Man Utd Thread:

[gallsman]

paying £50m (Walker) to address the glaring weakness in your squad with the best player in the league in that position,

I stopped reading here. Walker wasn't even the best right back at Spurs.

[stew]

Pathetic comments tonight from the cheque book manager.

Agree. More absolute bullshit. I'm not a huge fan of Guardiola but one striking difference is that clearly Guardiola believes in his players and facilitates getting the best out of them. The opposite is clearly the case with Mourinho at present. Bar the full backs they bought in the summer when Mourinho bought none I don't see any areas of their team that are vastly superior. What I do see is guys given licence and empowerment to perform, really well coached. What would Jose do with Silva? Sell him I'd say. Aguero? Out wide playing half the games maybe. DeBruyne? Well he got rid of him from Chelsea.

I have quit watching Man United for the first time in my life, I hate the way this clown has them playing and I cant wait until the inevitable divorce happens, this man Mourinho was a great manager at one time, like LVG he is way past his sell by date and he is just as inept, he wants to go to PSG, good riddance I say, people are paying 75 quid on up to watch United scrape draws at home to the likes of Burnley and the fans celebrate like they accomplished something.

[seafoid]

The name of the game is money. Man Utd generate enough money...
Nobody can manage Man Utd out of the hole that the Glazers have them in.   

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/dec/26/jose-mourinho-300m-pounds-not-enough-manchester-united

"One thing is a big club and another thing is a big football team. They are two different things," he said. "We are in the second year of trying to rebuild a football team that is not one of the best teams in the world. Manchester City buy full-backs for the price of strikers. When you speak about big football clubs, you are speaking about the history of the club."
When it was put to Mourinho he has invested £300m since taking over – it is actually closer to £261m – he responded: "It is not enough. And the price for the big clubs, the price for the big clubs is different from the other clubs. So the big, historical clubs are normally punished in the market for that history.
"When you tell [describe] a club like Manchester United, do you think Milan is not as big as us? You think they are not as big as we are? Do you think Real Madrid are not as big as we are? You think Inter Milan is not as big as we are? There are many big clubs and you say big clubs, I know what is a big club."
Mourinho was then asked if he intended to spend a lot of money in the January transfer window but left the room before answering.

[Milltown Row2]

Had the match on while having extended family round so couldn't really concentrate on the game but what I did see was a very capable Burnley play to their strengths and a very underperforming Utd team showing their weaknesses! Could have resulted in a win for either team but Burnley deserved something...

Had a five timer up bar Utd ! So they cost me a few quid the feckers!

This happened last season big drop in form and ended up with a poor league season

[beer baron]

Pathetic comments tonight from the cheque book manager.

Agree. More absolute bullshit. I'm not a huge fan of Guardiola but one striking difference is that clearly Guardiola believes in his players and facilitates getting the best out of them. The opposite is clearly the case with Mourinho at present. Bar the full backs they bought in the summer when Mourinho bought none I don't see any areas of their team that are vastly superior. What I do see is guys given licence and empowerment to perform, really well coached. What would Jose do with Silva? Sell him I'd say. Aguero? Out wide playing half the games maybe. DeBruyne? Well he got rid of him from Chelsea.

I have quit watching Man United for the first time in my life, I hate the way this clown has them playing and I cant wait until the inevitable divorce happens, this man Mourinho was a great manager at one time, like LVG he is way past his sell by date and he is just as inept, he wants to go to PSG, good riddance I say, people are paying 75 quid on up to watch United scrape draws at home to the likes of Burnley and the fans celebrate like they accomplished something.

If you've quit watching them now having watched through Van Gaals reign i don't know what to say, progress both in terms of entertainment and results under Mourinho.

[Minder]

Good point from German journalist Raphael Hoginstein

"Irrespective of Mourinho's agenda and spin, Man United remain the world's biggest ad for the importance of a clued-up sporting director. Outsourcing your transfer strategy to a select group of agents won't do."

[Captain Scarlet]

The problem is now he might get his 300m and buy two players and somehow there will still be two converted wingers in the full back slots. Now in fairness they are doing well but digging at City who have rebuilt their defence, including a young keeper is stupid.
As I said United will go all out for huge names and then it'll be a shoe-horn job.
Pep had a lot of those lads but he has improved so many of the players that would have been benched earning millions if they were with United. On paper up top and in midfield there is still plenty of class. De Gea is class as is Bailly who is sorely missed.
All the talk of spending and you have to look at the facts Rashford and Lingard were free, as was Ibra.  In the case of City they have spend shitloads but feckin hell what an end product. They are class.
United will splash out again in January and not get any closer. It's harsh on them in fairness as City are humming right now, but they could sustain it for a few years with so many young players.

[seafoid]

The ould guardian columns are very good

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2017/dec/27/jose-mourinho-has-a-point-when-he-says-manchester-united-are-not-a-big-team

Since Ferguson's first title-winning side at least, the assumption has always been that a fully-functioning Manchester United, properly funded and sensibly led, would naturally be the strongest team in England. Even Ferguson had to accept second place to Arsenal or Chelsea on occasion, though the interruption to normal service would usually be short and with a few tweaks and a little squad strengthening United would be back on their perch.

That was broadly the imagined scenario when Mourinho moved to Manchester. He might not have been ideal in some ways, he would probably not stay all that long and he would almost certainly attract the wrong sort of publicity, but if he could turn Louis van Gaal's painfully ponderous side into a version of Chelsea it would at least be a step in the right direction. United would start winning things again, and as soon as that happened they could return to hoovering up the best available talent and generally lording it over the rest of the country.

Whatever you think of José, it was said, he's a proven winner. If he comes across as more of a proven whinger these days that is entirely down to City blocking off the high ground and forcing everyone else to look upwards. Mourinho is now caught in the middle of a United rebuilding project with no immediate prospect of success. For all the investment, United appear to be little better off than they were under Van Gaal and his three-year plan. There is a residual fondness for the idea that United might trump City's league success by winning big in Europe, just as they did in 1968, though half a century ago there was only one English team in Europe. Now there are five, and several of them would be confident if drawn against United, partly because Mourinho's strategy in the big games this season has been so reactive.



José Mourinho says '£300m not enough' for Manchester United to compete

 

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When Mourinho said United's spending so far had not been enough to compete, he meant with City and the top sides around Europe, not Burnley. It was just unfortunate that his comments came after being held at home by everyone's favourite small-town punchers above their weight.

Because it is now almost five years since Ferguson stood down, and just as long since United looked capable of winning the league. Worse than that, it is becoming evident that all that time City were working to a plan that has now come to fruition, and could continue to yield dividends for some years to come.

It is not yet clear whether Mourinho's warning that more money will have to be spent is part of a rebuilding programme or merely a diversionary tactic, but United do need a plan at this stage, and it is going to have to be a belter.

[magpie seanie]

Are people copping on eventually? I hope so.

[Milltown Row2]

Are people copping on eventually? I hope so.

Copping on to the fact that they are in a better position than last season? Have scored more goals and gained more points? Yep I think they have, Jose is no Ferguson but he'd not got a team which had the likes of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, And the rest! There is no manager out there available to give you what you're looking...

Stop going over the same crap and explain who'd you want to bring Utd back to the swashbuckling style that won so many titles? I think Utd could win a league or two but won't dominate like they did before because of the many factors discussed before.

[Syferus]

The idea that Man City will continually dominate is outlandish in the extreme.

[north_antrim_hound]

The idea that Man Coty will continually dominate is outlandish in the extreme.

Kompany just got injured and it looks serious
Apart from de bruyne he is their most influential player
PL is in the bag but CL is looking shaky

[Milltown Row2]

The idea that Man Coty will continually dominate is outlandish in the extreme.

Kompany just got injured and it looks serious
Apart from de bruyne he is their most influential player
PL is in the bag but CL is looking shaky

How many games have City won with Kompany in the team?

[magpie seanie]

Are people copping on eventually? I hope so.

Copping on to the fact that they are in a better position than last season? Have scored more goals and gained more points? Yep I think they have, Jose is no Ferguson but he'd not got a team which had the likes of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, And the rest! There is no manager out there available to give you what you're looking...

Stop going over the same crap and explain who'd you want to bring Utd back to the swashbuckling style that won so many titles? I think Utd could win a league or two but won't dominate like they did before because of the many factors discussed before.

Ferguson, to his credit, built the club structures up and they yielded the Beckhams, Nevilles, Giggs etc - much like City have put in place the infrastructure to provide for continuity of success. Times have changed so it's no longer about bringing young players on, more about identifying the right type of talent to suit your style.City have that now. Moyes ripped those structures apart and David Gill, asshole that he was, was good at his job and has been replaced by a lightweight. Bringing in Mourinho was like trying to put a band aid on a gash that needs 30 stitches. A salty band aid at that.

[Syferus]

What member of the starting Manchester City team even set foot in the City Academy, much less came up through their system?