United Thread 2015/16

[Blue Smarties]

One of these big bids may hit its target as they lower their sights.

They can't go into the new season with European football with just one striker

Hernandez was subbed on last week. Wouldn't shock me if they continue with Shrek, Hernandez & Wilson.

 

[deano ou812]

united, like so many leading 'brands' in corporate history, fell into the trap of thinking that their hegemony was uneluctable. That it would simply go on forever, no matter what. A toxic conflation of arrogance and indolence.

If you cast your mind back to 2008, even after the takeover, any suggestion that City could overtake united in any meaningful sense was met with howls of derision, both from their supporters and the wider footballing world, especially the media.

The role of our owners in reversing that state of affairs should not be underestimated, but nor should that of united as an institution. Rather than focus their efforts on thwarting our rise by making themselves better through investing in the playing staff and infrastructure of the club, instead, the club adopted an MO of dismissing our club outright and the threat it posed. Until it was too late. A couple of years ago they woke up to the reality of where they found themselves in relation to us and Chelsea, upon which they went about throwing money about in the fashion of a sailor on shore leave. To use another nautical metaphor they are displaying all the hallmarks of a rudderless ship, without any discernible leadership anywhere to be seen. It really is a thing of beauty.

Like the hare in the fable, by the time they woke up it was already too late to do anything to alter the outcome.

What an appropriate outcome for a club that had become so bloated by its own-self importance. What a wonderful piece of poetic justice for that banner which was used to mock for so many years.

It's what makes our laughter so much more real. Long may it continue.

What a cracking post,sums everything up perfectly....

 

[somapop]

united, like so many leading 'brands' in corporate history, fell into the trap of thinking that their hegemony was uneluctable. That it would simply go on forever, no matter what. A toxic conflation of arrogance and indolence.

If you cast your mind back to 2008, even after the takeover, any suggestion that City could overtake united in any meaningful sense was met with howls of derision, both from their supporters and the wider footballing world, especially the media.

The role of our owners in reversing that state of affairs should not be underestimated, but nor should that of united as an institution. Rather than focus their efforts on thwarting our rise by making themselves better through investing in the playing staff and infrastructure of the club, instead, the club adopted an MO of dismissing our club outright and the threat it posed. Until it was too late. A couple of years ago they woke up to the reality of where they found themselves in relation to us and Chelsea, upon which they went about throwing money about in the fashion of a sailor on shore leave. To use another nautical metaphor they are displaying all the hallmarks of a rudderless ship, without any discernible leadership anywhere to be seen. It really is a thing of beauty.

Like the hare in the fable, by the time they woke up it was already too late to do anything to alter the outcome.

What an appropriate outcome for a club that had become so bloated by its own-self importance. What a wonderful piece of poetic justice for that banner which was used to mock for so many years.

It's what makes our laughter so much more real. Long may it continue.

Yes, wonderful post GDM. Sprinkled with some well nourished word shapes to play with too.
'Rudderless ship' is a perfect metaphor.

 

[Whichonespink]

Soon they'll be singing 'Ed Woodward went to Brum, in a rubber dinghy, brought us back our new striker, Peter Odemwengie'

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Quality post that. I remember plenty of Rags going on about us never, ever being better than them. Oh, and not forgetting the favourite at the time 'you can't buy success', followed swiftly by 'your success is bought'..........cunts.

Thing is mate, prior to this summer I've been looking upon us surpassing them as something over the horizon, but I believe that moment has quite possibly arrived, or is about to.

They're still much bigger than us in terms of support and media coverage and will be for some time, but in terms of status as a club we're now in the same space.

Players now think of joining us instead of them for the same money; sponsors will consider us just as seriously as them; foreign media outlets are starting to give us the same standing.

Momentum should never be underestimated. Nor should the allure of being associated with something that's on the rise. Those are things over which we have a discernible edge on united.

I'm sure a few lurking rags are chuckling at these words, but chuckle away. Footballing history will prove me correct and you conspicuously wrong. As I suspect you've been since 2008.

And most of all, the best is yet to come.

 

[East Level 2]

I just think it was really nice that Ed Woodward went all the way over to Barcelona, in person, to tell Pedro the rags didn't want him. That shows real class. Even the deluded hordes on the caff aren't buying the Neymar story. I think the Sun must have misheard Turtlehead when he said about buying no-marks.

You've been taken in by that one PB. The interest in Pedro was just a smokescreen and Ed 3-Planks was actually in Barcelona to discuss Neymar. Or perhaps he thought Madrid and Barcelona were a bit closer together and could buy Bale and Chronic-Aldo (and Benzema etc) while he was out there.
A rag at work (former S/T holder until he got priced out) isn't surprised. He says Ed is a lawyer and knows bugger all about how football transfers are conducted. He also requested we stopped buying their transfer targets.
As for Pedro and Otamendi not improving their team, well they might be right. I don't know enough about Pedro but can he launch long balls to A&E? And can he thread passes through to RVP? Yes, RVP you know. Oh, right, OK. Well can he thread passes through for Shrek to sprint onto? What do you mean "yes, but Shrek can't sprint"?
As for Otamendi: How on earth can any club hope to improve on the central defensive partnership that is Stan Jones and Chris Smallthing?
The rags know what they are doing. It says so in the papers so it must be true.

 

[crazyg]

Hernandez was subbed on last week. Wouldn't shock me if they continue with Shrek, Hernandez & Wilson.

Probably be better with Wilson, Kepple & Betty. (One for our more mature readers)

 

[pirate]

It think that's very fair comment and something as a club, and as supporters, we should guard against diligently.

We are just as vulnerable as them to the laws of the universe - and, further, unless we guard against it, there's no guarantee our supporters won't turn into insufferable wankers either.

I dont think our supporters will become wankers, I think some of our new supporters undoubtably will be. Its the price of success

 

[lancs blue]

Probably be better with Wilson, Kepple & Betty. (One for our more mature readers)

They'd find it difficult to do the sand dance in a swamp. ;-)

 

[coleridge]

It think that's very fair comment and something as a club, and as supporters, we should guard against diligently.

We are just as vulnerable as them to the laws of the universe - and, further, unless we guard against it, there's no guarantee our supporters won't turn into insufferable wankers either.

It seems to me that the business model is typical of Emirati thinking. In the timescale of top level football. for the first ten years are about investment and then increasing success and revenue. The next decade is about consolidation and further commercial expansion. I have always expected ADUG to receive a return on their financial input one day. I can see significant profits arising within the next couple of years or so, not all of which necessarily needs to be directly re-invested. That is then a sustainable model. Compare this to the Rags, who are beginning to remind me of a former heavyweight who still has a large fan base although his best days are behind him and is now addicted to celebrity status rather than the fights to come.