Manchester United Thread 25/26 - Teamtalk/Transfers/Gossip Mod Note in OP 12.02.26

Zero support for Liverpool but hope they take 3 points today.

It would put us just 3 points off second place and even though Carrick will say just one game at a time he probably knows that’s where he needs to finish to be in the reckoning for the main job if Ancellotti and Enrique are also available.

Without massive injuries I don’t think that’s completely unrealistic with the fixture list we have left especially as most of our opponents have other competitions that might be seen as slightly more important.

I disagree. Firstly, I wouldn’t assume that Ancelotti or Luis Enrique are even realistic options. Even if they are, I don’t see second vs fourth/fifth changing Carrick’s prospects for the job. Getting top five with CL qualification whilst demonstrating stability and a clear improvement feels like the key outcome that will actually matter. Chasing an unlikely second place at the expense of increasing pressure from Liverpool doesn’t really make sense to me. If they win today, and midweek and West Ham beat us - unlikely but not impossible, we’re in 6th place. Why anyone wants that risk is beyond me.

There’s an emotional desire to finish second above City, Liverpool, Chelsea - of course there is, but there’s no need to be irrational either.

Definitely should be aiming for CL football regardless of whether it's finishing 5th or 2nd. The important thing is just being in the CL next year for the big boost in income.

I don't think finishing 2nd, 3rd, or 4th will make much difference on Carrick's chances of getting the job. If he gets CL football I think they'll consider him heck I think they'll chat with him about the job if we finished 6th even.

EL football would likely rule out some managers and if that rules out your Enrique and Nagelsmann types Carrick could still get considered depending on how things go and if they're happy with the overall work that's gone on behind the scenes.

City have dropped points to Sunderland, Brighton, and Spurs so far this year. I don't see them going on a typical City winning streak to challenge Arsenal and will drop more points before the season is over. But the more that gap grows between 6th and 5th all the better imo.

Other than the 12 million which would be hugely beneficial between 5th and 2nd place it would cement Carricks position as a rightful contender to be United manager.

As a club it would be brilliant to finish in any champions league position but if we could keep riding this crest of a wave it is possible to get to 2nd/3rd place and compared to 5th I think most of the fanbase would be very supportive of Carrick getting the job.

If we finish 5th it will be brilliant but a large percentage will be of the opinion that there are better managers out there.

Yep, it’s the most logical approach. Some people seem to be working off the assumption that we’ll just keep winning and naturally finish above Liverpool and Chelsea, so there’s no need to look down the table and the only way is up. That’s dangerous thinking.

You and I will have to stop agreeing with each other - it doesn’t feel right 😁

It will make a huge difference to Carrick. Not the position per se, but how he did it, because getting 2nd will require a fantastic run of wins and it is that which will force the boards hand in their decision.

Getting enough wins to get over the line into 5th place? That makes it a successful interim period, but not enough to give him the job.

If he wants the job he needs to smash these next 13 games.

It has always been really disingenuous to say that Amorim was playing Mainoo when fit. We watched the games as well, it was clear as day that Amorim didn't rate Mainoo from very early on.

Mainoo went from a mainstay of the team to only playing 90 mins in the PL 4 times under Amorim, and then started the next season getting barely any starts at all.

Put it another way. We get told all the time that Amorim ditched the league to focus on the Europa league. That was stupid to begin with, but if Europa league was the priority then just look at Mainoos minutes in that competition, because they really tell a story.

Mainoo was excellent yesterday, and if he keeps performing like that, great. But the passive aggressive social media stuff he was doing was really frustrating. Posting the Whiplash image.. when your man in that film is an awful character, then liking posts about Amorim leaving, and liking others mocking his departure… I don’ like it, I don’t think that’s how you should handle adversity, and I fear that sort of behaviour is only going to get worse.

I get that angle, but I also understand his viewpoint.

He tried to get an amicable exit in Summer on loan. Failed. Club started to make noise that the squad was too thin to let him go in Jan.

He’s left with 3 options.

1. Waste another 6 months on the bench and hope the club change their mind in the summer
2. Wait an indefinite time until the manager is sacked
3. Force his exit.

The problem with 1 and 2 is that’s leaving his career in the hands of other people. Super successful people don’t want their future out of their own hands.

I think as long as Amorim was in role and the club wouldn’t facilitate a loan - agitating for a move is a reasonable step to take and likely what his agents advised him. A football career is short.

Yeah, fair points. And I think it’s totally fair to say Amorim mishandled him, no real argument there. He is proving him wrong now with his performances, and with Amorim gone the situation looks settled.

But still… he’s built a bit of a reputation for acting out publicly whenever things don’t go his way. That doesn’t disappear, and people aren’t imagining it.

It was fairly mild stuff though. Amass, and Obi were doing similar. These reactions were a direct result of Amorim’s actions and comments, which they would have felt was unfair.

In an ideal world, none of them do anything on social media and keep away from it - however it must be frustrating when the manager can say what he wants about you in public, but you can’t say anything back because it’s not your place as a player, and it’s seen as disrespectful to do so.

You must respect the manager - yes, but it works both ways.

Agreed. It’s one question mark against him. If it starts to happen again, it becomes a pattern of behaviour. Similar to life if you fall out with one person, it could be either side. If you’re falling out with everyone, it’s probably you.

Before Amorim took over most of the commentary around Mainoo was around how grounded and professional he is. I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt and believe he felt rightly aggrieved in a really awful situation. Let’s see where it goes from here.