Premier League Games 2/3/4 April '22

mat said:
It's a Harry Kane wankfest as he turns it on against relegation fodder.
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One of them on 606 getting so giddy that he was talking about catching Chelsea and next season challenging for the title.
Understandable after they have a decent result against a flaky Newcastle, but when asked why Kane wanted to join us last summer, he managed to explain that City aren’t ambitious because we spent 100 mill on Grealish.
Like I say - giddy to the point of idiocy.
 
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DenisLawBackHeel74 said:
Perfectly balanced for us now.

The rags need to play and beat pool to have a chance of top 4.
The toffees need to play and beat pool to have a hope of survival...
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I’ll wear my Everton top with Rodri on the back and pray for diving intervention, when they play their skip rat neighbours.
 
Nellies left peg said:
Haven't seen the super pressing game that he so say invented. Rags have got no game plan whatsoever.
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It's not up to him, man. Apparently such stuff are not applicable at United. He inherited a team that ran less, tackled less, and so on, the stats are there, people like that French guy at ESPN have been screaming about it for months. From the beginning, he is on the record asking for intensity, effort, work rate, winning duels etc. Stuff his team has failed to deliver. But is it actually "his" team? And if not, will it ever be?

Their fitness levels is a related issue here. We are near the end of a second consecutive complicated season due to the pandemic. With leagues finishing late, international football last summer etc. Almost all clubs have been affected by this reality one way or the other, of course the degree differs. City tops the list here, and it really hurts me that there are fans that either ignore or fail to understand this. Therefore failing to truly appreciate what Guardiola has achieved under these specific circumstances. The guy is trying to beat nature once again, in the framework of a strategy designed so as to effectively deal with all related issues, including the lack of a striker. Which is not the only position we need reinforcements, by the way...

Anyway. The point is, I'm not sure the above mentioned reality can explain United's fitness problems. I've been watching them since the beginning of the season, and I still don't get it. It would be too convenient to put it down to just laziness, for example, not sure I buy it. Actually, I don't. As far as I am concerned, there are serious questions for the club's fitness coaches, they are the only ones that can provide adequate answers. Can they though?

I was watching their match vs Leicester in the second half (among other things): Seems that Rodgers made an interesting decision, by using Madison on the right and D. Hall in the middle. The latter would operate in an advanced position behind the striker, and, if necessary, would retreat at the left of a midfield three. In Rodgers' mind, the idea may be simple: D. Hall would probably be wasted on the wing. On the other hand, Madison is versatile, with the right wing as an initial tactical reference, he could cut in anytime, move to a variety of spaces, approach the box unmarked etc. Whatever the rationale behind it, the plan worked, not just for Madison, but especially for D. Hall, and basically for the benefit of the team. You see, I don't doubt Madison's talent, but I do have serious doubts regarding his work rate. On the other hand, D. Hall's professionalism and commitment have been a revelation, probably their best player this season. The guy's energy and dynamic game sealed the shape of the match, because of his presence alone in midfield Leicester had a relatively comfortable game throughout the 90'. And to be honest, I'm not particularly satisfied by the support he had from the two CMs behind him...

Leicester's limitations under Rodgers are well known, they failed to make the most out of their initiative. Nevertheless had Nacho not fucked up repeatedly, they could have won. No comment regarding the disallowed goal. No comment regarding the goal they conceded either. Is Rodgers the only manager out there trying to imitate Guardiola by playing out from the back, with ridiculous results? Nope, definitely not. A gift to United out of nowhere, who pushed desperately for the winning goal. In the end it could have gone either way, but that's not my point. What I'm trying to say is, I don't think Rodgers would have ever expected his team to enjoy the time and space it did in the midfield area at OT. Another match that spoke volumes regarding United's fitness levels...

Regarding the "game plan" mentioned in the second sentence of your post: R. Rangnick is a serious man, but I think he's more familiar with / interested in working in terms of long term planning. Have no idea what United expected from him short term. We can assume that getting top 4 would be the basic objective. Provided that is the case, no disrespect to RR, but you have to wonder whether he was the right man for the job or not. You see, I know nothing regarding his man management skills, his motivation ability etc. The people who hired him should though. To be honest, I don't even know what these concepts actually mean in United's environment. A troubled dressing room, a squad lacking unity and leadership, with serious, very serious mentality issues, not to mention the degree of public exposure and other relevant shit. Are we talking about man management here or baby sitting, for example? And if so, would RR be interested in such a task? Not sure. People like him, I think, take stuff such as professionalism and discipline for granted, if you understand what I mean...

From a tactical point of view, RR has been experimenting a lot. Too much, if you ask me. In the process, it seemed he was returning to tactical concepts the team was familiar with under Ole. Now he is experimenting again. I will try to explain in another post the dangers related to this approach. Once again, what Guardiola does is not the norm. There are very few managers capable of educating their squads, I repeat, squads, not teams, so as to operate successfully in a variety of tactical plans, concepts and formations. If you lack the relevant knowledge and methodology, then you don't know what you're doing, as simple as that -and you are bound to pay the price. Simply because you are violating basic principles of the game...

Which leads to the question, after all these months working there, has RR established a level of mutual understanding? A level of mutual trust between him and his players? Is it clear to everyone where the team is heading? Its direction? The path to get there? Open question to everybody...

Now I'm being informed that RR is asking "to rebuild the whole thing", all over again. If true, it's a clear admission of a wasted decade. A shocking admission of the club's failure, coming from United's manager. An admission having nothing to do with the quality of the squad, by the way. Let's not embarass ourselves with that nonsense, please. A team that finishes second in the PL is definitely not "shit". Ole self destructed, plain and simple. Why he did, defines a very interesting case study deserving a separate post. But he did...

What I'm trying to say is, there is a huge difference between a player lacking talent and a player under performing. In United's case, it's the latter. These players have been fucked by mismanagement. Of course they've earned money, a lot of money, of course they are rich. But have shown zero progress in footballing terms -and I won't even try to explore what their experience there meant to them, as human beings. For some of them, whether they stay or leave, I'm afraid the damage is permanent, whatever that means...

A situation reflecting not just the inability of the managers who have worked there since Ferguson's retirement. It goes beyond them. A few days ago, I'm told LVG made some very interesting comments regarding the club's profile, I would say the club's identity, basically advising Ten Haag to avoid the job, stay away. That is what happens when football clubs are ran by ignorants and parasites. United, after Ferguson, define one of the the worst practices of football club management in modern football, Arsenal and Barcelona (for different reasons) also fall in the same category. Before even discussing who would be the "appropriate" manager for them, given his expertise, I would imagine RR recommending a new management model. A new organizational structure. A new organizational culture. An investment to knowledge. If so, we do understand the irony here, right? Basically he would be asking from people (that is, his employers) who have been hired so as to function as the ownership's eyes and ears in the football industry, to actually fire themselves...

PS. Mods should feel free to move this post to the United thread, if they feel it belongs there. Thank you!
 
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