15 Oct 2020 13:06:07
Long post alert!

Hello!

Long time lurker here, from India. Thought I might as well post something given the amount of free time I had. Absolutely love this site and has been a part of my morning routine since 2009. I think I was lured in because I read about Michael Owen joining us before the mainstream media picking it up.

Thank you to all the Eds for keeping it going all these years. I love Ed001’s player profiles and think he gets it spot on when he scouts a player. And of course, Ed002’s juicy transfer updates are unparalleled.

Like for many others, the start to this season has been a gut-punch but I am still clinging on to some hope that we will make something out of it. And like everyone, it turned my stomach when reading about how much the Glazers ownership model has taken away from the club causing us to stagnate as a football club and functioning more as a business entity. The sad fact is that they won’t be going away while they are getting those juicy dividends and we might be putting up with them for some more years.

Just thought I will get some thoughts out while am at it. You can think of it as a ranting mechanism if you can.

It has been reiterated on numerous occasions how inefficient our transfer team has been and how we have no direction in the transfer market given the lack of footballing people at the decision-making levels. I completely agree with those points and really hope that the Glazers realise that they need a footballing person parallel to Ed Woodward’s role. If we are protesting for something, that seems like a place to start and a realistic demand from the fans. The club have without doubt spent money (albeit it being the club’s own generated revenue and not the owner’s) over the last 7 years but have done so blindly and without a plan. That has to change.

I am pleased with the fact that we managed to sign a few promising youngsters and hope they fulfil their potential in the years to come.

Coming to the manager, I think Ole is a good man-manager (he does manage to motivate the players) but does seem to lack when it comes to tactics, in-game management and also, player management.

Starting with the last one - my opinion is that his decision to persist playing Maguire just because the player wanted to play every minute has burnt him out physically and mentally. His continued resistance to not making use of the bench options was perplexing. Yes, they don’t have the same quality as the first choice 11 but it is a team game and at the end of it, it’s the manager’s responsibility to keep everyone hungry and ready for whenever they have to step up and play a role. Sir Alex was creative in finding systems which worked when the star players were unavailable. The teams might have been weaker on paper but they can always be setup as one which works well as a unit. The game versus Arsenal where he used 7 defenders in the team and still won comes to mind.

Tactics - I was pretty shocked when the manager decided to play a 4-2-3-1 against Spurs. That formation mostly worked during the “Project Restart” games because we weren’t playing high quality opposition (no offence) . Given how we started the season, I thought it would have been more prudent to switch to a 5-3-2 and protect the defence. This is something a more aware manager would have foreseen and ensured. It didn’t help that some players decided that they would just stroll through the game but I think the manager should have done a better job in setting us up.

I hope we do switch to the 5-3-2 for the upcoming with Donny VdB playing in the hole behind Greenwood and Rashford. Bruno getting an enforced resting period might actually do him a bit of good too. It always feels like he carries too much stress on him. If there is an opportunity to do so, resting Maguire to clear up his head would help. I know he has his deficiencies but he is our best defender and he had his moments in this last one year. I feel like he deserves a little more respect. I might even experiment with McTominay as a CB (The Athletic had a nice piece regarding that) - he might not be the most technically gifted player but Scott brings some heart into the team and we could really use that.

Also, I think the club missed a chance in selling Pogba two seasons back. He is a good player on his day and in the right system but he is definitely not what we need at the moment.

Sorry if the whole thing seems like a collection of incoherent thoughts because it mostly is. I will try to be more structured with my posts going forward.

Going forward, I think we can only really hope that the tide changes and that there is no further damage to our mental health courtesy of the club we all love. I will keep watching the games and keep cheering the players on no matter what. I don’t expect or want an immediate return to the heights of the Sir Alex days. But, I also don’t want us to run down into being a plastic corporate entity. That would break my heart.

Thank you again to all the Eds and all the posters who make this site amazing.

{Ed001's Note - thank you very much, welcome to posting and a really good interesting starter post there!}

1.) 15 Oct 2020
15 Oct 2020 14:06:32
That was a great read, please keep them coming. I agree with almost all of it.
Only part that I have issue with is the club's generated money vs owners money. Isn't the money the club generates automatically the owners money?

2.) 15 Oct 2020
15 Oct 2020 14:12:28
Great post mate and welcome!

3.) 15 Oct 2020
15 Oct 2020 14:35:33
Thank you, everyone, for the kind words.

I do agree, MBD. That the club's generated income does indeed belong to the owner. Putting some thought it into and thinking about it that way, I suppose the fans should also realise that the whole "us and them" mentality does create some negativity.

One thing is for sure - both the fans and the owners would like to have the money invested the right way and in the right players. That's a middle ground where a conversation could start between the club and the fan-base - on developing a system/ management team which ensures that the money is spent in a manner that benefits the playing squad and keeps us competitive.

The "how much" part will be dictated by the owners. That is the cold, brutal fact. Capitalism in action, I suppose.

Does that make more sense?

4.) 15 Oct 2020
15 Oct 2020 15:09:36
Yes it does, our team needs a clear path and structure. As much as it is a business, it is a football business and it must have a system that works.

5.) 15 Oct 2020
15 Oct 2020 15:32:48
Welcome and enjoy the ride. A very good post. I think a lot of fans are still surprised Pogba is here. I wouldn't be surprised to see him sign a new lucrative contract with the club. It is the type of deal the Woodward to do.

6.) 15 Oct 2020
15 Oct 2020 18:01:21
Welcome to the site constantine.
Keep posting.
Some good points that will inspire good debate.
As like with a lot of posts i agree with some of what you say but don't agree with some of it.
We all have differing views on lots of aspects of the club. Ultimately i'd say 99% of my interest and concern is what happens on the pitch, I'm not all that interested in the rest as I've no accurate insight to the the structure and dynamics between the board and the owners.
Imo we now have the best squad we have had for 7 or 8 years, of course we are still short in a couple of areas but this squad should be competing to win.

7.) 15 Oct 2020
15 Oct 2020 18:30:12
I agree Ken. I really don't care who owns the club as long as we see performances on the pitch.

A simple question. let's suppose the owners and the board changes to anyone, how does that impact how the players perform on the pitch. Will the new owners come to the training ground and discuss tactics and train the players? No. that's the managers job. So i really don't see how blaming the owners or Ed Woodward helps the players on the pitch. It all just a distraction technique to take attention away from the failure that is Ole.

8.) 15 Oct 2020
15 Oct 2020 19:17:20
Shan - Maybe new owners might demonstrate some ambition and a commitment to win football matches by putting a structure in place and employing people with the requisite knowledge, experience and expertise to allow the Club to be successful.

Maybe new owners might actually support their manager and sign the players needed to win football matches.

Maybe new owners might actually appoint competent people that don't want to play Championship manager with one of the world's most famous and iconic sporting institutions.

Of course you can always continue to throw vitriol towards Ole and start all over again when he gets sacked and a new manager is appointed.

The distraction technique you so eloquently refer was also evident when they appointed then sacked Moyes, LVG and Jose. The manager is paraded as the scapegoat to disguise the real failings at board level whilst gullible fans such as yourself continue to blame the manager and can't seem to comprehend the bigger picture.

Unless you haven't noticed performances on the pitch have been woeful for some time now so maybe you should care who owns the Club and the vision they have for its future.

Sacking another manager will not cure the systemic disease which has now permeated a once proud and successful football club.

9.) 15 Oct 2020
15 Oct 2020 20:00:51
DLIB, the owners appointed Moyes, who was handpicked by the GOAT himself. Not owners fault that he dithered and already agreed deals for Kroos/ Fabregas. They then got in a proven manager in LvG but the "fans" turned the entire atmosphere and the plan had to be scrapped. Not entirely owner's fault although they should have held firm then. Then they got in a serial winner in Jose who got some semblance of success to the club for a couple of seasons and then i don't think i need to tell you why Jose got the boot. This is when they got it wrong by appointing someone as fragile and inexperienced as Ole. Sacking Jose at that time was right but then replacing the Special One with the Non-existent one was ridiculous.

Owners are not without fault, don't get me wrong and i would gladly see the club change ownership tomorrow but as long as Ole is incharge i don't see the fortunes of the club changing on the pitch.

As you say in your first paragraph, new owners might employ people with the right credentials, which means the first person out the door will be Ole and that's what i am saying too. didn't the owners get Ole Maguire, his first choice. They got him Dan James (apparently the right direction Ole was taking towards transfers) and AWB, the best RB in the league who now looks like a Sunday League player. They got him Bruno in January. They got him VdB, Telles now. As you may notice that this team is much better than what LvG had or what Jose had so don't tell that the manager hasn't been backed. Its not Judge's fault that these players have stopped putting in performances for Ole anymore. Losing 6 to Spurs and taking off your POTY at half time wasnt Woodwards decision or fault. Its all Ole.

Having said all of that, if you think changing Owners would change the results, i would gladly see the back of them. But i doubt that would change unless Ole is gone.

10.) 15 Oct 2020
15 Oct 2020 20:20:03
Ole has rightly earnt his place after finishing 3rd last season.

We are just 3 games into the season.
The over reaction is hilarious.

11.) 16 Oct 2020
16 Oct 2020 06:56:26
Great OP, Constantine, but.

IT'S NOT A RUMOUR!