Manchester United Banter Archive September 12 2018

 

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12 Sep 2018 17:11:51
Ed002, do you think the Barcelona V Girona game will go ahead in miami? The only reason I'm asking here and not on the La Liga page, is if it does, I don't see the Premier League missing out on a cash cow like a few games abroad.

It doesn't sit with me right that a league game could be played in a neutral ground. That's the beauty of the league. There's no quams about the winners because technically there's no advantage.

Is this something the Premier League is seriously considering?

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{Ed002's Note - I think it unlikely that the Girona - Barcelona will happen in Miami and the Spanish Football Federation are not taking kindly to their not being involved in discussions or negotiations before the clubs asking for approval. Ex-Hamilton Academicals player Luis Rubiales is vehemently against it and has clashed publically with La Liga over their already having agreed and signing a contract to allow it to happen.

In terms of the Premier League, the idea of an additional round of games - the 39th game, being played outside of England has been on and off thge cards for getting on for 15 years. Richard Scudamore has always advocated it but the Premier League clubs would need to vote and there has been a sufficient backlash from clubs that means it would never get through on the 70% rule - although the PL are slowly shifting toward a simple majority rule now.

It has been suggested that it could stop an eventual Pan European Breakaway but that would not be the case - it doesn't even enter in to considerations for those 21 clubs discussing that. Of the Premier League clubs who have given support to it in the past, I doubt any would do so now without understanding a great deal more about any proposals. The English PFA were against it, but would not have consulted the players in making that decision. FIFA were always against it under Blatter but Infantino is compelled by the thought of opening the game up further. There are plans to expanded the International Champions Cup and FIFA want to really get involved but the clubs are far from convinced. UEFA are desparate to stop the breakaway hence the alternatives being offered and new ideas that keep coming up. Much of the problem will remain unresolved without the support of the "elite" sides who remain intent on doing whatever they deem to be best for themselves.

There was an option on the table for leagues to agree to play a pre-season game elsewhere and there was support for that from many of the leagues - but the English Premier League had already struck a deal which meant the English would have to be played in Asia and a lot of clubs were sponsored by companies who would have objected.}

12 Sep 2018 20:48:25
Great stuff ed002. Thanks a million. You've been talking about the pan-European league now for awhile, youve a better success rate than Nostramdus for predictions. This break away league doesn't sit well with me at all.

You always said that the league would have to break away from Uefa and Fifa and players would be banned from internationals. With what seems to be the slow death of international football, I don't she that as a big enough threat to stop players breaking away.

For arguments sake, let's say the breakaway league starts tomorrow? Would the teams involved run the league like a co-op, or would the whole thing be owned by a private investor?

Would the fans really want to see a breakaway league?

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{Ed002's Note - It would require a new league to be formed and FIFA would use the threat of excluding players from International competition for their countries. UEFA is in a different position as it is potentially crippling for them - hence the alternate approaches being encouraged, the discussions with the “Elite” group and attempts to expand the Champions League. The clubs plan to run the league themselves and would vote in a management and administration collective to deal with issues all leagues need to face. Many fans would be supportive of such a league and would like to see games involving the higher profile clubs on a regular basis.}

12 Sep 2018 21:51:05
Fair play Mumbles, very articulated questions and Ed your answers make us all understand what could be a complex situation. I for one wouldn’t like a breakaway, there is something beautiful about going to Huddersfield away and being drawn against Yeovil in the cup. Do you still see the pan European breakaway happening and if so what timescale are we looking at Ed? Thanks.

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{Ed002's Note - The clubs discussed some specifics a couple of weeks ago when they met, but there was no lengthy discussion due to other issues clogging up the agenda. In terms of timescales, I think later rather than sooner. There remains only three sides that want to push for an early move.}

12 Sep 2018 22:06:54
Any chance of a list of teams that attend these meetings? Is it a fixed list or are all the big European teams that don't have a seat at the table trying to get one?

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{Ed002's Note - It is a fixed group, there is no plan to change it at this time.}

13 Sep 2018 01:42:39
If the premier league want a game in the USA or somewhere, I don’t get why they don’t just take the community shield game over there. In fairness we over here really don’t care about it anyway, so why not take a “cup final” over there.?

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{Ed001's Note - probably because they have to make Wembley profitable. The Spanish equivalent, their Super Cup, was played abroad this year.}

13 Sep 2018 01:26:25
Wouldn't away support be a problem after the novelty had worn off after a season or so? Having to travel to Spain, Italy, Germany etc every other week, flights, getting accommodation, probably having to take Mondays off if your games on a Sunday, it would get bloody pricy doing that regularly!

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{Ed002's Note - That is a very insular view. England is in real terms a very small country and supporters in may other countries mange perfectly well when following their teams. For most Manchester United supporters they live with both Heathrow and Gatwick on the doorstep with plentiful cheap flights available to most of the destinations involved. For you and I we could ride the rails to Exeter and then jump a flight to Spain, Portugal and France as easily as Newcastle or indeed Manchester. The pleasure of an Exeter to Bergerac flight, catching a game at the rather unusual new Girondins de Bordeaux stadium, a nice meal and a bottle of red back in Bergerac before an easy flight home seems way more attactive than say a visit to Manchester.}

13 Sep 2018 10:40:33
Like a nice bottle of Vin Rouge then Ed?

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{Ed002's Note - Rarely.}

14 Sep 2018 10:50:22
I'd rather go to old Trafford in the rain or snow. I'd actually rather go to Millwall than go to those destinations with the prawn sandwich brigade.
I'd get more enjoyment watching a good game of football down my local park.

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{Ed002's Note - That is fine - there are plenty of others who would no doubt be interesting in supporting the club if you feel unable to do so because of the sandwiches.}

12 Sep 2018 17:05:52
Sick of hearing bitter pundits wanting rashford to leave. The lads 20 years old. He's Manchester born, and from the academy. Would he start at City, Chelsea or Liverpool? No. He's a young player learning, yes performances show he should start more often but for people to be asking him to be leading the line is a little out of touch I think.

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12 Sep 2018 18:41:57
I agree mate. It’s ridiculous. He’s played over 100 games for us. Phil foden has played 8 minutes this year but apparently his development is fantastic being at city.

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14 Sep 2018 23:10:00
He is no Mbappe.

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Top 10 Soccer Left Mids/Wingers

12 Sep 2018 15:41:55
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Top 10 Soccer Left Mids/Wingers

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13 Sep 2018 19:05:31
Thomas Lemar at 11th Ed?

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{Ed001's Note - possibly, there were loads of ones left out though that would be in with a shout.}

12 Sep 2018 12:52:27
Is Rashford wearing the number 10 for both club and country?
Quite a challenge to stay grounded considering this.

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12 Sep 2018 14:57:58
Im not sure it makes any difference what number ge wears jonny.
This week will have done is confidence no harm at all. 4 games over next 2 weeks will hopefully see him start a couple.

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12 Sep 2018 17:05:50
Nice to see him finish but they were instinctive goals. Anything he has to think about he is often terrible. Even his goal against Spain was a poor finish (but great movement and put on a plate by Shaw exceptionally) .

Every time I watch him I come away feeling like he doesn't have a winners mentality, looks really clueless with the ball and is just good at running. He often doesn't beat a man with his raw pace either if running with the ball at his feet. He is far too raw for me to make it at the very top, he simply isn't good enough and even though he is young he seems to have that obliviousness that the very top players don't have.

He seems like a lovely young man, nothing against him at all, aside from the fact I don't think he is good enough to be a starter for Utd if we want to be among the best again any time soon. It's players like Rashford that sum up our drop off for me. He wouldn't be getting a kick 6-7 years ago, if he signed for a mid-table team he would drift into the wilderness. I can't see him getting into any first team regularly for the elite teams in Europe.

He hasn't improved since he first broke into the team and that is a big worry, he has reached his ceiling - cash in whilst the hype still exists or we will be stuck with another Januzaj, remember him?!

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12 Sep 2018 17:07:09
Ken, the silly boy is going to be sitting in the stands for the next 3 games.

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12 Sep 2018 18:18:52
True mumbles. He was stupid but i hope he learns from that. Might provide mata or martial with an opportunity.

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12 Sep 2018 18:23:13
I hate to say it, but i agree with Beast more than a 100%. I would have said the same but Beast has said it better.

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12 Sep 2018 18:49:39
But beast had Welbeck down as the best thing since sliced bread!? 😂 go figure 🤔.

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12 Sep 2018 21:12:37
I disagree a shan and beast. i'm not one who says he should be replacing lukaku in the team as the main cf.
The kid is talented but very few 20yo cf are the finished article.
At times if we play 2 up he is a good option and a very good back up to lukaku at this stage of his career. He will start 20 plus games this season i guess in all comps and feature in 45. If he plays well of course.
I can't think of msny better back up strikers. Jansen at spurs? Solanke at pool? Ok jesus at city? Chelsea?
Beast i think it bodes well and its not a negative that he finished instinctively. Because with experience he will improve his conversion ratio when he has time. His decision making wull improve with experience.
He has lots of time on his side and right now possibly only chelsea of the top clubs would he be a starter.
I don't know if he will be better than welbeck for example i think he will.
Will he be another henry or RVN i doubt it but he is on a par with them at his age.
Why get rid? To replace him with a better no2 for the right money would be tough and he has plenty of time to fulfill his potential. He has never let himself down for effort or attitude and for me that bodes well for the future.
He is not a superstar but he has the potential to improve quite a bit.

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12 Sep 2018 21:55:11
Great post that ken.

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12 Sep 2018 22:11:11
I was not saying anything about his performances.
Just wondered if he really is level headed enough to not feel he‘s done it after being given the number 10 for both the national team and the biggest club in the country.
Hope he makes them his own and proves worthy of them.

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13 Sep 2018 06:45:10
I’m with ken, he’s only 20and has huge potential. The challenge is continuing to develop, getting some good directions n and coaching, and moving up to the next level. There have been very few 20 year olds with his potential. We should cherish him.

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13 Sep 2018 07:59:57
Looking at our squad we have three potentially great strikers, at least three very good/ great No.10's and no natural wingers.

Two of our three potentially great strikers are young and need minutes.

Personally I think we should be playing a diamond formation without wingers, making two striker positions available so that Rashford and Martial can rotate and play in their best position alongside Lukaku taking some of the strain off them and Lukaku.

While Sanchez, Lingard and Mata can fight it out for the No.10 position.

It would also give us a midfield three stopping us getting over run in the middle.

BOTH Rashford and Martial are potentially great players for us. However, we have to get them minutes in their best position if they are to reach that potential.

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13 Sep 2018 08:43:53
If you took him as a 20 year old just breaking through I'd totally agree. But the guy has been around for a while now, he has played a lot of games and frankly being honest does he look better now than when he first broke onto the scene?

I think he has gone a bit backwards to be honest, all this 'learning from Zlatan and Romalu' lark seems to have held him up. The inconsistency of selection and position is an issue, but I'd have expected to see a lot more improvement. I fear that at the age of 23 he will be no better than he is now. I suppose a Theo Walcott is a better example (but he has less
brains and umpf about them than Theo, more natural talent but he doesn't know or can't be taught how to harness it) .

BTW - Welbeck I championed because he was worth more than £15m in my book, LVG wanted to play with wide players that would work hard and Danny works like a dog. His best asset is being able to rob defenders of the ball and therefore create an attack out of nothing with the opposition being out of position. He is a poor finisher and made of glass, but LVG needed him for his system - it was a complete contradiction selling him and really irritated me as I could tell the manager was clueless.

Also Welbeck was one of our own once, I imagine some of the people using Rashford coming from our youth system as a good excuse to keep him could be saying similar things about Rashford as they many others do about Welbeck in a few years.

I just don't think he is up to snuff and hope to be proven wrong, but Rash needs to actually improve rather than stand still for 3 years. We could probably get some team to pay £60m for Rashford now on hype and being English, in 3 years time if he stays with us I'd be amazed if we get more than £20m and that includes inflation - probably run his contract down, on account of limited games if I were to bet.

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13 Sep 2018 09:54:26
Helooks like a rabbit in the headlights when he has time to think, but he is still a kid and would nurture him a while longer. Regarding his stupidity in getting a red: agree as he should have full blown nutted the dispicable little prick and made t worth while!
What is it with players playacting as if they've been shot to get some fellow pro a card?

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13 Sep 2018 10:20:06
Mumbles he can play in Europe. ir is only a domestic ban.

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13 Sep 2018 18:35:20
Its a domestic ban only.

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13 Sep 2018 18:53:18
2 games for England, 2 goals, the lads gone backwards. I can’t believe the dismissing of a 20 year old.

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13 Sep 2018 20:37:13
Beast i can see your point. I felt the same about shaw but for different reasons. While 4 games doesn't prove anything i'm very open to the fact i'm probably and i hope i am proven wrong.

As i said when we play 1 up front in our current squad he is not 1st choice. But if lukaku is injured for a periodof let's say 10 straight games i think rash could replace him and do well, but lukaku is the no1 choice for that position and i think that's the right chouce based on form.
If he does get a chance of a long run of games rash could well surprise a few.

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14 Sep 2018 14:49:50
AJH - did you watch the games?

Ken - Of course at the minute we are short up top, but pretty much whenever Rashford leads the line he has been a non-entity. I'm not anti-Rash I just don't think he is good enough for Utd if we expect to be winning things. Golden opportunity to cash in on him whilst the hype is there imo, just from a commercial point of view. We could spend that money more wisely on a backup striker. Rashford can bring an X factor, but we only see it sporadically and it's not reliable enough. We have many players that turn up sporadically though so it isn't surprising. I'd love our players to perform 4/ 5 games, but most perform 1/ 5 to the level required.

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14 Sep 2018 20:35:44
I know your not anti rash and i understand your point of view on this one but i think he still has a lot to offer and a lot to improve upon.
Not sure he will ever be a superstar the hype is very OTT. But that's the case with plenty of young english or young united players.

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14 Sep 2018 23:06:43
I don't buy into he is young and only 20 business. Just look at the french kid Mbappe, similar age and he is getting better by the year and way way above the quality of Rashford
Mbappe is so cool infront of goal he looks natural. Rashford will never have this, its something you either have or you don't.

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Summary of how Liverpool FC players performed for their national teams Part 2

12 Sep 2018 10:44:55
{Ed's Note - Jurgen Meister has posted a new article entitled, Summary of how Liverpool FC players performed for their national teams Part 2

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12 Sep 2018 10:28:54
Quiet in here lads and lasses, seems an eternity ago we beat Burnley, these international breaks are a killer.
Onto some of our players;
Luke Shaw, thankfully nothing more serious, played well for England too, he will be back after Watford I'm sure.
RedRom, scoring freely for Belgium and has been of late for us, appears to be in form and on the goal trail, when he's in that mood it instantly improves our fortunes.
Rashford, getting minutes for England and scoring a winner, I see GNev has called on him to take his chances and nail down a spot in the team, will Jose be patient with him tho.
DDG, another mixed Spanish performance from him after his unusual stats where most shots went past him, made a few saves thereafter and Spain look like reasserting themselves as a force on that stage.
Pogba, played both games, both strong opponents, can't say I saw him so if anyone can shed light on how he performed.
Matic, played one, a sub in one, minutes under his belt is the main thing for me, he is vital for us during our unstable times defensively.
Of our defenders looks like Lindelof was the only one to get 90 mins, sweeen shipped 3 though so not sure how confident he is, not sure Jones, Smalling and Bailly was on international duty or injured or what but would've been good for them to take this break regardless and come back out of the cauldron.
Anyway, thankfully back to business this weekend and away at what looks like a tough Watford team to beat of their start is anything to go by but if we realistically want to challenge and close what is a gap already then we need to dispatch teams like this Home and away as City have done and Liverpool seem to have learned to do.
Earn your coins Jose and lads, now is the time, another patch like the one we've been in I'm not sure we will have a manager after the next international break.

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12 Sep 2018 11:43:16
Bailly played for his country, and won 2-1.

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12 Sep 2018 12:36:18
Cheers Kenedy, probs missed a lot out.

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12 Sep 2018 14:24:56
Thanks WRD.

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Review Of The Day 12th September 2018

12 Sep 2018 07:29:01
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 12th September 2018

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