United Thread - 2022/23

[Grassland Blue]

I ABSOLUTELY FUKIN GUARANTEE … if City’s management messes up as big time as United’s, negatively affecting value and profits, then the shareholders put pressure on ‘the owner(s)’ and changes are made. Owners(or shareholders) don’t just sit back and allow directors/managers to fuck up their investment.

Nobody is blameless at United, but the Glazers are SOLELY responsible for not bringing in the same quality as we have in; Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Ferran Soriano, Roel De Vries, Txiki Begiristain, etc.

When the best quality has already been acquired by City, how can anyone else get the same quality?

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

Erik Ten Miles?

View attachment 52808

13.8k?

That's around 1h 10m of running at 8 min/m pace which any reasonably fit person should be able to manage. And let's face it, they didn't put much effort in on the pitch the previous day did they...

Fannies.

 

[KS55]

I bet Mr Haag is regretting taking that job on this morning and if I was his boss, I'd be pretty unimpressed as well.

Haag wants United to play like we do. That's a great idea but his problem is that he doesn't have many players who are capable of doing it. De Gea isn't great with his feet, he isn't Ederson or Allison. He is an 'old fashioned' goalkeeper and he is stuck there now.

Maguire would do well under Pep as he is a footballing central defender, but his confidence is absolutely shot. I will guarantee he plays well for England in the WC then revert to type when he goes back to United. They've bought Martinez but, like others have said, he looks too small. He doesn't look "Walker quick" either and looks ok with his feet. In short, he looks a bit of an odd buy to me and given he's new to the league, he needs Maguire on top form. I think Maguire will end up like Phil Jones if I'm honest - a very good player who wastes his career there. Hand on heart, if Ake went to Chelsea, I'd be happy if we offered them £50m for him. Pep would make him world class.

Shaw can play football, but again he will need Maguire/Martinez on form and the right back just doesn't look very good to me. Haag must see this in training and from the games he's played but this is the thing - after losing Pogba, they have another asset who's value is collapsing and won't want to stay there.

Their midfield is unbalanced and doesn't know what it's doing. McTominay charges about without much end product apart from the odd card. Fred isn't an enforcer, creator or anything, he just runs about and does what he can. Again though, he must be wondering what might have been now - he could've been our Fern replacement.

Up front, Ronaldo wants out because he knows his time is running out and they are a mess. He isn't daft. But Haag is freezing him out when they don't have anyone to replace him. Martial wants out and they are trying to replace Martial and Ronaldo with Marko Arnautavic. It's a joke, surely! Sancho looks like Maguire - confidence shot. Rashford is a good player but looks disinterested and his confidence is shot too.

The confidence has gone from them because they don't know what they are being asked to do. Their transfer policy is a joke - they are scatter gun and literally doing the exact opposite of us and Liverpool. We - and Liverpool - buy players who fit into their system. United buy 'good' players and hope the manager will fit them in. However, you can't make Wan Bisaka into a ball playing right back - it's simply not his game. You can't make Ronaldo charge about like Tevez as he's just too old and - rightly - is unhappy doing something that he can't do.

Given what I saw yesterday, if I didn't know who the manager was or how long he'd been there, I'd say he was next up for the chop. However, they won't sack him but I wouldn't be surprised if he walks. The squad is a mess and they have very little time left in the window to correct it - which they can't anyway. They won't get in the CL this year and it's another year of 'rebuilding'. They are starting to find now that players want CL football and leave clubs who don't offer it. How times have changed from the years when the likes of Neville and Scholes used to pay United to play for them! :D

LONG MAY IT CONTINUE!

Some great points in there. Like you I think Maguire could be excellent, but not with those defensive colleagues.
Confidence makes all the difference.

 

[Keeper!]

13.8k?

That's around 1h 10m of running at 8 min/m pace which any reasonably fit person should be able to manage. And let's face it, they didn't put much effort in on the pitch the previous day did they...

Fannies.

I do that sort of thing for fun and to keep fit, wish I was getting paid 200k a week to do it.

 

[yeah whatever !!]

Not sure where they go from here. They won’t fall as deep as we did as the money is there but, as we know, once the rot sets in at a club, it’s hard to chisel out. The ownership needs to change but they’re coining it in and don’t care.

Above is the reasoned reaction but fuck that, my juvenile reaction from decades of hating those rag bastards, is one of total laughter. Who the fuck cares what happens next, they’re a fucking joke. Has the Sheikh really overseen all this in a little over a decade? Remarkable. Drink it in.

Well it certainly isn't further down the table :)

 

[KS55]

This, more than anything else, explains their downfall.

Fergie was getting on and they should've handled him leaving far better. In fact, it's hard to think of a worse way to do it. The new man should've come in and worked with him and got to know the culture of the club. This was a fairly unique club in that he ran the place, top to toe whereas everyone now had Directors of Football etc in place.

Moyes came in and got rid of many of their staff and brought in his own men. I can understand why he would want his own men in, but he should've kept them on for their experience. It really showed his naievity, he wasn't a Mourinho/Guardiola/Ancelotti who had a track record of success. At this point now, the 'Fergie United' had gone and by the time van Gaal had got rid of Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Welbeck, Evans, Hernandez etc it makes you wonder if there was any part of it left. Other than the pisscan turning up to see them get beat and booed at home, his dynasty had completely gone.

Mourinho's character and style was well known and he did well there. His style of football was at odds with van Gaal, Moyes and Fergies. He came and went then Ole comes in who's counter attacking, looser style of play was again at odds with Mourinho's style. Ten Haag wants to play like us, but he's got a squad of players who aren't suited to his style.

Contrast that with us and Pep. When he came in, half the squad could adapt to his style and the players who couldn't went fast and were replaced by ones who played his style. The club now is the best run club in world football. When Pep goes, the next manager who comes in won't be Simeone etc it will be someone who plays the way that Pep, Soriano and Bergistrain play. I really don't understand why they aren't trying to copy what we do!

Copying what we do is easier said than done. You need several top men. They have none.

 

[KS55]

And to think, all of this entertainment was brought about by a row over the semen of a horse that didn't sire a single notable winner.

Northern Dancer obsession.

 

[Blue Floyd]

 

[Blue Mist]

But where are the clowns.
Send in the clowns
Don't bother, they're here.

I got up this morning, walked the dog and then sat down and read this thread. What a brilliant start to the day.

 

[KS55]

Once Wright leaves, Pick of the Pops, Blackburn's Sounds of the Sixties and Johnny Walker's Sounds of the Seventies will be the only programmes worth listening to on Radio Two. Plus Pop Master, of course.

Most of the rest of the DJs on there, I can’t stand, especially Scott Mills, Zoë "rag" Ball and Sara Cox.

Fucking dreadful, the three of them.

My mate says try Radio 6. I say be like me, go deaf and you don’t have to listen to any of them!