Courage Not Included

#1070 | Michael Carrick was officially relieved of his duties on Thursday, in a club statement that carried no name and offered no accountability. Ed and Wayne discuss a week that has left them appalled with the club’s behaviour.  Carrick took training after the news leaked, as the executives who decided to sack him flew to Monaco. The sacking has been planned for weeks, whatever the club say about giving him time. It betrays the values on the back of the shirt.  Courage? Not so much. Is there hope of change with the club effectively on the market? With Mauricio Pochettino reportedly chosen by the Glazers, the question now is who is making the decisions, and whether anyone above the manager will answer for them? 0:00 Carrick’s Dismissal 7:43 United’s Values 17:25 The Club’s Financial Decline 23:47 What Are United’s Ambitions? 32:53 Summer Rebuild 35:04 Debt, Ownership and Decision-Making 40:04 Carrick’s Staff 47:31 Can United Make the Necessary Changes? Sponsors Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude today. Claude.ai/NQAT Link to Voy’s online hair assessment & 50% off your first treatment using code NQAT: go.joinvoy.com/noquestionaboutthat Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials ⁠Twitter⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠BlueSky⁠ ⁠Patreon⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1069 | Michael Carrick has been sacked as Manchester United manager and the money is flowing toward Mauricio Pochettino. Ed and Adam discuss a process that has never looked coherent. They weigh the case for and against Pochettino, why Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann, and Antonio Conte look less likely, and what a new manager could mean for Bruno Fernandes’s future. Picking the manager is the easy part. The new man inherits the same sporting department, the same CEO, and the same owners who promised not to oscillate between styles. Surely the sporting director has to go too. No promise of a fresh vision can be backed without proof. 0:00 Carrick sacked: who’s next? 1:58 A shambolic process 3:21 Pochettino emerges as favourite 7:49 Case for and against Poch 18:32 Eddie Howe and Nagelsmann 22:50 Conte 26:49 Bruno’s future 31:33 Fuck these owners Sponsor Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials ⁠Twitter⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠BlueSky⁠ ⁠Patreon⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1068 | Michael Carrick has been sacked as Manchester United manager, according to reports late on Monday night. United had not confirmed it at the time of recording. Ed and Dharnish record an emergency pod to discuss how it came to this. Carrick earned his shot at the job last season but was left short in the summer. He then tried to evolve the team to a ball-dominant, high-pressing approach that never worked. Injuries, unhappy players, and a drop in Bruno Fernandes’s form turned a poor start into a relegation fight. The bigger story is the ownership. The next manager inherits the same owners, the same CEO, the same director of football, and no clear criteria for hiring and firing. Who exactly is making the decisions at United? And more importantly, why would anyone trust them? 0:00 Breaking: Carrick sacked 1:27 How did we get here? 3:55 Sold short in the summer 6:37 Tactical experiment that failed 12:53 Bruno’s form and the data 15:19 The environment and Ratcliffe 22:27 Broken decision-making at the top 29:21 What happens next Sponsor Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials ⁠Twitter⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠BlueSky⁠ ⁠Patreon⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1067 | Manchester United and Aston Villa played out a 4-4 Premier League draw at Old Trafford. It was chaos on the pitch while fans protested in the stands. United twice trailed by two goals and twice came back in dramatic fashion. Ed and Dan discuss. There’s plenty to go over, from Michael Carrick’s cautious selection to some horrendous defending. But a sliver of light in United’s attack is finally scoring goals regularly. Yet, with one win in the league, pressure remains on Carrick a quarter into the season. Will United change the manager? It seems like there’s very little impetus to do so. Howe, Conte, Pochettino, Nagelsmann are all waiting in the wings. Who exactly is making the decisions at the top? Nobody it seems. 0:00 Intro: 4-4 at Old Trafford 
1:19 Two down in four minutes
 4:13 United’s team selection 
9:39 Have we infected the goalkeeper? 
11:21 Old Trafford crowd
 16:00 Build-up play and Fernandes
 30:45 System or individual errors?
 32:11 Who replaces Carrick? 
45:45 Wrap-up Sponsor Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials ⁠Twitter⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠BlueSky⁠ ⁠Patreon⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1066 | Manchester United beat Roma, lost to Chelsea and face Aston Villa at the weekend in what could be Michael Carrick’s last game. Ed and Dharnish break down all three. What worked in the first half at Chelsea, with United overloading midfield and finding space behind Chelsea’s new full-backs. Why do Carrick’s full-backs keep pushing so high while the team is in crisis? And why did that leave United two down against Roma’s man-to-man press? Then the turnaround. What changed after half-time against Roma: Cunha central, United overloaded the right, Shea Lacey committing defenders. With Baleba injured, who plays in midfield now? And how do United cope with Villa’s physicality and Emery’s mid-block? 0:00 Roma, Chelsea and a Villa test
 1:00 What worked against Chelsea
 2:10 Overloading Chelsea’s midfield
 4:04 Red card, implosion, Amad’s end product
 5:25 Pressing high in crisis mode
 10:32 Roma: how United went two down
 16:07 Old Trafford comeback 4:02 Villa preview: midfield battle Sponsor Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials Twitter Instagram BlueSky Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1065 | Manchester United finally won, beating Roma 3-2 after nine games without a victory. Ed and Daniel pick through the comeback from two goals down. There are plenty of issues to discuss.  Although United started the game poorly, was it the first time all season the team looked balanced? Tielemans played a part in the winner, how will Baleba’s injury impact the team and has Leny Yoro made a case for a place at centre-back? Is Amad’s spot now Lacey’s to take? Can Cunha build on his goals when confidence has been short this season? Then the conversation widens. A green and gold balloon protest opened the night. Do protests change anything with owners who rarely face the public?  With Aston Villa on Sunday possibly Michael Carrick’s last game, who might replace him: Emery, Nagelsmann, Conte, or Eddie Howe? And with United 17th in the Champions League table, what do they need to reach the playoffs? 0:27 Victory over Roma 2:25 Comeback and Team Balance 5:34 Centre Back Issues 7:57 Amad vs Lacey 11:22 Midfield Problems 15:34 Pressing and Penalties 26:21 Ownership, Protests 49:03 Villa Preview Sponsor Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials Twitter - https://x.com/nqatpod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nqatpod/ BlueSky - https://bsky.app/profile/nqatpod.bsky.social Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/c/nqatpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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 Sponsor Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials Twitter - https://x.com/nqatpod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nqatpod/ BlueSky - https://bsky.app/profile/nqatpod.bsky.social Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/c/nqatpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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 Sponsor Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials Twitter - https://x.com/nqatpod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nqatpod/ BlueSky - https://bsky.app/profile/nqatpod.bsky.social Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/c/nqatpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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? Sponsor Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials Twitter - https://x.com/nqatpod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nqatpod/ BlueSky - https://bsky.app/profile/nqatpod.bsky.social Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/c/nqatpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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 Sponsor Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials Twitter - https://x.com/nqatpod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nqatpod/ BlueSky - https://bsky.app/profile/nqatpod.bsky.social Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/c/nqatpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices