Manchester United Banter Archive January 28 2019

28 Jan 2019 20:37:14
I get that it's harder in the EPL at the top of the league with 6 teams competing for 4 places. Yet this hasn't always been the case, both City and Spurs challenging is a recent phenomenon, only a few years old. Chelsea have only joined the party over the last 15 years and to some extent have done so as Arsenal have phased out to a certain extent. Liverpool have challenged for 2 maybe 3 league titles in nearly 30 years.

So it hasn't always been the case of 6 into 4.

For me the real issue though is that the 6 teams least likely to give youngsters a chance due to intense competition for UCL places are the same 6 clubs who hoover up the majority of the young talent, to such an extent that they even often compete for youngsters from abroad as well as domestic youngsters.

If all the most talented kids are stockpiled in academies where they realistically aren't going to get a chance then it stands to reason the kids who will get the chances are the less talented kids in academies outside of the top six.

Is shouldn't be lost on people that Jason Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi have both come from top six academies, both are hugely talented a d both look like they will have to go to German to make their breakthroughs. Yet they haven't gone to mid table teams in Germany, but instead to the top two teams in Germany, in Hudson-Odoi's case he would be moving to a side far more likely to finish higher in their league then the team he would be leaving will finish in theirs.

Should there be tighter and more stringent rules for British clubs with regards to youth academies?

Should their be a limit on the number of players you can recruit beyond a certain radius of your club? Obvious adjusted to take population into consideration.

Should their be stricter limits on the number of "home grown" players a side must register?

Should their be limits on the number of players a club can bring in during one season?

As we are seeing we do produce talented youngsters, it is the system in place which is stopping them getting through, it is the system we need to change.

28 Jan 2019 22:06:22
Callum hasn't gone yet, Shappy :) we can enjoy him for 5 more months at least haha.

29 Jan 2019 14:52:52
Chelsea offered him a deal he said no. He wants game time and will get it at Bayern.

It wouldve been a different issue if chelsea never offered him a deal but they didn't and hr rejwected ao there isn't much Chelsea can dom. Its a results business and its personal choice for players.

He probably wants to play now rather then wait around so that is why he is moving.

Its not really a big deal as this is part of life and should be looked at as normal.

29 Jan 2019 17:55:33
Jackson, If by enjoy him you mean watch him play 3 games most likely as a sub then leave in the summer then yeah, enjoy him all you want.

The lad has handed in a transfer request, he is refusing to sign a new deal. I'm sure being made to see out a contract at a club he no longer wants to be at will suddenly make him happy to sign a new deal and tie himself to the club for longer.

Its a silly stance from Chelsea, they have an offer of 35-40m on the table, for a player who wants to leave and can do in 5 months time regardless. At the present time he isn't even a regular starter.

If someone had offered us 40m for Pogba the January before he left nearly every United fan would have snapped their hand off for such a large fee for a player who just doesn't play for the club.

Instead Chelsea will receive practically nothing for him and he won't make a telling difference to the points they gain or the trophies they could win between now and the summer.

29 Jan 2019 19:35:44
3 games is underselling it, Shappy. He's started 3 in the last month alone, and I'm pretty sure more starts will follow.

His price also won't go down in the next months, especially if he plays semi regularly. And I'm thinkingbin the end he might stay after all, and that his mind is not yet made up completely. Otherwise the club would let him go, as they've shown in the past with Matic, Mata etc. If Sarri isn't full of rubbish in what he says then it would appear Callum will get minutes in the second half of the season.

I may be too optimistic, but we might be seeing more academy grads in the coming years. CHO, Mount, Ampadu, RLC, Christensen and Reece James all look to have a decent to good chance of making it. They've all been taught to play football the way Sarri and Roman like. Tammy should get the chance as well, but I'm not sure the club rate him as I do.

I'm not here to argue though, so don't take all of this the wrong way.

30 Jan 2019 05:48:01
Bayern may have targeted Houdson Odoi as a long term replacement of Ribery and Robben.
Could be a solid investment if he fulfills his potential.
He could do better at Bayern because he is surrounded by quality players.
Moreover, the German league wouldn't be as challenging as EPL.

28 Jan 2019 20:35:06
Why go for short term, let's think long term how many old players did fergie sign? Just watched this short clip of a history of Old Trafford. Hope you enjoy.

28 Jan 2019 17:55:01
Anyone else think Zaha could be a good option for the right? Didn't work out with us, bad management imo. But i think he could step up. Mind you would cost atleast twice as much this time around.

28 Jan 2019 18:11:07
I think he’s found his level, I don’t see him at a top 6 team.

28 Jan 2019 18:25:38
Agree with AJH and why would he want to come back, Moyes’ daughter is no longer around.

28 Jan 2019 18:36:52
Good player AJH, think he'd be a fit for Tottenham.

28 Jan 2019 18:39:47
I think he has the talent to be a player for a top 6 side, I don't think he has the mentality though. I think being the big fish in a small pond suits him better.

28 Jan 2019 18:39:58
Hasn’t scored for about 5 months or something. Good player but a bit too in love with himself.

28 Jan 2019 18:55:08
Will go to china at some point for the cash i'd say.

28 Jan 2019 19:13:44
What makes you say that ken? What impression from zaha have you got that he's that type of player who only plays for cash.

If anything it is the opposite, he could have left crystal palace for a few windows now but stayed with them and performed very well.

On zahas time at united its pretty clear it was too much too soon and it was overwhelming for him but we did sell him down the river, he signed in january 2013 on the assumption that sir alex would have a couple more seasons in him and he could develop under one of the best.

Then it turns out fergie retired, moyes and his cabal come in and we all know that season was a shambles, it would have been hard for any young attacking player to develop in that season.

Hope he gets his move and proves people wrong, quality player.

28 Jan 2019 20:03:21
Its just where i think he will end up Dsg. If he can't get a move to a top 6 club in the next year or 2 i think he and palace might get an offer they can't refuse.
I really like him as a player he get your attention every time i see him. But i'd say he wiuld be twice as frustrating as nani ever was and the flashes will not happen and they don't happen often enough.

29 Jan 2019 00:57:09
His decision making is horrible, he loses the ball too much and is very inconsistent. Nani was twice the player that he is.

29 Jan 2019 09:39:40
Not for me. Should stay at Palace and be the main man. Well he can go anywhere, as long as it’s not back to Old Trafford.

28 Jan 2019 10:14:15
So what is happening with Spurs and Pochettino? I ask as he is still the favourite for the United job.

It has been a tough couple of weeks, losing in the league and getting knocked out of both the domestic cups. So what's going on?

Is it that Spurs are massively over reliant on Kane and with him injured they struggle?

Or has Pochettino's head been turned and he is making mistakes he wouldn't if he was fully focused?

Or are Spurs suffering from the boards decision not to invest in the squad last summer?

Or are we just getting excited by a storm in a tea cup?

To be honest I think it is likely a combination of all of them, a lack of investment in the summer means Spurs still look light up front, especially when Kane is unavailable. I also feel that since Mourinho's departure Pochettino has seemed a little distracted, he has spoken on several occasions about United and had it been a different manager the press might have construed that as flirting with the United job. This has coincided with a drop in form for Spurs. Do the players feel the manager might be leaving in the summer?

Of course it could just be typical Spurs, do well then self implode when they can see the finish line.

Either way I feel what is happening at Spurs at them moment is certainly making many United fans question whether Pochettino has what it takes the get his teams over the line, is their a mental fragility there? His latest comments that cups are just ego boosters and are entirely reliant on luck is not the kind of comments I would want to hear from our manager if we had just been knocked out of two cup competitions in a week. I would hope that there would be serious reflection on why that happened and what can be done to improve it moving forward. Of course, that might well be what is happening, and Pochettino is just deflecting and avoiding washing Spurs dirty laundry in public.

However, it will in many fans eyes count as a potential mark against the Spurs manager.

Personally, I feel Pochettino is probably the best manager available, however, as I have said before the best man available isn't necessarily the best man for the job.

28 Jan 2019 11:06:00
Injuries and lack of investment are catching up with them. Alli, son, kane all not playing and levy and his penny pinching means no real replacements either.

Imagine if utd were without pogba, martial and rashford all at the same time but rather than lukaku and Sanchez and fred our replacement options were llorente, moura and an academy kid.

28 Jan 2019 11:33:19
Good post Shappy.

Kane, Alli and Son are players that Spurs just can’t be without. The backup options are just not good enough.

Pochettino also seemed to rest a couple yesterday which I have always disliked and based on how many were missing due to injury etc that was something Spurs could not afford.

Utd rested Rashford and Martial for Lukaku and Sánchez which as a Utd fan I’m ok with as they are quality players to come in. Bailly also played instead of Jones but with his performance we could say that was an upgrade.
Spurs didn’t have all those options.

Before anyone jumps down my throat about Lukaku. I do not like his first touch and he has been slow and overweight at the start of this season and so I am glad to see Rashford replace him, particularly as he is one of our own. However Lukaku is a proven goal scorer at PL level.

This downturn in Spurs form does raise the question about Pochettino which I believe is a good thing. Utd need the right person to fit them, Ole has shown that understanding the club history and the fans is important in order to set out the way the team should play.
I don’t want to get sentimental but I hope Ole keeps us winning and gets us top 4 plus into the FA cup final to give the board a real problem.

28 Jan 2019 11:46:44
CSM, That is true. However Kane and Alli were available against us. Losing to Chelsea with injuries is fair enough. However, even with key injuries they should have a good enough squad to beat Palace. They had Rose, Winks, Lamela, Wanyama, Aurier and Lloris on the bench against Palace, several of them aren't first choice or play every week so he could have put out a stronger 11 if he wanted.

They could have lined up Llrois, Trippier, Sanchez, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose, Winks, Wanyama, Moura, Llorente, Lamela.

Or even 433 and push Dier back into midfield. So he had options, and he didn't have to play three youngsters. Two of which (Foyth and Walker-Peters) have played several first team games so are hardly untested youngsters. it would be like us playing McTominay and Tuanzebe. Talented young players who have several first team appearances under their belts.

Spurs should still be in the FA cup, and they are not. Was that down to luck like Pochettino says, or down to poor team selection/ tactics?

28 Jan 2019 12:26:04
Shappy they lost to us because we had ddg and they didn't nothing to do with managers really. Also they should have beat palace yes but can you really blame pochettino for resting his starting team, there is a pl game in 2 days time and unlike us they really don't have the option of rotating his main players especially with injuries.

28 Jan 2019 13:20:22
His after game comments suggest he is prioritising top 4 which is sad. He's pretty much accepted he is playing for third and the mood music is thanks the best that is possible at spurs.

28 Jan 2019 14:22:26
I think it was ed001 who made some very valid points about his choice of transfers. How many players has he bought that have really improved the team.

He has bought an awful amount of sub standard players.

28 Jan 2019 14:58:43
It's an interesting situation as it asks the question why can't Spurs win? Has their manager reached his limits, or are there limits beyond the managers control which restrict them?

28 Jan 2019 15:05:31
Exactly what I was going to say angelred, Ed was spot on with his analysis. For all we know he may end up at real madrid.

28 Jan 2019 19:06:45
There are areas in our team that if you take out our 3 1st 11 players from 1 area like midfield in herrera pogba and matic we would have to play a midfield of fellaini fred and mctominay. If we have to play that midfield we will lose as many as win.
I agree with shappy that he could have played a stronger team but it would have risked epl and cl games in nwxt 10 days if he got more injuries.

28 Jan 2019 07:29:01
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 28th January 2019

28 Jan 2019 09:13:39
Cheers Ed001 for the article. Was wondering what kind of sanctions Milwall could be facing. Surely nothing as severe as CAF took against Ismaily?

{Ed001's Note - I have no idea mate, the FA seem to be pretty much toothless when it comes to Millwall, despite their fans continuing to cause the same problems as they ever have, they have even given them awards. For some reason they are afraid to admit that Millwall fans are a problem. So long as they do it away from stadiums the FC doesn't give a toss. As for this chant, I very much doubt they will take as much action against them as they should.}

28 Jan 2019 10:11:31
Great read Ed001, its really shameful for a club when a particular fan base behaves in such a way.

Also would like to know your stance on Perisic, would he be a fit in Ole's system or we should just let him go to another club as we are stacked up on the left side.

{Ed001's Note - on his day he is an excellent player Perisic, but he can be inconsistent, which is not good when you are coming up to 30. He would at least give you more options in wide areas, where you have few and quality if the team gets the best from him. Not like United can't afford to spend a little on a shortish term rebuild to get back to the front of the table, so why not buy him? So long as the policy isn't to buy only that age, one or two to bulk up the team seems a good idea.}