17 Sep 2023 10:24:20


Red Man has written an article entitled, A Manchester United Reality Article?

1.) 17 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023 11:35:44
Very fair post Red Man. Unfortunately some of the established players lack back bone. So before looking at our new players take a look at Rashford. Apparently he is our God and saviour but he was strolling around out of possession and continually failing to look up for an option and running down blind alleys. Only once did he, accidentally I believe, get a ball into our striker who managed to bundle the ball into the net. Unfortunate because the selfish Rashford had already taken the ball out of play the goal was rightly disallowed. He was then literally walking in the direction of the ball when out of possession. No pressing or fight and absolutely no help for his left back. Utter disgrace. These players will throw yet another manager under the bus!

2.) 17 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023 12:16:43
I think the throwing under the bus thing is now nonsense. I just don’t think most of them are anywhere near good enough. Simple as that.

3.) 17 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023 12:22:05
Fizz

Yes but the manager should stop selecting them, stop bigging them up. Logic!
I suspect Rashford has been told to shoot. Improve his coaching or drop him.

4.) 17 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023 13:29:56
Red Man, Performances on the pitch are definitely down to not having a squad full of the right players, in terms of quality, suitably to play a specific style, and in mentality.

You bemoan EtH leaning more on his experience with recruitment, but his choices are back his own knowledge or gamble his job security on the recruitment team that has presided over the utter shambles that have got us into the mess we are in now in terms of a disjointed squad of misfits.

Would you personally rather back your own judgement or trust the people who brought in the likes of Di Maria, Martial, Sanchez, Maguire, Lukaku, Sancho, etc?

Do you really blame the manager for being sceptical over some of the suggestions from that recruitment team? Because I'm not sure I can.

On the pitch the manager has to deal with what he has available from the selection of players in the squad.

That is his limitation, and performances will directly be a reflection of the quality he has available.

Poor performances are simply because he doesn't have the quality of players available to play a consistent style of high quality football.

Half the defence is better suited to playing deep and hitting on the counter, they either don't have the pace, mobility, awareness or technical skills to play a higher line. So when those players have to play the manager has a choice. Either pay the same style knowing those players will make mistakes and cause issues likely leading to conceding goals. Or change the style of play to suit those players with limitations.
However, changing the style of play also comes with drawbacks. Such as limiting what the team can do from a tactical perspective, while the adjust style of play will likely create limitations in the ability of other players to perform at their best.

A good squad that can bring a level of consistency to their performances have a first 11 of players who all suit a specific style of play, work together seamlessly, and are of high quality. While the rest of the squad also all suit playing that same style of play, and their natural game also suits the players around them, but they are probably of a slightly lower quality than those in the first 11.

Meaning when a first 11 player is out for whatever reason, the replacement is a very similar player in many ways, but maybe of a slightly lower quality. Meaning the who team doesn't have to change tactics/ style to accommodate the new player. While the lesser quality of that player will be less evident due to the collective of the team being able to cover for it by still playing a style that gets the best out of them.

That brings consistency which is the basis of any successful team. Repeatable patterns, style, demands, expectations etc. That's how you move away form 11 individuals all thinking differently while they play, to a collective style where all the players are on the same wavelength. Movements become instinctive, you play the pass first time knowing where your team mate will be, you move to where you need to be instinctively allowing you to focus on how to find the weak points in the opposition, rather than thinking about where you should be in relation to your own teammates.

That is where we need to get to, and that is pretty much impossible with a ragtag bunch of misfits who have no ability to bring their skills together in a symbiotic style due to the absolutely opposing skillsets they have.

EtH is having to try and work miracles to get the best out of this group of players. Last season he performed miracles. But this season with the injuries and the chopping and changing he is being limited too much, coupled with playing some very tough fixtures while effectively trying to manage with one hand tied behind his back.

People like to throw out a stat like we've lost 3 out of 5 games, we have also played 2 of the traditional top 6 sides away. Meaning we have also played 40% of what should in theory be the toughest fixtures this season. So context is also being lost in a narrative designed to present everything as a disaster.

Ultimately pretty much every issue at the clubs stems from well above the manager.

The toxicity around the club created by detached owners who show little interest in footballing success. This is further fuelled by the whole sale process that is dragging on for far too long creating uncertainty.

That uncertainty has clearly impacted the summer recruitment, further exasperating the issues with the lack of quality and the synchronism of the squad.

Poor leadership has lead to poor recruitment, poor decisions on wage structure, poor running of the academy and women's team, poor development of facilities. Just a total lack of footballing vision and direction.

That lack of leadership was further highlighted during the Mason Greenwood fiasco, which only worked to cause further negativity and distractions, while also undermining the manager.

Antony and Sancho further highlights the issues of recruitment and the problems we have when scouting players and deciding to bring in players based on talent and not mentality.

The decision to play pre-season games right across America, in Dublin and Norway giving the manager limited time to train the players due to travel commitments and the need to rest players due to those commitments. While this money spinning approach to pre-season isn't unusual, in the wake of a unprecedented season due to a World cup being played in the middle of the season it seems utterly foolish bordering on the moronic.

These decisions all take place above the manager and by people with either zero football experience or zero interest in football, or both.

It's easy to blame the manager, he stands front and centre, but the root off all our issues stem way above him, and until they are properly addressed nothing will change. We'll sack another good manager and replace them (if we are lucky with someone just as good, if not then with someone worse) . They will then do well for a while before failing due to the way the club is run and the fans will call for their head and the cycle will continue.

5.) 17 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023 15:28:12
I just personally feel ten hag isn't up to it. Signs were there at the end of last season. He can't seem to get a tune out of players he hasn't coached before and the others I think have made their mind up about him. Hence why he wants players he knows.
The recruitment team all need sacking. Every signing this summer has been the wrong choice.
The gk is average at best, you'll never get the best out of mason mount in ten hags system and to be honest all the others are average players in my opinion. I feel for the young striker, watching game film and the way he scores his goals is completely the opposite to how ten hag wants to play.
We hear he wants to play a high press yet selects erickson, rashford and bruno who can't press and when these are out of position it leaves the leggy casemiro no chance in plugging the holes.
Our away form last year and continuing in to this year has made my mind up on ten hag. I thinkhis recruitment is horrendous and he's to stubborn and won't adapt as it will make him look weak. Yesterday was a clear example. We had the better of it for first 20 mins but Brighton sussed him out and it was one way traffic after that.
The problem being we have let him have full controll instead of working with our supposed dof. When he leaves we will have to press the rest button again, be left with a squad full of another managers players waiting for the next manager to rinse and rpeat.

His r.

6.) 17 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023 17:06:50
He needs proper time. The team he took over was horrible, all 11 needed replacing and another 11 needed to back them. He can only replace a couple at a time. You cannot fix a decades worth of horrific management and planning overnight. Our front line needs two players our midfields at least two and defence the same. From where we are today. That’s at least 2 windows just for the first 11. We’ll be better when the injury list improves. I also believe saff and the dreamers from the old days have too much influence. They prob still think he’d win with his squad uf he was manager.

7.) 17 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023 18:19:16
I agree with Fizz.
When Rashford and Antony play it's just one long shot after another, again and again and again.
Bruno shoots too but not as often.

We don't play like a team.
For all the hate Martial gets, he's more of a team player. Garnacho still young, puts in a cross too.

A player on the highest and possibly one of the longest serving player here, along with Martial inspired absolutely nothing.
Why isn't there a good tackle from rashford? Why isn't he working hard to stop runners?
I see so much hate for Martial, and Rashford does the same and worse, with Martial atleast he has a bit of brain about when to pass or shoot.
Even with Maguire, there is a not a lack of effort.

Rashford has got a fat contract and the performances have gone, have we not seen that before?
Rashford is not Ronaldo, nowhere near.
I bet you if he had left last year we'd have been in similar positions.

Harry Kane has left yet Tottenham are playing really well. The team scores more.

I wonder if Pep was the manager, does he play Rashford? That's my atrongest criticism on ETH.
He's not Lionel Messi who stays on the pitch no matter what. He's not Cristiano Ronaldo. He's not Mbappe and he's not Haaland.
He's a very good player on a few certain attributes.

8.) 17 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023 18:32:19
Tom, are you trolling or just drunk?

Lets go though your ramblings. "Can't get a tune out of players he hasn't coached before" I really don't know where to start with that utterly moronic statement. If he couldn't get a tune out of players he hasn't coached before then how did he become successful in the first place? When he went to Bayern 2 how many of those players had he coached before? When he went to Utrecht how many players were there that he had coached before? At Ajax how many of the players at the club had he coached before?

When he helped turn the likes of De Ligt, De Jong, Onana, Gravenberch etc into world class stars. How many of them only did well because he coached them before?

Surely you can see the dumbassery in that statement now?

While it completely ignores the fact that last season many of our best performing players (Casemiro, Varane, Shaw, Bruno, Eriksen and Rashford) had never played for him before. You also saw players like Dalot and AWB (after the WC) probably play their best football for the club. Players like Garnacho broke through and was given game time and showed he has the talent to play at this level. Another player EtH had never managed before.

EtH has signed 4 players that he has previously managed. Martinez has been a success, Antony less so. Onana it's too soon to judge, but so far he's done nothing wrong and has started to help improve our ability to play out from the back. The final one is Acrobat who hasn't played for us yet, so absolutely cannot judge that signing.

So this idea that he has bought countless sycophants to join him and in some kind of cronyism at Old Trafford is just utter nonsense parroted by fools who believe everything they read in the rags.

Next you've written off all our summer signings 5 games into the season, even the ones who haven't played yet. Maybe they are poor, maybe they are average, or maybe they will be great. The truth is that its far too early to be able to judge yet.

I suspect you were one of the one's writing Martinez off before he had kicked a ball because he was "too short" to play at CB.

You say that the young striker plays best in the opposite to how EtH wants to play. On what basis? From what I've seen of Hojlund he looks like a fairly well rounded young striker, still a little raw in a few areas but has the talent and attitude (apparently) to put in the work to smooth those rough edges. He's strong, quick, good in the air, works hard and makes good off the ball movements. His touch can be a little heavy at times and he can look a little "clunky" as well, he's certainly not elegant. He looks like he might fit best in a side that looks to transition quickly, his pace combined with his movement mean's he doesn't need there to be acres of space in behind for him to run into. He's just as good at drifting off a defender and making a blind side run onto a through ball.
Seeing as EtH has set out his vision that he want's us to be the best transitioning side in the world, I think that is something that very much plays into Hojlund's strengths. As well as those of Rashford, Bruno, Antony and Garnacho.

Bruno is one of our best pressers, this shows up time and again in the stats and with the eye test. So I'm not sure what your arguments about Bruno not being able to press are based on. Eriksen is less able to than he used to, but was at his playing for Pochettino at Spurs very much in a pressing system. Rashford is new to pressing and learning. he seems willing more often than not, but lacks somewhat in execution (probably due to never being coached to do so before) .

Yesterday was a game of fine margins. We should have scored in the first 20 minutes and made the most of our dominance. We then got punished for one mistake and the game turned on its head. Brighton suddenly felt more confident and started to find their rhythm, while you could visibly see the confidence drain out of the United players, in fact you could see it drain out of the fans in the stadium. It was like a collective thought or "here we go again" rippled around Old Trafford on and off the pitch.

Brighton's second was most likely a moments hesitation as no one reacted to a poor ball across the penalty box. That's a symptom of a lack of confidence. Once United were 2-0 down the team had little choice but to throw all caution to the wind in an attempt to find a way back into the game that only got away from them due to silly individual errors. At which point we were too open and Brighton got their third. Game over.

Fine margins, grab a goal in the first 20 minutes and it's the United players who start to feel confident and the Brighton players who have to step out and become more open, creating better chances for United to get a second. Casemiro doesn't lose Welbeck and they don't score. Suddenly its a very different game. But that's the rub of the green when things are going against you. The small errors get punished and luck seems to completely abandon you.

9.) 17 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023 20:11:48
I don’t see anywhere close to trolling there Shappy.

You can just disagree with someone’s opinion without being condescending or calling someone a moron.

It’s fine that you choose to see the rosy side of the current state of affairs, but there’s equal evidence that all is not well and to completely disregard that is a bit blinkered.

10.) 17 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023 22:08:03
I didn't see the game so cannot comment on it. It is a football truism that all the best teams need to have a settled defence (obviously with their best defenders) and ETH certainly has not been lucky that way. If you don't have a good foundation the whole edifice crumbles. When was ETH able to field his fort choice team for a run of say seven matches enabling them to bed in and get a rhythm to their game?

Beyond that we also have a right to expect from the players to at least fight hard for every ball and not make basic mistakes week after week. To my eyes this is not happening and as I have posted many times before we really do miss a captain on the field who inspires and drives the team forward and demands the highest standards.