22 Aug 2019 15:10:17
Some good threads and opinions last couple of days.
In particular on the youth players coming n through the academy.
UA. I don't think there is any extra pressure on the likes of gomes or greenwood etc This season.
At this stage none of them with the exception of mctom and rash are 1st choice and they both have been in the squad for the last 2 years.
Imo the ideal place for those lads is back up.
Ole has put his faith and handed the main goal scoring responsibility to rash and martial. I the 1st 2 games they have 4 goals beteeen them. Obviously they won't uphold those type of figures but nobody could
Tuanzebe has been promoted to 3rd choice cb at the moment.
Lets hope those young lads get some opportunities to prove themselves without any pressure in some cup ties.


1.) 22 Aug 2019
22 Aug 2019 15:21:29
The majority of any pressure on the likes of greenwood, gomes, garner and chong will come from impatient fans who can't deal with the inevitable inconsistencies that come with introducing young players.

The rest will come from a media who can't wait to over analyse any story associated with manchester united positive or negative for internet traffic.

I highly doubt ole is going to be putting any pressure on or publicly criticising the young players as other managers (like the previous manager) would do.

{Ed047's Note - I appreciate I don’t look at every post but the vast majority I do see concerning your youth players is always positive.

The frustration and impatience is more towards the senior players, from what I’ve seen.

I think everyone on here just seems excited to see if they can make a big impression.


2.) 22 Aug 2019
22 Aug 2019 16:01:34
That’s exactly DSG. You only had to go on Twitter after the Cardiff game last season to see the ridiculous criticism Greenwood was getting for missing a few chances.


3.) 22 Aug 2019
22 Aug 2019 16:05:43
Agreed ed047, even on this forum which has been lrgely negative the young players are seen in a positive light at the moment.

But you also have to take into account, most of them haven't played reguarly yet. I would give it a season or two before fans are criticising greenwood or gomes as not good enough or big time charlies.

You only have to go back a few months when people were admonishing rashford for shooting too much, thinking he has an over inflated view of his abilities and shouldn't be a first teamer at the club. This was during a time when he was clearly nursing an injury after the liverpool game and was still going out there and giving it his all when he was clearly hampered.

{Ed047's Note - the area between criticism and an honest opinion of how a young player is coming on is a thing of fine margins.

I know Lingard came through the youth programme here, I think I’m right in saying, as Iwobi did at Arsenal, neither good enough if my opinion and sometimes knowing they’re not cutting and saying that can be taken as criticism or just being harsh.

We want our youth to excel but we also want to be back at the top where it’s maybe that much easier to give them the chance to do so as opposed to when you’re trying to get there when we want it now, not next month, not next year.


4.) 22 Aug 2019
22 Aug 2019 16:38:06
Youth players and managers who play them are given more time in my opinion. McTominay was the poor the other night, saying he played poorly isn't knocking the lad. There's definitely a player in there.

Rashfords criticism comes from the way he approaches the game now. Slowly the play down, trying to beat man two and three times, shooting from everywhere. All things that didn't get him into the first team. Fact is, if you are in United's first team and you don't perform then you deserve to be called out for it.

There are question marks over the heads of a lot of players. They need to answer this season. As for Greenwood, Chong, Gomes. I would much rather see them coming off the bench late in a game and trying to lift the crowd.

The future is looking bright but we certainly shouldn't take our eyes off the present.


5.) 22 Aug 2019
22 Aug 2019 17:09:26
Very good post mumbles.


6.) 22 Aug 2019
22 Aug 2019 18:28:02
Good post ken and mumbles.

There seems to be a very fine line on here about what is perceived to be constructed criticism and slagging.

There are obvious gaps in this team but what I've seen so far, I have been encouraged by. I hope we can at the very least be in that top 4 mix and in January, if the right player is available, continue to invest.

Really looking forward to the palace game now. I hope we can get the right service to marital as I feel he will get goals any time he is given decent service. Gomes for me could be thrown in there.


7.) 22 Aug 2019
22 Aug 2019 18:32:13
I like when an impartial Ed make sense because maybe it helps posters realise their views are not the only way in life.


8.) 22 Aug 2019
22 Aug 2019 20:17:26
A lot of Rashford criticism is unfair. He had a very poor end to the season but then so did pretty much everyone. He was quiet in the first game but scored 2, and was the best player on the pitch on the first half against Wolves.

I struggle with the constant need to find fault or someone to blame. After the Chelsea game Shaw was given a hard time despite us keeping a clean sheet, then it was Lingard’s turn. I love debate and disagreement and I have no issue with ‘negativity’, it’s just vague or generic criticism that frustrates me. UA and I often disagree but it’s pretty civil as we try and explain our points. Ultimately we all want the same thing, a successful United.


9.) 22 Aug 2019
22 Aug 2019 22:20:11
It's the 'where there's blame there's a claim' culture we live in now, Tony. Any time something goes wrong nowadays, the first thing we're asked to look at is, who was at fault, not how can we fix this. We're just two aul farts waving our fists at the clouds. 😁.


10.) 23 Aug 2019
23 Aug 2019 10:18:01
I get that sentiment Noucamp.
However in order to fix any problem or issue there is a root cause and that means there is somebody or something as fault,
Football is slightly different as the root cause of any poor performance can change weekly. Its the same in all team sports.
Only if there is a recurring trend of repeated failure that points the finger at individuals.
I think its fair to say we have had individuals to blame for consistenly not delivering as well as they should or could be and many of them for sustained periods under several different managers and coaches and systems.
Ole recognised this and has begun making some changes.