United players gather in the dressing room before kick off
United players gather in the dressing room before kick off
One of the subtler developments surrounding Manchester United's matchday activity against Bournemouth was that the club effectively confirmed their squad hours before kick off.
Clips on MUTV and X, as well as imagery on Getty taken by official club photographers, captured 21 United players arriving at Old Trafford. That is the 20-man matchday squad and third goalkeeper who participates in the warm-up.
It confirmed the only squad change from the midweek League Cup tie at Tottenham was Toby Collyer in for the injured Victor Lindelof. Those of us eagle-eyed to account for every player quickly concluded there would be no recall for Marcus Rashford, and so the news of a third successive squad omission was softened long before the teams were confirmed at 12.45.
Midway through Jose Mourinho's first season as United manager, he referenced the Manchester Evening News' squad stories when he confirmed Luke Shaw's squad inclusion for the visit of Bournemouth in March 2017.
"Luke Shaw is selected for tomorrow so you won't need to have the guys at The Lowry to take the pictures to see if he's selected," Mourinho laughed.
Back when United stayed at hotels (almost always The Lowry) before matches, the MEN regularly did a head-count of who was in and who was out of the squad. That stopped under Erik ten Hag, who ironically requested to resurrect the hotel usage last season but was overruled on budgetary grounds.
Mourinho was put off from dining in the city centre after he and his entourage were trailed from The Lowry to Gaucho restaurant on Deansgate during his first month in the hotel. He gave The Lowry some free publicity on other occasions relating to team news.
"I cannot confirm now but the paparazzi that live in the Lowry Hotel, they can take the picture when we go to the hotel at six o'clock and see if Wayne is selected," he said of Rooney's potential availability in April 2017.
Mourinho also advised the photographers on their movements. "We don't go to the hotel tonight so don't send the paparazzi," he clarified midway through his second season. "You won't see who is selected because we are not going there. Only me to the hotel." When Mourinho was sacked, he bid goodbye to the photographers who filmed his getaway from The Lowry.
Some managers are particularly protective of team news. Mourinho decided to leak certain teams with deliberate errors to flush out the mole, a tactic George Smiley would have admired.
They tell a story at Real Madrid about the measures Fabio Capello once took to counter team news leaks. Capello resorted to such drastic measures he withheld his team before an away game until hours before kick-off.
Capello assembled the Real squad in their hotel for a pre-match meeting and announced the team. The players and staff then left to board the team coach. As Capello stepped onto the coach, the radio station announced Madrid's starting XI, leaked by someone on their short stroll from hotel to coach.
On Sunday, Madrid announced their team against Sevilla 36 minutes before their opponents published their own side. Madrid also publish their matchday squad the day before a game. Barcelona confirmed their squad on the morning of their defeat to Atletico Madrid.
Staff at United expressed admiration for the bullishness of Madrid last week. The feeling is that now United start in a set 3-4-3 formation in every game there is not as much to give away to opponents.
The MEN confirmed United's squad for the Tottenham match on Wednesday night, which reduced the shock factor of Rashford's absence when the teamsheets were handed out 24 hours later. Visiting teams have to walk behind one of the goals en route to the dressing room, so early arrivals in the stadium were also able to confirm Rashford's non-attendance.
Last season, security staff attempted to smuggle United players and staff into Stockport Station via a rear entrance to avoid photographers the day before the FA Cup final. However, both entrances had photographers stationed.
United travelled to London with an extra squad member, which indicated a fitness issue. Minutes after the teamsheets were published with Casemiro among the substitutes, he withdrew from the squad and was replaced by Willy Kambwala.
Club staff noticed there were no team news leaks on the eve of the Spurs match four days after the MEN obtained the team that started against Manchester City. There was no formal investigation into the leaks but the hysteria around the information entering the public domain and its mention at two of Amorim's press conferences proved to be a suitable deterrent for the leakers.
Successfully concealing the XIs before Spurs and Bournemouth did not help United get results, though.