31 May 2015 08:11:55
Hi All,

Great work to the Eds and regulars on here recently (post ed002) as there has been some real interesting posts and opinions making for a very good read. Thanks.

There has been a few discussions about the ability of the club to attract players. And TBH it worries me a bit.

Now, this is not meant to offend so apologies if it does but here is my view.

If I imagined being a pro footballer myself (a long stretch of the imagination, I know) although there would be only one club I would want to play the majority of my career at. There is one city I would not want to live in. Manchester.

In my imaginary world this is leaving me feeling very torn. And it makes me wonder if any REAL players have these same thoughts.

Hope you follow me. ?

Thoughts people?

1.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 09:02:56
Are you not from manchester? I think this is extremely disrespectful, you support a team from manchester, a lot of people posting on here will be from Manchester, I've lived there all my life (by choice) and i don't do too badly, what is your problem with it? Quite annoyed at this post.

2.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 09:51:58
I apologise profusely GDS2.

I have spent the last 45mins trying to explain myself so you will understand my thinking but this is a topic/explanation that could be read many different ways and I fear I would it would escalate into a thread that would end up getting deleted.

Though I have seemingly caused disrespect please be aware this was never my intention. I knew it was a risk to post, and my curiosity to the answers were too much to suppress.

I have painted myself with a bad light. Guess i will live with that.

Sorry.

3.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 09:52:09
Whilst I also have lived in Manchester all my life. you have to be a certain breed to enjoy the weather. Especially if you are a foreign player!

4.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 09:57:09
To be fair GDS I don't think Monkeyballs meant it to be disrespectful. I can see what he is getting at (I think), I left the UK two years ago and as much as I miss home sometimes it is a different life over here. I don't think I could ever go back to living in the UK again or anytime soon having experienced a different way of life over here.

For a player to leave a certain location of living where the cultures are completely different is a tough call. Someone posted the other day about the draw of London which is true, there will be certain players out there who will join a Chelsea or Spurs because they want to live in London. For example if DDG leaves it is not for a want of a potential trophy cabinet, it is because he wants to go back to where he belongs and where his family feel comfortable.

Having said that I am firm believer that the creme of the crop will rise and the top players with the greatest attitude and mentality wouldn't give a hoot about a club of Man Utd's standing in terms of location but would rather see themselves in lights lifting trophies under the stars of OT. That's the players you want at the club mate, not a player like Di Maria who yearns for the flush cobbled paths of Paris but a player like Roy Keane who would live in a tent in the middle of Salford because he wants success and has a barrel load of passion.

5.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 10:47:18
Men are gone soft and football players are spoilt,too much money,too much pampering,and dare I say it,they do what their ladies say!

6.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 11:05:20
I think people underestimate the role of the WAG in this day and age.

20 years ago the world was a different place, nowadays with WAG's getting just as much attention as the players they are with it's important they are seen in the right places. I appreciate this doesn't apply in all cases, but with social media, women's rights and the overnight way to become a Celeb more and more players are being swayed by their partners than they were a generation ago. Not saying this is a bad thing. I bet I ask my wife's opinion ten times more than my Dad did his, and he will have 10 times more than my Grandad asked my Gran.

On the whole current players are softer mentally, the career isn't just what they do with a ball its what they do outside as well and who they are seen with - Superstar status brings more money hungry women (how many butt ugly footballers do you see with absolute stunners nowadays compared to a generation ago). This is the key problem for me when it comes to players doing what is best for their football and doing best for their family/long term futures, each to their own.

Manchester is better than a lot of places, but ask 99/100 good looking women in their 20's where they would rather live, Paris, Rome, Madrid, London or Manchester and I know where Manchester would come on that list - and the WAGS hold the aces in a lot of relationships nowadays!

7.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 11:12:50
He's got a point, a lot of people would prefer to live in places like Madrid or Paris over Manchester.

8.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 12:28:26
If I had a choice of City to live in, Manchester would be nowhere near the top of the list. Probably nowhere even near the middle.

But if it was for football reasons, Manchester would be top of my list. If I had the choice, i'd be at Manchester United for life, couldn't think of another team i'd rather play for.

9.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 12:34:07
I am glad this thread has taken the direction I was hoping. And I really feel its a bigger topic than its made out to be. I could be wrong but it is what worries me. There are so many different aspects to it, it becomes such a grey area.

Football is changing/has changed and they are very good points explained by JMB, Leahy, The Beast.

I just feel England is become less attractive to Players that aren't English. Possibly even some of the English players. For all the reasons other than playing the actual game on the pitch.

I am hoping I am just completely wrong about this.

10.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 13:33:17
I grew up in Manchester and there are many many reasons why it is a great city, culturally and historically. I just don't think you see that easily if you are not from there. My wife is from Canada and the first time I took her round the city and asked her what she thought of it and she said "I think everyone has completely given up on life." I was about to argue in the city's defence but was distracted by the sight of a heavily pregnant teenager smoking in the doorway if Nobles Amusements. We now live in a hillbilly part of Canada and I've plenty of my own complaints.

11.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 14:08:27
What a load of twaddle. I am not from Manchester but I live just outside Manchester. It is a lovely city. Plenty of bars and restaurants. Plenty of shops. Plenty of lovely outskirts in Cheshire, wilmslow, Alderley edge, Prestbury, Knutsford.
As Leahy says, they're all spoilt brats. It is a 10 year career where they earn more in that time than all us posters in a lifetime.
So complaining about the weather is truly pathetic. World class players who are serious about their careers don't think about weather, they think about going to great clubs to win prizes.

12.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 14:20:42
Monkeyballs where are you from?

13.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 14:26:36
Exactly the point I made Nomid.

14.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 14:33:11
"Player like Di Maria who yearns for the flush cobbled paths of Paris but a player like Roy Keane who would live in a tent in the middle of Salford" JMB

I could have swore Keano lived in a mansion in Cheshire.

15.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 15:35:34
I grew up in Manchester, but have lived out of the UK for over 30 years. My mother still lives near in Cheshire. It's lovely at the right time of year and the city has developed enormously, but still, despite the nostalgic sentiment that appears when I go back, I could never live there again. London, yes, but Manchester no. So I agree with this premise and have mentioned it on a number of occasions on this site.

Try to imagine what someone who has absolutely no sentimental attachment to the area might feel. All other things being equal, Madrid and Barcelona, especially for the Latin players, will be culturally more appealing, London will trump Manchester any time whether it's entertainment, dining, shopping or the relative anonymity; and Paris is Paris. Add the Wagfluence factor and it's even more so.

If you've lived in a cold rainy climate all your life it's not such a stretch. Players from northern climes were the traditional building blocks of our success - including Scots and Irish. But with the internationalization of the transfer market, coupled with the comparable finances now available to a number of European and English club, it is empirically more difficult for us to attract the best players. but not impossible. With a good transfer policy, and a great coach, there is no doubt that our wealth affords us every possibility of being as strong as any club out there.

16.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 16:07:32
Nomid I could not agree more! Monkyballs have you ever been to manchester? There is a lot to see and do its the most vibrant city in the UK IMO , and the alderly prestbury wilsmlow area is not a bad place to live. I understand that some areas are not to nice but footballers tend not to frequent those parts.

17.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 17:26:05
I think what annoyed me most was how it was worded, there is one City you wouldn't want to live in and that's manchester, I can think of a lot worse cities. Your comment about 'the right time of year' suggests you mean because of the weather, do people really choose what they do in their career because of the sun tan they can get?

I appreciate you weren't trying to offend anyone, and I'm difficult to offend I assure you, it just annoyed me. I'm very proud of my city.

18.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 17:58:51
Come on GDS, would you choose Barcelona, Madrid, Turin or Manchester, given the choice? I've lived in Manchester my whole life, but if I wasn't a United fan, I'd choose Real, Barca and maybe even Juventus if their success continues.

19.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 18:35:28
Yea we get the whole weather thing but come on " the one place I wouldn't want to live" really! I would take manchester over every uk city , the lakes are an hour, north wales and snowdonia are an hour great shoping great transport links intrnational airport xmas markets ext ext . Great city great culture great history we can stand toe to toe with any city

20.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 20:04:39
Look everyone, I hold my hands up that I am no Wordsworth. But please don't try and find meanings in my mumblings that were never there. I was in the middle of cooking a full on roast so my post didn't have my full attention so my wording may not have been great.

I was putting myself in the boots of a pro, trying to be subjective. Thinking of all the top clubs. Its a no brainer to me to pick Manchester United for all the footballing reasons. I was thinking of everything else. Thinking of all the top clubs and there locations I just felt Manchester didn't hold as much appeal as a lot of others. Not meaning Manchester is a bad city, GDS2. Just not as appealing as a lot of the comparisons.

I am really treading on eggs shells here and I really hope I am getting my point across.

on a side note: Not that this had any conscious effect on my thinking as I was putting myself in someone else's boots but. No I haven't been to Manchester. From the South Coast, in the sticks. Lived in London for 5years enjoyed the city but happier where I am.

21.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 20:23:33
Maybe you should have a visit before you decide it's the worst place to live.

22.) 31 May 2015
31 May 2015 20:29:46
Fair enough , maybe try a city break go to a game take in the city's charm but don't class it as somewhere you wouldn't want to live if you have never been, we get the point you were trying to make, plenty of foreign players loved the city and hold it dear to thier heart's ( cantona schmichael ronaldo solsksear keane) they could all have left for warmer climates (ronaldo did but for other reasons) sometimes a professional wants to give his best and play for a big club irrespective of the weather , these are the players we need. If a player won't come to old trafford because of the weather they don't deserve to wear the shirt!!