Henry Winter

⚽️Football journalist.🎙️The Football Boardcast
📻 Sunday Edition talkSPORT. ✍️ World Soccer.
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[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Red Man Walking. Michael Carrick on his way out of Manchester United. Mauricio Pochettino inbound. Christian Purslow and I discuss Carrick, Poch, Wilcox, Berrada, Ratcliffe and the Glazers @FootyBoardcast #MUFC
https://t.co/79KOgn7emE
https://t.co/6N5cSqs0JO

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Lou Macari is a beacon in the darkness of many lives. He offers help to the homeless, a roof over their heads, and a chance to get back on their feet again. This honour is so well deserved. Many congratulations to Lou. ❤️

[Lou Macari @LouMacari10]

What a fantastic day at Windsor Castle to receive my MBE from Prince William. I was dead nervous beforehand, but was then ok chatting with him about football and our work with the homeless over the last 10 years at the Macari Centre.

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Wonderful man, passionate football fan, accomplished broadcaster, journalist and editor. Incredibly talented and warm-hearted. Such sad news. Thoughts with Alex, all of Danny’s family and many, many friends. RIP.

[talkSPORT @talkSPORT]

We are heartbroken to share that our much-loved friend and colleague Danny Kelly has died, aged 69.

A cherished part of talkSPORT for so many years, Danny brought extraordinary wit, warmth and knowledge to our airwaves. His passion for football, music and life was infectious, and his kindness touched everyone around him.

“I love football, Stan. I love it.”

We loved you, Danny. We’ll miss you dearly.

Our thoughts are with Danny’s family, friends and everyone who loved listening to him.

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Djed Spence and Ezri Konsa are the only members of the England squad not out on the grass at Tottenham Hotspur's training ground this afternoon. FA adds “the pair are following their own programmes” ahead of Thursday's Nations League tie against Croatia. Wembley sold out. #ENG

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Lest we forget

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

@ChrisHaymes1 Thanks Chris. Fans deserve far better than this ownership. At least Pochettino is a good successor

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

@Rectified32 @ChrisHaymes1 Managers rarely resign

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Re: Mauricio Pochettino and Manchester United. From the United States of America to the United States of Disrepair. Managerial churn may have short-term gain but problems remain as Pochettino will discover if/when he leaves USMNT for United. Michael Carrick is the Red Man Walking. So you can understand why the risk-averse board would go for Poch. United were linked with Pochettino in 2016, 2019, 2024. It seems destined.

Pochettino is “gettable”, with that £7m release clause, but United must also take into account the cost of recruiting his staff. United’s board is not currently known for operating with respect – as its shameful handling of Carrick’s exit highlights - but it also must be mindful of Pochettino’s important work with USMNT over the next week: the Concacaf Nations League quarter-final against Haiti in Miami on Saturday and then Cincinnati on Wednesday.

He is a very good manager, just below elite level (Luis Enrique, Jurgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti, Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola, Unai Emery etc and the rising Fabian Hurzeler). Pochettino knows English football and has a reputation for playing good football, promoting youth and living with budget restrictions – all qualities attractive to the board.

"Poch" is a very engaging character (as are his staff) and will receive a largely warm welcome from the media he has always got on with. But Pochettino has a point to prove that he is not past his peak and will need to convince many sceptical United fans. They will back the new man, because that’s what United’s remarkable match-going faithful do. Many would prefer Antonio Conte to come in and shake up the dressing-room and boardroom and challenge the not-best-in-class Jason Wilcox, the director of football who badly let down Carrick in the summer. But Poch it is.

He needs better players. Pochettino favours a high press, far more intense than the half-hearted press offered by some United players. His tactics involve a high line - good luck with that with Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt at centre-back. He likes to play out from the back, risky with some of the defenders.

He’s worked with top strikers like Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe. He’ll find the No 9 wearing No 30 and in the treatment room. Pochettino likes to play (often) with a double pivot. Kobbie Mainoo is certainly good enough and has the quality in possession but would need a more defensive force alongside - which is Carlos Baleba, a player deemed surplus to requirements at Brighton. Poch likes attacking full-backs who can also defend well. United need to sign some. Good luck to Pochettino - he'll need it. #MUFC

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

@liverpxxl9 And that’s the point. He will have a thought for staff at the club. That’s his nature

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

It is a sad reflection of modern football that the man who cares most about Manchester United, who will loyally, diligently again go into Carrington today to try and tackle the mess, is the one being eased out by those gathering in Monaco and via a link to Florida who don’t truly have United in their heart. Those who are primarily responsible for the mess.

Michael Carrick will leave the club sooner or later but the club will never leave him. United mean too much to him. He gave everything for the team in 464 games. His son plays for their academy. Being United head coach is not simply a job for Carrick, it's an honour he feels deeply proud of.

The manager who last season masterminded home wins over Manchester City, Aston Villa and Liverpool and away triumphs at Arsenal, Chelsea and Brighton has undoubtedly made mistakes this season. Diogo Dalot at left-back, not bringing Shea Lacey on earlier, etc. The poor run, and tumble into the relegation positions, inevitably means his job is on the line.

It is possible to understand why Carrick should lose his job but also why others should be held accountable, too. The decision on Carrick would be more palatable if it weren’t being formulated and then executed by Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the loathed Glazers. What good have they done to this great club? Debts and decline, holes in the roof and in the squad.

Carrick’s contribution to the history of Manchester United is substantial and his legacy secure – winning five titles and taking responsibility for a penalty in the 2008 shootout that helped win the Champions League.

At the very least, Carrick deserves to be treated with far more respect than is currently being shown to a dignified, hard-working individual as the clock ticks down on his departure. His exit is being handled appallingly by the club. Red man walking. At least United fans are showing all the class their board lacks. The Stretford End sings Carrick’s name because they know he is not the real problem.

It will be no surprise in weeks to come to spot Carrick standing, hood up, with United fans at an away game. They will welcome him warmly. He’s done it before, being a fan again. Carrick loves the club. He has ever since he was an apprentice at West Ham United, charged with keeping the away dressing-room tidy, and admiring how Alex Ferguson and his smartly-dressed collection of winners strode into the Boleyn Ground. They had an aura, and Carrick wanted to be part of that.

Carrick will leave the club physically, dismissed as much for the failings of underperforming players, those incompetents in charge of recruitment and the unpopular owners, as for his own undoubted mistakes. But Carrick will never leave United emotionally. It's sad that someone who cares so much will go, and those who don't care as much remain. #MUFC

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

@RaghavChopra_ He got top 3 helped by clear midweeks of course. My point is more about the failings of others meant he went into the season with huge squad issues.

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

@bunsey73 Thanks Nigel I didn’t know that about charities. Makes a lot of sense. Not a lot of sense in football tbh.

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

EFL and National League clubs will be expected to build cash reserves to safeguard against future financial shocks, the Independent Football Regulator says. IFR State of the Game report revealed that 94% of clubs were loss-making. So IFR now insists that …
•“Clubs in the EFL and National League will be expected to hold one month's wages if low risk, three month’s operating losses if medium risk, and five month’s operating losses if higher risk.
•“Clubs in the Premier League will not have a starting expectation set but this will be assessed on a club-by-club basis dependent on risk”.

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

@savegrassroots @alancecil IFR five tiers. But I take your point/concern

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Bournemouth defender James Hill gets first call up to the England squad. FA says Ezri Konsa “will not be in contention for Croatia at Wembley on Thursday as he continues to follow his own programme but will return to full training later this week before Sunday’s trip to Spain.”🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿#ENG

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

“The work ethic, giving your all, is a bare minimum. Leeds fans want to see a reflection of themselves when they're watching you. Being physical, also with a bit of quality as well. That's what they expect from their No 9.” Dominic Calvert-Lewin #LUFC
https://t.co/R7AmT4i4hY

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

@slbsn Brilliant point 🙌

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

@stephenRB4 Lacey looks fearless enough to handle the pressure so definitely agree on that, Stephen. JJ Gabriel should have been included in the CL squad, as many suggested, but he's still young/slight and developing (huge promise of course). Be interesting how long it takes for RM debut

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

When Michael Carrick goes, should the director of football Jason Wilcox go as well? Was he over-promoted when Dan Ashworth left? Ashworth was “best in class”, very experienced. Wilcox wasn’t/isn't "best in class". Recruitment has been a mess, namely the transfer strategy of targeting one area, midfield, this summer. So naive. Some strengthening required with Casemiro gone and Ugarte injured/not good enough but the team were crying out for investment at left-back and striker. £50m for Andrey Santos? United are not buying best in class.

DoF should be working to a club’s DNA. United’s historic identity is well-known: attacking with pace, width, intensity, expression, defiance and the dash of youth. Playing football the Matt Busby way, the Alex Ferguson way. Those days are long gone, United don't have anywhere near the quality of player or manager, but attempting to follow principles laid down by Busby and Ferguson, which fans crave, should be Wilcox's stated ambition.

But Wilcox hasn’t recruited to restore that DNA. Properly-run football operations like Brighton sell players/change coaches but have an established DNA and way of playing (attacking, pressing). Brighton have best in class recruitment, data with due diligence into character. United don't.

Carrick can go but the problem remains. Reports suggest that United pursue Mauricio Pochettino as Carrick’s successor. Good choice. He’s a very good manager, man-manager, great with the media (coffees and chats in London with journos he knows), diplomatic with those upstairs and popular amongst staff. Poch would have a short-term bounce but will he have the players? United's problem is short-term and long-term, and Wilcox has to take responsibility for that.

United will remain stuck in a doom cycle until best in class is appointed to run recruitment and better players - with the right character - are bought. United will continue to drift until the debilitating, debt-stained ownership model changes, and they get back to being a great football club first and foremost with the whole commercial operation supporting that, not interest repayments. #MUFC

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

“…it will be Carrick who pays the price rather than underachieving players, detached owners and those responsible for such wretched recruitment. And the whole cycle of doom will begin again”… ICYMI from the weekend. Carrick may go but many problems remain. #MUFC

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Michael Carrick has to take his share of responsibility for the mess at Manchester United - and may pay the price with his job sooner or later - but he’s not the real problem there. Yes, there was some fighting spirit, the late rally and point against Aston Villa but still … shocking starts to both halves, four goals shipped, second bottom, humiliating, why not the fearless Shea Lacey on earlier? It can’t go on like this, stumbling, slip, sliding away, briefly regaining footing. International breaks are an obvious opportunity for a board to act and players may open up on United woes when away with their national teams.

The Stretford End sang Carrick’s name. They know how much he cares about the Club, and how well he served them as a player with far more determination than the current woeful generation. Fans know their plight is as much on Ineos, the Glazers and the recruitment “experts”. No defence. Really, they have no defence.

Whoever follows Carrick whenever he goes inherits a mess not of his making but of the club’s: a squad of signings long on cost but short on strength of character. They fought back against Roma and Villa but why start so sluggishly? It will take a few windows and proper focus on mindset as well as technical skill-set to sort out.

The contrast with Villa’s smart recruitment under Unai Emery (Nicolas Jackson, Alysson and, earlier, Morgan Rogers etc) is very obvious. Villa lost good players (Rogers, Ollie Watkins etc) but replaced well. If they hadn't got a bit complacent, and hadn't sat off, Villa would have beaten United.

United need a new defence before a new stadium. The back-four on the hour was Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven and Diogo Dalot. That's a rickety fence. At a club where they once had such warriors and talent as Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra as a back-line. That's a wall.

Dalot is an average right-back playing painfully out of position at left-back. He works hard but his decision-making is so suspect. His naive challenge on Alysson, and his presence at left-back, summed up the skewed recruitment at United. Every United fan said they needed a new left-back in pre-season. Dalot was replaced by Patrick Dorgu who rescued a point but has been injured and hardly impressed overall since joining in 2025. He's no Evra or Denis Irwin.

Yoro is a 20-year-old centre-back who cost £50m in 2024 and he’s hardly trained on. Another 20-year-old, Heaven, has promise but still has so much to learn. Mazraoui is nothing special. The keeper Senne Lammens is left exposed by his defence too often but he, too, is culpable: he's pushing the ball out in front of him, still in traffic, rather than wide.

And Harry Maguire should have left by now. The club has to make stronger decisions. Look at Arsenal who overhauled their squad, starting with paying off Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with a reported £7m. Then rebuilt. United’s squad, added to over the years with no consistency of thought, needs clearing out. How many United players would get in Arsenal's starting XI? None.

Money has been spent but so badly. And it will be Carrick who pays the price rather than underachieving players, detached owners and those responsible for such wretched recruitment. And the whole cycle of doom will begin again. #MUFC