Rob Blanchette

The 115 charges matter. Until they are answered, there’s no admiration for Manchester City and there’s no legacy. The Premier League are complicit for allowing state-owners to pump cash into English football while destroying sporting integrity. There’s no doubt Pep is the best coach, his team are the best, but it will mean less than zero if they are found guilty of financial doping. It’ll be City fans who will pay the price because of billionaire-corruption.

#MUFC fans, watch the latest episode of TPL here. Available on Spotify, Apple & all podcast providers: youtu.be/hd-OpArFEcY?si…

New @tplmufc out now: - a blow for Erik ten Hag as Thomas Tuchel officially confirms his Bayern Munich departure. INEOS have the chance to hire a Champions League-winning coach. Will Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth pull the trigger on this appointment? - we look at #MUNNEW and ETH’s curious decision to fundamentally change his tactics. Jason Wilcox is in charge of technical matters, did he have an impact on this profound late-season adjustment? @__scottsaunders and I also chat about the call to scrap VAR. Why have the PGMOL made such a huge mess in its implementation? Would a technology-Brexit be best for English football? I explain how I would fix VAR. Tell us your thoughts about the potential arrival of Tuchel at Old Trafford. Is the German coach the man to lead United back to The Promised Land?

My favourite moment of Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Liverpool…

The breaking news today is Thomas Tuchel has confirmed after talks with Bayern Munich he’s decided to leave. On today’s @tplmufc we ask what does this mean for Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United. We know Tuchel wants a return to the Premier League. He’s an obvious choice for INEOS & #MUFC, but the right choice?

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has explicitly confirmed INEOS will choose the #MUFC playing style, not the coach. Jason Wilcox is the key link between Dan Ashworth, the board & Ten Hag. He will provide technical advice & leadership around how United play football at all levels of the club. This is normal at most clubs, this is the function of a technical director. We’re just not used to it at United because we’ve had a broken structure for a decade.

Erik ten Hag might well have saved his job vs Newcastle, not with the 3-2 result, but with the tactical display and performance. He’s stubbornly stuck with 4-1-4-1 this season & it’s killed the team. The new technical director, Jason Wilcox, has clearly had an influence on the formation, shape, tactics and game plan. A False 9, going man-for-man 4v4 up top with two midfielders creating a block with the defence. We really should have seen this months ago when the fires were burning & teams were walking through our chaotic system. If Erik can prove to INEOS he can take their instructions on the style of play, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe has spoken about, then he could be retained. His competition for the job isn’t deep. As I said recently, he isn’t a bad coach. However he’s made repeated mistakes this term. No doubt, Amrabat showed he could have provided a solution in the centre this season. Amad is a better option than Antony. Playing Bruno exclusively at the top of the pitch solves his weaknesses and gives him more purpose. The players appeared more ‘at home’ with the compact system vs Newcastle, and we must never go back to basketball tactics ever again. It’s a hiding to nothing and Erik should have recognised that at Christmas. I’m not against Erik staying if he gives up the out-of-control transition nonsense. Set the team up properly, we’ll get the players fit, buy and sell individuals - and we can give it a go again next year. I liked ETH’s speech. He came across as a leader and motivated - just like the coach we hired from Ajax. If Dan Ashworth demands a change of manager, I firmly want it to be a tactician like Kieran McKenna. Arteta had never managed before Arsenal, so McKenna already has more experience than he had. If Erik stays, he’ll have my support.

Funny what you can do with a coherent #MUFC system, shape and a set of tactics that don’t completely kill you every week. Jason Wilcox has definitely had a word with Erik ten Hag. We should have played like this 6 months ago. #MUNNEW

My VAR solutions: - Automated offside with the rule adjusted to the ‘daylight law’. Offside is too controversial on the front foot. Change it to the back. Give attackers the advantage. - Referees to choose to go to the monitor to review serious foul play. No more being told to change a call. The monitor must be a tool for the on-field officials. - All VAR communication to be heard on TV & in stadiums. - Goal-line technology remains. - I’d also have a timekeeper. The clock is stopped in realtime for injuries & adjusted for time-wasting. No more ridiculous, unmeasurable additional time. Like Rugby, the game ends on the final play after 90 minutes.

If the Premier League scrap VAR, fans, pundits, journalists and clubs do not get the right to publicly kill referees every single week - just like they did for decades before technology use. People have short memories. I think there’s a reality where we can scale back VAR and change what we use it for, mainly because the PGMOL have made such a gigantic, pathetic mess of how we use it. If we return to a world without technology in football, people will need to accept we’re going to get multiple errors from officials in pretty much every single match. Mistakes that will change the destination of silverware. And you’ll just have to accept it. Note: Coventry would be in the FA Cup final, not #MUFC, if technology didn’t make the correct call. Be careful what you wish for.

Help out the #MUFC fanzines tonight at #MUNNEW. Grab a copy of Red News and UWS👇🏾

Tonight MUFC game 1⃣1⃣6⃣8⃣ we have sold RedNews at. We don't want it to be last time we ever sell at Old Trafford. But we need your help. This time last year we were on 364 subs in our campaign, know times tough, but this year on 236. Support if you can🔻 crowdfundr.com/rednews2024

We did this on Manchester United and Kieran McKenna at the start of the month… I’m a fan of his football. Inexperienced, yes, but a very talented coach. He knows #MUFC so well. I believe in his huge potential. He’d be a breath of fresh air at Old Trafford. He’s exactly the type of personality INEOS like in an individual & leader.

Keiran McKenna plays good football. #MUFC

The Treble in the bag for #MUAcademy. Manchester United’s kids are the best in the world. You’ve done us SO proud. #MUFC #U18PL 🏆🏆🏆

Manchester United could capture free-agent Tosin Adarabioyo and Jean-Clair Todibo combined for Raphael Varane’s wage. These two centrebacks alongside Lisandro Martinez & Harry Maguire works. Give Willy Kambwala more #MUFC minutes and sell Lindelof. Luke Shaw as cover. Central defence fixed without spending crazy money. Jason Wilcox knows Tosin well from their Man City days…

I feel sorry for Bruno Fernandes. For most of the past two seasons, he’s been played out of position at Manchester United. He’s done a job for his team, even though that #MUFC role leans on his weaknesses more than his strengths. On TPL in recent months, we’ve spoken about the Saudi interest in Bruno and why he turned the offer down. We also explained how that offer would be placed on his lap again this summer. Bayern Munich & Inter Milan are now reportedly interested in him. Bruno is United’s most productive attacker, but if he’s playing the 8, his tactical-value plummets. I’ve been critical of him in the past and said United might be at the stage where they need a 10 that offers more control of the ball. A Trequarista type who can both roam and attach himself to a No. 9 in the passing phases. I’m not sure that’s Bruno. He’s almost the wrong side of 30, he’s on a big wage. He must be central to the way United play if he stays, not an auxiliary midfielder. If United get a huge offer, taking it will help rebuild a team not currently fit for purpose. It’s not personal. Bruno has served the club well. He’s loved for a reason. However, all senior players have their heads on the chopping block along with Erik ten Hag after a dire campaign. Things must change. It’s time to get technical. Young players who can pass, move and press. United’s DNA must match its playing-stock and the wage bill must be more sustainable than it currently is. More players in their early 20s on their first bigger contracts, as Ralf Rangnick preached. He was right. It’s time for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS to make that a reality.

Raphael Varane is a class act. I’m glad he got to wear the Manchester United shirt and badge. Good luck to him in the future. “The new owners have a clear plan and a great strategy.” Time for #MUFC to build for the future, now. Change is coming…