03 Oct 2018 19:45:03
Into the breach I go and this may not be popular. Right now it seems nearly everyone wants the head of the manager, yet I think people are not looking at the bigger picture. It's like an itch from a bite that you can't cope any more and just want to scratch, get rid of it, it is pain, a frustration that you want to end. The issue is that when you scratch it, the problem is still there, it will heal eventually but meanwhile there will still be more pain. Sack Mourinho seems the answer to some but what is left?

The club has no obvious strategy, or plan. If there was, how could the answers be Moyes, LvG or even Mourinho to follow LvG or to buy players we have at times without any obvious strategic aim? Has the manager bought the players or were they the type of player the managers identified and the cheaper option was chosen or were they shiny media money spinners to encourage sponsors?
This mess has been years in the making, yet people think a quick sacking will resolve it. In will step a knight in shining armour and all will be ok again. Except this isn't a movie.
I don't know how many people have actually been a manager in difficult times but in a mess like this a manager needs to lead, to be a leader, make tough difficult decisions and not stand for any nonsense. Thinking of the bear pit any new manager would walk into, how many of the shiny new coaches could be a leader? We seem to lack leadership from the owners and Woodward, it also looks like they put the manager in his place, undermined his power in summer, reducing him to feeling a coach not a manager. That will almost certainly have weakened Mourinho's position, or any leaders position and it could easily have contributed to the rise of player power. Player power, interesting, we seem to lack leaders on the pitch as well. There seems to be one leader who actually knows what it takes to win something and yet he is under the most pressure

To me this is the wrong time to sack the manager, there is more to fix first.

{Ed025's Note - im afraid that insect bite has become a massive boil on the arse of united red man, the only cure is to cut out the infection before it creates a disease that is incurable, the gangrenous one has infected those around him now and it will become terminal unless action is taken pronto mate..

1.) 03 Oct 2018
03 Oct 2018 20:05:51
Bit extreme ed025. Very OTT.

{Ed025's Note - i have never been a shrinking violet angel and am not about to start now mate..

2.) 03 Oct 2018
03 Oct 2018 20:21:42
Waaaahhhh! Daddy didn't buy me the new toys I wanted, so I'm going to break the ones I've got!

3.) 03 Oct 2018
03 Oct 2018 20:58:35
I believe Ed0025 is an Everton fan, I like Everton and have told the story that in 85 I was one who, with utter respect, chanted Everton, Everton to Peter Reid and co at Wembley. However, with respect, the situation at United is volatile and emotive right now so being told by Ed0025 how we should treat our manager does not sit well with me. I totally respect the Ed’s but in this case would ask whether we can have United supporting Ed who allows free discussion without an angle against the manager. Is there a United supporting Ed?

{Ed025's Note - yes ED004, i have no angle against the manager red man only a view as a neutral, but your wish i will respect and keep out of it mate..

4.) 03 Oct 2018
03 Oct 2018 21:08:42
I don't like how this situation is framed as an either or situation.

Either you think sacking mourinho will solve all our issues or we have deep rooted issues top to bottom at the club.

Either we back the manager or give into player power and feed the egos of the spoilt brats we have for players.

The reality as ever is in the middle, we most definitely have structural issues that the club are trying to solve (lets face it the glazers and woodward are here as long as they want to be)

We have players who are conspiring against the manager and when he goes they should probably follow.

But mourinho has self destructed by himself, no one made him dig his players out in the media to the point that they no longer want to play for him.

No one made him play an inexperienced academy midfielder at centre back in a back three against west ham when bailly was available.

No one made mourinho play an average spanish midfielder at centre back in a back three against spurs when bailly was available.

No one makes him play both fellaini and matic in midfield every game when its clear in some games we need more mobility and creativity (fred, pereira or mata were available) .

We had a pretty good thing going into january 2018 but then we signed sanchez and mourinho decided to go to war with some of his main players. He has brought a lot of this onto himself.

5.) 03 Oct 2018
03 Oct 2018 21:21:55
Good post DSG.

6.) 03 Oct 2018
03 Oct 2018 21:29:40
Time to show him the door with his big pay off, we’d have more chance of positivity around the club if we had Karl Pilkington as manager .

7.) 03 Oct 2018
03 Oct 2018 21:36:23
I love yr posts redman I genuinely respect yr views and you talk a lot of sense, I get your dislike of the owners and the board and think I understand it but if we are tenth and getting pezzled off West ham and Brighton and dumped out of a cup off Derby county at home and it's ok then maybe we should just get my mam in as manager, yr defending the indefensible if Moyes achieved the very same results how much slack would u cut him.

8.) 03 Oct 2018
03 Oct 2018 21:34:42
As i understand, it's a banter site = people on here speak about other managers and Eds views are just as good as any one else - keep posting.

9.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 00:34:31
For me I'd like to see ed 025 involved in this page a bit more
A gentleman with an honest view.
Can give it and take it the banter
And gives a straight view about Everton as well.

10.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 04:04:12
I really don't understand the whole player power mustn't win argument. Also you can blame glazers as much as you want Redman it isn't their fault that Mourinho failed.

Mourinho clearly doesn't have a clue what he is doing.

This summer he wanted a 70mn cb to replace the 70mn cb's he himself bought and doesn't trust over smalling or jones. A 100mn mf was targetted to replace a 89mn mf he doesn't have a clue how to use. He has already replaced his failed 30mn playmaker signing with a winger we are paying 500k and wanted another winger because he didn't think through the simple point that we needed a rw and he bought someone for the left.

His striker who is generally his most important part of his attack can't hold up the ball or get involved in building attacks both of which are basic requirements of his style of football.

Only reason Mourinho has failed is because he has failed to adapt to football currently played, being completely clueless about what he wants to do and his unbelievable ability of pissing of the very people his job depends on.

11.) 04 Oct 2018
03 Oct 2018 22:32:01
A bit harsh on ed025 RM. He is a great man for the banter and takes most views on board. He never minds when you disagree with him and treats us all with equal respect mate.

12.) 04 Oct 2018
03 Oct 2018 22:55:01
Since when did we start picking and choosing which Ed's we wanted to have a say on things? It's not North Korea, where no dissenting voices are allowed. Ed025, you're welcome on here any time, mate. Always good for a laugh.

13.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 06:39:26
That’s a bit out of order Red Man. Ed025 may be neutral but to me that makes his view even more relevant, United fans have extreme views at both ends of the spectrum so an unemotional intelligent neutral view is very welcome for me.

As for your point, I made a similar point recently about deeper rooted issues but right now, as predicted, our identity is being gradually destroyed and we are becoming a club I don’t like.

As DSG said, we were doing ok up to Vhristmas last year when for some unfathomabke reason we signed Sanchez. Big name, big reputation, no fee, stop Vity getting him, who knows why we signed him but for me that is when it started sliding.

Then we finish as runners up, add a Brazilian midfielder and yet this year we look a shadow of last years side. Public criticism of so many players, bizarre selections, a face like a smacked arse, constant whining, Mourinho is on a self destruct mission right now.

The Anager is the leader, he sets the agenda, creates the culture, and the culture we have right now is not great. We have players who are not good enough (not as many as some say) and we have players with the wrong attitude and they need shipping out. But that doesn’t chnage the fact that Mourinho is not the right man for our club. He was never a good fit and is doing everything possible to prove at the moment,

14.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 09:17:45
I'm with Tony on this Red man. Asking Ed025 to stay out of a discussion is out of order. The Ed's work really hard to run this site and their views are/ should always be welcome. I don't agree with all of the Ed's views but I appreciate them.

I feel if Ed025's view supported your point you would have been happy to have him involved in the discussion.

You say how emotive the whole manager debate gets amoungst United fans yet you don't want to hear a neutral view point.

For what it's worth I can see both sides of the argument. There is a lot more wrong at our club atm than just Jose. There is a total lack of leadership and direction coming from all areas of the club from the top down.

At the start of the week I totally agreed that now is not the time to sack Jose. Especially if that means appointing someone like Zidane or Conte on a permanent basis with no sort of long/ medium term plan in place. That will only exasperate problems in the long term.

However, I can also see how toxic this whole situation is becoming and that is becoming an issue in itself.

Unless the club can get a run of good results over the next couple of weeks I wonder how long and how to if this situation could become. Clearly there is a divide in the dressing room and Jose is at the centre of it. However, the longer this goes on the larger the divide will become. That divide has players on both sides, players who will still be here after the manager is sacked and players who will have to work together afterwards as well.

Unless the team can get some good results soon Jose will have to go. My only hope is that the club decide to put McKenna and Carrick in charge until the end of the season so the club can hopefully sort out a DoF and properly plan our next full time managerial appointment.

15.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 09:48:21
The non-Man Utd supporting Eds are one of my favourite things about these pages. Ed001 with his irrefutable common sense (and top class daily articles), Ed007 and his stinging Glasgow wit, Ed025 and his unbiased neutrality, amongst others. And all highly valued opinions. It's not like any of the Eds ever come on here and throw out a toxic insult or 2. Right? So please continue to contribute, inform, challenge, and entertain Eds. Thanks.

{Ed001's Note - cheers Johnny. Even though Ed025 has terrible taste in football teams, I am surprised anyone could want him to not be involved in a discussion. It is very rare he and I agree on anything, he likes yawnfests like golf and cricket, I find them boring, he is a blue, I am a red etc etc, but I really enjoy what he has to say anyway. He is a genuinely nice guy with an interesting take on things.}

16.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 10:40:39
JohnnyKills, i agree. Its better to get a different perspective aswell.
All the EDs make a great contribution to the site.
ED002 providing valuable information on the ins/ outs of football clubs etc.

17.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 11:08:07
So glad the majority have stuck up for ed025, a fantastic guy who we love on the Arsenal page, he’s not afraid to say how he sees it and has a fabulous sense of humour.

Most importantly he would never intentionally upset anyone.

18.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 14:23:13
Spot on ed025, he should have been sacked long ago.

19.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 12:40:09
You are always welcome here ed025.

{Ed025's Note - cheers park..

20.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 14:03:28
I understand ed25, would go against you to change mate.

{Ed025's Note - ta angel, i might just sit off united for a while mate until we see how things change..

21.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 17:49:10
This page would be a lot more miserable than it already is without ed 0025 and ed 001 I am very thankful that even though they support other clubs ( crap ones 😘) they still come on here with their views and valuable tidbits of info .

{Ed025's Note - nice one deano, i love the banter on united mate you are all nice guys but im not here to upset anyone so i will take a bit of time out for a while..

22.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 20:36:27
Ed0025

My apologies, I would not want you to stay off the page so hope you will reconsider that position immediately.

I am not enjoying the football of Mourinho, who is, but I have said on here for years about what the problems have been and that has been from the very top. Personally I don’t support Mourinho, I support the club, however I just think that dismissing the manager now is not good timing, especially when he was undermined in summer. As a senior manager I have been undermined in the past and until it happens to you you don’t realise the impact. It isn’t just your own position it is your team and how they view your authority so I have some empathy for our manager. With his money I would have walked unless I really loved what I was doing. We have no plan or strategy so a sacking will likely see the same mistakes made and another fancy name brought in. Meanwhile the same players most who have been a constant in these difficult poor years get away with it.
Slate asked how much slack would I have given Moyes, well the answer was none because he had won nothing, there was nothing on his CV to suggest he could manage United.
I have a lot of time for Everton and feel our clubs have always have a good connection so would ask you to keep editing and go easy on me!

{Ed025's Note - dont beat yourself up over it red man i often take a break from the sites mate, im a closet united fan so usually edit when there is a build up of posts as i like the banter with the fans who are a really good bunch, the jose subject is very touchy at the moment and i can see how high feelings are running so maybe my two penneth was inopportune, but just like arnie....i will be back.. :)

23.) 04 Oct 2018
04 Oct 2018 22:12:19
Make sure you come back ed. I enjoy your posts. Your good for the old laugh as well.

24.) 05 Oct 2018
05 Oct 2018 01:32:22
Well stone redman many a post written in haste. 👍 Top man ed025.

{Ed001's Note - I can't believe he claimed the closet he was in was as a United supporter, we all knew that long ago, there was nothing closet about it. After all, once a blue always a Manc right? Just ask Rooney.....}

25.) 06 Oct 2018
05 Oct 2018 13:16:40
I knew it ed0025! If it's any consolation mate I have a soft spot for the better half of Liverpool too 🤣.

{Ed025's Note - well we are the "peoples club" deano.. :)