What happens next with Marcus Rashford & Erik ten Hag at Man Utd?

On this edition of the show, Scott Saunders & Rob Blanchette discuss Manchester United’s FA Cup win over Newport County. The guys also discuss the latest regarding Marcus Rashford’s discipline.

#manutd #manchesterunited

Hello and welcome to the promis Lander show about Manchester United and part of the night M podcast Network I’m Scott Saunders joined by Rob Blanchet as per usual uh sorry for the last show uh little diversion yugen klopp leaving Liverpool caught me off guard but we’re back to talk about Newport versus

Manchester United a 4-2 win in the FA Cup for United progression to the fifth round I believe it’s the fifth round isn’t it yes it is with another away tie against either not and forest or who is it Rob Bristol yeah Bristol city so we will see

What happens there but obviously a 4-2 win over a League 2 Club meltdown time so let’s uh not for us though well not for us but apparently for for a lot of people we’ll try and uh bring you something a little bit more measured there’s Ahmad liking tweets

Saying I should be on the pitch or maybe I should go Sunderland or something there’s Marcus rashford going out for two nights apparently and turning up ill on Friday and therefore missing his place in the squad for the Newport game there’s a press conference where erog was asked about eight times about Marcus

Rashford despite him saying it’s an internal matter what do you want him to do I don’t know um right Rob 42 FA Cup progression where do you want to start where can we start start from the beginning shall we um I thought the selection was okay I thought also

Overall the performance was also okay there were bits that didn’t like and we will discuss some of those points today um but as I think I tweeted afterwards you know I think you’d accept before two at the end of this like I think with the cup I’m always less interested in

Performances Scott I’m more bothered about progression like so you just win the game however you win it and you move on to the next round and that’s what’s most important in the FA Cup did we see the similar things that we’ve seen over and over again for the last six months

And Beyond with the team with the same players as we have done and talked about before yes and and I do understand why some man united fans have now this you know nagging kind of frustration with the team because I do think you should be going to Newport and you should be

Finishing them off in 20 minutes and that’s what the performance kind of showed didn’t it I think after 20 25 minutes it looked like United were going to stroll this and United decided to take their foot off the gas I thought at 2-n and it’s then suddenly a game that

Happens against Newport Scott that happens against that will happen probably against West Ham in our future games it’s happened all season long it just doesn’t stop happening so I do get why United fans are not watching it and feeling fantastic at a 4-2 result at at a team from the lower echelons you

Should be dealing with Newport much easier than you did yes uh a switch off two nicely worked goals actually to start with um but I think the first goal the Newport scored I don’t know what you can but I know it’s Newport and I’m going to give Newport a nice uh

Compliment here and defend them a little bit because they’re I was born in Newport so um it was good for them I I wouldn’t have minded it actually if they have got a replay but then I just thought of all of the absolute meltdown that would come on around like United

Have won the game and still the world is ending um but the the first goal out of nowhere of volley which was then or half volley I think it was when that then deflected over alai Bayon Deere who made his debut in goal finally probably the only appearance he’ll be making this

Season because andrean is coming back by Thursday for I think it’s Wolves the next game uh but yeah after halim Rob we’ve seen it loads of times before players switching off not doing their jobs properly and then Newport making a fist of it although I like I didn’t think United

Were ever really in danger like I I don’t know about you but I I always kind of thought that they would get back to that they could have scored eight goals they they could have they could have scored a ton I know that there’s a a lot of dissatisfaction and obviously we’ll

We’ll talk about what went right what went wrong in a little bit more depth um but you know just move on for me I I’m in the camp of just move on we’ve seen a lot of problems these are not new problems so I’ll let you talk about [Laughter]

Them um like you just said they could have scored eight goals but the truth is you didn’t so that this is the problem is that I think United were very much in control of the game and I think that first 20 minutes they showed how much of

The superior team they were like my God even Anthony was popping on that side and show showing some form he obviously got a goal and assist in the game so credit to him do I think like you said there about stuff that we’ve seen before do I think that

That these things are going to heal quickly Scott now as as the season rolls on I sat here with confidence because I I’m always Progressive in my mind I’m looking forward I’m not bothered about Newport you won 42 but why do we see players switch off still like I I think

Again I tweeted Eric ten hog must be pulling his hair out you know look look I have as well nothing there at all it’s all gone has gone for a while why is it that we are seeing those things I think that’s a bigger question and a more important question not that

We didn’t see it because let’s talk about that then the fact we’re not seeing it the fact we’re not seeing it is obvious isn’t it we all know we all actually know what we are going to see and that’s a bad look I still think I

Think not just for United fans but I think United fans look at that and think we should expect better and that’s that’s my tip on this I think these players are better than maybe some of their performances suggest who’s fault is that just switching off after halftime or switching off right that’s a

That’s a culture of mentality problem right yeah because it happens very regularly there’s been I know I know you’ve been a big advocate of Hannibal getting minutes but he’s he’s been sent out to severe they’ve already excluded him from the squad because his attitude isn’t right well he was back in for the

Last game they said that and then he was back in the squad within five minutes but still it’s it’s you know they wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t an issue Marcus rashford is what God knows who knows like it’s an internal matter as eron H says so but

These are all issues cultural issues which United have to fix so when I understand that people are going to give the manager his uh criticism because he can’t get the team playing how he wants them to play but what it’s worth I thought they I thought they created so many chances yesterday that

The reason why they didn’t score goals was because garnacho was through on goal instead of the square in it he shot and hit the bar that that is the that’s the that’s the problem for me from yesterday that you make the wrong decisions that you’re selfish in moments and that’s a

Cultural problem which is what I’ve been saying the entire time but the the guy who’s in there trying to change the culture is the one always getting it in the neck because the players aren’t listening to him whose fult is that like the players hav’t listen this group of

Players haven’t listened to managers for years so you know for me it is what it is but uh like obviously ten hog is going to get his criticism there are things you can point criticism at him for and I’ve sat here and criticized him I’m not giving him a pass I’m just

Saying as I’ve said many times before that he’s one of many problems but there are other problems that that are bigger than him within this club at the moment for me completely and and you know you’ve just summed up Manchester United in 10 years you know that’s a 10year

Cycle of United under under multiple managers yes I think in a moment when a player doesn’t do what you want them to do then of course that’s about the player but I think it’s also about I don’t know I’m not saying players should fear the manager but you

Should fear not doing your job and then being dropped are we unique in that at Manchester United are we the only team where our players just Swan around and do what they want because they know they’re going to get get picked in the next game so I think we talk about

Culture I think ten hogers tried to address that but I also think a lot of the things that we see very you know every week Scott especially in the last few months are not just about culture they’re not just about players doing what they want it’s about how you set up

The expectation how do you maintain the expectation no but I’ll I’ll interrupt you there because the culture is surely going to detract from your Tactical if you’re mentally not there or if you mentally switch off that is going to mean you don’t adhere to tactics yes

Moments right it is you’re not going to do but like in any Walk of Life if you get out of bed and you don’t motivate yourself to go and do your job then you’re probably not going to be as good as you could be so I look at these

United players and quite often one of the things that’s leveled at them Scott is though they don’t care it’s a it’s a common one common Trope with footballers when you play poorly and they don’t care enough I don’t believe that at all I do believe they care I I think with

Football is you have to organize them I don’t think United have been particularly organized well in the last 6 months I talk about preparation a lot when we talk about ten Haron and behind the scenes and you know you go you play all right against Newport you can’t put

The ball in the net that’s something we see every single week you just said they like for you the decision the the the gar ATA decision embodies what was wrong for me complete opposite I want Garra to shoot there because Garra can score that goal what I don’t like is United set up

Play around the strikers you’ve got a number nine but you don’t really do a lot to help the nine get on the end of stuff that’s a ttic is that is that not an example of that problem in that moment I think in a split decision when

You got an 18y old running through he’s really good at finishing I’m not going to say to him Square it because I think when you actually look at the play slowed down Bruno yeah can tap it in if that is a perfect pass to him but I’m

Not going to tell garro not to shoot there but I’m looking at the rest of the team in the buildup gotot one of the things I did tweet at half timee was that I wanted the ball more at cobby’s feet because I think cobby showed in the

Eight that he can travel with the ball move it and get you going towards the right end of the pitch but United just do the same patterns over and over again it’s the same it’s the same mistakes as the way I would describe it and that’s

Got to come from your manager that has to come from your bench I don’t know you saw there it was one bit when uh the McLaren was sat there like this and there’s just there is a deadness behind the bench’s eyes like that’s how I look

At it now and that comes from what you’re doing as as a coaching staff so I’m not I don’t feel at the moment Scot I don’t know what you think do you feel United are well coached at the moment are you watching them and going well do

You know what it’s just a cultural issue and that they’re really well coached is that how you feel I think if you dropped Eric tenh har to say another club um let’s say Barcelona chav chab leaving I think he’d be all right I don’t think’s bad yeah I don’t

Think he’s a bad manager at all I just think that the unique situations that are happening at United he hasn’t particularly dealt with them well and you’re at a Crossroads here now with with Ratcliffe coming to the football club where decisions will have to be made not about whether he would be good

If you dropped him in at Barcelona and he’d be okay you now have to go well actually is there a better manager out there both tactically and and trying to not just I’m starting to think think the whole culture thing now it’s like it’s the unanswerable question yes you want a

Better culture at football club but it comes from the senior staff and it comes from the manager and hopefully now browfood is the kind of guy I think that will stand with a manager and push a a fresh culture because this is not just about Marcus rashford going out at night

You know this is not about jayen Sancho doing a tweet this is actually about just the fundamentals on a football pitch it’s about covering a post it’s about marking someone properly it’s about not giving the ball away frivolously it’s about like you say that

All of this is interl all of it it is it is interl but you’ve also can break it down Scott into individual Parts you can I think football’s a sport at the end of the day you know these a sportsman who train every single day of the week to do

Certain repetitions and there should be a level I think you say right that’s your level and yes you go up and down but there are times when you drop there that it is not acceptable so we have to talk about it it’s like it’s boring but

Yeah that’s and and that comes down to management staff in any business where the bus at the very top has to trickle down delegation to make it work and you see that with United I’m not sure that is there and I feel ten hog in six months Scott has become less effective

From the touch line I don’t know what you think I think from the touchline you could see that United in Games first season he was really good at spotting issues changing them and that was with a new Squad that didn’t know him or he didn’t know them as much and he had some

Success I think now we’re seeing the last six months United down yesterday you know they’d lost that game that would have been the 15th defeat in 30 for the season and that statistic on its own we can’t just talk about culture can’t just say oh that is a cultural

Thing yes no but like robt and this is this is what I’ve said so many times ericon Hogs standard of play the way erog wants to play requires all 11 players to attack and defend at the same time yeah that is ABS that is fundamental to it absolutely fundamental

Energy and making smart decisions is fundamental to how his place if one person or two people are not doing it properly everything falls apart how many times he said it’s like a deck of cards like if that’s that’s what we see over and over again and like I I just I’m

Coming out of this game I’m just thinking it’s easy to you know criticize him and yes I’m not saying that he’ll be there next season but what are you realistically going to change now what um let’s just look at it and understand that ten hog last season was trying to

Fill in gaps and trying to get results by whichever way he possibly could this season it’s been more of a I think a progression to the style that he wants to play and we ask every single manager to stick to their principles and I think we’re seeing whatever principles ericon

Hog has we’re seeing him try to stick to them it’s just we have problems and there’s a lot of issues to fix and iron out over the course of it whether he gets a chance to see it into next season where hopefully cultural issues and player fits are changed and improved who

Knows um but I just think I honestly and maybe you’re listening to this and you’re you’re uh angrily disagreeing with me I just think yes it was Newport but United won pretty comfortably I know they scored twice the first one was essentially like a fluke the second one was a switch off

Which we already know about United then went on and absolutely steamrolled them they could have scored a number more uh I just think this is the wrong game to have this conversation after this is just me personally but I I know that uh it’s United magnifying glass every

Single time we can take conclusions I didn’t see anything different yesterday that I haven’t seen already personally think that is the problem that’s exactly it like you’re playing Newport and you you I think Scott you should expect to go and just dispatch Newport in the way that you played that

First 25 minutes and we could talk about hitting a crossbar or or one bad decision or whatever I think it’s more about about style of play that’s being constructed that’s how I look at it and my think my criticism here is like you just said there you want a manager to

Stick to his guns Mourinho stuck we when we say style of play can we just clear this up what what is style of play for what’s his style of play style of play 80% possession because I I think people like watching pep ball over the past few

Years style of play is keep the ball keep the ball keep the ball keep the ball keep it off them starve them to death of the ball and then we’ll score by a cut back tapping I think that’s what people think of when they think style of play

Personally what I saw yesterday was Leandra Martinez getting the ball a lot and the ball shifted out to the wide flanks where United had a ton of space yeah and I I I think that if you have lost 14 out of 30 We can question style

Of play that’s the way I look at it is that and you’re totally right like the whole thing about what ten hog needs to be able to facilitate his style of play is that we now know with the new ownership and with with rat Cliff there

Is that you’re going to have to buy players to fix the style of play aren’t you like that’s the only thing you can do now you can look at these players and go they can’t do what ten hog wants them to do but the big question now is do you

Give a manager x amount hundreds of millions of pounds to do a side of play that might well be fundamentally flawed I think in English football now he plays counter press Scott has nothing particularly genius about that there’s nothing about trying to you like players

To run around and do their jobs again I don’t think United players are like looking disinterested in doing their jobs I think it it comes down to what they’re being asked to do sometimes I think the way ten hog has set up this season has cost United games

And he’s not been able to change the style of play in games to fix it which is what was different last year when he was going right I’m starting with this 415 I’m going to go to 4231 I’m going to fix it I’m going to nail it down we’re

Going to go win a football match yesterday he played 4141 Scott this is what he settled on he wants to play this style of play in this formation but I don’t think we see anything different within that in the 90 minutes for him to be able to switch stuff you just

Mentioned Guardiola one of the things I think with City and with their possession style of football is that they have that balance is that they will keep the ball and then they’ll kill you when the moment is there and that comes from seven years of a project doesn’t it

It takes years to get to that Elite high level 10 Hogs 18 months into his project and his style of play if he thinks that after losing 14 games in a season the sty of play is working and he’s not going to try anything else and I

Guarantee you now I put my money on this table in front of me that he will not be the manager at the end of the season he will get sacked yeah so that’s that’s that so he’ll carry that and we’ll all go oh it was the dysfunctional culture at United

And that will also be partly true but I think we also have to judge the chess pieces on the board of how you set up and how you play that game I think United overall I don’t watch these games I don’t come out the back of them Scott

And thinking yeah the manager did well they controlled that part of the game you know you got you settled him down at 22 yesterday I don’t think he did anything different they just carried on doing what they were doing you playing Newports you get away with it we’ve

Actually seen other games Scott where the same thing is happening it’s better teams you’ve lost them that’s why you’ve lost 14 games so I do think there’s a correlation there I also agree with you I think newport’s the wrong game to make Mass’s assessments against you know I’m

Not going to say Anthony got golden assist and I’m not going to sit her and celebrate it I’m not gonna go oh you’re well done Anthony you got golden assist against Newport from League too yeah great and I’m glad he got his golden assist hopefully that helps him now in weeks going

Forward but I’m not seeing enough tactical stuff from the manager Scot just how I feel about it in the six month spell I felt it in preseason we just discussed it in preseason and now we’re here pushing towards February we’re so talking about exactly the same

Thing that’s the boring part for us and for for the audience unfortunately you still have to talk about it because it’s what we’re seeing on a football pitch yes sorry everyone boring boring podcasting let’s move on to uh let’s move on to something different let’s talk about Marcus rashford uh subscribe

Wherever you get your pods as well and watch us on YouTube The Promise Ander man united podcast like the video subscribe leave a comment hit H the notification Bell as well so you don’t miss a show and follow us on social _ Scott Saunders _ robor p and tplm UFC as

Well Marcus rashford did not play or did not feature in the Newport game now the club line is that he’s ill right but he was obviously spotted out on Wednesday night in Belfast and also then on Thursday night in Belfast as well I believe and then turns up Friday

Ill uh with my grab quotes on my fingers for the benefit of audio listeners ill now is that hangover ill is that flu ill who knows uh but I don’t think you can really look at the situation and not think that there’s something deeper there it feels

Like this is as we said at the top uh I think Marcus rashford is a bit dissatisfied personally I think you way putting it yeah bit dissatisfied and maybe maybe Marcus rashford is uh you know how how do we say this is he a problem I I don’t know I’m just I’m just

Asking the question just throwing it out there um because he’s 26 now and I don’t know how people feel but when I look at this and I think if you can’t turn up for training if you had a couple of days off and you go out I got no issue with

Players going out personally I I I don’t but if that is if you’re going to go out and then not be ready to work and play and train and Marcus rashford has not been playing well this season guess that’s the manager thought as well um you know what if we’re doing like a

Cultural reset this kind of thing I don’t think anybody should be off limits and I think the way I’ve looked at this I think Marcus rashford is uh he’s the highest owner at the club it’s not a good example to set personally I I don’t think it is maybe

Is just ill who knows but it it seems to be something more to it than that well there’s illness in the camps we do know that so I think there is that and I think there also could be a case that there is this story is multi-layered in

The sense that I do think United believed that he’d only been out one night and I think the question here is two now I’m not going to put any assersion forward there Scott about drinking or not being ready or anything that I do think he’s ill I think I think

This is where again ten hog is caught between a rock and a hard place because it’s all about who he likes and who he doesn’t like so Jen sanche does a tweet Jen Sancho doesn’t train well Jen Sanchez cers over ten hog helps him last year this year ten hog thinks I’m moving

On from you so it’s easy it’s an easy process here Marcus rashford you can’t really do that Kenya is’s your highest earner he’s the kind of you know the local star and all of these things but something has fundamentally broken down behind the scenes between Marcus rashford and the manager that’s how I

Feel about it now we have to kind of go now it’s a y yangang it’s like right well who is to blame well you just said there you know Marcus rash has not been good on a football pitch this year that’s what we can really judge him by isn’t it is

Actually what we see on a football pitch we can’t judge him of whether he decides to go to a nightclub in Belfast that is a you know he’s allowed out he’s allowed to do stuff but he’s also not allowed to bake curfew rules like and I think

That’s maybe what this comes down to here is that there’s something a little bit deeper there I think I think when we look at rashford’s kind of background and rashford’s personality in general like I’m not talking about this incident you know rashford is quite is known as a good

Trainer rashford is known as someone who’s quite considerate and courteous and knows how things should work is rashford always the most mature boy in the room no he isn’t but there is something here going on again we talk about culture and this has been thrown at rashford yesterday is that you know

Oh you should know better Marcus you earn all the money you do all of this all of these things until we actually know more and this is the problem when like you said there like ten hog being asked in press conferences what are you supposed to do

Of course you got to ask him there’s no you can’t not ask him just because the manager is saying it’s an internal matter I think again Scott you should got double down go one way or the other if it’s if it’s something that’s not going to be a massive issue long term

You double down and you just say nothing’s wrong he’s e you don’t say it’s an eternal matter you just don’t say it you don’t you just lie you just tell the press and just tell the Press what they want to hear just say to us no but there’s there always that hint that

There’s something wrong it’s always like oh it’s an internal matter and that then opens it up to scrutiny that’s just the truth so I don’t think tenar could do anything more publicly up the thing that’s open up scrutiny is the pictures being of Marcus rashford and then that that’s that’s the

Issue I’m sorry but like you can tenart is getting criticism for like oh well maybe you know maybe he didn’t like Sancho so then he he threw him under the bus by saying he wasn’t the best player training and then six months later it’s like oh it’s an internal matter with

Rashford having seen the last six months and tenard getting absolutely castigated for saying anything even remotely like he wasn’t the he wasn’t the best player in training so maybe he’s looked at that situation and thought oh well I can’t do that again so maybe I should just say

Something else which is the line that he said and he’s still getting criticized for it still win the BL can’t win for me he can’t win he can’t win but I do also think that this is sometimes about a politician’s hat yeah and sometimes you can just sit there and go there’s no

Problem with rashford it’s not in the T matter we we I’m not even going to talk about it which is what he says I’m not talking about it but as soon as you put the line that it is a disciplinary matter or an internal matter or something that there’s something there

Being fixed behind the scenes then it’s going to be a story just that’s unfortunate but that is the world we live in that is what football is football will always look for that sensationalist angle I think I’m disappointed in Marcus and I think I said that a few months ago think

Just about his general form and general demeanor but players especially millionaires get gripes and they think well I don’t like it like this I want it to change and I’m going to outwardly project that because I’m a powerful individual male and I can do these things and I’m going to show it I’ve

Seen the pictures of him out in uh in Belfast he’s just walking around like there’s nothing there’s nothing like terribly awful about them you know he’s on a night out maybe United should have said you’re not allowed to go to Belfast that would have been better you stay

Here and train with all the other human beings that that we pay money too that I think that would have been better in the first instance and it feels like maybe Marcus has told some fibs about what he was doing is he now going to be treated

Say the same way Sancho is he going to have to train in his own with the kids for next three months of course not because this manager needs this player to play well to help him win football matches no but why was Jaden Sancho forced to train like that

Why because because again Jay S he put a tweet out defying absolutely yeah that’s that’s the difference here that’s the difference yeah so so if Marcus today tweets and he might well do this is all a load of rubbishes Story and there’s nothing going on and I disagree with the

Manager are we all going to say that he sits on the bench to the end of the season yourselves if you’re listening people can ask us I think Marcus rashford stock is so low now with a lot of United fans that again I think it’s really easy to make sweeping statements

Just go yeah this is how you run businesses people have never run businesses before you know it’s ultimately this is a lot about this is stage managing and some of this you don’t have to reveal your hand all the time and I think with ten hog it’s all

Breadcrumbs with the press and he’s gone from us I think saying for me like I like the way that he kind of makes everything non plus because you don’t want drama but at the same time that does create Drama by saying it’s an internal matter just don’t say it man

United unless United have to put a proper press statement out don’t talk about it don’t bother there’s no need to so I think the whole thing for next game what should he have done Rob what should he have done I think he should have just said because

He he did say nothing I think Marcus rashford is ill and there’s there’s no there’s nothing to talk about don’t say it’s an internal matter and I’m dealing with it because he did put that out Scott he did he he went out he did he did make it like there’s

Something to be dealt with here and I’ll deal with it that’s good it’s your job mate your job is to deal with it we don’t need to know that you’re dealing with it just leave it just leave it go and let do it behind closed doors I make

And I think for ten hog maybe that’s where some of the mistakes of managing Superstars comes is that you do sometimes just have to close the doors and just sit in front of a camera and pretend and go I don’t need to communicate any of this because I’m

Doing I’m actually the person I need to speak to is Jim rackliffe I don’t need to speak to the press to do this I just need to talk about the game rashford’s ill he’ll be back in my squad for the next game so let’s not make a drama

About it then you see players see the reaction this was what happened with Sancho they see the reaction publicly and they respond emotionally and then we go oh you’re not being professional mate so it’s a balance I think if you manage big-time business like that keep it

Behind closed doors and when you’re sat in front of the press don’t reveal anything be be a poker player I think Posta kogu is quite good at that you know he’s quite friend of the people kind of guy and he just goes now whatever there’s nothing nothing going

On there so not talked about it there might well be something going on but he’s dealing with it that’s his job to do it professionally and does it affect performances Scott that’s the next thing you know United players looking at it and going well we don’t like these

Things is that just culture is that a Personality Clash or is that bad coaching and bad management I don’t know it’s a mixture I think of all of it um it’s not criticism of ten hog but I do think that he could manage us slightly different the same way I used to say

About Jose when Jose would throw people under the bus and we’ be like Jose just don’t need to do it just just do it do it to their faces and not in front of a camera I think ten Hog’s the opposite of that where he just gives a little bit

Too much away for it to then become a story he he needs to close that he was like that aax though to be fair as well he would be he’d say the same stuff at ax and it would create ructions because he would give those kind of stock

Answers about discipline and and then people would just read into it I think he could just just come out and just say now rashford deal and he’ll be in my team next week and we don’t talk about it anymore finished rewarding a player for not turning up to training it’s not reward

Is it it’s it’s looking after your own it’s looking after you it’s looking after your house not and and like there’s a fire in the kitchen there go put it out don’t just let it burn until the whole house has then got smoke coming out the top and I think this is

What’s happened with United many many times not just with ten ha is that you do have to Stage manage this stuff sometimes to to create the Allure that things are not as bad as they are problem is is that rashford isn’t saying anything Scott he’s gone out on a night

Out and it’s again it’s a non story and he is ill that’s kind of what we’ve heard in terms of the reporting that’s the case you’re not you’re not rewarding matter are you it’s not a story this is United Rob yeah this is not a non

Story it’s a non story if you make it you I’m talking about the club and I’m talking about the manager you have to be able to put fires out Scot it’s part of the job that is part of it it’s all about culture resets yeah you have to be

Able to manage what your culture is projecting out there now him being out in Belfast as we said is not actually the issue the issue is if he’s lied to United so about whether he was out on that Thursday night and that’s the big key in the question here you if you’re

Telling him to stay at Carrington to train it’s even worse saying he’s ill but he’s training at Carrington it’s like what if he’s ill you wouldn’t have him at Carrington like what we talking about you just be at home you know so just say he’s ill at home and just leave

It at that and be done with it and and create that illusion and people might say well Rob you’re saying that the manager should lie to us yes I am absolutely because the manager’s job is to get victories his job is not to sit there and be a politician in front of a

Camera every we I’m sure that’ll go well when he tells the media that and then some journalist from one of the sources close to the club says actually ten hog was lying so what go win football matches that’s anyone ever cares about it’s the same problem but this is the

Art of management Scott is that the best managers ever do this really well yeah and I’m not going to compare him to Fergie but again Fergie ruled with an Iron Fist and players were scared of Fergie but the system was tight in the sense that there was a process and if

Fergy didn’t like it he just bowled people out anyway so that’s different but I think when you look at any individual managers and their personalities I think things are 10 hard when you’re winning winning sols everything yeah so find ways to win and winning this stuff and people don’t want

To talk about it as much like rashford not playing well but you winning games and scoring goals is the correct way to go and address this I think the fact that you just put it out there and said that this is an internal matter and I’m

Dealing with it and you kind of put it forthright I’m dealing with it because I’m the manager you’re great that’s your job I’m not going to give you a p and a back for for dealing with something going on in the camp is literally your

Job just look non plus it’s a poker game Scott you sit in front of the camera like we don’t have to play the poker game because we we we are analyzing stuff we’re not here to support a manager or be detrimental to a manager

Or to the club do you get what I mean but he is that’s his job and and players then see what’s projected you know so rashford might actually be going today I didn’t do anything wrong in fact I leally did nothing wrong on me I’m sat

Here I’m Ill and today I’m the villain and it’s an internal matter and I don’t even know anything about this internal matter what what internal matter the manager has not said a word to me about it yet so that happens a lot like you just said there the journalists

Connected to the club yeah that that’s just that’s the ecosystem of football that always happens and there’s going to be stuff out there but it’s more about how you manage the camp I think that’s where the Sancho failing came Sancho’s little boy he was dealt with in a way

That rubbed him up the wrong way now you’re gonna have to sell him and lose money that’s okay you’ve decided to do that but you can’t do that with everyone we can’t say that apply every footballer at United is disaffected because of one thing or another it’s just like any

Other workplace you have to manage the expectations and you have to somehow get performances out of people get them on a football pitch Marcus rashford whatever he does is not going to be sat on the sideline for long you know I think he had those two games you remember when he

Was rested and on the bench and we both advocated that didn’t we when that was probably the best thing for him at that time do you bring him straight back for the next game Scott we’re g see that’s all 10 OG gonna be being asked about now

Isn’t it until the next match is that he’s going to sit there and he’s going to be asked the rashford question again because the story has been created I think it would have been better to just put that fire out again I I don’t really know what he

Could have done there so Alex Ferguson kicked the boot of David Beckham when he was the most Pro high-profile player in the world and didn’t really play him left him out of a really important match then sold him without telling drop players that’s my solution but but do it consistently I

Will say this drop players I think if someone doesn’t meet what you want them to do whoever it is like for me right okay watch the the end of of this Newport game and we haven’t talked about the Delo thing I tweeted about it yeah with that second go Delow doesn’t cover

The front post sells Varan down the river and vanan gets the blame for it and they score right I drop the low for the next game for that fin the manager I’m like if you do it once you’ll do it twice so I’m dropping you and I’m

Playing whoever I want there then now I’m going to do something completely different because this does not fit my culture yeah but we see it every week so how do you fix that when it’s it’s so many players I think rashford if rashford has broken Club rules or has

Lied to the manager I think the manager can say if he wants to make it public and say it’s an internal matter that the best way to answer is just don’t play rashford put him on a bench just or send him home I think when the rashford thing

Happened I said put him on a bench I think you said drop him out the squad is that I remember that right I think so yeah yeah and I said no you put him on the bench because it’s better to make him watch and go yeah people can see

Your face here if you’re going to be a muppet about it people going to see you I’m not going to let you go home and like get a day off you just said there about um should the player be rewarded for x y and Zed I don’t think it’s a

Reward at all I think I think if you deal with it the proper way it can still be a punishment can do it that way so if rashford sits on a bench for the next two or three games Scott I think we all know what happened beond ten hog doesn’t

Have to say a word because the player is sat on the bench and I like that I think that’s how you should deal with players is that if they don’t play you’re telling the world why they’re not playing because stuff’s going on but you don’t have to reveal your hand you

Really don’t you just have to be adult about it and I think ten hog tries to do that but I’m not quite sure he’s 100% successful with that not not personally I think you can just be a little bit more even calmer with some of this stuff

And just just let things play out and make decisions if you don’t want rashford in your team because he’s broken curfew rules brilliant don’t play him fine put him on the bench then you’re playing Anthony there playing Anthony wide aren’t you as people have said yesterday when they talked about

Rashford Anthony’s seamlessly coming in and out of the team we talk about his performance quite a lot was involved in something quite serious off the pitch but there doesn’t seem to be that conjecture around him even though people question his performances you know there’s no there’s no dis plinary issue

There with United so I think with rashford Scott bigger question here and I’ll put this to you is that if this carries on in ten hog stage do you sell Marcus rashford because I think that’s where you’re getting to a point now that you pay someone 350 Grand a week and you

Don’t get on with that player for whatever reason R because of Sancho or whoever do you sell that player because you have to start making those plans now if that’s how you feel about it going forward you can’t let it just roll and I think at United we let things roll until

The last moment and then you’re thinking ah right now we’re stuck because it’s now the biggest story in the world and you have to just do something and I think that’s on the table now with Marcus like you know if ten hog does stay and say say gets a new contract we

Might be talking about Marcus rashford being put on a transfer list we’ll see uh obviously rashford’s uh not scored too many goals this season in comparison to last when he was uh when he was on it um his body language has never been perfect for me no uh obviously the

Question needs to start being asked about you know does he have he’s he’s the club’s highest earner so he does have a long-term future according to their plans last summer yeah but he equally becomes very difficult to shift because he’s on a big contract and he’s worth a lot of

Money so no to me I mean there is as I as I said of the top of the show there’s a cultural problem which has to be fixed from the very top of the very top of the football club the manager is a cog in that system not the boss of that system

M so there is things above him that have to change and when we talk about oh Dave bord is watching this game and thinking should I give a billion quid to this manager well no that’s not the point like the the manager should be and

Remain a cog in that in that system yeah so you should decide your style of play whether you a sporting director If your manager in this case ericon hog fits the style of play that you want to play you agree it between you you make your

Tweaks and then you buy players for that system if ten hog is not doing it properly or not hitting expectations you find somebody else I think that’s the way it should be there are so many disconnections at the moment at United that I just feel like every single person within that football

Organization who isn’t new who is who hasn’t come in since s Jim’s investment which should be confirmed at some point over the next couple of weeks You’ think everybody is on the list you either get in line or you for me and that I include the manager in that I include the

Players in that I include Marcus rashford in that and the only way that United will ever fix themselves is by doing that for two three years but it’s going to take them two three years because they put players on lots of money on long-term contracts so you can’t shift every single player unless

You’re a genius unless you’re some kind of Market genius this is going to take a few years this is going to take a few years and they need to eradicate the cultural issues I really think that everything you see comes down to culture comes down to high performance environment which United

Don’t have they don’t have it and and that is exactly what rackliff is going to try and create because we know that’s the inos way is that they try and create this higher performance culture where the expectations are there from day one aren’t they walking the door and I think

That’s where you know ten hog is hamstrung and he’s talked a lot about you know about having standards and about you know there was no standards before he got there and and I still think he is working through that which is why we’re willing to say that out

Loud and put some understanding towards it however like you just said there it’s a cog 14 defeats 30 games this season that Cog is failing so that is the way that it will be viewed that’s the way it is being viewed and I think the whole discussion will switch like if you

Didn’t L to Newport so I don’t think it’s a problem so it is a non it’s a non discussion off the back of that if you lose one or two or three of the next Premier League games then it’s on the table it will be discussed it is real

It’s not something that we can just go oh but it’s a cultural issue it’s been going on forever and ever for 10 years it is something tangible and I think that this tangible problem has been really evident this season much more than it was last year whereas last year

It should have been a problem when you were really trying to reset the culture with players that didn’t know you and here we are now and it feels like that th that relationship has fragmented between manager and players a little bit not saying completely and that’s what I

Say about ten hog from the touchline looking less effective his substitutions looking less effective him looking like he’s willing to try less things this year over last last year I thought he’d try he’d try stuff to be able to see if you could push the need to win football

Matches and it worked because you came third it showed that you could win football matches from losing positions this year United just seemed to be following Trope Scott and I do think that you know you just said about sporting director that’s a huge one now because I think sporting director will

Come in and say this is what we want to do with style of play we’re going to B purchase towards the style of play if I’m that new sporting director tomorrow and I’m being given man united the keys to the kingdom I don’t know if

I’m going with tag at the moment this is someone who’s back ten hog all the way you know I like ten hog as an individual but I’ve not seen enough in the last x amount of months over the 18 month per you know nearly two years now that we’ve

Seen where I’m going oh I feel confident that the next step is coming because the injuries are changed because we’ll get new players I don’t know I don’t think the style of play Scott matches is winning in the Premier League at the moment just I don’t you mention Guardiola yeah Guardiola wins everything

You know we we did a little bit on clo didn’t we some people weren’t happy with in the last show and Liverpool’s now trick will have to be how do you take a manager who’s been there and had certain amount of winning in his tenure there

How’d you go to the next manager and create a new environment a lot of people leaving Liverpool in in the flick of a switch now United might be in the same position and if you’re if you’re Ratcliffe you’re probably thinking that that’s how I I’m assuming that I’m sure

He’s watching these games and he’s not thinking no I’m sure it get better we we’ll just we’ll just buy some players and it we’ll get better with his manager I’m not convinced that that’s the state of play at the moment yeah like we say opinion we’ve we’ve had this conversation several

Times Rob I I don’t think that doing it after beating Newport in the FA Cup is the right time to do it un unless that’s what everybody wants personally I just I’m quite bored of it I’m really really bored of it and you know I’ve just said there like

Ericon har might not be here next season yeah but the fact of the matter is I don’t think him or any manager that United have had since Alex Ferguson left have had the opportunity maybe apart from David Moyes have had the opportunity to do things the way that

They wanted to do it completely because they don’t have everything adjusted above them yugen klopp even a couple of weeks ago said I couldn’t have done all of this at Liverpool without having the right structure impr above me man city went un hired fan Sano and hired beerstein two years before they

Employed him you know it’s it’s not rocket science man it’s it’s not rocket science I just think to put the put this on the manager every single time yeah fair enough if you want to start fresh tear everything up and go again fine but you’re probably doing it with gr Potter

Who’s just been at Chelsea and has failed absolutely flat out failed so what’s the difference dead air no difference I don’t know I don’t know I don’t we two separate conversations I I’m not saying that all I agree with you I totally agree with

You you know I do and I think the thing is is that it is a boring conversation but unfortunately it does go match to match to match and and I just think with ten hog is that it we can say we’re not giving him a pass but then we do give

Him a pass we don’t talk about some of it that’s all it is so I I think we’re giving him a pass but he’s going to have going to sack him now right now this second and get somebody else and it’s all going to be magically fixed we lose the next game

You probably might well get sacked this is how we are closer to it I do feel that needle being pushed towards the door is that it’s not like at the start of the Season we can go we’ve lost three games you had injuries you’re okay we are it’s February nearly Scott like

Afcon is come and gone you lost your goalkeeper who’s now coming back you know these things are time moves on and expectation moves on we haven’t appointed a sporting director yet obviously you don’t feel that these things are being done behind the scenes um and I would like Tenon to be in a

Position of power in that debate with a new with a new sporting director to be able to sit there and say well look I’ve didn’t done these things and I can see what can work here I have not seen that personally as someone sat in the stadium watching the tactics thinking yeah

There’s there’s some good stuff happening here but it’s just it’s just players it’s just that I just think the tactics are not great just think the tactics I think they’ll run out and you just said about gr Potter you know gr Potter one of the things that he’s

Famous for is having four five six different systems that he trains his players in did it work at Chelsea no it didn’t did it work at Brighton to an extent but that’s what he’s known for and I think that’s what a sporting director will be looking for he won’t be

Looking for kind of a rigid approach to to football and I think in English football you need to have that you need to have systems up your sleeve 10 hog in 18 months have not been develop anything more than a 4141 and he won’t play anything else now

Like it like we know it’s 4141 every week we don’t see anything kind of inventive Off the Bench is that his fault I don’t know I think that’s the only bit he can control isn’t it his tactics and systems um I just don’t think tactics and systems are great

Really don’t and I think that that’s that’s the only thing I’m questioning with him personally the rest of it you’re right like it’s man united it’s been a problem forever and ever and ever we got new CEO now hopefully fingers crossed that that will change the direction from the ball boardroom and

That we’ll see something a little bit more Progressive but whether you actually stick with this manager because they will be having that that debate about do you give this manager more money like we buy the players but are we going to give him these players that are

Going to cost us hundreds of millions he’s a cog in the machine he’s got to be a cog that works Scott at the moment I don’t think Eric ten hog is working as that Cog in the machine I just don’t that’s just personal opinion right uh we’ll say goodbye there

I think United play against wolves is it wolves it is wolves isn’t it is it Wolves Away next Wolves Away Thursday home February the 1 Wolves Away then West Ham at home difficult game you know watched watched a lot of wolves recently a team that’s done very well under their new manager

In in the in the period that he’s been there I think they’ve they’ve bought St a style of play up now and they look like a dangerous team I think on the front foot where last year and before they didn’t so um I know that wolves did

A number on us didn’t they in that first game of the season you remember Scott when they were running through our Midfield and it was like this is wolves by the way but then we saw it quite a lot again with every other team that played us that’s a tough game for United

That’s going to be a tough game obviously we’ll talk about that when it happens yeah we’ll be back after that game on Friday for another Promised Land pod let us know in the comments today it has been uh are you bored I’m I’m person I don’t it’s probably come across quite

Quite heavily that I’m quite bored of the the same narrative having the same conversation over and over again uh but but hey we’ll we’ll see how it goes maybe Rob’s right and they lose to wolves and and Friday morning ericon ha is sacked and he’s not got a job anymore

Um but we will see what happens fingers crossed United can just start winning some games uh subscribe wherever you get your pods and watch us on YouTube The Promised lander man united podcast like the video leave a comment subscribe hit the notification Bell so you never miss

A show and follow us on social _ Scott Saunders _ robore p and at TPL mufc on social media platform X all right thanks Rob thanks everyone for listening or for watching see you soon until next time this has been the promised land thank you very much