Manchester United 2025-26 Thread

71,331 Views | 1635 Replies | Last: 7 hrs ago by Furlock Bones
Furlock Bones
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Showstopper
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Aston94 said:

This is probably going to get me labeled a bigot or racist or something, but the amount of backbending that UEFA and FIFA do for AFCON is absurd. Having AFCON the same year as a World Cup is ridiculous.

How about the African Federation get in line with the rest of the world schedule?
I'd be more sympathetic if it were every four years since so much of the continent isn't amenable to a summer tournament

But every two years? Way too much. At least do group stages during regular international breaks if you are going to have it every two years.
deadbq03
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I'm a heretic, but I'd rather see FIFA consolidate their international windows into a long, mandatory winter break. Basically I'd like to see most of June/July and Dec/Jan go to FIFA and the rest go to leagues (with no breaks).

Then confederations can do whatever they want in whatever window they want. And then (God Forbid) maybe give their players a break in the other window.

This also then allows for dumb FIFA winter stuff like WC22 and WC34.
Thunder18
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I still don't understand why we are looking at another winger/wingback in the January window instead of a CM
Furlock Bones
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Thunder18 said:

I still don't understand why we are looking at another winger/wingback in the January window instead of a CM


Club is dying to improve its defensive spine and control the midfield.

Best we can do is more outside players.
Showstopper
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I think they are looking to make him the left sided Amad (the way we use wing backs is a lot closer to winger than fullback; Amad is not a fullback in any traditional definition at all of the role).

Anyway, the Dorgu experiment is, at best, still very experimental. We probably do need a winger, now or in the summer, who is willing to play in the position. Whether Semenyo would want to be that for us when he could seemingly go to City, Spurs, or potentially Liverpool if they actually F off Salah… yeah I don't know if we win that race. But we will see, maybe they can sell the role to him
Dre_00
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Club is reportedly interested in CM as well. Baleba and Anderson get the most noise at the moment. I think the only reason Semenyo is getting lead billing is because of the release clause that activates in January. Baleba and Anderson are both highly unlikely to be available in January for a reasonable price and it would be difficult to agree to terms with the club. Can argue about whether 65m for Semenyo is reasonable (I personally think it is not considering they would likely try and play him in a position he has never played) but at least it would be straight forward from a club negotiation perspective.
Furlock Bones
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More embarrassment for the club. Old Trafford has been deemed unfit to host Euro 2028 matches. All Manchester matches will be played at the Etihad.
ChipFTAC01
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Furlock Bones said:

More embarrassment for the club. Old Trafford has been deemed unfit to host Euro 2028 matches. All Manchester matches will be played at the Etihad.
hasn't that always been the plan? I don't think that OT was ever on the list.
Furlock Bones
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ChipFTAC01 said:

Furlock Bones said:

More embarrassment for the club. Old Trafford has been deemed unfit to host Euro 2028 matches. All Manchester matches will be played at the Etihad.

hasn't that always been the plan? I don't think that OT was ever on the list.

if that is the case, I'm not sure why there's a bunch of accounts posting about it on twitter today.
ChipFTAC01
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I think the final list came out 2-3 years ago and I'm 100% certain it was just the Etihad on that list. My wife's english so we've been talking about the summer of '28 roadtrip for a few years.
AustinScubaAg
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ChipFTAC01 said:

I think the final list came out 2-3 years ago and I'm 100% certain it was just the Etihad on that list. My wife's english so we've been talking about the summer of '28 roadtrip for a few years.

The list was announced in 2023.

" Notable omissions include Anfield in Liverpool, which was ineligible to host games due to its pitch dimensions falling short of UEFA's requirements, and Old Trafford in Manchester, which was ruled out after Manchester United were unable to guarantee whether the stadium would be ready at that time."
Furlock Bones
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Mathguy64
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The need to sign a CB. It's insane that there really isn't a quality CB who is healthy to play right now. And this team is giving up points because of it.

Playing Yoro and Heaven with Shaw is just a bad bad bad idea.
Showstopper
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FWIW, I have a feeling that 60M will be the new 40M. We aren't the only team that will have more room under the newly approved squad cost ratio rules. As I recall from the Athletic's article on the change, all of the Big 6 clubs other than Chelsea would be well under the new limits. So the money-spenders will have a lot of money they can spend in the new fiscal year. And clubs have spent when they could. Combined with World Cup mania where teams fall in love with players over the tournament… I think this summer will likely be a big spending summer since Premier League spending tends to raise spending overall.
Furlock Bones
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I agree with this sentiment. Summer is going to be bananas.
Furlock Bones
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Well this is a lovely bit of Christmas news.


Aston94
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Can't blame him.
Showstopper
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Well, I'd caution that the actual content is behind a Daily Mail paywall, and DM can be a little sketchy (ahead of the Sun, but still tabloid). However, I do follow Chris Wheeler, and he does sometimes break real stories. So I guess what I'm saying is: concerning headline, but Daily Mail isn't good enough for me to pay money to read lol.
Dre_00
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I'm not sure what time period they are referring to but I doubt Mainoo goes anywhere in January and certainly won't go anywhere permanently in January. The only way that happens is if United sign a midfielder and that seems highly unlikely in January. They need midfield bodies as cover if nothing else. There are only four central midfielders on the roster.

I wouldn't be surprised if he left in the summer but there's a long time between now and then. There is a not unrealistic path to him becoming a starter in 2026-27. He should get more time in the coming weeks due to AFCON and this potential periodic change in formation from Amorim. Next couple of months will likely be crucial.
Furlock Bones
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What a horse **** call! We had a TE right there
Mathguy64
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So win and go to 5th. The way this weekend had gone I fully expect United to Aggie it up and crap down their legs.
Furlock Bones
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I see in my game rage I posted on the wrong forum yesterday.

Thankfully we are on the road today so there's a chance United can win.
Furlock Bones
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Mainoo out with a "small injury"
Showstopper
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Amorim says, "F that shirt."
Furlock Bones
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That lineup. I know we don't have a lot of choices at the moment. But…
Mathguy64
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Malacia??? I didn't even know he was still with the club.
Showstopper
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Ok, if we assume Mainoo is injured… (highly skeptical the "calf injury" is real, pretty coincidental, but at the same time, SAF would have packed him off about, oh, Monday, so…).

Who would we put in? Zirkzee? Mount has done better, Cunha was good last game. Martinez? Still looks like he's getting back up to speed, probably isn't ready to start.

I hope a couple youth make appearances. Pure numbers suggest a couple may get a chance.
Showstopper
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As I recall, we sold Malacia for a couple mil near the end of the Summer window to a small club (or as close to free as you can get and still call it a deal) but (try to contain your disbelief) he failed the physical.
Furlock Bones
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Like I said, I'm not sure we have much choice. Just pretty ugly.
Showstopper
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I would also say that, although I advocated for Mainoo to play alongside Bruno earlier in the year, when you actually watch them try to play together, which we've seen a little albeit not a lot, it isn't great. Bruno wants to get forward. When Mainoo has the ball, he kind of wants to carry a little bit. So that puts both midfielders out of position, and we are really open.

Although, Baleba likes to carry too (or he did last year). So he's athletic and can cover more area when Bruno is out of position, but wouldn't he be out of position if he carried the ball up? So not actually sure he'd be that great with Bruno either on reflection (putting his poor performance this year aside).
Showstopper
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Thought that was a goal until it bounced around behind. Darn TV angles!
Showstopper
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Ollie Watkins looking pretty dangerous today.
Dre_00
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Amorim said he thought Mainoo played well against Bournemouth but yeah, that timing is highly suspect. Highly.
Dre_00
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Ugarte hasn't played 90 minutes once this season. He's likely in no shape to. Curious to see what Amorim does around 60-75 minutes. Does he run him into the ground? Or does he bring on a guy like Fletcher or maybe even Lacey and push Mount into midfield? Either way, he either plays a youth player or plays someone wildly out of position if he decides that Ugarte can't go 90.
 
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