TA: Manchester United U21 and U18 have no place to stay in the new base, and the toilets in the old building where they wander are not cleaned.

October 8 News TA Manchester United and team Laurie Whitwell wrote an article "Manchester United spent 50 million pounds to renovate the Carrington training base, but it cannot accommodate all the young talents", describing how the new base is unfriendly to the youth training echelon.

Manchester United have completed a £50 million refurbishment of the main building at Carrington, improving the men's first team facilities, creating a more fluid space, upgraded technical equipment and a hairdresser's shop. However, the current situation of the youth training echelon is even less ideal than before construction in the summer of 2024. The U21 and U18 echelons are forced to live in temporary mobile homes in the player parking lot because there is no room for them in the renovated complex.

In the original layout, these two age groups not only have the ground floor locker room adjacent to the first team, but also enjoy the physical therapy room along the corridor directly to the adult team’s medical room, and can share canteen and other social areas with the first team members. The office of the youth training coaching staff is also located on the second floor near the first team to facilitate communication with the head coach and management.

But the designers of the new main building decided to eliminate this connection, with the aim of making the first-team facilities an area that players must aspire to enter. They designed two locker rooms reserved for rising stars, with a total of 10 places. These dressing rooms are used by young players from the first team or academy players who train with Amorim's first team.

While it was a deliberate choice to move the U21s and U18s out of the main building, the space has actually been taken over by open-plan offices to house non-football staff relocated from Old Trafford - a policy pursued by Sir Ratcliffe.

Since the start of the project last season, the U21 and U18 echelons have started a wandering life and are temporarily stationed in the youth training building opposite the overpass. Although the building has 10 locker rooms, they are only suitable for U16 players: the space is small and the benches are low. U21 and U18 players have to go back and forth between the U14 and U12 locker rooms every day because each team takes turns using the locker rooms and cannot leave their belongings in the lockers.

But this situation has not affected the record - the U21 echelon and the U18 echelon currently lead their respective leagues, with the two teams achieving 11 wins in a total of 12 league games.

Now the club has decided to move the U21 and U18 to a two-story building behind the main building. The building was used to house the women's football team last season (while the men's first team temporarily used its facilities). The main women's football building will be opened in October 2023, costing 10 million pounds.

This modular building, once used by the women's team, houses dressing rooms, office areas and briefing rooms, and Manchester United plans to further renovate it to meet the needs of youth training. TA revealed that Manchester United plans to build a customized center at the same location specifically for the youth academy and matching the first-team facilities. Details are still unclear at this time, and the project has just begun to move forward, with new youth academy director Stephen Torpe taking office.

Tolpe will work with Director of Football Wilcox to plan the program and develop the budget. Although Ratcliffe spent £50 million of his own money to renovate Carrington, funds for a project of this scale are still tight.

Ratcliffe's cost-cutting policy was aimed at returning Manchester United to profitability, but this policy also had consequences, especially in this youth training building. The building was built in 2002 and was renovated in 2017. It was reported that toilets were not being cleaned, bins were not being emptied and the edges of the site were frayed and litter was scattered. There have been complaints that the number of maintenance staff currently on staff is insufficient to maintain existing standards. The building's facade signs are fading, and machinery and equipment are scattered around the site.