Manchester United banter 2

22 Apr 2024 00:25:19
Agreement has been reached with Ipswich for Sam Williams to take up his position with us as Head of Emerging Talent. He will take up his position in June.

The changes continue.

22 Apr 2024 08:44:47
Based on what I have read this move seems to fit with what the club are looking to do and the structure they are looking to put in place. It will likely take a while to see the fruits of all this work but the club are ensuring we have the right people in place to improve the team now, as well as develop for the future.
Hopefully we will be looking at a brighter next few years.

21 Apr 2024 23:40:35
Never in doubt, lads 👍.

22 Apr 2024 11:58:06
😂😂😂.

22 Apr 2024 15:34:02
It's just part of the process nothing to see here.

21 Apr 2024 22:19:56
It looked to me that he took Garnacho off to reaffirm his authority rather than for any tactical football reason. The team then looked bewildered and lacking any confidence in what he was doing, then he took Mainoo off and they just thought we are managed by an idiot.

Parcel it up how you want but the manager is incompetent.

Yes we got through but when Rasmus scored the penalty to take us through where were the players running to the fans? Embarrassed and utterly lacking team spirit. That is what Ten Hag has done, not shown the discipline he thinks but destroyed all cohesion and team spirit.

21 Apr 2024 22:50:34
Red Man the players on the pitch should be good enough to see that through. I've said it time after time that I have no idea how to judge ETH, but I am very clear that there is a cohort of players there that are either not good enough or have awful attitude. Years of dreadful recruitment and contracting practices have led to this.

22 Apr 2024 00:33:42
It’s barely been two weeks since a big thread about the manager needs to manage Mainoo’s minutes.

It was 3-0 and looked over when Garnacho came off. It was the right thing to do.

22 Apr 2024 01:43:07
We played against a weakened championship team. We had 11 players on the park everyone of which, on paper, is superior to the team we played and yet were shown the way with desire, passion, effort and belief.

How can 11 internationals not have the ability to outplay and out perform Coventry.

Don't give me this inconsistent selection claptrap. Against that opposition, regardless of the 11 on the park, they should be able to walk it and yet served that rubbish up yet again.

I was firmly on the give ETH a go bus but have long since come to the conclusion that he is out of his depth. The tactical lack of sense and the rubbish he speaks in his conferences is evidence enough that he cannot and will not cut it at United or indeed any top UK teams.

We cannot afford to keep sacking managers. Hell I’d be the first to shout that from the rooftops but we cannot go forward with this one at the helm or we will be royally screwed for his tenure and another 5 years from that.

22 Apr 2024 01:44:34
Is sportsmanship getting worse in this game. Martinez then Onana and Antony. Kids will copy this nonsense.

22 Apr 2024 04:41:39
Game management at 3 0 shouldn't be a problem against a championship team, we couldn't even do it against Chelsea in injury time.

22 Apr 2024 06:39:57
Garnacho subbed v Liverpool v Chelsea v Coventry, coincidence?

DonRed, yes but it looks to me like they see what the manager decides, and realise it is dumb or stupid, the tactics dumb or stupid and are half hearted because they see the favouritism towards Rashford. They should be able to control a game against a Championship outfit but they are also human and clearly look like they lose motivation by not believing what the manager tells them any more. Players need selling but the problem will persist because ETH looks clueless and it will affect new players. In fact the existing players will probably tell new players not to come near while this manager is in charge.

22 Apr 2024 08:04:17
Red Man, it could be that the kid is 19 years old and has started 33 consecutive matches and probably needs to have his minutes managed to avoid injury/ burn out.

22 Apr 2024 08:47:49
We took Mainoo off as it went to 3-1. Common sense says give it 5-10 mins and take the sting out of it.

He comes off and it’s open season on our goal.

With nothing left to play in the league we should be starting to rotate massively now and give some chances to some kids, Amad etc.

22 Apr 2024 09:09:17
Mainoo for eriksen is just crazy when the other midfielders are mctominay and Bruno and you've got Casemiro in defence. who's going to defend? Who's going to chase? Just opened it up. I don't hate ten hag but he's making very very strange decisions consistently now, but not like different decisions he's making the same ones repeatedly it's crazy.

22 Apr 2024 09:14:21
So, let's put some perspective on this, you don't have to like the tactics, you don't have to like the manager but if you are going to put the blame solely on ETH then let's look at what his tactics have done, 1-0 lead in the 96th Minute v Brentford, 3-2 lead from 2-0 down in the 97th minute v Chelsea, 2-1 lead v liverpool into the 84th minute, 3-0 lead in an FA Cup semi final in the 70th minute. Yet, Red Man believes that because he took of a 19 year old academy player who doesn't yet have 2 full season under his belt, Onana, international footballer who's played in a champions league final, Maguire, international footballer who played in a Euro 2020 final, Casemiro, international footballer, 5 x champions league winner, Eriksen, Fernandes, Rashford, all international footballers have all bricked it during these games they couldn't see out the result?

ETH has made many mistakes, he may not have the team playing the way we all want but if these players can not professionally see out games when they have been leading, there's a bigger issue than ETH.

22 Apr 2024 09:42:26
Shappy

Come on it was obvious why ETH took Garnacho off yesterday and it was not to have his minutes managed. It was clearly ETH exercising his authority. Pathetic. Would not surprise me to see Garnacho unsettled if the manager stays. The players will look at the manager allowing Rashford to swan around and will not have any faith in his decisions. Garnacho is one who does put effort in and does run, it’s numbing to watch our manager trying to assert himself on to a 19 year old who to date has given his all on the pitch. Ten Hag has to be booted out even if he wins the cup.

22 Apr 2024 09:56:57
I don’t think anyone is trying to take away from the players Ports.

The players deserve criticism. However, we are never set up to really control a game. We constantly look for transitions. The midfield gets vacated.

In the games listed above- Brentford was a disgrace. 1-0 lead had nothing to do with tactics. We should’ve been 5 down. Liverpool game the same, but he made subs to invite pressure in an attempt to see it out. Chelsea game, we did the same, should’ve conceded 5/ 6 again. We’ve rode our luck and should be much further down the table.

Maybe the players should ignore the plan and just change up to see the game out their way? I don’t think these players have downed tools this season. They’re working and a lot of them are running themselves into the ground every week.

22 Apr 2024 10:06:17
Players get injured in training and it’s the managers fault.

Players get brought off for a rest at 3-0 / 3-1 and it’s the managers fault.

If Mainoo or Garnacho would’ve stayed on and picked up an injury, and been out for 4 weeks, you can bet your bottom dollar the dinosaur double act would be moaning and blaming the manager for that as well.

22 Apr 2024 10:46:19
No offence, but those players brought on, with all due respect to Coventry who were fantastic, should have been more than good enough to see out the last 20 minutes. He brought off 2 kids who've played a lot of minutes, probably believing that at 3-0 and 3-1, the players at his disposal were enough to see the game out, and they should have been.

I deal with the hindsight committee in work every morning. It's a wonderful quality to possess. Talk of 'making a point' or 'punishment' for Garnacho are way off the mark in my opinion.

22 Apr 2024 11:06:26
Nou

Leaving Rashford on. What message did that send to the team?

22 Apr 2024 12:17:53
They're all international level, experienced EPL players, Red Man. They should be professional and do what they're paid very well to do.

22 Apr 2024 13:44:26
Nou
Yes but they are human and being demotivated by what is being done.

22 Apr 2024 16:52:47
Red man, I think it is a case of you seeing what you want to see and not what is there.

You say it was "obvious" why he took Garnacho off yesterday, yet he's subbed him many times before the social media post.

I suppose its "obvious" that EtH has issues with Mainoo as well as he subbed him off.

Maybe he did sub him off to make a point, yet historically EtH has made a point with players by dropping them entirely or removing them from the squad. Like he did with Garnacho last season when he was late during pre-season, or with Rashford when he was late, or by removing Sancho from the squad entirely when he refused to apologise after his social media posts.

So you'd assume that if EtH wanted to prove a point he'd have dropped Garnacho entirely, like he has in the past.

EtH is strict, yet he's also been quick to forgive. If you apologise for your transgression it tends to be water under the bridge. The fact Garnacho unliked the posts within hours suggests it was just the emotions of a young man that got away from him. As soon as he cooled down he retracted it. I'd imagine he apologised and as such he was selected for this game.

EtH has consistently subbed off both Garnacho and Mainoo in recent weeks, which tends to suggest its probably more about managing minutes.

Garnacho was subbed off with us 3-0 up and we should have been cruising. As Nou points out above we had more than enough quality and experience to manage the game, players with winning pedigree, huge experience in the game, playing at the highest level.

We shouldn't have needed to score any more, therefore it was a perfect opportunity to give a 19 year old who has started 34 consecutive games a rest. To manage his minutes. To protect him from injury or burn out.

If you want to pick a hole in his subs then I think taking off Mainoo a minute after we conceded the first goal is a far bigger mistake then trying to rest Garnacho. Although to be fair I'd imagine that decision was made and communicated to the BEFORE they scored. Personally though I'd still have been tempted to keep Mainoo on for another 5 minutes to just allow things to settle. That said Eriksen coming on for him should have more than enough experience to handle seeing out a two goal advantage for 20 minutes against a championship side.

The bigger issue here is that if senior pro's with UCL winners medals, league titles, domestic cup winners, and experience of playing in international finals need two 19 year olds with less than 18 months experience between them to hold their hands through a game with a Championship side. Well then we might as well sack the entire squad bar Mainoo and Garnacho and start again.

22 Apr 2024 21:04:27
Shappy

I can see exactly what is there. I can see how the heart of the players drops when the manager makes yet another blooper.

Team dynamics are important, members of the team can feel let down when one of the team are a scapegoat or are favoured, or they feel someone isn’t pulling their weight and get away with it. I have seen players say stuff it, stop listening to the manager, because they no longer believe in the direction.
It looks like that, see it don’t see it, it happens. Just because they have medals doesn’t mean they have to believe in the cause, they clearly don’t.

21 Apr 2024 21:29:31
Ratcliffe ran the London marathon this morning and then went to Wembley. Pretty sure watching us over 120mins was harder work and took more out of him than the run 😂 he keeps getting reminded what a mammoth task he has in front of him. This clubs decline has been 10+ years in the making, it could take that again to bring us back.

21 Apr 2024 22:06:03
What self respecting, established player is going to want to join this mess? Unlikely to get to Europe this year. Unlikely next year with the cattle we have.

Train wreck at the moment. Hard to watch and read about.

Having said that. I am coming over to UK for Mum's funeral and will be at OT on Weds shouting myself raw for the club!

21 Apr 2024 22:57:20
Sorry about your mum. Condolences. Hoping the team can give u a positive performance mid week.

22 Apr 2024 01:44:20
Thanks Tim. I managed to get to the 1/ 4 final against Liverpool when I was over caring for her. Going to be tough to beat that game!

21 Apr 2024 07:39:09
{Ed's Note - Thestigno1 has posted a new article entitled, Where are Glasgow Rangers Headed?

21 Apr 2024 07:03:01
Is it correct that we have three more injuries from training? Mount, Kambwala and Amrabat?
What is going on?

21 Apr 2024 08:09:12
Apparently so. No idea what they make them do in training.

Worryingly it’s looking it will have to be Maguire and Casemiro at centre back! Worlds slowest partnership.

21 Apr 2024 10:19:56
Idk if I should laugh or cry.

21 Apr 2024 10:56:40
What about Scott in at Centre back and keep Casemeiro in his usual position. At least Scott has younger legs and the physicality to deal with Ellis Sims who will be their main threat. Also I think Dalot should play left back as he is more comfortable there than AWB.

21 Apr 2024 11:39:38
Had this not been a semi final game, I would have given Amass a go at lb.

21 Apr 2024 12:12:42
Are a lot of these injuries down to intensity of the training or are they maybe due to having to rush players back to early before giving them the proper rehabilitation time, I think the medical side of the club needs to be looked at, too many muscle type injuries this season.

21 Apr 2024 12:14:03
Think Scott’s injured as well?

21 Apr 2024 13:11:23
Casemiro might actually benefit from playing in defence with the decline in his mobility and stamina. He wouldn't have to cover as much of the pitch.

However, we have pretty much no one else to play in midfield, so it solves one problem but creates another.

21 Apr 2024 13:53:49
I guess ten Hag makes the work hard. Something half the squad clearly struggle with on match day.

21 Apr 2024 15:10:27
The week before a semi final and only two fit CBs, they should be in cotton wool. Farce we are in this situation.

20 Apr 2024 14:58:30
I was at the u21's match against spurs today.
A few good youngsters in there.
Sonny Aljofree at CB had a decent game, didn't stop talking to his defence and midfielders all game. Looks comfortable on the ball too. Jayden Kamason at RB didn't put a foot wrong, put 100% into every tackle and won most of them. Ruben Curley in the middle looked good, got on the score sheet too. No.9 Gabriele Biancheri was a nuisance all match. Didn't give their defence a minutes peace. Got a goal too.
The main one who stood out was no.7 Ethan Williams. Constantly wanted the ball. The first half he was a constant threat, bit quieter in the second but has the look of a young Grealish about him.
Overall not a bad game to watch.

20 Apr 2024 07:39:07
{Ed's Note - MK Scouser has posted a new article entitled, Will Jurgen Klopp Leave Liverpool On A Whimper?

20 Apr 2024 08:35:16
I can only hope.

20 Apr 2024 09:21:41
Looks to me like they were snatching at chances, playing everything too fast, almost overdoing the coaching, trying too hard to deliver something for Klopp.

It’s not surprising because when a personality like that announces they are leaving it throws people mentally. Still in with a chance of the league, we don’t know how City will be affected by losing to Real. Emotion plays a part, but trying too hard, playing it too quick without composure likely comes from wanting to deliver this season all bagged up a short space of time in an emotional way for Klopp.

I like Klopp, wanted him to replace Moyes but he does seem to have a limited shelf life. He likes his teams to play with energy, however, whilst his buys this season give that they don’t seem to be able to have the composure when it matters.

The league is not over, would prefer Arsenal to win it, not least because the over emotional finale for Klopp would go very over the top.

21 Apr 2024 13:37:34
Klopp's done a phenomenal job to take them from where they were when he took over to the pinnacle he got them to.

It's important to remember though that he didn't do it on his own, he had a good structure around him that helped him totally rebuild the squad over 2-3 years before Liverpool were able to truly challenge at the top.

There were times he was derided and even labelled Flopp by some people. His players suffered badly with injuries as he increased the intensity in training to get the players to the required levels of fitness.

His side would struggle against certain tactics, in his first couple of years they couldn't break down a low block, and relied heavily on winning the ball back high.

They were also prone to conceding counter attack goals, and often faded later in games, conceding late to drop points.

It was a long hard road, they also didn't have the funds to have as deep a squad as teams like City. Making it much harder to compete on all fronts.

Yet Klopp still managed to win everything with them. That has to be respected, even if through gritted teeth.

However, it does seem like Liverpool have come to the end of a cycle. They've already seen key players like Henderson, Firmino, Mane, and Fabinho leave. Salah, Matip, VvD, and Robertson don't have years left. Maybe 1 or 2 before they either start to seriously decline or look to move on.

They've rebuilt the the forward line with players like Jota, Gakpo, Diaz and Nunez, yet they don't look as dangerous as the peak Mane, Firmino and Salah front line.

Then last summer they rebuilt the midfield with mixed success in my opinion. Mac Alister and Szoboszlai have been absolute successes. Endo has also been a good signing, but his age means he isn't a long term fix. Endo might be useful bridge until Bajcetic is ready, and he was cheap enough. While Gravenberch hasn't lived up to the hype at all. Curtis Jones has been twice the player.

It's a weird one as they have some good options, but the balance doesn't quite seem right yet. Much like in the forward line they look like they need that one player who'll bring it all together in midfield as well.

Defence is where they need to totally rebuild, VvD and Robertson are on limited time. They need to decide where or how they will play TAA, while Quansah and Bradley look like good long term options. Konate is an injury concern. When fit he's a very good option, but ideally you need consistency in defence. That's hard to do when you have a CB constantly in and out of the side due to injury. Gomez I think is a great squad option, but probably not good enough to be first choice. They need a couple of LB's and at least one top class CB, maybe two depending on how they will look to play.

If they can get the right manager in, then bring in the right players in defence, as well as a midfielder and a forward then they would be fairly set for a new chapter.

Unfortunately for Klopp it's been a long hard season and injury and fatigue looks like they will probably rob him of a big finish. Ultimately I think for his high energy style of play he needed to be able to build a deeper squad of greater quality to avoid burn out and injuries.

Looking across at City they tend to win the league in the second half of the season. Often slow out the blocks, but normally top by Christmas or there abouts. After that they slowly pull away at the top. A combination of having greater quality in depth and a more controlled style of play (meaning less fatigue and hard running, keeping his players fresher for longer) has made City a tough team to overtake. Klopp came mightily close.

The question is can anyone consistently compete with City a full season.

19 Apr 2024 22:19:12
If Jason Wilcox is our new technical director, where does that leave our present technical director Darren Fletcher?

Technical, is not something I would use to describe Darren Fletcher. The days when he was stuck on the bench alongside RR have gone, so let's see what happens to Darren.

20 Apr 2024 07:41:33
On Sky Sports;

"John Murtough stepped down as football director at Old Trafford last week but it is understood Darren Fletcher will continue to play a key role in the football leadership team working across the men's first team and academy. "

20 Apr 2024 07:50:08
Thanks Fizz

Fletcher is a good club man, but could not see him as a technical director.

20 Apr 2024 11:57:45
From what I understand of the situation is that it seems that the new structure will be something like this:

CEO - Omar Berrada

DoF - Dan Ashworth - responsible for the overall footballing operations at the club, reporting to Berrada.

Technical Director - Jason Wilcox - responsible for developing and building the playing squad. he will liaise with scouts, data analysts, the coaching staff and the academy staff to plan and develop the first team squad. Effectively it'll be his job to make sure the club has a squad capable of challenging and playing in the style that the club wants. Which players need to be moved on and when, which players to sign, and which players to promote and when.

Darren Fletcher from what has been suggested will work along side Nick Cox, Jason Wilcox and the first team manager to help bridge youth players into the first team. Leaning on his experience of what its like to make that jump, and informing those around them about what is needed.

20 Apr 2024 13:49:26
I don't profess to knowing exactly what any of these individuals may or may not end up doing within their roles. But going on that assessment Shappy if Wilcox is to be the guy overseeing transfer targets and the ins/ outs, it's vital that person is in place now. Although tbf, last week without any of these guys being on the payroll, EtH suggested transfer plans were decided so who knows.

20 Apr 2024 14:01:03
Should be good to have Fletcher being in contact with the youth team players, instill in to them the attitude needed to play for United, Wilcox I think will be a great appointment.

The main thing that needs to be done is sign players who want to play for the club and not just come for the big pay packet, sign players with the right attitude, players that will run through brick walls for the club.

United have a bigger scouting network than most clubs it needs to be used properly, I think the upcoming appointments to the backroom are big step in the right direction.

19 Apr 2024 17:53:29
Zidane then.

19 Apr 2024 18:33:25
Makes more sense than potter and southgate.

19 Apr 2024 18:43:06
Zidane now.

19 Apr 2024 18:54:57
Hope not.

19 Apr 2024 20:27:27
I know it sounds weird but I can’t picture Zidane working alongside Wilcox and Ashworth 😂.

19 Apr 2024 21:45:54
It won’t be Zidane. Unless he’s signing to play in our midfield.

19 Apr 2024 23:07:02
No chance.

SJR wants the real football ethos to return to the club, which means he won't suffer fools.
Although the prospect of these two egos locking horns could get the shrug in light of Zidane's resume, the inevitable fallout could well be a financial and PR sinkhole where the victor will have wasted valuable years of a much-vaunted rebuild.

Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that the resident big egos at the club will be reluctant to challenge a true football legend, let's not be foolish enough to think their egos aren't fed daily by fortune and tongues.

Although the football would be more entertaining, this would have a Mourinho-style outcome.

Imo, only one word would fit the prospect of this appointment - Damage!

20 Apr 2024 07:16:43
I’d say the jury is still out on Zidane as a coach. He’s had one job, at one club, that will always do pretty well.

20 Apr 2024 08:09:25
Ports

Why do you say that. Name me a successful team at the very top that has a coach who is a water carrier and a yes man. I get having a structure in place to stop doing what we have done in the past in terms of recruitment but the buck stops with the manager in football.

I get the love fest with Brighton but what have they won besides selling players on for inflated fees to PL teams spending money like drunk sailors.

He won 3 CL in a row with a team that was not the best in the competition imo. He will have the gravitas with any player current or incoming players and also influence players wanting to come. Hopefully all this player power stuff ends, very few have achieved anything close to his achievements.

If its a choice between potter or Southgate and Zidane its like a Ferrari vs a Fiat imo.

20 Apr 2024 08:33:57
Because he’s Zinedine Zidane, one of the greatest players ever and Wilcox who played left wing for Blackburn!

Just relax Ahmad, there was nothing deep in it, not sure where Brighton is related in anything to do with the comment either 😂.

20 Apr 2024 09:28:52
Eric, my thoughts on Zidane too.

He’s managed a Madrid side full of superstars.

I think he doesn’t speak English as well. Not too much of an issue for a player, but certainly an issue for a coach.

20 Apr 2024 10:13:30
It’ll be Potter imo.

21 Apr 2024 12:26:18
Would have Unai Emery all day long unfortunately he would never leave Villa to come to us.