Talk of the Devils: The Athletic FC's Manchester United show

Harry Maguire was the hero at Old Trafford on Friday night as Manchester United progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup in entirely uncontroversial fashion... well, that's not entirely true. Yes, it was offside, but that's not the controversy we're talking about. What we want to know (as do many listeners) is why Ruben Amorim played his new left-sided winger on the right! Patrick Dorgu played...

The January transfer window closed on Monday with a new experience for Manchester United fans. The club's restraint in the face of deals they didn't consider good value has been met with a mixed reception by fans. So, with the help of your questions, we assess that strategy, and think about how Ruben Amorim will now address the main problem he has this season; a team that doesn't score enough goal...

Any sense of optimism that had been building around Ruben Amorim's team was squashed by a workmanlike Crystal Palace who, remarkably, haven't conceded a goal against Manchester United in two years. Were the wounds self-inflicted? Amorim chose to move Kobbie Mainoo, excellent in Europe as a ten, to play false nine and left out both his misfiring strikers. Overthinking, or perhaps a message to the t...

Ruben Amorim deployed Kobbie Mainoo in one of the number ten positions against FCSB as Manchester United won comfortably to ease themselves through to the last 16 of this year's UEFA Europa League. A "rotated" starting XI looked like a bit of a gamble from the Portuguese manager, but a cautious approach initially followed by the introduction of more creative players at the break really paid off. T...

There's a case to say Lisandro Martinez is providing Manchester United's most potent attacking threat at the moment as we dig into some alarming trends with respect to the centre forwards. Positive sounding news on stadium development this week but unease continues to rumble among the fans and there was a fairly hostile response to Sir Jim Ratcliffe's presence at Craven Cottage. But, with FCSB up...

Captain Bruno rescued three Europa League points for Manchester United after Cyriel Dessers looked to have earned Rangers a draw at the death. But while a European top eight finish, bypassing the play-off round, now looks likely there is still a lot of uncertainty around the club with financial question marks muddying the transfer waters. Will the club reach a deal for Patrick Dorgu, can the price...

Strong themes running through today's show as we remember United great Denis Law, the only Scottish footballer ever to win the Ballon d'Or, after his death on Friday at 84. How this current team could do with a centre forward, a goalscorer, an all-round footballer of Denis's ability. After Brighton won at Old Trafford again, Ruben Amorim called his side the worst in United's history. A joke, perha...

Ian Irving might have been glad of a day off, very glad indeed, were it not for Amad's late show at Old Trafford on Thursday night. He became Manchester United's second youngest hat-trickster after Wayne Rooney and their first since Cristiano Ronaldo. While the 22 year-old Ivorian has a long way to achieve the stature of those two players, he is well on his way to becoming a cult hero and is a shi...

After a drab first half at the Emirates Stadium, the FA Cup third round tie between Arsenal and Manchester United caught fire; so much so, that it brought back memories of the fierce rivalry between the two clubs. Bruno gave United the lead with a superb finish, but Diogo Dalot was dismissed for a rash challenge which brought a second yellow card and things looked difficult with Arsenal equalising...

We were sceptical clubs would come in for Marcus Rashford, but just a few days after he stated his openness to a move there are already some significant suitors. Could this actually happen? Much less likely is a transfer for either Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho: the two FA Youth Cup winners may not be certain starters for Amorim, but fans need not fear a fire sale... the price would have to...

A committed showing in an entertaining contest at the league leaders; how refreshing was that! It was certainly a pleasant surprise relative to our gloomy expectations. The return of Ugarte and Mainoo helped midfield, as did that of a resurgent Bruno Fernandes, but there were positive performances across the defence, from Diogo Dalot against Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Garnacho off the bench as we...

It was the worst month for Manchester United in 95 years, yet it started with a four-nil victory and included a famous derby win. We attempt to pick apart the problems of a team learning new patterns of play while negotiating a hectic festive programme and with their most valuable player deemed un-selectable, for the time being at least. Is there much hope for improvement in the near future? We do...

The stats don't make for pretty reading after Bournemouth won 3-0 at Old Trafford, just as they did on their previous visit. In fact, United are setting all the wrong trends with Ruben Amorim's honeymoon period, if he ever had one, well and truly over. The Marcus Rashford situation might not be exactly what fans are making of it, but after he was left out of the squad for a third time, it looks li...

Ruben Amorim rang the changes again as Manchester United tumbled out of the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage against Tottenham. Spare a thought, especially, for the goalkeeping coaches. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has responded to his recent non-selection by telling journalist Henry Winter that he is now looking for a 'new challenge'. But, many questions remain unanswered. It's Bournemouth ne...

Amad Diallo flipped a dismal derby on its head in the final ten minutes as Manchester United came from behind to win at the Etihad Stadium. Ruben Amorim took a sizeable gamble by leaving Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho out of the squad and, with Mason Mount injured after fifteen minutes, it looked to have backfired. However, the young Ivorian won a penalty which his captain put away and the...

The Czech town of Plzen created a special beer to celebrate the visit of Manchester United, but after Andre Onana sold Matthijs De Ligt short, the Reds needed a Rasmus Hojlund double to round off the night. After a turgid first half Hojlund, along with Ruben Amorim's other substitutes, injected pace and purpose bringing United level almost immediately and sealing the win late on. To win away in Eu...

After a tumultuous, albeit entirely precedented, weekend at Manchester United football club we break down two huge exclusives involving the team. On Sunday The Athletic's David Ornstein, Adam Crafton, and Laurie Whitwell combined to reveal that Sporting Director Dan Ashworth would leave after just five months in the job. Meanwhile, Andy Mitten published a lengthy and wide-ranging conversation with...

Wednesday night's fixture at the Emirates stadium went roughly as expected, including the method of scoring, but was no less disappointing as a result. Ruben Amorim made six changes to his starting line-up, with more alterations in-game, but he loses his impressive personal unbeaten run in the league. Forest are no pushovers this season, we look at the threat they pose, and discuss a story from Ad...

Manchester United four, Everton nil. It's the type of result that shouldn't be as rare as it has become but we're happy with the scoreline and delighted with the performance of the team, despite a fairly unspectacular opening period. Amad Diallo was the man of the match, a 'professional pest' and provider of the fourth goal. That was scored by Joshua Zirkzee, who himself put in possible his best s...

Ruben Amorim's first home match in charge of Manchester United started with a bang and ended with a win over Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt. But, it wasn't all plain sailing; the visitors fought back to lead 2-1 after Garnacho's super-early strike (even quicker than Rashford v Ipswich) and the result wasn't assured until the final whistle blew. A major talking point among those attending the game...

Marcus Rashford was on the scoresheet after just 81 seconds of Ruben Amorim's first game as Manchester United manager, rounding off a very encouraging move after good work from Amad Diallo. Unfortuntately, that was as good as it got with Kieran McKenna's Ipswich fighting back to earn a point; perhaps a lesson for the Portuguese on exactly how competitive the Premier League is. There was plenty to...

Premier League football returns after the November international break and the trip to Ipswich this Sunday(!) was on absolutely nobody's lips at Carrington on Friday. That's because a sizeable press contingent had assembled to greet the club's new manager, or should that be head coach, Ruben Amorim. Ian, Laurie, and Carl took part in said press conference with Andy listening in and we share our (m...

The podcast team have returned from touring Britain and Ireland and we're wearing our fatigue heavily; well, some of us are... others are buzzing for Amorim's United. But, what's the right way to deal with the excitement? It would be another huge boost to have Tyrell Malacia, a genuine left-back, returning to the pitch. He has been talking exclusively to Mark Critchley about the reasons behind his...

The lads are feeling a little bit worse for wear as we record in our hotel lobby after two nights on tour at Manchester's Lowry Theatre and the Limelight in Belfast. It's a relatively quiet week at Manchester United with the new manager getting his feet under the desk amid a men's international break, but Laurie had a (short-lived) exclusive when we learned that Ruud van Nistelrooy has left the cl...

The era of Ruud's interim Reds has come to an end, and it's been a near-perfect run. Three wins from four games, including Sunday's 3-0 win over Leicester, sees confidence much-improved since Erik Ten Hag left. Ruben Amorim was due to start work at Manchester United on Monday 11th November, but visa friction may mean a slight delay. Nevertheless, we've got some fascinating material gathered by Cha...