"DIDN'T COVER HIMSELF IN GLORY!" Alex Crook WARNS Man Utd against hiring Julian Nagelsman

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talkSPORT: Crook warns Man Utd against hiring Nagelsmann as Carrick pressure remains

The show started from Man Utd's 1-1 draw at Leeds and discussed Carrick's tactical changes, injuries and squad depth. Some saw the result as acceptable and credited the adjustments, while others felt the team was merely dressing up another winless performance; Alex Crook argued against changing manager now, especially for Nagelsmann, blaming the summer window and a weak squad.

Flex is joined by Alex Crook and Angelina Kelly to discuss Michael Carrick's position as Man Utd manager, after a tough start to the season! Subscribe: https://youtube.com/c/talkSPORT?subconfirmation=1 Enjoyed this YouTube video? 😍 🖥️ talkSPORT's Website: https://talksport.com/ 📲 talkSPORT's X/Twitter: https://x.com/talkSPORT 📷 talkSPORT's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talksport/?hl=en 👤 talkSPORT's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talkSPORT/ 📱 talkSPORT's Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talksport ? 🔴 Download the talkSPORT app HERE! - https://talksport.com/apps/ 🔎 Want to see if you feature on our YouTube channel? Check out our Best talkSPORT callers playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFVMnSsi04LGLa9pS9xDvme-Gjmlu2 talkSPORT PremierLeague

Transcript

a 1-1 draw away at Ellen Road. Um, our predictions on the show uh last week were very negative, including Angelina. She even predicted that we would lose. >> I know. >> Um, I did as well. >> I didn't think we would, by the way. I thought >> Did you think we'd get a draw? We get something out. >> We don't lose at >> Well, you weren't air croc, were you? So, >> um, where where do you stand on it on it, Cookie? I mean, you you just said there you predicted we probably wouldn't lose the game. We didn't. Um we saw a much changed side from Michael Carrick in terms of his approach. You know it was almost like a hybrid um formation of you know four four at the back with the ball and when we didn't have the ball we sort of matched up their their back line with a five at the back and and went sort of man for man across the pitch. You had Yuri Tieleman sort of playing on on the right of a three. Bruno Fernandez is a false nine. Brian Bumo up front on the left in this sort of 343 formation. Um what did you make of it? And there's been Michael Carrick said it felt like a new start. >> Well, there's been a bit of negativity, isn't there? Um, from our pal Jamie Carrager saying that he he set United up as if they were playing Real Madrid as opposed to leads away. But I don't think on one hand you can slaughter the previous manager who, by the way, Eric Tenhard was much better uh than his successor as it turned out. But you can't have a go at him for being wedded to a certain playing style and not being able to deviate and then criticize Michael Carrick when he does make changes that actually have a positive impact because in isolation a 1-1 draw away from home at leads a lead side who've started this season where they finished the last really in confident mood probably unlucky not to get something out of the Champions last weekend that's a good result in isolation but it does mean it's two wins in all competitions now Ipsswich and a pub team from Aabaijan in the Champions League. So obviously that is not a good start to the season and the pressure I think remains firmly on Michael Carrick's shoulders but his hands are tied slightly. You know there's been a lot of talk about Marcus Rashford this week. Um I've been a bit criticized in some quarters for saying that to me it looked like Michael Carrick didn't trust him at Leads when they were maybe chasing a late winner because he left him on the bench. Now people close to Rashford are saying actually he's still managing an injury and that was why he didn't get on the pitch. The truth is probably somewhere in between. But you've got Rashford carrying injury. Bruno Fernandez, who I actually said on another podcast that Angie and I do, should be taking out the team for Leads. He's obviously not fully fit and again didn't play very well. Luke Shaw missed training again today. So did Aiden Heaven. So did Lenny Yuro. So I've tried to think what the defense is going to be. >> Lenny Yuro miss training today as well. >> That game in coma. I'm sure I've just seen that. >> Patrick Dorgu as well. >> Yeah. So did Ky was Kobby Manu in it? >> Yeah. No sign of uh Martinez, Rashford, Mayu, Heaven, Shaw, Dorgu, and obviously Crook saying Yuro as well. Martin has got injured. Oh god. Yeah. Sorry. Back to you quickly. I'm just >> So his hands are tied really. You know, he's got limited options. He hasn't got a number nine because Benjamin Cheshko is is still not fit. So I think he's doing as well as he can with the resources at his disposal, but that doesn't mean there's not pressure on his shoulders. I think it's a big week with this game at Ko Champions League debutants this season, but unbeaten at home uh so far. And then obviously Bournemouth who picked up their first three points against Sunderland last week. So a big couple of games ahead and the the name that's been mentioned to me again today is is that of Julian Nglesman as a potential replacement. >> Very interesting. I mean an crookie sort of saying look you know tough place to go. Michael Carrick saying listen felt like a fresh start. We had to dig in. Um Michael Carrick was expansive in what he was doing. He can see it hasn't been working and you know from Atletico Madrid you know with Bruno out on the right and he he did he did change it. He's changed it again at least to try and get us through. Do you see improvement here or do you see just the same thing? >> It it's a difficult one because I understand what Carrick's trying to say and that like it kind of feels like a a fresh start or whatever. Do I do I necessarily buy into that? Um I'm not too sure. I need to see more evidence. But you know, it was interesting that we saw a 343 and it it mainly worked when it was implemented. We obviously don't want it to go all Ruben Amrim and three at the back the whole time. We've been there. We've done that. But I think to to be adaptable, I will take that. And I do think that we can we can give Carrick some some plaudits for for doing that. But I was I was working for talk sport at at a game whilst the game was going on. I caught some of the second half. Um and obviously watched highlights etc. But yeah, I think I I was looking at it looking at the score line and I was like, you know what, I'll take a point here because we were so negative and rightly so because things haven't been good. We were so worried about this game. >> You were saying, you know, they're going to completely opposite. >> So I think to come away with with a point at Ellen Road, difficult place to go. I think you just have to take it for what it is and the fact that we don't have a fully fit team. I mean I I I don't even want to think about what's going to be happening going to to KO, Bournemouth, etc. when we've got so many players missing. But again, it all and and we can criticize Michael Carrick for some of the things that he hasn't he hasn't done. But this does still all go back to the fact that the transfer window, as much as we got the three midfielders that we wanted, we are, and we've been here before, being exposed again. When you don't have enough squad depth, you will get punished. And that's why the next few games now, if these injuries are what we think, it's going to be a disaster. >> Yeah. Um I I don't know if I see it a little bit differently. I I I think we were I I do respect Michael Carrick for changing things around because in that international break, I'm not going to sort of sit here and be a hypocrite. In the 3 weeks that we had off, I said that he needs to find something. He needs to change. He needs he needs to do something. And we were basically the same against Spurs and got played off the park and we we should have won even though is in hanging on, but we got played off the park and could have easily got beat. Probably should have if we played a better side at the time in Spurs. Um, so Athleti, I respect it. You have to try and find something different, but putting Bruno Fernandez on the right hand side, it it just didn't work. I couldn't even work out what formation we were basically playing against or playing in that. And okay, I get it. We had to find a way to get something out of the lead's game. But I don't know, Jamie Carra, I kind of tend to agree with him in terms of, okay, we did well in the first half. Second half, what did we do? You know, we've had the least amount of possession we've had in the game all season. We didn't create any chances in the second half. The substitutions, I felt like Michael Carrick, he just did a like for like, which was actually a pre-planned substitution probably because Bel's working himself back to fitness. I don't even count that as a sub. >> I thought he looked neck bel they they've got a pre-planned that, you know, you're working yourself up to fitness. a 75th minute on pretty much all the games where he came on against Spurs and the subsequent two he's been coming off. That's fine. I get that. >> But what I'm saying is that's not inspiring. That's just managing the player so you have to make the change. >> I'm not seeing enough from the sideline of like right unleash kuna can rash. >> I feel like you want a mentality of being like we are one nil like you'd rather see. >> We still haven't won. I think what we're doing is dressing up. >> I get it cuz it is like very incremental positives, right? But we still won two outs. Yeah, >> we've still won two out of 10, you know, like we still are not winning games. Like we're just talking about different ways to dress up not winning >> and this can only go on for so long. If we go to Ko and then listen, it was awful what Cricket was saying about some of the players that just missed training plus what you were saying. So yeah, >> I do take the point. But again, if you go there and don't win, it's two wins in 11. If you don't beat Bournemouth, if two wins in 12 >> and before you know it, like you can only keep these amount of results before you make excuses and stuff like that. I get it. You got to look at it all. I just I'm just worried it's just not going to be good enough because I just don't see where it changes. Hopefully, yes, the positivity that people are focusing on is something we can build if we go to Ko and I see that same resilience for a longer period because we played well for 45 minutes. >> Second half, I I don't think we played well. I don't think there was anything there. I think Leeds I think we were fortunate actually that Leeds >> didn't really go for the juggernaut. I think at halftime Daniel Far said to his boys said, "Boys, what's this?" like if you put it on this Manchester United team, there's a good chance. And then we conceded within what 10 minutes of the restart and then again towards the end Lmonds comes for a punch, misses it, it gets cleared off the line. Like we still did our best to maybe still lose that. So I don't necessarily crooked buy into too much positivity. I think I think because the bar is so low, we're basically just dressing up better ways to not not win, if that makes sense. >> Well, that would be the criticism. And again, I got it on social media. Is this how far Manchester United have fallen? They're happy with a point away at leads. Yes. Is the answer >> with 30 5% possession or whatever it was. >> Yeah. But the standards since the start of this season have been so poor. You know, the regression has has been stark. And listen, I I'm not calling for Michael Carrick to be sacked. I think maybe you and I have different views on that flex, but >> I'm not calling for him to be sacked here. I I'll be honest about that. I'm not. >> But I agree with Eric Tenhog, you know, and I agree with Lisandro Martinez last week. What was the point in just rinsing and repeating? You suck another manager. You bring in someone like Narglesman, who by the way didn't cover himself in Gloria as the Germany boss and is also quite a combustible character. How's he going to work with the likes of Jason Wilcox who seeming who's going nowhere and and Omar Barada and how's he going to cope with what is still, I think, quite a problematic dressing room. So there's no guarantee that you change the manager and you get anything other than a short-term impact because that's what tends to happen uh whenever a new manager comes in and then the players revert to type. So I don't think Carrick is the biggest problem at the football club. I think the summer window was an abomination um and the squad is simply not strong enough to compete on multiple fronts. It's probably a blessing. We're already out of the league cup and we've got next midweek off. Um >> does he need to take more risk though crooy like you know shy not getting any minutes? I know I know what we say about Xerxy here and you might but you know trying something different little bit of a balance use what you've got give Kuna some more minutes push Rashford a little bit more kind of go for it a little bit more instead of just being reactive >> well as I say the the vibe coming out of the Rashford camp is that he's not fully fit and um you know he's is he's really struggling at the moment with this hip injury that he picked up during the World Cup so you know that might explain his absence from from the team again I didn't think he was brilliant in in Madrid you know he had that one good chance in the first half when he kicked the air and that was about as good as it got. Shay Lacy, yeah, I'm surprised because obviously he scored a goal in that cup game against Brighton. You'd have thought his confidence would have been skyhigh and we barely seen him um since then. I will double down on my argument that an I had on Fiery Fridays. I think the time is now to take Bruno Fernandez out the team. If he's not and he's not performing, >> then yeah, that's for me where you try something different and that would open it up for Kuna to play. I think Kuna is is cutting a very frustrated figure because he ended last season quite well and I don't think he really knows where he fits in at the moment. >> It is it is interesting. I mean, crookie, just to remind you, it's our worst start to a top flight league campaign since 1987, the year I was born. Um, we keep breaking new records. I mean, he's got less points now than Ruben Am same time last year. >> I didn't realize we still had these records to break. >> Oh, we find new ways. We find new ways. I don't want it to be all doom and gloom cuz that is that is important not to do that. >> Carlos >> Ble >> like I was very firm, very sort of honest that I know there's all this noise about marquee signings in the summer who it should be. I'm and I just kept saying Carlos Ble. I'm sure he's the one we need. >> Yeah. >> Um and he's showing some really good signs. I thought he was excellent against leads as well. He's got that bite about him. He's got that tenacity. He's got that sort of mobility and dynamism that we've been missing um in central midfield. He can't do it all on his own, you know. I get that. And also my boy Fury, my boy Tielemans. >> Honestly, where are you with this? Because you loved him when he came in. Still do >> then you had a little bit of a a dip when he said there was a dud, but that was in emotion. >> You did call him a dud. Yeah. Accountability on this show. So now, so you know how we have the crooy like swingometer of how he's feeling about, you know, >> the flexometer on Tieleman's, where are we? >> It's still in positive. >> So like plus out of 10, it's like it's still plus seven. >> Like I still really like him because >> it's not it's not a surprise to me like we take him out of Villa's team where he's successful. Why? Because he's got runners, he's got Kamar, you got Anana, you got >> um uh the other guy, McInn. Um we didn't have it and we're just open, expansive, you know what I mean? Look at him on against leads. He put one on the plate for for Brian and Bumo header puts it wide then puts another one on the plate for him and he scores and he actually just plays the game in the right way. You just need to have the right setup for him to flourish which obviously we don't quite have consistently. So I still really like those two players in particular. >> Um yeah, I I I would agree. I mean I've I've had a few question marks with Tielemans with the clear um mobility issues that he has. Um but no but but Labour for me I mean at the end of the day there are players I want them to do well I want them all to succeed even even Andre Sanders don't you know again we're all looking at that yeah just did all right like he didn't >> take the G at times I forgot he was there but sometimes that techn is probably a good thing because we weren't carrying him he wasn't like costing us but he wasn't >> yeah I mean we are all still we need to give the guy time we need to give everybody the new signings time but we are looking at that price tag thinking oh what we probably could have bought with that money >> do you know my big concern is is again even watching the lead's game >> the gaps in midfield. Now Michael Carrick I think we can all agree >> was a top class midfielder. The fact he's not this season managed to work out how to shore up that midfield and how to get it performing properly. I I think that is a that is a worry. >> Yeah. Yeah. I completely agree and I've I've heard people say that before of being like how can you be like one of the Premier League's like best midfielders in in in certain people's opinions and you're not managing to to figure it out in that area of the pitch. Um but yeah, I I think with with Bleba I've been really happy with what I've seen so far. The fact that he's probably still working his way back to full fitness as well once he's firing on all cylinders. He is a player that that's that's exciting for the Manchester United fans. Um but it's just going to get really difficult, isn't it? because we've got these injuries. Um, and if this continues, then what what is this club going to do? Because you're then going to have players that are maybe going to be forced to, and this isn't just midfielders, is everywhere. You're going to have players being forced to play in positions that they're not comfortable with, are going to be grasping at straws. You're then going to have younger players that are probably going to be thrown into situations that they're not ready for. And we've we've done this dance before and it is just worrying about what the next we got to wait and see with these injuries, but what the next month is going to look like. It is scary.