This is a very special edition of Talk of the Devils, the podcast dedicated to Manchester United by The Athletic, marking the upcoming 80th birthday of Sir Alex Ferguson. Hosted by Iain Irving with the usual team, club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten, and with special guests Adam Crafton, Oliver Kay, and Nick Miller, we think back over the career of the man who took Manchester United to the very top and kept them there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Dec 26, 2021•1 hr 20 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular pundits, club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten. The latest wave of Covid cases across the UK has already caused significant disruption to the pre-Christmas fixture list, and after United's last two matches were called off, we're waiting to hear from the Premier League and our new manager. That may be that for the calendar year, then, so it's time to sit and take stock of a rema...
Dec 20, 2021•53 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with United We Stand fanzine editor Andy Mitten. Our focus is almost entirely on the South of England today with news on the postponed trip to Brentford and another away day, this time at Brighton, that looks in doubt. And, we've sneak previews of Laurie Whitwell's interview with Brandon Williams, whose form is on the up at Norwich, and a Business of Sport podcast discussion with Edwin van der Sar. Learn more about your ad ch...
Dec 16, 2021•37 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular pundits, club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten. United were inititally drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in a botched Champions League draw, but will face Atletico Madrid after a hastily-arranged repeat. We also look back at a trip to Carrow Road which produced a surprising number of headlines for a pretty dour affair, and Jay Harris joins us to preview another away-day at Bren...
Dec 13, 2021•51 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten and Staff Editor Anthony Hay. No fewer than six academy graduates featured in the Champions League fixture against Young Boys Bern. Quite a few famous-sounding names took the pitch for Manchester United but the most significant of those was Zidane Iqbal, the first British South Asian player to do so. The first-team regulars may not feel hugely threatened by that tepid performance, but R...
Dec 09, 2021•53 min
Host Ian Irving is joined by The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell and Andy Mitten, to reflect on United's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday... Fred's fabulous form in recent weeks, Ronaldo's running, first impressions of Rangnick in the flesh and if Jose Mourinho was right and Diogo Dalot really is better than Trent Alexander-Arnold! Plus, the trio look ahead to an opportunity for Ralf to rotate in midweek against Young Boys and an update on incoming back-room staff. Learn more about your ad choic...
Dec 06, 2021•46 min
Ian Irving, Andy Mitten & Laurie Whitwell reflect on an entertaining night at Old Trafford that saw United beat Arsenal, Ronaldo score his 800th league goal before scoring the winner & Michael Carrick announcing at full time that he is leaving the club. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 03, 2021•34 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular pundits, club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten. This week's podcast was recorded immediately after the official announcement of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager and football consultant, coming hot off the heels of a fairly respectable draw at Stamford Bridge. The process of getting the new manager a work visa may mean he can't take charge for the (important) Arsenal game on Thu...
Nov 29, 2021•50 min
Ian Irving is joined by The Athletic's Laurie Whtiwell & Andy Mitten to discuss the breaking news that Manchester United have reached agreement with Ralf Rangnick to become interim manager. We’ll tell you all you need to know about the deal to bring in Rangick and The Athletic's Raphael Honigstein will tell us how Rangnick works & what he can bring to United. We will also look back on Tuesday’s impressive performance that saw United qualify for the lat 16 of the Champions League. Learn more abou...
Nov 25, 2021•43 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular pundits, club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten. Another embarrassing defeat, and another disastrous performance, proved to be the final straw for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He was sacked as manager on Sunday morning and Michael Carrick will be in charge for the Champions League fixture at Villareal. Beyond that? Nobody seems to know, but the club's statement seemed to suggest an out...
Nov 22, 2021•54 min
Ian Irving is joined by The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell & Andy Mitten to look forward - tentatively - to United returning to action in the Premier League at Watford this weekend. Andy also shares the incredible journey he went on in helping United legend Patrice Evra to write his hugely successful autobiography. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 18, 2021•55 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular pundits, club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten, and special guest Phil Buckingham. It was supposed to be a quiet international week, but United players seem to have a knack for making headlines, and at the moment they all seem to be negative! We catch up with Portugal, especially the travails of Bruno Fernandes, Sweden's Victor Lindelof, and England's Harry Maguire. Plus, there...
Nov 15, 2021•56 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten. Andy wrote up The Athletic's survey of Manchester United fans this week, and the headline figure was the 69% of fans who said the manager should leave immediately. A similar number said signing Ronaldo was the right decision but there was no love for the Glazer family, while the players seem to have gotten off lightly. Meanwhile the club's CEO of ...
Nov 11, 2021•53 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's twice-weekly podcast dedicated to Manchester United, with regular guests Laurie Whitwell and Andy Mitten, as well as Michael Cox, the author of Zonal Marking. On paper, defeat in the Manchester derby, by two goals, looks less bad than the five-nil drubbing from Liverpool. However, there was a feeling among some supporters that this performance was even worse. Indications are still that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won't be dismissed but, as Michael explains, Manch...
Nov 08, 2021•52 min
Ian Irving is joined by The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell & Andy Mitten fresh from Bergamo to look back on ANOTHER moment of brilliance from Cristiano Ronaldo to keep United alive in the Champions League. We also look ahead to the derby against Manchester City with David Mooney, could playing at home be a disadvantage for United? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 04, 2021•40 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with club correspondent Laurie Whitwell, United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten, and Italian football expert James Horncastle. Everyone on the podcast is breathing a huge sigh of relief after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side got their first Premier League win since mid-September, achieved with a tactical switch to a back three and a 70-year-old strike-pairing. Spurs sacked their manager on Monday and, with rumours that Antonio Conte w...
Nov 01, 2021•51 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and regular United contributor, Editor of United We Stand, Andy Mitten. The aftermath of Sunday's disastrious defeat to Liverpool has, inevitably, seen intense speculation about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's job security. We look at some of the stories that have blown up, including Sir Alex Ferguson's scheduled trip to the Carrington training facilities on Monday. There's also a look at the ba...
Oct 28, 2021•54 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten. We've had some miserable Mondays on the pod this season, but this one has to take the biscuit. A five-nil defeat at home to a bitter rival is bad enough, but the scoreline was almost kind to the Red Devils. Talk of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's departure as manager naturally intensified after what is certainly one of the club's worst results in Premier L...
Oct 25, 2021•49 min
Ian Irving is joined by The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell & Andy Mitten to discuss another dramatic comeback in the Champions League at Old Trafford, this time against Atalanta and once again Cristiano Ronaldo is the hero. We also look ahead to the huge game at Old Trafford against Liverpool with The Athletic's Simon Hughes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 21, 2021•47 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular panellists, club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten. Defeat at Leicester City on Saturday was as dispiriting as it was crucial and it was the worst possible start to a potentially season-defining run of games over the next few weeks. The Monday post-mortem is becoming an all too regular occurrence on this show, so what can be done to fix the obvious problems? Does the manager, al...
Oct 18, 2021•50 min
Ian Irving is joined by The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell & Andy Mitten to discuss the future of Paul Pogba at Manchester United. Will he sign the contract that's on the table or is the best solution for all concerned that he leaves for free next summer? The Athletic's Leicester writer Rob Tanner also drops by to preview United's trip to the King Power on Saturday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 14, 2021•51 min
Ian Irving hosts the latest edition of The Athletic's weekly Manchester United podcast with today's guests, club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten. With the men away on international duty, we asked for your questions from subscribers, and the postbag was as full as ever. We get stuck into a selection of those, and figure out what condition the players will be in when they return to club training. And there's a check-in with the women's team, who very nearly won...
Oct 11, 2021•54 min
Ian Irving goes one-on-one with United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten on The Athletic's Manchester United Podcast as we consider why our previous episode made waves on social media. Earlier in the week, Andy sat down with former United midfielder and coach Nicky Butt, and we pick the bones out of a fascinating discussion. With a round-up of the latest news, and a look back at a sensational comeback against Spurs, international week is proving to be anything but quiet. Learn more about your ad choic...
Oct 07, 2021•45 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's twice-weekly Manchester United podcast with in-house club correspondent Laurie Whitwell and United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten. Everton came to Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime and, even though United had taken the lead through Anthony Martial, the visitors were unlucky to leave with just a point. How quickly will the pressure now build on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? We also talk about Park Ji-Sung, who has asked fans to stop singing a song with offensive lyrics, and ...
Oct 04, 2021•50 min
Ian Irving is joined by The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell & Andy Mitten to look back on Ronaldo's last gasp winner for United in the Champions League. Was United's overall display a cause for concern or should we all just buckle up and enjoy the ride? We'll also look ahead to the game with Everton. Rafa Benitez is now their manager and that's a fact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 30, 2021•46 min
This is The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United, hosted by Ian Irving, with club writers Laurie Whitwell and Andy Mitten. Familiarity was the theme on this miserable Monday morning. Once again, a team wearing Claret and Blue came to Old Trafford, and once again they pulled off a smash-and-grab. This time it was Aston Villa heading back to Brum with three Premier League points. The next visitors will be Villareal, no strangers themselves. They specialise in draws, with five of their...
Sep 27, 2021•45 min
Ian Irving is joined by The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell & Andy Mitten to reflect on United's League Cup exit and what it means for fringe players like Anthony Martial. Is going out of the competition such a bad thing? Also after after a long battle from various fans groups safe standing should be back at Old Trafford this season - will this improve the atmosphere? We also look ahead to the Saturday lunchtime game against Aston Villa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 23, 2021•41 min
The Athletic's Manchester United reporters Carl Anka and Andy Mitten join Ian Irving to break down yet another away win in the Premier League. Perhaps it was destined to be Jesse Lingard's day. He added the winner after Cristiano Ronaldo's equaliser at the London Stadium, but Solskjaer's team also needed a late penalty save from 'David de Gea. Is it enough to be doing just enough? Carl Anka has written about exactly that this week, but it's a subject that splits the podcast panel. We also react ...
Sep 20, 2021•54 min
Ian Irving is joined by The Athletic's Carl Anka & Andy Mitten talk through a massive Champions League following the massive high at Old Trafford a few days earlier. Was the red card the only reason United lost to Young Boys or does some of the blame lie with the manager? We also discuss another unfortunate night for Donny van de Beek. There is a look ahead to Sunday's game at West Ham - will Bruno or Ronaldo be on penalty duties? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 16, 2021•52 min
Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United in conversation with club correspondents Carl Anka and Laurie Whitwell. The eyes of the footballing world fell on Manchester at 3pm on Saturday to see Cristiano Ronaldo return to where he developed into a world-class forward. With two goals, he didn't disappoint, and his return is already showing signs of positive influence throughout the club. Next up, a visit to Bern's Wankdorf Stadium to face the city's Young Boys, prompti...
Sep 13, 2021•43 min
