No Question About That - a Manchester United podcast

*Apologies for the dodgy audio on this week's episode* #1059 | Ed, Dharnish, and Daniel open in meltdown mode. Manchester United have two wins from nine and the latest crisis is the fallout from Lisandro Martinez’ criticism of Jason Wilcox. The tactics tell the story. United conceded after 50 seconds at Atletico with five players in one zone and nobody closing down. They had used a 4-4-2 mid-block against Spurs and were pulled apart anyway. The diagnosis is a team caught between pressing high, sitting deep, and dominating the ball. Masters of none. From there, we work through questions around Yoro, Maguire, Martinez and De Ligt at centre-back. Then there’s Leeds’s 3-5-2 to deal with at the weekend and what Como will ask of United next week. 0:00 Meltdown mode 1:35 Pressing problem vs Atlético 5:24 High press or mid-block? 7:51 Spurs: the 4-4-2 falls apart 9:58 Squad building and Carrick’s vision 14:57 Centre-back questions: Yoro, Maguire, De Ligt 18:29 Ball dominance isn’t working 25:00 Predicted XI vs Leeds Sponsor Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials Twitter - https://x.com/nqatpod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nqatpod/ BlueSky - https://bsky.app/profile/nqatpod.bsky.social Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/c/nqatpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1057 | Ed and Andy catch up on four straight wins for United Women, which have turned the mood around after a difficult start to the season. 10-1 against Sheffield United, a narrow victory over West Ham, 5-1 against Durham, and a single goal victory over Liverpool. The team’s personality is becoming clearer under Eva Olid.  The conversation widens to goalkeeper depth and how a youth-heavy squad is developing.  Then there’s a preview of the games in the coming week. Charlton in the WSL, a second meeting with Liverpool in the Players Cup, and the Manchester derby. Read the Barmy Article 0:26 Intro 1:40 New momentum: four wins in a row 5:22 Aggressive press 10:50 Goalkeeping depth 16:38 Crowds, marketing, and the fanbase 19:12 Young players coming through 26:39 WSL picture and City’s charges Sponsor Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Socials Twitter - https://x.com/nqatpod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nqatpod/ BlueSky - https://bsky.app/profile/nqatpod.bsky.social Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/c/nqatpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1055 | Ed and Dharnish talk about Manchester City's cheating three weeks on from the verdict and with the appeal under way. City's “it was government money” defence falls apart when the government, the sponsors, and the owner turn out to be one family. With club and fan denial hardening, the likeliest exit is a sale, or a vote to expel if City keep fighting. There's some chat about why Financial Fair Play was created in the first place, Andy Burnham and the UAE’s investments in the UK, and what Guardiola knew. Then it’s back to the football with Spurs on Saturday. Sesko is ruled out and Dorgu is injured. Will Cunha play through the middle again, what's the right balance in midfield as Baleba returns, and is there a case for Yoro’s pace at centre-back after his France debut? The episode finishes with Ronaldo’s complaint over his Portugal minutes against Messi’s emotional send-off, and Ferguson’s book tour and what he said about living to see the new stadium. Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today. Claude.ai/NQAT 0:00 Intro: Spurs, City and Fergie 1:36 City’s CPC defence 7:53 Abu Dhabi, power and the exit route 16:51 FFP, the appeal and Burnham 24:56 What did Pep know? 30:05 Spurs preview: team news, midfield and Yoro 44:32 Ronaldo and Messi 50:42 Fergie and the new stadium Hate the ads? Want more NQAT? For ad-free listening and our weekly bonus show, find us on Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1053 | Daniel joins Ed to make the case that this was never really a football story: Manchester City's ownership is Abu Dhabi's ruling family operating through the exact same statecraft logic they apply to war, espionage and geopolitics. And that family’s refusal to ever hear the word "no" from anyone. It’s the instinct that produced the fraud itself. Trace the money and the politics: Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth, the family network tying the state, the investment vehicle, the sponsors and the football club into one entity. Then there’s Andy Burnham's startlingly weak public response, read against his own history with City-linked land deals in East Manchester and the UK's broader security and investment ties to the UAE.  Pep Guardiola is linked in the same way. His public advocacy on Gaza and Catalan independence is impossible to square with total silence on his own owners' role in Sudan. His City trophies cannot be separated from dirty money and the questions of doping that have followed his career since Barcelona. This is potentially the biggest scandal in the history of sport, precisely because of the geopolitics layered underneath it. 0:00 Intro: City found guilty 2:30 From anti-competitive to human rights 4:39 Statecraft, sovereign wealth and sportswashing 6:58 Paper trail and the defence 14:55 Andy Burnham and Manchester politics 23:36 Punishment, lawsuits and a forced sale 37:48 Guardiola's hypocrisy and his legacy 47:52 Biggest scandal of all time? Wrap-up --- Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today — Claude.ai/NQAT --- If you are interested in supporting the show and accessing a weekly exclusive bonus episode, check out our Patreon page or subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Supporter funded episodes are ad-free. NQAT is available on all podcast apps and in video on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button, leave a rating and write a review on Apple or Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1051 | Ed and Adam use the City verdict to talk about reputation rather than punishment mechanics: City's for organising the fraud, the Premier League's for taking eight years and letting itself be outmuscled by lawyers, and Pep Guardiola's, since virtually everything he won at City was built on financial cheating he spent years publicly denying. There's an awkward political dimension: City are owned by the UAE, a UK security and investment partner, and there’s scepticism that the other 19 clubs would vote for expulsion given how many owners have their own business ties to the Gulf. Given that, how might any punishment be constructed and what might be just?  On Pep specifically, they trace a pattern running from his playing days through Barcelona to City. His legacy is now inseparable from the fraud that funded it. Then there’s the broadcasters who’ve pretended non of this was happening. Shame on them.  0:27 Intro: 114 of 115 charges 2:32 Reputations in the toilet 4:52 Why spending limits exist 9:27 Can City rebuild their reputation? 14:17 Nation-state ownership and the UAE 19:36 Would clubs vote to expel City? 27:00 What punishment actually fits 32:57 Charge stacking and precedent 38:28 Getting the owners out 39:24 Pep's legacy 45:30 Sudan, sportswashing and silence 47:50 How the media will cover it 55:04 Fan reaction and the weaponized fanbase 58:04 What happens next 1:00:06 Wrap-up --- Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today — Claude.ai/NQAT --- If you are interested in supporting the show and accessing a weekly exclusive bonus episode, check out our Patreon page or subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Supporter funded episodes are ad-free. NQAT is available on all podcast apps and in video on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button, leave a rating and write a review on Apple or Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1049 | Manchester United's full-year financials landed the same week as defeats to City and Brighton and a draw at Fulham. Ed and Jamie's read is that the numbers tell a positive story: record revenue of £677.6 million, operating cash flow more than double what United generated the previous year, and a smaller real interest bill than the eye-catching accounting figure implies. The episode works through where the financial resilience came from: ticket price rises, strong retail performance offsetting lost sponsors. There's the £63.5 million spent on stadium land as the first sign of what United plan to do with the extra cash, and an explainer of INEOS's own complicated, heavily leveraged business, useful context for anyone hoping Jim Ratcliffe can simply write a bigger cheque.  The episode closes on ownership: the price floor on a new buyer lifts in 2027, but with almost nobody left in the world both able and willing to pay Glazer-level prices for the club, don't expect a takeover any time soon. 0:27 Welcome and what's coming up 3:15 Full year financials: headline numbers 5:28 Matchday, ticketing and commercial revenue 10:04 Profitability and cash flow 14:43 Debt, interest and the stadium land 23:14 Guidance 28:50 INEOS explained 35:10 Ownership, the 2027 price floor and potential buyers --- Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today — Claude.ai/NQAT --- If you are interested in supporting the show and accessing a weekly exclusive bonus episode, check out our Patreon page or subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Supporter funded episodes are ad-free. NQAT is available on all podcast apps and in video on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button, leave a rating and write a review on Apple or Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1047 | Another week another crisis? After United’s draw at Fulham, Ed and Dharnish push back on the reaction, arguing the underlying picture (29 shots, nearly 3 xG, more shots and box touches than any team in the league this season) suggests better times ahead. Shifts in fine margins turned this game into a mediocre week rather than a crisis.The real issue is a press that keeps failing because Bruno and Rashford aren't suited to it. Carrick keeps asking them to do it anyway. In possession, the double false-nine setup leaves progression looking attractive, but nobody is actually in the box when it matters. This needs fixing before results turn even worse. They also take apart the widely shared running-stats graphic, arguing it reflects a possession-heavy style rather than laziness, using City's own numbers as the comparison. --- Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today — Claude.ai/NQAT --- 0:27 Intro: another United draw 2:38 Is it really that bad? The xG case 5:12 Pressing issues 10:12 Midblock or press? Personnel and compromise 12:50 In possession: breaking down in the final third 16:44 Attacking dynamics and Bruno's role 27:08 Running stats 33:05 Wrap-up If you are interested in supporting the show and accessing a weekly exclusive bonus episode, check out our Patreon page or subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Supporter funded episodes are ad-free. NQAT is available on all podcast apps and in video on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button, leave a rating and write a review on Apple or Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1045 | Ed and Dharnish discuss United’s 3-2 defeat to Brighton in the Carabao Cup. United’s heavily rotated side led 2-0 before collapsing, with an increasingly ugly atmosphere at Old Trafford on display.  Shea Lacey's goal and a well-worked press that teed up Mount for the second were the rare bright spots in an otherwise chaotic performance from United. There’s already a bigger question: are United’s results this season down to bad individual performances, or something wrong with Carrick's actual game model? There’s no easy answer, especially given how comfortably this same group won games last season doing something much simpler. There's also a discussion of the JJ Gabriel contract saga, with both urging caution about how much scrutiny a 15-year-old should be under. But scepticism that his camp's version of events reflects what United would realistically have offered. They close by previewing Fulham this weekend. --- Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today — Claude.ai/NQAT --- 0:00 Introduction: 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton 1:31 Reaction: anger at Old Trafford 4:13 Positives: Shea Lacey 7:00 Yoro and Heaven 12:16 Midfield, Mount and Sesko's night 20:19 Is something fundamentally wrong with Carrick's game model? 31:55 JJ Gabriel contract saga 48:02 Fulham preview 55:30 Wrap If you are interested in supporting the show and accessing a weekly exclusive bonus episode, check out our Patreon page or subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Supporter funded episodes are ad-free. NQAT is available on all podcast apps and in video on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button, leave a rating and write a review on Apple or Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#1043 | The transfer window smashed Premier League spending records. The real story is how incestuous it all was: clubs buying from each other, squeezed by the same rules and looking to square their own books. United funded their window through a revolving credit facility and not player sales. They sold precisely nobody all summer. Ed and Jamie dig into why, including a wage bill that is about to jump with three new signings, Rashford’s return and Champions League bonuses.  Then a full tour of the league's finances: City and Chelsea both bankrolled by relentless trading, Villa turning their squad over for a tidy profit, Everton and Crystal Palace both looking primed for a sale and Spurs spending like a club that's given up on ever being bought.  The pod closes on the outlook: United's transfer debt clears over the next 12 months, creating real flexibility next summer, just as Maguire, Shaw and a stack of big contracts come up for renewal. --- Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today — Claude.ai/NQAT --- 0:28 Intro 2:29 Transfer market: money cycling in the Premier League 5:57 How United funded the window 8:48 United's wage bill 11:39 Why United didn't sell 15:11 Manchester City 16:05 Chelsea's player trading machine 20:58 Aston Villa 24:08 Everton 27:35 Crystal Palace 29:09 Spurs' spending spree 33:45 Liverpool 37:08 Looking ahead to next season 43:00 Wrap-up If you are interested in supporting the show and accessing a weekly exclusive bonus episode, check out our Patreon page or subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Supporter funded episodes are ad-free. NQAT is available on all podcast apps and in video on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button, leave a rating and write a review on Apple or Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices