Stephen Duffin

The idea that Man Utd today is suffering "lasting damage" from ETH is (a) very damaging for United if it becomes a truth and (b) of course complete nonsense Why is it so damaging? Because it indicates that the owners of the club did enough and gave manager conditions to succeed -- while in reality it was the complete opposite. United is not in a crap position today due to an incompetent management person. Just like the club didn't struggle under Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho, Ole and Ragnick -- due to their incompetence. Facts are: Of the players on the 21/22 season, only three are considered for selection today by Ruben Amorim (Bruno, Dalot and Maguire). This means that of the 23 players on the squad, 20 positions had to be filled by new signings and academy players. The last three seasons, United has signed players for £527m, in general to -- very -- modest wages (if Casemiro or Rashford leaves besides Antony's loan this january, United's player wage bill drops below Tottenham's to 6th in the PL). This is less than half of what Chelsea has spent during the same period and it is -- completely delusional -- to think that it can be expected that someone could spend 527m on a whole new squad with very modest wages and get a top 4 contender in the PL. It speaks for itself, if some country bought Everton and found a way to spend 520m on players with modest wages -- would anyone expect it to be enough for them to challenge for a top 4 spot? Its 25m per player if you have to buy a whole squad. 50m per player if you just buy 11 players. We signed Mount who was young and healthy (?), he has barely played for us. It is very difficult to make a high number of transfers during a short period of time if you don't have the benefit of being able to be patient, and do what for example Arsenal did with Saliba. I.e. signed him and loaned him out/let him develop over several seasons. If you want to get instant results and remain at the top -- history is overwhelmingly clear that you will waste a lot of money on the way. I would definitely question if £350m per season for 3 years is enough, i.e. a total of £1050m. This is what Chelsea has spent (during 2.5 seasons), and they also have three players remaining, Reece James, Chilwell and Colwill. If you buy a whole new squad, you will sign someone like Anthony/Mudryk, you will sign someone that get injured instantly and doesn't help you at all. Some players you buy will need longer time to adjust than expected. And so forth. We spent half of this. Reality is: There is a whole bunch of pundits out there who stated that United in 22/23 and 23/24 should be a top 2-3 contender if it just wasn't for ETH being an incompetent coach. Go back and watch those squads today -- it was purely ridiculous. Just a few months ago, the same pundits were saying 'any other manager would to a lot better with this squad, its way to good, its all ETH". Now its apparant that this take by everyone from Carragher to so many other pundits was one of the worst takes ever.

So in December, my son Albin died at the age of 15 after fighting Osterosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, for 4 years. He is the biggest warrior there ever have been. But in relation to the David Coote and @FA_PGMOL scandal -- I think its important to tell a little story about Albin's last months alive -- because this story will NOT be unique. Albin was of course forced to stop playing football after his diagnosis, but he turned to Fifa and he started following Manchester United really closely. And living in hospital room at the age of 15, everyother day with your dad, it of course becomes a lot about those things. Less than a year ago, during the fall of 2023, during Albin's last months alive, Manchester United was an extremely thankful target for people like David Coote who wants to decide PL games and get bragging rights with their pals. The fan base was against the team, the journalists covering the team always is, and of everyone else, 95% loves seeing United getting screwed. Anyone that watch the Premier League will know that the refereeing has -- big -- issues. At best, we get some kind of terror balance that evens out, but if you follow the PL and state that all referees always (a) are impartial and (b) does their best job at calling games fair -- you are simply a liar. Who are the biggest victims of this? Its kids like Albin, the biggest warrior there ever was who always took the worst thinkable information about secondary tumors and what not on the chin and just kept fighting. He was inconsolable a week after Michael Oliver on VAR decided that the fact, that a penalty wasn't called in the Manchester derby, after a little pull in the arm of Rodri away from play during a corner, was a 'clear and obvious mistake'. And about 15 other calls like it, of which Michael Oliver directly was involved in like half, because it happens again, and again, and again, and again, and nobody stops it. And don't try to make this about human error or subjective rules or whatever. There is absolutely no room whatsoever to argue that a call like that is -- not -- an "agenda call". Just like the penalty Michael Oliver on VAR awarded West Ham against United the other week. This year its some teenager who might be a fan of Arsenal with a few months left to live, who gets to see their team destroyed by completely unexplainable calls, at least partly, because some ref like David Coote, have whatever agenda. This is how the Premier League and the PGMOL works. You know it, I know it, everyone else knows it. But they aren't the only victims. Referees like David Coote and Michael Oliver -- who clearly more than anyone else uses the fact that he is a great referee to get the top games, so that he can impact the Premier League as much as possible the way he wants -- are also victims, of the system. A system that clearly enables them and promote them. The people that really disappoints me, they are the journalists, pundits, and people with power like for example award-winning @henrywinter or Adam Crafton of the Athletic who will jump on every opportunity to defend PGMOL and go on about how all referees in the PL always without exception have spotless intentions -- when its extremely obvious that this isn't the case. But why do they do that? Its extremely simple, you don't win any awards for complaining on referees in football, they care about their brand, you don't necessarily build that by complaining on referees and so forth. But these type of people who build careers by looking the other way, never caring about the impact of it, without exception, they are really the worst, I can't stand them. Its like the brass in UEFA or FIFA being corrupt selling tournaments to dictators and what not, you can't leave football alone? At least to some extent see the beauty of the game and the good it does? The integrity of referees in the Premier League must -- of course -- be called out. Anyone that watch the Premier League knows that, deep inside at least. You don't need referees recording themselves on video telling you that they are corrupt, its enough to watch games. Not all games, not all referees, but why does that matter? The requirement must of course be complete impartiality every minute of all games. Can David Coote sit and say this at home to his pals one day and then the next day call a game impartially with Klopp and Liverpool? And this video and the other PGMOL scandals we have experienced just recently is of course just the tip of the ice berg, I would bet my right arm on that in this day and age, when things are as rotten as they clearly are in PGMOL -- its only a matter of time before more comes out. This rot needs to be dealt with now, and don't do it by going after referees. Go after the ones that enables them.