Tag Archives: sancho

Two Steps Back

The January window passed off without major incident but again cast the spotlight on the precarious state of the club’s finances. The fact we brought in Patrick Dorgu was a minor surprise given the focus (rightly) was on trimming the wage bill to avoid future PSR breaches. Clearly, we’re in dodgy position right now. I’m sure Marcus Rashford didn’t expect to end up in Birmingham when Milan and Barcelona had been touted as potential destinations, but I guess we all have to make certain sacrifices during times of austerity, right?

I’ve been very critical of Rashford, but I hope this gives him a wake-up call and the motivation to kick on and resurrect his career. Ditto Antony, who now finds himself in Seville where I expect he’ll encounter a more forgiving environment in which to practice his pirouettes and ponder using his right foot one day. Sacrificing this pair and not even making a loan signing did appear to be a gamble though, one that backfired almost immediately now Amad has been ruled out for the rest of the season. I’m not sure what the plan is if Garnacho is unavailable for any length of time.

It’s long been suspected that the training levels aren’t what they should be at Carrington. You only have to look at the pre-match warm up routines to confirm that most players are simply going through the motions and there’s a noticeable lack of intensity. I suspect Amorim has clocked this and set about fixing things but he might need to re-adjust his methods. 9 days in-between games to spend on the training ground pre- Spurs resulted in 4 fresh injuries – and that’s coming off the back of the news that Martinez has undergone surgery and is likely out until Christmas. I strongly suspect the club could genuinely be cursed.

With Rashford and Antony joining Sancho out on loan, that now makes around £200M worth of wingers plying their trade elsewhere whilst remaining on the books. The silver lining in Sancho’s case is that at least he was shipped out with a clause obligating Chelsea to stump up a transfer fee in the summer. This move being a rare example of United doing something right with regard to player dealings – you’d be hard pressed to recall many other instances of the club doing something sensible in the transfer market in recent years.

The fact that both Rashford and Antony will be back in June is probably helping fuel speculation that both Garnacho and Mainoo might be sold in the summer. It’s a grim prospect that would have been inconceivable in previous years, but indicative of the gravity of the situation in which the club finds itself. Nobody wants to see our brightest prospects sold, but I suppose this is the natural consequence of years of ridiculous spending and kamikaze financial management. If it needs to happen to get the club back on a secure footing then so be it.

A lack of signings meant the e-reds had a difficult month, especially now the penny has dropped that Sancho is delivering the same turgid performance level at Chelsea as he did during his time at United. Amusingly, they’ve now pivoted from demanding his immediate recall to another familiar face, our old friend Paul Pogba! Yes, such unparalleled lunacy is alive and well on the internet. I mean, can you imagine being that thick you’d actually think that re-signing that clown would be a smart move at this point? Unsurprisingly, Rio Ferdinand was touting the same idea too.

Sad news came last month via the announcement of Denis Law’s passing – the original King of The Stretford End and my Dad’s favourite player of all time. I was fortunate enough to meet the man a couple of times and what a lovely, down-to-earth bloke he was. It was a pity then, that the ceremony held prior to the Fulham game days later was ragged mess in comparison to how the club have managed similar events in the past. The TRA drowning out the lone piper followed by Alan Keegan’s foghorn-voiced reading of a tribute poem brought little subtlety or solemnity to proceedings. It’s a shame because United used to get these things spot on.

In such circumstances, less can mean more. The contrast to the scenes inside the ground in January 1994 prior to the Everton game following Sir Matt’s death was stark. Back then there was a simple minute’s silence after a piper had led both teams out. There was no need for anyone on the mic giving a running commentary and to this day, the scene stands out as one of the most moving things I’ve ever witnessed in life. The club needs to reassess how these occasions are handled in future to ensure they don’t become some ill-conceived form of pre-match entertainment.

We went from Scotland’s finest to the absolute dregs in the space of a few days, as Rangers rocked up at OT for one of those “invasions” that occur every time a side from Glasgow ventures south of Newcastle. I managed to avoid them pre-match and wondered if the rumours about the numbers travelling were accurate, but then it was hard to miss them once they’d equalised. It all made for a highly entertaining last 10 minutes with skirmishes occurring all over the ground. I’ve no problem with any away fan getting in the home end as I’ve done it often enough. The rule as always is if you loudly make yourself known, be prepared for some potential consequences.

It didn’t take long for United to activate damage limitation mode, predictably blaming ST holders for selling on tickets rather than admitting that scores of hospitality seats had (also predictably) been snapped up by the Scots. The club used similarly disingenuous tactics after Galatasaray at home last season, another high-demand game that saw large numbers of away fans infiltrating home sections. Rather than learn any lessons from what happened that night and limiting the sale of hospitality seats for a potentially volatile fixture, they’ve just doubled down on attempts to pin the blame on regular ST holders.

After allegedly reviewing CCTV footage from the night, the club have contacted dozens of fans threatening to revoke their tickets unless they can prove their attendance at the game. The fact the club sees the value in targeting individuals and demanding photo ID to prove they were sat in their seats rather than acknowledging Rangers fans were freely allowed to congregate next to the away section is extraordinarily deceitful even by their own standards. Just own it and admit that despite the obvious risks, you allowed the sale of hundreds of home end tickets to away supporters. It’s that simple no matter how much they try to shift the blame onto United fans.

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No Apologies

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There’s been little to be enthused about recently but City’s unexpected exit from the Champions League prompted one of those rare days where you could stroll into work actively enthused at the prospect of football discourse. I’m well aware that getting your thrills from schadenfreude is pretty desperate, but here we are. In fairness, way back when we were successful I was just as petty. I can recall watching their playoff final out in town days after the treble win feeling utterly dejected as a handful of Kappa-clad scrotes spilled onto Princess Street in celebration. Football makes us like this. And we have the cheek to call them ‘bitter’.

Liverpool’s capitulation post-Amadgeddon has been equally amusing to witness. Jurgen the German celebrating a league title in front of a packed Anfield was a nauseating prospect and the ensuing media love-in would’ve continued for months. City winning 4 on the bounce is the borderline preferable alternative which remains the most likely outcome of this year’s title race… unless Arsenal do something very out of character and provide a satisfactory conclusion to the season regardless of what happens at Wembley later this month.

The most unlikely participant in this year’s CL semis has to be Jadon Sancho, back on the global stage as his underwhelming loan spell at Dortmund draws to a close. Despite playing well against PSG, the reaction to his performance was ridiculously over-hyped and had all the usual idiots clamouring for his recall to both United and the national side. Quite frankly, Sancho could score a hat-trick in the final and win the Ballon d’Or and I still wouldn’t want him anywhere near Carrington ever again. He had multiple chances at United to get both his fitness and his head straight yet never looked remotely interested.

The motive behind getting Jamie Carragher to slobber all over him, kissing his arse is that it’s an easy stick to beat Ten Hag with. Poor misunderstood Jadon, look at the smile on his face now he’s free from the clutches of that tyrannical bald loser etc. Do me a favour. Sancho underperformed from the moment he was signed and irrespective of whatever else is going on at the club, ultimately the responsibility for that lies with him alone. Some players just can’t hack it at United and he’s simply the latest in a long line. Weak mentality and when called out by his boss, his reaction was to effectively go on strike before scarpering off to Germany. Keep your fingers crossed Dortmund spend their CL prize money on taking him back permanently.

Ineos briefing journos that United will listen to offers for all but 3 of the squad is interesting, particularly the timing as the club prepares for the summer transfer window. Such a message implies they’re hoping to shift a number of players quickly so the proceeds can boost what might be a relatively tight budget otherwise. The fact that the ‘club insider’ chose to name Garnacho, Hojlund and Mainoo is also quite telling in that it indicates anyone else is expendable if the right bid were to arrive. No surprise to Maguire and McTominay who were close to leaving last summer, but surely an eye-opener for the likes of Martinez, Shaw and Fernandes.

If the new regime is deadly serious about changing the way the club operates (evidence so far suggests they are) then the one with major re-sale value who definitely needs shipping out is Marcus Rashford. Once you’ve lost the support of match goers who’re usually the last to turn against (especially local) players, the writing is on the wall and it’s time to leave. I expect his brains trust advisors are well aware of how perilous his current position is as they quickly counter-briefed The Sun (“IN NO RASH TO LEAVE”) indicating his desire to stay put.

Of course he wishes to remain here, despite the smacked arse demeanour and body language that suggests he now detests playing football for a living. I’m not convinced any other club barring the Saudis would pay him what he’s earning currently. His numerous commercial deals will be in jeopardy once he migrates to that football wilderness as he’s nowhere near Ronaldo-level fame. No doubt he’s praying Ten Hag gets the bullet at the end of the season so he’s presented with a clean slate to kick on from in August. His behaviour this year will quickly be forgiven/forgotten after a few goals under Ten Hag’s successor, unfortunately.

The situation with Rashford and Sancho illustrates why I think placating these prima donnas and dispensing with yet another manager would be a mistake this summer. I’m not convinced that Ten Hag is the right man for the United job, but I am convinced that we’re not going to make any progress by indulging players who aren’t fully committed. Giving Ten Hag another season and jettisoning the pair would send out exactly the right message about the future intentions of the people in charge of the club, even if it does eventually turn out that bald isn’t in fact best.

The fact that Ratcliffe hasn’t backed the manager publicly during this tumultuous campaign points towards the likelihood he’ll be gone at the season’s close. Personally, I’ll be disappointed as it’ll signal that little has changed since Woodward and Arnold were in charge. Ten Hag took over a team in chaos and hasn’t had the time or the resources to complete it. He’s had a terrible 2nd season and blown his budget on some spectacular flops, but this job was always going to require 4-5 years and multiple transfer windows. I can see the logic in starting from scratch under someone new, but we’ve been at this juncture before when Mourinho was axed and the club granted several players a reprieve instead.

Although it’s all doom and gloom at present, I recently made the point to the Editor that we’re in another Cup Final and most likely Europe again next season. All about perspective, innit? What we take for granted is pretty wild in comparison to what the majority of football fans experience year on year. I’ll be taking a similarly sanguine attitude to Wembley in a couple of weeks to ensure no repeat of last year where I spent the entire game in a state of mental turmoil as the spectre of City’s treble loomed large. This time, I’ll simply be there for a good time. No expectations, no disappointment. Enjoy the summer and see you in August.

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It’s Been A Long Time

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Unless there’s been another government U-turn in recent days, there’s a reasonable chance you might be reading this sat in your seat at OT. Imagine that, eh? Walking to the ground, buying the mag, reading it pre-match, or going home on the tram, the bog at work… whatever. It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? So before we start I’d like to echo the Editor’s sentiments by thanking everyone for their continued support and for helping to keep Red News going over the last 18 months.

You probably don’t need telling that most people get their United-related content in a different format these days. Indeed, many consider printed fanzines to be relics from a bygone age. Personally speaking, whilst acknowledging there’s room for the vlogger crowd in the United stratosphere, what they offer simply isn’t for me. I can see the comic potential of an ex-copper doing a passable Alan Partridge impersonation live from his spare bedroom, but I honestly don’t care what him and his contemporaries think about the club. It makes me happy that we’re able to offer a more authentic voice and that there’s still an audience prepared to put their hand in their pocket and support it.

Perhaps stung by the protests back in May, United quickly burst into action this summer keen to get essential improvements boxed off early. Whereas previous transfer windows were dogged by lengthy negotiations dragging on for weeks, in late June we woke up to the bombshell news that the ground was receiving a coat of paint. I’m not certain if the contractors used premium Dulux Weathershield or a standard All-Surface Paint and Primer, but nevertheless, it was good to see the Glazers come out answering their critics with a such a bold statement of intent. The leaking roof can wait until next year, presumably.

To no-one’s great surprise, we also signed Jadon Sancho. It was difficult to get too giddy about this given we all knew it was happening since the process had been ongoing for over a year. The more enticing prospect is Raphael Varane, a freshly minted transfer saga that carries all the hallmarks of a fruitless pursuit that will ultimately lead to him signing a new contract with Madrid. I really want to believe that this one could happen, but I refuse to get excited despite widespread talk of a deal being close. It just seems too good to be true. Excuse the cynicism but we’ve been here before, haven’t we?

With United being United, we’ve probably got several more weeks of speculation and rumour to endure before it’s possible to assess whether it’s been a successful window or not. Whatever happens, it’s unlikely that we’ll see the changes necessary to mount a serious title challenge this season. Things have improved over the last 12 months, but it’s progression at a glacial pace. Gdańsk showed that we still lack that certain something at key moments in big games. That trophy was there to be won, but in all honesty, Ole fluffed his lines.

Gdańsk felt like one of those defining moments where we simply had to win. It was a big stage and when Ole needed to be bold and decisive, instead he sat on his hands. Villarreal were a spent force after an hour and the game was there for the taking. He dithered over his substitutions, leaving Rashford on the pitch despite his atrocious performance, mindful of penalties when there was still over an hour of football to be played. For someone reputedly well-versed in the attacking traditions of the club, it seemed a curiously over-cautious strategy against opponents who were clinging on for dear life.

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that Solskjaer deserves at least another season in charge but what I don’t understand is the decision to award him a new contact now. What specifically has he done to merit that? Surely the prudent approach would be to see how this season pans out first? We’re going to look pretty stupid if United go on to have one of those 3 month cycles where everything turns to shit and they’re sat mid-table at Christmas. The same simpletons lauding “My Manager” now would be squealing for him to be sacked then.

If I was somewhat perplexed by Solskjaer’s new contract, that’s nothing compared to my confusion about the club’s decision to offer Paul Pogba a pay rise. Whichever way I look at this, it just does not compute. Pogba has been back at the club for 5 years now and honestly, how many good games has he had? 10 maybe, tops. 15 if you’re being really kind. If his lordship appeared remotely arsed about playing for United I would try to suspend my disbelief and focus on the advantages in keeping him here, but his utter disdain for the club couldn’t be more apparent.

We all know his ultimate goal was always Real Madrid, but since COVID and other factors have screwed everyone’s budgets barring City and PSG, that ain’t happening. If him and his agent had any shred of decency he’d happily re-sign with the understanding that as soon as a mutually satisfactory offer arrives – perhaps next year, when normality resumes – he’ll be on his way. Absolutely no chance of that. Instead, it looks like he’ll leave for a cut-price fee this summer or more likely, we’ll have another year of him turning up when he feels like it featuring a prolonged 2 month stint in Dubai over winter, recovering from some mystery ailment that’s untreatable at Carrington. Then he’ll walk away for free, trousering a gargantuan signing on fee and leaving United with precisely zip. Again.

You couldn’t wish for a tastier first game back at a full capacity OT than Leeds United. Younger readers might not appreciate how ‘lively’ this fixture was back in the 90’s. You always ran the gauntlet at Elland Road and it was a similar story whenever they came here. The first time they turned up after winning promotion in 1990 was particularly memorable as it resulted in the most sustained fighting I’ve ever seen inside OT. Indeed, even my usually placid old man got ejected that day after he suffered a 1970’s Red Army flashback right before my eyes.

I don’t think either club realised the level of hatred on both sides as I’m pretty certain it was pay-on-the-gate that day. A few hundred of them were dotted round the ground and predictably, they all went up when Sterland equalised which led to it kicking off all over the place. The widespread scrapping took the police and stewards completely by surprise and it was a good 10 minutes before anything like order was restored. Needless to say, every game after that was all-ticket and OT hasn’t seen anything quite like it since.

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