29 Jun 2021 09:17:22
Some real surprise results during the euros.
Lots of big names that are touted for summer moves are not covering themselves in glory or living up to their reputation so far.
Looking at some of those
Pau torres has had a difficult tournament.
Mbappe had a shocker. Very average.
Kane had been poor but still had a chance to shine.
Varane was good up until last night and the new formation didn't help him.
Trippier only played once out of position.
Dembele came on as a sub once and was substituted
Coman likewise
Pogba flashes of brilliance yet still managed to cost his team 2 goals by being his self indulgent self.
Ramsey non existent.
Bale. Really poor.
Werner can't get a game
Sancho can't get a game
Ddg can't get a game
Sterling although England's only scorer he had not been himself
Depay was poor


Being unsettled in their own minds regarding their futures has got to be a contributing factor to their showing i would think.
Players play at their best when happy and settled in their own heads.
Let's hope united can sort their ins and outs quickly so that we have a fully settled and committed squad to start next season.
Potentially so much still to happen. With 3 or 4 signings and potentially 4 or 5 exits to sort.

For me the no 1 priority with the existing players is to make a call and sort out our goal keeping situation.

1.) 29 Jun 2021
29 Jun 2021 09:33:31
I think the poor perforamnces or non performances are due to a mix of issues.

1. Transfer speculation may well affect performance - but they are highly paid professionals and should be able to deal with this.
2.A tight schedule at the Euros with a lot of travel must affect player conditioning and performance.
3. The committed teamwork of certain teams like Switzerland who have a great team ethic highlighted the faults in the Ftench team who are made up of talented individuals but who are not a team. Denmark are also showing a great team ethic.

2.) 29 Jun 2021
29 Jun 2021 09:38:51
I also think Ken, it has been a very long season and a very rushed season, fatigue will be carried by a lot of players into this tournament.

3.) 29 Jun 2021
29 Jun 2021 10:04:05
Transfer speculation didn't seem to be bothering Granit Xhaka last night, thought he put in an unbelievable performance. If I didn't know who he was, I'd be on here saying we should be looking at him for or defensive midfield role, haha!

Another player who I thought looked good was Manuel Akanji. Had no idea who he was and even had to google to see who he plays for.

I think the long season, the disruption that following C.V. guidance has caused and also not having a settled base due to playing in various countries is having a big impact on performances.

4.) 29 Jun 2021
29 Jun 2021 10:44:02
Obviously every player is different and what may adversely affect one another will be fine with.

Certainly for some player uncertainty over their futures will impact their performances.

For me though the most likely explanation is fatigue.

It's been a really tough season with just as many games but played in a far shorter period meaning the players haven't had as much rest throughout the season.

Add that to the limited summer break between season's.

Then the fact that even during this tournament players are having to travel large distances between games.

5.) 29 Jun 2021
29 Jun 2021 10:52:25
I don't know what matches were you watching, but half of those players played pretty good. i'd say Depay was the best Dutch player at the tournament, you can't just look at one match and decide he struggled. Dembele got injured. I think Bale played well, as he always does for Wales. Varane was good, again, can't judge on this match, which was awful for the French. Spain conceded only once in group stage, so i'm not sure how Pau had such a bad tournament, i'd rather say Spain as a team struggled.
Rest I could agree.

6.) 29 Jun 2021
29 Jun 2021 10:55:08
I’d also add Ronaldo and Bruno. Bruno has been poor and I watched Ronaldo closely in the Portugal games. He is still a great player but it is clear his light is fading. Walking around most of the time, very little if any tracking back, occasional bursts of energy.

7.) 29 Jun 2021
29 Jun 2021 12:17:19
I quite like akanji.

8.) 29 Jun 2021
29 Jun 2021 12:20:09
Torres has been good but then was poor against Croatia, he was weirdly thrown on as a like for like replacement for Eric Garcia at 3-1 when Croatia were throwing everything at them and he struggled to get up with the pace of the game. They got through though so wouldn’t say he’s had a bad tournament just yet.

9.) 29 Jun 2021
29 Jun 2021 12:27:53
To be honest Tony I reckon Bruno has been below par for the last 3/ 4 months. In his defense he set so high standards and it can be said he carried us to top 4 on his own or with little significant help.
The superstars haven't really shone that much, but for me the guys that i've enjoyed watching are the likes of sabitzer, x. schlager, the demmark and czech teams in general. To a man they look like they want to play and win unlike some of the lacklustre mbappe and superstars.

10.) 29 Jun 2021
29 Jun 2021 13:25:12
Bruno is shattered.

He moved to United in Jan 2020 and has been playing basically nonstop since the end of the first lockdown. To play week-in-week-out at that level is unsustainable. He looked wrecked during the last few months of the season and even more tired now. He relies upon a high energy game, and he needs a rest.

11.) 29 Jun 2021
29 Jun 2021 14:04:26
The problem bruno has with Portugal is that he turns the ball over a lot.

You have to take the rough with the smooth with him, he will give the ball away a lot but then produce a moment of magic that wins matches.

The problem with Portugal is that Ronaldo and especially Jota (his overall game is surprisingly poor) give the ball away a lot as well, hard to fit them all in the same team.

Add into that the fact that Bruno is not on pens, pretty understandable he was benched.