Manchester is RED | Back down to earth | Boxing Day preview
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This episode is brought to you by AWS. Amazon Q Business is the generative AI assistant that can securely understand your business data, summarize results, and streamline tasks. Learn what Amazon Q Business can do for you at aws.com slash learn more. Hello and welcome to the Manchester is Red podcast. My name is Stephen Ralston. We're recording this episode on a Monday morning, a day after United.

We beat 3-0 by Bournemouth at Old Trafford in the Premier League. Samuel Lucas was at that game. He's joining me on this podcast as usual. We're just going to run over the match and talk about what happened really and look ahead to Wolves on Boxing Day as well. We'll both be down at Molineux. Samuel, another really brutal result really. It was a fantastic day at the Etihad beating Manchester City.

then it's two defeats in four days and back down to earth, really. And it's not what United fans needed ahead of Christmas. No, a Merry Christmas to one and all, of course. But nevertheless, that game, you say, it was Ty who commented on it early doors because of the Baltic wins at Old Trafford. And he said, oh, there's rubbish on the pitch. That's something to bear in mind. And then, of course, there was more rubbish on the pitch from the United players.

And it's not a surprise. I think that's the most alarming thing. It's two seasons running now. Bournemouth have won 3-0 at Old Trafford. They were 3-0 up earlier yesterday than they were last season. I mean, Ira Iola was asked afterwards about the differences between those games. I mean, I can't really remember a great deal or the minutiae from that game last season. These defeats, these home humblings all...

all merge into one sometimes. But, I mean, going back to what you said last Monday when you said it's Bournemouth at home, they should be beating Bournemouth, that was the naive mistake you made. This is not the Manchester United of the 90s or the 2000s. Bournemouth are in their slipstream. Bournemouth are a better team than them this season. Bournemouth were a better team than them before yesterday's game. They're a better side since yesterday's game.

they're a better side than they were last season their coaching appointment i think is one of the best managerial appointments premier league club has made in in recent years quite frankly and i know at bournemouth it's it's easier there's no real scrutiny you're bound to get time and he did have a rocky start areola it's it's incomparable to what united managers go through and the rights of passages they they have to they have to experience

Bournemouth have recruited well, they've got some really good players, you know how they're going to play and really watching United yesterday, I just got the sense from the first couple of minutes that something wasn't right with United and sometimes you look at those players and you think it's a bit cold and they look like they didn't want to be there, the atmosphere was flat, Bournemouth

were probably buoyed by the result last season, but they should have been more buoyed by some of their more recent results. They've beaten better sides than United, far better sides than United this season already. And they press aggressively. They must have been encouraged by those early signs where they are nerved United, who

were clearly uncomfortable on the ball in defence. I mean, Maguire, who's very good against City, did not have a good game whatsoever yesterday. Martinez has not been having a good season. He was shaky again. And the other problem they have, of course, and we touched upon this earlier,

after a game which they actually scored three goals last week, is that they struggle for goals, but they also struggle to score at the key times. They had some very good chances towards the end of the first half, mainly for Fernandes. Ahmad had a decent opportunity at 0-0 as well. But this team does not have a single natural or dependable goal scorer in it. And we've said this so many times, we get tired of it ourselves, that

They're going to struggle if they've not got someone who's going to be able to score goals. And I completely understood why Xerxe started yesterday. But then the way he performed and the way Amarim's reactions on the touchline as well were really, really quite damning. And I'm sure we'll get into that. But whether it's Hoyland or whether it's Xerxe, there's a problem there.

And I think another big problem that it seems to be getting overlooked a little bit is playing full backs on the wings. It doesn't work. Masrari is not attack-minded enough to play that role. Dalot is not attack-minded or good enough to play that role. Sometimes one of them is playing on the left-hand side, so they're inhibited because that's not their natural position. But it's for the best. It's in the team's interest that Ahmad, who is a brilliant player and

And he is a forward, but he's got to go back to the wing because it's in the team's interests. You cannot play two full backs in that system. I know Amrim said that before his first game. I can't remember whether it was, I don't think it was at the press conference. It might have been in the Gary Neville chat. I think it was an interview with Sky, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah.

and he was talking about i'm going to play full bats in those positions and i thought no you you shouldn't um the the players he played on the wing at sporting i can't remember the name of the other guy but obviously giovanni kendor was one and i remember looking up their profiles and they were both listed as wingers and if you're going to play wingers there you've got i know it's it's a very different league but you've got to get that bounce right you can't have two essentially and i know maserati and dalu are attacking in different ways

But you don't look at them as a Trent Alexander-Arnold or Alphonso Davies or David Alaba when he used to play at fullback or Hakimi. You know, these players who these fullbacks who you associate as being attack minded. And I sympathise them to an extent because they've not had left backs to support them this season, essentially. And I'm sure we'll get on to the left back who played yesterday.

and they have been overplayed, but they're not good enough to play those roles. Masraoui is good enough to play in the Manchester United team, clearly in a back three. He's shown that. Maybe Dalot can play in a back three.

But they need to put Ahmad back on the wing. And fair enough, if it's Dallow or Masrari on the other side, you've got more of a balance there. But they've got, Amrim has got to stop playing Dallow and Masrari as the wingers. I know Masrari started in the back three yesterday, but it was still Malasia on the other side. And that selection really, I think, it undermined the competitiveness of the game there.

Because starting Malasia in a really important Premier League game, it's like a soccer-aid selection. He should not be at Manchester United next season. It's great for him that he's recovered from injury and he's got his career back on track. But before that knee injury, he had three good games for United in a whole season. And he's clearly not good enough to play for Manchester United as a starter.

and this period has also shown that you can't really depend on him as a rotational player either because he's been substituted in three of his four starts and I get there's bound to be a bit of ring rust as well but that selection yes I really did undermine the importance of the game and I don't know where the solution is going to come from whether I have to go in the market and do it because you look at the actual wingers in that team you don't really see any of them doing it unless there's a

a mini project Anrim can oversee. But it's a big problem that you've not got a striker. There's not a striker who's going to score goals consistently. And then you've not got wingers who are going to service the striker. And Kelsbury, they didn't score yesterday in a game that they were beaten 3-0.

Said that about Malassi when he was on his way back. Pardon me. It was brilliant, obviously, to see him back on the pitch for the U21s against Huddersfield. And it was such a challenge for him to get back to fitness. But the bigger challenge was actually always going to be kind of fighting for his future at the club. He didn't really convince when he was fit in his final weeks, his final few months, up until he was out with that knee injury. And I think that opinion's been vindicated in the last few weeks. Malassi has struggled. And, of course, he gave away that free kick, Samuel, that Wolves took...

Sorry, they took the lead from, I was just reading my tweet there about set pieces. Because obviously Bournemouth play the ball in the box. Again, another awful set piece goal. The United have now conceded nine goals from set pieces in the Premier League. Only Wolves have conceded more. And that's just so poor. We're banging our heads against the wall here the last few games.

Set pieces have suddenly become a problem, Samuel, which seems quite strange. I think they were kind of all right last season. I know Carlos Fernandez is down on the touchline. Ruben Amorim's right-hand man. He's took responsibility for them, away from Andres Georgesen, who's kind of took a step back. And Amorim was asked about that at his press conference again, wasn't he? I believe the set piece problem. But United shouldn't be conceding from set pieces, should they, Samuel? Not the way they are. It's... Look, every...

it has to hurt for every team if they concede a goal from a set piece. It doesn't matter what level you're at, it's going to drive you up the wall because it's a choreographed, you've read the script before it's been submitted pretty much. And when you still fail to try and counter the script,

It's bound to do your head in. I mean, that goal yesterday was so rudimentary. It's just in swinger to the near post, guy, go for the ball, try and head it to the far post. That's exactly what happened. Xerxe was purportedly marking Hoyssen. I mean, he was pretty much an unmarked header because Xerxe was so, so dismal.

at trying to trying to shackle him there and so actually six foot four i remember when didier dropper was in the chelsea team he was extremely effective at defending corners uh he was a really really good asset to have there so there's no reason why a striker or a forward who's quite an imposing figure

shouldn't be an asset at the defending set pieces or or something when you think about the corners you need to defend set pieces don't really stand out with Xerxes did that I mean if you've got like desire no because he doesn't really have those qualities does he no and that's on United for for signing him in the summer I mean he's clearly someone that they shouldn't have signed for a myriad of reasons

But I suppose it looks even worse when it's very...

not only do United actually change coach in the technical area when there is a set piece because Amrim always just heads back to the dugout and Carlos Fernandez comes back out but they literally practice set pieces in the warm-ups before games they've done it since Ipswich they've been very very meticulous with those drills I think it's you know Carlos Fernandez is out there and I think it's a couple of the other coaches who've come over with with Amrim who are taking part in these set piece drills

But they've conceded, I think, in the last... I think seven goals have come from set pieces in the last six games. I think you should count the City one as well. That is from a corner. It's a short corner routine. Forest, of course, scored from a corner. Arsenal scored from two corners. Tottenham scored directly from a corner, which was a bit more freakish. And Amarim has said United are not a tall team. So that's clearly, I think, going to have to be addressed later.

in the summer more so than the winter transfer window when it comes to recruitment? Are they going to look at a profile of targets who are six foot plus? I mean, yes, it doesn't seem that long ago that when United had quite a tall team under Mourinho, it was seen as

or the perception was oh this is jurassic this is dinosaur thinking just having a load of man mountains then you look at the way arsenal have gone about constructing their squad they are an extremely formidable imposing side because of the the height of their players and again at the weekend look at the chaos they caused at corners against crystal palace who weren't able to answer um to to arsenal's set piece prowess

And I mean, United did concede from corners before Carlos Fernandes took over the responsibility from Andres Jorge. And I mean, the Brentford one is one that springs to mind when De Ligt went off the pitch because the medical staff were unable to patch him up properly. Brighton's winning goal, that did come not directly from a corner, but it started out with a corner and United were a little bit all over the place.

But it has become more of an issue in the past two or three weeks. And I mean, I asked Amrim, you know, would you consider bringing Andres Jorgen back to the fore on that? And he said, no, it's not Carlos Fernandez's responsibility. It's my responsibility. And I

that's laudable that a head coach would take on the chin and he has to because he has overseen that change of Carlos Fernandez taking the initiative on set pieces and Jorgen just really fading into the background there to the point where everyone's wondering why is he still at the club when other members who came in in the summer like Yelten Ruvala of course Van Nistelrooy, René Hacke they've all gone yet Jorgen has stuck around the place

So they're going to have to continue practising, but maybe they're just, again, like with the whole goal scoring issue, this is going to be a problem that's going to persist throughout the season. I don't think they're quite as small a team as they make out, but it's not always those players who are going to be ideal for coming into the side or being part of what you would call whatever the hell United's best 11 is.

I think I said that to you at one point. I can't remember what game it was when we were both at. I remember watching United from a corner and I did say, it just looked like a small team. And we've seen that this season where it's just become such a vulnerability, really. As you said, though, Samuel, in your first answer, there was chances before half-time. A few fell to Fernandes. It was a little bit of a bright spell. United could have equalised and got back into the game. Has Fernandes' finishing become a bit more erratic? Or am I comparing it to...

when he was first at the club and his finishing was just on fire and everything he touched just went back into the back of the net. He doesn't seem as composed in those moments as he used to be. No, he isn't. I think he's somewhat a victim of his own success and that he has had pretty high standards, consistently high standards since he came in at United.

And some people, I think, will look at, oh, in his first full season, he got 28 goals and think, why is he not getting near that mark every season? But let's face it, that was a COVID season. And there was a lot of stuff that happened in football in 2020-21 that was just not a reflection of reality, really, because it was fake football, as we've said. I've certainly said time and again.

I mean, how many goals he got this season? He's got six goals, which is, I suppose, a pretty average tally. But United are an average at best side. And there is more of an onus on him to score because who else in that team is going to take the chances? I mean, Garnaccio had a great chance one-on-one yesterday that he has got to bury. Yeah, it was a very great team that was. And it is to the point now that

I think he's still United's top scorer, but he should have hit the 15 goal mark by now with the chances that he's had. And I think that some of the stick he's got has been unfair. But when you're missing as many chances as he's starting to miss now,

And yesterday it was a back pass of a shot at Kepa Ariza Balaga. Bournemouth had just gone 3-0 up. So if that goes in, suddenly there is going to be a sense of belief and Bournemouth are going to start to think, oh God, what's going to happen now because of what happened in the week at Tottenham? Is there going to be a wobble here? And the game was salvageable if that chance had gone in.

So I think it's far too easy just to pinpoint it, you know, just to kind of like home in on the captain who has not been playing well this season. He picked up relatively recently. There was some improvement there.

But you look at the Tottenham game, the cutbacks to Eriksen and Anthony, one of those three chances have got to go in. And it's a key moment because I think those three chances came at 1-0 in the first half. If United are level in that game at half time, there's a very good chance they go on and win it, particularly given how Tottenham are prone to collapses. And there was a bit of a collapse against United, but Spurs managed to hold on.

for the win. The chances yesterday, of course, with Fernandes, one of them, particularly the one where Ahmad played it back to him, he's got to hit the target. He doesn't even hit the target with that opportunity.

And that's why the whole, oh, you know, I saw it. It was, oh, look at United's XG yesterday. We had two points, something or other. That was not a game where Kebara Rizabalaga saved Bournemouth whatsoever. I mean, he was one of the questions for Iola at the press conference afterwards. And I said to Rich Fay, our old colleague at the MUN, I said, what saves did he actually have to make of note that were really important?

And I was really racking my brains and struggling to think of a standout save. I mean, he was nowhere near, in terms of the man of the match, the nominees for that yesterday, he wouldn't have been in the top five of Bournemouth's team. Yeah, the two reasons why I imagine the XG were so high, and I agree, if you look at it in isolation. Because they had loads of shots. Yeah, well, the Fernandes chance,

when Maynard played the ball, but it was a bit of a scuffed pass from Maynard. If he'd played a bit better, it might have felt better. Yeah. And obviously, Gannaccio's chance as well, but Gannaccio's touch, I'd say, let him down, the one we just talked about, and his shot was rubbish, wasn't it? So, yeah, it's... Actually, I mean, we're not going to talk about it because we disagree, so I mean, we had a funny conversation when we came back from the last away day about it, and I think, did Nathan Salt agree with you? It's better across a season instead of isolation. We'll leave it at that because it can sometimes warp

stats in it and can take things out of context. It's better to look at long-term trends. But I agree with you. When you looked at that game yesterday, there was nothing that stood out with Qatar. United have got a minus goal difference again in the league. So this is why the whole, oh, look, we've got this 2.6. We won 2.6 to 0.67 today. Yeah, who cares? The final score says United 0-3 Bournemouth.

I agree I'd like to use one of the strongest words I mean they need to just really donate this this crowd this honestly just stick to the purism of football and you'll enjoy it a hell of a lot more the theory is because Amram said he saw signs of improvement didn't he and is is pretty much into you and if you look at the XG I can't believe we're talking about this since he came in it would suggest there have been signs of improvement and I'm gonna

say something that's going to make you sick, the underlying numbers have started to look a bit better.

so if you get to the i'll make him dave hughes our mate who likes his data he's now at evan and i'll make him listen to this segment of the podcast so if you look at it at the end of the day i don't think it's dave a journalist anymore nobody no he just likes his data doesn't he but uh if results improve at the end of the season which which the underlying numbers suggest they will you can look back on that run of games and maybe in a different light moving on samuel we're not getting into expected goals and then you're great like that because you it's christmas it's christmas come on let's get along um

In fairness to United, the people at the club, they've not peddled any of this. Look, if you look at the underlying stats, this is where we are. We're not where you think we are. I remember Ed Woodward saying to us years ago, he said, we're not where you think we are.

And someone said, well, where are you? And I think they actually might have been 13th in the table as well at that point. Coincidentally, it was there or thereabouts. It was it was the last game they played. You'll remember it very well was the Matty Longstaff game up at St. James's Park where he scored the winner and his brother, Sean, had got man of the match a couple of months after United were trying to sign him. And at that point, I think United lost all

three of their first eight games in the Premier League season, but we were eight games into the season. It's a bit different now. United have played twice as many games, I think, they've played, haven't they? So, yeah, but there's not been any of this underlying stats nonsense that United are peddling. I think they're just quite... Yeah, indeed.

Well, let's move on, Samuel. Let's discuss the penalty briefly before we get into the second part, because you come out of the second half, you're hoping for a better start to it and you want to see some momentum and you're now kind of

get back into the game and Masrari just does that. And he's had such a brilliant season. He's been so consistent. He's probably been seven out of 10 each week. So you can almost kind of forgive him for having a moment like that because he's been so consistent. But it was so disappointing when a player makes such a bad decision like that. It was such a storm of penalty, wasn't it? And then when you're 2-0 down, it's just so hard to get back into the match and Bournemouth go and score a third.

Well also sometimes with those things it makes it worse when the player then appeals it and Fernandes if someone if Fernandes say if Fernandes saw John Wilkes Booth shoot Abraham Lincoln he

he would protest the authorities that he didn't shoot him. Everyone, even though everyone had seen in clear sight that Lincoln had been shot dead and this guy would brazenly done it because he wanted the world to know that he'd done it. Fernandez would still appeal against it. It, that does drive me up the wall. It's completely pointless. It was such a,

I mean, I think Maguire was trying to suggest that the ball had been played by Masraoui. And you think just save your breath. Just go back to the go to the edge of the area. Get prepared for the penalty and see if you can salvage this game. You know, just save your energy. Don't waste your time protesting a pointless cause. Fernandes was at it in the week over Bayinda's mistake for Son Heung-min's penalty.

winning goal at Tottenham. And it was just a daft foul. It was an imbecilic foul by Masraoui. Maybe his relocation to the wing and where he played the first half in the back three, maybe that contributed to the element of panic that possibly accounted for that foul on Justin Cliver. But it was just a brainless foul. And sometimes players do it just because they're desperate and they want to

they want to salvage the game and i i get that i'm sure that you think masrari's into it i mean he's just been on the trot all season he's almost i think that's that goes for masrari and um and dalo masrari's masrari has had a far better season than dalo dalo's has been really really woeful

pretty much the entirety of the season. But those two have really not had much of a rest because Luke Shaw's always crocked. Taro Malasia is not crocked anymore, but he's not a player that nobody really wants to see starting any games. And,

You look at the upcoming matches for United, I know Amarim will continue to rotate and I think that is a problem. I think he's starting to rotate too drastically and I know he doesn't want to and he said before it's about avoiding injuries, but this squad is clearly not fit enough and that's another problem. Why is it whenever Man United manager comes in, one of his gripes about them is that they're not fit enough or durable enough. So you have to ask questions of,

what's going on with the physiological side or the training, you know, with the training at Carrington, with the medical department, there needs to be a thorough review of that. They, you know, I think at the start of the season, they had the right size squad and,

But it is starting to shrink because I think if you're looking at it as a 28-man squad at the start of the season, three of those players were Harry Amos, Toby Collier and Ethan Wheatley, who between them have probably had about...

30 kicks of football. I mean, Harry Amos, very good on pre-season. We've not really seen him since. So it's more of a 25-man squad. Three of those players are goalkeepers. Then you factor in the injuries and United have got some real crocs in that squad as well. I mean, Shaw is one. Victor Lindelof is another. Over the past year, United definitely made a mistake extending his contract and he's got injured again just before the January transfer window just to really make sure there's absolutely no

no chance of him being able to leave in January. I'm not for a single second saying that he's done it on purpose, obviously, but the regularity with which he gets injured, it's a folly that they extended his contract last December and they extended it while he was out injured as well. I think he might have just had surgery. So,

That was a bad decision. And really, this season is not a write-off because there are still a lot of things to play for. But the way United went about it going into the season and the way the season has gone so far, unfortunately, it does feel like a write-off. Even though there's a lot of football to play, there is an eminently winnable competition in the Europa League, which would absolutely make this season a success if they win it. They've got the...

FA Cup to defend starting from next month with a pretty ominous tie, but they need to learn from their mistakes at Arsenal this month. Maybe, maybe they can pull off a shock or a bit of a shock next month at the Emirates Stadium.

and as bad as they've been in the league it is it is a tight League and um I think Newcastle approved that if you go if you just win a couple of games the the complexion can change quite quite drastically but United seem I mean United are incapable of just winning uh I was just about they just seem incapable of winning back-to-back Premier League games I mean what have they have they done that this season um

You look at the Premier League table, the six points off Bournemouth are on 28 and they're in fifth. And their team could be having a fantastic season with their standards at their club. And six points is nothing. But the problem is United can't really put together a run of fixtures, can they? And you say, well, if they can, they'd move up. But we've just not seen that, unfortunately.

No, and just looking at it now, no, they haven't. They've literally not won two games on the spin in the Premier League this season, which is going to kill you. There were several reasons why they're 13th in the table, but

But this is a league that if you just go, Liverpool are the perfect example of it. If you just win games consistently, look where it will take you. And up until recently, it looked like it might be a one-horse race for the Premier League title because Liverpool won with such regularity and they continue to win very, very convincingly. I think I still refuse to believe that, oh, Chelsea are back, all this tedious chat about our Chelsea title challenges happening.

but the fact the matter is chelsea are very very good at beating the fodder in the premier league and also the europa conference league as well and if you're going to just dismiss these teams swap them aside look where it's going to take you and chelsea are at the point where it almost feels like a fair complete that they'll be in the champions league next season um there's a very good chance that they'll win the conference league as well

And that's, it's not complicated football whatsoever. If you win games, it will take you, it

you will go far and United are just incapable of doing that. They can't even win two games on the spin in the Premier League. And you look at the two games coming up. I don't think there are many United fans that have any faith whatsoever in them winning one of those two games, never mind winning both of them. Wolves have already had a managerial bounce. That looks more treacherous fixture already because Gary O'Neill is no longer in charge.

And then the day before New Year's Eve, it's Newcastle-Old Trafford. Newcastle did United 3-0 in the League Cup last season at Old Trafford. And certainly that game in May, which was a bit of a strange game, the penultimate game of the season, that could have gone either way. United won it 3-2, but Newcastle certainly had some very good opportunities where they probably, you know, if they were more clinical, they probably should have done the double over United last season.

Well, there's always a silver lining. And thankfully, United didn't sign Sean Longstaff a couple of years ago. So there's always a positive to take from everything. And we'll leave it there for part one. We'll be back in a moment. The holidays are about spending time with your loved ones and creating magical memories that will last a lifetime. So whether it's family and friends you haven't seen in a while or those who you see all the time, share holiday magic this season with an ice cold Coca-Cola. Copyright 2024, The Coca-Cola Company.

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Welcome back to part two of the Manchester is Red podcast. We'll touch on the third goal, Samuel, before

Is Rashford the elephant in the room now? Probably not because it's got rumbling on, but we'll talk about Rashford again. But the third goal, I think Khabib Meynou was quite casual with the pass that he played.

He's obviously just come back from injury. He's playing in a new system. He's not been at his best. And it's okay to say that, isn't it? I've got such a high opinion of Mainu, but he's not been at his best this season. I've got no doubt that he will get up to those levels and he will start to perform in this new Amrum system. But he didn't have a good afternoon on Sunday, did he?

No, and I thought he was pretty decent when he came on against City. I thought he was good when he came on against Tottenham. You think you're building up to hopefully a good performance as a starter, but he was really lethargic and he's looked lethargic in pretty much all of his starts this season. And I really hoped that that time out of the team through injury where he didn't play

For eight weeks, I think it was. I thought that's got to be seen as a good thing because he's played so much football in pretty much his first proper 12 months as a professional footballer that he needed a breather. He'd probably gone over the limit. He was brilliant for England at the Euros and he was the nation's darling as well at that point.

But unfortunately, he's hit his first real lull as a professional footballer. And it happens to every serious footballer. But of course, when you're the midfielder at Man United and United are 13th on the table and they've just lost their seventh game, you are going to cop it a lot more than most other of his players.

of his peers but there is a I don't know what it is it's there's a lackadaisical nature about him at times on the ball at the moment and that was particularly typified with that chance for Fernandez just before the end of the the first half where the ball the pass was slightly behind him and those passes that they must drive managers up the wall because you know exactly what has to happen

You can picture it. Everyone knows what you want to do in that moment. It's to take the ball as close as possible, release the player. He's on the side, slot it into the far corner. That is exactly what they would have wanted to happen.

and it didn't happen mainly because mainu um missed his cue in the he played the ball slightly behind fernandez and so fernandez has to check it and kepper knows where the ball is going and it's an easy save to make and he had the time to react it was a little bit of a scruffy pass the way it connected with it it wasn't a clean kind of connection fernandez the way the ball went across the turf which made it difficult and it was slightly behind them as well so it wasn't ideal

No, and that tip five made his performance. And then there's a casual pass that leads to the third goal. And he will probably feel like the world is on his shoulders at the moment because, again, a little bit similar to Rashford. He's a local lad. He's been he probably is the new poster boy of this Man United team.

given his background where he, of course, hails from Stockport, come through the academy, won the Youth Cup, scored an FA Cup final winner. His trajectory up until this season has been fantastic. Apart from that injury he had, a couple of injuries he had in 2023, the first towards the end of Ten Hag's first season, and unfortunately that one in pre-season.

But this is the first time where his form has really come under scrutiny. And Amrim has not started him in certain games where you thought, well, he'll start Mainu today. And you've wondered, has Amrim seen something that doesn't quite gel with the way he wants the team to operate? But also, I feel sorry for Mainu in that he's not got, I don't think he's got ample support there. Not through lack of...

bodies in terms of that, you know, they've got Eriksen, they've got Casemiro, they've got Toby Collier, Ugarte, they've got four other midfielders. But there's a reason why Amrim is barely using Casemiro. Eriksen, who had quite a long run as a starter under Ten Hag earlier this season, has started twice, I think, maybe under Amrim so far.

Toby Collier was injured for quite a long period and must have played about two or three times this season. Until recently, he's kind of been out of the fold recently.

So there is a huge... People look to Kobi Manu to make United play and he did do that last season and it did mask the problems at United because there was no style last season. There was barely any strategy apart from, of course, the FA Cup final and...

And they were so, so reliant on Mainu as soon as he came into the team with that brilliant full Premier League debut at Everton when he was the man of the match in a game that...

United won and the fact that people were talking, rhapsodising about him after seeing the goal of the year from Alejandro Garnaccio was a testament to just how brilliantly Manu performed that day. He was superb. But in football, you are judged on what you're doing rather than what you've done. And that's the way it should be. And at the moment, he is not operating at the levels anywhere near that he was operating at last season.

But there is, as I've just kind of outlined, there is a lot of mitigation there. He is still 19. You don't look around that dressing room and think there are senior players left, right and centre who can put an arm around the shoulder or offer him some support or muck in game from time to time. I remember Ryan Giggs said when he was quite a young winger in the team, he was getting kicked by a fullback and

And for a period of the game, Brian Robson said, I'll swap with you. So Brian Robson played on the left wing, essentially just to kick the fullback back because the fullback was not going to mess with Brian Robson. And, and,

I'm not saying those methods would still be able to occur now, but the principle can still be the same in essence. And United don't have players who are going to do that. They're not going to have players who are going to say to Kopi Mane, listen, you take a backseat for a mile. Let me just try and fill in this area for the time being. You know, try and gather yourself for five minutes, just play some easy passes, whatever.

I don't see, I mean, there are no leaders on that pitch, really, by and large. I know Fernandes, I've probably spoken defensively of Fernandes as captain more than anyone else. Well, yeah, the captaincy stripped off him 18 months ago. They've got a handful of characters. Because of that. Well, I think he's kind of looked to show those leadership qualities and to carry on being a leader without the armband, which I'd almost be more impressed by, to be honest.

I agree with you, Stephen. He has got leadership traits. He is a talker. He's a communicator. But him, Fernandes, they're different communicators, which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing. But they're also in the minority. I mean, there was some talk a few years ago where Maguire was saying that Marcus Rashford could become a future Manchester United captain. I mean, he has got, I don't think he's got any leadership characteristics he used to have, but certainly he doesn't at the moment.

Who else in that squad? I mean, I was interested in speaking to someone who was pitch side at the Tottenham game and they were talking about how Ahmad was directing Masrari and telling Fernandes, giving him some pointers, which is laudable and not a surprise really because Ahmad's such a good character and he's absolutely someone that United need to be, one, getting tied down on a new contract, secondly,

giving him a set role in that team when they've got the other pieces that they need in the summer, which is slightly to be in the summer than the winter. I think it's fair to say. But there is a leadership vacuum in that team. And it's incredible, really, how quickly it changes because you go back to that first season under Ten Hag,

And it felt like it was teaming with leaders. Varane was a good leader. Martinez came in and you felt like there's another leadership figure. Dalot was quite the vocalist and I think complimented his teammates well. Casemiro absolutely was at that time. Fernandes was because he became the captain pretty much on a full time basis.

Rashford led through his goals so they were not lacking different kind of leaders at that point it's not just this season it was the problem last season as well but that dressing room is just disintegrated and they need some characters who are quite literally at times going to grab players by the lapels and tell them what to do

just add two things part of me quickly on mania before we move on i still thought there was still ample time to actually stop that goal the third goal i think bruno fernandez looked a bit knackered when he was tracking back um and it could have been prevented

And also, as you've just said, look, a really young player, he's still 19 years old and he's coming in in a struggling side, a team that's 13th in the Premier League and it's still pretty dysfunctional at the moment, unfortunately. Manchester City aren't a good example, but if Manu was in that dressing room last season or the season before, you could see him really thriving and just continuing to impress. So hopefully he gets back to his best soon, but United do need to help him as well.

um let's talk about rashford then samuel he was out of the squad again that's the third game running it's huge story for the manchester derby and it's continued to rumble on it's starting to feel like he might have played his last game for the club it's the january transfer window just around the window and it seems like it's obviously the right thing to do i think it's brilliant how our rooms took a stand and you're smiling there but it was it was no no it was you said you said that

I think you said the January transfer window is right around the window which I'm just trying to sorry it's just around the corner it is Christmas I've been on been on the beer since 8 00 a.m chocolate chocolate for breakfast as well only allowed around the time yeah well there's also a part of us that it's I think it's a little bit sad that it's ending this way if he doesn't really get to say goodbye or have a farewell um he's an Academy graduate he's been the poster boy of the club

He's been very good for a long time. His last two seasons haven't been good enough. But there is an element of sadness for me, Samuel, the way this is ending.

Sad is a strong word. I think it does, it can apply to this to an extent. And if anyone's not seen the footage of him in the tunnel yesterday when some kids went up and got pictures with him, kids in Greater Manchester absolutely idolise him because that's who they aspire to be. It's someone who's been born in Greater Manchester and has gone on to play for Manchester United and score goals.

a good number of goals for the club as well. And he is still the most popular request from young fans in terms of signed memorabilia, shirt numbers as well, in terms of the sales, because he's, as I've just said, he's an academy graduate, he's come from the area, he's an attacking player, he's scored goals. There's

He has those style qualities or had those style qualities, but this is all on him. I know there's a lot of he said, she said with these things. And certainly from what I've been told, Rashford and his camp are unhappy about

that United have made him available for transfer without informing him directly they've I think they would have completely from their so this is from their perspective they'd have completely understood if United went to them and said look we believe it's time that it's in the best interest of all parties that Marcus has a change of scenery then they feel as though that that'd been fine but

the suggestion has been that United have been sounding out clubs essentially asking them would you be interested in signing Marcus Rashford we all know in the summer that if an offer had come in for him that was acceptable United would have taken it we also knew that there was no chance whatsoever that an offer that United would have deemed acceptable was ever going to come in during the summer the dynamics have changed

since then ahead of going into January and I think Rashford did everyone a favour with that interview last week. I know it's easy to criticise the interview as well because it's a player, there have been a handful of players who've publicly, players of importance certainly at Manchester United have publicly said in effect I want to leave. I mean it's tantamount to a public transfer request what Rashford did but

I've thought for quite some time, pretty much since almost since the moment he signed that contract last year.

that he's needed a change of scenery. And United fans aren't daft. They see the background to that contract signing, his brother going to meet intermediaries on behalf of PSG, and the timing of his previous contract goes on, scores 30 goals, has his best season. As he's in the midst of contract negotiations, he gets his salary hike, and then he just musters eight goals last season, and he's disciplined enough

twice by the manager for two very, very public transgressions three months apart.

And beyond that, there's been friction with the match goers. He's been booed most recently on his last appearance for the club. And that could be, yeah, that would be a sad end for his final appearance. And it probably, there's a very good chance it will be his final appearance in Pilsen that he, his United career ended to the sound of booing from the away end. It was hard to make it out, but I had friends in the away end that night and,

They messaged me asking if we had the booze for Rashford when he was substituted. And Neil Custis was sat next to me. And when I noticed that there wasn't an acknowledgement between Amra and Rashford, I mentioned it and he said, oh, I'm not sure I'm going to make much of that.

And then, of course, when we saw Malasia get acknowledged and Xerxe get acknowledged by Amrim, at that point, it felt a lot more newsworthy and worthy of mention. And it's since become more significant because of what's developed with Rashford being omitted from the squad for the Derby, training at Carrington on the morning of the game. And then, of course, that interview that he conducted at Butter Lane Primary School last Tuesday,

And really, as bad as United are, I don't think many people are looking at them and thinking, are they really Mr. Rashford today? I think you'd have to be a contrary or just essentially just a bad pundit to suggest that they're missing Rashford. And there are a lot of bad pundits out there. So I'm sure quite a few of them will start to bang the drum for Rashford again.

But if you've watched him over the past 18 months, you'll know why United fans are not exactly piling for him and why some United fans from Denton held up that bed sheet at Tottenham last week. There was also a sign held up I saw in the Getty archive from yesterday saying someone held up saying, Rashford, I love you no matter what or something along those lines. But it was like one of those dreadful moments

May I have your shirt, please? And it looked like it was an adult who's holding up the sign as well, which was quite startling. But I think the bed sheet one is certainly probably speaks for the for the majority of United matchgoers. But it needs to they just need to ensure that a move happens next month.

I don't think it's in anyone's interests for him to stick around. It's not in his interest. It's not in United's interest. Not in Amarim's either. If Rashford goes next month, United have got to have the leverage there to sign a forward or a goal scorer because they absolutely need one of those next year. So you've got to see it as a positive. And I think he's got to see it as a positive as well, that change of scenery.

So, yeah, I think everyone knows that needs to happen. Well, certainly most people who are knowledgeable of the situation can actually look at it all in its entirety. I'm sure there'll be some very partisan punters out there. I mean, we've seen them already. I did chuckle at Ian Wright. I saw someone show this comment from Ian Wright, who, again, I don't think is necessarily someone who looks at the

The shades of grey with situations. And of course, someone who supported his comment in support of Rashford was Jadon Sancho. And of course, there's a player who transgressed at United very publicly. And that was pretty much the end of his United career. And it just so happens he shares the same PR advisor as Marcus Rashford as well. And that PR advisor also represents Cristiano Ronaldo. And all of a sudden, there is a pattern developing of players

star Manchester United players who very publicly crossed the manager and really the manager has to win those battles and I don't think there's any doubt that Amrim will be winning this one.

I don't think many fans would have watched that game and thought we need Rashad, as you said. But what I do think they would have been thinking is we need some new players and to get new players in, they will need to sell, especially if that's going to happen in January window. Not the window window or the windows around the window before. The title of your autobiography.

When we talk about Rashford, Academy graduate, so he represents total profit in the books. And theoretically, that should mean that United could accept a lower fee. I mean, when he scored 30 goals in that season, he was probably worth, what, 80 to 100 million? His market value was probably at an all-time high at that point. It's going to be significantly less than that, maybe 40 million.

But that would still be quite helpful in the books and United could do something with that. And that kind of adds to the importance of addressing Rashford's future, because if they want to bring new players in, they will need to offload. And Rashford, unfortunately, the way the situation is developing, it seems like the obvious candidate for that. He is the obvious candidate for that. Yeah, and they're doubled up in pretty much every position. They've got six centre-backs now.

They've got two right backs. They've got two left backs, albeit one who's injured. But you can't really do much with that at the moment. It's not as easy as just saying, like, let's go out there and sign a player. It's different with Manchester City because Guardiola insists on a smaller squad, which has backfired this season.

And that's why they'll probably go out there and try and do something in January because they need to because look at their form. But also they have got a little bit more leverage. And I know this is I'm not being mischievous whatsoever regarding the whole 115 charges or anything like that. But it is easier for them to go out and do it rather than United, who, as I said, are doubled up in every position they've got four.

five central midfielders they've got two left-footed right wingers nancy and amad they've got two strikers if you can call xerxes striker uh they've got two right-footed left wingers in rashford and garnacho you've got fernandez as a playmaker uh i know there's not another outright it doesn't feel like there's another outright well mason sorry mason mount easy to forget isn't he um

So every position, they've got two players there already and you've got to make room for that. I know they've been able to get some high earners off the wage books in recent years and that will help in the long run. Pogba, Ronaldo, I mean, Pogba's going back nearly, that's two and a half years ago, that summer where Pogba, Cavani, Lingard, Matic, Juan Mata also left, didn't he?

But of course, then players come in on quite big wages as well. Anthony's salary is ridiculously high for someone who was on a fraction of what he's on now at United, at Ajax, because United panicked with that deal in terms of the fee they paid Ajax and also the salary they put Anthony on just because he became a hundred million euro footballer overnight.

Rashford's earnings have gone north of £300,000 a week. Fernandes's salary has gone north of that figure as well. Casemiro is on, I think Casemiro, Fernandes and Rashford are the three who are on more than £300,000 a week.

so at least they have reigned in a little bit there go from nearly seven years on from alexis sanchez coming in on 400 grand a week after tax i think it was as well it was that's how obscene his his salary was and then his performances turned out to be a different level of obscene but there was still a lot of book balancing going on i mean in terms of like this is the club as the whole

But it was, and this goes beyond the playing side of it, but you go back to the INEOS cuts yesterday, the press room, the lady who usually hands out accreditation was clearly off. And so the affable security chap on the door was actually handing out lanyards to the accreditation passes to everyone coming in. That's not his job.

And then in the press room, press lounge itself, Steve, the chap who essentially runs the show, who ensures that the coffee machine's working, that the wards are stocked up, that there's food is replenished, that there's cutlery out. He was handing out the team sheets. And so departments are being depleted through these cuts. And you've got people doing jobs that they shouldn't be doing, that they haven't been doing before.

and they're being run into the ground because of the way INEOS are managing things. Now the image of Manchester United was unflattering before INEOS came in. It is a hell of a lot worse, thanks to INEOS. And that was of course compounded yesterday where midway through Amrim's press conference, what's that coming down from the ceiling? Oh, it's another leak as well.

you don't feel strongly i feel strongly about this samuel i mean you get a sense for a club and when you you're covering them and you lived in the area obviously i think seven eight years now in manchester and you talk to everyone who supports me got lots of friends and they're just ripping the soul and the identity out of the club and what makes it special is being lost and it's such a shame and i know the stuff that you just talked about in the press room if someone's listening to this podcast they might think well that's not a big deal

But all of these little things are adding up and it goes to the bigger picture. And it's such a shame, I think, what's going on at the moment behind the scenes. There's clearly also an issue with one of the nearby hospitality boxes or suites because guests have been chaperoned into the press room to use the toilet facilities. So what's going on there as well? And as you said, all this builds up and the image of Manchester United

has become worse because of INEOS. And then you've got someone like this INEOS Sport project manager, who is, from what I gather, deeply unpopular with a lot of people at the club, whose father is the chief executive of an INEOS sister group.

And he's just swung around the place as Dave Brailsford's bag man. So you're cutting jobs left, right and centre and essentially just telling people who've been in the club for a quarter of a century to thank you, but pack your bags, even though they would still be an asset to the club. However, you re-do their role or what have you. And then someone swans in who is clearly not qualified and has no place at the club whatsoever, just because, you know,

Essentially, it feels like his dad is a mate of Jim Ratcliffe. It's preposterous. It's absolutely preposterous. Of course, for the wider world, the image of Manchester United hinges on the results, and I completely get that. For those of us who

spend a lot of time with people who work for the club, who go to the club, whether it's going to Carrington, whether it's going to the stadium for games or going to away games or going on pre-season tours or European aways.

And just the image of the club is it's shattered and it's been shattered for a while. But I mean, it feels like Ineos have come in and just smashed its smithereens. And it does feel very, very soulless at the moment. And Amrim said it perfectly yesterday. He said, you know, everyone's tired of it.

he's referring to the cycle that the rock united are in uh form wise but it goes beyond that as well i mean if you're a united fan and you see that ah like the ceiling is leaking again uh but this time it's in the press room you know and reuben amram has just come in he's been there for barely a month what must he be thinking and i know it's just a leak in in a stadium but

Does that happen at the Jose Alvalade in Lisbon where we're sporting play? I've not seen anything suggest that it has. It is. It's pretty bloody disgraceful. And you just think, what the hell are these people doing? I know that they want the new stadium, but why are they not putting really high maintenance work into Old Trafford to ensure that while they are residing in it, which is going to still be for a good while,

it has got to be as good as it possibly can be rather than just say, well, you know, hopefully we'll be knocking it down in a couple of years anyway. And of course, it's compounded on a day that the defence has leaked three goals and they've lost to Bournemouth and then the ceiling leaks as well.

But there are a lot of people at the club there that I really do feel sorry for. And I feel sorry for the supporters as well, because the image of the club that they treasure and love, it's just been dragged through the mire. And it has been for quite some time. My dad asked us about the £66 ticket price increase last night. And he just said, he responded when I told him the situation. He said, they're taking the piss. Exactly. And £66 to watch that. We're going to beat 3-0 up Bournemouth.

incredible and not in a good way we'll quickly look ahead the world samuel just very quickly because we've been on for almost an hour here that is down obviously on boxing day and as you mentioned the half of the managerial change and big result in his first game vito perera away at leicester yesterday and it is going to be a much more tricky fixture now he's in charge because they weren't playing very well with gary o'neill

Well, they had a very good result at Leicester USA and Leicester are dreadful as well. Unfortunately for Ruud van Nistelrooy, I don't think he's really had much of a bounce there at all. That win they got against West Ham a few weeks ago seemed to be quite fortuitous, I think. But it's still very good going for Wolves to go there and to get as handsome a win as they have done. I mean,

certainly since they got promoted back to the Premier League in 2018, they do not really get thrashed by United. They should have been thrashed by United in February, that crazy game where United were absolutely brilliant for 45 minutes and 2-0 up at half-time. And in a game where they were 3-1 up in the 85th minute, they ended up having to win 4-3 through a 97th-minute winner because...

because then because they're united it just just one of those games where you're just you're shaking your head in in complete and utter disbelief that what what you've what you've just witnessed um and and that probably wasn't even one of the five craziest games that involved united last season but it just it boggled the mind that game um that evening but as i said

United, they don't normally have it easy against Wolves. It's going to be the new manager's first home game in charge at Molineux. Molineux can be quite an atmospheric ground. As we've said before, for the away supporters, it's not great because you're stretched across the pitch on the far side.

But I think where we sit in the press box, you certainly have certainly the atmosphere generates closer to you from I think it's this Jack Haywood stand to our right, which has been pretty raucous at times.

And I mean, I've watched Wolves a couple of times this season. It's difficult to have been impressed by them. But yeah, they really have been. I thought Gary O'Neill did a very good job last season, but it went south very, very quickly this season.

What I would say is, I think there's a, again, trying to, with my director of football hat on, they have got a player that United should be looking to bring in next season, which is Matias Cunha. I think he's a fabulous player. He is absolutely brilliant to watch. Those goals he scored against Fulham, was it last month or early this month?

But even before that, I've been watching him for a good while and just, I mean, he's got to get a big move next summer. United need to be getting him and Brian Mbumo in. They would be my recommendations to reinforce the attack and get them up to speed under Ruben Amrim. So, you know, you look at the Wolves team and it's not remotely daunting and they have been awful this season, as you say.

But as I said earlier, this game is a lot more treacherous for United now because Wolves have changed, simply because Wolves have changed manager. And look what's happened. The previous week they lost...

2-1 at home to Ipswich and Ipswich are really bad as well especially with a worse goalkeeper than the United's backup goalkeeper probably but Wolves have you know there were some bold calls he made yesterday I noticed I mean Jose Sarr who I don't rate whatsoever but

But he started ahead of Sam Johnston, so I suppose that's the Portuguese solidarity coming back into play. It always makes me chuckle that Just a Few, of course, is the agency that George Mendes owns. They have their own box at Molyneux and it's opposite the entrance of the press room there as well.

But it's a ground I always look forward to go to, not just because it's not too bad a trip, but the two chaps on the door are lovely, very, very warm. Some of the warmest club staff you could ever meet. They're very, very engaging, especially if you're going there as a journalist who's covering the opposition. They always take a great deal of interest in it.

And it is one of those clubs where you feel a bit like St James' Park. You go there and you feel like you're inhaling the history of the place when you're walking around it. And as I said, it can generate a pretty good atmosphere as well. So it certainly has the potential to be

to be a very watchable boxing day game uh particularly with the kickoff time where it's a little bit later on yeah so i think that will certainly amplify the atmosphere a little bit more with with wolves buoyant after a very very good win at leicester a christmas crocker hopefully we'll leave it there and samuel um last question yorkshire puddings on your christmas dinner yes or no

I would love to have them, but they don't, they're not an essential part of it. My grandma, bless her, she always used to

when I was younger she used to do me my own plate of Yorkshire pudding that's that's how much for Yorkshire pudding addict I was as a as a child so those those best Christmas dinners they were always supplemented by Yorkshire pudding so I'm not gonna I'm not gonna criticize anyone for a single second if they uh have that to um to to supplement their turkey or their goose on Christmas day

Yeah, I used to feel strongly about it. I used to be, you can't have that. My stance has softened in my later years. I'm more prone to a Yorkshire Plymouth Christmas than a... Right, I hope everyone has a great Christmas if you're celebrating. Thanks, Sam, your free time as usual. Yeah, thank you very much and Merry Christmas to everyone. Have a wonderful day and enjoy the... Hopefully enjoy the Boxing Day football as well with a positive result for United. Very much. So have a great Christmas. Take care. Thanks for listening. Goodbye.