Man Utd were decent at Wigan – but Ratcliffe and INEOS’s first priority made clear

The Mailbox reckons Manchester United played well at Wigan even if their goalscoring problems continued. That’s a concern for the new regime – but it’s not their biggest problem…

Get your views in to theeditor@football365.com…

United takeaways from cup win
– That felt like the first lower-league away match for Manchester United in absolutely years, because it was. Really missed those types of matches, the buzz of a cupset, away fans belting it out under the lights in winter. Lovely.

– I guess you’re not allowed to be nice to United anymore, but that was an extremely professional performance. After the 3rd minute Wigan barely made it out of their own half, and did nothing to worry Onana at all. It should have been a cricket score, but that’s because United were quite good. Which they should be of course against an opposition that far down the tiers.

– Hojland is currently in the ‘unlucky’ phase of new strikers. Things coming so close but not going in. We hear that being in the right place is the crucial thing, and goals will come. I hope so. But I also note quite a lot of strikers who end up being good are very lucky by that same token.

– Garnacho is already United’s best winger, possibly best attacker. Mainoo is already United’s best midfielder. Hojland is United’s only striker. They’re all under 21.

– I don’t know what is left to say about McTominay. Apparently he had the fourth fewest touches of outfield players in the first half, for both teams. He missed his 3 presentable chances. He made no defensive actions of note, he barely even made it back to the centre circle to defend. He is the great mystery of our times. A nothing player that 3 managers keep playing.

– What’s more notable is the Bruno problem. That shouldn’t be a penalty, but after hearing every pundit say how much Jota and Diaz are allowed to go down so the ref knows what happened, am curious why the same courtesy doesn’t extend to Bruno. Contact doesn’t equal a foul, unless it does, apparently. Regardless, he was and has been awful for ages. He is too sloppy and careless, and for a while his ability to finish made up for it, but he’s now awful at converting chances from open play too. Wigan’s two best chances of the second half were from his corners, which are demonstrably worse than Phil Jones’.

– Finally, I believe that something like 12 members of United’s first team were unavailable last night, due to illness and injury. That has to be priority number one for the new football management structure. Doesn’t matter how much you spend if its on footballers that can’t play football.
Ryan, Bermuda

Gerrard’s success
I was reading John Nicholson’s article on the golden generation’s failure to move into management and wanted to write in to defend Gerrard, while also acknowledging that Johnny is probably, ultimately correct.

I’m a Rangers fan and it really can’t be undersold how good Gerrard was for us. Before he became our manager we had twice finished third in a two-horse race, the squad was a disaster and we were basically Celtic’s little plaything in the Old Firm matches, regularly getting hosed by four and five goals. We were also absolutely nowhere in Europe, having been dumped out earlier the season before by the mighty Progres of Luxembourg.

Gerrard almost immediately turned things around for us, making us tough to beat (we never lost by more than two goals during his tenure), getting us playing some high intensity football, and competing in OF games. His record in derby matches was actually excellent and we’ve only won two of those games since he left. We were also excellent in Europe under Stevie G, getting the sort of results that we failed to achieve when we had loads of money in the 90s.

When we did win the league under him we went a full season unbeaten in the league, conceding a record low 13 goals. A proper achievement given we also stopped Celtic winning their tenth title in a row.

I think he more than earned his move to Villa but I wasn’t surprised when he flopped there. I think Emery has made him look even worse as well given the success he’s made of things there. Moving to the Middle East seems like an admission by Gerrard that he’s given up on wanting to manage at the top level and he’s happy to take the cash.

Ultimately I think he was the right person at the right time for Rangers. He still had the aura he had as a player and joined a club where you need to win every week which probably suited him. Being honest though, I’m not sure I would take him back now – it feels like he had one good spell in him and that was that. So while I agree he might be a busted flush, I think it’s harsh to lump him in with actual managerial failures like Lampard and Rooney. Gerrard is a legend at two clubs – as a player for Liverpool and as manager for Rangers. To me that’s no small thing.
Duncan, (Clement is probably better) North Yorkshire

Read more: Golden Generation of failed managers sums up the problem with privilege and celebrity culture

…John Nicholson’s piece on the Golden Generation of players not (yet) producing great managers is a relative of a prediction I made many years ago, that no one who won the Premier League as a player for Sir Alex Ferguson would ever win it as a manager. This has been a surprisingly safe bet. From the outside, the decision by Birmingham City to replace John Eustace with Wayne Rooney was as nonsensical in football terms as it was cynical in financial terms. That’s the only explanation: Eustace had kept the team afloat in the Championship during difficult off-field times and got them playing reasonably well this season, but potential sponsors aren’t queuing round the block to have their photo taken with him the same way they might have been with Rooney.

In North America, despite the top levels of their sports being far more closed shops than football, teams seem less drawn in by star power and more aware that a stellar playing career is not necessarily an indicator of someone being a stellar coach: only three times this century have any of the NBA Championship, the Stanley Cup, the Super Bowl or the World Series been won by a head coach (or manager in baseball) who won the same trophy as a player and was named to an all-star game. Dusty Baker (2022, Houston Astros) at the end of a long and storied managerial career, and Joe Girardi (2009, New York Yankees) won the World Series while Larry Robinson (2000, New Jersey Devils) won the Stanley Cup. For the Super Bowl, you have to go back to 1986 and Mike Ditka with the Chicago Bears, and for the NBA, Billy Cunningham of the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers. While North America itself is a huge and largely captive audience, it is still incredible that they are significantly more aware of the need to find the right coach, not just someone famous enough to the sort of casual viewer who might be tempted to send a few quid in sponsorship money the team’s way.
Ed Quoththeraven

‘Mare Jordan​
I think the whole Henderson going to Saudi saga was a bad PR disaster by his team. That interview was cringeworthy. Now he wants to return after 5 months. What a joke!

He would have stayed one more season with LFC, and helped the team. as a squad member if not a regular starter and would have still played a. lot considering. our injuries this season. But then we would not have gone for Endo and that would have. been a loss. That’s why I still respect. Milner over Henderson any day. He stayed even as a squad member to help us win trophies.

All the criticism that’s been directed at him or those who sold their souls for Dinars (Gerrard) has been completely justified. All the. more so in the case of Henderson. A guy who projects gender equality and then goes to a country with no human rights for outlandish money. Then wants to return back home after just 5 months because of the heat. He deserves it.

I wouldn’t be surprised. if Gerrard gets sacked and then looks for the next Celtic. job. What a joke! A Liverpudlian calling CR7 a GOAT. You can’t fall further than that.

The icing will be. if we win the title this season. with. Klopp and Henderson goes back to play in the Championship. Because he ain’t PL level anymore.
Tejas (Waiting to see Van Dijk to lift the big one)

Glass half-full Gooner
One win in seven is woeful. However, is this a blip that we’ll get over? Is our title challenge over? Five points behind Liverpool and six goals scored for adrift. Mo Salah has scored approx. 30% of Liverpool’s goals and will be sorely missed.

As stated It might be a blip, if so it’s sooner rather than later as we suffered last season and left us no time to recover. Plenty of time to go for us to get back on track.

Regarding the game v Liverpool. Yes it was disappointing to lose but we looked more like the confident team of last season. Maybe this is the recharging Arsenal needs to get back to winning ways.
Chris, Croydon

Under-the-radar genius
On Monday, the official MCFC website published a video showing all 77 goals scored by ‘El Mago’, David Silva during his time at the club. For City fans, lovely to watch of course, but that’s not the point of my mail. He signed in 2010 for £30 Million but, in an era where he was surrounded by the likes of Aguero, Ya-Ya, Tevez, Dzeko and Kompany etc, I’ve always thought he went somewhat under the radar given just how important he was for City.

An intensely private man, he was absolutely pivotal in City’s climb to success but without the fanfare associated with some of his teammates. The goals are great, but they are, by far, the least indication of what he routinely did on the pitch. It is, perhaps, no accident that De Bruyne says that he learnt the most from Silva and says he was one of the best midfielders he’s ever known. His passes, his reading of the game at any given moment, were phenomenal.

My question is this. Which player, for your team, has similarly been so influential, but not necessarily recognised as such?
Mark (And after tonight’s game, I am certain sure that Bruno Fernandes won’t be one nominated by United fans.) MCFC.

Replays and receipts
Just a quick one on Dave’s suggestion to play all replays at the smaller club’s ground. While this appeals romantically, it’s not what the smaller clubs would want as FA cup receipts are split evenly between both teams.

Let’s imagine Maidstone draw Liverpool. Now, the romantic fan might want Maidstone to play at home. The chairman won’t. Play at home, they stick up some temporary stands and they may get a few thousand people in. A decent day, but not significant. Play at Anfield and they’d potentially make north of £500,000. An unimaginable sum for a club that size. If we’re scrapping replays, take that into consideration.
Mike, LFC, Dubai

…Dave PVFC, all gate receipts are split evenly in the FA Cup with both teams taking home 45% of the takings regardless of where it’s played. It benefits the smaller sides to play any game at the larger club.
SC, Belfast

Emirates conclusions
Thoughts on performances in the Arsenal-Liverpool game :

For Liverpool: Alisson, Konate, Quansah and Joe Gomez were very difficult to get past. Credit to Joe Gomez who usually makes me very nervous when at centre-back. As our third-choice left-back he’s amazing.

When Alexander-Arnold did get dribbled past, it was satisfying to see Konate intervene quickly.

Diaz is a good player, but he seemed to be fouled a lot and looked like the red mist was about to descend. Managed to just about keep it under control but will need to be careful.

Klopp made the changes at half-time and during the second half that made the difference. It’s not all about substitutions, it’s also about tactical switches and he’s one of the best in the business.

Arsenal: Saka looks knackered. I’ve never seen him so blunt.

Martinelli is electric to watch, but on this evidence he can dribble but he can’t pass.

I couldn’t see much of a difference between Ramsdale and Raya, but it’s a shame for Ramsdale that Arsenal are out of the cup because that might be his last meaningful game this season.

Ref: it was interesting to see the yellow card for dissent make a reappearance, if only sporadically. I felt he managed the game evenly, but there seemed to be much more antagonism between the players.
Paul in Brussels (Man City will spoil the fun)

ESL argument
So I realise that this has little interest to anyone outside of me and Hartley, but I’ll do my best to make it followable.

So yes, 44 teams will qualify for it automatically, but that’s because it is a league format. That’s what happens with league formats. The majority of teams within leagues qualify automatically. Seventeen teams in the Premier League will qualify for it automatically, but no one bangs on about it not being a meritocracy. How many times do you think that the team that came seventeenth really merits their place?

Yes, more teams are currently involved in the current European competitions, but the ESL is there to replace the Champions’ League. The ESL does not prevent all other competitions happening, the vacuum would get filled.

Teams from “lesser” nations literally never win the Champions League any more. You say that they at least have a “chance” of winning it, but they don’t really, do they? Playing more at their level means that they do have a viable chance of winning something, rather than just making up the numbers like they do now.

Bigger teams will be cosseted yes, but they can still get relegated if they are sh*t.

The whole thing is free to air, not just the games that you don’t want to watch – that’s a really poorly thought out point. Everyone will be able to watch the best games for free – how can you dismiss this as meaningless? This is clearly better for those who watch football on a screen. That’s inarguable, so why are you arguing about it?

Arguing that something that currently doesn’t exist has no history or substance is ridiculous. Of course it doesn’t. Neither does anything else that doesn’t exist. Does this mean, therefore, that new things can never be better than old ones?

The mooted names aren’t important at all – all we have is suggested placeholders. They can be easily changed into something that you think sounds super and dynamic. You should mop that tea up and have a word with yourself.

Maybe this is a cynical attempted cash grab. It’s certainly an attempted cash grab, for sure. The current status quo grabs all the cash at the moment, so what’s your point? That the Champion’s League is run in a virtuous and uncynical manner? You can’t possibly think that. UEFA is corrupt and exploits the game. This isn’t even headline news, that’s how cynical it all is. To try and make the argument that someone offering an alternative might have an ulterior motive is to speak the bleeding obvious. Do you think any alternative will be altruistic?

I am not sure any of your arguments bring much to the debate, to be frank. I am still really undecided about whether the ESL would be better – I am more playing devil’s advocate, but all you have done is indicate to me that there might be something in it.
Matthew (They wouldn’t really rip me a new one, but I thought that they would at least try. Most of them couldn’t rip a wet paper bag.)