Carl Anka Diagnoses Manchester United Ahead of the Derby
The Athletic writer joins The Football Weekend to talk hamstrings, transfer debacles, and how both Manchester teams lost their way.
It’s the Manchester derby, UNITED against CITY, but it’s certainly a strange one. Both of these clubs are in a bad way, though that means something different to each of them. City have fallen from champion grace but are still battling for a Champions League place. United, on the other hand, are 13th in the league with eight matches left to play.
It’s an incredible state of affairs for one of Europe’s true superclubs, and on this week’s show, the brilliant Carl Anka of The Athletic suggests that United are becoming something like the Dallas Cowboys: a giant global sporting institution that’s lost its magic. We got into how the Red Devils spent their way into this mess, how City have become a team with a soft underbelly, and why this Sunday’s encounter may be a meeting of the legless midfields:
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LONG READS
⚽︎ Liam Twomey wonders in The Athletic whether, after all the hundreds of millions of pounds spent to bring in 14 teenagers a week for years now, Chelsea supporters could be the first fanbase in history to become bored of transfers.
⚽︎ It contains a startling reliance on the insight of Alexi Lalas, but Beau Dure’s meditation on whether the U.S. Men’s National Team isn’t just underachieving but unlikeable is worth a look in The Guardian.
⚽︎ Also in The Guardian, Jonathan Liew has a look at Ange Postecoglou’s quest to save himself at Tottenham Hotspur.
⚽︎ On Substack, The Nutmeg has a column from former Everton striker Steven Naismith on how he turned to sourdough after he was relieved of his duties as Hearts manager.
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MORE MATCHES
EVERTON vs ARSENAL
Sat @ 7:30am ET, 12:30pm UK
The Weekend’s high regard for Goodison Park is well-established by this point, and the Evertonians are now really running out of time at their famous old ground. They first hosted Woolwich Arsenal there in 1905, before the Gunners made their move across the Thames to North London, and now the two will meet there one last time to kick off Saturday’s fixtures. Could it be an emotional day even for Mikel Arteta, facing off against his old mentor David Moyes at the place he called home for six years?
CRYSTAL PALACE vs BRIGHTON
Sat @ 10am ET, 3pm UK
It’s the A23 or M23 derby, depending on which roadway between Brighton and Croydon meets your fancy, and having had the pleasure to attend this one myself I can say it’s a serious atmosphere. Selhurst Park is another grand old ground, and a rocking place when the Seagulls come to town ever since these two got into this extended feud back in the 1970s. It also aids the spectacle that they’re both more than decent Premier League sides now, with promising young managers at the helm.
ASTON VILLA vs NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Sat @ 12:30pm ET, 5:30pm UK
You might say that Forest have taken Villa’s place in the world, what with their rapid ascension to the Champions League places this season. The Villans are still in that competition, to be fair, set to face mighty PSG next week at the quarterfinal stage, but Unai Emery’s side are on the outside looking in as far as the Top Five in the Premier League are concerned. They need victory here, but Forest look the real deal. They defend at a high level and love to play on the counterattack, a good equation away from home.
BARCELONA vs REAL BETIS
Sat @ 3pm ET, 8pm UK
Rounding out the Saturday schedule is an intriguing one out of La Liga, where Barcelona are currently top of the pile. They’re three points clear of Real Madrid thanks to an astonishing goalscoring record: 82 in 29 matches, 20 more than Los Blancos. Their opponents here are no pushovers, though. Betis tasted rare victory in the Gran Derbi last weekend, finally putting their demons to rest against Sevilla, and they’re gunning for a European place. They’ll be missing Isco for this one through suspension, but they’re still an exciting side.
BRENTFORD vs CHELSEA
Sun @ 9am ET, 2pm UK
It’s a West London derby, as Chelsea head to the Gtech for what’s often been a difficult fixture for the Blues. They haven’t beaten Brentford away since 2021, and they’ve lost three of their last six overall against the Bees (though all of those were, strangely, at Stamford Bridge). Thomas Frank’s side have endured an uneven season, and surely had designs on a place above lower mid-table, but they’re often a tricky proposition. Chelsea can’t afford to slip up as they seek Champions League football next season.
Also in this window: FULHAM vs LIVERPOOL.
ROMA vs JUVENTUS
Sun @ 2:45pm ET, 7:45pm UK
This is classic Serie A fare, and this time it’s fifth against sixth in the table. Juve fired coach Thiago Motta and brought in Igor Tudor after a couple of eye-popping defeats that the club hierarchy clearly believed was the culmination of a very bad pattern, and the Croatian did just about secure victory over Genoa in his dugout debut last week. There’s a lot of work to do for the Old Lady, however, and this will be a serious test: Roma are flying under Claudio Ranieri, taking 28 of the last 30 points available. This looked like a lost campaign in the first half of the season, but they’ve zoomed into outsider contention for a Champions League place.
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GEAR
👕 The Classic Football Shirts spring sale is in full effect, and this top-notch Man United third jersey is available with Amad Diallo on the back.
👕 We love the 1998 Mexico kits nearly as much as Cult Kits does, but where did this red-on-green number come from? Beauty.⚽︎