Aha, Jamie Jackson’s report is with us.

That means we’re done here, so thanks for your company and comments, sorry I couldn’t use them all. But otherwise, peace out.

There’s been a development at St James’ Park!

It’s now 3-3 at St James’.

I said it was a good point for Burnley and, in terms of the relative league positions, it was. But it won’t help them stay up, I don’t suppose, while United are now sixth having missed another chance to cement themselves in the Champions League positions. The state of the teams around them means they’ve still got a decent chance of making fifth, but there are rubber pants with more killer instinct.

90+5 min Goodness, Lacey fancies this! Again, he comes in off the right, lashing another vicious shot that flies just high and just wide of the top corner. That left foot is a problem.

90+4 min Burnley get the ball to the corner and consume a good minute as United struggle to clear. Foster is then booked for timewasting, and the game is nearly over.

90+2 min Change for Burnley, Sonne replacing Edwards – who’s had a good night.

90+1 min Mainoo does well to hold off Ugochukwu, the kind of strength he needs to show more of it he’s to re-establish himself. Then Mount lofts a ball over the top, but shaw can’t quite read the bounce, knocking it out for a goalkick.

90 min We’ll have five additional minutes. Has any side ceded points to Burnley, West Ham and Wolves this season?

89 min United have had so many chances to move into the top five, and have spaffed every one, failing to beat luminaries such as West Ham, Everton and Wolves. This looks like being another, and the fixtures will soon get harder; meantime, Scott Parker is booked, presumably for a surfeit of pashun and pride.

87 min United now have Mainoo and Mount in the doble-pivote, but when the ball breaks to the edge, the former smashes an effort over the top, Ugarte-style.

86 min “Your draft excluder suggestion made me chuckle,” says Justin Kavanagh. “If it ever happens, I hope the ref joins in the comedic capers by tracing a murder-scene bodily chalkline around the clattered prone player with his foam.”

If only the hilarious Roger Milford was still at it.

85 min And here comes Lacey now, 20 yards out, right-hand side. He dips infield, measures a curler, it shrieks, rips and hisses towards the roof, Dubravka beaten … and cannons the bar before bouncing out! What an effort that was!

84 min Another change for United, Lacey replacing Ugarte in a move that feels almost like a rebuke for Amorim: risking defeat to chase a win.

82 min Martinez, culpable for Burnley’s equaliser, heads clear, Mainoo looks for Sesko and, though the ball doesn’t make it through, United again have Burnley boxed … until Dorgu trips over himself. You don’t believe me, but it’s true.

81 min If United can find a winner, they’ll go fourth, above Brentford and Liverpool – the latter, who play Arsenal tomorrow, only on goal difference. But here they come again, Dorgu again crossing frem the left, but at the near post, Sesko mistimes his finish, diverting the ball into the ground for Dubravka to grab. Immediately, Burnley race downfield, winning a corner…

79 min United are back dictating, but don’t look as likely to score as they did earlier in the half, while Burnley fancy something on the counter.

78 min Yoro collects a clearance and finds Shw down the left, then ducks as the cross comes in, contorting into a decent header that flies just wide with the various who might’ve tapped it home caught on their heels.

76 min Change for Burnley, Lyle Foster replacing Broja.

74 min Yup, those are the changes. Mainoo goes into midfield alongside Ugarte, while Zirkzee, who played well off the bench at Leeds, is now in the 10.

72 min I’m sure the bruno change was premeditated, but I wonder if Fletcher regrets making it so soon after United’s second goal. Meantime, Mainoo and Zirkzee strip – not like that – and will, I imagine, replace Casemiro and Cunha.

72 min United, though, come again, Shaw rapping a pass into Sesko who spins but doesn’t get hold of his shot, saved easily enough by Dubravka.

70 min Suddenly, Burnley are the better team, pinning United back for a minute or two then crowding them out when they counter.

68 min Now Shaw fouls Anthony maybe five yards outside of the box, just right of the D, and Edwards, who’s played well tonight, is behind the ball, Cunha playing draft excluder. One day, temptation will be too great, and someone will just leather a low shot for the fun of it, but this time the effort goes into the wall and United clear.

66 min Under Amorim, United would’ve sat back at this point, inviting pressure on a weak defence. I’m sure Fletcher will want them to try and finish the game, but less sure the players have that in them.

64 min Our early games have finished; headline news is Brighton’s draw at City, meaning Arsenal lead them at the top by five with a game – against Liverpool – in hand. Elsewhere, Leeds are drawing 2-2 at Newcastle, while Bournemouth scored a late winner to beat Spurs and Fulham did for Chelsea.

62 min Back to Sesko, he badly needed those goals. He put himself about first half but his touch was off; now, though, two terrific finishes and he’s on a buzz.

62 min Double change for United, Yoro and Mount on for Heaven and Bruno.

58 min Change for Burnley, Anthony replacing Hannibal.

57 min Tangentially, why doesn’t Heaven wear 17? There’s surely a temptation?

57 min Bruno picks out Heaven, just a few yards out and alone at the far post … but he heads into his own shoulder. That was a very presentable opportunity.

55 min So United go again, Martinez hitting towards Sesko, whose flick-on lands nicely for Bruno, right of the box. And, under pressure from Humphreys, he laces a shot … which cannons the near post full in the face. The challenge there made all the difference.

55 min Esteve heads the corner clear, United cross again, and this time when it’s knicked away, Cunha thrashes high and wide.

53 min But back come burnley, Broja wriggling and bustling through a pair of weak challenges before being blocked off and winning a corner. Dorgu heass it away, collects his own clearance, finds Cunha who finds Sesko, and attacking the space, he wins a corner at the other end.

52 min That goal was coming: the last 15-20 minutes, either side of half-time, have been all United, and Bruno is just ridiculous. His level of production, in a mainly terrible team, is of a very serious level.

49 min United knock it about at the back, Martinez finds Fernandes who finds Cunha, and Burnley, though they clear, are penned in.

47 min Cunha bundles the ball through towards Sesko, who allows Dorgu to take it on … and his shot is blocked. On which point, Cunha is now in the middle of the trident behind the striker, with Bruno on the right.

46 min No changes for either side, of personnel or position. Dorgu remains on the left, Cunha on the right, though I’d imagine there’ll be an alteration if United trail for much longer.

46 min We go again…

Sherwood and Redknapp at half-time: Vidal v Buckley it is not.

On which point:

Tonight’s early games are almost finished and there’s loads going on. Everton have just had Jack Grealish sent off – and not for his ponytail.

Let’s be real, though, every song from Black Sherif’s Iron Boy should be on it. The more I listen to it, the greater a work of genius it becomes, the tunes I didn’t get initially now absolutely unmissable. It’s a lot better than Wet Leg.

Half-time entertainment: I forgot to do this before Christmas, so I’m doing it now. Here’s my playlist of 2026’s best Afrobeat and amapiano tunes.

45+2 min Bruno, increasingly influential, slides a fine pass in behind for Dorgu, Daubravka goes down, spreads himself, and Dorgu tries a little Peter Beardsley finish, lifting over the dive, again it looks for all the world like a goal … only for Esteve to dash back, extend a leg, and divert the ball away with his shin.

45+1 min Dorgu turns up on the right and for perhaps the first time in the match, Cunha is found in a decent position. He wriggles across the face of the box, slides into a low shot with his left foot, and Dubravka shoves away.

45 min united have been better these last 10 minutes, but Burnley have been solid at the back. We’ll have two additional minutes.

44 min The corner yields another, United sustain the attack, and when a Dalot diag finds Casemiro on the right side of the box, he chests into the path of Ugarte, on the edge. And the low shot is beautifully caught, too, zipping just wide of the far post.

43 min Dorgu has been a decent outlet for United, but he’s not delivered the quality to make a difference. This time when found, he comes back inside, the ball ends up with Casemiro, and when he swings over a cross, Sesko’s up early, makes decent contact … and Dubravka leaps to claw away with his top hand. Fine header, fine save.

42 min I didn’t get to noting it, but Hannibal dived earlier and the ref saw it but let him off; he does so again, this time between Bruno and Casemiro, earning himself a booking.

41 min Dorgu robs a casual Walker – does that make him a Rambler – who slides into space for Sesko. He’s got Cunha free on the far side but instead tries a stepover, works an angle and learhers a low shot straight at Dubravka.

40 min Sesko has been very poor so far. I wonder if Fletcher might try Mount in the second half, perhaps as a false nine, or perhaps in midfield with Cunha moving to striker.

38 min Fernandes is starting to influence the game, setting Dorgu free with a decent pass. The cross, though, is cleared, so United build again, looking a little more threatening now.

36 min “There aren’t different standards for fouls by attackers and defenders,” returns Joshua Keeling. “It’s either a foul or it isn’t…”

I agree, but you don’t have to watch much football to know that the game doesn’t always work that way.

35 min Again, United attack, reach the box, and can’t make anything happen, so Edwards, who’s playing nicely, skitters away, but only has Walker up with him, the ball sent into the box from where it’s cleared easily enough.

34 min United have had 68% possession, but they’re struggling to find overloads and space when they attack. I get why Cunha is on the right, but we’ve seen so little of him perhaps it’s time to slip him into his usual inside-left pocket.

32 min A ball into centrefield finds Edwards, Casemiro totally sells himself when it was clear that was the only possible outcome should he choose to tackle, and suddenly Burnley are away. The ball goes wide to Pires, he shoots low … and just past the far post, though Lammens did, I think, have it covered.

30 min”Ridiculous decision to disallow that United goal,” writes Joshua Keeling. “In what world is that a foul?”

It wasn’t much of one, but Martinez was all over Walker. If he’d done it in his own box, I doubt he’d have conceded a penalty, but I can see why the ref decided he couldn’t have it from an attacker.

28 min When the corner comes in, again, Casemiro makes first contact, heading across, in the repechage that follows, Martinez swivels to drill home, and the ref immediately singles a foul – Martinez penalised for fouling Walker on the opposite side of the box to the one from which he “scored”. There’s not loads in it, but it’s a fair enough call – and really there was no reason for the United man to get involved.

27 min Rather than shoot, Bruno dinks to the far post, Casemiro heads back across, getting up well above Walker, Cunha heads goalwards …and Humphreys made a fantastic run back towards his own goal to nod it over the top. What a night he’s having!

25 min Sesko’s finding it hard out there, again losing out in a challenge which allows Burnley to once more attack down the left. This time, when the cross comes in, Martinez misses his kick, but Heaven is there to clear as Edwards scavenges. So back come United, Cunha getting rid of the ball just in time to buy a foul from Ugochukwu. Free-kick, fractionally left of centre, but the best part of 30 yards out.

23 min But here’s Bruno now, finally on the ball, curving a decent ross into the box and Sesko’s up, glancing a header goalwards, but there’s not enough pace on the ball to take it wide of Dubravka, who catches it easily.

21 min “You can’t control your luck,” says Kári Tulinius. “Which is why it’s always so fascinating to see how teams react to conceding a freakish goal like that. By any measure, United’s players are better than Burnley’s, but even the best of the best can start to panic if they feel fortune isn’t on their side. How the Red Devils react will tell us a lot about their mental state. So far there’s not much of a reaction.”

One thing that was different under Amorim relative to various of the other sackees is that the players didn’t turn it in – they weren’t convinced of his or their own dreadfulness. At the moment, though, they’re missing Bruno’s ability to get them going from deep, which I guess is why he was played in that position, though it isn’t his best.

19 min Heaven carries forward, knocks off, and continues his run. Though nothing comes of it, that’s not something we saw much of under Amorim – United are noticeably more aggressive in the way they’re seeking attack, but so far the passing and crossing has been useless.

18 min Hannibal, only just back from Afcon, is enjoying himself, trying a zipping crossfield ball that has just too much on it for Walker.

16 min United scored three minutes after conceding at Leeds and immediately look to get back at Burnley, but just as they recover possession high, the ref penalises Casemiro for handball, though he was hit in the phizog. The decision was still better than his defending for the goal.

15 min After a really good month, it’s been a harder couple of games for Heaven. He played OK at Leeds, but was perhaps slow to react when Aaronsen went through to score, and now he’s put one through his own net after making what initially looked a decent block.

12 min There’s not much in this so far. United lack fluidity and Burnley lack quality, so the teams are currently swapping impotent attacks.

10 min Hannibal has a shot blocked and one pass out finds Dorgu, surging forward. He’s only got Sesko for company but the diagonal run takes him away from goal so when the pass comes, this time all he has on is a flick. It does find Dorgu, but he’s dashing between defenders and can’t get on the end of his touch into space.

7 min Again, Martinez passes forward early, Dorgu slips infield to Sesko … who, rather than take it on, tries a flick that goes nowhere. United do, though, recover possession, working the ball to Casemiro on the edge, but his shot flies off towards Falkirk.

6 min Nice from Burnley, Laurent finding Hannibal in space, 20 yards from goal. He moves left to Pires, whose cross is useless.

5 min Shaw, into Bruno and out to Dorgu, whose first-time cross is easily claimed by Dubravka. But we can see what United are trying to do, looking to pass forwards whenever possible and find their centre-forward early, before the Burnley defence can set.

3 min Florentino finds Hannibal, who bounces Casemiro away only to lose out in a second tackle.

2 min Martinez feeds Dorgu down the left and he does indeed try to get down the outside, but Laurent does just enough to impede him without conceding a free-kick.

1 min Fletcher has gone for overcoat, gilet underneath, and syoot. I guess we can give him 2/3 for that. Otherwise, for now at least, Cunha is on the right and Dorgo on the left, I imagine so both can go on the outside and furnish Sesko with the crosses we discussed earlier.

1 min United get us and the Fletchera under way.

The teams are out…

“Whoever sold Nagalsmann that jacket had a wonderful sense of humour,” reckons Dave Estherby. “One look at that thing and I’m back to the days of waking up on the sofa in the early hours to the sights and sounds of the BBC Testcard...”

Desperately waiting for kids’ TV to start in the early 80s, or at least to be able to turn over to ITV for the Sons & Daughters theme tune.

I do, though, think Burnley can hurt United. If they go narrow in midfield, with Hannibal and Edwards tucking in, they can win the numbers game, enjoy a decent share of possession and, as we’ve seen over the course of the season, United’s defence always has a mistake in it.

So, can Burnley stay up? Er, no. Unluckily for them, the two sides they came up with are doing really well, and the established clubs doing badly still have too much money and quality to be catchable. Currently, the gap to safety is nine points plus goal difference, and that feels more likely to increase than decrease.

“I dunno,” begins Matt Dony. “As a Liverpool fan, I can think of at least half a dozen metrics by which Amorim was a runaway success! (And I intend to wring every bit of humour out of this situation as I can, because, let’s face it, one smart appointment and they could be well on their way to being a real force again.)”

Yes, I agree – despite the upstairs incompetence, United will always be the right manager away from being good. Finding it, though, is not easy, and it won’t be Fletcher, though he is an ex-player I’ve always thought had the right stuff – others are Ander Herrera and Bruno Fernandes.

I guess my top three, in order is:

1. Luis Enrique, though I imagine there’s a chance he goes to Man City

2. Julian Nagelsmann (though he did turn up at Old Trafford in the jacket above and lose 5-0, which takes some coming back from)

3. Xavi

Of the Premier League candidates, I guess I’d go for Iraola, though I’m far from convinced the method that’s done so well at Bournemouth can translate to a side looking to control and dominate games.

United, meanwhile, will want to get men into the box to help Sesko, while Bruno looks to angle balls into space down the sides of the outside centre-backs. I’m sure they’ll use Cunha and perhaps Heaven to carry downfield, with Shaw and Dalot ordered to supply the crosses their 8”10 striker rarely received under Amorim. I also imagine they’ll find him through Martinez, who passes superbly, and use Ugarte to force high turnovers.

Where is the game? Burnley will look to get behind United’s midfield, with Ugochukwu, a player I really rate, making third-man runs while Edwards and Mejbri look to get, er, in and around Broja to give them a +1 on United’s centre-backs, while Broja puts himself up against Martinez, who lacks height and pace.

Goodness me, Redknapp has just decided that Mainno needs “to show the grit, energy and attitude on the training pitch”; er, how do we know he didn’t? Amorim made it very clear that Mainoo was competing with Bruno, United’s captain and best player, for one spot; the rest exists solely in the imagination of those assuming things with no evidence so to do.

They’re about to discuss Mainoo on Sky, so here’s my take. He’s got incredible ability in tight spaces, but needs to get better and finding the ball – too much of too many games passed him by – stronger, faster, and better at passing it forward. That said, United’s dreadfulness made his continuing omission completely unjustifiable, and I’m sure he’ll now get a chance in the three-man midfield he needs to thrive. If, in a year, he’s got a young, physical six behind him, the best creator in world football ahead of him, and he’s still not making it happen, we can wonder if, perhaps, he’s not quite good enough, despite his strengths. But not until then.

There are plenty of other matches tonight, just underway. Niall McVeigh has you covered.

The team Fletcher has picked is the one I and presumably the rest of us expected him to pick. At some point, I’d expect Mainoo to come in for Ugarte, and other than that, Mazraoui will compete for Dalot’s spot when he’s back from Afcon, with Amad and Mbeumo joining Cunha and Sesko in a tussle for three spots.

Sky have Tim Sherwood and Jamie Redknapp in the studio. Neither has yet referenced hapax legomenon.

Fletcher says he’s happy with how training has gone and looking forward to the game. They’ve set the team up in a way which suits their style and personalities, and he trusts them to play well. Tactics are fluid, he says – you want rotations and so on– but you also have to give players the chance to work thinks out for themselves and he trusts them express themselves and do it if they see it.

Oh, and Fletcher also reveals his favourite twin, picking Jack but not Fletcher.

Fletcher, meanwhile, changes one player – Bruno Fernandes returns in place of Leny Yoro – and a formation, moving from the 3-4-2-1 only Amorim understood, to 4-2-3-1. He also has Mount and Mainoo available, both of whom are on the bench.

Burnley make three changes following their defeat at Brighton: out go Ekdal, Larsen and Anthony and in come Esteve, Hannibal and Edwards. By the looks of things, Parker sticks with the 3-4-3 that has brought him just as much success as the 4-2-3-1.