Manchester United Banter Archive March 29 2019

29 Mar 2019 10:54:42
Morning Ed

Wondering if i can pick your brains ever so slightly, a lot of the european power houses have started there transfer dealings for the summer early with de jong to barcelona, hernandez and pavard to bayern etc. Is there a reason we do not see a lot of this in England as it obviously puts the buying team at a clear advantage when it comes to pre season?

Cheers for any insight you can give.

{Ed002's Note - you do see it in England, Chelsea have for example agreed a player arriving.}

29 Mar 2019 11:38:02
Less to do with england as a whole and more just showing who the well run clubs are and who the poorly run clubs are.

Well run Clubs like Bayern, Barcelona and city probably know who they're going to buy in 2020 summer window let alone this upcoming window.

Other poorly run clubs probably still don't know what they're plans are for 2019 summer window even though its just around the corner.

{Ed002's Note - They know who they want, not who they will buy.}

29 Mar 2019 10:53:54
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Torture And Concrete Footballs, How Not To Motivate The Iraq Team By Uday Hussein

29 Mar 2019 16:02:05
Good article Ed. Well disturbing really but well researched. Without wanting to open the whole can of worms on Iraq that family should've been removed much earlier.

{Ed001's Note - agreed mate. When I first left school I did some temp work in a factory, 12 hour shifts and they put me with a bunch of other temps, who happened to be Kurdish refugees from Iraq. They told me all about what it was like and I used to think they were just trying to con the young, gullible kid who was in his first job. When I did my research, I found a number of the stories they told were true and even worse than they had told me!}

29 Mar 2019 21:47:07
This is sooo sad reading this Ed.

{Ed001's Note - it is horrible to think people can treat others in that way.}

30 Mar 2019 09:31:39
Unpopular opinion, but removing that man and his family was the correct decision.

{Ed001's Note - that was never an unpopular thing to do, the question is why it was not done sooner?}

30 Mar 2019 10:16:22
I don't know, a lot of people still say we should never have gotten involved. Anyway, a great read. Thanks ed.

{Ed001's Note - they would never have taken charge in the first place without intervention, so, if they are referring to that, I would agree. But the Husseins had to be removed.}

30 Mar 2019 12:39:46
I think its all the lies like WMD that got us in there and then the subsequent mess they created with that people take issue with. If they had said we taking them down as its the right thing to do and there's all that lovely oil then fair enough. It would always have been opposed by the usual crowd but most people would have been less concerned. Although they should have done it in 1991 rather than leaving it to fester and turn into a bigger problem.

28 Mar 2019 23:52:53
Over the moon with the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as our new permanent manager. Is he the perfect candidate? No, but then there isn't another Sir Alex floating about. No one is a perfect manager, all managers have their limitations and all managers have their weaknesses.

Ole still has much to prove, but he has the best interests of the club at heart and he will do his best. So far he has reintroduced the right atmosphere around the club, he has brought back what we had lost over the last 5 years. He has given the club back its identity.

So for that reason he is the obvious candidate. He will get things wrong and he will make mistakes, but it is vital that ALL of us get behind this manager. The infighting and division amongst the fans have hindered the club in the wake of Sir Alex's retirement far more than it has helped.

There are still deep issues at the club, highlighted by LvG in his recent interview. The club under the Glazers is a commercial entity before it is a football club. The structure is still not sorted out, Ed Woodward holds too much power and seems reluctant to give it up. We need a DoF with the right connections and understanding of the game to bridge the gap between the manager and the board of directors. Finally despite the up turn in performances and results we still have several players who need to move on either because they aren't good enough, or the have a questionable attitude. We can't afford to have players who refuse to roll up their sleeves when times get tough, or throwing their toys out of the pram when they don't get their way. One bad apple will spoil the pie.

So there is a lot of work to be done, and a lot of it Ole will have limited if any influence over.

Some people have questioned the timing of the announcement, as if waiting longer will suddenly make a new better candidate appear or something. However, if the intention is to give him the job then naming him now makes perfect sense. Firstly it will give the club a boost just ahead of a vital month in both the EPL and the UCL. Secondly, it gives the club more stability moving forward. It allows proper planning to go on ahead of the summer (for both the club and for Ole himself, it was often mentioned how difficult it was for Jose not having his family around him. Well now Ole can start the process of moving his family over and getting them settled back into life in the North west) . Thirdly, it allows the club to shift focus on to other pressing matters such as identifying the correct person for the DoF role, as well as sorting out player contracts, and determining summer targets.

29 Mar 2019 04:42:50
Totally agree Shappy.
A huge uncertainty is out of the way now.

The set of "demands" which Ole has placed is really impressive. He has highlighted the need of outworking the opponents.
We ourselves have seen the forwards pressing from the front. There is a lot more energy in our play compared to the predecessors.
The job which he has done in just 3 months is commendable.

Another important aspect is Ole puts the interest of the club in front than himself. He is not arrogant as LVG or Jose.
There is no mourning in his press meetings over the mounting injury list. He is optimistic about the challenges in front of us.
The challenge of facing PSG or Barcelona doesn't face him.
His motto is like "We are Man United, Bring it on! "
These are some key attributes through which he has won over the fans.

Personally next season, I expect us to play with more intensity and penetration.
We have seen glimpses of one touch interplays, superb counter attacks.
With proper pre-season and a clear play style, the cohesion in play will definitely improve.
Additionally, he is targeting players who are hungry for success and are passionate to play for United.

Let us all back him now and hope for success.
OLE's AT THE WHEEL.

29 Mar 2019 07:00:25
Shappy

Agree mostly

What was the process we followed to put him in place?

It doesn’t look like there was one and whilst I welcome Ole I have serious concerns
a) Was the decision influenced because he didn’t cost as much as other managers might have
b) Is Ole, being in love with the club, less likely to become frustrated at Glazernomics?
c) There is already whispers we may not need a centre half, incredible
d) Does this enable the Executive Chief Bean Counter to retain control of football matters?
e) Until we have a DOF who is defining our football strategy, it concerns me if it is Woodward

This is a big summer, but I get the feeling we won’t go far enough, yes we will make noise but what we need to bridge the gap is going to cost and when Glazernomics is at stake we may fall short.

29 Mar 2019 08:30:53
Solksjaer seems a capable, articulate and relatively humble guy. I think he has many of the characteristics you need in modern football management. He needs a strong set up around him and the suppport of the fans. If the owners, CEO and manager and players work collectively then they can achieve a lot.

29 Mar 2019 09:42:34
Reading various posts that mention the timing of the announcement negatively; I think its one of those elephant in the room moments that needed to be addressed. A 3 year deal given that, I guess, bucks the trend of recent managerial deals ie., Moyes 6 year, gives ole and the club enough time to move forward with an air of confidense. One person who may be as happy as OLE is Levy at spurs, ZZ at madrid and ole at utd leaves less opportunity for MP to leave for a "big club".
The main thing coming from Os in his presser was that work on transfers and contracts being processed and hopefully we can get the players we need to move on.

29 Mar 2019 10:38:40
Completely agree with Redman. It’s hard to argue that Ole doesn’t deserve the job on the basis of what he has achieved over the last few months. But there are serious questions about the appointment indicating that the club is shying away from reforming and restructuring the club.

29 Mar 2019 11:13:57
If theirs one thing we need it's a centre half.

29 Mar 2019 11:24:34
Ole is the only United player I can remember to publicly criticise the glazers and their running of the club. I truly believe out of any manager we could have appointed Ole is the most likely to confront them if Woodward starts dicking around in the summer. The same storm of criticism that swarmed on Jose will be at Woodward and the Glazer's door if they fail to give Ole the platform to succeed. If the Glazers were looking for a yes man to go along with the bean counting as you say, it isn't Ole.

29 Mar 2019 12:08:24
Red Man, The Glazers won't change how they run the club. That won't change no matter who is our manager. One of the big positives you saw in us hiring Mourinho was that he wouldn't accept the board interfering or denying him the money he thought he needed to make the side successful. If a character as big as Jose with his ego can't bully or force the hand of Ed Woodward or the Glazers than no body will.

So we need to accept that while they are here this is how the club will be run. The best we can hope for is a manager who can get the best out of the players he has available, as we have to accept they aren't going to get the same kind of financial backing that Pep gets over at City.

I agree the club need a new central defender. However, there is a real lack of outstanding options available. Think 10-15 years ago and you had players such as Vidic, Ferdinand, Terry, Carvalho, Puyol, Cannaravo, Maldini, Nesta, Lucio, Ayala, Hierro, Stam, Campbell, Desailly, Thuram and Costacurta.

Now name me a current CB who is as good as any of them? So I can see why the club might be reluctant to spend as much as 100m on a player who isn't genuinely world class. If there was a CB who is available who could genuinely transform this side then I can understanding going the extra mile to sign them. apparently it will cost 75m+ to sign Harry Maguire.

Now if you had 75m to spend and a choice between Sancho or Maguire who would you sign?

My ideal summer would see us sign a CB, RB, CM and RW. Ideally Romagnoli, Meunier/ Malcuit, Soler/ Bruno Fernandes, Sancho/ Lozano.

But we don't always get what we want. So let's focus on what we do get. We have a manager who understands and truly "gets" the club, someone who will put the club first, someone who will try and play within the principles of the traditions of the club, someone who will promote youngsters and create environment win which they have a chance of thriving. That is massive. We have something to be happy about. let's enjoy it.

29 Mar 2019 12:29:20
Redman, Ole aside do you really think anything would be different for any manager? It certainly wasn’t for the previous 3. At least Ole has everyone onside and on his side. Maybe this is the way to deafeat Woodward.

29 Mar 2019 14:09:59
You might all get a pleasant surprise in the summer.

30 Mar 2019 09:53:50
Shappy

The Glazers and their puppet Woodward won't change and that is one of many (about 400M) reasons why I want them out. However, whilst no manager will force the hand of the owners or Woodward, there are now two senior highly respected managers in Mourinho and LvG who have highlighted what is going on, the lack of support and commerciality being more important than football. If Ole accepts the situation then we are very likely to be sat watching a battle for top four every year rather than for the big trophies.

You ask who would we sign between Sancho and Maguire if we had 75m? We should be signing both, plus Wan Bissaka and a Veratti type central midfield player. This is the crux of the issue, will what needs to be spent actually be spent? Or will it be another fudge and a load of PR when actually it leaves us short again. Ole is already talking about not wasting the club’s money, no one thinks they should waste money but it sounds like the talk of Glazernomics already

Perthredmike
The only way to defeat Woodward is to see the Glazers out and the new owner move him away from football decisions or he keeps getting managers wrong or overspending on wages or more likely the asset value of the club falls too much and the Glazers lose confidence in him.