amad could do well there. But I think he's going to drop out imo and be brought on with 20/25 mins to go. Fresh legs v Burn, even better.

04 Mar 2026 10:21:27
Torn between the players not being able to handle the atmosphere and Newcastle being so open that inevitably the likes of Bruno, Mbuemo and Cunha should be able to exploit the spaces on the counter.

Going to go for an entertaining 2-2 draw.

04 Mar 2026 19:01:41
4-2 to UTD. The Manchester one.

I think Newcastle have a virus running through the squad and a few are out.

04 Mar 2026 07:55:10
The players really need to get to the levels of the City and Arsenal games tonight, it needs big passion and work rate to win up there. They have to be at it right from the kick off.

04 Mar 2026 09:35:13
Redcon, I think that's it. I'd like to see us come out of the gates a bit quicker tonight. But I won't be panicking if we don't, because we have been able to get the results needed in the second halves of games.

But yes, straight out of the blocks would be lovely.

04 Mar 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - EHL2020 has posted a new article entitled, Rangers and the Youth Pathway Bottleneck

03 Mar 2026 23:06:13
oh boy that's a great win for wolves. Andre I would take in a heartbeat to replace cas

They are playing with all heart and passion now and fair play to them too.

04 Mar 2026 06:50:28
Look at their run-in. The great escape is upon us!

04 Mar 2026 07:58:48
Might not be the great escape, but they won't finish bottom. I think that's Burnley's spot.

04 Mar 2026 09:11:47
Fair play to Wolves, back-to-back Premier League wins are a fantastic achievement, and something that is not easy to do at this level, as we have found out.

04 Mar 2026 19:03:01
I have wagered they beat the drop, Everton make top 6, and Spurs go down. Unable to get in a multi though. ?