Man Utd 50-game struggle verdict ‘lazy and simplistic’ | OneFootball

Will Manchester United really struggle with a longer season? We are deep into predictions season now but is the 50-game worry a ‘lazy’ one?

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Are Man Utd really going to struggle with workload?

There is a general sense across pretty much all media and pundits that this season will see Carrick learn some harsh lessons. And the principal one often repeated on this website (and others) is that Man United had it easy last year playing just 40 games. Should that become 50 or even higher, Carrick will get found out. I find this a little bit absurd. Here are my reasons. I’ll keep it as brief as possible.

He didn’t just do well-ish in his 17 games at United last season. In a little under half a season, United had more points than anybody else including City and Arsenal. I’d think there’s room for him to not do quite as well and still be successful don’t you?

You know who else hasn’t has a 50+ game season? Iraola has played 127 games in 3 years. Mysteriously, it’s not a problem for him. Maresca has had long seasons with Chelsea but his win rate was 59% compared to Carrick’s 70%. De Zerbi had a 50 game season in 23-24 but finished 11th in the league, and didn’t get very far in the cups. And he takes over a team that really needs to reassert itself in the league. I have a lot of time for Alonso, he hasn’t been tested as a manager the Premier League and Chelsea have the opposite problem to most clubs when it comes to the squad.

Perhaps it’s the team that makes the difference? Off the top of my head, I can think of 8 first team probables at United that have been through 55-60 game seasons. So where is this guff coming from?

Perhaps this is about squad depth? Let’s see: a team with Darlow, Mazroui, Yoro, Heaven, Amass, Santos, Mount, Amad, Lacey, Dorgu & Sesko would be United’s second 11, and barring a clear need for a left back, that team doesn’t fill me with dread as a supporter based on what I’ve seen in pre-season. And that’s without De Ligt or Zirkzee.

The 40 game season wasn’t even the unmitigated blessing that it’s made out to be. United came out rusty after the long breaks and lost games they shouldn’t have. The Leeds game comes to mind where they just didn’t look match ready.

Carrick is still young and it was only 10 years ago that he played in a 64 game season. Are we saying he has no recollection of what it takes after all his successful years at United?

There are plenty of reasons for any manager to have a potentially bad year, Carrick included. Every year a couple of the big 6 teams tend to have a flame-out. But to boil it down to playing 50+ games a year is lazy and simplistic. Do better. Ved Sen, MUFC

NOT a prediction e-mail

It seems like prediction fever is currently gripping the Mailbox, but I have neither crystal ball, octopus or other semi-intelligent animal to assist me so I’m going for a different perspective on the main contenders.

It occurs to me that this is going to be a more unpredictable season than usual because, not only are there a host of new managers running the top sides, many of the teams seem to be going through various stages of evolution tactically.

For example, Arsenal still do not appear to have resolved their center forward issue. Also, whilst Guimaraes is without question a quality player, will Odergaard become more marginalized this season? On his day, there are few better at unlocking the low block defense. Will chance creator and chance converter roles be their achilles heels this year?

As for 115FC, with Cherki and Foden seeing more playing time, possession and chance creation will again dominate. But is Haaland that “fox in the box” when pinging in early balls for him to run onto is his strength. And the jury is still out on whether Anderson will be a like-for-like replacement for Rodri.

Too many “almost but not quite” players and potential sick notes at MUFC could be their undoing. By Christmas, the Treatment Room may more closely resemble a MASH unit. If Carrick is going to transition from a quick, counterattacking team into one of possession, won’t that remove one of Fernandes’ strengths, or is there a “one more year” backroom deal we aren’t aware about?

The current Liverpool squad definitely looks unbalanced. Overflowing with talent up front and Wirtz pulling the strings, but midfield seems a bit light and defensive frailties and age could expose them. With Iraola demanding high intensity, will this aging squad get run into the gorund?

De Zerbi is definitely starting out right, fixing both defense and midfield, but where are the goals coming from? And with Romero apparently willing to move to Arsenal, that cannot be good “vibes” within the squad, can it?

Chelsea’s current level of discipline and work ethic more closely resembles a 6th Form Geography field trip than a Top 6 Football Team. I don’t doubt Alonso’s ability as a coach but can he corral this herd of cats? I understand the logic of adding Henderson and Welbeck but will that inhibit other players’ development?

I have to feel for Villa. They have lost some stalwarts from their team with no significant new signings to get the fans excited and the squad energized. Garnacho is the type of player worth taking a gamble on but he has more of a Martinelli ceiling than a Vini. When their Treatment Room clears, they will have a LOT of players wanting playing time.

An absorbing season lies ahead. Adidasmufc

(Unless everyone decides to play for set pieces and it devolves to 90 minutes of rugby scrums)

What’s the mood actually like at Everton?

Thought I’d write to provide some thoughts as an Evertonian, as our section in your Prem Club moods piece didn’t go much beyond the stability point. In short, the mood isn’t great.

The move to the new ground was supposed to mark the start of an exciting new era but things are in danger of falling flat, especially after the way last season ended. The club has been trumpeting the number of signings we’ve made but many of them were at the club last season and they are mostly youngsters whom David Moyes doesn’t seem to want to play anyway.

I’ve got to give props to my friend Stan for pointing this out but our collapse at the end of last season coincided with Idrissa Gana Gueye being dropped, presumably to avoid triggering an automatic extension to his deal. The club’s hierarchy offered him a new deal on lower wages instead and he has, understandably, custard pied them in return. So, now we’ve had to go out and buy Norgaard to replace him. Norgaard is a decent player, of course, but whether he can boss a midfield in the same manner at the age of 32 after kicking his heels on the Arsenal bench for a year remains to be seen.

Hayden Hackney looks tidy and industrious and is presumably intended as an upgrade on Iroegbunem but quite why we’ve spent most of our budget on him is baffling. Firstly, because we already have Dewsbury-Hall and Garner and, secondly, because there are gaping holes elsewhere in the squad.

We’ve been looking for a replacement for Seamus Coleman since the days of black and white TV and whilst Jake O’Brien has done an admirable job of filling in, he’s not a long-term solution. Mykolenko, on the other side, is barely Premier League quality and we need at least 1 new striker too. Everyone wants Beto to work out because at least you can see that he cares. Barry, on the other hand, clearly doesn’t want to be there and in doubling down on the idiocy of getting his Arsenal-supporting mates tickets in the away end when we played at the Emirates by accusing the Everton fans of lying about the reason for the resulting scuffle, has torched any remaining goodwill that he had.

So, we could really do with a statement signing to galvanise the fan base – ideally, a decent striker. If the club can pull that off, the optimism of last summer should return. If, however, they don’t and the first few matches of the forthcoming season follow the same, predictable, pattern as the end of the last one (Ndiaye and Dewsbury-Hall create chances, Beto or Barry fluff them, and then someone has a brain fart at the back) the atmosphere at the Hill Dickinson could turn quite nasty quite quickly.

Kind regards PhilT (Everton and England)

(Does Brennan Johnson count as a statement signing? – Ed)

Newcastle and Villa fans wrong on Spurs

The Tottenham references in the Newcastle and Villa letters are off the mark. If 21st century Spurs are going to be used as an example, it should be based on what actually happened.

Spurs’ development wasn’t the product of geography. London helps commercial revenue, but it doesn’t create academy development (occasional), recruitment strategy (admittedly hit and miss at times), or a multi‑use stadium design. Those came from long‑term planning, stability, and deliberate investment in infrastructure.

The claim that ENIC “pumped money in” is misleading. Spurs never operated with major owner‑driven spending or any period of unrestricted external funding. Their model has been built around football revenue, controlled spending, and player trading. That approach often created a tension between running the club sustainably and supporter expectations for greater ambition — selling Kane, Keane, Berbatov, Carrick, Bale, Modrić, Walker and others is hard to stomach when you see them moving up the footballing pyramid — but that doesn’t turn Spurs into a financially privileged club. It reflects the reality of a self‑funded/sustained operation.

Spurs’ position in the 2000s was also shaped by consistent qualification for European competition over many seasons. Regular European participation expands revenue, strengthens commercial partnerships, and increases global visibility. This wasn’t the result of loopholes or exemptions; it was the product of sustained on‑field competitiveness.

Calling Spurs part of a “cartel” doesn’t hold up. Spurs were not protected by financial rules; they were compliant because their operations were already sustainable before PSR existed. Their position isn’t the result of special treatment or accelerated financial pathways, it’s the outcome of a model built to be stable over decades.

If people want to argue the system is rigged, that’s a separate discussion. But using Spurs as the example of “the lucky ones” is inaccurate. Their status comes from structured growth, long‑term planning, and a sustainable model — even when that approach frustrated supporters who wanted more ambition. MellonHead

…Harry, York and Kevin, Villa present a sadly one eyed view on the approach Spurs took. To address some of their concerns in turn

1) Yes, Spurs are a London based club and this does bring significant potential benefits as they have noted. However, it also means there is significant competition, not least Wembley, the Olympic Stadium, the Emirates and Twickenham all of whom have to varying extents sought to position themselves as the leading outdoor music / entertainment venue in London. And this doesn’t include venues like the O2 either. Spurs had an opportunity but it took a lot of smart decisions off the field and sacrifices on it.

2) Newcastle are a single club city. Their nearest rival have spent most of the past decade outside the Premier League (and their stadium is about 30 years old) and after that its Leeds, Sheffield United or the Manchester clubs at least a 100 miles away. That is a huge catchment area in which to position themselves as a leading entertainment venue.

3) Newcastle’s actual owners have demonstrated it is possible to do this – boxing is now heavily based in Saudi Arabia because of the significant financial investment PIF have made. Few would have thought that likely a decade ago.

4) Whilst Villa have much more competition in the region they are also by some margin the largest club and based in England’s second city. The opportunity to attract big name artists is there.

5) It’s bad luck that Villa and Newcastle’s previous owners failed to take sensible decisions; that doesn’t give you the right now to cry about the rules. And, crucially, with all this talk of a big 6 cartel, worth remembering it takes 14 clubs to vote for a rule change, not 6.

6) Kevin claims Spurs wage bill was far higher than Villa’s or Newcastle. Capology states in 2015/16 Spurs total wage bill was £53.4m; Newcastle’s was £47m and Aston Villa’s was down at £37m. However, Palace and Everton both had higher wage bills, meaning Spurs were down in 8th place by that metric. Further, Spurs spent 71m euros whilst Newcastle spent 108m euros and Villa 66m euros on transfers during that season. Hardly, a huge investment at a time when work was beginning on the new stadium.

7) The rise of City and Chelsea due to their financial doping is frustrating; it shouldn’t have been allowed. The fact it was though doesn’t meaning fixing that loophole now isn’t the right thing to do. Spurs did do it the right way. Villa and Newcastle could do it – its difficult but its not impossible.

8) Spurs had the misfortune of Alan Sugar for most of the 90s and as a result missed many opportunities seeing clubs we had rivalled for size surge ahead. We know what its like to have bad owners. We then got smart owners willing to invest in the infrastructure of the club, not just bleat from the sidelines about how difficult it is.

9) Newcastle and Villa are among the richest clubs in the world by revenue thanks to being in the premier league. Outside of Barcelona, Real, Atletico, PSG and Bayern they can outbid anyone in continental Europe. When Spurs were growing we did not have such a huge financial advantage. As a result we were competing to buy and keep players not just with PL clubs but also much of Europe. That is a huge disadvantage Villa and Newcastle simply don’t face.

10) Lastly, (and much more subjectively) the attitude shown towards Spurs seems to be typical of the class snobbery in this country. Because Spurs did it the hard way, played by the rules and made smart decisions we are both looked down on by the bigger clubs and hated by the smaller clubs. We should be held up as the model to be followed. Winning the lottery by getting billionaire owners is not what should be held up as the way to go.

COYS (please can we sign an attacker). Chris

Will Bezos at Liverpool mean more?

All non Liverpool fans should brace themselves for the mental and moral gymnastics the self-appointed guardians of football purity on the Mersey are about to have to limber up for should Jeff Bezos invest in their club.

Hold on tight everyone. Lawrence in Muswell Hill

…Being owned by Amazon. It means more. rojapy

…So I was going to write about this anyway, but seeing as RHT/TS asked the question earlier I thought I’d include an answer to his question first.

So Jeff Bezos seems to be included in a consortium intent on buying a 30% stake in Liverpool. Other parties include ‘Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of the Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal’ and ‘Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’ (I’m quoting the Guardian here). RHT/TS specifically asks ‘how are we feeling about Jeff Bezos buying into Liverpool, Kopites? Doesn’t have an appalling human rights record, but at the same time doesn’t seem like the kind of human being you want anywhere near anything you love either’, but he doesn’t ask abut the other two for some reason.

Firstly, on Bezos, I agree that he personally doesn’t seem to have a (known) appalling human right record, but f*** knows about the conditions in his worldwide businesses and supply chain. He has a huge amount (far too much!) money but doesn’t get linked with doing a huge amount of philanthropic stuff with it. Maybe he does and doesn’t want it to be publicised too much – but given how much publicity he sought for sending some female ‘celebrities’ to space this seems very odd. So better him than some others I guess, but he could do with a PR makeover for sure!

Secondly, about the other two parties I don’t know very much about them, so can’t really comment.

Anyway, my original mail was going to be about how the transfer bullshit machine has already kicked in! F365 published an article yesterday ‘Bezos wants Liverpool to sign £171m megastar and become ‘No 1 club in world’ linking Vinicius Junior and Michael Olise, and another today ‘Liverpool want £208m duo as next two signings after Jeff Bezos takeover worth £1.5bn’ linking Bradley Barcola and Alex Scott.

A just wish people would stop with this bullshit, and that F365 would stop parroting this stuff. The investment deal isn’t done yet, the PSR/SCR implications are not yet understood and the transfer window doesn’t have that much time left until it closes.

Give us a break until at least some announcement is actually made! A, LFC, Montreal

Man Utd, your Auntie and bollocks

With Jose taking over directly after Ferguson, I reckon United would have at least another title or two. He won one himself, at Chelsea.

As mentioned in the article, with the added attraction of joining the English champions under Mourinho, a solid backroom staff and heavy backing in the transfer market there is no way they finish 7th. Added to some quality summer signings, the continued ’us v them’ mentality and some absolute top level sh*thousery, it’s not hard to see them going deep in Europe either, maybe even Jose-ing another Big Cup.

I remember joking with the young fella that he may never see them crowned Champions of Europe in his lifetime, when he started supporting Utd.

He’s twenty, now.

This really was a sliding doors moment, imo. Sixyardbox, Stockholm

Patting himself on the back

To James in Kent, I got 4 out of the 5 predictions correct and, perhaps more importantly in the context of the mail, predicted that Liverpool (champs at the time) would struggle. Led me into the Arsenal prediction beautifully.

It’s all there in the mail, you just have to connect the dots my man. Garey (are we there yet?) Vance, MUFC

Big up Reggie Watson

Chelsea’s pre-season has been up and down but there has been one major positive. We have one of the most impressive 16 year olds in football playing for our club. Reggie Watson take a bow son, at no point did he look out of his depth, every time he played you heard his name a lot, he was making things happen in midfield and played very well out of position in a back 3 against JDT.

I was absolutely floored when I found out he was 16, he plays like someone 5 years older and he is massive already, he is the same size as Delap. If BlueCo do one thing right it better be signing this kid up with one of those long contracts they love so much because from what I seen in the few glimpses of him in pre-season he has everything it takes to go all the way. Even a lovely little bit of s**t housery from him when JDT scored an own goal to make it 3-3 after what had been a weird prickly game. Aaron CFC Ireland

Scorchers scorching

Quiz Q: Besides being in Africa, what do Cape Verde and Malawi have in Common?

Answer: They both were the underdog stories of 2026.

For those not following, there is an incredible story unfolding in the WAFCON (Womens Africa Cup of Nations) this year. Malawi, making their tournament debut and ranked 153rd in Womens international football, has taken the tournament by storm having beaten Nigeria (defending champions), Egypt and Ghana along the way. They are now in the semi finals against Algeria and have qualified for the World Cup next year in Brazil. Its the first time Malawi has qualified for any World Cup in its history!

The feat itself is incredible, but the manner in which it has been achieved is even more so. They have played with heart, effort and bravery. The football has been scintillating in periods, with genuine quality on show. Riding their luck at times, yet boldly advancing at every opportunity, the team has played with a fearlessness that has caught every opponent off guard. The belief that runs through the team is truly inspiring.

The players are fast becoming household names. Everyone is talking about the guile and trickery of Tabitha Chawinga playing as a left sided forward, the calm insouciance of Rose Kadzere in midfield (who channelled her inner Kagawa in the last game against Ghana), the maturity and fearlessness of 19 year old Faith Chinzimu controlling the middle like a veteran, the perseverance of left back Ireen Khumalo who is determined to score the goal of the tournament by unleashing one thunderb*stard after another. Not to mention striker Temwa Chawinga, proper baller, head and shoulders the best player on the pitch in every game, yet also possessing the humility to work for the team.