Manchester United Thread 25/26 - Teamtalk/Transfers/Gossip Mod Note in OP 26.09.24

In fairness to you, the 'filthy corporation' rabbit hole is a very, very deep one.

But this is kinda my point.
The standards and accountability at United was non existent for much of his career - and he is a poorer professional for that. Maybe Fergie would have just kicked him out the door because maybe he doesn't react in the way we would have wanted - maybe he'd have been the same. Its not like Fergie fixed Morrison (as an extreme example maybe).

I think United should always bear some culpability for how a player/person turns out, when they have been invested in the development of that player and person for so long. Obviously it isn't a case of United are 100% responsible, a player and person also has control over their personal environment and the impact that can have - but United cannot be held blameless either. United can't say they take pride in coaching people rather than just players, and then turn around and say 'nothing to do with us' if the person is found wanting.

I also think United need to look at how they have reacted in situations. The world cup stands out as a point of criticism for United in this respect - i've read in the past there was industry/player surprise at how United didn't support Sancho and Rashford after the abuse they suffered following the WC, in direct comparison to how Arsenal DID with Saka. Maybe that talk is 100% wrong, but I can't know that it is or isn't; and i did feel at the time United didn't rally behind those two anywhere near the level they did with Rooney or Beckham in similar scenarios.

I think the lack of winning mentality at the club for more than a decade has had a big impact on the players as well. When the club only care about 4th, when they don't care about winning any individual game or trophy, that will impact everything about the attitudes we then see. When we give out contracts to protect player value rather than reward performance, that will impact the player attitudes. When Phil Jones gets a 5 year contract on 120k+ that impacts people. Same with Smalling etc.

We can 100% say Rashford should put in 100% every single day regardless, we can say that of every player - but we can't just ignore the impact of the club MASSIVELY rewarding failure and mediocrity on a yearly basis, imo. If you don't have to perform to protect your life and earnings… will you always perform? If the players around you are not performing but they get rewarded and kept… will that have an impact? And 100% you can include the contract Rashford got for 1 quality season as having that kind of negative impact on other players too.

We can point to Bruno as an example of the professional we want regardless of all the crap around the club players.
We can point to A LOT more players are not - and I think when you have more examples of failures and issues than anything positive, you should question the environment more so than the individuals for the most part.

Rashford is both a victim, and a symptom of the failures of United for the last 10 years. I personally think it is fair to say he is both, rather that just say he is a big part of the reason United are where they are, which is what has been said.

I think his attitude and performances in the 24/25 season in particular were utterly unacceptable and he had to be moved on. I just also think his performances and attitude from 23/24 and 24/25 was influenced by a decade of mismangement and broken promises.

That's a decent move for the kid. Likely will compete with Jayson Molumby for a place in the starting XI.

I like him, will be a good move for him.

Nothing significant seems to be happening with Baleba as yet, but no real movement on alternatives either. Wharton at Palace being mentioned but if they're losing Eze & Guehi, are they going to let themselves be stripped altogether this late in the window?

Wharton is a very good player but would he suit being paired with Bruno and long term Mainoo? I can't say I've watched him enough but going off Carl Anka's comments recently he's better paired in a United midfield with a Ugarte rather than a Bruno.

Maybe you persist with Wharton + Bruno on the short term but then you've got to look long term with regards Mainoo. Unless Big Jim spends a few quid buying tickets for the euro millions. Spend that +£200M on Wharton and Baleba to fix your midfield 😂

If Rashford breaks through in 2000 the main difference would be that he would have 250 odd less Man Utd appearances.

I don't buy this nonsense that he was a victim of his environment. He was a large part of that environment.

Multiple managers have had issues.

He's sitting in an interview now telling us he understands perfectly well that things were not right at OT but it's all finger pointing as usual.

We aren't talking about a 12 year old here. He's a 27 year old man. The responsibility for his career and his actions are with him and him alone.

The content of what he is saying has truth to it but he's leaving out that he and other players were a massive part of the problem.

There are rumours it could be Apple, because Ratcliffe specifically name dropped both Coca Cola and Apple during the Carrington speech.

Jaysus the size of Zirks in the second pic here - makes Leon look tiny 😁

Jeez Zirkzee looks like a new man in that picture compared to last season. Was he a stone or two overweight when he joined the club.

I agree. There were rumours that they would bid for streaming rights of the PL in the U.K back in 2023. They currently stream MLS games. Just last month they bid for the rights to stream F1. Premier League streaming rights is something that they could get into down the line - and if they do it wouldn’t make sense for them to also be a sponsor of Man United at the same time. It’s not something they typically do - they’re very protective of their brand, and it would be odd for them to put their name on an organisation they don’t control.

It doesn’t really matter who the sponsor is as long as the money is right.

Same website that broke Baleba to Brigton is saying deal agreed with United for €112m