Football (we are in) bloody hell!

The (not so) curious case of Manchester United football club eh? My last blog was in mid July. Man Utd had just come off the back end of signing Youri Tielemans things were looking up. Signing players with minimal fuss and the secrecy away from journalists that James Bond himself would be proud off. 

Then it seems it went downhill from there, the Baleba transfer was dragged on (more on this later), no new other positions were signed. Preseason games started and everything looked flat (more on this later!). The season started in the worst way possible and it seems like we just haven't recovered. Fans, non fans, and everybody and their milkman seem to have an opinion, it's Carrick's fault! No it's Rashfords and the players fault! No it's the owners fault!....well truth be told it's a mixture of all three and I will break this down for us! So strap in, things are going to get more negative than a Wall Street crash in the 1920s after you've just thrown all your life savings into some magic beans stock!

I am going to break this down in order of what I think the issues are without the crazy stupid fake hyperbole most "Fan Channels" put on for likes and views. 

Michael Carrick

Michael Carrick arrived as interim last January. The word Interim being key here. Usually used in the context of temporary, "there to steady the ship and pass it on", to act as the tape over the cracks then give the new guy the information of how to fill those cracks. He did so well that he was given the full time role. Something I didn't mind as there wasn't exactly a plethora of top guys lined up and to be fair to Michael he did do a great job with minimal touches. No new signings , he took the struggling Amorim squad took them to 3rd place.

Now this is where things seemed to have peaked. He wasn't backed in the summer. we needed about five positions sorted, he got one. He has one striker who was injured all preseason, first choice CB who has been injured since last November and a LB and RB who should have been binned off about 5 years ago. Preseason started and it did not look good. The performance was bad, the energy was low, and it seemed like they just weren't gelling. Now this is preseason I must stress. It doesn't matter how good or bad you played, the aim is to bring your fitness up. So naturally I wrote it off. As any other fan should. If you take preseason results or performance seriously then I suggest you take a break from the game.

The new season started! It was his chance to hit the ground running. What does he do ? Shoehorn Rashford back into the starting XI and shift Cunha to CF. Now I am not having a go at Rashford here. but mistake number one from Carrick was to bring back a player who around 2 seasons ago said he wanted to leave and wanted a new challenge.

The player then went on loan to Aston Villa who turned him down. The player then went on loan to Barcelona who then turned down the change to sign him for £24 million. So what happens? Carrick reintegrates him back into the team at the first chance possible. A player that isn't good enough for Aston Villa, a player that isn't good enough for Barcelona, a player who wants to leave and he is given his spot back right away. In fact Rashford displaces the player who actually replaced him , the same guy who got 1 goal in ever 3 appearances in the premier league last season.

I will talk more about Rashford later, from a managers point of view it seems like Michael is happy with having low standards. What standards are set at the club when it basically says, you can go public, say you want to leave, to a tour of the midlands and Catalonia and come back and your spot is ready? what standards does it set when it says, we will pay you £15 million a year, you can play for other clubs, we don't think your good enough for us now but in two years time when you come back I will give you a starting XI spot right away. This is Carrick's first mistake he has made.

I then move onto an off the cuff interview Youri Tielemans gave to Rio Ferdinand. To Paraphrasese and save time, Tielemans mentioned how they don't do much fitness and running, much to Rios surprise. Now you can take this two ways, Carrick may have thought the players are rubbish and need the technical training or he thought they don't need as much fitness training. Obviously we can't really go off the back end of one interview, however if you have watched any of MUFCs first six games you can tell , they're huffing and puffing like a 1980s darts player. There is just zero urgency, to get up the pitch, to come back in place, to make runs through channels. This can only be one of two things, it's a tactical thing from Carrick to sit in a block and await pressure, or they just aren't fit enough and cannot do the hard yards. If it's a tactical thing it's on Carrick. If they are not fit enough this is 70% on Carrick 30% on the players. I mean how hard is it to want to improve your own fitness when youre millionaires with private chefs, the best gym facilities, access to the best fitness coaches.

I would like to add whilst I would like Carrick to be a bit more aggressive in interviews, there is no point getting too hung up in his "we showed good energy" etc. He obviously doesn't want to mess with squad harmony and will be telling them behind the scenes the effort is shit.

To summarise Michael Carricks short comings I do think he has made  big mistakes, but managers are allowed to. The manager is currently a problem and will most likely be the first to be sacked.

The Players

MUFC have a squad that isn't good enough. This is the short answer. The long answer, how do we have a team that starts with the same back 4 that ETH started with in 2022 vs Brentford and lost 4-0. 

How does Rashford come back into the team and still produce next to nothing. I am not buying this "Rashford makes chances". He is on 325-250k GBP a week. I expect assist and goals. Barcelona spent £70 million on Anthony Gordon rather than £24 million on Rashford. The team he supposedly played good for think its worth spending almost 3 times as much on a player than to sign him.

Diego Dalot was loaned out around the time Ole was manager. So about 6 ....thats 6! years ago he was deemed not good enough for the club, so much so we loaned him out. We then brought him back and he has been our first choice starting RB for the last 3 seasons.

Luke Shaw, plays rubbish, gets injured, we all forget about him, he comes back in plays average, then gets injured again. Ask any MUFC fan, they would have told you in the summer we need a LB. In the 6 matches including the UCL we have so far played we have used 3 different LBs. This is a team that supposed to be at the elite level of the sport...

Maguire , I will be quick, he wasn't good enough 2-3 years ago and should be at the team. Simple. 

I could do a one by one break down but I will be here forever. The best way I will visually show how bad we are and how stuck in the past we are with players who were not good enough several years ago yet someone still play for MUFC. The starting XI Vs Fulham had 2 players from LVGs time 2 players from Oles time and 1 player from Joses time.... We hold players who are not good enough, make excuses then wonder why we never challenge properly for leagues anymore.

The Owners

What to say about our owners. I will park the Glazers to one side. I want to talk about INEOS first. They came in and promised the best in class. So let's break down what they have done since they joined the club.

They first spent millions paying out Dan Ashworths contract, and then waited 6 months as he had to have a period of time before he could start working. They then sacked him a couple months after any paid more millions to get rid of him. Great foresight guys!

They then around the same time let ETH stay on , gave him 300 million on transfers and sacked him shortly after- Great business guys!

They then brought Amorim in , knowing he is fixed on his 343. You would like to think at least one of the geniuses at the club would have spoken and say, do we really want him? we don't have any proper wingbacks, the CM is a bit light with legs, and really we only have one number 10 in bruno. Amorim himself said he wanted the join in the summer. Imagine if the club brought an interim in , in January signed a player for his system, then in the summer signed another 4 and then after a full preseason hit the ground running with his 3-4-3.....naaah why do that, they made him come right away...lost all momentum  and by the time the summer rolled round , half backed him and the writing was on the wall. I didn't agree with Amorims tactics , but the owners set him up to fail.- Great Business guys! best in class!

We then get Carrick who somehow steers the ship and grants UCL, we have a platform, really go for it, we have the lure of the UCL. What do they do ? make a total of three first time signings only really when everybody is fit 1 will start ( if Kobbie is the other CM). We have one striker at the club who was injured since May, does the club look to sign a back up? LOL no, why? that would require a brain. So right now Manchester United has no CF/ST at the club. 6 games into the season and it looks like to continue. Michael Carrick was set up to fail, and that is exactly what he is doing.

Underneath all this where they've paid off and spent tens of millions of pounds managers and directors they've been quietly chasing off honest paying season ticket holders and fans of the club. Not content with selling the manger short, they are going after the fans which by and large has been nothing short of a disgrace. INEOS don't know what they're doing. They never have, it's reflected in their other clubs and to a certain extent their company. INEOS plants shutting down, Jim Ratcliffe needing government benefit like bail outs to keep the company afloat. Run by clowns, we get a circus. 

I think a lot of this wouldn't be too much of an issue if they just showed ambition and were getting it wrong. Not keen on bringing any more immigrants to the UK , Ratcliffe has given them a directive of only buying "prem proven" (God I hate that term) players. such a stupid concept. Imagine having a million pound scouting team and analysts that will be able to tell at which angle the grass is on any given day that affects 0.000000.1% of a players performance and these prats decide not to sign anyone outside the premier league. I mean why would you sign cheaper players with a higher ceiling that can come in and give fans and the club a boos of intrigue and excited expectation? They're cowards, and even as they're scared to show ambition and risk they're STILL getting it all wrong. 

This is where I want to finish this blog. Carrick has made big mistakes, it was Wilcox / INEOS who gave him the job and now after 2 months of being permanent manager the writing is on the wall for another reset. - This is down to the owners

The squad isn't good enough, we have about 5-6 players who have been here for 6 years or more. They weren't good enough 6 years ago still remain, the players can be to blame for performances but ultimately they can only play aswell as they are. It's like trying to race a Ferrari in Toyota Yaris. You can stick lewis Hamilton in the Yaris , it still won't beat the Ferrari. - This is down to the owners 

The debt remains, the funds are tight, we don't have a squad , we don't have the right manager, and once again we have a season all but written off in record time in September. This is down to the owners.

The Glazers? owners that don't care and leech money form the club. They will be doing so for a long time. I would love for them to leave, but they don't care. They have got the perfect Patsy in Ratcliffe and INEOS. Both sets of owners, they're not interested in football side

Simply put, in order of blame it is the Manager, Players and the Owners. The owners are the ones who can change the manager and players. Nothing will change until both INEOS and the Glazers leave, so as fans buckle in, this is Manchester United football club right now. Acting as a failing business with a football club attached to it.

Football (we are in) bloody hell!