Man Utd Thread:

[RedHand88]

Front 2 are a few weeks away from having a combined age of 72.
Behind them are 2 natural wingers trying to play as attacking mids and failing. When they inevitably aren't able to provide decent service the front 2 need to work harder (see first point).
Matic is past it.
Less said about the back 4 the better, bar Jones who actually was not bad.

4-2-2-2 just does not work with the United squad, where are the work horses?

I never want to hear about how Rangnick taught Klopp and Tuchel ever again.

[JPGJOHNNYG]

Front 2 are a few weeks away from having a combined age of 72.
Behind them are 2 natural wingers trying to play as attacking mids and failing. When they inevitably aren't able to provide decent service the front 2 need to work harder (see first point).
Matic is past it.
Less said about the back 4 the better, bar Jones who actually was not bad.

4-2-2-2 just does not work with the United squad, where are the work horses?

I never want to hear about how Rangnick taught Klopp and Tuchel ever again.

He was pretty much on a pension plan at Lokomotiv Moscow ffs so dont understand why people were getting all excited in the first place other than he wasnt Ole 

[toby47]

Cavani seems to get an easy ride. Been as bad as anyone the past 2 games.
AWB needs sold asap. Nowhere near good enough. I know he cost £50m but take £10m and cut your losses.
Maguire not good enough either. Seems united are stuck with him/can't drop him now they've spend £80m on him & made him captain.
Matic poor too - should be a goner.
Pogba/Martial both need sold - rotten apples.
Lingard - his stock was at it highest in the summer when Wast Ham wanted him permanently. That was the time to sell.
VDB - A decision needs made on him. Still hasn't started a premier league game this season under 2 different mangers. Mustn't be up to it.

I honestly think United are in a complete mess. A massive massive rebuild needed. Which is scary, because of the money spent assembling that squad. 

[johnnycool]

Two things I noticed about Utd in both the Newcastle game and last night..

(1) the ease at which opponents can get at the Utd back 4 with a bit of time and space. Happened numerous times against Newcastle and again last night with Moutinho and Neves in particular passing their way through whatever defensive structures that were meant to be in place.
(2) Other than Fernandez, the Utd midfield offer very little offensively, so this pressing is great and good but when you do get the ball you need lads who can find the killer pass to make it count. Fred, Matic, McTominay are not those types of players and TBH aren't technically gifted in a way that the likes of the midfielders at City, Chelsea and to a lesser extend at Liverpool are. Heck the Wolves midfield were on a different level last night. Sancho, Rashford and Greenwood need to be on the receiving end of quality ball which isn't coming frequently enough.

Major issues with the Utd squad irrespective of who's at the wheel.

[yellowcard]

The elephant in the room is the signing of Ronaldo. Although Ole was never a top tier manager he had them going in the right direction last season finishing second and being a penalty kick away from winning the Europa League. The signing of Ronaldo changed the whole dynamic and proved that Ferguson still has an influence in the running of the club. If rumours are to be believed it was Alex Ferguson who sanctioned the signing and this constant nostalgia and harping back to the Fergie days is a continuous blight on the club. It was similar to the Sanchez signing where it was sanctioned last minute mainly to stop City getting their hands on a top class player. Pep had the last laugh in both cases as both players had seen better days.

Ralph needs time and can't be judged on 5 games. He is probably only a stop gap but by taking the wheel for 5 months at least he should have a good idea what is required when he moves upstairs in the summer. The squad is far too big which creates problems in terms of harmony and motivation levels among those who are getting limited game time. It was obvious from when they signed Ronaldo that there were far too many attacking players in the squad and at least two players should have been sold in the summer. I'd expect a few will move on this month.   

[Cunny Funt]

Two things I noticed about Utd in both the Newcastle game and last night..

(1) the ease at which opponents can get at the Utd back 4 with a bit of time and space. Happened numerous times against Newcastle and again last night with Moutinho and Neves in particular passing their way through whatever defensive structures that were meant to be in place.
(2) Other than Fernandez, the Utd midfield offer very little offensively, so this pressing is great and good but when you do get the ball you need lads who can find the killer pass to make it count. Fred, Matic, McTominay are not those types of players and TBH aren't technically gifted in a way that the likes of the midfielders at City, Chelsea and to a lesser extend at Liverpool are. Heck the Wolves midfield were on a different level last night. Sancho, Rashford and Greenwood need to be on the receiving end of quality ball which isn't coming frequently enough.

Major issues with the Utd squad irrespective of who's at the wheel.

Newcastle game and last night there was none, Rangnick himself said it after the game last night. Can draw own conclusions as to why his style of play isn't applied.

I never want to hear about how Rangnick taught Klopp and Tuchel ever again.

Wouldn't be hearing it at all if Klopp and Tuchel didn't mention it in the first place.

[thewobbler]

Ronaldo being a problem is hard to ignore. He is contributing more than most and he's working harder than I would have expected. But at a time when United really needed a midfielder or two they stuck all their chips on a forward who generally makes life a little more difficult for his own midfield (he won't track back much, he doesn't hold the ball up much).

But he's not the biggest problem. That instead is that United's overly generous wages "strategy". There's been 3 problematic groups of players in United's squad for the past 5 years:

1. Youngish players who were awarded massive contracts to secure their early promise for a long time, who then go off the boil intermittent or always.

2. Peak age players who have managed to secure outrageous contracts to maintain their services, who then go off the boil intermittent or always.

3. Older players who have somehow managed to bag outrageous retirement contracts with United, when they no longer have the faculties to perform to a top-4 levels on anything approaching a consistent basis.

One could argue with ease that every club has these types of players hanging around. The difference being is that nobody outside of China can afford to come close to matching what United are paying them (let alone a transfer fee on top). So they stick around forever, taking up squad places with their nonchalant attitudes, and generally affecting the club thus.

Honestly I believe United would be best served paying up contracts just to move 8-10 bodies out.

[yellowcard]

Ronaldo being a problem is hard to ignore. He is contributing more than most and he's working harder than I would have expected. But at a time when United really needed a midfielder or two they stuck all their chips on a forward who generally makes life a little more difficult for his own midfield (he won't track back much, he doesn't hold the ball up much).

But he's not the biggest problem. That instead is that United's overly generous wages "strategy". There's been 3 problematic groups of players in United's squad for the past 5 years:

1. Youngish players who were awarded massive contracts to secure their early promise for a long time, who then go off the boil intermittent or always.

2. Peak age players who have managed to secure outrageous contracts to maintain their services, who then go off the boil intermittent or always.

3. Older players who have somehow managed to bag outrageous retirement contracts with United, when they no longer have the faculties to perform to a top-4 levels on anything approaching a consistent basis.

One could argue with ease that every club has these types of players hanging around. The difference being is that nobody outside of China can afford to come close to matching what United are paying them (let alone a transfer fee on top). So they stick around forever, taking up squad places with their nonchalant attitudes, and generally affecting the club thus.

Honestly I believe United would be best served paying up contracts just to move 8-10 bodies out.

Correct. Players like Jones, Martial, Pogba, Mata, Lingard etc won't go because of the wages they are on. No other top club would pay them the sort of money they can earn at United which means that they hang around for far longer than they ordinarily should do.

[Cunny Funt]

The theory that United are where they are now because of the Ronaldo signing in the summer is a bit far fetched.

Yes this time last year they were going in the right direction same games played and roughly the same amount of points that Chelsea, Liverpool have at the moment but have taken a nosedive since (started with a home defeat to Sheffield United) and finished the season in terrible fashion.

Defeated in the two Cup competitions against teams they were expected to beat and last 8 games of that season W2 D2 L4. That form has basically continued into this season and the task for Rangnick is to stop that rot and it won't be possible if the players don't play the way he wants.

[seafoid]

The theory that United are where they are now because of the Ronaldo signing in the summer is a bit far fetched.

Yes this time last year they were going in the right direction same games played and roughly the same amount of points that Chelsea, Liverpool have at the moment but have taken a nosedive since (started with a home defeat to Sheffield United) and finished the season in terrible fashion.

Defeated in the two Cup competitions against teams they were expected to beat and last 8 games of that season W2 D2 L4. That form has basically continued into this season and the task for Rangnick is to stop that rot and it won't be possible if the players don't play the way he wants.

Woodward is a big part of the current mess
And he is leaving

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/01/06/ed-woodward-will-stand-manchester-united-february-1-replaced/

Richard Arnold will take over as Manchester United chief executive on February 1 when Ed Woodward formally relinquishes his role, the club announced on Thursday.

Woodward tendered his resignation last April in the wake of United's involvement in the failed European Super League plot but will officially stand aside at the end of this month, bringing an end to his controversial near nine-year tenure as executive vice-chairman.

Arnold, who currently serves as United's group managing director and before that was commercial director, will take the title of chief executive rather than executive vice-chairman, which Woodward holds.

United never got close to winning the Premier League title during Woodward's reign and he is thought to be leaving the role with regrets over the mistakes made in terms of managerial choices and recruitment in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson landscape.

[Armagh18]

What sort of performance will we see tonight? Bar De Gea, Fred, McT, Ronaldo, Sancho and Cavani every other player needs booed off the field for their stinking attitudes. Fred and McT probably deserve it for their performances at times but at least the effort is there unlike the likes of Rashford and Greenwood.

[johnnycool]

The theory that United are where they are now because of the Ronaldo signing in the summer is a bit far fetched.

Yes this time last year they were going in the right direction same games played and roughly the same amount of points that Chelsea, Liverpool have at the moment but have taken a nosedive since (started with a home defeat to Sheffield United) and finished the season in terrible fashion.

Defeated in the two Cup competitions against teams they were expected to beat and last 8 games of that season W2 D2 L4. That form has basically continued into this season and the task for Rangnick is to stop that rot and it won't be possible if the players don't play the way he wants.

Woodward is a big part of the current mess
And he is leaving

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/01/06/ed-woodward-will-stand-manchester-united-february-1-replaced/

Richard Arnold will take over as Manchester United chief executive on February 1 when Ed Woodward formally relinquishes his role, the club announced on Thursday.

Woodward tendered his resignation last April in the wake of United's involvement in the failed European Super League plot but will officially stand aside at the end of this month, bringing an end to his controversial near nine-year tenure as executive vice-chairman.

Arnold, who currently serves as United's group managing director and before that was commercial director, will take the title of chief executive rather than executive vice-chairman, which Woodward holds.

United never got close to winning the Premier League title during Woodward's reign and he is thought to be leaving the role with regrets over the mistakes made in terms of managerial choices and recruitment in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson landscape.

will he fúck..

He's a business man who's lined the pockets of the clubs owners during his tenure, he's been a business success and that's all that matters to the Glazers.

[hoynevalley]

This villa side wouldnt score in a brothel. Watkins is overrated.

[Onthe40]

Utd are absolutely terrible.. I've never saw worse.. that team is not premier league quality

[Ghost]

Is it just me or are Utd a bunch of greedy bast*rds. Always seem to be wanting to take on the shot themselves instead of playing in the man in the better position...Prime example Greenwood and Rashford there now. Rashford's attitude after it stunk though.