Eric Djemba-Djemba gives scathing Man Utd assessment, offers Rashford solution and calls for Maguire to lose captaincy

Man United are five years away from challenging for the league title

It will take Manchester United five years to challenge for the Premier League again. When you look at the likes of Man City and Liverpool who are so far ahead, and then you’ve got Chelsea and Tottenham behind them, with the team United have right now, they’re five years off.

There are lots of players at the club on big contracts, on long contracts and it’s going to be difficult to move them on, and that gets in the way when you’re trying to build a team capable of challenging for the title.

When you see a team like Arsenal and a manager like Mikel Arteta, the job he is doing is great. It’s taken him a long time, I think almost three years, but they’re definitely heading in the right direction. However, when you see Man United and where they are at the moment, they are five years behind those top teams in the division.

Liverpool beat Man United 2-0 this weekend

It’s a little bit difficult for Liverpool at the moment because they’re still trying to adapt to life without Sadio Mane. He was such an important part of their team, but I’m sure eventually they will figure it out and have a great season.

I love Manchester United. They’ve been my team since I was a kid, but to be honest, Sunday’s game is going to be very, very difficult. This week is all about preparation for this huge game. Liverpool are a great team, they’ll create a great atmosphere. If Man United play anything like how they did last weekend, they lose on Monday; it’s as simple as that.

Man United’s first focus will be on defence this Monday, because they need to stop conceding so many goals. But the way they’re playing right now, I just don’t see United getting anything from this game. I’d have to go with 2-0 to Liverpool. I’m a United fan, but when you see the situation they’re in right now, it’s very difficult to back them if I’m being completely honest.

I’m not there; I don’t know what’s going on in the dressing room. But what I saw on Saturday was a nightmare. It was incredible. I was watching the game on my sofa just telling myself it wasn’t possible.

De Gea needs replacing; at the very least he needs real competition

That first goal which David de Gea conceded against Brentford… listen, he’s a good goalkeeper who has made mistakes over the years, but now it’s too much. It’s too much. That first mistake was unbelievable. It’s the sort of thing a young goalkeeper does.

In fact, it’s a position Manchester United should be looking to improve in before the transfer window closes. This mistake was too big on Saturday, I’m sure people behind the scenes are thinking about possible replacements, or at least someone who can come in and challenge him for a starting spot.

He knows at the moment that if he makes a mistake, it doesn’t matter, because Man United don’t have anyone who can come in and replace him. Look, he’s a good goalkeeper with a lot of experience, but he’s in a position where nobody is chasing him for a starting role. For me, they should be looking for someone to come in and challenge him.

Forget top four; Man United won’t make TOP SIX

(Fergie would never wait around for De Jong like Man Utd board have done)

When you look at what’s going on with Manchester United right now, two games in, six goals conceded and zero points picked up. If nothing changes soon, they won’t finish in the top six. It’s simple. Forget the top four, when you see the likes of Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Newcastle coming up, and then you look at this United team, there’s no way they can make the top six.

Something has to change. The squad needs strengthening. In particular they need a midfielder, and we know the club were looking at Frenkie de Jong. But since they showed an interest in him, he’s made it clear he doesn’t want to come. So why are the club still making efforts to sign him? I’m absolutely sure that if Sir Alex Ferguson was still there, De Jong can forget his chances of ever playing for United.

Under Sir Alex, you had one chance; if you didn’t want to take it, that was it. I don’t know what the board are doing. If Frenkie doesn’t want to come, leave it!

Rashford solution is simple; play him as a number nine and watch him score goals

Cristiano [Ronaldo] is my friend, but he will not play all the time for Manchester United this season. That means they need a striker; a proper goalscorer.

For me, Marcus Rashford is a great player. He’s a young lad and someone needs to talk to him. I don’t know if he wants to leave but if that is the case, then someone needs to change his mind. I don’t know what’s going on with him but he’s such an important player. He’s so fast. I think they should try and play him as a number nine. He needs to find some confidence, and as a forward you do that by scoring goals.

I want him to stay at the club and play as a striker. That’s where it all started for him all those years ago, when he scored two goals on his debut, and another two against Arsenal. They need to get that Marcus Rashford back; they need to play him up front. Maybe they should try playing 4-4-2; I don’t know.

Keep hold of him; don’t let him go, play him as a number nine and watch him score goals.

Maguire needs weight of captain’s armband taking off him

Maybe if Man United took the captain’s armband off Harry Maguire, they’d see the best of him again. His performances right now haven’t been good enough, and it’s been that way for some time. The coach might want to keep him as captain, but he’s not good enough for that role at the moment. I don’t know what’s going on with him but he’s been so poor. I just wonder whether things would be different if somebody took the weight of the captain’s armband away from him.

They spent a lot of money on him for a reason that we’re not seeing at the moment, so maybe it’s now the time to change things and give the armband to someone else, to see a turnaround in Maguire’s performances.

If I was Man Utd, I’d let Ronaldo do whatever he wants

Cristiano Ronaldo is a good friend of mine. He’s a big man, and it’s difficult for him to know that he’s no longer the best player in the game. He no longer has the big impact he used to, and that’s tough for him. He’s always been the main man; the guy we relied on. But those days are beyond him.

But you cannot live in the past. He can take all of his experiences and use them to help the younger players at Manchester United. He’s one of the best players we’ve ever seen at Manchester United. I’m not sure what is going on between him and the club, but when it comes to someone like Cristiano, I’d let him do what he wants to do.

I’m sure he won’t leave. He’ll still be a Manchester United player after this summer.

It’s hard for him though, because this team he’s a part of today is the poorest he’s been in throughout his entire career, and that’s difficult for him to deal with, because it means his greatest years are behind him.

First encounter with Cristiano Ronaldo; John O’Shea couldn’t breathe!

When I saw Cristiano Ronaldo on the ball for the first time, I thought one thing: wow. I can remember being in training, near to one of my teammates. Cristiano did what he did with the ball. I looked at him, he looked at me, and we just knew he was going to be a big, big player for us.

The first time we saw him was in a friendly we played against Sporting Lisbon during pre-season. Cristiano destroyed our entire team. John O’Shea came into the dressing room at half-time and he couldn’t breathe! Cristiano had run rings around him so much that he was struggling to catch his breath. We knew after that game that the club were going to stop at nothing to sign him.

You could see it in training; you could see how hard he was working. I lived two minutes away from his house, so we would sometimes take it in turns driving to training. Whenever Cristiano was driving, we’d always arrive early because of him. We’d be there an hour before training started. He’d just spend that time in the gym; you could see he wanted to be the best.

Cristiano Ronaldo will go into management… so why not at Man United?

Do I see Cristiano Ronaldo going into management? Absolutely. I don’t know for sure if it’s something he wants to do, but I believe he can do it because he’s got the patience. I can see him being a great manager. He’s 37-years-old, he still wants to be the best in the world, he wants to play all the time, he still wants to score goals, he still wants to play for the national side, he’s everyone’s main man; he’s a leader.

I can see he has all the attributes to become a top manager, so why not at Man United?

Part two: Djemba-Djemba makes bold top-four prediction and ‘can’t understand’ Guardiola, reveals first encounter with Fergie and horror tackle on Sol Campbell aftermath

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