Family Therapy

The hosts discuss the recent announcement of Jurgen Klopp leaving Liverpool and speculate on the potential impact on the team. They also talk about the appointment of Omar Barada as Manchester United's new football director and discuss his credentials and potential positive impact on the club. They mention how Barada's connections and experience could bring in more revenue for the club to invest in the squad. They also mention how Barada's standing in football may have prevented previous transfer deals from happening and express optimism about his potential role at Manchester United. What's the crack, welcome back to the Irish Boy podcast for another Friday's edition of Family Therapy. We've been away for a while with Manchester United being quiet and not a whole pile happened over the international break, has our mum? No, I don't think so. Happy enough to be back? Speculation. Yeah? Yeah. So today we're going to go over three topics as per usual but obviously we've got Newport at this weekend so we're going to try and mix it up a wee bit because there's not a whole pile that's come out I think in the past couple of weeks from Manchester United. They've been in Liverpool too. Yes, true. Tell you what, there's a good place to start. What do you feel about the Jurgen Klopp announcement? Well, I hope the Jurgen Klopp leaving Liverpool will have the same effect that Alex Ferguson had when he left Manchester United. Is it a hope or do you think it actually has a potential? It's a big hope. Yeah? It depends on the next managerial appointment. Shelby Alonso, surely? Yeah. Graham Pottersley? No, I think the timing of it I think is a giveaway in this scenario. I tell you what, I was talking to a friend earlier as soon as it broke and we were talking on the phone and he said the same sentiment that you had. You know, it could have a real detrimental effect to Liverpool. It could have a real knock-on effect where it kind of raffles Liverpool a bit. I don't think so. I think that Liverpool have only allowed Jurgen Klopp to make that announcement because they know who the new manager is coming in. Otherwise, the timing of it is extremely suspect and you would have to think that all is not rosy in the garden at Liverpool Football Club. Yeah, that's my assumption as well. The timing of it is a bit curious. Massively. Massively. No, it's why not wait until the end of the season? Why? It's just the way he said he's tired and he needs a break and then at the start of the season he came back with an interview and said he was energised, that he was looking forward to the rebuild. I think that's just screams of a man today who wanted to say exactly what he thinks of the Premier League. Look, the full story is going to come out after Jurgen Klopp leaves. We're not going to get it until then. Full backroom staff are leaving. Yeah. So he's going and taking his crew with him. Exactly. But whoever else comes in will take their crew with them as well. Does it not speak to the fact that Liverpool already know their new manager? You know, to hear that Jurgen Klopp and the backroom team are leaving says to me that a new manager has been agreed and a new manager wants to come in with his backroom team. No, it all seems very sudden to me. Although he did say in an interview that they had discussed it. It was halfway through and needing to do with transfers and that he told the board then. That was in November. Yeah. I think as a Manchester United fan you want to believe that there's more in it than there is. Absolutely. I'm going to put my neck out and say that when we speak again next Friday we will know who the next manager of Liverpool is. Or have a fair idea of who the next manager of Liverpool is. No club simply announces the manager and the whole backroom staff are going at the end of January unless they have a foul proof plan in place. So Liverpool aren't that stupid. They're not. Liverpool have a plan. They know who's coming in next. My big question is does this galvanise the team or divide the team now? It's questionable timing to do it for me. There will be a few players in that squad that will think well if the next manager comes in am I going to be still in the squad? Yeah. Especially those young players. The ones he's signed. The ones he's signed. The ones he's signed. The ones he's signed. Most of them are definitely going to be at the end of the season. Yeah. That'll be a big blow for them. But there's a couple of players there that you take the like of Alex McAlister that was brought in. Slavasi. That might not suit the next manager system unless Liverpool are truly the man united and have a manager that will come in that will suit, that's a rep, that's ready made for that team. Is that not how the more forward thinking football clubs do it now though? Absolutely. I think we get Manchester United by looking at that and going oh what happens if the new players, the manager comes in and the players don't suit his system and it's a rebuilding stuff again. There are very few big clubs that do that. A big club is forward thinking enough to have a manager come in who's able to work with the set of players that they already have. That's one point. Yeah. But Manchester United don't do that. So our immediate thoughts drift to it and we think right when that manager comes in who are Liverpool going to shift, who are they going to have to buy? I mean the more plausible scenario is that Xabi Alonso comes in and works with better players than he had at Bayer Leverkusen and gets it right. Or does not. You would hope he doesn't get it right. Look there's going to be two sides. I'm trying to be objective. Obviously I don't want to see Liverpool succeed but I think you have to objectively look at this. I don't see that as doom and gloom for Liverpool. I don't think Liverpool fans are looking at that as doom and gloom. Carragher said it brilliantly. Carragher said we knew this was coming. We thought we'd get a few more years from it. It's a body blow but let's go Jürgen until the end of the season. Let's leave him in a bang. Most of them are in mourning at the minute. Big manager like him. Big blow to him. Big blow. But let's get back to United news. Omer Barada coming in. A man who I knew very, very little about. I think about two. Yeah. I'm lucky enough now that everyone has jumped on the story and I've got a full homework assignment now of information through on who he is, what he's done. What do you make of the Barada time? Oh great. He's a football man. His CV just speaks for itself. What has he done? What's his achievement to make me excited? Well he started off, he was head... Right. Don't take this as gospel. But he was... Well of course we're on it but it was more to do with the commercial, bringing commercial sponsors in. And then he moved to City and pretty much the same until he was promoted to, what was it? Chief? Chief of operations. Chief of operations. Yeah. Chief of operations. Yeah. So he overseen the whole City group. That was the thing that I read, that he overseen the City group. Didn't oversee Man City as a whole. It's more that he had direct football involvement for all of the teams that are in and around there. For those of you who don't know a lot about the City group, Girona are nailing it at the minute in La Liga. Girona have got themselves promoted into La Liga and taken La Liga big storm under Miguel. Like it or not, and we don't like it as Man United fans, City is the most profitable, the most successful team in the world now. But they did a brilliant thing when they first came in, those owners. And this is where I was reading the Barada story. They approached the Barcelona board, who at that time were one of the best organisations in all of football. And they approached people from Barcelona, best in class people to come and run the City group. Because that's how they wanted to take that club forward. Yes, when City first got their new owners, mistakes were made. But then when they realised that they couldn't run it on their own, they brought in Teixeira, Barada, there were some other few names mentioned, all taken in from the club that was doing the best in the world. That's brilliant. Now for Manchester United, for me, to eat humble pie and turn around and say, right, Manchester City is the biggest organisation in the world in terms of football and output against commercialism. Let's go and poach their number two. Let's see, will Omar Barada, you know, accept the number one position in Manchester United? Will it give him the promotion that he is looking at in Manchester City that he's going to have to wait on for a couple of seasons right now and let him oversee this project moving forward? That is so positive. Win-win. Definitely a win-win for United. Especially when you had the likes of Ed Woodward, Richard Arnold, bankers. Bankers. That were put in place to make money for the Glazers. And that's the bottom line. Now, apparently, Barada is a bet to vote for for the Glazers and for the Football Club because he has his little black book full of contacts that he can bring more revenue in. That's the revenue that will be spent on the squad instead of going into dividends. You and I spoke about this in an earlier podcast, one of the first podcasts we did, about John Barada's lack of standing in football. It was to do with Frankie de Jong and the Frankie de Jong scenario, how he was held on a shoestring and told that, you know, there was a chance he was going to come. Barcelona's chairman held him to ransom, you know, we need to get rid of Frankie de Jong, we need to get rid of his wages, we need to get rid of his transfer fee. Because he didn't have the sort of... Know-how. Not even the know-how, Mum. How would I say it? He didn't have the standing in football, is one way to put it, the stature. The stature in football to be respected enough to get a definitive answer from Barcelona one way or the other. They played the game with him for an entire season. I don't see Barada having done that. I think Barada would have spoke to the agent and spoke to Football Club and probably come away from the meeting and known Barcelona were playing games there. Well, to put it this way, if we had Barada in, there is no way Anthony would have been bought. Because they were looking at Harry Maguire. And once the £80 million sum came up, they walked away from it. And then you've got Ruth and Diaz the year after. Yeah, I think one important thing to note now is Manchester United fans seem to have got it into themselves, and I'm only basing this on what I'm seeing, that this is the one that's going to sort us out, this is the immediate win. This isn't, folks. No, he's one part of the jigsaw. He's one part of the jigsaw that's going to take a couple of years to fix. Transfers and signings are not the immediate problem at Manchester United, the football is. There is a good enough squad there to compete higher than what they are doing at the minute, and it's not happening. So Omar Barada is a brilliant signing for the future of Manchester United, but the future of Manchester United, he will change absolutely nothing in the now. No, no, not this season. Not even next season. What's he going to change next season? Will he get the transfers right? Do transfers really be a huge money now? We were talking about Manchester City. A big factor in that success has been Pep Guardiola. Yeah, brilliant coach. Fantastic. That's what I mean. So, in my opinion, everything Hag is in trial from now until the summer time. Yeah, I agree. But they'd better have somebody lined up that can sustain a winning way. But this is what I said to you. And not Graeme Potter. I don't mind if it's Graeme Potter. If Omar Barada comes in and decides that it's Graeme Potter, then I trust Omar Barada more than I trust, without causing offence to you or anybody else, to turn around and tell me who the next Manchester United man should be. If Omar Barada comes in and makes a decision and says, no, it's not Erik Ten Hag, it's Graeme Potter, because I can see the vision under Graeme Potter and I know what Potter wants and I can give Potter that, I'll say yes. What I'm really excited about now is I trust the people at the top who are going to make the decisions now on coaching staff and playing staff. Not just playing staff, but coaching staff as well. If he comes in and he sees what Erik Ten Hag has done as a body of football and a body of work in the past two seasons, sorry, in the summer, and he makes the decision that it's time to axe this man and go with somebody else, then I'll back the new manager to the hill. Because it's being decided by the right people. I don't think that Murda and Arnold were the right people to go out and negotiate the new manager of Manchester United. And I'm not going to get into another Erik Ten Hag debate, but we're seeing the proofs in the pudding. Do you know what I mean? He's not succeeding at the minute, but we'll wait and see what happens at the end of the year. But I think it's really exciting now to see who's going to lead this club going forwards. But you made a good point there. He can't do it on his own. Is there any movement on the rest? There's speculation about, is it Ashford? Dan Ashford. Ashford. There's speculation about him, but yeah, he's coming one day and then no Newcastle are holding on to him in the next. But Newcastle are in the mind of the loan. There's also a financial fair play at the minute. It still seems a strange one to me. I think someone pointed out to me that he's actually friends with either Jim Ratcliffe or David Brailsford, or they have a relationship through different dealings that they've done. So I'm sure there is a connection there where they would be able to entice the man to come across some way. But you know what, I'm going to defeat my own argument here, because how do they entice Berrada across if they can't get Dan to come as well, you know? But there's something about the contract you don't know. I think Berrada is a statement to the rest of football that our football club will take who they see fit as long as that person wants to come. I don't think that's any of. Best in class. Yeah. And that's what they said from the start. They want the best in class. So, and I'd love to get Paul Mitchell in as well. That would be the dream team. Yeah. I think as a recruiter, he is probably the best fit that we could find in terms of young talent. He's proven it everywhere he's been. Again, I can see he speaks for himself. And I think the best thing about getting Paul Mitchell into that position is that, yes, Manchester United are a much bigger club than other clubs that he would have worked at, but the Red Bull Group are pretty good. Monaco was a pretty big proposition once among the dream. He has held higher titles than other football clubs, so he's lowering his title to come in and work at a bigger football club. I like that, because he will have an understanding then of everything that works above him and everything that works underneath him. So he won't be going out and dream-pitching players to these people. He will know exactly what he has to succeed at and what he has to do to succeed. And I think that can only be positive. Him having that operational awareness of everything else that goes into his position above him. So I think if we could get that trio, that's monumental for Manchester United. Yeah, well then, Braithwaite and Sean Clough Blanc on the board. Yeah. They're going to be board members. They're going to be sitting on the board. Blanc is a brilliant one to have, because Blanc, again, has operational football awareness of what it takes to run a big football club. How to deal with UEFA. How to deal with the Premier League. How to build relationships, cultivate relationships, get the best out of every interaction you go into. How to manage transfers. How to negotiate transfers. How to negotiate transfers for the betterment of Manchester United, no matter who the player is. All of these things have been missing now for 10 years, and it makes sense that this is the first thing that they get right going forward. But again, to reiterate my opinion, I don't think this is a quick fix. I don't think this changes anything. I think it's really positive for the next couple of seasons, but the main issue is going to be football, manager, coaching. Yeah, I agree. They need to be sorted. It's always been structurally a mess for a long time, and it's going to take a while to sort that out. It will. Even with the right people there. I mean, I think at times we get guilty of saying, like, football manager and FIFA, and think, oh, if we sub these three players out, sell them to other clubs and bring in these three players, we're going to win the Premier League. That's not football anymore. It's not. The level of detail that goes into the coaching and the tactics and stuff at football clubs now is extreme. It's been fantastic as well. Yeah. We've gone past one man picking level players. Yeah. So, that leads into something that I wanted to go over, right? So, we say we're going to do things a bit differently. So, we cover Barada, we cover Klopp. Right? The main part of this today is going to be the keep and sell. Because I think Barada came out with a fantastic statement. Did you see his statement about players will only last one or two years? Yeah, I agree. And then we got rid of him. Yeah. That, to me, said, you know, keeping players at the football club just because we can't get the sell on value we expected is now dead. If I have to buy Ryan Maguire for 80 million and he doesn't suit me in two seasons, I'll sell him for 10. Just to get rid of him. You know, it has to be that. Which is brilliant. That's ruthless. So, keep or sell is going to be the big segment here. We'll go... Try and go for as many as we can. First team. First team. First 11, right? Andrew O'Nana. Yeah, I'd keep him. No! Just for the price. No! Why? Why would you keep him? Yeah, I don't know why I'd keep him, right? Andrew O'Nana is kicking long balls. And, as he stood there was a clip of himself and Johnny Evans. And Johnny Evans didn't want the ball to his feet. Johnny Evans actually told O'Nana to kick it out. To kick it long. So, I can't wait until the like of... I don't know why I wouldn't sell him yet. He can't save the ball. He's awkward saving the ball. You're talking about Manchester United as if that's the only example. This is a man, right, who went to the Cameroon team, arrived late, annoyed his entire team mates but still got into the game to play against Senegal. Here's your moment to shine and show why you have the merit to fuck your international team mates over like you did and disrespect your country. Here's your time to stand up. And he embarrassed himself. He was shocking again. Disgustingly bad. And then he gets relegated to the bench for a goalkeeper who is playing for a second tier French team. Who did better than he did. When is it going to come alive? When am I going to see? Is he simply being kept in that net because he can pass the ball? Because the fundamentals of goalkeeping are that you're going to have to save shots. And in the Premier League you don't get away with being a pure shot stopper. So he has to go Mum. I don't see the point in keeping him. No, I don't either. Because our defence is solidified. There won't be that many shots against him for a start. So you're telling me that your plan for winning the Premier League and the Champions League is to have a goalkeeper who's good at passing the ball. I just said I wouldn't get rid of him yet. We'll recontextualise this discussion then. This is the team to win the Premier League and the Champions League. Far off it. Do we keep or sell Andrew and Anne? We'll sell them all down north. Do we keep or sell Andrew and Anne? I'm keeping. As backup keeper? You're not going to get rid of him now. Much to be said for the £40 million, whatever it was. We can't do that. We're not going to take money into consideration. It's not that sort of thing. I have said I would keep him. And I've told you my reasons. But you just said about money. The first reason you went through there was we just brought him in. You asked me what I'd keep him and I gave him a reason. I said yeah, I would keep him. Sorry, I didn't pick up your reason. What was your reason for keeping him? Well, excuse me, to give him time. Look, I would put him on trial the same way as Eric Tim Haggis to the end of the season. Do you think he's a good enough keeper? It's that depends. Well, he was brilliant for Inter Milan. As a goalkeeper or as a passer of the ball? No, as both. Pep Guardiola actually came out and said it about him then. So what has happened to him? The curse of Manchester United? It could be the curse of Manchester United. Or it could be that we have 14 different parents from the start of the season. How does that affect the goalkeeper's ability to save the ball? Now, if you look at Onana's mistakes, Mum, right? I understand your point about chemistry and all the rest when it comes to outfield players. But his mistakes are abysmal. And I bring it back to his Cameroon game. He has gone to his international team to play in AFCON. And he has been dropped to the bench for a second tier French goalkeeper. Because his manager, Rigobertson, does not trust him to save the ball. This is the first choice goalkeeper at Manchester United. And as a team to go forwards, I do not want that man in net. I don't want him playing for the club. I think it has been another shocking decision by Ayrton Hagar. I think Inter Milan flattered him. Because they gave him exactly what you are wanting to give him. They gave him security in the back line. He didn't have to face that many shots. They were very good. Very organised. That's not what your defence is there for. You are not going to get that in the Premier League. Serie A is not in the Premier League. My God, you can go out, and we have seen it this season. You can go out and you can play against Branford or Wolves. You may have to save nine shots in a game. If we look at it right now, in terms of pure goalkeeping. And we will not get hung up on Nonano for the whole day. We have got Ederson playing for City. Alisson playing for Liverpool. And Petrovic, who has come in. Do you think he is better than any of the three of them? No. But, do you think David Ahead was a good shot stopper? One of the best. He was disastrous his first year. Absolutely disastrous. Did he make the mistakes that Nonano has made? He made very, very amateur mistakes. Just go back to David Ahead's first year. So you think Nonano has... And everybody wrote him off. I am not saying that he will become worse last. I am just saying, just give him more time. Okay. He is a sell for me. So we are one ace in that one. Left back, Luke Shaw. I will keep Luke Shaw for one more year and that's it. Yeah, I agree with that. Just because he is a hard one to sell. He doesn't do anything wrong on the football pitch. I think he is a brilliant player. I just have questions over Luke Shaw. And his influence over that Manchester United team. I have an awful feeling that he is one of the wee sneaks. I know, you are not on your own. A lot of supporters think that as well. Yeah, there is just something about it. I say this to you all the time. It was the Ralph Raniak comments when Luke Shaw was hurled at by a section of Man Utd fans. For calling out the tactics and the lack of passing to the play. And everything that Manchester United was done. You go back and you type into YouTube for me. Ralph Raniak, Luke Shaw. You listen to that interview. He fired Ralph Raniak onto the bus. He was calling the manager out for playing a different formation that the players didn't understand. Luke Shaw, who wasn't captain at that stage. Just felt that he would take it on his knee to give him a soapbox. Yeah, give it to YouTube. It's actually, when you look at it contextually, it's disgusting. He basically came out and said, this interim choice of manager is a joke. And I just looked at that and thought, I reckon you are one of the wee disturbers. That kicks up every time things aren't rosy in the yard. And you seem to have lasted every manager. Yeah, who dug him out to try and make him play him better? Jose. I think Jose knew it. Yeah, but he didn't look. Yeah, he did, but Luke Shaw is a hard one to get rid of. Under the sort of structure that came before him. England international, embedded in the club. Not the sort of player that Manchester United hierarchy of old wanted to sell. I don't think Barrala would suffer Luke Shaw in the long term. But, loads of birds and stuff hanging in the background. You can tell it's your birthday tomorrow. When's the only time people text? I think I forgot to wish people a good morning. They'll probably text me and go, are you alright? Do you have some sort of sad death watch set up? No, no, no. It started in the pandemic, right? So it is some sort of sad death watch? It wasn't, it wasn't. Everybody's phone, are you alright? I just said that out because I was just in it for phone calls. So, I know it's really sad. So I just text good morning to the kids and say, yes, I'm here, I'm alive, I'm okay. Leave me alone. Are people checking if you died before your 60s? Oh, that's not very fair. 60's quite young these days. I didn't say I wasn't young, it's just a morbid way that you got that sad. It wasn't, it really is. Well, it's for someone who lives on their own. Okay, I get that. Oh, that's actually nice now that it's, yeah. Cool. Good idea. Well anyway, anyone that can hear the tweets in the background, that's people checking to make sure my mother hasn't died. But yeah, we'll move on then to Sounderbacks. Lisandra Morton is easy. Keep, 110. Raphael Brown. Do you know, Raphael Brown is still a superb sounder. Brilliant. Absolutely, I would know, I would actually extend it for another year. I would keep Raphael Brown. Yeah. I'm with you on that one, definitely. Aaron Wambusaka. Sam. I'm the same. I'd tell Wambusaka. So let's go to backups now, right? Goalkeeper by Ender. Who knows? That is cool. Who knows? If I was him and I'd seen the AFCON game, I would have marched up to my agent, or rang my agent and said, you need to march into Manchester United and tell them it's ultimatum time. If I am not going to play over this yoke, if I'm not going to get a chance to prove I'm better than him, then please ask them to sell me back to Turkey. What did I come for? For the sake of his career. For the sake of his career. Because we took him in as the first choice goalkeeper at Fenerbahce, have him sitting on the bench to play for a man that should be dropped. If Onana was ripping up threes, I wouldn't have a defence for by Ender. But Onana's playing terribly, and yet by Ender doesn't get it's consideration. So I would like to see him sold. Just give him another chance, that's all. Tyrell Manassia. Yeah, I would keep him. As a backup. Decent backup, isn't he? Yeah. He is. There is an interesting comparison. I think Tyrell Manassia is a good backup. But I think he can do better than Luke Shaw. You might say keep Luke Shaw for one more year. I wouldn't give him any more. And then you'd scout the left back. In my mind, I'm thinking Champions League and Premier League. How do you know you'll win it? Luke Shaw's a no for me. Onana's a no for me. That's where I'm coming from. I don't think you win with those two players on the team. In the Sander Warden's position, we are going to go for Victor Lindelof first. Sal. Sal, agreed. Doesn't need a discussion. Yolk. Willie Kwambula. Oh, definitely keep. I think he's going to be good. And he can play a kind of anywhere. He can play defence and he can play a right back. Yeah, he's also filled in at left centre back as well. I think the first time he came on he was left centre back. And he's very good at transitioning the ball out from the back. Exactly, and he didn't always play in football. Then we move across to Harry Maguire. No. No. Harry goes. Harry goes. He's done really well this season though. He's done alright. I think people are in for an absolute kick off the back side when Harry Maguire, who I've seen back training in games, gets partnered with Lysandra Martinez. Right, that could be. But Harry Maguire's contract I think is up in 2026, right? So, you need to sell him and make a few pound on him. Or hold on to him and there's value to appreciate. Sell him this summer. Well, I agree with you, right? I agree with you, but I'm just posing a scenario to you here, right? With how well he's played under Ericsson Hagg and how many times Ericsson Hagg has selected Harry Maguire over Rafael Varane, what if Martinez partners Harry Maguire when both fit? Well, then he partners Harry Maguire, but he'll still sell him in the summer. Yeah, but do you know what I mean? Then you know that Varane is on his way out. Yeah, but we both want Varane to stay. And I agree with you on Varane staying. It should be Varane and Martinez. But what if this manager decides Maguire and Martinez as my two going forwards? I don't think he will. I hope you're right. I hope you're right. I didn't think he would persist with Scott McConnell the way he did. But he proved us all wrong. Yeah, but Varane and Martinez had a good partnership first season. It was a very good partnership. Unquestionable. Yeah. The only thing that you could question Mark about Varane is his fitness levels. Do you know, I think he thought that Rafael Varane couldn't play the left centre back position and then let Rafael Varane come in and play the left centre back position and proved him wrong. Much the same as I think he wanted Harry Maguire out because he thought Harry Maguire would add no value to the team and he took his stand against Harry Maguire. And I think he was proved wrong. Victor Lindelof was the one to take your stand against last summer. Maguire was probably the better option as a backup. If you were going to have to keep one, it should have been Maguire. And I think... Lindelof and Maguire have to go. Yeah, it's two scenarios where you just have to replace them. I would like to see Sean Clare today. He will come in and if I had to pick a second, being linked to Giorgio Scalvini is massive because he is an absolute baller. Yeah, both. Yeah, that's what I mean. Replace those devices, both. Then you've got an established back line and people who are able to come in and embed themselves in. Deal with Dalot. No, I'd keep Dalot. I know Ciarán's not going to like that, but I would definitely... He's versatile. He's a... He's such a bad defender. Yes, he is lost in concentration, yes. He's Andre O'Donoghue. But he's not absolutely awful. No, he is. He's Andre O'Donoghue. He's the right back of Andre. Football has come to a point where if you can put in enough for a highlight really, you actually get a stand in football. That is what football has become. Deal with Dalot. He's not a defender. Dalot can't defend. Not as a bad defender, he cannot defend. He's positionally weak. His tackling is brutal. He gets lost. He upsets the whole back line. But he's good at going forward and he pops up with a goal. So we'll keep Dalot and we'll settle with the defender, Wan-Bissaka. And... Andre O'Donoghue can't save the ball. He looks flashy with his passing and stuff like that. He's got a Ballon d'Or nod, so we'll keep Andre O'Donoghue. I can't compute that. I would rid myself of both. I don't want Wan-Bissaka or Dalot on the other team. I'm going to say two right back. You need to get a starter. And you need to get a better backup. Now we need a squad and I think Dalot is going to go for... He's going to replace the right back. And Dalot is good sitting on the bench. And he's versatile. If you gave me that over again and you had asked... If we had asked each other between Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot, I would keep Wan-Bissaka over Dalot. Because Wan-Bissaka can defend. He can tackle defenders and that's what I would rather prefer than a yoke bombing forward and popping up with a goal every now and again in consequential games for a laugh. I don't think Dalot gives anywhere near enough to be considered to get the stay. Apart from the fact that he seems to get on with our major stars. So kudos to him for embedding himself with the players that he has. I think that's his only shining point. Chemistry. I don't think he's as bad as you make him out to be. Do you not think he gets lost in games? Oh he does in some games. And his concentration levels aren't where they should be. Yeah. Could you argue that he's made as many mistakes to cause goals this season as Onana? No. You don't think so? No. I tell you what. I'm going to dig out how many mistakes have led to goals for Diogo Dalot. I would say Albon. He's an awful defender. I think that's why Ciarán gets so irate about him. Because at least twice in a game you will point to a player going straight past Diogo Dalot or Diogo Dalot being off the pitch when a winger gets right in and scores goals. He can fall off the pitch too often for my liking. But I don't think he's as bad as you make him out to be. Okay. In the midfield, Scott McTominay. Go. I'd keep him. Would you? Yeah. Well I suppose you'll keep him if he's utilised properly. Yep. He's not a starter for me. No. And he's better coming off the bench than going further forwards. Yep. But he's just, he's another one that's frustrating. Brilliant wiper off the bench though. He is, yeah. So a squad player. Yep. I'd keep him. I think Scott McTominay's a really dangerous player in the last 20 minutes. But he should only be played in the last 20 minutes in the majority of games. Now you're going to have to start Scott in games to get him to stay. But he should be utilised as the back-up for better players. Kobe Maynard. I'd definitely keep him. No winner. Right, the harder one. Kassimiro. Kassimiro. He's still a quality player. I agree. I know that he hasn't had a good start to the season. But then apparently he's had an injury. So I'd keep Kassimiro for another year. I'd keep Kassimiro and Burhan for their experience. They're winners. They've won it all. I really struggle. We're going to have, sorry to interrupt Burhan, but with all our young players coming through, hopefully there'll be more coming through. To have those two players, those two men on the training ground would be invaluable. I really struggle with Manchester United fans coming out and saying that Kassimiro has lost it. That he's lost the legs. That he's not the Kassimiro that he was. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Name me a Manchester United player that's had a good season. No, sorry Rory, can I make a point here? All the Manchester United fans going, look, he's isolated nine times out of ten in that mid-season. United as a collective have been absolute dogshit this season. The football has been absolutely awful. There is not one 90-minute game where you can point to this season that Manchester United were impressive. In spells, they've pulled it off and they've looked like any mid-table club should look. They've done it in moments and that's brilliant. They're exactly where they deserve to be on the table. The football has been absolutely rotten this season. Kassimiro is a brilliant world-class holding midfielder. And a warrior. And a warrior. He's a brilliant footballer. He is being made to look poor in a really poor United team at the minute. Now whether that is tactics, training, coaching or just a bit of lack of cohesion, I don't know what it is. But I don't think we can single out and take away the attributes of these players simply because they're having a bad season. I think this is one of the worst United seasons I've seen post-Ferguson. If not the worst I've seen. This is worse than mine. Much, much worse. But we'll wait and see what happens until the end of the year. But Kassimiro has to be kept. I totally agree. Can't let Kassimiro go. Who are you going to replace him with? Unless huge money comes in from Saudi or wherever. I think the Saudi dream is about to die. We've seen it now in January. Saudi is a really good one for drumming up bullshit stories and it's a brilliant one for reporters to use now at the minute. I mean I would love to be a reporter at the minute because all I have to do is pick out a player, have a bit of a rough time at a football club, make it up that a Saudi club is linked to him and I'll get enough people talking about it in the gym. That's journalism at the minute. It's complete make-believe nonsense. And the amount of stories that I get said to me and I'm like, listen, if Romano hasn't said it, I'm not taking it. He's the only independent journalist left out there, therefore the only one not being pushed to make up stories, therefore the only one that I deem credible. So I don't think Kassimiro will go to Saudi Arabia. I think Kassimiro should be kept being his. Kristen Hurston. Go. 110. Great question. He's done. Get a GoFundMe started for the flight. Yeah. Because I think he eats up game times on other players where he shouldn't be on the pitch. But he's ex-Ajax and he's safe. So our manager picks him in moments where he's struggling a wee bit. But I do not like Kristen Hurston anymore in that United team. I don't think he's the level you want to aspire to. Definitely not. And try and not take in the fact that he came in summer, that he has the shirt and that he costs money, OK? OK. Mason Moon. Who knows what that guy can do in the United shirt. Where is he anyway? I don't know. I've looked out for him in training montages and training videos and training pictures and I don't see him. Keep yourself. What are we keeping to see what he can do? Although that is the biggest head-scratcher for me. Because for me, in that team, it's either Mount or Bruno Fernandes. Not both. You see, I think he can be both. What? I think he can be both. I think we haven't seen the best of Mason Mount. I haven't seen him at all. Mount... Really? Mount is perplexing, it really is. Why they went for him, why they gave him the number 7, why it was such a priority signing. But I think he looked at Mason Mount and he's seen one of the components to do what he wanted from Frankie De Jong and his system, which is come deep at times and take the ball off and turn him aside and break the press. Mount can do that. So can Kobe Meunier. So I think the overall plan from Ayrton Haag was to integrate Kobe Meunier and Mason Mount as an all-English midfield that he was going to sign through pure dynamism. And we have seen Kobe Meunier in spells do exactly what we thought this kid could do. The pas de bourreau. Goes past people. Brilliant close quarter control. What Mount has that he doesn't have, I think, is pace and the ability to run forwards and play a deeply quick link up. And experience. Yeah. I think when Kassimiro played with Mason Mount, Mount tried to occupy positions much higher up the pitch because Kassimiro is a constant holding midfielder. He patrols and operates in that area, therefore pushed him on top of Bruno. But I think Kobe Meunier, Mason Mount, Bruno Fernandes, they've got the technical capabilities to make a brilliant midfielder. So I think it can be done, we just haven't seen it. Will it be done? Probably not. But it can be done, I reckon. I think that is Manchester United's start in midfield. What happens when Kassimiro is fully fit? He's not going to be happy to sit on the bench for Kobe Meunier. No, I don't think Kobe... I think now we've seen a bit of Kobe Meunier, but he's still only a kid. I think Kobe Meunier will not be a regular starter. He'll be in and out of the team until the end of the season. And then we'll have to reassess the whole team. Possibly. I do think, and I agree with what you say, because Kane is a traditional Man United way of doing things. We've got a bright spark, but we'll ease him in. Barcelona don't do that. When Petri and Gabi came through, Petri and Gabi came through. And snorted week on week. To the detriment of other players like Frank Cassidy and stuff, who'd sit on the bench on big money and suffer them playing in the team. Because Barcelona believe this is the future, these are the ways to play. Yeah, but it's Gabi not out now that's a big interest. Which is attributed to overplaying him at that age. Is Gabi out? Yeah, he's injured I think. Check with him. I'm checking with him. I'm not too sure. I didn't know Gabi was out. One of the two, but one is out injured long term. But can you really blame that on overplaying somebody? Yes, because young people are not developed yet at 18 and 19. I think the season's 21. You look at the injuries in the Premier League. Some people can handle it. You look at Wayne Rooney. You look at the injuries in the Premier League, right? And how many players are injured this season? Can we not say that of every player at every age? What constitutes overplaying a player? Because you made a brilliant example and you actually stole the example I was going to make. Did Wayne Rooney not play every game from when he was 16 years old? Yeah, but that's what I'm saying. People have different make-ups. So what's to say that Kobe Mane doesn't have the make-up to play every game? Well, nothing yet. But he's only broke one of the same. I agree. But again, back to my point. Pedro and Gabi broke one of the same for Barcelona. Now, I don't know their entry records or whatever. But Pedro and Gabi are in the team every time they're fit, aren't they? So why are they able to do that? But we look at Kobe Mane and go, oh, we've pumped the brakes. We need to use him into the team. Alejandro Garnaccio has been the only shining star of Manchester United this season. Now, he has played largely out of necessity through injuries and different circumstances. But he's better than the rest of our winners. So he obviously doesn't need to be used into the team. He should have started possibly last year. It has nothing to do with Kobe Mane's injury as well. I believe he was injured in pre-season. The point I'm trying to get at now is, is this not on the monitor? Of course it is on the monitor. It's his squad. So you don't think he's just being very, very hesitant with him? Well, he's got a headache now that everybody's fit. Who are the first teamers? Who sits on the bench, trying to keep everybody happy on their big wages? And this is where I'm worried about. And this is where I'm worried. This is where I'm worried that Kobe Mane, who suffers out game time to the likes of Christian Eriksson, who's safe. No, I don't think he'll suffer game time to Christian Eriksson. Because Christian Eriksson is definitely going. Apparently, the track has said Christian Eriksson's this window. But he's definitely going in the summer. So Christian Eriksson, in my opinion, would be used really sparingly. But it would be, he'd pick Kobe Mane over Kevin Muriel. Do you think, from what you've seen of Eriksson-Hagg, that that is your opinion over Eriksson-Hagg's logic? Eriksson-Hagg's logic at times. He's illogical at times. How many times have we seen Christian Eriksson picked this season? When the other varying pieces were available. You can't turn around and go with a few points back to Eriksson's plays with McTominay here. Or Eriksson's plays with Kobe Mane. And then in the last game... He was, what do you call it, he might have actually cast Muriel out at that time. Yeah, but he had Scott McTominay, Christian Eriksson and Kobe Mane in. He decided to play Eriksson and McTominay. And then when the Spurs game was going away, I suppose, the first thing that he thought was wrong with the game was that he needed to take Kobe Mane who often partnered Christian Eriksson and Scott McTominay. Didn't even look for cast Muriel. Just thought the kid was the problem so he hauled him off the pitch and put on McTominay. So that's what I'm saying to you. The logic in this man's head is showing me that he doesn't mind that Christian Eriksson is setting off into the sunset now in the summer. He still sees Eriksson as the safe option and therefore I think he'd fix him. I hope I'm wrong. But I mean... I have to look at his behaviours and just think I see Eriksson playing more than Mane who was a fully fit squad. Which I think is completely wrong. Yeah. I completely don't agree with that. I think he should monitor his minutes. I think he should play every game that Casimir needs a rest. I think Casimir and him should be rotated on a loop. And he should get as much game time as he can possibly get. Hopefully. That's what I'm saying to you. Hopefully that is the plan. I don't think it is. Only gets the way some hack operators. But further up the pitch Bruno Fernandes I would keep Bruno. So would I. Definitely. Bruno's a worldly. He is. He just needs a bit of discipline sometimes. I think he just gets frustrated and fed up with the standard of football that's being played around him. Just behind him. And then he tries to do things that he possibly wouldn't do if he was playing in a really fluid game that he was enjoying. I honestly think Bruno Fernandes gets really frustrated and bored. And starts yapping and behaving like a petulant child because he's sitting thinking What is this? What is this? I think he's just frustrated with his teammates at times. And I think he loves being captain. But he's being let down by those people around him. That's my honest opinion on him. Favourite. We'll go further up. Rosamund Hyveland. I'll keep. Yeah. Anthony Martial. Oh no. It's dead Anthony. Yeah. Forget about Anthony Martial. Right wing. Anthony. Do you know I would love to see him come good. Just because all the criticism that he's come up with. Yeah. I know he would. And apparently his agent was out talking to the press and said You will see a different player when he comes back. Liar. Remains to be seen. It does. You know people can talk the talk. You have to walk the walk. But he won't. How do you know? Because he's shit. So you'd kick red? A hundred and ten percent. Yeah. I'd have him gone to City Ribbit. And the money that the club laid out for him. Yeah. It's not the game we're playing. I sell. I don't have to worry about money and wages and whatever. I just have to worry about Baralla being confident enough to ship him. So I sell. And I sell for. He wouldn't be a starter for me. I'd sell him cheap. I'd let him go back to Brazil if I could. I would give Anthony away. I think Anthony steals minutes from Fulcino Pellestri who's better than him. But he's gone has he not? Pellestri? Apparently so. But I would take. If I was at Manchester United. And I was the manager and they turned around and said to me. Right. Take the money out of it. Anthony or Pellestri. Who do you want to keep in the squad? Not as a starter. But I'm keeping Pellestri. But I don't think having Anthony as a back-up on the bench is any use to Manchester United. I don't see him coming good. He doesn't have pace. He's not able to beat a man. Two things you need in the Premier League. I think it's a waste. No. Again. He'd be in trial for me. Until the summer. Yeah. I'd ship him. Ahmed Jalloh. I'd keep Anthony. I would too. I think Jalloh's better than Anthony. I'd love to see him get more minutes. Yeah. I want Anthony to be the back-up now to Ahmed Jalloh. It's not going to happen. Because tonight I've lost Anthony. But I would love to see Ahmed Jalloh start now. And Anthony be relegated to the bench. We'll go over on the left. Marcus Rashford. Again. If they'd only come in from Marcus Rashford, I'd let him go in the summer. Me too. I think time's up. No. Last season was brilliant. He's so inconsistent. Yeah. No. He's the most frustrating player. The most frustrating player that I've seen in a long time. You have Marcus Rashford on the left. He kills the game. He just stops. And then you have Anthony on the right. He does the exact same thing. He'd run as a player and then he'd stop. I think Marcus Rashford is better than Anthony. Because if Rashford gets up going ahead of Steyn against the full-back or against the centre-back, you know he's going to beat him. You trust him to beat him. You don't do that with Anthony. But in this slow, boring style of football where Marcus Rashford has to play in front of the defences, it's never going to suit him. So if we're going to play the game fairly and we're going to think that Eriksen Haag is the monitor persistent going forward, then you can't keep Marcus Rashford because he doesn't suit Eriksen Haag at all. No. Eriksen Haag needs really technical, man-steady-ass players like Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish to an extent who can operate in tight spaces and get into wee areas and stuff like that. I don't particularly like that football. I think it's boring. But that's Manchester United at the minute, so Marcus Rashford needs to go. We're not going to get the exciting, full-tilt football that Yorgine Club plays, where Marcus Rashford exploded in last year. So we're not going to get that. Rashford's a waste. Alejandro Garnaciu? A keeper. Definitely a keeper. Garnaciu's definitely one for the future. I just hope, again, that Marcus Rashford is at the point of his career where he needs to be the superstar. He's 26 now. He's the safest man in the United, apparently. And he won't come at United. With Garnaciu, he's got enough years and then the suffering United will still be in power for a while before we have to worry about whether he's wasting his career or not. So I would definitely keep Alejandro Garnaciu. I think Garnaciu should play more than Marcus Rashford now at the minute because he suits the Haag system better. And that's as fair as it can be. He's still developing, though. He is. But for me, Alejandro Garnaciu at his age has more football intelligence than Marcus Rashford. He gets into better resistance than Marcus Rashford. Rashford... He reads the game better, I think, in my opinion. Yeah, I think so, too. Rashford has an undeniable ability to play brilliant football when he is on form. Is he a counter-attacking footballer, or what? I think he's a front foot footballer. The difference is, you can be a counter-attacking footballer if the only time that you can turn it on is when you are facing a team that's coming full-pelt at you. But Marcus Rashford didn't do that last season. Manchester United weren't counter-attacked and didn't counter-attack every team that they played. They dominated a lot of teams last season, in games. And he still managed to score the goals that he did. So a counter-attacking player could only turn it on in five, six games where you're playing your cities or Liverpool's or Arsenal's. That wasn't Rashford. When they were playing against the low block, they were playing full of his team and he was brilliant at jinking them between one and two people and putting the ball in the back of the net. But this season, when we've come into anti-football, his head goes, he's a bit like Bruno. He just looks like Campobot. And they're two of the best players Manchester United have at the moment. So, you can only keep one if you're going to keep playing this football. I would keep Bruno. Yeah, I agree with you. But he's going to have to have a real hard think about who he takes in now to try and get playing out from that left-hand side. Because I don't think Garnaccio is going to be able to play every game. I think we've seen that in a couple of the big games where Garnaccio does the same as Rashford to a lesser extent. He gets very frustrated. Very frustrated at how the overall games go. But, I suppose that takes us to the end. Apart from one more. Eriksen Haag. To the end of the season. I'll give him to the end of the season. Only because I'm so sure. I know in my head what's going to happen. Well, you know, any of us have big decisions to make in the summer. But hopefully they will have that management team in that they want to make those big decisions logically. Footballing people in, making footballing decisions. And they're the ones I would trust. That's what needs to happen. Now, we played Newport at the weekend. We're not going to spend too much time on this because we're going to the end of the fall. Do you know when I can beat Newport? Yeah. Is it in the realms of possibility they beat us? No. They're up for it. Next round of the FA Cup then. Well, there's an Irish guy that's a manager. And when they drove him out, he said, I don't know if he's in Dublin or not, but he's in Dublin as an example. He said, they're doing Irish chicks in Dublin. Because they're all looking thick. So is that. And that's a PD of the cup though. I just love the fact that they're at home. And it's a good stand. There's a very good shelter there. Yeah. Half four on Sunday. No matter what you're doing, tune into that one. I think it's actually on Terrestrial TV, isn't it? I have no idea. I think it is. To drum up even more money for Newport. Great occasion for them. Tune into it. That's what I love about the FA Cup. And that's what I said to you in the last podcast. I hope United are away and we get somebody in League 1 or League 2. You know, and stuff like that. And this will be huge. Massive for them. Massive for them. I actually can't wait to watch it. Do you think Earth and Hag will play a few of the injured players that we are talking about? Oh, absolutely. Apparently we had a friendly behind closed doors against Burnley. Burnley beat us 3-1, by the way. But who scored? Who scored United's goal? Oh, God. Yep, no. Anthony. Couldn't figure out. Burnley beat us 3-1. Burnley beat us 3-1. More rubbish just behind closed doors. Aye, because we're so good in front of the camera, isn't it? Yeah. Turned off the camera. Do you know, I'm not going to be nagging at the end of the podcast. I have so many opinions on that behind closed doors. At what stage do we realise that Manchester United are just poor? Nothing's going to affect us. It's friendly. Yeah, true. But we can't lose the Newport. So, listen, everybody, enjoy the game on Sunday. Make sure you give us a like on Instagram where Mum does all the content. You're getting good. Reason all. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you are. I love my forte. I tune into it. I love my area of expertise. Graphic design. I tune into Instagram every now and again. And, yeah, it's pretty good. Well, thank you. You're welcome. One does try. Bye, everyone. Bye, everyone.