0:00 Before Lisandro Martinez went all out on Manchester United, Ronaldo had said the same thing years earlier. >> The owners of the club, they Listen, they don't The Glazers, they don't They don't care about about the club. Manchester is a marketing club. They will get his money from the marketing. >> Have you ever talked to them, the Glazers? >> Never. >> Never? >> Never. >> Not since you've gone back? >> No. They give all the power to the president, the sport directive. >> A lot of people brushed the interview aside or even criticized Ronaldo directly because he was playing like ass at the time. But, the points that he was making were true back then, and they've aged like fine wine today. Ronaldo was actually the perfect person to call out United's problems in the first place. Because remember, this is someone who had played for Manchester United during two completely different periods of the
0:46 club's history. He was there when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge, back when United were a good football club and actually feared. And then he came back over a decade later and saw just how much things had changed. >> A lot of Manchester United fans are very negative about the Glazers. They think they're taking all the money out and not spending enough on players, on the infrastructure issues you talked about. [music] Do you think the fans are right? >> The fans are They're always right. I think the fans should know the truth. >> We are now hearing some of the same complaints from Lisandro Martinez. >> No, because to also tonight is It's easy to say the coach. It's easy to say the the the players. But, also we have to see others others areas. >> These were the complaints they had been making for years, and finally a current player said what they had been thinking all along. But, after having watched all
1:32 of United's games this season, the issues go far deeper than just recruitment and the suits [music] upstairs. >> It's It's It's like a circus. >> Mhm. >> It's Man United is a circus. >> United have this incredible sense of giving their supporters false hope. When you have spent this many years watching your team struggle, you're naturally going to look for any sign that things are finally getting better. But then the season actually gets going, and we end up having the same exact conversations we were having 12 months earlier. In just a span of a week, United managed to throw away a win against 10 men Tottenham, who were at the bottom of the table when United played them. They lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, and then had one of their own players publicly call out the people
2:18 running the club. >> That's coming from one of his senior players. >> Yeah. >> So that will that will be alarming them that, you know, normally when you're a coach or manager, you need your senior players there with you, aligned, on the same page, same beliefs. You know, clearly they're not. >> Trying to create a culture. So that would be the biggest problem. >> With how badly Manchester United have started the season, I think we have to start questioning whether they can even finish in the Premier League's top four. Because if we jump over to Kalshi right now, United are trading at this percentage to finish in the top four, and I can understand why their chances have dropped so much. United picked up just six points from their opening six games, and they had an easy schedule. Meanwhile, they're already falling behind their rivals. Considering they finished third last season, it's crazy how quickly things have fallen apart under Carrick. Obviously, there's still plenty of football left to play, but with how competitive the Premier League is, United cannot afford to keep
3:04 dropping points like this. At the current price, a $25 trade on United to finish top four pays out around this much if you are right. The cool thing with Kalshi is you're trading directly against other users rather than a house. You're buying yes or no contracts on whether something happens, and the price moves depending on where people are putting their money. And if you're interested in checking out Kalshi, use code PETTALKS. Deposit and trade at least $25 in total, and you'll instantly get $25 added to your account. Now, back to the video. Let's start with the Spurs one, cuz that was the worst one. It's not that big of a deal to lose away to Atletico Madrid. In the first half, United were struggling. Tottenham controlled the midfield and won every single physical battle. In fact, if they could finish, they would have been leading. But despite all of that, United eventually managed to take the lead in the 73rd minute through Bryan Mbeumo. And just 5 minutes later, things got even better for them when Bentancur was
3:51 sent off. You genuinely couldn't have asked to be in a better situation with just 10 minutes left to go. All they really needed to do was keep the ball and see out the game. But instead, United decided to completely retreat into their own half. I don't know what it is with these guys and playing against 10 men. They just get worse. United were sitting so deep that you would have thought they were the team playing with 10 men. And naturally, when you spend the final minutes of a match inviting pressure onto yourself, there's always a chance that something goes wrong, which is exactly what happened in stoppage time. >> JUST A LITTLE TOUCHING AND THE SLIGHTEST slightest of little touches from Dominic Solanke. And Spurs, having been under the cosh for the majority of the second half, SOMEHOW MANAGED TO FASHION a goal. >> Just like that, United had thrown away two points in a game that should have been completely under their control.
4:37 What made the Tottenham game even more embarrassing was the stats that came out after the game. Despite Tottenham playing with 10 men for the final part of the game, they had still managed to outrun and outsprint Manchester United. There were so many moments where the United players looked a step behind and just didn't seem to have the energy to keep up with them. It was like seeing a group of uncs at five-a-side playing a bunch of young kids. Three days after the Spurs result, United traveled to Spain to face Atletico Madrid. And they actually improved. They created some nice opportunities and could have scored. The red card also didn't help. But even with some of the positives, they never looked like winning that match. >> Madrid, who usually happy for the opposition to have the ball, had more possession than United. And United still didn't look a threat. Do you know what I mean? They create one or two moments, but even when they're doing that now, they don't look nowhere near as as fresh as they did last year. When
5:22 Carrick first got the job, >> Atletico looked comfortable controlling the game, especially after they took an early lead through Pablo Barrios. They just never looked like they would lose. And the Lookman goal was just the nail in the coffin. >> While we can sit here and say, "Yeah, just give him the time." It's hard to make that decision if the team is not winning. >> But the biggest story from that Atletico match actually came out after the final whistle. Because when Lisandro Martinez stepped in front of the cameras, he was clearly fed up with what was happening at Manchester United. And instead of giving the usual responses about needing to work harder, improve in training, come back stronger, you know, the PR responses, he decided to publicly criticize the people running the club. >> But what you're saying is you expected more investment in the squad in the summer. >> Yeah, 100%.
6:08 Our I speak more from our technical director. I will have to be honest, you know, and also uh as a players we have to do more, but I saw it's important when you make an an a strong squad. >> No, we we we appreciate you being so frank tonight. Of course, it's 2 wins for 9. >> Because also tonight is it's easy to say the coach, it's easy to say the the the players, but also we have to see others others areas. >> The guy only has 1 year left on his contract, so I don't think he gives a rat's ass. Martinez made it pretty clear that he wasn't happy with the squad United had put together, and that he believed the club needed to show more ambition in the transfer market. My guy just played a Champions League away game
6:53 with Heaton as his left back and realized he had to say something. He specifically called on the people upstairs to bring in more players who could help United compete at the highest level. He went as far as calling out Jason Wilcox by name. Reports have also suggested that other senior players share the same concerns about the way the squad was built. Obviously, Martinez saying all of this publicly did not go down quietly. Pretty much immediately, everyone picked a side. >> It's un- unhelpful. >> Yeah. >> I think I would say. >> To be fair, what he says is right. >> Yeah. >> They should have brought in more defenders. However, you can't say that as a player. >> Not publicly. >> Because if you say that publicly as a player, you're effectively saying the players I'm playing with are not good enough. So, that's where the players have to pick him up. >> But I can't understand >> [music] >> why in October you're saying something when nothing can change. >> Mhm. >> Why is what's the benefit of him doing
7:38 this? >> have we got to say what a player should and shouldn't say? >> No, I'm not saying what we should say. not saying it's right or wrong, but I'm just saying that's what that's what players [music] do. >> Jamie Carragher felt those comments didn't help anyone as he criticized both Martinez and the club on CBS. >> Doesn't do [music] anybody any good at all. Uh and they will be the story now for the [music] next few days all about this. Now, United fans will lap this up and think it's great. I think it's awful that he's he's come out and said that right now, I do. The reason why they didn't buy players in the summer is cuz the last four or five years since Martinez has been there, I think they've been in the Champions League once this season. Once. So, if every season you don't get Champions League money, and every season Manchester United spending 200 million in the transfer market, sooner or later that has to stop cuz the money's not there. So, this summer the money Manchester United are paying out,
8:25 it's for players [music] they've bought years ago. The next installment or something. That's why there isn't that money there. It doesn't You can't just keep going with it. >> Now, you may be saying, "Well, Ped, of course one of the biggest United haters out there is not going to agree with the comments made by Lisandro Martinez." Well, Jamie Carragher wasn't the only one. Look at some of United's former players like Wayne Rooney. >> One of his quotes was a mirror of our club that performance, and he meant [music] the technical director, which is Jason Wilcox, and he didn't seem to want to put the blame on the manager. >> I actually disagree cuz I think the performance was okay. You want to have your opinion. I think he's maybe gone a bit too far, and I think if he do that he'll probably be one of the players who's out the door. If we're being honest, um to his performances, that his performance hasn't been good enough, but I think it's probably It looks like that was a
9:10 bit of an agenda. >> His argument was that you can't play badly and then start attacking the people running the club. Cuz remember, just a few days earlier against Tottenham, Martinez had been involved in the defending for Dominic Solanke's equalizer. So, Rooney's point was that before Martinez starts talking about recruitment and executives, maybe he should worry about doing his own job properly. >> He never said this after Tottenham when he made the mistake with Solanke, did he? >> Mhm. >> No. >> No, I mean. >> No, Salah last season, if you remember, came out against Slot, didn't he? Ronaldo came out a few years ago, remember, against the club. You saw sometimes the stature of a player, player that's actually So, to be fair, he got a real carry in the dressing room. I think that sometimes you sort of can you can get away with it a little bit. If it's a player that, to be fair, he gives a goal away against Tottenham. I think he was involved in both goals being given away last night, to be honest with you. He gives a goal away. I think he's involved in the goal at Fulham, I think, as well.
9:56 >> Yeah, no one's going to dispute My point is he gives me goals away all the time, and then you come out and say that. It's like >> No, but what I'm saying to you is when he says we need to bring more players, and he's not wrong in what he says. >> I I get that, but he still needs to be doing better. He still needs to be doing better. >> The fans, though, from what I've seen, completely back him. >> Delighted to welcome Jill, the Man United fan, this morning. Jill, do you understand where Lisandro Martinez is coming from? >> 100% Uh he's saying what we're all thinking, for me, anyway. >> [music] >> I mean, the fans this morning, Manchester United fans, a lot of them are happy that he's spoken out, because it's the sort of a lot of their feelings that the top don't invest enough, that the players uh the squad isn't strong enough, so they're supportive of it. >> As much as, of course, the fans are going to love it. It's everything the fans want to hear >> [music] >> from a player leader in the in the in the dressing room, World Cup winner. >> They realize that even if Martinez
10:42 hasn't been perfect, that doesn't make the comment he made not true. They are not mutually exclusive. A player can be playing poorly and still correctly point out that the club above him is dysfunctional. >> United fans have been complaining about recruitment for years. I mean, look at the fullback situation. United spent years with Luke Shaw and Dalot as major parts of the squad. Shaw has obviously had some good periods when healthy, but the key words there have always been when healthy. Dalot has had some good stretches, too, but if you're trying to build a team capable of consistently competing with the best teams in the league, supporters are naturally going to ask why so many positions have been allowed to stagnate for so long. >> You always say it's about players. If you look at sort of just the two direct rivals, City and Arsenal. Arsenal have got a left [music] back in Capoue, um Calafiori and Luis Kelly. United last night they didn't have him playing at left back when Luke [music] Shaw's out,
11:27 which is just I mean, Aidan Evans he he he he he's willing. You know, City have got Guardiol and Nico O'Reilly. The The gulf [music] in difference of of depth of quality is incredible. >> Like Dalot making 250 appearances for Manchester United just shows you how shocking the squad has been. I mean, this used to be a high honor going to the likes of Rooney and Paul Scholes. Now any semi-decent footballer is getting that many appearances in the United squad. >> Look at the summer of 2026. United had just finished third. They were back in the Champions League. This should have been the window where they properly pushed forward. >> They spent around 155 million pounds on four major signings, which sounds like a load of money, but this is the Premier League. 155 million pounds can disappear very quickly. Ask Liverpool about theirs. This is especially true for United whose squad already had so many holes. United went into the window with
12:14 two extremely obvious problems they had to solve. I'm talking about outside of the midfield issue. The first one was depth at left back, and the second one was depth at striker. Yet, the season began, and neither of those two issues were fixed. Incredible squad planning. This is what frustrated fans so much about INEOS and Jason Wilcox. It's not necessarily that every signing was terrible. It was that the window felt incomplete, and United were still carrying older players on large contracts who they could not move. So, every time they wanted to improve one position, they had to worry about getting somebody else off the wage bill first. INEOS were doing the bare minimum and hoping Carrick could perform a miracle. And right now, that miracle is not happening. The 2025-2026 season was where the miracle happened. Michael Carrick came in, and thanks to his vibe FC approach and the new manager boost, United completely outperformed
13:00 everyone's expectations and their underlying metrics and statistics. The problem is that new manager juice has completely ran out. And now you are seeing why Carrick was struggling in his second season at Middlesbrough as well. >> They didn't have a great summer, right? They didn't have the summer that we were expecting after finishing in third place. But you But you've still got to deal with that. And And Manchester United haven't. That's not the reason and lost to Hull City. That's not the reason they've had the results they've had in the Premier League. 10-man Tottenham, bottom of the league, Fulham away, who are now bottom of the league, uh, by the way. So, they've played some of the worst teams. Okay, Fulham had a good start, but they're a promoted side. So, you can't keep chucking it just at the squad. You're not playing Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona every
13:45 week. You're playing some poor teams in the Premier League, and there are some, >> [music] >> and quite a few actually, and they're not getting results. >> This team does not look organized, especially when they press. So much of United's pressing seems to happen individually, with players running around trying to win the ball without any real coordination between them. At times, it looks like 11 players that are playing together for the first time. So, when the opposition manages to play through that first player, which happens quite often against United, suddenly there are massive gaps for them to take advantage of. Carrick's substitutions, or lack of subs actually, has frustrated United fans a lot. He has this habit of waiting until the game is almost over before deciding, "Hey, maybe I should change something." You will regularly see United struggling throughout the second half, with players looking exhausted, and the opposition starting to take control. And Carrick will just stand there watching everything unfold. >> Michael Carrick must have gone in at half-time and said, "Lads, we need more
14:31 urgency." That must have been the message. You know, we've got to get up the pitch quicker. We've got to shift up quicker. We've got to be more aggressive in our defending. We've got to make sure we try and win the ball back quicker off Fulham. That must have been the message at half-time. And obviously then be ruthless with your finishes, cuz we have created some chances. Cuz they were like mannequins out there on the pitch, but >> then the 75th minute comes around, and finally he decides to bring someone on. And even then, instead of making two or three changes together to actually give the team a different look, he'll often bring on one player, wait a few minutes, and then bring on someone else. By the time the final substitute gets onto the pitch, there are barely any minutes left for him to make a difference. As bad as United have been tactically, one of the bigger issues with this team is the fitness problems. >> I've never seen a team um, >> [music] >> in deep defense, walking as much in my
15:17 life. And particularly not in that shirt, I'm not. >> It's been a recurring problem throughout the season. You got a player like Tielemans looking more done than a steak 30 minutes into a match. >> I actually think at times I understand confidence, I understand belief, I understand that things maybe aren't going well. It's been a difficult week. But you can run. And they weren't running. I'm sorry. I I I my eyes were sort of kidding me. In possession started to look a little bit bright, [music] but then we're really awful in possession in the first 15-20 minutes of this >> And when you've got midfielders struggling physically that early in a game, it's naturally going to have a massive impact on the rest of the team. Suddenly the press becomes less effective. Big gaps between the midfield and the defense starts getting bigger. So for the opposition, it's increasingly easy to move through the middle of the pitch when you play Manchester United. >> They also get exhausted quite early because they don't take care of the ball
16:02 when they're in possession. You've got a guy like Bruno that always wants to play the hero ball. And if it doesn't work, well you're back to chasing after the ball. Of course, questions should be asked about their fitness preparations and whether the coaching staff did enough to get these players physically ready for the season. >> And like I say, alertness, energy, enthusiasm, work ethic, they're everything in your life. Everything in your life. If you've got to have that, you're finished. Nearly said something else then. >> According to what Tielemans told Rio Ferdinand, I don't think these guys were ready. >> Not loads of running? >> No. >> What? You guys have got it easy now, man. You're chill. >> We saw this when they blew a two-goal lead versus Brighton. How about them being completely outran by a Fulham team sitting at the bottom of the table? >> Little bit frustrated for us because I feel uh to be honest after the goal after we concede the goal like we play much
16:48 better like with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of character, a lot of everything that you can do for this club. But this need to be from the start, you know. >> To feel good about your team continually keep passing. This is a team at the bottom of the league. This is not Manchester City. This is not Arsenal. This is not Real Madrid or Barcelona or a big Champions League game where you're up against it and you sort of what would be compact you'd 30% possession. This is Fulham away and Fulham to be fair decent on the ball, but really? >> Oh, and please don't ever forget about that shocking performance versus Hull. >> Oh, no. >> Managing the game late on when they were in front. Managed the City game, he's not managing the game when you're chasing the goal or, you know, when you're against 10 men. So, there there's a different circumstance in that match
17:34 and they didn't handle it particularly well. The Brighton game in midweek, outplayed in every department. Hull outfought because I think Hull were a bit more gritty, a bit more determined, a bit more aggressive. >> [music] >> So, in every single game there's been a different problem, really. Even Ipswich had chances to score in the first half. So, there's a lot to look at in all the There's not a pattern that I see. >> Now, while some supporters do think that Michael Carrick is out of his depth, the most amount of the blame, the majority of it, is going towards the guys actually running the club, the guys in the suits. When INEOS first arrived at Manchester United, there was a genuine feeling of excitement among the fan base. After years of frustration with the Glazers, supporters were finally being promised a completely different approach to running the club. INEOS talked about making smarter decisions, bringing in experienced people behind
18:19 the scenes, creating a proper structure that would allow United to compete with the best teams in Europe again. But, here we are a couple of years later and supporters are wondering, what actually changed? Because when you look at some of the decisions INEOS have made, particularly when it comes to appointing managers, it's difficult to understand what their long-term plan is supposed to be. They started by giving Erik ten Hag a new contract, showing everyone that they believed he was the right person to lead the club forward. Then, just a few months later, they decided to sack him, which immediately raises the question on why they were so confident about keeping him in the first place. Then, United spent a considerable amount of money bringing in Ruben Amorim, who was supposed to be one of the most exciting young managers in European football. And again, supporters were given reasons to believe that the club was finally building something. Amorim at least had a clear tactical identity. He had done some impressive things in Portugal. He
19:05 seemed like the guy who could finally establish a proper system. But, then things started going wrong. Amorim fell out with the people running the club and by January of 2026 he was gone as well. So now United were looking for another manager and this time they decided to bring in Michael Carrick on an interim basis. And to be fair to Carrick he actually did a pretty impressive job during that initial spell. >> You can't deny he's done a good job. But you can't it's undeniable. It's That's undeniable. >> From start to finish you know Michael Carrick got his game plan right. United were on the front foot attacking it and it was like watching you know the old Man United of you know being a top minded and going for it really. >> Just cuz United suck now that doesn't change the fact that he did good work post Mourinho. >> We saw so many coaches coming having a past having a great resume knowing nothing. And then we have a guy
19:50 with no past but doing what he knows the best you know how to fight at Old Trafford and he does well. >> United managed to turn things around finish third in the Premier League and secure Champions League football which again considering the situation he'd inherited it was a pretty significant achievement. But I think this is where INEOS made another questionable decision because despite all the talk about wanting to bring in an elite manager who could compete with the very best in Europe they eventually decided to give Carrick the permanent job. >> But it's just chaotic. >> But they recognize something. >> Chaotic with the how they got to Carrick as the manager. We said from day one it was there was better options out there. And maybe the players are looking at there's better options there's players out there. It's it's like a circus. >> Mhm. [music] >> It's Man United is a circus. >> Now listen I understand why they were
20:37 tempted. Carrick was a former United player he understood the club. He was very popular with supporters and the players and he just delivered you Champions League qualification. But you also have to ask whether a successful interim spell was really enough evidence that he was the right person to lead Manchester United through a long-term rebuild. >> Man United have played nearly 20 games less than Liverpool. That's huge in terms of the league. You know you see the way that Man United break and they've they've been breaking under Carrick. Are they going to be able to do that playing another 20 odd games this season? I'm not so sure. >> Especially since we've already seen this exact situation play out with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. A former player comes in, gets the team playing better, lifts the mood around the club, and suddenly everyone starts believing they found a solution. Then once the initial excitement wears off and the manager has to start building something sustainable,
21:23 the same problems begin appearing again. United supporters are starting to get pretty tired of watching this happen because over the last few years INEOS have gone from backing Ten Hag to hiring Amorim to giving Carrick the permanent job. Three managers with very different ideas about how football should be played. >> I was calm because like I said, people are talking about him as "Oh, he's going to be gone soon." For who? To bring in who? To do what? With the same things that's happening at United. What's going to happen? Who are you going to get next? You've gone for every kind of manager the the famous one, the the young one, and this. You've done everything. >> And every time United make one of these changes, the squad has to adjust to another system, different expectations, and a completely different set of transfer priorities. How are you supposed to build a consistent footballing identity when the people running the club keep changing their minds about what that identity should actually look like? >> Ralf Rangnick said, "You don't need
22:08 glasses and it's to see and analyze where the problems are. It's now how do we solve them? It's not enough to do minor amendments, cosmetic [music] things. In medicine, you say this is an operation of the open heart." Yeah, so Louis van Gaal The problem begins with of course Manchester United was never refreshed. [music] I think when you're a manager, you have to refresh every year to keep the team building process. I didn't get the players that I wanted and that's [music] the problem. So, that's another manager. So, what you're when you're talking like that, that's that's not Man United that that we knew. >> If you enjoyed this video, I'm sure you will love this one, too. Check it out right here.
