


Wednesday 26th February 2025 – 19:30
Old Trafford

Pre-match Thoughts - Mike
Trudging away from Portman Road at 5pm Saturday was probably the lowest I have felt all season, and that is saying something. I really felt we were going to turn up and do the business against a very up and down Spurs side. Buoyed by our heroic efforts a week previous at Aston Villa it just felt right, we all suddenly had a little bit of belief again and felt up for the challenge ahead. Sadly what unfolded against Spurs was another home Horror show which if I am to be honest feels like the fatal blow in our quest to survive and get a second crack at this league next season, for me the reality that we are going down has well and truly set in.
Of course it could well have been so very different, we started off really well and had we taken at least One of the decent chances that fell our way in the opening few Minutes I feel we could well have had Spurs exactly where we wanted them, we looked decent while they looked pretty poor and hopes were raised in those early Minutes. As we all know failure to take your chances is often a recipe for disaster and this was to be no exception. Without really ever looking anything special Spurs found themselves Two up as our defence was once again found wanting big time, we just cannot defend and it seems that our defence is incapable of bailing out the attack when chances are missed.
I don't think Ben Godfrey or Leif Davis will look back on their efforts with any pride as they were both exposed for what they are, bang average defenders who can't defend at this level. I know it is easy to criticise after the event but prior to kick off many were perplexed as to why Connor Townsend, who was excellent last weekend, was once again consigned to the substitutes bench, I honestly think had he started we could well have avoided at least One of those Spurs goals, maybe even both, of course we will never know.
We did get a glimmer of hope as the half drew to a close when Omari Hutchinson pulled One back following good work by Kelvin Phillips & Jack Clarke but it was going to prove to be a small consolation as Spurs again found a couple more goals to give the scoreline a very flattering look for the visitors. Not that it was the cause of the defeat but that guy has to be the worst Referee in the game, once again he waived fouls away and ignored other incidents that should have gone our way, quite how the game wasn't stopped for the head injury to Jacob Greaves in the build up to the Third goal god only knows, nearly every other time it would be. That said we still got what we deserved by the close of play.
The defeat coupled with a shock win for Wolves at Bournemouth sees us now Five points adrift and if I am honest we just don't look to have it in us to close the gap at all, game after game is coming and going and to get to this stage of the season with just a solitary home win is simply not good enough and it ends only One way.
All we can do is to keep plugging away and next up it is a trip to Old Trafford and the once mighty Manchester Utd, normally you would tick this One off as a free hit too but the Red Devils are a shadow of their former selves so this is not One to go into filled with fear, in fact I fancy us more away from home that I do at our place these days, maybe there is less pressure and expectation on us and we play a bit more to our strengths but whatever it is I am glad we are away from home.
A draw would normally be a great result but sadly we are now looking at Three points being what is required to have any chance at all, Wolves will now have the bit between their teeth and will be hell bent on extending the lead, in fact by the time we play United we could conceivably be a massive Eight points from safety and that would be terminal for sure, although as I said earlier I think it already is. The only thing that may change my mind a bit is to come out of this game with the gap down to Two points again, do miracles happen ? I am not so sure.
I think it is virtually impossible to second guess what our starting line up will be these days but I hope we see a couple of changes at the back, yes I keep moaning on about too many changes each week but for me Davis & Godfrey need benching, I also question Philogene and Clarke after their efforts at the weekend but with numbers thin on the ground right now our options are maybe limited, add to that possible injuries to Kelvin Phillips & Jens Cajuste too and we may well have even more changes to contend with this time around.
My feeling is this will be another fairly heavy defeat if I am honest, possibly by Three goals but this won't be the game that has probably sent us down, there are plenty more games that have gone where we should have done much better in but alas we didn't get the results we needed. It's hard penning these things right now so please Town give us all something to celebrate and me something nicer to write about for next weekends Cup tie. COYB'S
The Opposition – Manchester United - Honours
Domestic
First Division/Premier League:
1907–08, 1910–11, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
Second Division :
1935–36, 1974–75
Cups
FA Cup:
1908–09, 1947–48, 1962–63, 1976–77, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1989–90, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2015–16, 2023–24
Football League Cup/EFL Cup:
1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2016–17, 2022–23
FA Charity Shield/FA Community Shield:
1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016 (* shared)
Continental
European Cup/UEFA Champions League:
1967–68, 1998–99, 2007–08
European Cup Winners' Cup:
1990–91
UEFA Europa League:
2016–17
UEFA Super Cup:
1991
FIFA Club World Cup:
2008
Intercontinental Cup:
1999
The Manager – Ruben Amorim

League Table as at 23.02.2025

Form Guide
Manchester United
19 Jan Manchester Utd 1 - 3 Brighton
26 Jan Fulham 0 - 1 Manchester Utd
2 Feb Manchester Utd 0 - 2 Crystal Palace
16 Feb Tottenham 1 - 0 Manchester Utd
22 Feb Everton 2 - 2 Manchester Utd
Ipswich Town
19 Jan Ipswich Town 0 - 6 Manchester City
25 Jan Liverpool 4 - 1 Ipswich Town
1 Feb Ipswich Town 1 - 2 Southampton
15 Feb Aston Villa 1 - 1 Ipswich Town
22 Feb Ipswich Town 1 - 4 Tottenham
Head to Head

Match Referee – Darren England
MANCHESTER UNITED FC 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1