No Question About That - a Manchester United podcast

#1065 | Manchester United finally won, beating Roma 3-2 after nine games without a victory. Ed and Daniel pick through the comeback from two goals down. There are plenty of issues to discuss.

Although United started the game poorly, was it the first time all season the team looked balanced? Tielemans played a part in the winner, how will Baleba’s injury impact the team and has Leny Yoro made a case for a place at centre-back? Is Amad’s spot now Lacey’s to take? Can Cunha build on his goals when confidence has been short this season?

Then the conversation widens. A green and gold balloon protest opened the night. Do protests change anything with owners who rarely face the public?

With Aston Villa on Sunday possibly Michael Carrick’s last game, who might replace him: Emery, Nagelsmann, Conte, or Eddie Howe? And with United 17th in the Champions League table, what do they need to reach the playoffs?

0:27 Victory over Roma
2:25 Comeback and Team Balance
5:34 Centre Back Issues
7:57 Amad vs Lacey
11:22 Midfield Problems
15:34 Pressing and Penalties
26:21 Ownership, Protests
49:03 Villa Preview

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#1064 | United lost 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, with a promising first half turned into another second-half collapse. Ed and Wayne react to yet another defeat. Was Lisandro Martínez’s sending off the act of a player who wants out? Should he ever wear the shirt again? And how much falls on Michael Carrick, who picked the same two centre-backs and watched them part like the Red Sea for Morgan Rogers?

Then the conversation moves up the chain. Is riding out two transfer windows with Carrick the only way to force accountability from this squad? Why do Ratcliffe, Barada, and Wilcox face so little scrutiny? The split cap table leaves United’s owners unwilling and unable to inject capital, even though Ratcliffe could write the cheque tomorrow. With no new money, there’s no relief on the horizon. Could a new manager do anything different in the circumstance?

0:00 Nine games without a win
2:12 Second-half collapse at Stamford Bridge
4:09 Martínez: he should never wear the shirt again
15:13 It starts at the top: the owners
17:33 Summer window gamble
23:48 Accountability and riding out two windows
28:22 Ownership structure and the money
47:26 Solskjær precedent
56:19 Eddie Howe question
1:00:56 Boycotts, tickets and what the club means

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#1063 | Manchester United have given Michael Carrick more time, with no date, no number of games and no target attached. Ed and Dharnish look at what has to change in the meantime. The press comes first: a half-press in which players arrive late, leaving United’s back-four exposed. The build-up has lost its triangles and possession dominance that offers no control.

United’s defence is disorganised and the most experienced centre-backs are built for a deep line, which limits how aggressively Carrick’s team can press.

Then there’s a look ahead to Chelsea at the weekend, a team that scores freely but with a questionable defence. And ahead to the midweek game against Roma’. Gasperini’s team likes to press man-to-man. The verdict is that not all of United’s problems is tactical, but the rest is out of Carrick’s hands.

0:00 Intro: Carrick gets more time
4:08 What’s gone wrong with the pressing
8:32 How Carrick could fix the press
14:19 Buildup and central progression
18:13 Defensive frailties and the rest defence
21:33 Meltdown mode and managerial patience
23:51 Platforming players: picking the XI
27:26 Chelsea preview
30:52 Roma and Aston Villa
35:26 Wrap-up

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#1062 | Michael Carrick looks set to be sacked after a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, coming off the 4-1 loss at Como. Ed and Daniel go through the game and the week around it. If this is the end, Carrick went out with a statement: Bruno Fernandes criticising the staff in public then sitting on the bench without being used.

Then the disintegration of Carrick’s time at United, with the manager increasingly reaching for odd solutions as the season fell apart. With the squad giving Carrick very little in recent weeks, the conversation turns to the owners and executives who decide what happens now. The same guys who picked Ten Hag and Amorim and Carrick decide who’s next, with Eddie Howe probably the favourite.

In the short term United need to manage the crisis, but with a summer of expiring contracts and more investment needed than is likely, does a new manager really change anything?

0:00 Match Reaction
3:47 Bruno vs Carrick
11:08 Team Selection & Tactics
16:35 Season in Freefall
19:09 The Owners
23:56 Who’s Next?
34:59 Eddie Howe
51:09 What Happens Next?

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#1061 | Manchester United were beaten 4-1 at Como in the Champions League. Ed and Dominic try to make sense of it.

United’s pressing does not work; the players asked to lead it cannot do it, and Como passed through United at will.

Carrick’s vision for the team is slipping by the week. How much is that on Carrick and how much on a club run by the same people who hired and fired ten Hag and Amorim, with a squad that was barely improved in the summer?

Carrick probably won't go yet, though the November break and the January window are the usual moments for change.

There there's Bournemouth at Old Trafford this weekend and a manager running short of options.

0:00 Intro: United spanked by Como
4:02 United’s press isn’t working
15:31 Sponsor break
16:50 Ownership
27:21 The game itself: the goals
30:15 Squad and recruitment
40:55 Bournemouth preview
51:18 Wrap-up

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