Exactly when the Madrid game was announced I thought we would rotate players in this game. But by rotate I thought it would be squad players and youngsters. Not the U-20 squad.
Manchester United vs Wrexham (Wed 26th July, 03:30 UK time)
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Red cards in friendlies 
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.Well we already saw several bad challenges tonight, even though it's just a friendly. Not going down to ten men if you get a man sent off is just a bizarre suggestion. They're friendlies but they're still football matches played with the regular laws of the game.
Every single mention I've seen of this Wrexham match from the start has described it as going to be a 'youthful' United team.
That's pretty much been from the United site, MEN articles, etc. I've no idea about promotional emails or how it's been advertised outside the UK. But I've certainly never been left in any doubt that it was going to be an U21 type team selection, having read it described as a game for a 'youthful' Man United squad time and time again. So I've been expecting this exact type of selection from the start.
https://www.manutd.com/en/amp/news/...sale-for-man-utd-v-wrexham-match-on-tour-2023
Above is a link to the article from March on the official site announcing the tickets are on sale - where it says "A youth-focused team drawn from United’s travelling squad, supplemented by Academy prospects, will face Wrexham on Tuesday 25 July, as part of a week-long training camp in San Diego."
And includes a lengthy quote from Murtough saying: “Pre-season tours are always a great occasion to give opportunities for our most promising young Academy players to gain valuable experience in the first-team environment, and this match against Wrexham is a great example of that.
“Manchester United has a history of nurturing and promoting youth and this is a chance for not only Erik [ten Hag] but also our US supporters to assess the homegrown talent that is developing within our Academy, and hopefully to be able to say, ‘I saw him here first,’ if some of those players go on to establish themselves as first-team regulars.”
So it should hardly be a shock, surely?
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The obsession with fecking up preseason by playing a weak team against a more senior weak team just we can say "it was the youth team" is mindboggling. Preseason games have to be pristine we should win them all! Class and dignity!!!
ripbozo
ripbozo
Red cards in friendlies
Refs who are desperate for attention.
Who cares what that loser is saying.
1. Club made it clear back when the fixture was announced.
2. This is the official poster. A bit of common sense and anyone would understand that they wouldn't be using a bunch of no names in their advertising if there wasn't a good reason behind it.
3. Why on earth would United's main players face fecking Wrexham in the States? They were a Conference team when the fixture was announced ffs. What purpose would it serve? What answers would the manager get? We barely ever face teams this shite in the 3rd round of the FA cup. Again, you can't go wrong with an ounce of common sense.
Youth-focused can be 3-5 rotating main players with adding youth players. And lots of big teams playing drosses (even local) shite teams in pre-season overseas.
Wow great thread. That guy is totally right. I was about to spend around $1,000 dollars to attend the game. At the end I couldn't manage it, lucky me I guess.
Wait until you read what our genius said:
"This will be the first time the team has visited San Diego, and we are looking forward to playing in front of our passionate US fans at the Snapdragon Stadium," said John Murtough, United's football director. "Pre-season tours are always a great occasion to give opportunities for our most promising young Academy players to gain valuable experience in the first team environment, and this match against Wrexham AFC is a great example of that.
"Manchester United has a history of nurturing and promoting youth and this is a chance for not only Erik but also our US supporters to assess the homegrown talent that is developing within our academy, and hopefully to be able to say, 'I saw him here first,' if some of those players go on to establish themselves as first team regulars."
Definitely doesn't sound like snake oil salesman.
I'd be fuming if I went to that game, they have absolutely no shame. How they dare to promote something like this? I mean they know they're ripping fans off.
Absolutely disgraceful by the club.
Its interesting how marmite Hannibal is --- some here don't know what he contributed. The MUTV team thinks he is the man of the match!!! 
Agreed. His ability to receive the ball under pressure and then to evade the press is very impressive imo. He had a very good game which the tweet below describes perfectly imo.
I'm with the MUTV team.Its interesting how marmite Hannibal is --- some here don't know what he contributed. The MUTV team thinks he is the man of the match!!!
I thought Hannibal oozed class as usual - though also mixed with his usual levels of frustration as endless amounts of fouls on him go unpunished.
He was one of our few players who looked first team quality on the ball, and was always looking to dominate the game in a way most of our other players out there don't / can't. If he'd had better team mates in attacking areas to link up with, he'd have probably had more end product, but he was definitely the one whose potential quality shone through.
Tbf Playing Wrexham has more benefits to Wrexham than to United.
Good link. Nice to see the eye test supported by stats. I thought he oozed quality out there. We lost because defensively we struggled against crosses / long throws; And, offensively, we had little threat. And the sending off of course. But amidst all that Hannibal put in a very solid, classy game in the middle of the pitch and did himself no harm at all with another good performance this pre-season.
This. I have always liked Hannibal. He has evolved a bit. He whinges a lot -- but so does our club captain. He has Bruno's energy.
I still remember the match against the Scousers where one of the dirty bastards pulled on his hair to foul him. He used to react but he channels his aggression much better nowadays.
I bet if we look back at Bruno's early career, he was like Hannibal... always on the ball, up & down the field. Endless energy.
Speaking of links.... I think Hannibal links up well with Amad. I remember like their 1st or 2nd game together, they were reading each other's moves like they had been playing together for years.
Luton Town want to take him on loan according to a Tunisian source. Leicester City along with a unnamed club are also interested.
Not sure which club would be best for him but Luton are in the EPL.
I love watching our U21s, this will be fun.
Obviously. They're just buying United name. I just dislike this sneaky-type of promotion, and costing oblivious United fans hundreds of dollars.
By the line up that got played, that tells us that Mainoo will be apart of the first team squad this season.
Should be an interesting game. No excuses not to beat a 4th tier team.
I remember seeing them together for the U23's 2 or 3 years ago, when Amad played a few times at that level. They were brilliant together and we scored 6 in consecutive games - I think one was against Liverpool.
Did we lose the game because of the implication?
Terrible challenge by Bishop on Mullin. I wonder how long he’ll be out for?
I also hope wrexham have US medical insurance
I also hope wrexham have US medical insurance
What sort of philosophy does Luton employ? Similar to the brummies?
From what I saw of Luton last season, they seem to be a pretty direct team, looking to be a threat from long balls, crosses and set pieces - so pretty similar to Wrexham tonight.
I may be wrong, but I'm not sure a flair player like Hannibal would flourish there - I'm expecting them to pretty much be a Tony Pulis / Sean Dyche type team in the PL.
Well, we struggled on crosses and set pieces, which was expected.
I think Hannibal was probably the best player, and really stepped up to take responsibility when down a goal, recognizing that he is probably the few players with real experience and always being available for a pass.
Gore was also good before the sending off. Fernanadez also played well, put in some good crosses and was decent defensively as well.
Struggled in attack, with no pace at all on the wings to provide an option, and them wanting to drift centrally than stay out wide. This just packed the middle of the pitch, where we did pass the ball around well but it resulted in nothing. Not sure why Emeran was not in the there as he would have been a better option on the right at least.
Overall, mostly expected. Not sure why Bishop was playing, when he has a move ready. The red card was a farce, Bishop should have gotten one instead. The ref was generally very inconsistent and shit.
I think Hannibal was probably the best player, and really stepped up to take responsibility when down a goal, recognizing that he is probably the few players with real experience and always being available for a pass.
Gore was also good before the sending off. Fernanadez also played well, put in some good crosses and was decent defensively as well.
Struggled in attack, with no pace at all on the wings to provide an option, and them wanting to drift centrally than stay out wide. This just packed the middle of the pitch, where we did pass the ball around well but it resulted in nothing. Not sure why Emeran was not in the there as he would have been a better option on the right at least.
Overall, mostly expected. Not sure why Bishop was playing, when he has a move ready. The red card was a farce, Bishop should have gotten one instead. The ref was generally very inconsistent and shit.
Terrible challenge by Bishop on Mullin. I wonder how long he’ll be out for?
I also hope wrexham have US medical insurance
Looked like something to do with his hip... maybe hip flexor bruising? Otherwise, I am not sure why he was in such pain. I have had hip dislocation a couple of times and they weren't that painful.
They intentionally sent him to Birmingham to take him out of his comfort zone last season. I doubt if they will do the same again next season.
They need to learn how to break down two banks of 4s for their own future.
Yeah, I can only imagine Emeran picked up an injury at some point. As he did well in the first friendly - a goal and an assist? Then an unused sub in the second, and hasn't been selected for either squad in the US. So he must surely have picked up an injury at some point after that first game when he impressed?
Yeah, good point, Birmingham have a similar style that doesn't really suit Hannibal. Like you say, good to expose him to that for a bit as part of his development, but now he really needs a genuine chance to flourish in a style that does suit him.
With his record, that is probably true. Just can't catch a break.
The perennial pre-season mysteries. This always seems to be the case with every pre-season. Players perform well then disappear into the Bermuda Triangle for the rest of the season.
Will he get playing time at Burnley? Otherwise, off to Holland?
How did it go?
Mullin punctured a lung. How long is that? 2 months out?
It's a tricky one. As the kind of player he is, he'd most suit a top half PL clubs style but they mostly aren't looking to loan a raw United kid. Much of the bottom half that do will be more worried about relegation and play a more pragmatic style that doesn't really suit him, and they probably would prefer safer options than a bit of a wild card like Hannibal is at this stage.
Burnley is a decent shout, but there probably aren't too many others in the PL. Like you say, he could go to a decent team in a smaller top flight like Holland. Would another championship loan, but at a team expected to challenge at the top like Leicester or Southampton - or Sunderland, given how Mowbray worked with Amad - be better than a top flight league abroad?
It's a difficult one as he has a hell of a lot of ability and potential, but it's raw and he's very much a rough diamond who is still a little bit of a gamble temperament wise at this stage. So it's tricky, but important, to find the right club who play a suitable style, and are prepared to gamble on him as a key midfielder as he hones that potential.
I really rate him, and think a young raw Bruno was a good comparison. It's about him getting the opportunities to hone that potential, and mix of good technique, competitiveness and endless energy, the right way.