MANCHESTER UNITED are a club that is never out of the headlines.
On the pitch and off it, United are under more scrutiny than any other side in the Premier League.
Bruno Fernandes is working hard to improve morale in the Man Utd squad[/caption]
Ruben Amorim believes his players were happier at training after their team bonding session[/caption]
Starting today, only on Sun Club, our team of reporters will bring you the inside track on Old Trafford affairs every week.
CAPTAIN FUN-TASTIC
BRUNO FERNANDES is keen to make team-bonding sessions a permanent fixture – as he bids to try to turn around Manchester United’s fortunes.
The Red Devils captain, 30, arranged a night out with his under-pressure team-mates earlier this month.
United insiders say it has brought the players closer together while Ruben Amorim was also impressed by the attitude of his team in training following their bonding session.
He said the “noise” in and around Carrington, where United are based, has improved as the club tries to rescue their season.
Fernandes, who is a respected leader among his team-mates and the club’s management, has taken it upon himself to try to improve morale.
Earlier this month the group headed to the Lane 7 Bowling Alley in Manchester, where they treated themselves to ten-pin bowling, darts, shuffleboard, table tennis and pool.
Rounds of bowling at the popular bar cost £12-a-head, mere pennies for the club despite their financial headache and controversial cost-cutting measures.
Pictures later showed the group, including Alejandro Garnacho, Manuel Ugarte, Leny Yoro and a high-spirited Rasmus Hojlund, walking from Lane 7 to a nearby Brazilian restaurant.
Amorim will be pleased to see his players making an effort to come together off the field.
FROM DEVIL TO VILLAN
MARCUS RASHFORD is prepared to turn his January loan move to Aston Villa into a permanent deal.
Rashford’s fall-out with Ruben Amorim saw him exiled to the United margins despite scoring the first goal of the Portuguese manager’s Old Trafford reign.
But Rashford, 27, has told pals he feels revitalised at Villa Park.
And the striker, desperate to reclaim his spot in the England squad under new Three Lions chief Thomas Tuchel, believes that Unai Emery is the perfect manager to resurrect his Premier League and international career.
While Rashford is still looking to open his scoring account for Villa, he was credited with two assists in the comeback win over Chelsea.
He has also impressed his team-mates, his new manager and Villa’s fans since his arrival in the West Midlands.
That has been reiterated by Rashford’s strong commitment on the training ground – one of the areas of his game which was questioned during his time at Old Trafford.
While Amorim refused to be drawn on whether Rashford might have a future at the Red Devils when he was asked earlier this month, United have strongly hinted he is unlikely to return to the fold while the former Sporting boss remains in charge.
Rashford has been linked with a number of moves abroad, with European giants Barcelona and PSG heading a list including clubs in Italy, Germany and Saudi Arabia all monitoring his form ahead of the summer window.
But Rashford is veering towards the idea of remaining in England and in the Premier League rather than relocating overseas.
Rashford’s international ambitions have been rekindled since the appointment of Tuchel, with the striker – who has scored 17 goals in 60 appearances for his country but has been out of the frame for 12 months – out to catch the eye of the German.
MOLE HUNT THEORY
DISGRUNTLED United staff are convinced they are being used in the club’s “mole-hunt” against bad news being released to the media.
Last week’s email from chief executive Omar Berrada, which threatened that revealing club information would be treated as “gross misconduct” was, of course, swiftly made public.
But in the wake of the confirmed extra job cuts, anxious staff are now warning friends that the emails might have been part of the hunt for those responsible.
The theory is that batches of the main email were sent out with small but significant changes, allowing club bosses to whittle down the list of possible leakers.
True or not, it hardly seems a culture of goodwill.
Man Utd ratings vs Ipswich as Maguire saves the day after Onana makes case to be WORST ever signing
MANCHESTER UNITED eased their fears of the drop in a topsy-turvy relegation six-pointer with Ipswich.
The Red Devils triumphed 3-2 despite playing the second half with ten men.
A major cock-up from Patrick Dorgu and Andre Onana saw Ipswich take a third-minute lead through Jaden Philogene.
Then, after United had recovered to lead 2-1, Dorgu saw a straight red card for a poor challenge on Omari Hutchinson.
Philogene scored again to level it before the break only for Harry Maguire to nod in to be United’s saviour.
But who was United’s best player on the night?
Here, SunSport’s Phil Thomas reveals his Manchester United player ratings…
‘RIDICULOUS’ CUTS
SIR Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos appear dead-set on alienating the very people they were intending to enthuse.
Staff morale is heading in one direction after club bosses confirmed a further potential 200 job losses, the end of the Old Trafford staff canteen and limited dining options for remaining employees.
Now the chemical billionaire has refused to reconsider a cost-cutting move which saw him labelled a “Scrooge” by United fans.
Ratcliffe and the new United high command stopped the club from giving £40,000-a-year to a charity which helps its network of old players.
The Association of Former Manchester United Players (AFMUP) was formed in 1985 to help footballers from bygone eras who earned nothing like the megabucks of today’s superstars to socialise at four social events a year.
In December, SunSport revealed how United minority shareholder Sir Jim had ordered funding to be cut.
AFMUP trustee Jim Elms, 84, who played for United’s youth team and reserves from 1957 to 1960, slammed the move as “ridiculous” and hoped for a change of heart from United after chief executive Omar Berrada promised a meeting.
But United’s Chief Operating Officer Collette Roche has now confirmed the club will be “unable to continue sponsorship”.
She said the decision was made because AFMUP refused to become part of United’s Foundation charity, which itself also faces hughes cuts to its budget.
Jim, of Bramhall, Cheshire, said: “I just wish they would think again because the association does so much good for some of the old players.”
Man Utd are struggling for goals with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee in dreadful form[/caption]
FIRING BLANKS
Sometimes the cold numbers tell the story, far more than emotions.
For Ruben Amorim, his forward players’ collective inability to do their main job – finding the opposition net – explains why United are now 18 points closer to the relegation zone than the summit.
United’s joint top Prem scorers this season, Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo, have netted just SIX times each.
Diallo, whose season is over through injury, did not score in any of the six matches in all competitions after his late rescue act hat-trick against Southampton, while the skipper’s strike at Everton was only his second in nine Prem games since the Manchester derby, although his dead ball deliveries resulted in all United’s goal in the 3-2 win over Ipswich.
And those two are prolific by comparison with the other three alleged striking options at Amorim’s disposal.
Alejandro Garnacho has not scored a single top flight goal since Amorim’s arrival, Rasmus Hojlund has ONE Prem strike – in the home defeat to Nottingham Forest – since mid-October, while Joshua Zirkzee’s last league goal was against Everton on December 1.
United’s record Prem low goals campaign came in 2015-16, under Louis van Gaal, when they scored just 49. They still need to score 17 in their last 11 matches to beat that.
What we know about the ‘new’ Old Trafford
MANCHESTER UNITED plan to build a new stadium rather than redevelop Old Trafford.
The decision was made after a number of fact-finding missions to other stadiums including the Bernabeu and Nou Camp.
The cost of the project is expected to be a staggering £2billion.
A capacity of 100,000 is expected.
It is felt that a club of United’s standing should have a new state-of-the-art facility.
The new stadium will be built on land adjacent to the Red Devils’ current home.
United are looking to not only build a stadium but regenerate the area of Trafford where the ground will stand.
There had been plans to KEEP Old Trafford rather than demolish it, and use it as a scaled down second venue.
However, it’s looking increasing likely that it will in fact be entirely demolished.
The club consulted with 30,000 fans about what to do and believe there is roughly a 50-50 split on staying or moving.
The club have appointed the architects Foster + Partners to come up with a “masterplan”. The company were behind Wembley Stadium.
Old Trafford has been United’s home since 1910.
The target is for completion by 2030.
