Manchester United Banter Archive June 14 2018

14 Jun 2018 21:11:01
Greizman stays at AM.
I think he is a great player but he is a bit of an arse really.
2 summers in a row he has courted publicity. Well done to AM to hold onto one of their most influential players. can't think Barcelona will be too happy.

14 Jun 2018 21:47:24
Good player ken but do we want someone who holds press conferences to announce a non transfer. Imagine calling a work meeting to tell everyone that you were there.

14 Jun 2018 21:49:37
Completely agree ken, his ego far exceeds his talent. Good luck in the game.

14 Jun 2018 21:58:48
Barca deserve all they get.

14 Jun 2018 22:31:48
Staying at Atletico MDL.

14 Jun 2018 22:56:16
It wasn't a press conference was a 30 minute documentary lol he made 2 and told them which one to play.

14 Jun 2018 23:18:11
Cheers ajh. Its a case of hope to survive😂.

14 Jun 2018 13:34:18
Coaching question for you all regarding defenders: if a player has all the natural tools and technical ability, what separates him from failure and success?

I will use our players as examples. Smalling has good physical qualities, size and speed, limited confidence on the ball, but his critical flaw is his concentration lapses (not to mention his excessive holding, which someday will catch up to him) . Jones has excellent physical qualities, tough, brave, not bad with the ball, but he stands out for his moments of panic.

Blind was always excellent technically, but too slow. Rojo has a great battling mentality, but just isn't that good. Darmian could mark and tackle well, but offered little going forward.

Bailly has it all, speed, athleticism, confidence as a defender, confidence with the ball, and a little swagger, though he usually gives you at least one unpredictable moment per game. At least it's usually something he does with the ball, rather than an idiotic slide tackle, like Smalling and Jones have done over the years.

I am thinking now of our young defenders with good potential - Lindelof, who has shown a lot, and especially Fosu-Mensah and Tuanzebe, and soon enough, we will see about Dalot. Lindelof seems very good on the ball, might lack a bit of physicality, but he just needs games. Tuanzebe looked awfully composed for such a young player, and I would love to see him get a chance to prove himself. Fosu-Mensah has great physical tools, looked positionally suspect at times. But cannot these mistakes be coached out of a player? I would like to think yes, as long as a defender shows he can maintain concentration and composure in the big moments and throughout the 90 minutes.

There is a lot to it for what it takes to succeed as a defender. You need to win physical battles, one on one battles vs the dribblers, make good decisions with the ball, and stay switched on all the time. It's something we do not often discuss on here. And related to our transfer seasons, can one of our own grow into becoming a great defender to partner Bailly or must we buy again?

14 Jun 2018 16:33:38
My grandad always used to say to me that what defines a great player over a good player is what's between the ears. How quick the player can Process what is going on in front of him which is why some players can look like they are either always in the right place or have more time on the ball than others.
As hated and awful a human being as he is I think this is why someone like John Terry was so good for do long.
It's why for me Smalling sometimes looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights even though physically and ability he has all that is needed to be a top defender.

14 Jun 2018 18:26:12
John Terry was awful. Poor positioning and stupid decisions. He was just good at last ditch recovery tackles which is why people think he's good. Often he was recovering his own mistake. The game against Sweden as an example.

14 Jun 2018 18:38:43
John Terry was a legend, what a slip!

14 Jun 2018 18:44:11
Someone has to take Smalling to one side and smack that stupid holding and wrestling out of him.

I watched the 2nd divison play off at wembley ref gave every holding/ wrestling decision -including a penalty and he looked at the defender when he blew the whistle for the penalty as if to say "you give me no choice moron " Will cost us big time if he doesn't cut it out.

14 Jun 2018 20:09:44
Will never smack it out of him because it always happens after he is caught flat footed m, This is mainly due to the fact that the attacker knows his job is to get a head on the ball and CS need 1.1 secs for his brain to register the projected area of the ball coming and that that he has to clear the lines

By which time the attacker has already got 2 steps on him hence the pulling of shirts etc.

14 Jun 2018 20:10:49
If refs ever gain consistency then yes it will cost us.

All our defenders have issues. Smalling can't concentrate, jones is made of glass, rojo is better in a 3 than a 2, blind is slow. Should be moving a couple of these on.

14 Jun 2018 21:39:51
All players have strengths and weaknesses, no player is great at everything. Rio had lapses in concentration, Vidic was limited on the ball.

The difference between the weaknesses in defenders and other players is that when theit weaknesses are exposed it often leads to a goalscoring opportunity. Or at least a heart in mouth moment.

The trick to having great defenders is having a great defensive unit. A system where all the defenders work together to cover for eachother which limits how often their weaknesses are exposed making them look like better players.

Vidic wasn't a great passer out from the back, but he hardly ever had to do is as Rio was alongside him spraying balls around.

When Rio had a lapse in concentration Vidic would cover.

Smalling lacks the technical ability that he would have gained if he had been coached by an academy coach during his formative years.

All defenders have areas of weakness, when you sign a new defender it is more important than any other position as to how their talents and abilities will sync in with the current players.

We are missing an organiser at the back, someone to bring it altogether. That is why I have such high hopes for Tuanzebe. Not only is he a talented defender, with good pace and physicality and composure. He is a talker, he communicates and organises his fellow defenders. He is exactly the kind of defender we need, he just hasn't got the experience. But he'll never have it if we don't play him.

15 Jun 2018 00:12:54
Spot on about Tuanzebe shappy. I would love to see him integrated this season as he has all the attributes to be our cb for years to come.

15 Jun 2018 01:17:32
Good to hear about Tuanzebe. Not being local like some of you, I didn't know that he was a talker and organizer. The more we see of him, the better.

14 Jun 2018 11:18:12
{Ed's Note - Ed055 has posted a new article entitled, Manchester United fans not so United on Martial decision

14 Jun 2018 10:28:22
Nice start for United.

14 Jun 2018 07:53:44
With two days to go, we have named our captains. With over 100 years of experience between them.
Ed001s team - Ken (from the United page )
Ed002s team - Pete (sonofklopp/ koppite )

{Ed001's Note - 95 of those years are ken's alone!}

14 Jun 2018 08:44:34
Christ ed 001. We are supposed to be on the same team. 😂.

{Ed001's Note - I am lulling them into a false sense of security. Honest.}

14 Jun 2018 08:56:33
It might not be so false😂.

14 Jun 2018 01:25:01
Definatley looks like tony is off now. He's chose to leave and yes we can blame Jose etc. But for me he's a great talent but that's it, shows in flashes how good he can be. Will he fulfil that potential? Who knows his attitude towards playing the game needs to improve, off the ball he made very few great runs, seems to sulk when he doesn't have the ball. Undoubtedly he's a talent but it'll be interesting to see exactly how he gets on away from Old Trafford. I can see similarities with Memphis, an extremely talented player but whether it's the league, the club, the expectation it just hasn't worked out.
I hope we don't go for a like for like replacement and let Rashford take over. I'd love pulisic for the right hand side and like ed said that's could be a consideration (thank you for the info Ed002!) .
Whilst Sanchez hasn't been great his desire has always been there, he's always worked hard for the team and himself. Martial needs to use that as an example to improve his all round game.
Good luck to him.
Caolán.

14 Jun 2018 05:29:52
Caolan I don't think we pay Rooney mk.2 500k a week to just work hard, running around like a headless chicken is not and will never be a substitute for actual good performances. I would rather have someone actually attacks, beat their man, score goals and create chances rather than someone who does little of above but works hard otherwise.

14 Jun 2018 05:47:04
A lot of the same stuff about attitude came out when salah and de bruyne were sold.

Last season their attitude seemed fine to me.

14 Jun 2018 07:38:34
Its not like De bruyne and Salah left Chelsea last season, they made best decisions for their career, they went to clubs were would play regular. If martial wants to go, I don't see the problem of letting him, he has talent but won't fulfill it by sitting on the bench, these players and coaches are humuan, they will always make decisions which favours them and their career.

Players changes clubs, I don't the point of blaming Martial or Mourinho. At the end Martial wants out and doesn't agree a new contract. The clubs needs to make sure they get better deal when selling him and replace with someone better and who fits Mou needs.

14 Jun 2018 10:49:48
The club is bigger than the player or the manager for that matter. Martial has talent, however down the years there have been many players with talent who just don’t get to the level they should. Maybe if Martial goes to a lower level team or one that makes him the focal point, plays to him and his strengths they may get more out of him.

However for me his mental attitude isn’t right, he doesn’t make things happen, things happen around him. Great players turn situations and in 3 years he has rarely made things happen when it really mattered. Yes, some good goals, similar in nature right foot, slotted in low bottom right corner, but rarely has he grabbed a game and made it his.

Would I like him to stay, yes but on our terms, work on his mental side to improve overall but like in games when it isn’t going for him he doesn’t knuckle down, make that difference, instead he shrugs and wanders off. If when he goes at some point he will do something brilliant and his fans will coo but if we want to be at the top everyone has to contribute and mentality is a big part of that, Martial hasn’t shown the mentality of a winner.

14 Jun 2018 11:18:58
Csm I haven’t said Sanchez has been good or that his work rate makes up for that. But he has a great attitude towards playing the game, which I feel would benefit martial no end if he could develop when he doesn’t have the ball.

14 Jun 2018 15:14:59
Couldn't agree more with that red Man. Excellent post.