Simply Red Podcast

From George Best and Willie Morgan to David Beckham and Cristiano, Shaun Connolly begins his From The Archives series for the Strettycast by looking back at the iconic number 7s to play for Manchester United. Author and lifelong Red, Pete Molyneux, recalls watching Best and gives us a lesson on how the number 7 became iconic at Old Trafford - players who would entertain the crowds. Buy Pete's book...

Manchester United have played West Ham twice since our last recording - winning 2-1 win in the Premier League and losing 1-0 in the Carabao Cup. This means Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side has managed 13 points from the first five league matches of the season, but they've also crashed out of the League Cup prematurely - and everyone knows the manager needs a trophy. Dale is joined by former academy gra...

The atmosphere at Old Trafford was something else on Saturday for Cristiano Ronaldo’s homecoming, so Dale is joined by two guests to talk about the 4-1 win over Newcastle United and the drab 2-1 defeat away to Young Boys.   Brian Murphy and Shaun Connolly give their thoughts immediately after the final whistle in Switzerland, and we’ll have a separate podcast later this week with Daniel Nardiello...

A balanced but insightful chat between Dale O'Donnell, Daniel Nardiello and Jonathan Shrager after the summer transfer window shut. In this episode we discussed Cristiano Ronaldo's return to the club and expectations for the coming season after securing 7 points from the opening three matches of the Premier League season. The glaring issues that existed a week ago remain despite the arrival of Ron...

In this episode Nards, Shaun and I discuss the 1-1 draw against Southampton at the weekend. Was it a reality check? Even without our new marquee signings signing, the glaring issues won't be addressed until Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gets the midfield he wants. We analyse the decision to shift Mason Greenwood out wide on the right to accommodate Anthony Martial, kneejerk reactions from social media, imp...

In this episode Dale, Shaun and Joe discuss the opening game of the new Premier League season after Manchester United beat Leeds 5-1. We chat about Mason Greenwood's future as United's number 9, optimism as we start the new campaign, Scott McTominay's evolution, needing a defensive midfielder, the right wing and whether the Reds can mount a title challenge. As well as some listener questions about...

The first episode of the new season with former Manchester United academy graduate Daniel Nardiello. Nards took some time out to join Dale as they discussed a range of topics concerning the Red Devils ahead of the new season. Manchester United kick off the new Premier League campaign against "dirty Leeds" on Saturday. *Includes stories from the Manchester United dressing room* Hosted on Acast. See...

Stretty News editor Dale O'Donnell discusses the expectations on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer next season. Manchester United have significantly boosted their squad with two additions this summer, including Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, which has been enough to make us optimistic. That's healthy for a football fan - to feel this way before the season starts - but does Solskjaer have the tools when it tr...

Dale is joined by Fabrizio Romano on the podcast! The Italian football journalist joins me for a run down on everything Manchester United in the transfer market. Manchester United are still in the process of completing a deal to sign Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund and reports suggest they will quickly turn their attention to signing a centre-back to bolster Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's defence. Pau...

Dale O'Donnell reflects on Europa League heartache. Yes, we'll get over it. It's a second-rate competition at the end of the day but it's worrying to see Manchester United fall at another hurdle. How many more until Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wins a trophy? That final produced more questions than answers. In this episode, I talk about how only United two players can be proud of their performance in Gdan...

The squad is in Gdnask for the Europa League final and I'm excited about our chances despite knowing Harry Maguire is a massive doubt for the game. These are occasions Edinson Cavani and Bruno Fernandes live for -- and they know they'll crave the next final from the second this one ends. It could be a gateway for more success, although that wasn't the case in 2017 and we get on to that in this wee...

The theatre of crime. That is what Old Trafford has become under the Glazer family’s ownership. Gone are the days it can be known as the Theatre of Dreams unless you can convince me Marcus Rashford always wanted to beat Villarreal in a Europa League final. Jokes aside, quite a serious podcast for you this week. I haven’t pressed record in over two weeks due to being in hospital (again), so I retur...

Wow. It's been a whirlwind. Dale and Mike chat about the ongoing events this week on the Strettycast. The battle is ongoing but first we need to get through the wreckage. Ed Woodward has resigned in timely fashion and we can't help but think it has a lot to do with the European Super League failure. Some might say he went out on his sword. United fans have long known that these parasites were no g...

Welcome to another Strettycast, the Manchester United podcast, with Webby & O’Neill joining me to talk about the latest stories as we look to finish the current season strongly. In this episode I chat to Webby & O’Neill about their terrific YouTube channel, set up with the aim of bringing enthusiasm back to United fans. Both of them are supportive of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, like myself, and...

Welcome to another Strettycast, the Manchester United podcast, with myself and Mike. In this episode we enjoy the 3-1 win over Tottenham, José Mourinho had a meltdown and the matchday photographers had a great time at the so-called Special One’s expense. Of course, Mourinho isn’t all that special. We learned that during his time in charge at Old Trafford. Sure, we enjoyed the Europa League and Lea...

Manchester United defeated Granada 2-0 in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie in Spain on Thursday to put themselves in pole position for a place in the last four. Marcus Rashford raced on to a long ball by Victor Lindelof to fire United in front. Bruno Fernandes converted a late penalty after he was caught off the ball by Yan Eteki, leaving him with a bruised eye, but the Portu...

Welcome to another Strettycast, the Manchester United podcast, with myself and Mike.   In this episode, we are joined by Heath Chesters, a Mancunian who fell in love with Granada and worked for the club.   We talk about Diego Martinez, the 40-year-old manager who is seen as the next big time coming out of Spain at the moment. Not forgetting familiar face Roberto Soldado after netting 10 goals for...

Welcome to another Strettycast, the Manchester United podcast, with myself and Mike.   In this episode, we question Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team selection against Leicester City after United crashed out of the FA Cup.   The goals were conceded were abysmal (Dean Henderson wasn’t at fault for any of them) and questions are also asked of our defense and midfield.   There was no key influence on the p...

Strettycast episode 105 - Dale and Mike react to an important win against AC Milan at the San Siro. This episode was record before the draw took place for the quarter-finals, so we'll discuss that on Monday morning. Paul Pogba took the headlines after coming on as a half-time substitute, only to score the match-winner minutes later. He was superb in the middle and gave United a new lease of life....

I don't think anyone calls it the David Moyes derby but we do. Manchester United got over the line against West Ham who came to Old Trafford to defend. The visitors sat back and welcomed pressure. It didn't work and as soon as they conceded an own goal they began to attack the Reds in numbers. West Ham deserved to lose the game given how they approached it from the start. It was dull and exactly w...

Manchester United are going about their Round of 16 Europa League tie the hard way after conceding late into stoppage time against AC Milan on Thursday night. Dale and Mike are here to dissect a dull night for Ole’s Reds on the 103rd episode of the Strettycast. We discuss AC Milan’s fall from grace and current rise to prominence – quite similar in terms of on-pitch results at Old Trafford post-Fer...

Manchester United 3-1 Newcastle | Dale and Mike catch up to run through our latest thoughts on Manchester United. Thanks again for your questions this week. We took a look at Paul Scholes' recent comments about what United are lacking in order to compete for the Premier League title. There's some David de Gea and Dean Henderson debate too. Email the show: dale@strettynews.com Tweet the show: @Stre...

Manchester United have identified Juventus’ chief scout Matteo Tognozzi as a possible candidate to become the club’s sporting director, according to Stretty News reporter Leah Smith. Tognozzi became Juventus’ chief scout in 2017 following successful recruitment roles at Zenit St. Petersburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburg. The highly-rated scout is regarded as one of Europe’s most pioneering recruit...

Manchester United gave Real Sociedad a lesson in Turin on Thursday night and Dale is joined by Mike to run through the game. We also dive into conversation about European football with Europa League very much on the agenda for United this season, as well as a brief snippet on the non-existent Premier League title race that the media want to ask Ole Gunnar Solskjaer about every week. Next up we've...

Mike is busy this week and will return on Friday, so Dale was joined by Stretty News writer Philip. They discussed United being complacent against another side in the lower half of the Premier League table. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer dismissed claims there's an attitude problem in the dressing room, but how else can we explain such complacency. These players are better than this and not long ago they we...