Musings on Manchester United Football Club

Against all odds (United were 8/1 with a lot of bookies) Manchester United triumphed in the 2024 FA Cup Final against their noisy neighbours.  Erik Ten Hag used his last two league games of the season to trial Bruno Fernandes in a false 9 position, flooding the midfield and making United more difficult to break down. With the added benefit of having Varane and Martinez back at the heart of central defence, United looked and acted like an entirely different beast. Here is a review in photos. 1. Bruno Fernandes lifts the trophy high. Bruno delivered a true captains performance. His pass to Mainoo was world class. Ten Hag ball! 2. Garnacho celebrates his goal. He didn't give up the chase. I love this photo in front of the city supporters! 3. One more for the dreamers. Later on that night Garnacho didn't want to let the cup go. 4. Lisandro Martinez was sorely missed through the 2023/24 season. In the FA Cup Final he was cool, calm and composed. But he also displayed steely determin...

United head to Wembley for another derby cup final against city. This is Ten Hag's United 3rd cup final in 2-seasons, no mean feat amidst the turmoil that is modern day United. Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have been making moves to calm the waters and steady the ship. That will continue through the summer. The question of who will be steering the ship (at least on the pitch) moving forward, remains out in the open for the media to constantly speculate on answers. It has reached fever pitch this week. Ten Hag has somehow remained relatively calm through all this, delivering a rousing end of season speech at Old Trafford and a thoughtful interview with Gary Neville. Erik also dealt well with a rather annoying Sky presenter who, post Brighton match, repeatedly tried to goad him into discussing his future. Respectable United journalists haven't waded into the media frenzy. Proper journalists report news. They don't speculate for clicks. And so, we reach the final game of this crazy ...

  United's 2023/24 league season ended with a trip to the seaside and a 2-0 victory over Brighton. The hosts waved goodbye to their manager, while United fans sang of a trip to Wembley and being part of Erik Ten Hag's red and white army.  Match going supporters have thrown their support behind Ten Hag, recognizing the incredible challenges he has faced on and off the field over the last year; the ownership, Greenwood, Antony, Sancho, Rashford and the sheer volume of injuries.  They've also recognized how Ten Hag has developed players like Dalot and brought on youngsters like Garnacho and Mainoo.  Erik has also invested in youth, most notably our 21-year-old Danish centre forward, Rasmus Hojlund.  Hojlund signed for United last summer and spoke passionately about his support of United after falling in love with the club as a young boy. The Dane was carrying an injury and it wasn't until 3rd September when he made his debut, coming on as a sub in a 3-1 away defeat...

The mood around Manchester United was lifted last night by 3 goals, some positive performances, glimmers of comebacks from injury, a win and a stirring post-match speech by manager Erik Ten Hag. Erik didn't look, sound or act like a manager in danger of losing his job. My gut tells me that INEOS are going to back him to clear out a lot of players, encourage youth and bring in a few first team quality players. Playing with a false 9, United looked solid and Newcastle looked a little bewildered and unsure of how to deal with the way the reds had set up. Fernandes was back from injury and buzzing around everywhere. Amad Diallo looked sharp and determined to make a mark. McTominay brought energy while Amrabat was solid. United deservedly took the lead through a Kobbie Mainoo goal. The youngster found himself unmarked by the penalty spot following a Diallo run. He remained composed to slot the ball home. Newcastle equalized shortly after half-time through Anthony Gordon. It was an impre...

With Arsenal chasing the title in great form and United's injury woes showing no sign of improvement, I feared another 4-0 defeat from yesterdays game. Thankfully, Ten Hag set his team up to play a lot tighter than they have in recent weeks, his hand was probably forced by the aforementioned injuries though. United huffed and puffed but created little upfront. Diallo looked to be in the mood, Garnacho was full of his usual direct running and energy, but did either create anything for Hojlund? The lack of service to the Dane is extremely worrying. Gary Neville touched on it in his commentary yesterday, questioning if either the Dane, or the wide players, know when they are expected to run or play the ball in. Hojlund can run 100 metres in 11 seconds flat. Surely United should therefore be playing the ball in quickly to maximize his fast feet to get ahead of defenders - either by playing it quickly in behind, or getting it in sharp from out wide. Arsenal didn't really need to pus...

My heart sank when I saw the United line-up for Monday nights game at Crystal Palace. Casemiro and Evans in central defence and no Bruno. Palace, as anyone who has watched any of their games or highlights this season will confirm, are a direct and pacey team. They must have looked at our line-up with our slow and ageing centre halves and Eriksen in midfield and rubbed their hands with glee. That's not to mention the rarely spotted Mason Mount and Antony. 5 players who are nowhere near good enough for United.  Credit where credit is due for Evans. He has done a job this season, but that has been when he has had a proper centre half alongside him, not Casemiro. Evans was also just back from injury and very likely around 75/80% fit. United were destroyed 4-0 and it could have been a lot more.  Jamie Carragher went through Casemiro after the game, stating that he should walk away from United at the end of the season and head to America or Saudi. It's heartbreaking to see Casemiro ...

Harry Maguire is the latest United player to declare an injury. There have, almost unbelievably, been over 60 separate injuries that have affected United's first team squad this season. This has resulted in (and I haven't checked this) over 25 different centre half pairings. In his interview with Gary Neville, Ten Hag rightly focuses on this, highlighting how the injuries to Martinez and Shaw in particular have hampered his teams style of play from the back. United travel to Crystal Palace tonight and are looking likely to start Casemiro and Evans in the centre of defence. Palace have pace and power in their team and they will relish the prospect of running at that ageing duo. Palace away is always a difficult game, particularly on a Monday night! It's not the easiest place to get to, especially for supporters travelling down from Manchester. Their recent home record includes defeats of West Ham and Newcastle, they will be up for it. United will begin the game in 8th positi...