No Question About That - a Manchester United podcast

#1064 | United lost 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, with a promising first half turned into another second-half collapse. Ed and Wayne react to yet another defeat. Was Lisandro Martínez’s sending off the act of a player who wants out? Should he ever wear the shirt again? And how much falls on Michael Carrick, who picked the same two centre-backs and watched them part like the Red Sea for Morgan Rogers?

Then the conversation moves up the chain. Is riding out two transfer windows with Carrick the only way to force accountability from this squad? Why do Ratcliffe, Barada, and Wilcox face so little scrutiny? The split cap table leaves United’s owners unwilling and unable to inject capital, even though Ratcliffe could write the cheque tomorrow. With no new money, there’s no relief on the horizon. Could a new manager do anything different in the circumstance?

0:00 Nine games without a win
2:12 Second-half collapse at Stamford Bridge
4:09 Martínez: he should never wear the shirt again
15:13 It starts at the top: the owners
17:33 Summer window gamble
23:48 Accountability and riding out two windows
28:22 Ownership structure and the money
47:26 Solskjær precedent
56:19 Eddie Howe question
1:00:56 Boycotts, tickets and what the club means

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#1063 | Manchester United have given Michael Carrick more time, with no date, no number of games and no target attached. Ed and Dharnish look at what has to change in the meantime. The press comes first: a half-press in which players arrive late, leaving United’s back-four exposed. The build-up has lost its triangles and possession dominance that offers no control.

United’s defence is disorganised and the most experienced centre-backs are built for a deep line, which limits how aggressively Carrick’s team can press.

Then there’s a look ahead to Chelsea at the weekend, a team that scores freely but with a questionable defence. And ahead to the midweek game against Roma’. Gasperini’s team likes to press man-to-man. The verdict is that not all of United’s problems is tactical, but the rest is out of Carrick’s hands.

0:00 Intro: Carrick gets more time
4:08 What’s gone wrong with the pressing
8:32 How Carrick could fix the press
14:19 Buildup and central progression
18:13 Defensive frailties and the rest defence
21:33 Meltdown mode and managerial patience
23:51 Platforming players: picking the XI
27:26 Chelsea preview
30:52 Roma and Aston Villa
35:26 Wrap-up

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#1062 | Michael Carrick looks set to be sacked after a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, coming off the 4-1 loss at Como. Ed and Daniel go through the game and the week around it. If this is the end, Carrick went out with a statement: Bruno Fernandes criticising the staff in public then sitting on the bench without being used.

Then the disintegration of Carrick’s time at United, with the manager increasingly reaching for odd solutions as the season fell apart. With the squad giving Carrick very little in recent weeks, the conversation turns to the owners and executives who decide what happens now. The same guys who picked Ten Hag and Amorim and Carrick decide who’s next, with Eddie Howe probably the favourite.

In the short term United need to manage the crisis, but with a summer of expiring contracts and more investment needed than is likely, does a new manager really change anything?

0:00 Match Reaction
3:47 Bruno vs Carrick
11:08 Team Selection & Tactics
16:35 Season in Freefall
19:09 The Owners
23:56 Who’s Next?
34:59 Eddie Howe
51:09 What Happens Next?

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#1061 | Manchester United were beaten 4-1 at Como in the Champions League. Ed and Dominic try to make sense of it.

United’s pressing does not work; the players asked to lead it cannot do it, and Como passed through United at will.

Carrick’s vision for the team is slipping by the week. How much is that on Carrick and how much on a club run by the same people who hired and fired ten Hag and Amorim, with a squad that was barely improved in the summer?

Carrick probably won't go yet, though the November break and the January window are the usual moments for change.

There there's Bournemouth at Old Trafford this weekend and a manager running short of options.

0:00 Intro: United spanked by Como
4:02 United’s press isn’t working
15:31 Sponsor break
16:50 Ownership
27:21 The game itself: the goals
30:15 Squad and recruitment
40:55 Bournemouth preview
51:18 Wrap-up

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#1060 | Michael Carrick changed the system at Elland Road and United came home with a 1-1 draw. It was closer to a street fight than a football match for much of it. Ed and Dharnish go through United’s approach and performance, including a back three and Bruno Fernandes pushed out wide. It wasn’t very pretty but at least United matched Leeds for physicality before the second half slipped away.

The point leaves United on two wins from 10 across all competitions this season. The question on everybody’s lips is how long Carrick has? More defeats over the next few weeks will increase the pressure on club and manager.

Then, what does a growing injury list mean for United’s trip to Como in the Champions League.

0:00 Carrick changes the system
0:46 Leeds away: a proper scrap
2:46 What’s going on with Bruno?
6:37 Fight and physicality, but no football
17:22 Should Carrick be sacked?
26:03 Does Bruno need a rest?
33:24 Preview: United vs Como
42:26 Final thoughts and sign-off

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*Apologies for the dodgy audio on this week's episode*

#1059 | Ed, Dharnish, and Daniel open in meltdown mode. Manchester United have two wins from nine and the latest crisis is the fallout from Lisandro Martinez’ criticism of Jason Wilcox. The tactics tell the story. United conceded after 50 seconds at Atletico with five players in one zone and nobody closing down. They had used a 4-4-2 mid-block against Spurs and were pulled apart anyway. The diagnosis is a team caught between pressing high, sitting deep, and dominating the ball. Masters of none. From there, we work through questions around Yoro, Maguire, Martinez and De Ligt at centre-back. Then there’s Leeds’s 3-5-2 to deal with at the weekend and what Como will ask of United next week.

0:00 Meltdown mode
1:35 Pressing problem vs Atlético
5:24 High press or mid-block?
7:51 Spurs: the 4-4-2 falls apart
9:58 Squad building and Carrick’s vision
14:57 Centre-back questions: Yoro, Maguire, De Ligt
18:29 Ball dominance isn’t working
25:00 Predicted XI vs Leeds

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#1058 | Ed and Dominic pick over United’s 2-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid. It was better than the scoreline but still leaves Michael Carrick under pressure. United opened with another defensive blunder but grew into the game, creating some decent chances before losing Leny Yoro to a dubious red card. But defeat is defeat and the noise around Carrick is likely to grow, especially if the run of Leeds, Como, Bournemouth, and Chelsea goes badly.Then post-match, as we were recording, Lisandro Martinez dropped a bombshell!

0:27 Intro: another defeat in Madrid
1:15 Team news, formation, and that opening goal
7:44 The noise around Michael Carrick
15:39 If not Carrick, then who?
21:17 VAR, the disallowed goal, and the red card
25:33 Midfield: Santos, Baleba, and the trade-offs
31:38 Martinez calls out the board: recruitment and finances
50:20 City, PSG, and the cheating debate

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#1057 | Ed and Andy catch up on four straight wins for United Women, which have turned the mood around after a difficult start to the season. 10-1 against Sheffield United, a narrow victory over West Ham, 5-1 against Durham, and a single goal victory over Liverpool. The team’s personality is becoming clearer under Eva Olid.

The conversation widens to goalkeeper depth and how a youth-heavy squad is developing.

Then there’s a preview of the games in the coming week. Charlton in the WSL, a second meeting with Liverpool in the Players Cup, and the Manchester derby.

Read the Barmy Article

0:26 Intro
1:40 New momentum: four wins in a row
5:22 Aggressive press
10:50 Goalkeeping depth
16:38 Crowds, marketing, and the fanbase
19:12 Young players coming through
26:39 WSL picture and City’s charges

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#1056 | Ed and Daniel pick through Manchester United 1-1 Tottenham, a game United led until the 92nd minute but in which they played badly for most of the 90. The first half was as poor as anything this season, with Spurs running through United’s midfield at will. One side was moving, the other standing still. Carrick’s changes on the hour briefly changed the game, including a positive cameo from Carlos Baleba. But after Spurs were reduced to 10 men, United went into their shell and produced some more comedy defending.

Where does Michael Carrick go from here, especially with Tuesday’s trip to Atletico coming up fast, and a very difficult schedule ahead. Nobody at the club wants another manager change but we’ve seen this film before.

0:00 Match reaction: United 1-1 Spurs
2:15 Squad building and transfers
8:25 Tactical analysis: pressing and intensity
15:50 Accountability and selection
24:15 Baleba
31:10 Red card
40:30 Manager future and fixtures
53:20 Atletico preview and sign-off

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#1055 | Ed and Dharnish talk about Manchester City's cheating three weeks on from the verdict and with the appeal under way. City's “it was government money” defence falls apart when the government, the sponsors, and the owner turn out to be one family. With club and fan denial hardening, the likeliest exit is a sale, or a vote to expel if City keep fighting.

There's some chat about why Financial Fair Play was created in the first place, Andy Burnham and the UAE’s investments in the UK, and what Guardiola knew.

Then it’s back to the football with Spurs on Saturday. Sesko is ruled out and Dorgu is injured. Will Cunha play through the middle again, what's the right balance in midfield as Baleba returns, and is there a case for Yoro’s pace at centre-back after his France debut?

The episode finishes with Ronaldo’s complaint over his Portugal minutes against Messi’s emotional send-off, and Ferguson’s book tour and what he said about living to see the new stadium.

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0:00 Intro: Spurs, City and Fergie

1:36 City’s CPC defence

7:53 Abu Dhabi, power and the exit route

16:51 FFP, the appeal and Burnham

24:56 What did Pep know?

30:05 Spurs preview: team news, midfield and Yoro

44:32 Ronaldo and Messi

50:42 Fergie and the new stadium

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#1054 | Ed and Paul pick through the fall out from City’s guilty verdict and conclude this is a geopolitical story more than football. The outcome might well owe more to diplomacy than to Premier League rules. Andy Burnham's situation and UK ties to Abu Dhabi suggest where the pressure is coming from.

There’s a long look at the City fanbase: why will so few will engage with the evidence or a reasonable discussion about what’s happened? How did a club that was once the punchline become the vehicle of a state?

There’s the damages bill that could run into billions and whether the other 19 clubs would really vote to expel. Could the only clean exit be a settlement fund and a forced change of ownership?

0:00 The guilty verdict 2:54 A geopolitical story 9:42 CAS 2020, six emails and the redactions 15:03 Financial doping 27:18 Why City fans won't engage 30:40 Who's who in Abu Dhabi 39:31 Was FFP ever a fair rule? 47:00 Lawsuits, damages and expulsion 55:36 Can titles be reassigned? 1:02:36 Settlement and getting the owners out 1:12:29 Wrap

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#1053 | Daniel joins Ed to make the case that this was never really a football story: Manchester City's ownership is Abu Dhabi's ruling family operating through the exact same statecraft logic they apply to war, espionage and geopolitics. And that family’s refusal to ever hear the word "no" from anyone. It’s the instinct that produced the fraud itself.

Trace the money and the politics: Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth, the family network tying the state, the investment vehicle, the sponsors and the football club into one entity. Then there’s Andy Burnham's startlingly weak public response, read against his own history with City-linked land deals in East Manchester and the UK's broader security and investment ties to the UAE.

Pep Guardiola is linked in the same way. His public advocacy on Gaza and Catalan independence is impossible to square with total silence on his own owners' role in Sudan. His City trophies cannot be separated from dirty money and the questions of doping that have followed his career since Barcelona. This is potentially the biggest scandal in the history of sport, precisely because of the geopolitics layered underneath it.

0:00 Intro: City found guilty 2:30 From anti-competitive to human rights 4:39 Statecraft, sovereign wealth and sportswashing 6:58 Paper trail and the defence 14:55 Andy Burnham and Manchester politics 23:36 Punishment, lawsuits and a forced sale 37:48 Guardiola's hypocrisy and his legacy 47:52 Biggest scandal of all time? Wrap-up

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#1052 | Jamie's latest Substack note gets the deep dive treatment: United's newly published loan documents show a real, dated path to finally clearing the $550 million Glazer-era LBO debt. The new notes are repayable at par with no further interest from 10 June 2029, but only if it's tied to a "stadium financing event," with a matching change-of-control clause built to let INEOS take a majority stake without triggering repayment. It’s complicated but clear.

Jamie's model puts the realistic cost for a new stadium closer to £3.2 billion once a typical overrun is applied to the headline £2 billion figure, funded through some mix of club debt, owner equity, and external partners. Personal seat licences could plausibly raise several hundred million pounds on its own.

The pod opens with City with Ed and Jamie still processing last week's guilty verdict and the Premier League timeline that could produce a sanction within months.

Jamie's note mentioned in the pod: https://spgoals.substack.com/p/can-ineos-clear-manchester-uniteds

And for my take on last week's finances: https://nqatpod.substack.com/p/uniteds-new-cash-machine

0:27 Intro 2:38 City verdict and timelines 6:15 What punishment fits the breach 12:14 Premier League credibility and expulsion 15:45 United's refinancing note explained 26:17 Ineos' path to majority ownership 29:26 Stadium cost and funding options 42:31 Squad budget and wrap-up

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#1051 | Ed and Adam use the City verdict to talk about reputation rather than punishment mechanics: City's for organising the fraud, the Premier League's for taking eight years and letting itself be outmuscled by lawyers, and Pep Guardiola's, since virtually everything he won at City was built on financial cheating he spent years publicly denying.

There's an awkward political dimension: City are owned by the UAE, a UK security and investment partner, and there’s scepticism that the other 19 clubs would vote for expulsion given how many owners have their own business ties to the Gulf. Given that, how might any punishment be constructed and what might be just?

On Pep specifically, they trace a pattern running from his playing days through Barcelona to City. His legacy is now inseparable from the fraud that funded it. Then there’s the broadcasters who’ve pretended non of this was happening. Shame on them.

0:27 Intro: 114 of 115 charges 2:32 Reputations in the toilet 4:52 Why spending limits exist 9:27 Can City rebuild their reputation? 14:17 Nation-state ownership and the UAE 19:36 Would clubs vote to expel City? 27:00 What punishment actually fits 32:57 Charge stacking and precedent 38:28 Getting the owners out 39:24 Pep's legacy 45:30 Sudan, sportswashing and silence 47:50 How the media will cover it 55:04 Fan reaction and the weaponized fanbase 58:04 What happens next 1:00:06 Wrap-up

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#1050 | Ed and Dominic discuss a momentous day. Manchester City have been found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges brought by the Premier League, after a process that's run more than three and a half years, during which City won six trophies. The charges centre on disguising owner funding as sponsorship income and refusing to cooperate with investigators; no punishment has been decided yet.

Expect a long appeals process before anything is actually handed down.

So what is the proportionate punishment? Points deductions, transfer restrictions, even expulsion are all discussed as genuine options, though retrospective title-stripping seems unlikely. There's a longer, more uncomfortable question too: how do you separate City's sporting achievements from the financial fraud that funded them, and what does that mean for Pep Guardiola's legacy specifically, given how directly his trophies depended on money the club lied about.

0:26 Guilty on 114 of 115 charges 5:10 What the charges actually were 12:21 Can titles be stripped? 14:46 What punishment fits the crime 18:38 City's PR machine and the media 21:45 Everton, Forest and precedent 24:26 City before the 2008 takeover 27:33 Pep's legacy and the asterisk 30:32 Wrap-up

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#1049 | Manchester United's full-year financials landed the same week as defeats to City and Brighton and a draw at Fulham. Ed and Jamie's read is that the numbers tell a positive story: record revenue of £677.6 million, operating cash flow more than double what United generated the previous year, and a smaller real interest bill than the eye-catching accounting figure implies.

The episode works through where the financial resilience came from: ticket price rises, strong retail performance offsetting lost sponsors.

There's the £63.5 million spent on stadium land as the first sign of what United plan to do with the extra cash, and an explainer of INEOS's own complicated, heavily leveraged business, useful context for anyone hoping Jim Ratcliffe can simply write a bigger cheque.

The episode closes on ownership: the price floor on a new buyer lifts in 2027, but with almost nobody left in the world both able and willing to pay Glazer-level prices for the club, don't expect a takeover any time soon.

0:27 Welcome and what's coming up

3:15 Full year financials: headline numbers

5:28 Matchday, ticketing and commercial revenue

10:04 Profitability and cash flow

14:43 Debt, interest and the stadium land

23:14 Guidance

28:50 INEOS explained

35:10 Ownership, the 2027 price floor and potential buyers

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#1048 | United Women are three games into new manager Eva Olid's reign: defeat to London City Lionesses, hammered by Chelsea, then a much-improved 1-1 draw at Arsenal, undone by a 95th-minute equaliser.

Ed and Andy assess Eva Olid's start given the circumstances, a very late appointment, barely any pre-season, no marquee signings.

There were some interesting changes at Arsenal, with Andrea Medina's shift into midfield the standout tactical call and performance of the three games so far.

Then there's some winnable fixtures ahead: Sheffield United in the League Cup and West Ham in the league, both real chances to record a first win.

0:00 Welcome, Andy

1:05 Draw with Arsenal

6:28 Assessing Eva Olid

13:02 Season expectations

24:01 League Cup

26:35 West Ham preview

28:34 WSL title race

31:18 Wrap-up

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#1047 | Another week another crisis? After United’s draw at Fulham, Ed and Dharnish push back on the reaction, arguing the underlying picture (29 shots, nearly 3 xG, more shots and box touches than any team in the league this season) suggests better times ahead. Shifts in fine margins turned this game into a mediocre week rather than a crisis.
The real issue is a press that keeps failing because Bruno and Rashford aren't suited to it. Carrick keeps asking them to do it anyway.
In possession, the double false-nine setup leaves progression looking attractive, but nobody is actually in the box when it matters. This needs fixing before results turn even worse.
They also take apart the widely shared running-stats graphic, arguing it reflects a possession-heavy style rather than laziness, using City's own numbers as the comparison.

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--- 0:27 Intro: another United draw 2:38 Is it really that bad? The xG case 5:12 Pressing issues 10:12 Midblock or press? Personnel and compromise 12:50 In possession: breaking down in the final third 16:44 Attacking dynamics and Bruno's role 27:08 Running stats 33:05 Wrap-up

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#1046 | United walked away from Fulham with a draw, Mateus Cunha's equaliser cancelling out Lisandro Martinez’ own goal. Fulham were there for the taking though. United had 29 shots, 57% possession, and somehow still seemed very passive when it mattered. No disaster, but yet more points leaking away.

Ed and Wayne look back on a performance that felt very familiar. The same tactical patterns are playing out. And the same weaknesses in the squad are evident too. The international break offers a moment to reset.

We end with a check-in on Wayne's new book. Ferguson, The Lost Tapes.

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0:00 Introduction

1:05 Team selection

15:45 Defence, build-up and player profiles

22:56 Carrick's game model

27:31 Ownership, finances and transfer strategy

35:15 Martinez's own goal

47:14 Verdict on Carrick

50:23 International break

55:07 Wayne's new book and sign-off

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#1045 | Ed and Dharnish discuss United’s 3-2 defeat to Brighton in the Carabao Cup. United’s heavily rotated side led 2-0 before collapsing, with an increasingly ugly atmosphere at Old Trafford on display.

Shea Lacey's goal and a well-worked press that teed up Mount for the second were the rare bright spots in an otherwise chaotic performance from United.

There’s already a bigger question: are United’s results this season down to bad individual performances, or something wrong with Carrick's actual game model? There’s no easy answer, especially given how comfortably this same group won games last season doing something much simpler.

There's also a discussion of the JJ Gabriel contract saga, with both urging caution about how much scrutiny a 15-year-old should be under. But scepticism that his camp's version of events reflects what United would realistically have offered. They close by previewing Fulham this weekend.

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0:00 Introduction: 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton 1:31 Reaction: anger at Old Trafford 4:13 Positives: Shea Lacey 7:00 Yoro and Heaven 12:16 Midfield, Mount and Sesko's night 20:19 Is something fundamentally wrong with Carrick's game model? 31:55 JJ Gabriel contract saga 48:02 Fulham preview 55:30 Wrap

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