26 Oct 2026 22:32:44
Does anyone actually have proper knowledge about the level of control Utds managers have had these past years.
When all is said the truth is that United have actually spent a lot of money on players. Add up the fees on Cuenha Mbwuemo Mount Sesko Santos Tielemans Baleba Yoro and it's a lot of money.
I am sure every manager at some time is refused by his board to buy a player or two
Hard questions must be asked about Carrick.
Why did he agree to the purchase of thee central midfielders when a left back was a necessity. Why did he not push for a top central defender and a striker. If he did and was rebuffed then it should have made him question his position and he should have walked away.
Asking somebody to do their job and then handicapping by depriving them of the tools they need and expecting them to succeed is irrational and cruel.
Also why is it that other teams can identify players that don't cost fortunes but who still come into the Premier League and perform at a really high level. Brighton and Brentford are especially good at this. Yes the expectation and pressure is greater at United but as Bournemouth proved it's what you do the pitch with what you have that counts.
All these issues will await the new manager if there is to be one. To expect him to get the team playing properly means being patient. He will also have to make do without being able to buy the very best players at the moment. Utds finances don't permit paying the highest fees and more importantly the very best players no longer see United as the place to be. Their view only strengthened by the abysmal way things have been at the club for the last decade.
27 Oct 2026 06:36:45
Based on what the club have put out about the recruitment structure, ensuring (apparently) that the players brought were not for managers but for a club structure/plan I am not sure how much Carrick would have had a say. I am sure they discussed it with him and he would have had an input, but once the budget was set the midfield was the key direction to replace Casimero and add depth.
All other positions were likely coming from player sales that did not materialise.
Left Back should definitely have been addressed, however when we have Dorgu, Shaw, Amass, Dalot and Mazouiri who can all play there I can see why at the time it was lower in the priorities once the above was taken into consideration. However, with the injuries, rubbish play from replacements and lack of trust in Amass it is looking less and less like good planning.
Carrick got the players united at the end of last season and that probably papered over some cracks in quality, unfortunately we are seeing these cracks now and the players turning. If stories are to be believed, the team are not fit and the quality of training/plan is not there. you could argue their execution of it is not there either.
27 Oct 2026 08:03:05
I think Carrick, as head coach rather than manager, had a say as to what positions needed filling but virtually no input as to who would fill them.
Yes, we had options at left back, but the first choice was Shaw who has been prone to injury, and is also aging. Dalot and Mazraoui are primarily right backs and are not good enough anyway. Dorgu is a wing back, better going forward than back, and Amass is unproven and will never be a top level EPL player. Failing to improve the back line was an incredible failure. Defense wins matches and everyone and his mother knew we were desperately deficient. I'm absolutely positive that Carrick, who actually said he was hoping for further reinforcements, and the whole team was deflated by the failure of the club to back the manager in the transfer window.
I was one that though Carrick deserved a chance, but was listening to Gary Nevile yesterday saying how he's hoped Carrick wouldn't get the job and that the club went out and got a top experienced manager. The doubters were right. The team was clearly not prepared well to face a rigorous season. The problem however was that any top manager - assuming he'd work for the evil incompetent clowns who run our club - would have insisted on being supported in acquiring best in class players rather than hit and hope middle of the roaders, or nothing at all. Our club doesn't apparently have the funds to support those types of acquisitions. The owners have priorities other than footballing quality.
Twenty years of sucking the club dry. United have spent more on finance costs, dividends and sacking managers than City brought in through sham contracts. That's a £2bn swing in cash flow. Add to that the incompetence and we are where we are.
It's past time for the fans to turn their backs.
27 Oct 2026 08:59:20
Out of curiosity where will United finish this season? Seems you have a crystal ball if you state with 100% certainty that Amass will never be a top level EPL, without him even being given a chance.
27 Oct 2026 22:40:26
He'll be good for us in the championship though next season.