THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 34

Hello, and welcome to Issue 34 of the 93:20 Newsletter, this week coming to you from Spain where the weather is currently inferior to Manchester. Cursed. This was my way of protesting against ticket prices and 3rd party sellers, by leaving the country altogether. That's how much the issue means to me.  

Before we crack on, a quick call to arms. I apologise in advance for the hard sell, but I would like a small favour. If you like what we do at 93:20, then please help support us on any way we can, even if that is just spreading the word. Our audience tend to reflect the team's fortunes on the pitch, so you can guess the current situation. The more that listen, the more great content we can put out. So keep listening to the free content, keep reading, subscribe if you can, and above all, keep the faith. Onwards... 

Big game at the weekend as you know, and I will have to watch it with a United fan, an extreme form of purgatory. As a nod to the game, I thought it apt to dedicate much of this newsletter once more to my United obsession, and recap over a decade of incompetence from across the city. More on that shortly. 

And so to the protest at the game this week, the concourses heaving for the first nine minutes of the match v Leicester City. I have spoken plenty about the issues at the club, and done two podcasts also, so will be brief. Fair to say, it was a success, and had the desired effect. It didn't seem to affect the team either, as some naysayers claimed it might. Considering the level of the opposition, perhaps we will never know.
Will it have an impact? Who knows, but it doesn't lessen the necessity of such actions whether it does or not. We support a club obsessed by optics. The Extraordinary Meeting with City Reps that the club finally agreed to finally took place on Thursday night, but no doubt the club will have a non-disclosure agreement over it, so do not expect too many leaks. And what sums up the club’s approach better than an NDA? Fans need to keep pushing, as we are the soul of the club, not those that run it.

"My little brother passed away 25 years ago today," he said. "This day is hard on the family.
"My mum and dad were here, so to score and to win was brilliant."

Jack Grealish was understandably emotional after the Leicester City match, dedicating his goal to his brother, Keelan, who passed away aged only 9 months. This predictably led to a response from City fans, generally supportive as you would expect, but also leading to a few pointing out that criticism of him has been unfair, as we never know what is going on in people’s lives.

That last point is undeniably true, but a poor excuse to use to argue criticism of a footballer should be avoided, for we must separate the man and the player. We are entitled to criticise performances, and accept that he is a nice guy - both can co-exist. I have always loved Jack Grealish the human being, though his character may bleed into onto the pitch. The two can overlap, players are not robots, and a personal life can affect performance levels. I don’t want to use speculation to judge a player, but I know enough to feel secure that since the Treble. Grealish clocked off somewhat, and has never truly clocked back on, just occasionally popping his head round the door to ask if anyone wants a brew. He had achieved his life goals that night in Istanbul. He will never have the drive and dedication of Rodri, he is truly a jack-the-lad, and that will not be beaten out of him. As a result, he deserves criticism for his performances over the past 20 months. It's not his fault he cost £100m, in the same way it's not Nunes' fault he isn't a right back. But he earns a huge wage, and has a duty to earn it. He has indeed had “life” to deal with too, from parenthood, to a violent home robbery, injuries and more. But we should still have expected more. There’s not much room for sentiment in football, especially at the top.

And separate from that is that I love the guy. It’s probably too late, but I hope there’s another chapter in his City story.

R.I.P. Keelan

And so the weekend I always dread has almost arrived. Therefore, I have been thinking about those less fortunate than ourselves. Let’s finish another bumper newsletter with a quick recap of United’s incompetence over the past 12 years. I’ve been brief, so have managed to cap it to 7000 words. You’re welcome.

When it all started, the foundations of ruin were already in place, and it was mostly Alex Ferguson’s fault. Hashtag awkward. He had fallen out with the previous owners over horse semen, and in came the Glazers, and the rest is history. By the time Ferguson left, United were massively in debt. Everyone involved with the club then decided to spend a decade making matters considerably worse by contriving to make the worst decision imaginable on a near-daily basis. Except for the Glazers, who did nothing, as they were raking it in, so they couldn’t be less arsed. The decline began and continued due to complacency and arrogance.

Perhaps United never recovered from the scarring that time Robin Van Persie could have been killed on the pitch v Swansea, as Alex Ferguson claimed, or maybe because Phil Jones did not become the new Duncan Edwards as some insisted he would. Robin Van Persie scored a hattrick to seal Ferguson's final title, and United fans would have to wait a decade to see another - hattrick that is, they've got fuck all chance of seeing another title. And it would only take £1.43bn on transfers and £40m on managers, while running up a debt of nearly £1bn, to do so. Cheap at half the price. 

Ferguson was astute enough to know about changing tides and what was coming, so jumped ship. And in came the Chosen One. We were informed Ed Woodward left the tour of Australia to carry out urgent transfer business: That business was non-existent, apart from Fellaini on transfer deadline day.

A decade and more of incompetence had begun in earnest.

Moyes was given a six-year deal, so United would still be paying him off a few managers down the line. David Moyes was hand-picked by Ferguson, and subsequently acted like a competition winner. Picked because he looked and sounded the same as his predecessor, so would surely succeed? The United fans' job was simple. To stand by their new manager. And the manager after that. And the manager after that. And the manager after that. And the manager after that. And the manager after that. And the manager after that. 
Spoiler alert –Moyes did not last a season. Fellaini lasted a bit longer.  Give it Giggsy until the end of the season shouted the United fans, so the Glazers obliged. He did not remain, wishing to spend more time with other people’s families, and off-shoots of his own, so Louis Van Gaal was up next, and he was entertaining, but also crap. United were beginning to eat up managers and spit them out, as planning was thrown aside in preference for splashing cash and assuming it would all work. This was also the start of United winning every transfer window according to a sycophantic press, which for some reason did not transfer into on-pitch success. Van Gaal spent £281.5m over two years. Considering inflation in the transfer market, this is an outlay north of £400m in today's money. Angel Di Maria, signed for £59.7m as the British record transfer, left for Paris Saint-Germain with just four goals to his name. Manchester “United’s £52.7m outlay on guaranteed class looks brilliant compared to City’s ludicrous Sterling splurge”, said John Dillon. The guaranteed success would be provided by £15 million for the World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger, £25 million for the Premier League-proven Morgan Schneiderlin and £12.7 million for the Italian international right-back Matteo Darmian. How could City compete with this canny business?
"When people see Schweinsteiger on the team sheet that’s going to send shivers down the spine," Van Gaal told MUTV. Meanwhile, Van Gaal was turning up to press conferences with dossiers to prove his football wasn't boring.

Every transfer was proclaimed a triumph by United fans. They wanted trinkets, and they got them, or so they thought. £37m for Juan Mata, £28m for Luke Shaw, who may prove a success once he finally makes his debut, £28m for Ander Hererra, £28m for Depay, £93m to buy back their own youth player Pogba, Mkhitaryan swapped for Alexis Sanchez, £30m for Bailly, £90m for Lukaku, £40m for Matic, £61m for Fred, £40m for Lindelof, £80m for Maguire, £50m for Wan-Bissaka. Van De Beek, an £80m signing for £40m. He would later leave for £500K. Varane for £40m, £73m for Sancho, £86m for Antony, £70m for Casemiro, £56m for Martinez. Mason Mount for £50m. United love buying Chelsea’s Player of the Year, then destroying them. The doomed Ronaldo powerplay. City were reportedly interested, so United couldn’t stand for that. This was a consistent approach United employed, to swoop in to sign all the players City were linked with, to assert their authority, and show who was boss. Not the good players - they'd go to City, but all the other ones that they then ruined, as is their way. Harry Maguire, Alexis Sanchez (plus piano), Fred et al. They were not really bad players, as they would prove when escaping from United. Yet when real opportunities have come along, they have almost always run away. United explored moves for Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice and Erling Haaland, but got Ighalo, Van De Beek and Casemiro instead. They wanted Pep, but got the Once-Special One. Harry Kane was available, so they signed Hojlund. Lindelof instead of Van Dijk, whilst Wan-Bissaka was their choice after scouting 804 full-backs (true story). They got big players on huge contracts, as how else would they get them, which has financially drained them at the swamp ever since. Bought two midfielders to unlock the potential of Paul Pogba. Bought two more midfielders to unlock the potential of Paul Pogba. Bought another two midfielders to unlock the potential of Paul Pogba. Repeat to fade.

Back to the timeline. Jose Mourinho was next up on the conveyor belt, clearly brought in as a direct response to City appointing Pep. Duncan Castles took up residence right up Mourinho’s backside, his own personal PR, firing off various missives about how Mourinho had historically “bested” Pep tactically in Spain. United finished second the following season, 19 points behind City. Mourinho still calls this one of his greatest achievements. How damning that he had a point. Sacked after a 3-1 defeat at Anfield at a cost of £14m, Mourinho left United under a cloud of toxicity. Respect. Some besting, that. Castles returned to the shadows, where he belonged. Samuel Luckhurst declared that United and Jose Mourinho were developing world-class players. Mark Bosnich claimed Odion Ighalo could have Eric Cantona impact. Weird then that it didn’t work out.

And then there was the DNA appointment – Ole, the saviour. United ramped up the incompetence, getting him on a permanent contract earlier than necessary, because of an early purple patch, then regretted it.
“Listen, Man Utd might not thank me but get the contract out, put it on the table,” Rio Ferdinand told BT Sport. “Let him sign it, let him write whatever numbers he wants to put on there given what he's done since he's come in.
"Ole's at the wheel, man. He's doing it. He's doing his thing. Man Utd are back!”

This would be one of the highlights of the decade for any rival fans. The giddiness of ex-players, from Neville to Ferdinand, to weirdos like Evra, every time United strung a couple of good performances together was embarrassing to witness. Gary Neville cracking open champagne on video because United were joint top (a.k.a 2^nd, on goal difference) in mid-season. How the mighty had fallen.

Solskjaer did not do too badly in the scheme of things, but clearly was not of the stature to return United to where they expected to be. Eventually he too would fall on his sword.

Never mind, on to the next. Ben Lyttleton claimed that Ralf Rangnick would bring an innovative identity to United. He was gone in six months. Next was Ten Hag, a man with a good track record, but precious little personality. He failed, like all the others. Nevertheless, after the worst refereeing decision in Premier League history, leading to City losing at Old Trafford in January 2023, Jonathan Wilson noted that the absurd offside law could not disguise the shifting sands in Manchester.

And yet somehow, the best/worst was still to come. Ten Hag was clearly a dead man walking by the end of last season, but Brexit Jim Ratcliffe would fly executives out on private jets amid a ruthless programme of redundancies in order to get a new contract signed, before sacking him six months later.

Ah yes, Jim Ratcliffe. And Amorim. This final chapter is more of a book of its own, the incompetence ramped up to levels I could not even dream about, as my imagination is not vivid enough. As the Glazers laugh their behinds off as Ratcliffe takes all the flak and they keep collecting those sweet, sweet dividends as majority owners, his tenure has been a PR disaster, and has helped destroy morale amongst the most important people of all at any club – the office staff that keep things running. Sacking Ten Hag mid-season then hiring Amorim, a manager who insists on a formation the existing squad are not capable of, was magnificent, especially having given Ten Hag £200m to bring in a succession of duds. They need to sell to buy, as the money has finally run out, of sorts, whilst begging to the government so that they can build a shiny £2bn tent.

United have been allowed to spend freely by a sympathetic and sycophantic media, many of whom earned their wings in an era where United dominated. They have helped solidify the narrative that United earned their money organically, in a system they helped create, and thus can spend and spend and spend with no comeback, built on billions of debt, whereas City may be history’s greatest ever cheats, akin to Lance Armstrong, should they have been found to have moved a bit of money around, as Chelsea sell the Women’s team to themselves. Their own money. Before they inevitably fail, United’s big money signings are lauded. They are evidence of United’s standing and pull in the game, and tie in with the belief that many of the press pack would want you to believe that the game NEEDS United. As this season’s dour title race has shown, the unwritten truth is that it needs City more.

Sunday is an opportunity for United to move to within a mere 11 points of City. Or fall 17 behind. Perhaps it is an opportunity to narrow the 21-goal difference. Shifting sands indeed, as they prepare to finish behind City for the 12^th consecutive season, as their 8^th post-Ferguson manager attempts to halt their demise. Whatever happens on Sunday, be thankful for your lot, blues.

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

THE 9320 REVIEW – FLIP FLOPS

Howard, Lloyd and Ahsan look back at a satisfying win at Bournemouth to book a return to Etihad South, talk tactics, Nico, look ahead to Leicester and more.

HOT POTATOES – APRIL FOOLS

Howard, Ste and Ahsan take on a wide range of topics from selling Haaland, the romance of football, Pep individuality, the Rodri effect and many, many, many more topics.

THE MARKET:- EPISODE 34

Lloyd is joined by Ahsan to deep dive into potential outgoings and incomings.

THE 9320 REVIEW – JACK IT IN

Ahsan is joined by Ben to discuss the win over Leicester City, fan protests over ticket prices, and more.

THE WEEKEND SHOW

The usual bumper pod, looking back at two games, Erling’s injury, tickets, a big Premier League weekend, a derby match – and that’s just for starters.

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COMING UP

The derby review, another History show, the Hub, all the usual stuff and more.

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