How can Man United challenge for the Premier League?
Talk of the Devils: The Athletic FC's Manchester United show
The Athletic
4.6 • 771 Ratings
🗓️ 21 May 2026
⏱️ 64 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Apparently, there have been a couple of domestic trophies decided this week... no, us neither. While Manchester United have made significant progress in the Premier League, it would be nice to be the ones celebrating this time next year. How can that be achieved?
Obviously, the big question is on midfield recruitment, and we may be getting closer to some answers there. It would also seem that Michael Carrick and the current coaching staff, with a strong United influence, are the answer in the dugout. But are there other lessons we can learn from rivals, both those succeeding and the ones experiencing difficulties.
One thing league winners do, we've learned this week, is get results on the south coast. Bruno and co head to Brighton in the sunshine, as usual, and they will NOT be heading to the beach, but to the Amex where they haven't always had it their own way of late. Time to change that.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Athletic FFC. |
| 0:20.7 | This is Talk of the Devils, the Athletic Show dedicated to Manchester United. |
| 0:24.6 | It's been a quiet week for United in some ways, but across the Premier League, a lot has happened. |
| 0:30.1 | A lot could yet happen in the remainder of this season. |
| 0:33.1 | At Manchester United's rivals, we've got the uncertainty over Pep Guardiola, |
| 0:37.2 | we've obviously |
| 0:37.6 | got Arsenal being confirmed as Premier League champions and what United might be able to learn |
| 0:41.7 | from that. The situation is Chelsea at Liverpool. There's lots of different things going on and |
| 0:46.8 | lots of managers set to move. So we're going to take a look at exactly how that could affect |
| 0:51.2 | Manchester United going forward. And to do that, we have got a bumper panel. Look at this. Didn't know we have the insurance to get all these four in the same room at the same time. So we've got Carl and Andy on this side, Critch and Laurie on this side. We've all been playing, if we look a little more casual than normal, we've all been playing at Old Trafford in a media game, which we might bore you with the details a little bit later on. But yeah, look at us, eh? Look at us. All of us |
| 1:15.1 | together. I'm not going to need this seat. I'm not moving from this seat for a good hour. |
| 1:19.1 | Yeah, I think we all feel a little bit like that. What have you made of everything this week, Andy? |
| 1:23.8 | Because it's been, it's been quiet from a united perspective like we said but observing everything |
| 1:30.3 | learning from everything else that's going on what's been your takeaway it's interesting that |
| 1:35.4 | Manchester United is calm and stable because it's not always like that and to look at the other |
| 1:40.5 | clubs not just clubs domestically I was writing about Real Madrid last week thinking, wow. |
| 1:45.4 | And then Chelsea just seems to have been like a washing machine on a high spin |
| 1:50.9 | since they got new owners. |
| 1:53.7 | That doesn't concern me too greatly, if I'm honest. |
| 1:57.7 | Liverpool, I mean, I've been reminded of some tweets from prominent Liverpool fans in September |
| 2:01.9 | about not whether they'd win the league, but when they'd win the league, which, again, doesn't |
| 2:07.8 | concern me that they've not won the league. |
... |
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