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shawthing's rumours posts with other poster's replies to shawthing's rumours posts
15 Dec 2022 17:24:24
"Asked for an update on the sale of United, he (Glazer) told the outlet, "It's not necessarily a sale, it's a process and we're going forward with the process, so we'll see what happens. "
When he was pushed for further updates about how many interested parties had made themselves known already, he added: "I'm here to really watch the World Cup but I appreciate your interest. That's the update, it's the process and the process is proceeding. "
Loose lips sink ships, eh? Or, no offers yet?
1.) 15 Dec 2022 19:03:26
Shawthing,
The cynic in me think he’s was over there in business. He doesn’t give a damn about football, he wouldn’t be able to tell you the United players left.
2.) 15 Dec 2022 20:31:51
The Glazers have been to something like 6 United games in 17 years. No chance he was in Qatar to watch the world cup. He was there on business.
3.) 18 Dec 2022 08:37:42
They were there to watch Man Utd in the Soccerball World Cup Superbowl Finals.
29 Jan 2019 22:38:42
Frustrating game in many ways, which could have been so different had Rashford scored as he should have done in the first 10 minutes. He did not have a great game and nor did Pereira who looked completely out of his depth against a very aggressive midfield. I really don't think he's good enough for United, or indeed the type of player who will do very well in the EPL.
In this new system Sanchez looks like he could contribute significantly. A forward line of Rashford, Martial and Sanchez seems like it ought to pay dividends.
1.) 30 Jan 2019 05:23:42
Agreed, the interplay of Lukaku near the penalty box is not fluid as between Rash, Martial and Lingard.
2.) 30 Jan 2019 09:31:55
I was sat in the East end at OT. We should have had another penalty.
3.) 30 Jan 2019 14:28:00
To be honest I think Pereira didn't have his best game ever, but Jones throw him a brick, and then he got completely confused in the one-one defending.
I believe Pereira could be better but in an attacking position and no asan "herreras" replacement.
This is the first Ole´s game we start losing and that does not goes as planned, but the squad show commitment and desire. If Rashford scores that 10m goal the game would have been completely different with space and time for counters but rubbish happens. Let's focus on the next games and let's hope we have a great february.
i think it is better for Ole and the team to have lost the winning streak now and no in a game against PSG or Chelsea.
GGMU.
26 Dec 2018 22:43:47
Very good to see United score 8 goals in 2 games even if it was against teams near the bottom against whom we've been having all sorts of trouble. The tempo and the pressing seem to be what's needed. Perhaps Sanchez and Lukaku will benefit from it when they come back into the reckoning. But suffice it to say we have now scored 37 goals this season. If we can double it in the second half it will be our best haul since SAF's last year. If we're going to come 6th then the United way is surely that it's more entertaining to do it with 75 goals for and 55 goals against than with 50 goals for and 30 goals against.
I must say I've been unimpressed by Dalot defensively. He doesn't look like he has the pace and his positioning appears very suspect. I know he's young and there's an adjustment time - Evra didn't settle immediately - but nevertheless he's going to have to improve dramatically to cement that right back position. The other new player who doesn't they seem to have what it takes is Fred. It's hard to believe we were persuaded to spend £52m for him - or perhaps not, given some of our purchases recently. We would have done better spending it on a top center half. Many United fans criticized Liverpool for spending so much on Van Dijk but he seems like a bargain at this juncture.
1.) 26 Dec 2018 23:26:42
Shawthing, speed can be deceptive. Dalot was clocked as being the fastest player on the pitch today. But if the timing of that speed is not right it can be wasted.
He is a raw talent no doubt. We don’t have great options right now.
2.) 26 Dec 2018 23:44:01
Give the young lad Dalot a break. A couple of weeks ago against Fulham he couldn't get enough praise. That he was the answer to our right wing back problem for the next 10 years. Then a weaker game today and you're not sure is he going to make it. Inconsistency is a given for a teenager. Support your own.
3.) 27 Dec 2018 07:15:15
In fairness, that was one of Huddersfield’s tactics, mbenza is very quick, and Anytine they could they tried releasing him. Dalot was on the back foot very quickly after an attack broke down. Great lesson for the Lad.
4.) 27 Dec 2018 07:29:16
Dalot is young, 19 years old and playing only his third game in the EPL. His last performance won him man of the match so I see no reason to be worried about him. He is young and he will be inconsistent, he will make mistakes that is all part of learning. He has the qualities to become a world class full back, we need to give him the time and the chances for him to fulfill that potential.
5.) 27 Dec 2018 10:20:15
Dalot is certainly my Pick over an aging TonyV and Young (who is doing ok too) .
He is our future at right back, so let him play I say.
6.) 27 Dec 2018 11:25:22
He looks more like a future winger to me. He doesn't seem interested in defending.
7.) 27 Dec 2018 15:25:05
We've been defending whole season and still conceding goals. I don't even care whether Dalot comes back to defend or not. It was just nice to see our right back in the opposition box getting a cross from our striker and almost scoring a goal.
8.) 27 Dec 2018 18:07:46
Centre back and we are sorted Imo. we have options everywhere else. I'm really excited by dalot him, Shaw and lindelof could be together for a while along time and build a good understanding.
9.) 27 Dec 2018 19:03:50
Also how he plays will depend a lot on who is managing him. He did well defensively in Mourinho's defensive set up.
Ole has said publicly he wants our full backs to push up high and overlap our wingers. So if that is what is being asked of Dalot then it's good to see him following the managers commands.
02 Dec 2018 17:46:30
Assuming the rumours are true, if you believe your £90m transfer is playing with inadequate effort and/ or a poor mentality, a dressing down in the changing room in front of team mates is perfectly reasonable. I bet every one of us who have played sports have at some time or other have heard it from a coach or a colleague. Grow up and knuckle down. Most of the kids who watch you would kill for a chance at 1/ 10th of the benefits your innate talent has brought you.
The fact is Pogba is a disappointment. While he covers a fair amount of ground within a team that consistently covers the least in the EPL, he rarely sprints, neither in offence or defence. This characteristic was visible when he first stepped on the field in a United jersey before he went to Juventus. He looks lackadaisical, and it's probably one of the reasons why Ferguson was not inclined to fight to keep him. The problem is that, while he has talent, he is way to into himself to be a true leader, and that's the key role we need him to fill. A player who leads by example.
We are 5 years into the post-Fergie era and we are worse than ever. We do have some good players to build a team around but it's hard to see anything positive coming from them in the current climate. Given the amount of money we've spent, the only conclusion we can draw is that we are infected by a virus. Whether the source is Pogba, Mourinho or the general club mentality itself is a matter of conjecture. My own sense is that Woodward, Mourinho and Pogba are all symptoms of a deeper problem.
1.) 02 Dec 2018 21:07:06
All 3 of them should go at the end of the season.
We should say thanks Jose but uts not worked ta-ra. Says Pogba but you want to go to Spain so here's the asking price. And Woodward should have the decency to say "it was my decision to appoint Jose so I'll step down. "
2.) 03 Dec 2018 06:49:20
Fergie did want to keep Pogba, it was out of his hands. and while you might think Pogba has been disappointing his season, so has Lukaku, Rashford, Martial (most of the time), Bailly, Fred, Matic. who hasn't been disappointing? People might point to Shaw, but he hasn't gotten back to the 2-way beast he was looking like before his injury either.
I think when that many players aren't performing you have to look at the manager. And it's not like Mourinho's faults have been hard to see. Bizarre team selections and subs, consistently embarrassing behaviour, publicly sledging players all the time and bemoaning a lack of signings.
He's got to go. He's not one of us and he never will be.
13 Jan 2018 13:49:56
Sanchez has a bit of the Tevez about him. Very emotional. He obviously has all the skills, and when he's motivated his intensity and purpose adds a dimension to his game that any team would covet. So what is it that motivates him.
Clearly it's the thought of winning honours, and conversely looking at he seems to be demotivated by his team's mediocrity. So my guess is that:
1) he would only come to United if he thought he would win the EPL and/ or the Champions League in the next couple of years, and
2) if he did come, and it looked like those objectives were not going to be fulfilled, then it would be a disastrous transfer because his negative emotionality would end up leeching into and upsetting the dressing room.
Like for most supporters winning is ultimately more important than style. Arsenal play with style but they don't win the important trophies any more, which doesn't please their supporters and is clearly a demotivation to top players.
1.) 13 Jan 2018 15:39:18
Agreed for sure!
Lucas Moura maybe?
On another note, I mentioned a defender Jorge Mere who was at Espanyol and now at Koln and NOW Barça are after him!
We should have got this guy! Well disappointed!
2.) 13 Jan 2018 16:06:08
Well Ronnie don't mean to be rude but you might have named atleast 200 players by now. It might be difficult for United hierarchy to properly understand which one you want.
3.) 13 Jan 2018 16:34:44
I deserved that! 😂.
4.) 13 Jan 2018 21:09:56
For Sanchez's supposed attitude you can see the same thing happening at Spurs in the next 18 months if they win nothing -Ali, Erikson etc have no real affinity to Spurs as many players don't to their clubs. Sanchez probably looks around and sees nothing there but the odd FA CUp. maybe views us the same . time will tell.
shawthing's banter posts with other poster's replies to shawthing's banter posts
13 Jan 2025 00:48:38
So happy to eat my own mid 2nd half words on Bayindir, who despite his very poor distribution and a weak punch, when he probably should have caught the ball, which in turn led to Arsenal's goal, stepped up, made 2 excellent penalty saves and was ultimately the man who put us into the next round. Hats off to him. I was surprised when I was told he's actually 6'5". Somehow he always looks so small at corners.
Great team spirit. De Ligt and Maguire immense. It seems like this system plays into Harry's strengths, which is no doubt why his contract has been extended. Yoro's PK was beautifully taken. That spirit, and determination not to lose, is what led to 5 perfect penalties in the shoot out.
Not to put a downer on a great victory, we rode our luck too. A decent CF for Arsenal would probably have scored a couple. I'm looking forward to seeing how this apparent new team spirit manifests itself against the weaker teams as opposed to those that are confident enough to play a high line, like Liverpool, City and Arsenal.
2 draws in regulation against 2 top teams feels like success! It shows how desperate we have become to have a team to be proud of again. The last 2 games do feel like the process has started. Amorim's hard nose approach to Rashford may have been the key to the turn around in the general team attitude. Another shout out must be given to Bruno who has started to play with purpose and passion. How the referee missed the blatant foul on him on the edge of the penalty area is a mystery. Never mind the awful penalty decision against us. The standard of refereeing is really quite poor. VAR cannot overcome that.
1.) 13 Jan 2025 05:32:46
6'6" - every inch matters! Especially for reaching the corner of the goal for penalties!
2.) 13 Jan 2025 06:13:22
An incredible result. i'm seeing a new resilience in this team.
I recall the first few training videos we saw when RA took over, it struck me then, and even more so now, but the teams willingness to get back, every single time. They run themselves into the ground to get back.
Luckily, I was at the game, it was fantastic to be there. I'm so optimistic. It could be turned around very quickly now in the league.
Harry Maguire, take a bow by the way.
3.) 13 Jan 2025 09:18:42
Begrudgingly I will accpet Maguire had a good game. But is still like Jeep Wrangler. Unstable, unpredictable and an accident waiting to happen.
But fair play he did run the show at the back last night.
Good on you Harry.
4.) 13 Jan 2025 10:30:09
Keefy
Maguire is a solid CB and people never seem to forget mistakes. its not a coincidence when fit he always starts for england. He is a beast in the box and cleans up everything that comes in from crosses and there is a lot more to being a good defender than being silky on the ball. Vidic was not a ball playing Cb but did okay:)
I think guys like mazroui, deligt, maguire, Martinez, Ugarte have a lot of character and fight in them. Dalot does stupid stuff but also will give you 90 minutes of fight. You need that in any good team that is being developed with some younger talent. The burden should never be on guys like Mainoo and Garna as long as they have a good attitude.
All in all could not be happier with yesterday. We are some ways away from where we need to be but yesterday was more gratifying in some ways as it showed a degree of resilience and toughness we have lacked.
Don't think anyone would have given us a snow balls chance with 10 men, away at arsenal at 1-1 to play for an hour and get a win.
Who knows but would not be surprised if we end up at wembley again.
5.) 13 Jan 2025 10:43:21
An outstanding performance. Can't add too much to the above. Love to see the fight and grit that we've shown in recent weeks. Great to see the reserve GK pretty much win us the game with those two outstanding penalty saves. A bit more confidence and who knows, could be pushing Onana as first choice.
Only concerns are the two ongoing issues we already know about - looking light up top, and thin on the ground at LWB esp with now Dalot suspended.
6.) 13 Jan 2025 15:09:46
Maguire is the best defensive header of the ball in the league.
Most impressive was the team resilience, been lacking over the last few seasons, but they were fighting, literally for each other. Anyone who says they aren’t playing for the shirt, we got shown that it does mean something to them yesterday.
7.) 13 Jan 2025 20:06:32
Hey. i make no secret of the fact I am NOT and never have been a Harry fan.
Credit where it is due on this occasion. He, at the very least, deserves that.
But he remains pedestrian at best and will have his challenges this season.
8.) 13 Jan 2025 20:10:34
Ahmad. Also note that there are lots of players who play/ have played for England that are rubbish! And a lot of better players that don’t. So that’s not always necessarily a good yardstick ?.
9.) 13 Jan 2025 22:23:53
Maguire had a great game yesterday. This system suits him better.
Yesterday's game also suited as arsenal don't really play with a cf.
There are games that won't suit him and many that do.
The attitude of the team is improving no doubt about it.
I really do hope that we can get a few out this window and 1 maybe 2 in.
There are a few very good players available on loan or sale if we can shift 3 or more from rashford cas ericksen antony lindelof Evans possibly even a wildcard sale of garnacho which is something I'm torn on.
I don't hold out great hope but getting a couple more like minded players in would really enhance our chances of good cup runs and a better 2nd half league campaign.
04 Jan 2025 20:48:37
I came a cross the highlights of a 6-2 win at Newcastle back in 2003 with Paul Scholes scoring a hat trick. The thing that struck me is how refereeing has changed. Shearer could easily have been red carded two or three times in today's climate. Two occasions in particular, an elbow to the head, and a disgraceful scissor tackle, would quite possibly get red cards. As it transpired the third offense, the scissor tackle, got only a yellow.
1.) 04 Jan 2025 21:58:40
Football is soft now. you can’t do anything without some clown in a room dictating the play
It’s got worse as var has been introduced for me
Use it for offsides but anything else should be the refs decision.
03 Jan 2025 18:37:47
As I predicted some time ago, we will be keeping Maguire for another year. Very occasionally I am right.
1.) 03 Jan 2025 19:54:28
Not sure how he fits going forward especially as he loses even more pace, however unlike others he works hard and hasn’t complained. Seems like a good personality and god do we need more of them. We have so many holes to fill it’s going to take some time to get this squad in shape so keeping Harry makes sense.
2.) 03 Jan 2025 20:09:18
He has height and strength.
3.) 03 Jan 2025 20:23:59
Feels like a good fit for a back up in the back 3 when you consider how many other holes we have. I expect he is good around the club with the other players and the right work ethic. Allows for Lindelof to leave abs we know Evans is. We will need another 2 regardless unless they decide that Mazraoui is one of them.
Then 2026 they can move on.
4.) 03 Jan 2025 21:11:28
Sigh. Another year of fringe adjusting and pointing. He is terrible.
5.) 03 Jan 2025 21:26:40
Well I think he has strengths as well as the negatives.
6.) 03 Jan 2025 21:55:30
However decent he’s been, is it really worth it to pay him £200k/ week for another year?
7.) 04 Jan 2025 00:18:18
Definitely with Spenno on this.
For example, considering how weak we are at corners, we'd be pathetic without Maguire and De Ligt who are the only 2 players throughout our entire senior squad who can survive an aerial battle and aren't too old.
Neither of Yoro or Maz are particularly good in the air, Evans is pretty much done, Lindelof is just Lindelof, Martinez is like a Westie at a letterbox, and Shaw is probably scared that his feet will fall off.
As it is, in an ideal world we'd not be paying him £190k per week, but, because of the idiocy of the previous regime, we're stuck with needing to find concessions - one of them being the need to retain players who, while not entirely the ones we want to see, are absolutely essential for the transition to the 3-man defence which has seen some of his counterparts flounder.
8.) 04 Jan 2025 00:37:17
It’ll bite us on the ass in a royally huge way.
9.) 04 Jan 2025 05:02:56
Another year is good news, a four year contract would have been a problem. Good decision all round.
10.) 04 Jan 2025 08:24:05
It’s a good decision, he has been decent and is a good squad member. How much would it cost to go out and get a replacement for him, money we simply don’t have.
11.) 04 Jan 2025 09:20:39
I've probably been Maguire's harshest critic on here, I said when we were linked with him that I didn't think he was good enough, and that he was way over priced (at the 50m we were quoted first time we were linked with him) .
Yet all things considered I don't think activating the one year option is a bad idea.
One of the big reasons I didn't want Maguire is that I thought his lack of mobility and poor positioning leaves him exposed when playing in a back four. Yet under Amorim we play with a back three which actually mitigates that weakness to some degree.
Given that we will definitely be losing both Lindelof and Evans this summer, along with Martinez seemingly struggling to find his best form again. Keeping Maguire who at the very least is a capable back up in this system seems like a prudent idea.
We can't sell him as he's either out of contract this summer, and we can't activate the extension just to sell him without negotiating him getting a big chunk of any fee we get. Meaning that if he leaves this summer we get pretty much nothing for him, but will have to spend 20-40m at least buying another CB to replace him. This is likely on top of having to sign a CB as well.
Given our lack of funds it makes much more sense to keep Maguire for another year and delay having to spend on a replacement. Allowing us to focus our spending on other areas of the squad.
If we take off the red tinted glasses we can see that we need two LWB's, one RWB, at least one CB, at least two midfielders, an attacking/ creative midfielder/ forward, and a striker.
That's 7 to 8 players at a bare minimum that we need to have a squad capable of playing how the manager wants to a level that can get us UCL football.
We won't get all those players, and we will likely need to be savvy in the market and maybe promote more youth players to give squad depth.
Maybe it's a case of signing one LWB and then either promoting Amass or signing that young lad from South America (Diego Leon) for a small fee and giving him a chance sooner rather than later.
Or signing one midfielder, and promoting a youth player to be the fourth choice option. Someone like Sekou Kone or Finley McAllister.
Maybe we don't sign a RWB at all, and either trust in Dalot finding form on his strongest side, or committing to Amad in that role, or maybe again looking at the academy at someone like Bendito Mantato who looks like someone who might suit that role.
It will have to be something like this as we simply cannot sign all the players needed in one or even two windows. So keeping someone like Maguire, while not the perfect solution, it is probably better than having to divert more money away from key signings to fund a replacement for a back up CB.
The club will have to make compromises with a lot of the squad turn over and rebuild for the next 18 months to 2 years until we get the finances in a place that will allow more freedom under the PSR regulations.
I'd rather compromise by keeping a hardworking but less talented player who doesn't cause problems than sell that individual, than keep a more talented, lazy player who causes unrest in the dressing room.
First out the door has to be those who don't have the right attitude regardless of talent. Then you rebuild with what is left in a way that suits how we want to play. Stabilise the squad, then the following summer you start to try and build on the quality and improve the squad.
12.) 04 Jan 2025 11:26:40
Keefy
During this process of transition throughout the club, the ass will get nibbled consistently - we must concede and compromise at every juncture where necessary.
The alternative would be to enter the summer window having lost the 3 most experienced CBs we have at the club, to be left with the options of De Ligt, Martinez, a very young Yoro, and two converted FBs in Maz and Shaw, the latter being too fragile to be relied upon.
So, we could be left with 4 reliable CBs to cover the rotational demands of 3 positions.
Considering how unlikely it is that United would be wise enough to buy Gasiorowski now to then watch him join a better club for free in the summer, we would need to, upon the release of Maguire, sign 2 CBs - that need and the guaranteed United tax would Bear maul the club's ass.
13.) 04 Jan 2025 15:28:35
Shappy we’ve been saying this for at least 8 years, if not more. We are miles off.
14.) 04 Jan 2025 20:58:43
Extending Maguires contract is the very least of our concerns. We will get very little to nothing as a return to the £80mil we spent on him but that was a problem in 2021.
He is now actually a pretty valid squad player. Not the captain/ leader we need but a resilient squad member who is 100 x the pro than the likes of rashford and shaw.
Seeing him line up is less of a concern to me than few of the others.
15.) 04 Jan 2025 22:01:34
This is why we are in the potion we are
We keep hold of poor players not good enough
Why not promote one of the young kids as a back up? Instead we renew a player who should have been sold 3 years ago
We might have new foitba people at the club but it stinks of the same old decisions
We keep holding onto the same players that have not been good enough for season after season after season.
16.) 04 Jan 2025 23:23:20
Bolger, if we are going to play with a back three then we need a bare minimum of 5 top CB's probably 6.
With Evans and Lindelof leaving, that leaves us with just four CB's in MdL, Martinez, Maguire and Yoro as special-ists. One of those is a kid with less than 10 appearances in the EPL.
Even keeping Maguire, we need to sign at least one CB AND still probably need to promote someone as cover.
Letting Maguire go means we HAVE to sign TWO CB's this summer and still promote an academy player as well just to have two players for each position.
We simply don't have the money to do that. Signing one and keeping Maguire as 5th choice for a year isn't a bad idea.
17.) 05 Jan 2025 20:26:37
Shoot me, but Maguire is probably one of the first names down in defence for me atm. Forget whether you hate the guy or his haircut or whatever, a year extension is a no brainer. Beyond that who knows, but we’ll have added to the squad by then.
31 Dec 2024 15:52:38
I thought the game started 1/ 2 hour later so switched it on after it had started and we were 0-2 already. So, I switched it off and got on my indoor bike and watched an episode of Vikings! Now there's some effort.
I switched back on with 1/ 2 an hour to go and we looked half way decent and at least manufactured a couple of chances. The club and team are in need of open heart surgery, as indeed am I. In my case it's not until January 27th and then it will be done, but in United's case I fear it's a much longer process and who knows what ignominies may befall us in the meantime.
{Ed001's Note - good luck with your op.}
1.) 31 Dec 2024 16:57:12
Jesus, good luck pal! Watching this shower isn't helping ?.
2.) 31 Dec 2024 17:06:29
Hope the surgery goes well Shaw, my mate had open heart surgery earlier this year, it has been a whole new life for him, and he has never been more active.
3.) 31 Dec 2024 17:09:56
Thanks Ed. It's got to be done. And afterwards a lot of restrictions will be lifted. I'll be able to fly again!
{Ed001's Note - is that a good thing? I mean maybe for you, but for the rest of the world, their safety will have vanished once more....}
4.) 31 Dec 2024 17:19:52
Good luck Shawthing.
5.) 31 Dec 2024 17:54:49
Ed. An ad just came up on this page for a T-shirt which stated: "I Farted - and that's as close as I get to giving a rubbish". It's good to see you're now using AI to target your audience on an individual basis.
{Ed001's Note - is that true or just a gag?}
6.) 31 Dec 2024 18:06:35
True. Made me laugh and forgot what I was really going to write.
{Ed001's Note - wow, that just shows how good these ad algorithms have become. I know when I have talked about anything my phone will suddenly be full of ads for whatever I have talked about. It is creepy.}
7.) 31 Dec 2024 18:40:19
Best of luck Shaw, I wish we had a form date for when ineos were going to pull their finger out.
8.) 01 Jan 2025 08:37:22
Wish you full and speedy recovery Shawthing.
9.) 01 Jan 2025 10:56:40
shawthing
All the best for your surgery and may it give you a happy new year.
27 Dec 2024 14:23:02
So Amorim has bitten off more than he can chew. We now have a system, but it doesn't work with the players at his disposal. Another complete rebuild is on the cards, except, we don't have the money to do it. As Ollie said to Stan "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into".
We were so hopeful just a month ago when ETH was finally fired, but now we see the chickens coming home to roost. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, whatever you do. Do we think it would have been better under Ruud?
It's 50 years since we were relegated. Maybe rock bottom is what's needed at United to finally dispel the ghosts of Christmas past. I'll still be enjoying some good old cliches.
1.) 27 Dec 2024 15:29:16
Yay sack the manager.
2.) 27 Dec 2024 17:37:35
Not sure he is saying that fizz.
3.) 27 Dec 2024 19:03:47
That was not my intention. The big questions are where's rock bottom, and just how much pain the new management team will be able to bear in support of creating a whole new playing style and ethos at the club? In hiring Amorim they voted for a complete change, but if that entails running from the decision as soon as things get tough, it will be hard to see where the bottom is. SJR commented ages ago that since no manager had been able to fix the rot, maybe the problem was not the manager.
I do think Amorim, like pretty much all the mangers since SAF, have underestimated the task, and/ or overestimated their own ability. I agree with all those who believe that the Glazers, and their appointees, have effectively destroyed Man United. The task is Herculean.
4.) 28 Dec 2024 03:38:01
He is an honest guy and very likeable. I am hoping he figures out how to win enough games whilst losing the ones that we will lose to help himself get through this season.
We are terrible upfront and been that way for a while now even before Amorim came and wish I knew the answer on what is the fix.
Unfortunately rashford has gone off the boil and is gone now so his options are very limited and hoiland's behavior on the pitch is not very encouraging.
Its a brutal league and any team will give you a nose bleed if you are slightly off, sloppy, wasteful and make bad decisions on the field and we do plenty off that.
I hope the ownership don't do anything stupid but the press are starting to get negative and some of the fan base as well.
Slagging the players is not going to help anyone and they are much better than people make them out to be and confidence in the squad must be at all time low.
One week before the window opens and I would like to think we do something even if they are loans to help him. Need to fix the left side wing play imo.
5.) 28 Dec 2024 20:27:43
This is my concern about Radcliffe Ahmad. Feels like he has an itchy trigger finger to me and will burn through coaches and cash.
I’m still one of the few who liked the Ashwoeth ten Hag combo to try and get out way through this mess.
We now have Amorim, a great young coach, but one who is fixed on a particular system, one we all knew our squad could not hack. So we now are all in back to square one.
6.) 29 Dec 2024 04:16:02
Eric
I hear you. Some here believe getting a Tonking week in week out is okay with Ineos and they see the season as a write off and not to worry about it.
I don't think that's plausible at all. No team will back a manager over a massive majority of the squad. They generally find managers who can get the best out of what you have and upgrade through various windows. If anyone knows off a single case please share. Arteta at arsenal is non starter as he booted 2/ 3 players for disciplinary reasons but that is not the case with us atm.
We need to show some signs of progress even if the results are not going our way by winning games against the ones we have lost recently. All the stats if you go by them are worse than before. Even in europe our two toughest games were earlier at porto and and in turkey so the stuff we won since then is stuff you should win.
Our work rate is definitely higher but key defensive and offensive stats are worse with a healthier settled squad compared to the early part of the season.
Coaches don't last for having a good football philosophy if the results are poor. If that was the case Bielsa is the best coach in the world. Ange in trouble too if spurs continue doing what they are doing.
I am hoping we look back in may and this has all passed and amorim gets a proper summer transfer window and a pre season. Please win some games my manager by whatever style just win.
13 Jan 2025 15:38:47
Plus, I am sure Kobbie and his agent are looking for a decent pay raise in the interim, which will no doubt be forthcoming if we can get rid of Rashford and Casemiro. He's not going to be held to £20k a week until 2027. Given his potential it would take upwards of £75m for the club to sell him.
17 Dec 2024 23:54:05
Utd Rd. I also was there when he scored that brace against Arsenal. A quick trip back from the US. I took my wife who had become an Arsenal supporter. We had very good seats on the half way line. She found the intensity, the close spacing, and the aggressive nature of the men around her quite overbearing. I had also taken her to see us play at the Emirates in 2012 when we won 2-1 with Danny Welbeck scoring the winner. Somehow that ground didn't seem anywhere near as intense. Anyway, the experience put her off being a football supporter. She decided that investing all that emotional energy wasn't worth it. Sometimes I wish I could do the same, but then she doesn't have 60+ years. of it behind her.
We'll be very lucky to get a good deal for him given how much he's paid. He's simply not adapted to the game as it's evolved and it's hard to see him ever having the capacity or the will to do so. The worst thing is I think he knows it which, if so, has to be depressing him. He is after all a United lad through and through.
11 Dec 2024 13:52:58
German. again, you're twisting what I said to make your own point, which I've acknowledged already. The Glazers maybe absolutely clueless about running an actual football club, but financial mugs? No. For all the reasons you mentioned, quite brilliant. The partial sale was a masterpiece. It presumably assuaged the family members who were pushing for a total sale and were upset about their dividends being eliminated. They are fully aware, particularly from being NFL owners, of the elevated value of sports franchises, even though in the closed shop salary-capped US franchise system, there is no chance of relegation, revenues are largely guaranteed, and profitability is secured. They backed the European Super League because they wanted to turn soccer into the same gravy boat. Thank God they did not succeed otherwise we could be at the dawn of 3 1/ 2 games with 12 minutes of action and endless advertisements.
P. S. I'm not claiming to be a financial expert. Nor do I analyze anything on spreadsheets.
10 Dec 2024 21:41:20
Germansupp: I qualified my remark, by saying that the club's global recognition makes it more valuable than its profitability warrants. Without that, the £1bn in debt, would quite possibly not be supportable. They could not easily increase it, and without more money, could not get back into the game. The Glazers gave up 27% of the equity not because they wanted to but because they had to. Under their leadership it was headed down the toilet. What would two or three more bad seasons and a trip to the Championship have resulted in? Any other business with revenues of £650m, potentially declining, no profits, and £1bn in debt would have a hard time staying on its feet.
10 Dec 2024 16:31:35
The Telegraph writes that the club are "open" to a sale. I assure you they will be open to the right offer on pretty much all of the current squad. It's just a question of price. But in any event, being open to a sale - something that's glaringly obvious in the case of Rashford - is quite different from having offers on the table. I'd love to see it but, frankly, getting rid of him maybe even more difficult than getting rid of Sancho, or indeed, Martial. Another absolutely disastrous error of judgement committed prior to SJR. Let's commit £75m over the next 5 years to protect a wasting asset.
Part of the process of great managership is to know when to sell. Clough and Taylor were masters of the craft. Sell at the crest of the wave and buy the next thing cheaply. Liverpool did extremely well with Coutinho and Suarez. Ferguson sold RVN and Beckham. He also sold Ronaldo, of course, but at that time the money went to debt repayment and was not reinvested.
No player should be allowed to get too big for the club. If you're so scared of losing a player that you're prepared to overpay up the wazoo to renew a contract then your team is already well on the way to decline. Moyes was desperate to keep Rooney, De Gea became the best paid goalie in the EPL to the tune of £100k per week: Rashford is but the latest example. It's another extremely dysfunctional aspect of the club that needs to be fixed.
I can't guarantee SJR will be successful but were the value of United not buoyed by our global recognition, making it more valuable by far as an asset that the income it now generates, I could have seen the Glazers driving the club into bankruptcy. That's how bad it had become.
10 Jan 2025 16:39:00
NBC in the US has the rights to the EPL for a few more years so I don't see how the there's any room for streaming except through them. Right now, for example, I can stream all the games through Peacock, which is an NBC owned subsidiary, which is ultimately owned by Comcast, which also owns Xfinity which is the internet provider. NBC has deals with Dish Satellite through its subsidiary Sling to stream its channels, which includes some iff the EPL games.
Basically the whole thing is already exploited by monopolies to maximize revenues, so I just don't see how the individual clubs can do better by themselves assuming that they can avoid the EPL collective bargaining arrangements for TV rights. And why would the clubs want to undermine the global success of the league by moving to q different model?
10 Jan 2025 14:18:29
How will streaming work in the UK? Here in the US all the games are televised, so the EPL has lucrative deals in place already. Aren't most games in the UK televised too except for 3pm Saturdays? Will these streaming rights be individual or for the league as a whole? If it's individual I can see how this will actually devalue the value of the EPL as a whole and undermine the brand. So I can't see how this would be a positive.
Outside the UK, wouldn't streaming result in a decline in broadcast revenues as major international broadcasters will see the value of their rights to the games diminished? I think more likely SJR sees the non-football development of the area around OT as being where a significant amount of revenues can be generated, although that will depend on significant investment also.
10 Jan 2025 00:39:32
The club won't be going bankrupt despite the losses over the past few years.
What I don't understand is to what extent the whole PSR problem is alleviated by the adoption of the new squad cost system that I read is due to be voted in this coming summer and be applicable to the 2025/ 6 season. If it happens won't PSR simply disappear to be replace by a requirement that teams qualifying for European competitions will be required to limit their total player cost (wages+ amortization + agents fees) to under 70% of total revenues. Those that aren't in Europe will be able to spend 85%. Even without European football United should be able to comply comfortably with these limitations whether in Europe for not.
01 Jan 2025 18:47:00
I think It all came too quickly for Rashford and in the wrong era. I do sympathize with him. He came into a team that was already on the decline. He must have expected so much, and he must have been so excited to inherit the mantle only to end up on the wrong side of Manchester at a club whose owners and their chosen chief executive had no real ambition other than to sell the club's name for marketing purposes. But I am also critical of his application. The Ronaldo comparisons don't hold up. Ronaldo always toiled to make himself the best. With Rashford one has a sense that he feels all he has to do is score a goal and his work is done. You would never have thought that about Ronaldo when he was 27. Yes, he needs a new challenge, but who is going to offer him an opportunity at his rate of pay? I sense a certain arrogance in his manner. Perhaps when no one comes in, as they clearly didn't in the summer, it will finally dawn on him that he is not quite the catch he thinks he is. If he wants a new start he will have to be prepared to negotiate his ridiculous salary down.
01 Jan 2025 06:33:28
We all agree we need better players. We need solid professionals who possess speed, skills, the will to win, and a desire to learn and be a part of a team. But in order for that to happen we need the capacity to identify the players we need and in that department we've been sadly lacking. It cannot be left entirely to the coach/ manager who doesn't have the time or depth of knowledge to be able to both identify and acquire the right people, plus coach the team as well. And therein lies the problem. We've been run by people who don't know how to run a club for success on the field, and have allowed everything to stagnate.
Obviously I hope the new management team and coach can turn it around. It's clear what he wants, even if it's not at all clear it will work in the EPL. I know Sporting beat City, but from what I saw of that game City could have been a number of goals up in the first half, and Sporting looked wide open. So, I'm not convinced. And nor am I convinced that employing the same system irrespective of the opposition is likely to lead to consistent results.