johnmc said:How can they be in decline really?? They have just won the league ffs. You can only say whether a team is in decline because of their results. Thats what they are judged on. So unless they have lost a load of competitive games since winning the prem for the 3rd time in a row then its impossible to judge.
Come the start of the seasonm threads like this can easily blow up in our faces
Didsbury Dave said:Can people please stop saying "United are on the decline" etc.
They've just won the league and lost the Champions League final.
They've lost a couple of senior players but history has proven that they will replace them.
They're not on the decline and probably won't ever be, for the forseeable future.
I wish people would stop going on about it as it's a bit embarrassing.
We're on the up...focus on that, not their perceived decline.
Rant over.
tommyducks said:Didsbury Dave said:If you never took the p!ss for fear you would look stupid in the future, there would be no football banter whatsoever. They are hurting so badly at the moment, and suffering severe sense of humour bypass syndrome. Not to rub it in would be criminal.
depps said:its not neccesarily that they are in decline on the pitch, although of course it remains to be seen how they will cope without tranny and our herman + the others that need replacing quick, but that that their abillity to bring in players of the required standard to replace those is in decline relative to us and chelsea. much the same has happened to arsenal who have gone from big two to holding on to 4th for dear life since roman showed up
johnmc said:
Would anyone be that surprised if they signed Ribery, Benzema and Valencia next week. .
to much sense for this forum....mods ban himDidsbury Dave said:Correct, john.
And football is not like it was before the mid 90s, where clubs had an "era" where they won things, then the world turned and it was someone else's turn. in those days it was a level playing field.
Now, the money coming from TV means that the teams who qualify for the Champs League get shitloads more cash than the others and the gap gets bigger and bigger. We are now lucky in that we have the artificial situation of a rich owner trying to bridge that gap.
United, debt or no debt, are now a money-making machine. They've got millions of "fans" in the UK and tens of millions abroad. OK, so most of these are plastic, armchair fans but the truth is, they can generate cash almost at will.
If and when clubs can sell their own rights to TV and, even more lucrative, broadband broadcasts of live games, they will absolutely rake it in. Imagine when they can sell a season ticket to watch all their games live on the web for, say £100. Obviously the technology will be there sooner or later so that the quality is right. They could double their turnover overnight, and more.
They will have the odd wobble, as they have done a few times over the last few years, but they're not going to become mediocre, certainly not for years and years to come. They have too many fans - lots of them kids too.
We are improving and will continue to do so I believe. There is the disctinct possibility we may even be challenging them for honours in the future. But it will be our improvement, not their decline, which brings that on.