The score line may say 2-0 but it easily could be 3-3 or 4-4.
Manchester United 2025-26 Thread
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Last: 12 hrs ago by Showstopper
Man I watch Mainoo and just wonder how he struggled to see the field with our prior manager. Works so hard and covers so much ground.
I sure hope that's Sesko rubbing where he got kicked rather than a groin pull.
Crap. Now we are fighting to keep the win altogether.
Welp here we go
Zirkzee on for Sesko.
The hell is Dalot doing ducking out of the way of that shot?
Case with the timely fall forward.
Game over!
He did it again.
11 points clear with 4 to go.
Casemiro MOTM
Casemiro MOTM
So there is no avenue for Casemiro to return next season?
We need 1-2 more CM, and we need to jettison Ugarte, but would great to have him as a part of the club, your CM off the bench, spot starter.
We are going to miss his goals next season.
We need 1-2 more CM, and we need to jettison Ugarte, but would great to have him as a part of the club, your CM off the bench, spot starter.
We are going to miss his goals next season.
Case and Kobbie were incredible today
Did Amad come off due to injury or ineptness?
Dre_00 said:
Did Amad come off due to injury or ineptness?
I'm 99% sure it was ineptness. But he stayed in the locker room for close to 30 minutes in 2H
So it's time to start the discussion. Carrick In or Out?
Personally, I think he's won too many games to not give him the job. Though I'm still not convinced he's the one.
If Luis Enrique told us tomorrow I want to be United manager, I would take him in heartbeat. Short of that it's Carrick.
Unfortunately, I think Pep is going to retire at the end of this season and city are going to get Enrique.
Personally, I think he's won too many games to not give him the job. Though I'm still not convinced he's the one.
If Luis Enrique told us tomorrow I want to be United manager, I would take him in heartbeat. Short of that it's Carrick.
Unfortunately, I think Pep is going to retire at the end of this season and city are going to get Enrique.
If you wait till the season is over you almost have to wait until the WC is over. By then the season is almost ready to start again. There aren't but one or two guys in the world I would wait that long for.
He's gotten them to 3rd with 4 games to go and will qualify for CL.
He's got some tactical flaws and hasn't had to rotate players because they haven't been playing a lot but the players seem happier.
Announcement it before LP and see if you get another bounce.
He's gotten them to 3rd with 4 games to go and will qualify for CL.
He's got some tactical flaws and hasn't had to rotate players because they haven't been playing a lot but the players seem happier.
Announcement it before LP and see if you get another bounce.
Furlock Bones said:
So it's time to start the discussion. Carrick In or Out?
Personally, I think he's won too many games to not give him the job. Though I'm still not convinced he's the one.
If Luis Enrique told us tomorrow I want to be United manager, I would take him in heartbeat. Short of that it's Carrick.
Unfortunately, I think Pep is going to retire at the end of this season and city are going to get Enrique.
So the operational theory, I believe, when Ineos took over, was to have a strong structure in place and have more of a plug and play manager system where the manager fit into the existing system, not changing the system each time a manager left or was sacked.
Carrick seems to get his tactics right, and has the support of the players. He shows flexibility in formations and has brought in players who were largely disregarded by prior managers.
My concern with him would be his ability to evaluate and bring in the talent needed for upgrading the roster. But if those are now larger institutional decisions then that concern is erased.
He has earned the position, I think you have to keep him, especially if the structure is there to evaluate and acquire players without relying on him.
Talk of the Devils discussed a little on a recent episode, and one thing they said that I thought was kind of obvious in one sense but also insightful in another is this: because people are generally happy with the results under Carrick, even if some are dissatisfied with the recent performances (and today probably won't change those minds much), if you don't hire Carrick, you have to hire someone that the supporters regard as an upgrade over Carrick. Which takes most of the obtainable names off the table. Names like Enrique, Ancellotti, Teuchel, and even Nagelsman and Pochetino, don't seem obtainable or, at best, not until after the World Cup.
So I think Carrick may or may not be Mr. Right… but he may be Mr. Right Now.
I do worry though that we keep getting fed press manager names like Teuchel, Nagelsman, and last time, we went with Amorim, who did press. We obviously aren't going to hire Klopp or Ralf Ragnick lol. Carrick is kind of the opposite of a press manager. The problem is that it's kind of difficult to come up with a press manager that is available the supporters would accept. I'm sure there's an obtainable press manager somewhere in Germany or someplace, but I doubt one the supporters would accept after Carrick.
So I think Carrick may or may not be Mr. Right… but he may be Mr. Right Now.
I do worry though that we keep getting fed press manager names like Teuchel, Nagelsman, and last time, we went with Amorim, who did press. We obviously aren't going to hire Klopp or Ralf Ragnick lol. Carrick is kind of the opposite of a press manager. The problem is that it's kind of difficult to come up with a press manager that is available the supporters would accept. I'm sure there's an obtainable press manager somewhere in Germany or someplace, but I doubt one the supporters would accept after Carrick.
BTW, if you were to go for an obtainable manager that likes to press, Iraola probably does fit the bill, but I think the fan base would react to him being named manager similar to the way a cat owner reacts when the cat brings a dead mouse… I.e. "What is this, and why do you think I want it?"
I'm pretty sure Poch is going back to Spurs, and that's fine because I'm not a Poch fan.
Timmy Tickles? Not in a million years.
Southgate? I just threw up in my mouth.
I suspect Chelsea will end up with Irraola and it won't move the needle there at all. They are hopeless with their finances and financial model.
Would Luis Enrique be an upgrade I would wait for? 100%. Is he coming here? 0%.
Klopp would not do that to Liverpool.
Would I take Xabi Alonso? Is the real guy the one from Barca or Germany? And he that much of an upgrade?
I think if if he beats Liverpool next weekend, Carrick is getting the job. Flame out badly against Liverpool and they wait. The board can't afford OGS 2.0.
Timmy Tickles? Not in a million years.
Southgate? I just threw up in my mouth.
I suspect Chelsea will end up with Irraola and it won't move the needle there at all. They are hopeless with their finances and financial model.
Would Luis Enrique be an upgrade I would wait for? 100%. Is he coming here? 0%.
Klopp would not do that to Liverpool.
Would I take Xabi Alonso? Is the real guy the one from Barca or Germany? And he that much of an upgrade?
I think if if he beats Liverpool next weekend, Carrick is getting the job. Flame out badly against Liverpool and they wait. The board can't afford OGS 2.0.
I'm with you Tuchel. He feels like a guy that you bring in when you have a championship caliber team but need someone to push you over the hump. He can do that. But he's going to wear out his welcome quickly. He's not a guy you bring in wanting to build your organization.
If Arsenal ends up not winning anything this year or next, he might be the call they make.
If Arsenal ends up not winning anything this year or next, he might be the call they make.
Mainoo gets a new 5 year deal.
Read an article about Carrick being a poor choice because his midfield sits too deep and he isn't a pressing manager. Basically saying that's how elite teams play and if he hasn't gotten United playing that way after all this time, then he's not the right pick.
And while I agree with everyone here saying he's probably the best option available rather than the best option that's poor logic to apply. He might not be a pressing manager but chastising him for not getting Mainoo and Casemiro to press is effectively asking him to do what both EtH and Amorim did before realizing it's a dumb idea. No manager is going to get a midfield of Casemiro and Mainoo to be elite pressers and disqualifying him for not doing so is dumb.
And while I agree with everyone here saying he's probably the best option available rather than the best option that's poor logic to apply. He might not be a pressing manager but chastising him for not getting Mainoo and Casemiro to press is effectively asking him to do what both EtH and Amorim did before realizing it's a dumb idea. No manager is going to get a midfield of Casemiro and Mainoo to be elite pressers and disqualifying him for not doing so is dumb.
I don't think we have the personnel to press (and by the way, I think pressing is a little overemphasized anyway by fans). However, he wasn't a press manager at Middlesbrough. And we keep getting linked to press managers. And allegedly they are supposed to set the style of play and get a manager to fit that style rather than getting the manager and bending the club to their style. And it seems like they want to press. The problem of course is we haven't built the team to fit a style yet because they really only had firm control last year; the first summer of Ineos we were still buying mostly whatever ten Hag wanted.
That being said… I still hope they go with Carrick because I've been happy for a few months after spending about 2.5 years being mostly sad. It's really not much deeper than that if I'm honest.
That being said… I still hope they go with Carrick because I've been happy for a few months after spending about 2.5 years being mostly sad. It's really not much deeper than that if I'm honest.
Showstopper said:
I don't think we have the personnel to press (and by the way, I think pressing is a little overemphasized anyway by fans). However, he wasn't a press manager at Middlesbrough. And we keep getting linked to press managers. And allegedly they are supposed to set the style of play and get a manager to fit that style rather than getting the manager and bending the club to their style. And it seems like they want to press. The problem of course is we haven't built the team to fit a style yet because they really only had firm control last year; the first summer of Ineos we were still buying mostly whatever ten Hag wanted.
That being said… I still hope they go with Carrick because I've been happy for a few months after spending about 2.5 years being mostly sad. It's really not much deeper than that if I'm honest.
I certainly don't blame him for sitting back a bit with the current state of our CM and with the issues we have had putting together our top CD. He has been pragmatic and done what he feels gives us the best chance to win.
Now does that mean he can adapt and bring in players that would allow us to play a higher line? Only time will tell, but I hope we have the club infrastructure now that we will bring in players who best fit our desired system.
At Middlesbrough he high pressed
I'm not going to pretend that I watched Middlesbrough in the Championship (I didn't) but I kind of paid a little attention to stuff on both him and McKenna in the Championship (because we are naturally linked to both from their time with Ole), and below is consistent with what I read where Carrick tried to dominate in the middle rather than a high press:
https://learning.coachesvoice.com/cv/michael-carricks-tactics-middlesbrough-man-utd/
(Note: high pressing isn't a magic wand; Ange was a high press guy, we saw how it went… well, ok against us, but not so great otherwise)
Quote:
But Carrick's preference for patience, possession, shorter passing and probing final-third play saw Boro's transitional threat decrease over time. Under his management, Middlesbrough were not consistently a high-pressing team. They never featured once among the Championship's top 10 for PPDA in his three seasons. Nor were they particularly aggressive with challenges, duels, tackles or interceptions out of possession. Indeed, they had the division's lowest challenge intensity in the 2024/25 season.
https://learning.coachesvoice.com/cv/michael-carricks-tactics-middlesbrough-man-utd/
(Note: high pressing isn't a magic wand; Ange was a high press guy, we saw how it went… well, ok against us, but not so great otherwise)
Put me in the camp of "a bad manager can do more harm than a good manager can do good" for a club. If you have complimentary players and attitudes it does more than a revolutionary system.
I think Carrick gets the job- he's exceeded expectations with a fair roster. The most important thing is freeing up money to get good players in for the added stress again next season. No coach is guaranteed, so why over pay for a "name" when you need the money to buy 2-3 mids, a back or 2, and maybe upgrade a striker spot.
I think Carrick gets the job- he's exceeded expectations with a fair roster. The most important thing is freeing up money to get good players in for the added stress again next season. No coach is guaranteed, so why over pay for a "name" when you need the money to buy 2-3 mids, a back or 2, and maybe upgrade a striker spot.
Yep. The summer transfer window is arguably more important than the manager as long as they don't completely eff the manager decision. United need both more bodies and talent upgrades in a number of positions. Huge window coming up.
"We can do things in the transfer market other clubs can only dream of." I.e., we can eff recruitment and manager decisions both up. And have. Repeatedly.
(In fairness, I'm not convinced Jose or maybe even Ole couldn't have worked if we didn't keep messing up in recruitment, but caveats ruin jokes.)
(In fairness, I'm not convinced Jose or maybe even Ole couldn't have worked if we didn't keep messing up in recruitment, but caveats ruin jokes.)