
Teddy Sheringham hits out at Man Utd chief Omar Berrada's ‘dreamlike' comments
Teddy Sheringham has hit out at chief executive Omar Berrada's 'dreamlike' comments about Manchester United winning the Premier League by 2028, stressing the need for patience rather than 'pie in the sky' remarks.
The Red Devils are reeling from their worst top-flight campaign in 51 years after they stumbled home 15th and missed out on European football by losing the Europa League final to Tottenham.
Rivals Liverpool rubbed salt into the wound by equalling United's record of 20 English league titles – their second since the Old Trafford club last lifted the Premier League when Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out as champion in 2013.
Ruben Amorim's side look some way off challenging and fulfilling the club's 'Project 150' vision to mark their 150th anniversary in 2028 by winning both the men's and women's league titles.
Chief executive Berrada this month underlined his confidence in fulfilling the goal and told United We Stand 'I firmly believe that we can do it' – but Sheringham thinks such a timescale can be unhelpful.
'Omar Berrada's comments are dreamlike,' the former United striker told Sky Bet. 'In football clubs, you've got to have small steps to get to places and if you see those small steps and are encouraged and moving in the right direction, that's when you start looking positively (at the future).
'But when people come out with quotes like that, it can be pie in the sky when you've got to give the manager time to get things right.'
Quite whether Amorim will get that patience and belief is another thing given the Portuguese's struggles since taking charge in November.
The United head coach retains the hierarchy's backing, but Sheringham says he can ill afford a slow start to the season.
'For Manchester United, the results must improve,' the 1999 treble winner said. 'It can't go on like this.
'The way the talk is – 'it's alright, we're gearing for next year, everything is OK for next season' – but I think they're a long way off being anything like the Manchester United of old and the pressure will be on Ruben Amorim, without a doubt.
'If he starts the season like the end of last season, there is only one way things will go.'
Sheringham hopes United come out 'all guns blazing and rip Arsenal apart' in their season opener on August 17, when Amorim will be hoping to have more firepower in place.
Matheus Cunha has joined from Wolves and the Red Devils are pushing to sign Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo, but questions remain about the striker position given Rasmus Hojlund's struggles
'We've been speaking about Rasmus Hojlund for a good couple of years now,' Sheringham said. 'First and foremost, I still think he's a decent striker, I just think he's been starved of service at Manchester United.
'The way they play, they play with two out-and-out wingers, no real support apart from Bruno Fernandes getting forward. It's all about the service for centre-forwards and he's had none.
'I struggle to think about any striker that you could put in there, that would suffer from the same service and still score goals.
'You'd have to be some player like Didier Drogba who did things on his own at times, to score goals. Being a young man as Hojlund is and coming into a new country and into the Premier League, trying to understand it, I think he's had a tough ride.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
36 minutes ago
- BBC News
In numbers: Why is Miller so coveted?
Clearly an 18-year-old who has played 76 first-team games, captained his club, and made his international debut possesses talent which is going to attract his debut Lennon Miller's close control, passing range, and vision have caught the across the world are data driven, always looking for young players with positive numbers who can be bought at a relatively low price, developed, and sold on.A look at some of the numbers for central midfielders in the Scottish Premiership last season demonstrates why Miller would appear in lots of an adept set-piece taker, Miller grabbed eight assists for Motherwell, a tally only bettered by Rangers' Nicolas Raskin among central midfielders in the a deeper-lying midfielder, he was deployed as one of two number 10s in the early part of the campaign for Motherwell, and ranked third among midfielders for chances created by the end of the season, as well as deliveries into the for the dirtier side of the game, only Celtic captain Callum McGregor won the ball back more times than teenager was also the most fouled central midfielder in the league, a nod to his ability to use his body to protect the ball in tight spaces, and his dribbling prowess passing accuracy as a whole is further down the charts, which hints at an area for development, but Motherwell's direct style and Miller's tendency to play riskier passes forward could also be behind the lower course individual statistics are not themselves the basis for signing what has been striking about Miller has been the calmness and confidence with which he has played since his has often been keen to take responsibility, for example scoring an injury-time penalty against Dundee United to send Motherwell to the semi-finals of the League was similarly unbothered by his first Scotland start against Liechtenstein, putting in a standout display."He makes football look easy regardless of what game he plays in," his former Motherwell team-mate Tony Watt posted on X after that more: What next for highly-rated Motherwell teenager Miller?


Daily Mirror
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Arne Slot breaks golden Jurgen Klopp transfer rule by doing something he avoided
It took Arne Slot just two summer transfer windows at Liverpool to blow predecessor Jurgen Klopp out of the water in regards to transfer spend following the acquisition of Florian Wirtz Liverpool manager Arne Slot is making up for lost time this summer after opening the transfer floodgates at Anfield. And it has taken the Dutchman just a few weeks to break the rule predecessor Jurgen Klopp sought to adhere to above all others in the market. Klopp, 58, previously made a point of stressing his morals when it came to keeping Liverpool financially solvent. And that meant not necessarily spending on a par with the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United, who copped criticism from the former Reds boss for their free-spending ways in the past. Of course that changed over time as Liverpool made allowances in opening their chequebook so Klopp could compete. But the German was staunchly against spending £100million fees on individuals when he first arrived at Anfield – a line Liverpool have now crossed with the blockbuster signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in a British record deal worth up to £116m, with £100m of that being guaranteed. "If you bring one player in for £100m or whatever and he gets injured then it all goes through the chimney," Klopp warned back in 2016 after United forked out £89m to re-sign Paul Pogba from Juventus. "The day that this is football, I'm not in a job any more, because the game is about playing together. "That is why somebody invented passes so these players can play together. It's not about running with the ball because you can do it all the time. Building the group is not my unique idea – it is necessary to be successful in football. "Other clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players, yes. Do I have to do it differently to that? I don't know exactly how much money we could spend because nobody has told me up to this point, 'No, no, no you can't do this.' "If I spend money it is because I am trying to build a real team. You can win championships, you can win titles. But maybe there is a manner in which you want it. It is about how it is." The Merseysiders have added 22-year-old Wirtz to their armoury and could have to shell out as much as £116m if certain conditions are met. And that addition means Liverpool have now spent more money in this window than any other in their history to date. Slot recruited Jeremie Frimpong (also from Leverkusen) for £29.5m earlier in the summer, while goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has joined from Valencia for an initial £25m, along with £4m in add-ons – with that deal agreed last summer counting towards their 2025 spending. Not only that, but a £40m move for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is also in the pipeline. Provided the Kerkez deal goes through as expected, that would take Liverpool's total spend this summer to roughly £215m (providing all bonus clauses are met). And despite the fact the transfer window has been open for less than one month, that would far eclipse the previous record for total spend in any other window. The closest Klopp came to matching that sum was in the summer of 2018 when he spent around £170m on new signings. That included Alisson from Roma (£65m), Naby Keita from RB Leipzig (£53m), Fabinho from Monaco (£39m) and Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke (£13.5m), though the investments paid off as they won the Champions League that season. Eventually, Klopp wasn't too far from overseeing a couple of nine-digit deals himself, considering Liverpool signed Virgil van DIjk and Darwin Nunez for £75m and £85m, respectively. Van Dijk became the most expensive defender in football history at the time of his move from Southampton, and Klopp later walked back his comments concerning exorbitant transfer fees. "These kind of things happen. When you want to sign a striker as exciting as Darwin is, that's the market and you have to pay the price," he conceded in 2023. "I said so many things in my life and life caught me then later and showed me that my imagination was obviously not clear enough for how quickly life can change. That's how it is. "After that [comment about Pogba], we bought a centre-half for quite a decent fee [£75m for Van Dijk], we bought a goalie for quite a decent fee [Alisson]. Our situation is always the same, we try to level it somehow [with sales], the things we invest in the boys and in the players we sell, it's kind of that it's not going out of any kind of range and that worked so far, but I know, I heard it immediately." To Slot's credit, he won the Premier League in his debut campaign despite barely spending at all last summer. It's only fair that one, therefore, takes into account that spread of cost, which brings his net spend to a more modest £100m or so per summer window so far.


The Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Sun
Harry Kane breaks Argentine hearts as Bayern win over Boca Juniors puts best supported team on verge of World Cup exit
WHO else but Harry Kane to help break the hearts of 60,000 Argies? The England skipper was at his lethal best in Miami last night, rifling in a trademark finish on 18 minutes to silence the vast majority of a packed Hard Rock Stadium. 3 3 Miguel Merentiel's brilliant 66th minute leveller sparked wild scenes of celebration. But with just five minutes remaining, you could almost hear a pin drop as former Crystal Palace ace Michael Olise was teed up by Kane before sliding home the winner to stun the South Americans. It puts the phenomenally supported Boca Juniors on the brink of an embarrassing premature Club World Cup exit - and the fact it was an Englishman who sent them hurtling towards an early flight home will surely have increased their pain. Boca certainly brought the noise - the atmosphere was absolutely tremendous - but Bayern had the clinical efficiency needed to cement their place in the Club World Cup knockout stages. And, of course, it was King Kane who set the German champs on their way with his 39th goal of the season. The equally impressive Kingsley Coman set the former Tottenham hitman free, and the left-foot finish was typically razor sharp. Vincent Kompany's men should have been home and hosed by half-time - Olise had a ninth minute effort chalked off before he almost rounded Boca keeper Agustin Marchesin on 31 minutes to increase Bayern's lead. Manuel Neuer was finally called into action on 34 minutes, fisting away Kevin Zenon's close range effort, yet the German powerhouse were in firm control. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 3 Miami boasts a huge Argentinian community while thousands had also flown in from Buenos Aires to see their heroes in yellow and blue mix it with the European giants. Their fans were incredible. Yet no matter how loud they sang, it wasn't enough to push them over the line. Harry Kane enjoys makeshift ice bath in WHEELIE BIN after 10-0 Bayern Munich rout in Club World Cup opener All looked lost. But then, almost out of nowhere, Merentiel powered in on goal, coolly flicked the ball past center-back Josip Stanisic and sweetly curled in to spark absolute mayhem in the stands. Boca believed. Hard Rock Stadium was bouncing. Yet the excellent Olise, set up by the tireless Kane, had the last laugh with his neatly taken 85th minute winner. While Bayern - who smashed 10 goals past hapless Auckland City in the first game with Kane somehow not on the scoresheet - booked their place in the last 16, Boca now need to beat the Kiwis heavily on Tuesday and hope Benfica are downed by the Germans. Kane reckons his Bundesliga champions are one of the teams to beat here and said: "It's a massive tournament, we're playing against the best teams in the world. We've always said it's us against us. "We have to compete to our highest level and we should be able to beat most teams. So far, so good in this competition."