Manchester United are said to be disappointed with the confrontational approach of Sky Sports reporter Gary Cotterill towards their new head coach Ruben Amorim in Portugal on Monday.
Cotterill repeatedly asked Amorim to answer a question in English at the press conference for his final home game as Sporting Lisbon boss, a Champions League tie against Manchester City, but was told by the 39-year-old and his press officer that he would only speak in Portuguese.
‘It’s like a cold shoulder to all your English fans,’ said Cotterill as Amorim tried to maintain a smile throughout the awkward exchange.
While there is no suggestion that United will make an official complaint to Sky Sports – with whom the club is said to have a generally positive relationship – sources tell Confidential that there was some disappointment at Old Trafford over the ‘hostile’ approach taken by the primary Premier League rights holder towards Amorim.
It’s understood that United haven’t gagged Amorim and the instruction came from the higher-ups at Sporting.
Amorim did respond to UK reporters in English when Confidential was in Lisbon prior to official confirmation of his switch to United, but it was then decided that he would not answer any questions – particularly about United – in English until after his final game against Braga on Sunday before starting his new job on November 11.
Ruben Amorim was subject to repeated questioning by Sky Sports’ Gary Cotterill ahead of facing Manchester City with Sporting
The Portuguese coach is set to remain in his home country overseeing the two remaining ties before the international break
It won’t have gone down well with Cotterill and Sky Sports, however, that Amorim gave an exclusive interview in English to rival broadcaster TNT Sports who are screening the Sporting-City game on Tuesday night.
It’s not the first time Cotterill has had a scrape with a new United boss.
His attempts to get a few words out of Erik ten Hag after his appointment was confirmed in 2022 – approaching him at Ajax’s training ground and again at Selhurst Park where Ten Hag first watched United play Crystal Palace – upset the Dutchman to such an extent that he refused to take a question from the veteran Sky Sports man at his first pre-match press conference at Carrington later that summer.
It hasn’t always been that way though. Cotterill enjoyed such a warm relationship with Jose Mourinho at United and Chelsea that the Portuguese coach presented him with a signed shirt when United played his Fenerbahce side in Istanbul two weeks ago, and offered to take him out for dinner during the press conference.
Toone ends on a bum note
Bosses at the Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) are looking into a commentary clip involving Ella Toone, with the league’s top brass taking a dim view of what was said about the Lionesses’ star.
The Manchester United forward was taken off in the 61st minute against Arsenal and replaced by Melvine Malard with United losing 1-0. Toone cut a frustrated figure on the bench with the way the match was panning out, and as Malard came on the commentator said that Toone ‘had a face like a smacked bum’.
The commentary, made on an alternative feed to the BBC’s own dedicated live coverage, quickly got picked up on social media and is now being investigated further by WSL chiefs.
It has been a particularly difficult few weeks for Toone following the loss of her father Nick in late September.
Ella Toone was the subject of inappropriate comments when substituted against Arsenal
Cantona’s support for axed staff
He was particularly upset over the decision to rip up Sir Alex Ferguson’s £2m-a-year contract as a global ambassador for United, and Confidential understands that Eric Cantona has also lent his support to other club staff who have lost out as a result of cost-cuts at Old Trafford.
A total of 250 employees have gone following the redundancy programme carried out by co-owners Ineos, and some of them were contacted by the United legend in the wake of their departures.
Cantona left little to the imagination over how he felt about Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s decision to cut Ferguson off the wage bill, posting: ‘Sir Alex Ferguson should be able to do anything he wants at the club until the day he dies. Such a lack of respect. It’s totally scandalous. Sir Alex Ferguson will be my boss forever! And I throw them all in a big bag of s***!’
Having revealed in the summer that he held talks with Ratcliffe over a role in the new regime, although ironically he was not interested in being an ambassador, it’s fair to assume Cantona has now had second thoughts.
Eric Cantona has been supporting Man United employees who have been the subject of swinging cuts
The former player remains close with his old manager Sir Alex Ferguson and offered a feisty response when news of his axeing broke
Knight night, Sir Alex
There are no hard feelings from Sir Alex Ferguson towards Sir Jim Ratcliffe judging by the handshake between the two men before Sunday’s game against Chelsea.
It was the first time the two knights of the realm had been together at Old Trafford since the decision to end Ferguson’s contract was announced last month.
The legendary United manager was in high spirits, however, as he entertained friends in his hospitality room next to the directors’ box.
Long after interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy and the players had left the stadium, Ferguson was still entertaining guests while his chauffeur driven car waited on the forecourt in front of Old Trafford.
The 82-year-old eventually emerged at 9.15pm, nearly three hours after the final whistle, where around 40 fans were also waiting to see him.
Ferguson patiently signed autographs for everyone but politely declined to pose for pictures because he was tired and wanted to go home to bed. The Cheshire village where he now lives is, after all, a 45-minute drive from Manchester even late on a Sunday night.
Ferguson returned to Old Trafford for the first time since news broke of his contract ending
Keane’s hiss as players huddle
Roy Keane may question whether he would want ‘to be in the trenches’ with this group of United players, but the squad have tried to foster unity in recent games by joining in a pre-match huddle.
It started before the goalless draw at Villa Park early last month and has continued ever since, although the thousands of Turkish fans who whistled and jeered as the United players huddled together before the Europa League tie against Fenerbahce didn’t appreciate it.
Sources tell Confidential that it is a player-led idea which has continued to take place in both Ruud van Nistelrooy’s games in charge after Erik ten Hag was sacked.
Keane, meanwhile, remains unconvinced: ‘My eyes don’t lie to me,’ the former United captain said after the Chelsea draw. ‘Your own DNA should suggest that you’re a good team player. When you look your team-mates in their eye, show what you’re about, you dig deep. This United team doesn’t do it.’
Man United’s huddle before matches has been criticised but the players are resolute
Stars reach out to Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag’s swift exit on what was also a day off for the players following United’s defeat by West Ham meant that the manager wasn’t able to say goodbye to the squad.
No sooner had Ten Hag received the news from chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth than he was clearing his desk at Carrington and heading to Manchester Airport to catch a private jet back to the Netherlands.
Bruno Fernandes revealed at the weekend that he had called Ten Hag to apologise for letting him down. As well as the other messages of goodwill from United players on social media, Confidential understands that a number of them also reached out to the Dutchman on WhatsApp – although inevitably there will have a been a minority who were not sorry to see the back of him.
Bruno Fernandes was one of a number of stars to reach out to Erik ten Hag after his sacking
Talks over Istanbul lock-in
United are in talks with UEFA over the treatment of their supporters who attended the Europa League clash against Fenerbahce in Istanbul last month.
Fans at the game were left fuming at being ‘treated like animals’ as they were kept inside the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium for nearly two hours after full-time, with the majority funnelled through a single-file exit when they were eventually allowed to leave.
Holdbacks, as they are known, are common for fans of British clubs who travel to European away matches, but Confidential understands United are talking to UEFA about the issues fans faced in Turkey. Sources say they are working collaboratively after the club raised a number of challenges supporters had experienced in Istanbul.
It follows similar chaos when United played Galatasaray away in the Champions League in Istanbul last season, where fans had raised safety fears over getting into the stadium and were prevented from exiting for 90 minutes.
Utd still big in Japan
The Mayor of Hiroshima, Kazumi Matsui, was given a VIP tour of Old Trafford when he was in town last week as a guest of Manchester City Council. Matsui was taking part in Mayors for Peace, a coalition of mayors set up by the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
He was shown around the stadium and presented with a United shirt bearing the name of midfielder Hinata Miyazawa, a star of Japanese women’s football who won the Golden Boot at the 2023 World Cup.
City may be the most successful club in Manchester at the moment, but it’s clear that United have lost none of their global appeal.
A visit from the Mayor of Hiroshima Kazumi Matsui is proof of the club’s global staying power
Fans’ dreams come true
Caretaker boss Ruud van Nistelrooy and a number of first-team stars were at Carrington to welcome young fans with life-limiting illnesses at United’s latest Dream Day.
Captain Bruno Fernandes was joined by Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho, Amad Diallo and Tom Heaton for the twice-yearly event where supporters aged between eight and 18-years-old can watch United train and meet their heroes.
Fernandes consoled one of the young fans who cried when he met the Portugal star. ‘It’s really important,’ said Fernandes. ‘We know how much this means to the kids to be here with us – even if it’s only for a little moment to make them happy, it means the world to us.
‘I think as a player, we always have a responsibility to our fans, and if we can help in any way to make their day a little bit better, then why not?’
The players also took part in the winter coat appeal to support the Manchester United Foundation. Confidential learns that Victor Lindelof donated the most.
Victor Lindelof was the most generous of the players who took part in a winter coat drive
Scanlon ready to make next step
It’s increasingly puzzling to see James Scanlon continuing at Under-18 level when he shows on a weekly basis that he is far above the level.
His hat-trick in the 8-0 rout of Leeds took his season tally to 10 goals and four assists at the start of November – and a promotion to Under-21 football seems a necessity at this point. Scanlon is highly rated by academy staff at United and he only penned a three-year contract in the summer.
The 18-year-old, who is a fully-fledged international with Gibraltar was, as detailed previously by Confidential, MVP of a youth tournament in the Netherlands earlier this season.
He was also part of Erik ten Hag’s pre-season tour squad, and training ground sources have been perplexed at his lack of promotion to a higher age-group and the risk of stunting his development.
United have lots of players to spread minutes around to, and it is a delicate balance to ensure all players get the right opportunity to maximise their chances of breaking all the way through to the first team.
But Scanlon has shown he is ready to be unleashed at the next level, and is no doubt at the forefront of thinking as players continue to oscillate between the first-team training group, U21s and U18s.
Jack Scanlon has earned his stripes in the U18s and is looking for promotion to a higher group
Jayce keeps the red flag flying
United have a proud history between its academy and the senior side, and the recent promotion of 17-year-old Jayce Fitzgerald to the first-team bench for the past two games has not gone unnoticed.
After having two former youth team players starting – Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford – and five on the bench against Chelsea, it made it 4,276 consecutive first-team games since October 1937 with an academy graduate in the matchday squad.
The chatter this week among the youth players is that a debut could well be in store for one of them against PAOK in the Europa League, with sources suggesting to Confidential that 17-year-old Harry Amass has been earmarked for minutes, more likely off the bench, on Thursday night.
Amass has been in and around the first team for a number of months now, and Erik ten Hag said during the pre-season tour of the US that he was three months away from being ready to be involved.
Amass is now at that stage and with United short of options at left-back – Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia remain sidelined as they continue rehabilitation from injury – he is pushing hard in training to become the 251st academy graduate to play for the first team.
Jayce Fitzgerald (right) and Harry Amass (left) are two of Man United’s youngsters with an eye on first-team minutes
Tributes to campaigner Chas
Tributes have poured in for Chas Banks, the secretary of Manchester United Disabled Supporters’ Association who died at the age of 74 last week.
Banks had been involved with MUDSA for 25 years, becoming secretary in 2016, and was a leading campaigner for disabled fans. One of his key legacies will be his role in United doubling the number of wheelchair positions and amenity seats inside Old Trafford as he helped to drive and shape the £11m project.
United’s chief operating officer Collette Roche said: ‘Chas was a relentless advocate for the interests of fans with disabilities and played such an important part in driving forward the development of our accessible facilities at the stadium.
‘We send our sincere condolences to Chas’s family and friends. The best tribute we can pay to Chas is to continue strengthening the bond between the club and MUDSA and continuing his hard work to make our game accessible for all.’
The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust said: ‘Chas was amongst our most loyal and committed supporters, following the team home and away, and after he became disabled he never let that stand in his way.
‘We would like to share our heartfelt commiserations with all of Chas’ friends and family and his colleagues at MUDSA. We will all miss him dearly.’
Chas Banks, who served as Manchester United Disabled Supporters’ Association secretary, has died at the age of 74
Watch the U21s for free
A boost here for those looking to get a local football fix in the coming weeks as fans can get a free ticket to watch Travis Binnion’s Under-21s at Altrincham for free.
The two sides meet in the National League Cup on November 19 and Altrincham have revealed that it is free admission with shirt sponsors AO fitting the bill.
United won their opening game in the competition by winning away at Forest Green Rovers and now face games against Altrincham, Rochdale and Oldham Athletic as part of the group phase.
Claim your free ticket HERE.
