29 Nov 2021 12:26:30
Manchester United have needed a leader, someone who can give definition, structure, create a strategy and then a plan. Too often we winged it, guessed without any obvious plan. Our press supporters of Ole may not like the idea of someone defining how we should play, because they had the nostalgic "United way" ideal swirling around. That nostalgia and sentiment, has cost us 3 years and more, but especially the last 3, of mediocrity. Rangnick should be tasked with setting a strategy, an approach, defining how Manchester United should play going forward, not how we did in 1995. I don't expect miracles on the pitch, not immediately, this is a long term project that he is starting, a bit like Cruff did at Barcelona. As long as the club support him like they did Ole, then there should be a bright future. At last it looks like they have seen change is needed, the utter pain of recent years has meant embracing change.
A good day and long overdue. Let's embrace change, sometimes it can be tough but I think the club have made the right choice here, for the first time since 1986.


1.) 29 Nov 2021
29 Nov 2021 13:07:00
For me the idea of how we should play isn't restricted down to any specific tactics, I don't expect every manager to play possession football or pressing or any specific approach.

For me a footballing ideology should be how we approach a match. We should always look to play attacking, front foot proactive football. We should never play passive, defensive, reactive football.

You can't call Old Trafford the Theatre of dreams unless you're putting on a show, entertaining the fans.

For me the only non-negotiable tradition the club should always look to keep is our faith in youth and developing young players. Obviously this only works when we invest as much into our academy as we do into our first team.

Our academy should be looking to hire the best coaches, investing in modern and progressive technologies, focus on education and improving our coaches as much as our players.

There are a few clubs around the world that has a clear vision and focus on developing academy players. Barcelona, Ajax and Sporting Lisbon are clubs that have a proud history. We are in that list, but our academy is the poor cousin compared to those clubs over the past 10-15 years. We need to get back to the very top.

If we have the best academy then we will be producing the best young players. That level of excellence and dedication is then bred into our academy players and they carry that into the first team. Creating an environment where everyone is looking to excel, something that signings moving into the first will adopt.


2.) 29 Nov 2021
29 Nov 2021 13:41:35
With the appointment of Ralf, its clear that for the first time, the higher ups have taken SAF out of the decision making altogether. This could only be a good thing if we are to move forwards.


3.) 29 Nov 2021
29 Nov 2021 13:48:15
We say we are a club that develops youth and brings players through from the academy, but are we?

There is the unbroken record since the year dot of having an academy player in the match day squad, but having an academy player on the bench wat hing a game doesn't show development for me.
How many academy players are actually successful at United, the class of 92 is an anomaly, never to be repeated.
If you look at the Jimmy Murphy winners for the last 25 years, what happened to them, only one of those 25 you could argue has been a success at United.


4.) 29 Nov 2021
29 Nov 2021 15:07:09
Grim, we have had two really successful managers, and both built their teams on academy players.

While not all academy players go on to be world class players, not every member of the squad or team need to be world class players. Every side and every squad needs players who "do a job", who enable the others to do theirs.

Better to have a good player who totally understands what is needed of them and will carry out that role in a 6 or 7 out of ten level performance. Then sign players who don't fully grasp what is needed of them or are not really suited to it.

Awards at youth level are much the same as they are at any level. It's much more a popularity contest than a actual measure of ability or performance.

When people think of the importance of academy players they think of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham etc. The big name players who became stars.

Yet the reality is players like Phil Neville, Brown, O'Shea, Fletcher etc are just as important in a squad as those top level players.

They might not play every week but they understand the club in a more intimate way, and they carry a genuine connection between the players and the fans.

The culture/ attitude of the dressing room is created by the combination of the players in it. Academy players have been at the club since they were kids, as such the club has had a chance to mould them not just as players but as people. As such a dressing that has a larger proportion of academy players will be an easier dressing room to control the culture/ attitude and to direct it to make them all winners.