Bruno's dramatic Rangers winner; United on brink of Europa knockouts
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The Athletic FC Podcast Network. But he's made such a mess of that, Jack Butland, and Manchester United lead 1-0. This is in the mistake by the equaliser for Rangers. And Manchester United blow the lead with two minutes to go. Manchester United won, Rangers won. As crazy as the United goal was, the Rangers' one was as good. Now here's the jumper!

Yes! Bruno Fernandes! And just when Manchester United needed the cap and Manchester United in stoppage time in front again. An automatic qualification looks on the cards like

This is Talk of the Devils, the athletics podcast dedicated to Manchester United. And look at us. Look at us. It's nearly 11pm on Thursday evening and we are here to talk about the following things. Bruno Bags to beat Rangers in Battle of Britain, or so it was billed. There's cash concerns as deadline day draws nearer. And there's a Sunday soiree to the south-west of London to face Fulham coming up this weekend as well. I've got two smiling gentlemen looking back at me from the press box at Old Trafford.

Well, Laurie's smiling at least. Andy looks a little tired, maybe. You alright, gents? Yeah.

I'm fantastic. I thought you were going to elaborate there, Andy, because you've had a long day. I've had a long day, but I'm all right. I'm ready to do this podcast. You've just watched Manchester United winning the Europa League. There's nothing to complain about at all. Yeah, thrilling fashion. Dramatic ending. Well, wins are rare, aren't they? But before that, it had been one win in eight. Don't worry about that now. One win in one. I'm not worried, yeah. 100%. One of the only three undefeated teams in the Europa League cruising through to...

the final 16 without having to play an extra two games, right? Yeah, hopefully. Still a little bit of work to be done. We'll talk about that shortly. Anyway, speaking of soirees to the south-west of London, or probably more central, but don't let that get in the way, we want to say thank you

for a quite incredible response to our live show at Leicester Square Theatre on March the 17th. As I warned you on the last podcast, it is now sold out. So thank you to every single one of you for coming along. James on email and others, I'm sorry, there isn't likely to be another date. But of course, keep your eyes peeled for future announcements. And apologies to anyone in Ireland who was offended by the way I referred to St Patrick's Day yesterday.

a mistake I will not make again considering we'd like to do live shows in Dublin at some point in the future. Anyway, thank you every single one of you. Let's talk about Bruno Fernandes' captain's goal in the 92nd minute, Laurie. Boy, did we need that. Did indeed because it felt like it was going to be another result that continued this narrative of United sort of spiralling out of control almost. I mean, Ruben Amarin was down on his haunches shaking his head and

when Rangers equalised a really sweet strike wasn't it was it a push on Maguire I don't know probably would have been soft yeah it didn't seem the type of referee to give soft pushes fouls did it really yeah it would have been nice if he'd evened it out in that moment but anyway it gave us then the final flourish which was you know Lissandro Martinez brilliant cross really timed it well and Bruno Fernandes' excellent run obviously he'd shifted further field with the substitutions and it was a cap

in the moment right wasn't it it was your team needs you okay I'm going to step up and deliver great volley and you get into the corner to celebrate as a kind of shove I think if Stewart or someone tried to stop them celebrating out of the way which is a bit awkward but certainly a lot of relief around the stadium because it just means that

There's a bit of light, I suppose. There's a bit of air in this situation. Yeah, definitely. There was nobody and nothing more relieved than the television in the home dressing room when that winner went in, Andy. Well, yeah, I suppose it survived, hasn't it? It was a really good end to a pretty mediocre game.

I thought Rangers, injury hit Rangers by the way. They were on the under 23s by the end weren't they? Exactly, so let's not celebrate too hard. I thought their fans were pretty good actually. There was quite a few of them weren't there? Yeah, I mean it wasn't Galatasaray in the home end. I saw they took over a tram stop earlier, no messing with them is there? Yeah, there's a load of them in town. There are rumours, I mean I was in Manchester before the game and I reckon that at least one of them had

had a beer no way and then we got confirmed came into town I think they regressed slightly in the second half Manchester United got better um Butland that was a it was an awful own goal for him but fair play to Ericsson for landing the ball there I thought United had some good chances as well I think Harry Maguire Ugarte had good chances Dessa's finish was lovely their fans were singing nice one Cyril which I thought was quite amusing but

But Bruno needed that because United are still fragile. You can feel it in the confidence, in the crowd. Other observations before the match, lovely big flag for Dennis Law in the Stretford end and Rangers also paid their respects as well because obviously arguably the greatest ever Scottish player. A real swing when Bruno got that goal. I think United went from ninth to fourth, which could make a really big difference ahead of the final game in London.

Bucharest next week so bits of inquiry I thought Garnaccio the loudest chant tonight was from the Stretford end about Garnaccio largest chant from the home fans so I thought that was worthy of note and talked about on this podcast definitely we've got more on Garnaccio to come yeah I thought he was the best player in the first half and the second half Bruno did well do we know if Lenny Oro's okay he sort of

Precautionary, yeah. Yeah. And then Laurie and I have just been in the press conference listening to Amarim as well. It's a win and it's a much needed win for a team that cannot get wins. You've got to say seven games now in the Europa League...

wins on the bounce after those first three draws so that's good I absolutely think this is a competition United should be going all out to win I've said that well they need to don't they it might be the only way they can get in Europe again next year with the way it's going in the league yeah and Jose Mourinho is very intelligent as he targeted it in 2017 and got into the Champions League that way I fear for this Man United team at the moment

should they play Champions League football but everything I'm hearing with Amir without saying it's all about next season it's about having time with your players getting to know your players properly bringing some more of the players in that he knows so

you know years ago this would have been billed as a battle of Britain I can remember the United you missed it at the start there Andy yeah but it was ironic some people tried to make it out to be the battle of Britain I'm not sure the second best team in Scotland and the 13th best in England is quite that but yeah I

I mean, Rangers-Leeds was a classic game, games in 1992. And even when Manchester United played in the Champions League at Celtic and at Rangers, it was vicious. The atmosphere. There's lots like Nemanja Vidic would say, them trips to Glasgow were the best atmosphere he ever played in. All sort of top three. I looked across and saw Darren Fletcher, who was a Celtic fan as a youngster. And I was just looking for a reaction as the Rangers were going through their anthems.

thinking I'd love a penny for his thoughts in private. Obviously, he wouldn't have ever said what they were. Win, win, win. It was all about getting the win and it was a lovely strike from Bruno. He barely broke stride and it was a brilliant ball from Martinez as well. There were a couple of other good moments. It's weird because

Xerxe starts and deserved his start because he was doing well. I thought he had quite a quiet game. So then Hoyland comes on and he didn't really have too much time to impress. So you can pick out bits of positivity. Fans go home, they've had a win. And that's all that matters at the moment because they've been so hard to come by. Worth tuning in for, Laurie, wasn't it? Oh, there's another one. OK. What's that? How many more have you got up your sleeve? I don't know what you mean.

I'm not going to be changing the channel on this, don't worry about that. Okay, very good. I mean, it's been a story that is... Don't touch that dial. Okay, yeah. I just want you to keep dropping them in, like little breadcrumbs throughout the show, please. Dropping what in? Okay, very good. Well, hopefully nothing was dropped in the dressing room after the game tonight. But yeah, I presume... Were they muted celebrations this time, were they? Oh, God.

This is your platform, this Ian, isn't it? This is you all over. This is your humour. There's lots of volume to this, mate. Don't worry about that. Oh, wow. Okay. We're still going. It's the story that just feels very memeable, right? The responses to it this week were... It's worthy of the big screen, mate. Yeah.

Well, I saw one saying, is Ruben Amering going to get the bill for that in his paycheck, you know, given the tightening of the finances around Old Trafford. Yeah, obviously referring to him breaking, damaging the big screen in United's dressing room after the Brighton game, which is one of those stories. I don't know if you want to go there in terms of from a journalistic point of view, but a lot of the reactions, well, some of it has been,

team leaks this is you know wrong that this is out there well the team leaks in terms of the starting lineup had actually dried up a little bit because in the early matches for Amarim they were all over social media weren't they the teams yeah yeah but I feel like this one I mean a lot of people knew about this you know after it happened this one wasn't going to stay in house because it was a full dressing room there's several people around the club that know you know what happened and I think it was kind of like a

waiting to emerge and in a way I wonder if Amarin is fine about it being known because I mean I then asked him a question about it in the press conference yesterday and I was kind of wondering exactly how to phrase it I sort of thought maybe somebody else would bring it up and I could kind of skirt around it a little bit I thought somebody else would mention a TV but I didn't actually mention that in my question I said because he'd already gone there himself in terms of him being so strong in the press conference and

and then said, well, it was nothing different than what I said in the dressing room five minutes previous. And then that allowed me to kind of go, well, you were very angry and you spoke in the dressing room after the game. Usually he doesn't say anything. That was a change that he'd even said anything, let alone then getting so angry

sort of I don't know fierce with his feedback that he then damages a TV screen and so he basically answered it without naming what had happened particularly but clearly with that in mind saying that maybe I make a mistake maybe I'm young and I act emotional and you know so but it was interesting that he kind of did sort of row back from his statement about you know being the worst team in history at

people were perhaps surprised at that I think you know that he could have doubled down or at least kind of stuck by it and I don't think though that he really is reigning back from it I think he knew what he was doing in the press conference I think he knew what he was doing in the dressing room I think this is designed to make the players really understand that these kind of performances these kind of results are not acceptable and he's showing that to them in different ways but I think

and then okay but he's then not going too far with it then in a follow-up press conference yeah Andy I don't know what you think but I sort of read it a bit as him controlling the media in terms of feeding them a headline after the Brighton game which he knew was going to make a big splash and then

and then trying his best in the following press conference before this game to move the narrative on, to change it. So not continuing this line about United being the worst and his anger after the game. Although the line about him saying that what he did after the match and the way he reacted was a mistake...

I think it's really interesting. Carl sort of said, I wonder if this will be the last time that he comes out with something this strong after a game. Obviously, results will depend on what he says in the future. But yeah, how do you read it? When I first saw it or heard it, I thought he's got to have strong backing from the people above him to come out with something as strong as that. And I think what the players think depends what player you're asking. I think it's pretty risky.

He wrote back a little bit on it. I think there's a slew of negative Manchester United stories about at the moment. And you can ask me either as a journalist or as a fan. I told a few people who rang me the other night, like, why are you always ringing me over negative stories? You want to ask me about four different negative things today. You love being called about negative Manchester United stories, don't you? You never ring when it's positive. You don't get front pages.

When it's a positive story, it's the negative stuff what grabs the attention. It's starting to really piss me off. People are making money out of this. Did they not call you after the FA Cup final? They must have done, Andy. Tell you what, honestly, and I'm not exaggerating here, when Manchester United lose, it is a far bigger story than when Manchester United win. It's absolutely true. I have serious, reputable outlets ringing me up

and going, sorry about this. You know what it's like. Can we talk about another defeat? Where were they ringing after the statement victory against Everton? Let's see how your phone rings tomorrow morning after winning the Battle of Britain. But this is the thing people always say to us, oh, the podcast must be doing great because United are terrible. And it's like, well, actually, if I look at the data, I can tell you that our biggest episodes are when Manchester United win things or beat big rivals. People do actually want positivity.

and do want to talk about good things it's just that the team don't always provide us with that many opportunities tonight has been a good thing Laurie let's get into some more of the detail then of tonight Altai Bande started in goal Christian Eriksen started in an advanced midfield role they were the two selections that caught my eye what did you think did you not think Toby Collier starting was was notable or did you kind of anticipate that well I

I was probably less surprised that he'd started considering the way he'd been coming in, but it was his first European start for Manchester United and he was excellent as well, to be fair to him. So you're right to point him out too. Yeah, maybe I'm being harsh because I sort of thought he had a bit of a difficult game because he...

He got caught on the ball in the first moment that then gave Rangers a chance. I liked his energy. He gave the ball away in the second half. Yeah, that is obviously why he's being picked, right? Because you've got Casemiro, who is one of the top earners at the club, one of the top two, definitely.

on the bench he's not featured since that Newcastle game when he started with Christian Eriksen 5th choice central midfielder looking at it now and I don't think Amarin's making any apology for that I think what he likes in Toby Collier is that athleticism which the United squad is absolutely lacking and I feel like Collier is

OK, I know I've had a perfect game tonight, but he got about the pitch well. And that's what then the crowd responded to when he came off. It was a sort of standing applause almost. I mean, I know Kobi Mane was coming on, so maybe a bit of both. And there's obviously stories around United being open to selling academy players. So they're kind of showing maybe in these moments, as Andy's touched on with Garnaccio, that support for these guys. But yeah, I thought that was an interesting selection from Amrim, but I'm sure we'll continue to see it.

and Bayon Deer is it rotation is it after Onana made those mistakes is it you know it's good to have two goalkeepers that you feel can do a job because obviously under you know when it was David De Gea that was obviously the number one that was an issue I think for the club it always felt like De Gea was better when there was genuine competition to him I don't see that Onana is the same character as such but I don't think it's a bad thing do you think Bayon Deer could play Fulham

it's a tough one isn't it to go there unlikely but you're getting towards that point aren't you and I

And I'm not saying that rotating goalkeepers is great if you're kind of doing it every other game, but I think you do need a number one, clearly. But I think it's good to have someone breathing down the neck of the other one. I thought Collier, a bit of an error at the start when he was caught in possession and that led to a Rangers attack and a bit of a stumble by Raskin, which saved Collier a little bit. It's really becoming stark how out the pitcher Casemiro is. You know, when you consider...

It's two of the three best paid Manchester United players tonight. One was in a private box and one was on the bench who's barely featuring. And it's about, what, 600-odd grand a week in wages? Yeah, it's a lot of money. And I think fans are a bit confused by all this. I think they're backing the manager. I think they like his honesty.

But there's so many conflicting messages coming out. It's quite a confusing time. Yeah, it's hard to know whether they're just football reasons or whether they're financial reasons, which again is another topic we'll get into a bit more later on. But with them being the two top earners, is it a financial decision or is it a football decision or is it both actually? We don't know. There's just a lot of uncertainty about. And of course, this gets magnified when the team are not winning and...

People come up and say, you know, what's happening with Marcus? More than any other player. Is he going to go? What's happening with Casemiro? Eriksen started tonight. I thought he was effective because he dropped that ball in, didn't he? I think his strong point is the set pieces. But Rangers, with respect, the budget is one of a championship club. They are a huge, huge club. Their fans were better than the United fans tonight. I've got to say that.

and they've done well in this competition they've had some really good results in this competition especially away from home but that was a really weak Rangers side so it was a win we just can't but then this is a weak Manchester United team isn't it we can't be pretending that it

it is what it was I think it's a bit of both with Rashford and Casemiro you know football wise he wants energy he wants legs in midfield Casemiro doesn't have that anymore in terms of Rashford he obviously hasn't liked what he's seen in training we've done the report on Rashford's social life and that being an issue for Amarin and other people at the club to be fair it's obviously good to see Marcus here in

the stadium watching the game and it would be very intriguing to see how these last few days of the window go and then if he doesn't leave how that situation resolves itself he was there at open training yesterday sort of smiling and you know taking part in the rondos that we could see you know obviously we don't know then how it goes in the training session afterwards and he has been training this whole time it's you know it's

But certainly there's people around Rashford that would feel that maybe that's a part that's being played, that he's on a lot of money, that actually it'd be preferable to get him off the wage bill. And then clearly with Casemiro, I think we've reported before, haven't we, how Ineos, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, thought that deal was a bad deal to do from the get-go when he was looking at United's accounts. So clearly there is discussions around that happening and we reported...

on the off-letter that Ratcliffe spoke with Amarin after the Southampton game for about 20 minutes. So I'm intrigued as to how that then fed into what happened after Brighton a little bit, because we know that Ratcliffe is pretty blunt with his appraisals of United. So, I mean, yeah, but I agree with your point, Andy. I think he's got the backing from above to be this kind of demonstrative. Yeah, it feels stark for Rashford as well that there was only nine substitutes named tonight out of a possible 12. He had three slots that he didn't even use, Rib and Amarin. Right, yeah.

Masraoui was named on the bench wasn't he and then he had to pull out as a precaution yeah so there was three spots in the end that weren't used but anyway you've teased the transfer section quite nicely

so it's a new year and you're thinking how am i going to make this year different how am i going to build something for myself i'm dying to be my own boss or see if i can turn this business idea that i've been kicking around into a reality but i don't know how to make it happen shopify is how you're going to make it happen and let me tell you how the best time to start your new business right now shopify makes it simple to create your brand open for business and get your first sale get your store up and running easily

With thousands of customizable templates, no coding or design skills required, all you need to do is drag and drop. Shopify makes it easy to manage your growing business. They help with the details like shipping, taxes, and payments from one single dashboard, allowing you to focus on the important stuff, like growing your business. What happens if you don't act now? Will you regret it? What if someone beats you to the idea? Don't kick yourself when you hear this again in a year because you didn't do anything now.

Established in 2025 has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash theathletic, all lowercase. Go to shopify.com slash theathletic to start selling with Shopify today. Shopify.com slash theathletic.

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Don't forget, if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code THEATHLETIC and you'll get a one-year subscription to The Athletic, plus up to a $1,500 first bet offer on your first wager. From Marvel Studios, the world is on the brink of war, comes Captain America Brave New World. Watch yourself. You're not Steve Rogers. Right. On February 14th, one symbol...

Stands for all. Captain America. You don't even know what this is. You want me? Come and get me! Captain America Brave New World in theaters February 14th. Get tickets now. This film has not yet rated. Okay, let's talk transfers then. January is drawing to a close. I don't know exactly how you describe it, but it is the 24th by the time this is reaching your ears. Um...

Could even be later than that if you're listening before the weekend. But anyway, we need to know what's happening, don't we? There's been a lot of stories, a lot of speculation. There's a lot of substance to these stories as well, and we'll get into those. But Critch has done a piece on The Athletic today just outlining the financial situation for United and the reason why.

why this window has been a bit uneventful so far in terms of definite action. Some of the standout lines from it, Andy. £86 million gap between the cash flowing in and the cash flowing out on an annual basis. They owe nearly £320 million in unpaid transfer fees to clubs. And their net spend in the past decade has been £1.3 billion. Wow.

Horrible, isn't it? Did you see how blunt that letter was from the club in response to the 58 group? Yeah. About the severity of the situation, repeating some of the things that you've said there. Fans don't like to look at these when they're getting excited about signing the new players. These players have got to be paid for. Payback time is now for some of them. Players who were complete flops, who were bought on tick. That's why they've got huge, huge debts. Not the only club.

And this is the uncomfortable time. This is why the club are even considering selling players who've come through the academy. That's why we're talking about some of the best paid players not even featuring. And it's really awkward. It's the opposite of when fans are going, pay him what he's worth, pay him what he demands. No, no, no, no, no, no. Reality is striking now and it is really awkward.

really difficult before financial fair play yeah you just get a rich owner oh yeah and that's how you buy your way out of it but you can't do that now and there was a flag in the Stretford end at the end tonight 66 pound your debt not ours they have to somehow find a way through this it just feels unfair that we are all going to have to pay more to see a team who are failing and it's not been our decisions that have seen that team fail but but

Collectively, I can remember when Alexis Sanchez signed, for example, everyone was absolutely buzzing. A bit less so now that he's got to be paid for because he's been brought on tick with a load of other players. And I hate to get personal on some players, but speaking to people in Seville about Anthony the other day and they were asking me about him and I'm like, geez, he cost a fortune, cost an absolute fortune. And that has been the trend lately.

too many Manchester United players and it's biting us big time on the backside now and I think

I think it could even get worse before it gets better. I don't know how you feel, Laurie, but Critch has been good and he's looking at all the figures. It's a brilliant piece by Critch and I read it to David Jordan. He did a very funny line where he said he's outperforming his ex-GCSE by going into all the numbers and he's doing better than his B at GCSE maths to bring it to us. Because it's forensic and it's detailed, so definitely go and have a look at it if you've not already. But I mean, I do think it also...

reminds us of the ghosts of the Glazers really I mean they obviously are still the majority owners yeah they're not ghosts are they?

I mean, they're very much alive, but their mechanism for taking over the club, it still has an impact. Now, it is definitely the recruitment that's been very poor, the overpaying for players that haven't delivered and then trying to shift them on and paying wages for players that aren't really delivering. But it's also the interest that they've been paying on the debt. And if they hadn't put 700 odd million pounds onto the club just as debt and then...

servicing that debt with interest, they would have more scope to... Well, this 1.3 billion net spend on transfer fees, you can spend that again based on the money that's been spent, give or take. I mean, maybe they'd spend it badly, but you'd rather have that right... Ideally, it wouldn't be them spending it, would it, if the takeover had never happened. So then fans in 2004 and 2005...

with flags saying, debt is the road to ruin. They were absolutely right, weren't they? 20 years later, they have been completely vindicated with their fears. And they were placated at the time by coaches, by executives, everything's going to be all right. And because for the first few years, everything was all right on the face of it, and Manchester United won league titles and European Cups, well, no, Laurie's quite right to say

to raise the idea that highly leveraged Tave Covert should never ever have been allowed to have happened and we're still paying for that now and we're going to pay for it for a lot lot longer Speaking of paying for things despite all of that Manchester United do seem like they could well be active in the final days of this transfer window Laurie you've been reporting with James Horncastle and others about United's interest in Patrick Dorgut at Lecce

The last latest report from you two was that there is a €10m gap between Manchester United's valuation and the Italian side's valuation. How do you see this playing out? I think when it's like that, my instinct is to suggest that a deal will ultimately get done. I've seen this story before.

At Manchester United's cost. Well, exactly. I think if, let's say, asking for 40 million euros, usually what happens is United pay 40 million euros. We saw it with Rasmus Hoyland coming out of Atalanta. Or 70 million euros in the summer. Yeah, I was going to say. Yeah. So we've seen this film before, haven't we? You've got United's director of negotiations, Matt Hargreaves, over there. Yeah.

representatives from the agency base which have done deals into United before so that's what I mean the figures are kind of the people involved I mean are familiar so the sense that I get is that it will ultimately go that way now that being said there's obviously still a lot of ifs and buts and I think you know Anthony's

loan to Real Betis that I think has to happen for Dorgut to come in that would be my impression of it and they obviously are tight very much so with the financial regulations which Critch has gone into but I think there's a little bit of manoeuvrability based on how long they're able to commit Dorgut to a contract he's only 20 there was also a neat little line about Harry Maguire's contract extension that because they were able to extend it over

for an additional year, the transfer fee that United played for Leicester, the book value of that can actually be stretched over two years rather than one in the accounting. So it's not more money, it's not more cash, which is the ultimate issue at United. But in this particular window, it means there's flexibility, shall we say, in terms of bringing somebody in. But then I don't know what that then means really for the other players that we're going to come on to. And maybe a point on Pachadogu, 20 from another player

Young looks promising clearly. Athletic, I think that's certainly a big plus that United are looking for. But again, it's a player that's unknown into the Premier League. It's a difficult thing to ask somebody to come into this league and deliver straight away. But obviously that's the route that I think Ineos want to go down with players that are

can build at United and perhaps have maybe resale value in years to come and hopefully can become really good players and they've got them for a cheaper price than they would do if they were fully formed. Yeah, as you may have realised by now, Carl isn't with us tonight on the podcast, but he has sent us this scouting report on Dogu.

I've been in the tactics truck since Monday afternoon and for the majority of Tuesday watching Weisskau clips and talking to Danish journalists and those in and out about Patrick Dorgue, the 20-year-old who plays for Lecce in Serie A. He's good. He's promising. He's a bit rough around the edges.

He made his debut for Lecce at the start of last season and has just over a touch of 50 appearances for his name for the club. Has split his time, interestingly, on the left-hand side of defence, midfield and wing, and also at right wing as well.

When he's on the left-hand side, he's very, very, very good at recognizing if he needs to make an overlapping run to help the person inside him or make an underlapping run. He can hold it very, very well. He's very good at getting up and down the flanks. He can run. He can really, really, really run.

Even though he's six foot one, he's got a very good sense of balance, good shift of weight. He likes a little croquette when he wants to cut inside. I have written 2000 words, explain all of this. That's in the backend. I will go if the deal progresses more.

I did ask some Danish journalists and people that met him when he first got called up for national team camp, his debut goal for Denmark. He scored within the first 60 seconds of being brought on in a Nations League game against Switzerland. If you watch the goal, he's mobbed by quite a few of the Denmark players in celebration, quite a few Switzerland players getting like a bit snippy with him as well.

What I found out from one journalist was one of the reasons why quite a few of the Danish players surrounded him is because his goal came off his right foot. And while he has got very good off the ball movement and he's quite good in the final third, he can really pop up at the back post quite a lot. He doesn't score too much on his right foot.

Now, when I heard that, I went, is this going to be another Anthony? And then I went back in the tactics truck and I watched a bunch more footage and he can pass, cross and shoot with his right foot better than Anthony and pretty well, actually. So that's good. If there are things to be concerned about is his tackling technique isn't always the cleanest.

If he does play on the left side under Amarin, him and Martinez might need some help against tricky, dribbly wingers, especially those with loads of skill moves. Thank you, Carl. Yeah, we'll keep an eye on that one, see exactly what happens. It certainly feels like left wing back is an area that Manchester United need reinforcements and new options in the remainder of this window. There's a few sort of major names who could still leave Manchester United. We've talked about probably all of them, but not in much depth so far.

Alejandro Garnaccio, Laurie. Chelsea and Napoli are the clubs who seem interested in taking him away from Manchester United.

I just don't know how I feel about it. And again, you watch him tonight and he's one of Manchester United's most promising players. I think Amarin described him as that roughly after the game as well. More direct than anyone else running in those sort of positions. And like Andy mentioned before, his name was probably sung the loudest of any player at the match tonight. So it feels like it's going to be a pretty unpopular decision if United sell him. Yeah, I think so. But obviously, as we've seen from other players,

of the club, the people in charge aren't afraid to make unpopular decisions if they feel like it's for the better of the team. But it feels like a major crossroads, this particular potential transfer for United because you've got here a young player that is kind of in the traditions of United really in terms of a winger who...

Obviously, he's got space to improve, clearly. But he tries hard, runs hard. From all accounts, I know he got dropped for the Man City game. I'm not sure exactly what went down there, but it was, we believe, something to do with an attitude in training, possibly. But from what I hear from other people, it's very much...

he's maybe a bit misunderstood he's a nice guy he's sincere and so I know that shouldn't dictate whether you become a player at Manchester United or not but to your point I think he was trying things in this game he obviously had three shots early on he could have had a goal if it had not been deflected over does he fit in this system though for Ruben Amorim?

I think he just sort of epitomises what the club should be about. I mean, what's the saying that they've had printed on the stairs that's been printed in shirts before now as well? Youth, courage, success. That's been the buzzwords for Manchester United. He's a youth product. He certainly has courage. And the success that he's had in the first team has been obvious as well, really. I mean, he scored...

It's called in the FA Cup final. I understand the financial issues that Manchester United are facing, but I really... Unless it's an amazing price, which the sort of money that's been mentioned, Andy, has not been amazing, has it? I mean, we're talking about similar numbers for a promising left wing back from Italy. If they go a little bit more, then it could be good money, though. I don't think Garnaccio leaving will be popular, but...

but I don't think that every United fan would be protesting either. No. We don't know how good he's going to be. There are people with proper football experience paid to make decisions on a player. There is such a thing as selling a player at the right time. Interestingly, or speaking to a Rangers fan,

who was critical of their club not being able to sell players at the right time whereas Celtic can do that if you look back historically there was times when there was a lot of hype around Adnan Januzaj for example we could have said he's in the best traditions of this club and

where did he go on to I don't know hand on heart how good Alejandro Garnaccio will be I do know that he's one of the rare Manchester United transfer success stories given how little he cost and how effective he has been so far wouldn't you like to find out at Old Trafford though rather than somewhere else yeah I would I would I would and I used the word before confusing I think a lot of fans are confused

This is why it's a crossroads moment. Yeah, it is. Basically, if they sell him and bring in a win back and kind of reshape the squad for Ruben Amarin, you're going with Ruben Amarin, aren't you? Yeah. There's no doubt. And obviously, you do want to back the manager. But who's going to play the role in the remainder of this season?

that Garnaccio played tonight, for example. There's only Ahmad. Yeah, I don't disagree. And maybe that's the big confusion about doing it this month. And surely Ruben Amorim would want a replacement for a player of the statue of Alejandro Garnaccio going out. But then we do go back to the financial picture at United. How much would a replacement cost as well? Well, this is it. There is an argument, and this might sound...

but is this a reset moment where they allow a player like that to go, get all the money in and then they feel like, okay, we're actually on a more even keel here because we've been, as Andy says, spending money that we don't really have for several years and so we need to be responsible and adult about this. And clearly...

I don't think Garnaccio would entertain leaving until you get into this point where clearly there's conversations going on Napoli are interested Chelsea are interested

Ruben Amarin after the game was asked by TNT Sports about Garnaccio and being on the pitch because you'd think that if a transfer was close he wouldn't be playing surely the risk of injury is for that kind of money you just wouldn't entertain it so maybe that's a sign but Amarin's response I also read it as Amarin suggesting that he doesn't want him to go by starting him tonight do you think Amarin doesn't want him to go?

I don't know what he wants, but I think it makes it seem like he doesn't want the player to leave if he's picking him. What he's saying privately behind the scenes, I have absolutely no idea. But I do think him still playing, he can say...

you know he's my player what's the quote after the game he's improving in every aspect he has potential he understands what I want to do you know it's not saying I want him out the door true true but his answer then on his future I don't know what will happen let's focus on the team and the players that we have here we don't know what can happen until the window closes anything can happen is it his decision I think he'd definitely be a part of it yeah I

suggest that Ineos are forcing Ruben Amarin to sell Garnaccio I think would be wrong I think he's got his own views on this and yeah they might not be fully formed fully aligned with what the whole fan base would think but you

they're paid to make big calls and I don't know which way it's going to go and he might well stay and then I think people would be relieved of that and hope that then the second half of the season he really could integrate himself into this system and show that because you can have you know Amarant had wingers in that number 10 position it just would mean I suppose that you're losing somebody else you know Bruno's there Ahmad's there

And then the wing-back, it doesn't really feel like that suits Garnaccio's game. Rashford's the other one, obviously, who could play that role if he was still in the Manchester United squad, which he's not at the moment. Barcelona seem to be the name, Andy, that is being mentioned now more than others. There's been AC Milan, there's been even suggestions that Oli might try and take him to Turkey now too. How do you see this playing out? Because it doesn't feel like...

it's definitely going to happen. And there's even been some suggestions that there'd be an openness for Rashford being reintegrated at some point. That has been put to the manager. I didn't sense an openness from the manager. I don't know. Well, he's been out of the squad for so long now, hasn't he? It's going to be a very interesting dynamic if he doesn't go. A bit of a climb down for the manager, unless there's obviously a great deal of contrition involved.

Rashford side. Top result for Oli's team last night, big surprise that, beating Athletic Club, really, really good result that because they are a top team. Imagine Manchester United getting Besiktas in this Europa League, it can happen. Well they got Leicester in the FA Cup so that would be another reunion wouldn't it? Yeah. If you ask Marcus Rashford now which club would you most like to join, I'm almost certain the answer would be Barcelona. Barcelona are absolutely interested in him as

As ever, the issue is financial. If you think Manchester United...

is a basket case for the finances Barcelona is 10 times worse but it remains highly desirable place for footballers to go to I was with a couple of Spanish football managers yesterday who know a lot more than I do and I watch a lot of Barca myself and the point that was put to me was and these are people who rate Marcus Rashford where's he going to play because you've got Robert Lewandowski centre forward you've got Laminia Mal on the left who's

probably the most exciting player in the world at the moment. He's that good. And then you've got Rafinha, who Barca went for instead of Anthony, playing the season of his life on the right. So where does Marcus fit in now? Where could he fit in? It's super sub. Those three positions are so clear unless one of them gets injured. So Marcus, you would think, needs minutes.

So does he go to a lesser club? But, you know, Barca, so many players have been blinded by Barcelona and it is attractive historically. Mark Hughes wanted to leave Manchester United to go there. And then we were also speaking about Betis and it was put to me that it wouldn't be a good place for Anthony to go to. Just the style of football. He'd be better going to a more structured club.

I bet it's a struggle in this year. They're sort of mid-table. They've come down a little bit. They've got a very good manager in Pellegrini. They do like a lone player. Both clubs in Seville like a lone player from Manchester United, often with very limited success. So we'll see how it all plays out, won't we? We've got eight days left with this transfer window. Certainly interesting. I reckon the transfer junkies are getting the fix. I reckon it's doing enough for them to keep them on tenterhooks.

to see what happens in the last few days. Well, there's 11 days left as well, until February the 3rd. Don't wish it away, Andy. This is the greatest time of year. I love it. You love it, don't you? I absolutely love it. I absolutely love, at 10 past six in the morning, being collared in the airport, being asked for transfer news. Hey, what's the latest on Marcus Rashford? Mate, I reckon I've been, I'm not even going to say this, but I meet very, very nice people, and a lot of them listen to this pod, and they like this pod. What's happening, mate? Yeah.

We like people who listen to the podcast. That's the only reason we are here is to service these people. That's good. I've had some proper random people today coming up to me on trains, planes and automobiles. Seriously. I've had a lad come up to me in Birmingham Airport today. Wrexham fan. Listen to every podcast, lads. Why? Joe, Wrexham lad. On his way to Wrexham, Birmingham. He said, I lived in Manchester for a few years.

Another gent from Coventry this morning at ten past six. Really, really interesting people. Intelligent United fans. And when I say fans are confused by what's going on, I'm forming my opinions from all of these fans coming up to me going, what on earth is going on? Yeah, but seriously, and they are entitled to feel like that.

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When that person went past you a short time ago and you both nodded, did they give you an indication about how long we can still record for? Did you see how many fingers he held up? Ten. Oh, ten. Great. That's great. Well, we've got time for a proper Fulham preview because Manchester United are going to Craven Cottage at seven o'clock on Sunday evening. And seven is an important number.

Because Manchester United, Laurie, have won seven in a row at Craven Cottage. 2009 was the last time that United tasted defeat there. I would not have anticipated that. I know that 2009. That was on my birthday. Oh, was it? I remember. I think it was a 3-0 defeat. It was absolutely freezing.

and got the coach down from Salford and I think Richard Dillat played I might be wrong but I'm sure it's a matter of three nil twice that year it may have been because there's one match where he had Fletcher and Carrick he's like a back three yeah Ian will probably be on his phone now looking for it well yeah that's what I have to do anyway why are you talking about the defeat Andy let's talk about the wins that is an impressive start that I'm really surprised I mean cut it fine last year didn't we that was 91st minute they often do that don't they Ronaldo's late winner Garnaccio's late winner yeah

Yeah. Yeah. So Garnaccio's one was the night before the Ronaldo story broke. I remember that. Last game before the World Cup. It was in November. Yeah, it was. Last game before the World Cup. Everyone was buzzing. Yeah. So yeah, more of the same, please. Well, that's the thing. No matter what sort of situation Manchester United have been in, Laurie, they win at Craven Cottage. So, you know, the worst Manchester United team in history last week, not this week.

should be able to do the same, yeah? Let's hope so, because people that I speak to, after the Brighton game, the mood is down, isn't it? And you're hearing these stories about...

combustible episode after the game and they're thinking well okay Rangers you know they could get past them then they're not having a great season but then you've got Fulham and you've got Crystal Palace two teams that are very well organized have got talent and emitting decent sides aren't they I was just gonna say if Carl was here he'd be telling me off because he'd say what do you think of Fulham and they are definitely a decent side with a very decent manager and if you're not at it if you're not organized and understanding each other's roles then they can

they can find a way through you they can get at you and so it's going to be a tough game 7 o'clock on a Sunday is ridiculous obviously I mean they're also the train manager on strike aren't they for Avanti for the trains down on the Sunday so are you going well yes I only know this because I had to buy my ticket at an actual train station rather than online because you couldn't

it was like not allowed so what are you going to do stay down yeah I'm going to stay down yeah I'm staying down I'm going to stay down and celebrate the 8th win Fulham will be right up your alley won't we proper cocktail territory I've not been for ages you know obviously I used to work in London and I used to go a fair bit I thought you used to work in Leicester London before Leicester that was my London was my first port of call in this industry I'm going to watch Leicester on Sunday and Fulham I'm going to two games

Because Tottenham play at 2, don't they? And then United play at 7 o'clock, so there's two games. I thought you fantasy league football nerd would know stuff like this. I am told that Sander Berg's playing very well for Fulham. He's been injured very well in the last game. Right. I just got told that the other day. First game back against Leicester. Yeah. I always really liked Tom Kearney as a footballer. I think he's a really nice footballer.

They're decent, decent, decent. Decent, decent. And their ticket prices, some of them for the United game are off the scale. You say that. We've had an email from Anthony. I'd look to see if we can grab some tickets in the Holmen for the Fulham match.

I couldn't believe the price of tickets. £160 for an adult and £80 for an under-16. If Sir Jim is benchmarking prices to Fulham, what we have now is very much the thin end of the wedge. We're going to the Leicester Cup match instead. A great couple of days in Manchester with my lad. And even with hotel and travel, I'll have changed from the £240 that Fulham would have cost me. These ticket prices are a huge concern, Andy, aren't they? I feel like we were maybe a bit...

when we spoke about it in the last section. This is a grave concern now for United fans moving forward, isn't it? And that letter that was sent to the 1958 group is only going to increase people's concern, isn't it? Yeah. I think we've been really strong on ticket prices on this podcast. We have, yeah. When it first broke. So...

I stood with protesting Fulham fans at the game last year and I had every sympathy for them. And yeah, the cliche is it's West London. And as I always say that there are estates in Fulham where Fulham fans are from and they're not particularly wealthy. They go for that tourist market, which exists more in London than,

than it does in Manchester and they've built or they're probably still building that new Riverside stand it'll be ready in about 200 years and that's where them DIA tickets are I think that's where those tickets are isn't it yeah well I mean it is a lovely looking stand and you get a nice view but £160 to watch a Premier League game

I think is offensive, yeah. And to be fair to Fulham, some of their cheaper tickets behind the goal are more reasonable. But they are particularly aggressive in their ticket pricing. And I don't like what I see at all. They were bad before the Premier League introduced the cap for away fans. I can remember Peter Boyle, who gets the songs going, or used to at that time, suggesting that United fans should boycott pies online.

under the stand at half-time because Fulham were charging £55. Before, they could only charge £30 as a maximum now. Not for pies, for match tickets, yeah? Yeah, for match tickets. That's going back quite a while. So Fulham have never been shy at coming forward with the prices. How pleasing that £30 that United fans will play on Sunday, which I do think is genuinely good value. Yeah, definitely. And we knock all the time about ticket prices. Yeah.

That has been a great progress. And even UEFA this season, bringing in the price restrictions in this competition that we're in. We've hammered them clubs on this pod in recent years for expensive ticket prices in Europe. It's much, much better now. So we'd like to see more of that, please. Yeah, definitely. Just taking it back to the game, Larry. Fulham 10th, seven points ahead of Manchester United at the moment.

United have a lot of work to do to even get in the top half. Even a win closes the gap to four points to Fulham if they are still the benchmark for the top half. We didn't mention it when we were talking about the Europa League, but Andy said United up to fourth. Remember, if they finish in the top eight, it means they avoid a potential playoff win.

for the knockout phase of the competition, which could help in the Premier League, give United more time to be able to do what Ruben Amarin wants to do, which is focus and prepare the team in training. Two matches against whoever it is would not be helpful. But United go into that final game against FCSB, the football club formerly known as Stade Bucharest.

finishing anywhere between second and 12th. They're three points away from finishing in any of those positions. So the final game away in Bucharest is really important next week. But it could also help with this league form that United need to get better and need to climb the table in as well. Yeah, I think that the Fulham game...

They just want to be able to respond, don't they, to this one? With a 1-1, they just aren't able to string wins together this season. And two wins in a row is the most under-ammering, I think. So to be able to actually extend that to three wins in a row in this week would be lovely, wouldn't it? Because then you're through in the Europa League without having to play those two extra games, which is important because it just gives breathing room in February, doesn't it? Where...

If they have an extra two fixtures, it's just then jammed and it doesn't allow Amrin time on the training pitches, which is what he keeps on telling us about. And I think it's a very justified stance to take. So, yeah, but Fulham will be difficult. I really like Anthony Robinson, who plays left wing back for them. He's a player that I'm sure United have looked at at different moments. They've got a strong attacking side.

Harry Wilson comes off the bench and seems to score all the time. You've got Adama Traore that's rapid, obviously. Raul Jimenez is having a really good season actually up front. And so they're going to have to be at it. And yeah, it feels like, I mean, we say this every week, doesn't it? But it feels very pivotal next few days. Yeah, it does. And it would be nice for Manchester United to put a string of form together and a few wins in a row together.

They've not won more than two games in a row, like you said, all season, actually. They did it once under Ten Hag, once under Rude. They've done it twice under Ruben Amorim. Let's make it a third time, hopefully, against Fulham on Sunday. That's it for Talk of the Devils. Remember, if you want to get in touch with us, you can do that. Devilspod at theathletic.com. We'd love to hear from you. Thank you again to everyone who bought tickets for the show in March at Leicester Square. We're looking forward to that. Thank you, Laurie. Thank you, Andy. And thanks for listening. We'll see you on the next one. Take care. Bye-bye.

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