There are places we pass through in life… and there are places that become part of who we are.
Manchester will forever be my home.
To the city, the club, and every supporter, my sincerest thank you. These past four years have been unforgettable, filled with moments my family and I will carry with us for the rest of our lives. There simply aren’t enough words to describe the happiness and warmth we’ve felt here.
Thank you for every cheer, every memory, and for making us feel at home from the very first day.
Forever a Red Devil ❤️
@MrTomMcDermott i think Amorin was such a poor fit for united that Carrick has been made to look better, however Carrick has done a fantastic job and will likely get the job off the back of it.
🔺If we qualify for Europe, do this before 1 September, 2026. This is proper backing — nothing else:
❌Sell Zirkzee to Italy
❌Sell Manuel Ugarte — Carrick not bringing him on for a gassed Mainoo with 5-10 minutes to go yesterday speaks volumes
❌Ship out Bayindir
✅Bring back Radek Vitek from loan at Bristol
✅Sign Nico Schlotterbeck for £50ish million. Used to playing very wide in a back 3, has even played some LWB. Fits perfectly in Shaw’s held back LB role. Actually played a lot as a No 6 before going to Dortmund. We are doomed without Martinez line breaking passes, if Martinez gets injured long term again — it’s too much to rely on Heaven. If Shaw plays 50% of our games the coming 18 months, it’s a miracle. Late bloomer and already 27, but he doesn’t see to be the type who will age poorly.
✅ Sign Carlos Baleba for £70ish million. Poor form? I don’t know, he was optimal in RDZs system, that carried over one season. They are moving away more and more from it. Tough task for Brighton, the kid is still really young. But he has immense potential.
✅Sign Manu Kobe for £50ish million. Extremely press resistant. Great line breaking passing game. Very strong physically. We need two pure No 6s. Been talented forever, but he is 24 now and has had a great season for Roma from the reports. Can’t believe we can get Andersson, and Wharton is not an out and out No 6.
✅Sign Angelo Stiller for £60ish millions. Amazing passer. We talk about United DNA, stiller is a deep lying playmaker and his passing game definitely got a United vibe to it. Opportunistic and aggressive without being wasteful.
✅Sign Yan Diomande from Leipzig for £55ish millions.
✅Sign Julian Alvarez for £80ish millions from Athletico Madrid.
Total spend: Six signings ~£350m
🔺Starting XI is of course a matter of form, but this is two XIs that illustrate each players role:
———————-Sesko———————
Cunha————Bruno—————Amad
—————Maino——-Baleba————
Shaw—-Martinez——Yoro——Mazraoui
——————-Lammens——————-
———————-Alvarez———————
Diomande———Mount———Mbuemo
—————-Kone———Stiller————-
Dorgu——-Schlotb.—-MDL———Dalot
———————-Vitek————————
Depth XI
——————Obi Mikel——————
JJ Gabriel——Fletcher————Lacey
—————-Fletcher—Collyer————
Amass——Heaven—Maguire—Leon (L)
🔺Isn’t it almost too much depth?
After considering it — because it looks a bit much considering what we are used to — it really isn’t. Absolutely not.
Just look around the league — right now City, Liverpool, Newcastle, Tottenham and co all have 5-8 injuries each.
I look at our squad — and I see very few players who can play 90 minutes 2 games a week for a full year. It’s also a World Cup summer, so many of them aren’t getting any breaks. Mbuemo is healthy, play him till he gets a hamstring injury and he could be injury riddled for 5 years. Cunha? Dorgu? MDL? Harry?
Then we have players who are simply too young to play 90 minutes every third day. Mainoo, Baleba. Yoro. Dorgu.
Let’s say we get a couple of long term injuries, Shaw and Mount. Add the baseline 4-5 injuries at any given time all teams playing in Europe almost always have, just randomly say Sesko, Cunha, Dorgu, MDL and Mazraoui are injured for 4 weeks. That is 7 players removed from the 2 XIs above.
Our back 4 would be Schlotb.—Martinez-Yoro-Dalot backed up by only two more defenders, Heaven and Maguire. Those 4 can’t play 90 minutes every 3rd day. Heaven and Maguire would play a lot. Remember — the schedule has never been as tough as it is now.
Up front, for ST, LW, AMC and RW, we would have Alvarez, Diomande, Amad, Mbuemo and Bruno. 5 players for 4 positions. No other back up’s. 8 games x 90 minutes during a 4 week period. If we want to sub two attackers during 1 game — Obi Mikel/Lacey/Gabriel is coming on.
So no — it’s definitely not “luxury depth” in any way, shape or form. Sign 4 players in stead of 6 — and it is simple statistics that we will suffer greatly during a 4-8 week period. The same is the case if our depth is a big downgrade from our starting players.
It’s August 2025 and the decision on PL v Man City for the 130 charges has still not been published.
This is a disgrace.
It’s been almost 7 years since Der Spiegel first released Man City’s emails revealing their offences, resulting in the PL’s initial investigation.
It’s been almost 6 years since the PL initiated arbitration against Man City to force them to comply with the investigation.
It’s been 4 years since the English Courts insisted Man City must comply.
It’s been 2.5 years since the PL charged Man City with breaches of PL rules.
It’s been more than 7.5 months since the hearing concluded.
And yet… we still don’t have a decision on liability, let alone sanctions, despite the fact we are just 2 weeks away from the start of the 2025/26 season.
The PL’s investigatory and disciplinary processes have been such a failure that the integrity of the league has been compromised for 16 seasons now, 7 of which we already knew. We’re heading for an 8th season of knowing the league has been corrupted for almost 2 decades.
Some of this is the fault of the clubs and the rules they voted for.
Some of this is the fault of Man City and how they sought to delay the process, breaching the rules further in doing so.
But significantly at fault of here is the PL Board and the IC’s Chair, Murray Rosen. There is no legitimate reason why it should take this long to reach and codify a decision of this nature if the arbitrators were chosen appropriately and instructed accordingly.
They clearly have not been. The PL Board needs proper leadership and I really hope the new Independent Regulator makes matters better, not worse (trust levels are in the bin).