Terrace Talk: Man United - Stuck in a limbo that’s too good for Everton

By Richard Kurt

Those of us who had been wondering all season just how good United really are may feel this past week has summed it up. Good enough to squeeze past mundane Premier League sides like Everton at home; bad enough to be totally schooled by any classy European side that may come along.

But you kinda knew that already, didn’t you? We’re in a quality limbo — too good to seriously struggle, too bad to seriously succeed — and José seems to think that he’s never going to have the wherewithal to drag us up and out of it.

Of course, you may have seen the narked comments from José about Juventus’ all-level superiority as being nothing more significant than a statement of facts. Most informed observers, however, saw it as yet another bolshy dig at Woodward and the owners, whom Mourinho appears to relish teasing and taunting on an almost weekly basis.

Yet if you were one of those who actually believed The Sun last Thursday, Mourinho is supposed to have been told off by his superiors for publicly moaning about players. I did enjoy imagining Woodward trying to tell Mourinho off about anything at all. Let’s just say Superted does not enjoy a reputation as a brave hardman at Old Trafford. Perhaps he did it by email. With diplomatic emoji kisses.

But it’s been a week for gagging, or so we are told. Apart from The Sun story, there was also the Sunday Mirror reckoning Pogba has been told not to speak to the press. And the Sunday People has chipped in with a line about United ‘Legend’-brand ex-players being warned not to criticise the current régime. We sound like we’re in Calabria — ‘omerta’ is the watchword, avoiding ‘vendetta’ the reason. Mamma mia.

The name of the game now is to cling on to some of the advances being made here ‘n’ there. Tony Martial’s thoroughly unexpected explosion of good form has even been accompanied by the odd smile; Mata has cheered up and looks lively; Lindelof has fleetingly shown signs that he may not be a total write-off. But these nuggets feel thin on the ground. Meanwhile Matic gets slower by the day; Lukaku baffles and frustrates; Fred still looks like an actor in search of a role, whereas Mourinho...well, we could go on all day here.

Chin up, though; someone out there still thinks we’re worth it. No, not just L’Oréal; step forward those cuddly Saudis, who have been reported in two national newspapers as being “interested” in United.

Doubtless your initial reaction would have been to dismiss this 395th possible takeover story but I can at least confirm that there have been speculative whispers in both the kingdom’s upper echelons and inside companies that deal with Saudi sporting interests. They’re talking possible investments and partnerships rather than potential takeovers at this stage

Global football has been waiting for a big move from the Saudis for years, knowing that the regional superpower will have been jealous of what neighbours Qatar and UAE have achieved with their trophy-wife clubs. Should they ever get their hands on United, it’ll be the end of any interest in the club for this particular Red, and I am sure I wouldn’t be alone. Desperate City fans might be happy with their vile state owners but I’d expect some stiff resistance in our three-quarters of town — even though everyone would obviously welcome the Glazers’ departure.

United slog down to the distant south coast for a lunchtime kick-off on Saturday, thanks to yet another display of fan-ignoring contempt from the fixture decree factory. Yesterday’s match had been moved twice, again without any consideration for fans paying out for suddenly redundant travel arrangements. No-one will be getting any compensation, of course. Few businesses treat their customers so badly, yet are still so richly rewarded for doing so. No wonder the world’s most loathsome dictatorships and tycoons are so keen to have a piece, hey?”